I had something clever that I was going to write about, but I don't remember what that was unfortunately, so this may end up being something random.
I did want to salute, however, to the end of my Friday night curling season. Even though none of them will likely ever read this, they were incredible people to curl with, I had so much fun, and all those Fridays that I missed for other things I would have much rather spent with them. It's sad that it's come to an end and my Fridays are free again. Curling was something I looked forward to at the end of my week. I love Friday nights. Here's to Amanda, Pete, and Bryan. Cheers! *takes a swing of her Coca Cola* XD
Anyways, what else did I want to ramble on about? Hmmm... OH! How about the ginormous amount of math and physics homework that I have this weekend? Not to mention the physics lab ON TOP of all that work.
Now, let me make this clear, this isn't work I'm still catching up on because I missed a week, no, I'm all caught up. This work is actually, honest-to-God, assigned on Friday. It's crazy. And I understand the importance of homework, but there's a limit on:
A) How much I can do in the time I have
B) How much I can do before chucking my book at the wall and
C) How much I can do before it starts to get me confused.
And I think I have a pretty extensive tolerance towards it. If I spend more than an hour on math homework alone, then I think too much has been assigned. For physics, I'll give it a half hour of work, excluding labs, which are like projects. I have more like 5 or 6 hours of homework combined, again excluding the lab. Ok, so maybe an extra hour or so 'cause it's the weekend, fine. But that's still another 2+ hours I shouldn't be doing then.
Ugh... but this arguement is hopeless. Yet, if you think about it, after about an hour of staring at numbers, it starts to become more of a hinderence than an aid. Homework is supposed to reinforce your knowledge of what was taught that day. But too much just ends up with me questioning what I did before. Or, I have so much work that I'm just bulldozing through it to get to the end and not actually learning anything. So it completely defeats the purpose.
Knowledge is important, but there's so many more valuable things I could be doing with my life. The 6 hours or so that I spend at school is almost equal to the 10 hour work-day when you count the homework. And I'm getting more out of life doing a job I love than being forced to sit through classes I wouldn't be taking if I had a say in the matter. Which apparently I don't, according to my guidance councillor.
Now, this may seem unrelated, but it's amazing how one week in a different environment with different people can shift the way you see things. For example, during drinks after my curling game today we were discussing a bunch of controversial issues like Euthanasia, Abortion, Homosexuality, and Drug addicts. Now, some of my opinions stand the same, like on Abortion (everyone deserves a chance at life), and homosexuality (who really cares? Let people be happy!). But on things like Euthanasia, I noticed my outlook had changed.
We were talking about how elderly people who want to die with dignity should be allowed assisted suicide. Before I went to Italy, I probably would have said that I was all for it, the person is elderly, can't truly live life, and it's their choice, it's not like someone's forcing it on them. But now, since my outlook on what it means to live life and what you're getting out of it has changed slightly, I would say I'm against it. Sure, the person is elderly and even if they are dependant on others to survive, there's still value to the life they have in front of them, and they can still offer others something through their life. Like I mentioned yesterday, age is a matter of perspective, and showing them there's still value to their life would be like trying to convince a 34 year old of the same thing.
I think I'll end this with a couple of poems I wrote in the past that I feel are related to the subjects of school=hell and value of the person...
Misunderstood - School=hell
Do you remember,
what it’s like?
The inward pain,
the razor’s spike?
The broken hearts,
that never heal?
A vibrant world,
that’s so surreal?
Do you remember,
feeling lost?
Finding yourself,
And paying the cost?
The times you rebelled,
scream and fight,
full out knowing,
that you were right?
Do you remember,
those days long past?
Today’s a world,
in such contrast.
We live more than you ever could,
We feel more than we ever should,
We’re misunderstood.
Does it matter? - Value of the person
If Society was a person,
Would you be his friend?
Male or female,
Black or white,
Young or old.
Does it matter?
Would you still hold him high,
Because of reputation?
If you cast him down,
With the racism and prejudice he rules with,
Does it make a difference?
We still befriend Society,
Despite him controlling us,
Like an abusive relationship.
We let him choose,
Who we talk to,
What we look like,
How we live.
Can you love such a person?
And when you realize what it comes down to,
When you open your eyes,
You’ll see the world in this person.
We are Society.
You’ll see the world in this person,
When you open your eyes.
And when you realize what it comes down to,
Can you love such a person?
How we live,
What we look like,
Who we talk to,
We let him choose.
Like an abusive relationship,
Despite him controlling us,
We still befriend Society.
Does it make a difference,
With the racism and prejudice he rules the world with,
If you cast him down?
Because of reputation,
Would you still hold him high?
Does it matter,
Young or old,
Black or white,
Male or female?
Would you be his friend,
If Society was a person?
FIN
That was really long! I'm Sorry!
Read on, write on ladies and gentlemen.
Sweet Dreams! May Nightmare spare you.
Amanda Out.
March 26, 2010
March 25, 2010
A Delve into this Mind of Mine
I was doing some thinking today (which is something that happens to me occasionally) after getting my brain all fired up from doing a solid 2 hours of Math and Physics, which I decided to abandon for thinking instead.
Anyways, my mind turned to pondering upon the questions of life and how I see it, all while listening to the epically awesome songs Violet Hill, Strawberry Swing, and Death and all its Friends by Coldplay (I am aware I have a peculiar taste in music).
So, for today's blog entry, I thought I'd delve into the stranger workings of this mind of mine, and share with you the thoughts I have formed. They're not very long, I went over them a bazillion times.
The first is this (and we'll see now if I'm crazy or not): The key to happiness is to live on impulse, but with conscience. Reason only ever comes into play when there is warning to impulse. Look before you leap. And you may think me juvenile, but if I learned anything in 16 years, it's that I never want to grow up. If I've learned anything from adults, adulthood is depressing, so why ever venture there? Age is a matter of perspective.
Hmm... I may have accidentally expanded on that while writing it.
The second was this: So we search for happiness, but happiness is something you can never attain. This is because you don't find happiness, you come across moments of euphoria that you carry with you on your journey of life. They are moments you never forget, they stick with you because they are a part of you, a part of your life. There's highs and lows, like a roller coaster, but you can never have highs all the time, otherwise the ride would suck. So instead of searching for happiness, cling to those moments of euphoria you get from splurging on the most outlandish of impulses as the coaster comes crashing down.
