No Good

I don't think you know
Exactly what's going on here.
I'm really no good.
-----------------------
Maybe you are blind
Or maybe you can see things
That no one else does.





Today I bought Firefly on DVD and it's so good. I'm watching it again with Meredith. (She hasn't seen the series or the movie!!) We are in the middle of Bushwacked.

Friday the 13th

It's rainy and gross in Ottawa. I got together with some people from my Poli Sci class and we watched Ghosts of Rwanda. It was upsetting, as you can well imagine. Anyway, I wrote a few haikus:

I wonder about
That poor commander, Dallaire.
How does he sleep now?
----------------
Here there are strangers.
I am the only person
Who doesn't know them.
----------------
Spare hair, on my book,
How will I know who's you are?
Maybe the colour.
----------------
You are in my chest,
Hacking and scraping away.
Can't I just study?

Now I need to go scrounge up some grub and study a bit more. Then I need to go grocery shopping and do laundry.

Ouch

In my mouth I chew,
My jaw is starting to hurt.
Oh, Hubba Bubba!
-------------------

In other news, Google Map blurs out certain places. WTH? That's so creepy. Notice the U.S. has the most blurred out. And The Netherlands, what's with that?

Sooo creepy.

10 Things I Love

Inspired by Mindy Ephron's blog Things I've Bought That I Love, I have compiled my own list of things that I absolutely LOVE.

1. Nexxtech FM Transmitter (USB & Battery Pack included)

Omg I ADORE this. The batteries last quite a while (two AAA's). When I'm in my room and want something louder than my laptop speakers, I just plug it into a USB port and crank my radio. I wonder if my neighbours can use the station...




2. Caryl Baker Moisture Complex Foundation (not available online)


"A water based, lightweight moisturizing foundation. For a polished finish, apply with a foundation brush. Helps protect the skin giving a smooth, satiny finish and a fresh natural glow. Good for all skin types!"

Look at that porcelain skin! (P.S. It's not very good as a cover up, so keep your skin healthy in the first place and just use this as a lovely... foundation.)







3. HP PSC 1610 All-in-One Printer, Scanner, Copier

Besides for me not knowing how any printer works really, I LOVE this thing. I love being able to scan my little notes for the day and I love being able to make really high quality photocopies. Plus, there are four types of memory card ports and a place to plug in the CAMERA THAT COMES WITH IT! (Note: Camera that comes with it sucks ass.) I also love the way that you can just pile crap on top of it when you get lazy... like an extra shelf or something.


4. Logitech QuickCam Communicate
I think everyone on my LJ hates this thing on account of me picspamming my "photoshoots"... God I love it. It's perched on top of my speaker in case I need some kind of spontaneous music video or series of about 9 gazillion pictures of myself. Comes with grippy/spiderlike stand and regular oval stand. When I lived at home, my dad had to turn it away from him because the "eye" bothered him.



5. Oxy Deep Pore Acne Medicated Cleansing Pads
I admit, the name is terrifying, but pretty much any one kind of the oxy pads are kick ass. I use them a few times a day. Just a wiped whenever I feel gross. Normally as soon as I wake up, when I get home from school/class, and before I go to bed.




6. Apple's 4 Gig iPod Nano
I'm not going to lie. I effing love it. I can't live without it. The headphones that come with it might as well be shit on a string, but besides that, there isn't really anything that bothers me about it. (Oh, maybe it's extreme predisposition to scratchiness, but I have a case thingi for it.)

Note: I have an older generation of Nano then what's on the website now. Both Annie and Meredith have a new generation of Nano and the only thing that seems radically different is the shiny back... I love the shiny back... ("I'm bring Shinyback... YEAH? You other pods don't know how to act... YEAH?")





7. Bulgari's Blu Notte Pour Femme(website is all flash, but it can be found under 'fragrances')
I love all the Bulgari scents, but this one is quite lovely. Top notes are iris and galanga. Middle note is vodka and base note is dark chocolate!! According to the website, it's olfactive family is "floral woody musk". (W that means.) The iris and chocolate really are a good combo. I can't leave home without walking through a spritz of this. This is really a very sexy/seducing scent. I would pretty much sleep with any woman