That one was a little more obscure. In a way though, I'm starting to see where that Belief-O-Matic quiz I took was matching me up as being Buddhist rather than Roman Catholic. :)
Anyways, there's your delve into my mind for today...
Read on, Write on ladies and gentlemen.
Sweet Dreams! May Nightmare spare you.
Amanda Out.
Anyways, my mind turned to pondering upon the questions of life and how I see it, all while listening to the epically awesome songs Violet Hill, Strawberry Swing, and Death and all its Friends by Coldplay (I am aware I have a peculiar taste in music).
So, for today's blog entry, I thought I'd delve into the stranger workings of this mind of mine, and share with you the thoughts I have formed. They're not very long, I went over them a bazillion times.
The first is this (and we'll see now if I'm crazy or not): The key to happiness is to live on impulse, but with conscience. Reason only ever comes into play when there is warning to impulse. Look before you leap. And you may think me juvenile, but if I learned anything in 16 years, it's that I never want to grow up. If I've learned anything from adults, adulthood is depressing, so why ever venture there? Age is a matter of perspective.
Hmm... I may have accidentally expanded on that while writing it.
The second was this: So we search for happiness, but happiness is something you can never attain. This is because you don't find happiness, you come across moments of euphoria that you carry with you on your journey of life. They are moments you never forget, they stick with you because they are a part of you, a part of your life. There's highs and lows, like a roller coaster, but you can never have highs all the time, otherwise the ride would suck. So instead of searching for happiness, cling to those moments of euphoria you get from splurging on the most outlandish of impulses as the coaster comes crashing down.
That one was a little more obscure. In a way though, I'm starting to see where that Belief-O-Matic quiz I took was matching me up as being Buddhist rather than Roman Catholic. :)
Anyways, there's your delve into my mind for today...
Read on, Write on ladies and gentlemen.
Sweet Dreams! May Nightmare spare you.
Amanda Out.
March 24, 2010
Revelation for the day
Ok, so it's super late... it's like 10 minutes to half past eleven, but I promised myself I would write this every day... so here's something real quick that I noticed today.
Today I learned that it actually takes like leg muscle effort to sit straight with your knees side by side. Someone mentioned today that I failed to sit with my legs perfectly together while wearing my kilt, which is a position I never assume, so I decided to try it. And low and behold, after a minute or so, it started to become painful to sit in that position.
So I returned to my normal sitting position, with my legs spaced about a hand's-width apart, even with my ankles crossed (and my feet still barely touch the floor...).
Now that fact that I can't sit in the proper sitting position for skirt wearing, I believe anyways, reveals a number of things about my personality. First it says I have horrible muscle tone (which is likely true). Second, it shows that I don't wear skirts often enough to notice this. Third? It shows that I'm not preppy enough to care about the way I sit. :)
I mean, really, the kilt has shorts in it for a reason. It's why it's one of the few skirts you'll catch me wearing.
In short, it's a skirt, but I can still do cartwheels. ;)
Anyways, that's my revelation for the day.
Read on, write on ladies and gentlemen.
Sweet Dreams! May Nightmare spare you.
Amanda Out.
Today I learned that it actually takes like leg muscle effort to sit straight with your knees side by side. Someone mentioned today that I failed to sit with my legs perfectly together while wearing my kilt, which is a position I never assume, so I decided to try it. And low and behold, after a minute or so, it started to become painful to sit in that position.
So I returned to my normal sitting position, with my legs spaced about a hand's-width apart, even with my ankles crossed (and my feet still barely touch the floor...).
Now that fact that I can't sit in the proper sitting position for skirt wearing, I believe anyways, reveals a number of things about my personality. First it says I have horrible muscle tone (which is likely true). Second, it shows that I don't wear skirts often enough to notice this. Third? It shows that I'm not preppy enough to care about the way I sit. :)
I mean, really, the kilt has shorts in it for a reason. It's why it's one of the few skirts you'll catch me wearing.
In short, it's a skirt, but I can still do cartwheels. ;)
Anyways, that's my revelation for the day.
Read on, write on ladies and gentlemen.
Sweet Dreams! May Nightmare spare you.
Amanda Out.
March 23, 2010
Some things I saw in the news
Not to diminish the awesomeness that is 60 Things that Happened in Italia, but I vowed to myself I would make a post everyday after Italy, and dammit all, I'm going to stick to it. This clearly hasn't happened before the trip, but I will not break my promise. Or you can all beat me for it.
Anyways, let me begin.
First off, I would like to comment on how bland life is now that I'm locked up in the institution again, and back in my own country. I'm mean, Canada is amazing and all, but it means I have to be in school. And that's not a place I like to be. I need to have more freedom than 7 hours a day allows me to have. Plus the sidewalk is made of concrete, and not made of marble. I severely miss Italy. And being out of school.
The other thing I wanted to share with you all is that I finally finished the Dream Catcher blog to an unveil-able level. All the chapters and everything are posted, except for chapter 13, which I still have to make a polyvore picture for...
Anyways, here's the site: http://dreamcatcher-anythingispossible.blogspot.com
Check it out if you follow my story. It's where I'll try to post all the updates on that... I'll add that link to the list on the side when I get the chance.
Now, all this is incredibly selfish, so I should probably talk about something now that impacts you all... hmmm...
Well the only thing that comes to mind is that "free" health care thing that Obama is pushing. I have given this an obscure amount of thought, though don't trust my facts. Now, the selfish part of me is telling me that this is a horrible idea. Americans with free health care? I surmount that this feeling is generated by the fact that I won't be able to say "Were you just dissing Canada? I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you over my health care benifits." anymore if they get "free" health care, a line that makes me feel extremely patriotic in an odd sort of way.
Now the political side of me sees this as an amazing idea, because it means that all the doctors who fled to the states to make more money (like they don't make enough here already) will come back since their boats will float the same there and Canada is just that more awesomely better. Plus we will apologise to the doctor for sneezing on them. :) Being a klutz with a family doctor that mysteriously went missing is not a good thing, but this means she may randomly re-appear out of no where.
What else did I see in the news? Oh this contriversy over this super-Catholic (meaning she takes faith too far) lady who dissed this Muslim girl who was apparently making fun of her... what the heck is this? Don't we have something better to cover? Like children dying in Africa or soldiers in Iraq or something like that?
I really hate super-Catholic people, and I am Cathloic. Some people take the bible too literally, forgetting to look at it as both a historical and religious text. Not all the things in that book match today people. Take an idealistic view.
Then there's the people who get so caught up in the fact that there are other religions in the world that they want to convert them all, and they forget about the real message of Catholic-ness. Who freaking cares if someone believes something different than you!? You accept them anyways! The church already went all 'Kill the Muslims' in the middle ages, and that didn't end well. Can't people learn from the past?
If you're going to write a book on how amazing Catholic people are, oh super-Catholic lady, you must have done a little research. Clearly, if you missed this obvious failure of the corrupt church, then you haven't done any research at all. You have no right to dis anyone.
Ok now I'm rambling and dissing the super-Catholic lady, so I'll stop.
That's all for now,
Read on, Write on Ladies and Gentlemen.
Sweet Dreams, may Nightmare spare you.
Amanda Out.
Anyways, let me begin.
First off, I would like to comment on how bland life is now that I'm locked up in the institution again, and back in my own country. I'm mean, Canada is amazing and all, but it means I have to be in school. And that's not a place I like to be. I need to have more freedom than 7 hours a day allows me to have. Plus the sidewalk is made of concrete, and not made of marble. I severely miss Italy. And being out of school.
The other thing I wanted to share with you all is that I finally finished the Dream Catcher blog to an unveil-able level. All the chapters and everything are posted, except for chapter 13, which I still have to make a polyvore picture for...
Anyways, here's the site: http://dreamcatcher-anythingispossible.blogspot.com
Check it out if you follow my story. It's where I'll try to post all the updates on that... I'll add that link to the list on the side when I get the chance.
Now, all this is incredibly selfish, so I should probably talk about something now that impacts you all... hmmm...
Well the only thing that comes to mind is that "free" health care thing that Obama is pushing. I have given this an obscure amount of thought, though don't trust my facts. Now, the selfish part of me is telling me that this is a horrible idea. Americans with free health care? I surmount that this feeling is generated by the fact that I won't be able to say "Were you just dissing Canada? I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you over my health care benifits." anymore if they get "free" health care, a line that makes me feel extremely patriotic in an odd sort of way.
Now the political side of me sees this as an amazing idea, because it means that all the doctors who fled to the states to make more money (like they don't make enough here already) will come back since their boats will float the same there and Canada is just that more awesomely better. Plus we will apologise to the doctor for sneezing on them. :) Being a klutz with a family doctor that mysteriously went missing is not a good thing, but this means she may randomly re-appear out of no where.
What else did I see in the news? Oh this contriversy over this super-Catholic (meaning she takes faith too far) lady who dissed this Muslim girl who was apparently making fun of her... what the heck is this? Don't we have something better to cover? Like children dying in Africa or soldiers in Iraq or something like that?
I really hate super-Catholic people, and I am Cathloic. Some people take the bible too literally, forgetting to look at it as both a historical and religious text. Not all the things in that book match today people. Take an idealistic view.
Then there's the people who get so caught up in the fact that there are other religions in the world that they want to convert them all, and they forget about the real message of Catholic-ness. Who freaking cares if someone believes something different than you!? You accept them anyways! The church already went all 'Kill the Muslims' in the middle ages, and that didn't end well. Can't people learn from the past?
If you're going to write a book on how amazing Catholic people are, oh super-Catholic lady, you must have done a little research. Clearly, if you missed this obvious failure of the corrupt church, then you haven't done any research at all. You have no right to dis anyone.
Ok now I'm rambling and dissing the super-Catholic lady, so I'll stop.
That's all for now,
Read on, Write on Ladies and Gentlemen.
Sweet Dreams, may Nightmare spare you.
Amanda Out.
March 22, 2010
60 Things that Happened in Italia
One must deplace themselves from a natural habitat to become cultured, and that I have done, but upon returning to the place I would call home, I miss what I have become accustomed to.
I miss the narrow, cobble stone streets lined with marble, that you can walk down the middle of with no fear of getting hit by cars. I miss the leaning, towering buildings, with colourful walls and shuttered windows. I miss the basilicas, the piatzas, the bridges, rivers, and canals. I miss the marble and bronze statues, and the mosaics and frescos. I miss chasing pidgeons, riding boats, and window shopping.
But most of all I miss the static in the air that comes from being surrounded by history, something that is simply not found in solid concrete highways, bustling with cars. In truth however, I was "home" in Italy and I and am proud to say that I've walked the streets of the Mother of Modern Civilization. Walled cities still thriving on ancient sewers, lead piping, and historical aquaducts is where my heart lives. It is where the world lives.
60 Things that happened in Italia (in no particular order)
Note: These ten days were primarily spent with Steph, Karlene, Victoria and Michael. You are amazing guys!
1. CAT STEVENS!!!! - Ok, so basically, when we were walking to downtown Sienna, this little kid walked past us and like attacked Mr. Buchanan, Ian, and Michael screaming bloody murder. It was crazy. The kid had black eyes like he was possessed too. This moment is entitled CAT STEVENS because we believe that's what the kid was screaming. Or something to that effect anyways. OH! and the parents of the attacking kid? Just pulled him off whoever he was attacking and laughed. That's right. Laughed.
2. Fuck me. I'm Italian. - Not the most appropriate of lines, I am aware, but failing to mention it would be blasphemy. When we were walking downtown Rome at night, we were also searching for wi-fi access on Mike's iPod. Whilst standing outside the later mentioned church with bones in the wall, we happened to come accross a wi-fi source called, Fuck me. I'm Italian. There is a picture. We're still not entirely sure why this simple discovery produced laughing whenever there was a lull in conversation throught the week.
3. The boots weren't made for walking, but they'll just have to do. One of these days these boots will be replaced with running shoes. - Basically and impromtu remix of These boots were made for Walking as we walked to the boat back to Sorrento after climbing hills in Capri.
4. Masks - A simple moment in which was paraded through St. Mark's square in Venice, wearing our Venitian masks and chasing pidgeons while eating gelato.
5. The Carousal - Ahaha... well... us high school seniors spent a well-worth-it two euro to ride the carousal in a piaza in Florence whilst being glared at by an Italian lady filming it for some reason...
6. Capri - Beautiful as it is on its own, our little band prefered exploration over shopping and took a turn down a tunnel to explore the residential section of Capri on our free time. It was worth the hike half way up the hill (which was farther than anyone else got btw) and the gardens and gated homes were simply beautiful. Plus there were a lot of amazing look out points.
7. Pompeii - Incredible if you ask me, it was the highlight of MY trip. Everything is so incredibly preserved that you FEEL like a Roman when you weave throughout the ruins.
8. Gelato - Enough said.
9. The Alps - Although we never visited them, you could see them all over the place, especially in Northern Italy. But my favourite view was from the plane from Paris to Rome in which I had a window seat and fought sleep to watch us fly over them. It was incredible to see. The snowy peaks just break through the clouds and into the clear blue sky. Def worth the turbulance.
10. The Leaning Tower of Pisa - Not only did we take the tourist-style picture of holding the thing up, we also climbed it. It was incredible (though treacherous), and to think Galileo climbed the stairs too...
11. Breakfast - Cake and Coca Cola for breakfast? Totally.
12. Silvio - So our bus driver's name was Silvio and he was like THE most amazing driver ever. Driving in Italy is crazy and crowded as it is, and he navigated those streets and tight corners in a freaking tour bus! Let's just put it this way. He'd put the host of Canada's worst driver to SHAME.
13. Night Lights - Seeing Paris and Rome by night was just beautiful. Phenominal even.
14. Backstreet E-mailing - So that e-mail we sent on an iPod? Sent it in a backstreet of Rome at night. We were sitting on the side of the road taking turns sending messages and getting weird looks from the people walking by.
15. Spanish Steps - Raced up 'em. It's just something you've gotta do.
16. Flower throwing - So this flower seller in Rome was extremely annoying and Mike ended up buying a flower to get him to go away. Steph ended up with it, and to get rid of it, she threw it over the gates of the church with the bones in the wall. It was very cool.
17. Basilicas - There are churches EVERYWHERE in Italy. It's crazy. But every single one of them is so beautiful. I stood in awe in almost ever single one.
18. I've been there - Simply being able to say I've been there.
19. I knew that - It was kinda neat to know the history behind the places we visited, more extensively too than the Tour Guides had time to explain.
20. SPQR - This is proof that Rome still uses the same ancient Sewer system. SPQR stands for Senatus Populisque Romanus. All the Man-holes for the sewers were labeled with this.
21. SPQR, again. - Seeing it in other places on statues and stuff, really cool. OH! and it was on the wall in Versailles. Weird.
22. Coliseum - Just touching the walls layed by slaves so long ago was enough for me... It was sad to see the destruction of the middle ages too. :(
23. Late nights - We spent HOURS in each others rooms at night. We were usually free to ourselves at 9-ish... and we usually didn't venture to bed until 2 in the morning. Those were some good discussions guys. ;)
24. Euro Disco - We went to a disco in Sorrento we did...
25. Train from Hell - Out overnight train to Paris? COLD. The air conditioning was constantly on in our car, and couldn't be turned off... there weren't enough blankets fior the number of beds we had, AND the emergency window fell open in the middle of the night. It felt like we were driving through the freaking Arctic! Winter Camp know-how came in super handy here...
26. Getting Sick - So I got sick. Well, technically Mike was sick first. Then I caught it... and so did everyone else... except Victoria... :S *shrugs* It's just a cold.
27. The Purple Store - There was this one store in Florence that was all purple. If something wasn't purple, it had purple on it. And the store owner was amazing. He was extremely friendly, spoke fluent english and was getting us to try on all this stuff for fun. XD PLUS he showed us where the Euro McDonalds was. :P
28. Markets - The market in Sienna was really cool. Like it was an honest-to-God market. In a square. With white roofed stands. Seriously.
29. Isn't that our bus? - So we missed our ride back down to the highway in Sienna and had to walk... The bus was there the whole time we were waiting and eventually drove off, but someone insisted that it wasn't our bus... ;
30. Matchmaking - It seems that store owners in Italy like to pair people up. Most of our adventures saw Mike and Karlene, or Mike and Steph matched up as a couple... yeah, no. And I still wonder why I never had a date... :S
31. McDonalds - Yeah, we ate at one. But it was just so we were able to say that we did. It was really nice. Like an actual restaurant.
32. Can't speak!!XD - Mike lost his voice as part of his cold half way through the week. It was actually kind of fun... He would start singing with no sound and we had to guess the song. XD
33. SIP - What does it mean? We still have no idea. When we were walking in Capri, every so often there was a sign pointing to the ground labelled SIP. Out best guess is Sewage in progress.
34. Sex Menu - There was seriously a preserved prositute house in Pompeii with like a menu PAINTED on the walls. It was graphic.
35. Gratci? - ahaha... a few of us got some free stuff in Paris for using the wrong language... We would go to say thank you, and say Gratci instead of Merci. XD
36. Sing, and sing loud - We were a bit obnoxious with our singing... and we sung everywhere we went. Loudly. The people around us were not found of us.
37. ABBA - Especially Fernando. ABBA was like the artist of choice for our little group that week.
38. Moulin Rouge - So we had to walk through the Paris "red-light" district to get to the church with the look out point in Paris. Saw the Moulin Rouge though. XD
39. Magic Pills! - When Mike's voice wasn't getting better, we popped into a Pharmacy to see if we could get him something for his cold. The nurse actually knew what we were talking about and gave him something like Vicks. Except where Vicks takes a couple days to get your voice better, Mike had his voice back almost completely in about a half hour. It was amazing.
40. Lost - We got lost a couple times, but found our way back to the meeting spot in time. But the first time we left Victoria with some others to shop, they got lost and were late by like a half hour. We were worried.
41. Olay! - We started a sing off with some French guys on the other side of the tracks in Paris. It was fun until this one drunk French man got ticked at them for singing... We had to get on the train, but we were pretty sure there was a fight.
42. Oh Canda! - We sung Oh Canada on the subway platform for the French peoples on the other side. We're so patriotic.
43. Snape, Snape, Severus Snape - If you've ever seen Harry Potter Puppet Pals on Youtube, you know what I'm talking about when I say The Mysterious Ticking Noise. We had the song almost perfected. XD
44. Walking Sticks - When we were walking in one of the markets this one lady was selling umbrellas that looked like walking sticks... like the handles were all silver and jeweled... it looked like something Lucius Malfoy would walk around with.
45. Coke - European Coke is like is like 50 million times better than American Coke. It has half the sugar and twice the caffine. XD
46. Don't gape at the canal - While watching an orange float by in a canal in Venice, Mike lost his gum to the canal. XD
47. Mission Impossible - Mike and Steph crossed one of the canals by scaling along a really thin piece of wall and jumping the fense on the other side 007 style... And Karlene's kinda ticked at me cuz I wouldn't do it and she had to take the bridge with me to the other side. :( I'm sorry Karlene!
48. The Watch - So Victoria held Michael's watch and 1000 lyra hostage for the full 10 days... actually... I don't think she's given them back.
49. This one? - We tried on like a bazillion masks in Venice... Like an hour and a half was deticated to this one street in order to pick the right ones.
50. Down boy! - I swear, in Venice, this pidgeon jumped a meter and a half in the air and attacked Karlene's head. No flaping... it jumped.
51. The American Bar - In the Sheraton we stayed at, there was an American bar, and Karlene wishes it recorded that it amused her that she and Katie ordered Tea and water there.
52. And then she... - On the train to Paris we did a bunch of those line at a time stories. It was kinda funny, Karlene and Toria were trying to make it dark, and me and Michael were trying to make it funny by adding random things or insights... When Victoria and Karlene told me to write dark though, apparently it ended up sounding like gay incest... ;
53. Towel Heaters - Most of our hotels were a major fail... like if it were Canada, they'd be graded below one star... But despite the failness of these hotels, there was always one good thing about the rooms... For example, the one in Rome had a towel heater. I could get used to that. XD
54. Italinas - On our last night in Rome, we shared the floor with a bunch of Italian teens. A couple of them were cool. We met them again later in Venice.
55. Skittle Fail - We ate a lot of American stuff to taste the difference... One of those things was Skittles. They're pretty much the same except for the purple ones... rather than tasting like grape, they taste like grape flavoured medication. It was gross.
56. Even - It was kinda cool how all the prices were perfectly even. Everything with the exception of maybe museum tickets had no cent cost. It was always an even euro. OH! and Tax is included in the price!
57. Roof Roaming - Our hotel in Florence had a huge balcony, but no view. The balconies were attatched however, and you could jump from one to the other... That's what we did and we ended up sitting out on the roof, which did have a view for a bit.
58. Epic Fail of the Trip - When we were in Pompeii, there was this ledge and Karlene yells out behind me not to fall. I step up fine, but when I turned around to say "Look! I didn't fall!" to Karlene, she tripped over the ledge. It was terribly ironic.
59. Straight Forward - Advertising in Italy and France doesn't need to be censored at all... So you get posters that say things like this: "Sex sells, but unfortuantely we sell jeans."
60. Having the time of your life - I think we'd all agree, this was one of the best weeks of our lives.
Lean on me when you're not strong, and I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on! For it won't be long, 'til I'm gonna need somebody to lean on.
Don't stop believing. Hold onto that feeling! Street lights. People. Living just to find emotion hiding somewhere in the night!
Italy 2010 --> March 8-18.
I miss the narrow, cobble stone streets lined with marble, that you can walk down the middle of with no fear of getting hit by cars. I miss the leaning, towering buildings, with colourful walls and shuttered windows. I miss the basilicas, the piatzas, the bridges, rivers, and canals. I miss the marble and bronze statues, and the mosaics and frescos. I miss chasing pidgeons, riding boats, and window shopping.
But most of all I miss the static in the air that comes from being surrounded by history, something that is simply not found in solid concrete highways, bustling with cars. In truth however, I was "home" in Italy and I and am proud to say that I've walked the streets of the Mother of Modern Civilization. Walled cities still thriving on ancient sewers, lead piping, and historical aquaducts is where my heart lives. It is where the world lives.
60 Things that happened in Italia (in no particular order)
Note: These ten days were primarily spent with Steph, Karlene, Victoria and Michael. You are amazing guys!
1. CAT STEVENS!!!! - Ok, so basically, when we were walking to downtown Sienna, this little kid walked past us and like attacked Mr. Buchanan, Ian, and Michael screaming bloody murder. It was crazy. The kid had black eyes like he was possessed too. This moment is entitled CAT STEVENS because we believe that's what the kid was screaming. Or something to that effect anyways. OH! and the parents of the attacking kid? Just pulled him off whoever he was attacking and laughed. That's right. Laughed.
2. Fuck me. I'm Italian. - Not the most appropriate of lines, I am aware, but failing to mention it would be blasphemy. When we were walking downtown Rome at night, we were also searching for wi-fi access on Mike's iPod. Whilst standing outside the later mentioned church with bones in the wall, we happened to come accross a wi-fi source called, Fuck me. I'm Italian. There is a picture. We're still not entirely sure why this simple discovery produced laughing whenever there was a lull in conversation throught the week.
3. The boots weren't made for walking, but they'll just have to do. One of these days these boots will be replaced with running shoes. - Basically and impromtu remix of These boots were made for Walking as we walked to the boat back to Sorrento after climbing hills in Capri.
4. Masks - A simple moment in which was paraded through St. Mark's square in Venice, wearing our Venitian masks and chasing pidgeons while eating gelato.
5. The Carousal - Ahaha... well... us high school seniors spent a well-worth-it two euro to ride the carousal in a piaza in Florence whilst being glared at by an Italian lady filming it for some reason...
6. Capri - Beautiful as it is on its own, our little band prefered exploration over shopping and took a turn down a tunnel to explore the residential section of Capri on our free time. It was worth the hike half way up the hill (which was farther than anyone else got btw) and the gardens and gated homes were simply beautiful. Plus there were a lot of amazing look out points.
7. Pompeii - Incredible if you ask me, it was the highlight of MY trip. Everything is so incredibly preserved that you FEEL like a Roman when you weave throughout the ruins.
8. Gelato - Enough said.
9. The Alps - Although we never visited them, you could see them all over the place, especially in Northern Italy. But my favourite view was from the plane from Paris to Rome in which I had a window seat and fought sleep to watch us fly over them. It was incredible to see. The snowy peaks just break through the clouds and into the clear blue sky. Def worth the turbulance.
10. The Leaning Tower of Pisa - Not only did we take the tourist-style picture of holding the thing up, we also climbed it. It was incredible (though treacherous), and to think Galileo climbed the stairs too...
11. Breakfast - Cake and Coca Cola for breakfast? Totally.
12. Silvio - So our bus driver's name was Silvio and he was like THE most amazing driver ever. Driving in Italy is crazy and crowded as it is, and he navigated those streets and tight corners in a freaking tour bus! Let's just put it this way. He'd put the host of Canada's worst driver to SHAME.
13. Night Lights - Seeing Paris and Rome by night was just beautiful. Phenominal even.
14. Backstreet E-mailing - So that e-mail we sent on an iPod? Sent it in a backstreet of Rome at night. We were sitting on the side of the road taking turns sending messages and getting weird looks from the people walking by.
15. Spanish Steps - Raced up 'em. It's just something you've gotta do.
16. Flower throwing - So this flower seller in Rome was extremely annoying and Mike ended up buying a flower to get him to go away. Steph ended up with it, and to get rid of it, she threw it over the gates of the church with the bones in the wall. It was very cool.
17. Basilicas - There are churches EVERYWHERE in Italy. It's crazy. But every single one of them is so beautiful. I stood in awe in almost ever single one.
18. I've been there - Simply being able to say I've been there.
19. I knew that - It was kinda neat to know the history behind the places we visited, more extensively too than the Tour Guides had time to explain.
20. SPQR - This is proof that Rome still uses the same ancient Sewer system. SPQR stands for Senatus Populisque Romanus. All the Man-holes for the sewers were labeled with this.
21. SPQR, again. - Seeing it in other places on statues and stuff, really cool. OH! and it was on the wall in Versailles. Weird.
22. Coliseum - Just touching the walls layed by slaves so long ago was enough for me... It was sad to see the destruction of the middle ages too. :(
23. Late nights - We spent HOURS in each others rooms at night. We were usually free to ourselves at 9-ish... and we usually didn't venture to bed until 2 in the morning. Those were some good discussions guys. ;)
24. Euro Disco - We went to a disco in Sorrento we did...
25. Train from Hell - Out overnight train to Paris? COLD. The air conditioning was constantly on in our car, and couldn't be turned off... there weren't enough blankets fior the number of beds we had, AND the emergency window fell open in the middle of the night. It felt like we were driving through the freaking Arctic! Winter Camp know-how came in super handy here...
26. Getting Sick - So I got sick. Well, technically Mike was sick first. Then I caught it... and so did everyone else... except Victoria... :S *shrugs* It's just a cold.
27. The Purple Store - There was this one store in Florence that was all purple. If something wasn't purple, it had purple on it. And the store owner was amazing. He was extremely friendly, spoke fluent english and was getting us to try on all this stuff for fun. XD PLUS he showed us where the Euro McDonalds was. :P
28. Markets - The market in Sienna was really cool. Like it was an honest-to-God market. In a square. With white roofed stands. Seriously.
29. Isn't that our bus? - So we missed our ride back down to the highway in Sienna and had to walk... The bus was there the whole time we were waiting and eventually drove off, but someone insisted that it wasn't our bus... ;
30. Matchmaking - It seems that store owners in Italy like to pair people up. Most of our adventures saw Mike and Karlene, or Mike and Steph matched up as a couple... yeah, no. And I still wonder why I never had a date... :S
31. McDonalds - Yeah, we ate at one. But it was just so we were able to say that we did. It was really nice. Like an actual restaurant.
32. Can't speak!!XD - Mike lost his voice as part of his cold half way through the week. It was actually kind of fun... He would start singing with no sound and we had to guess the song. XD
33. SIP - What does it mean? We still have no idea. When we were walking in Capri, every so often there was a sign pointing to the ground labelled SIP. Out best guess is Sewage in progress.
34. Sex Menu - There was seriously a preserved prositute house in Pompeii with like a menu PAINTED on the walls. It was graphic.
35. Gratci? - ahaha... a few of us got some free stuff in Paris for using the wrong language... We would go to say thank you, and say Gratci instead of Merci. XD
36. Sing, and sing loud - We were a bit obnoxious with our singing... and we sung everywhere we went. Loudly. The people around us were not found of us.
37. ABBA - Especially Fernando. ABBA was like the artist of choice for our little group that week.
38. Moulin Rouge - So we had to walk through the Paris "red-light" district to get to the church with the look out point in Paris. Saw the Moulin Rouge though. XD
39. Magic Pills! - When Mike's voice wasn't getting better, we popped into a Pharmacy to see if we could get him something for his cold. The nurse actually knew what we were talking about and gave him something like Vicks. Except where Vicks takes a couple days to get your voice better, Mike had his voice back almost completely in about a half hour. It was amazing.
40. Lost - We got lost a couple times, but found our way back to the meeting spot in time. But the first time we left Victoria with some others to shop, they got lost and were late by like a half hour. We were worried.
41. Olay! - We started a sing off with some French guys on the other side of the tracks in Paris. It was fun until this one drunk French man got ticked at them for singing... We had to get on the train, but we were pretty sure there was a fight.
42. Oh Canda! - We sung Oh Canada on the subway platform for the French peoples on the other side. We're so patriotic.
43. Snape, Snape, Severus Snape - If you've ever seen Harry Potter Puppet Pals on Youtube, you know what I'm talking about when I say The Mysterious Ticking Noise. We had the song almost perfected. XD
44. Walking Sticks - When we were walking in one of the markets this one lady was selling umbrellas that looked like walking sticks... like the handles were all silver and jeweled... it looked like something Lucius Malfoy would walk around with.
45. Coke - European Coke is like is like 50 million times better than American Coke. It has half the sugar and twice the caffine. XD
46. Don't gape at the canal - While watching an orange float by in a canal in Venice, Mike lost his gum to the canal. XD
47. Mission Impossible - Mike and Steph crossed one of the canals by scaling along a really thin piece of wall and jumping the fense on the other side 007 style... And Karlene's kinda ticked at me cuz I wouldn't do it and she had to take the bridge with me to the other side. :( I'm sorry Karlene!
48. The Watch - So Victoria held Michael's watch and 1000 lyra hostage for the full 10 days... actually... I don't think she's given them back.
49. This one? - We tried on like a bazillion masks in Venice... Like an hour and a half was deticated to this one street in order to pick the right ones.
50. Down boy! - I swear, in Venice, this pidgeon jumped a meter and a half in the air and attacked Karlene's head. No flaping... it jumped.
51. The American Bar - In the Sheraton we stayed at, there was an American bar, and Karlene wishes it recorded that it amused her that she and Katie ordered Tea and water there.
52. And then she... - On the train to Paris we did a bunch of those line at a time stories. It was kinda funny, Karlene and Toria were trying to make it dark, and me and Michael were trying to make it funny by adding random things or insights... When Victoria and Karlene told me to write dark though, apparently it ended up sounding like gay incest... ;
53. Towel Heaters - Most of our hotels were a major fail... like if it were Canada, they'd be graded below one star... But despite the failness of these hotels, there was always one good thing about the rooms... For example, the one in Rome had a towel heater. I could get used to that. XD
54. Italinas - On our last night in Rome, we shared the floor with a bunch of Italian teens. A couple of them were cool. We met them again later in Venice.
55. Skittle Fail - We ate a lot of American stuff to taste the difference... One of those things was Skittles. They're pretty much the same except for the purple ones... rather than tasting like grape, they taste like grape flavoured medication. It was gross.
56. Even - It was kinda cool how all the prices were perfectly even. Everything with the exception of maybe museum tickets had no cent cost. It was always an even euro. OH! and Tax is included in the price!
57. Roof Roaming - Our hotel in Florence had a huge balcony, but no view. The balconies were attatched however, and you could jump from one to the other... That's what we did and we ended up sitting out on the roof, which did have a view for a bit.
58. Epic Fail of the Trip - When we were in Pompeii, there was this ledge and Karlene yells out behind me not to fall. I step up fine, but when I turned around to say "Look! I didn't fall!" to Karlene, she tripped over the ledge. It was terribly ironic.
59. Straight Forward - Advertising in Italy and France doesn't need to be censored at all... So you get posters that say things like this: "Sex sells, but unfortuantely we sell jeans."
60. Having the time of your life - I think we'd all agree, this was one of the best weeks of our lives.
Lean on me when you're not strong, and I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on! For it won't be long, 'til I'm gonna need somebody to lean on.
Don't stop believing. Hold onto that feeling! Street lights. People. Living just to find emotion hiding somewhere in the night!
Italy 2010 --> March 8-18.
January 3, 2010
Welcome to 2010!!!!
Hey all!!!
Wow... can you believe it's 2010??? There's so much happening this year and I can barely wait for it all to begin!!!
Where to start? No doubt something eventful will happen in January other than exams. (please?)
Then February, the World comes to Canada!!! It's Vancouver 2010. And I don't care how much freaking homework I have, I'll be watching that TV. I'm so pumped. The curling's going to be EPIC this year!!! We've got some new people going, especially for women's, not the same old people all the time. AND there's also Casa Loma in February. The official start of 100th anniversary of Guiding in Canada celebration! And I get to be there!!!!
Then March. March. I can't freaking wait. I'm going to ITALY!!!! I think the trip might just make the entire year. And, plus, I'm bunking with Karlene and Toria! Woot! We're going to have soooooooooooooo much fun. Although, the thought of flying is still scaring the crap out of me.
April. Well, April's my birthday. That's about it. I can't think of anything else eventful about April. Except maybe catching up on sleep lost in the previous two months.
May, June, agonizingly painful school as I wait to finally BREAK FREE!!!
JULY! The world is coming to Canada again! This time for GM 2010. Guiding Mosaic in Guelph. It. Is. The. Singular. Best. Camp. Ever. Not only do you get to crazy insane "red-camp" things you wouldn't be able to do anywhere else, but you get to do crazy insane "red-camp" things with people from all over the world. And they're all coming here to celebrate Guiding in Canada. Isn't that incredible? And I get to spend the entire 10 day experience for the second time in my life with JENNIFER!!!! Girl, we are going to have WAY too much fun. And even if you're not coming back for a victory lap, there is no better way to kick it off before you leave for Uni. :'(
And then August. The usual, cottaging by the beach... twice, Sauble and Grand Bend. Curling camp back in Guelph again. And maybe a short trip somewhere closer to home. August is my time to kick back, gather up everything I've done in the last school year, and centre myself again, find that path again that keeps me fired through life after I've gotten lost in my crazy year. God I love August.
Then back to school in September. Grade 12. Wow. But I'm not thinking about it. I'm not sure what the new school year will bring, since it's sort of our own personal new year in this house. But I know I can expect a lot of Guidance counsellor badgering. Mr. H does not like the fact I want to stay for a victory lap. Too bad.
So that's the outlook for 2010. Doesn't it sound exciting? I don't think I've ever done so much in my ENTIRE life.
But to keep myself in check, I've decided that for the first time ever, I'm going to make one of those New years resolution lists. But, being a Taurus (yes, I believe in all that horoscope stuff), I'll desperately need your guy's help to keep to that list. Do you think you can help me do that?
OK. Here we go.
1. I know since things have gotten busy and crazy for me, I haven't been updating this blog the way I should be, regularly, and with my outlook on what's happening around me. So my first New Year's resolution is to update this blog regularly, as it happens over the course of my crazy year. My goal is to update at least once a week. (with the exception of when I go to Italy because I might not have Internet access there)
2. Next semester I'll be taking photography, which should help this one a bit. My passion for photography has also kind of been lost recently, so my goal is to link one picture I've taken with every post I make.
3. Dream Catcher. Now I know not all of you read it, and that's ok, but I've been "writing" it for over a year now and I only have 12 chapters. Which is kind of sad. So, I resolve to reach chapter 30 of Dream Catcher before the end of 2010, with the only exception being completing the novel before I reach 30 chapters.
4. To watch how much I do and make sure there's "me" time in there to watch Doctor Who or Friends or whatever I feel like doing. Because lately, work's been getting pushed aside in favour of "me" time.
5. To run/plan/organize/do one big world changing thing before the end of the year. We were watching Doctor Who the other night, and I kept seeing the Free the Children commercial for the 10 by 10 challenge. And I feel guilty that I can't think of 10 things I can do.
So that's my list. It might get added to, we'll see. But there's one more thing I want to ask you.
I had an idea to start a blog JUST for Dream Catcher. Now you can put your say in on the poll to the left, or you can comment below. Now you can all read DC wherever online you please, it's posted in all the places I can think of, but what I want to know is if you would like it if I posted the story into a blog as I write it, or have it as a special site where I can post updates, ideas, character sketches, tid bits, and fun stuff... or not have a blog for DC at all.
Ultimately, it's you who read it, not me, so I wanted to know if that sounded like a cool idea to those of you who read it.
Thanks guys for reading so much! Best of luck in 2010!
Read on, write on,
Amanda Out.
Wow... can you believe it's 2010??? There's so much happening this year and I can barely wait for it all to begin!!!
Where to start? No doubt something eventful will happen in January other than exams. (please?)
Then February, the World comes to Canada!!! It's Vancouver 2010. And I don't care how much freaking homework I have, I'll be watching that TV. I'm so pumped. The curling's going to be EPIC this year!!! We've got some new people going, especially for women's, not the same old people all the time. AND there's also Casa Loma in February. The official start of 100th anniversary of Guiding in Canada celebration! And I get to be there!!!!
Then March. March. I can't freaking wait. I'm going to ITALY!!!! I think the trip might just make the entire year. And, plus, I'm bunking with Karlene and Toria! Woot! We're going to have soooooooooooooo much fun. Although, the thought of flying is still scaring the crap out of me.
April. Well, April's my birthday. That's about it. I can't think of anything else eventful about April. Except maybe catching up on sleep lost in the previous two months.
May, June, agonizingly painful school as I wait to finally BREAK FREE!!!
JULY! The world is coming to Canada again! This time for GM 2010. Guiding Mosaic in Guelph. It. Is. The. Singular. Best. Camp. Ever. Not only do you get to crazy insane "red-camp" things you wouldn't be able to do anywhere else, but you get to do crazy insane "red-camp" things with people from all over the world. And they're all coming here to celebrate Guiding in Canada. Isn't that incredible? And I get to spend the entire 10 day experience for the second time in my life with JENNIFER!!!! Girl, we are going to have WAY too much fun. And even if you're not coming back for a victory lap, there is no better way to kick it off before you leave for Uni. :'(
And then August. The usual, cottaging by the beach... twice, Sauble and Grand Bend. Curling camp back in Guelph again. And maybe a short trip somewhere closer to home. August is my time to kick back, gather up everything I've done in the last school year, and centre myself again, find that path again that keeps me fired through life after I've gotten lost in my crazy year. God I love August.
Then back to school in September. Grade 12. Wow. But I'm not thinking about it. I'm not sure what the new school year will bring, since it's sort of our own personal new year in this house. But I know I can expect a lot of Guidance counsellor badgering. Mr. H does not like the fact I want to stay for a victory lap. Too bad.
So that's the outlook for 2010. Doesn't it sound exciting? I don't think I've ever done so much in my ENTIRE life.
But to keep myself in check, I've decided that for the first time ever, I'm going to make one of those New years resolution lists. But, being a Taurus (yes, I believe in all that horoscope stuff), I'll desperately need your guy's help to keep to that list. Do you think you can help me do that?
OK. Here we go.
1. I know since things have gotten busy and crazy for me, I haven't been updating this blog the way I should be, regularly, and with my outlook on what's happening around me. So my first New Year's resolution is to update this blog regularly, as it happens over the course of my crazy year. My goal is to update at least once a week. (with the exception of when I go to Italy because I might not have Internet access there)
2. Next semester I'll be taking photography, which should help this one a bit. My passion for photography has also kind of been lost recently, so my goal is to link one picture I've taken with every post I make.
3. Dream Catcher. Now I know not all of you read it, and that's ok, but I've been "writing" it for over a year now and I only have 12 chapters. Which is kind of sad. So, I resolve to reach chapter 30 of Dream Catcher before the end of 2010, with the only exception being completing the novel before I reach 30 chapters.
4. To watch how much I do and make sure there's "me" time in there to watch Doctor Who or Friends or whatever I feel like doing. Because lately, work's been getting pushed aside in favour of "me" time.
5. To run/plan/organize/do one big world changing thing before the end of the year. We were watching Doctor Who the other night, and I kept seeing the Free the Children commercial for the 10 by 10 challenge. And I feel guilty that I can't think of 10 things I can do.
So that's my list. It might get added to, we'll see. But there's one more thing I want to ask you.
I had an idea to start a blog JUST for Dream Catcher. Now you can put your say in on the poll to the left, or you can comment below. Now you can all read DC wherever online you please, it's posted in all the places I can think of, but what I want to know is if you would like it if I posted the story into a blog as I write it, or have it as a special site where I can post updates, ideas, character sketches, tid bits, and fun stuff... or not have a blog for DC at all.
Ultimately, it's you who read it, not me, so I wanted to know if that sounded like a cool idea to those of you who read it.
Thanks guys for reading so much! Best of luck in 2010!
Read on, write on,
Amanda Out.
December 6, 2009
Dream Catcher
Hey all.
This is just a quick post to tell you all that DC Chapter 12 - Blood to Spill, Souls to Save is up. The death scene for all you who are waiting for it.
Links to all the sites are on the side at the top, you know which you like to read. Chapter 12 is up on both Fictionpress and Mibba.
The death scene didn't go as nicely as I would have liked, and there was not enough screaming or pain I thought. It felt a little weak, a little fake. Eli reacted a lot differently than she did with Nightmare. But I hope it was graphic enough. The person I got to read the death spcifically over told me to take out a whole bunch of adjectives because I was milking it WAY too much.
Either way, enjoy! And let me know what you think.
Read on Write on!
Amanda Out.
This is just a quick post to tell you all that DC Chapter 12 - Blood to Spill, Souls to Save is up. The death scene for all you who are waiting for it.
Links to all the sites are on the side at the top, you know which you like to read. Chapter 12 is up on both Fictionpress and Mibba.
The death scene didn't go as nicely as I would have liked, and there was not enough screaming or pain I thought. It felt a little weak, a little fake. Eli reacted a lot differently than she did with Nightmare. But I hope it was graphic enough. The person I got to read the death spcifically over told me to take out a whole bunch of adjectives because I was milking it WAY too much.
Either way, enjoy! And let me know what you think.
Read on Write on!
Amanda Out.
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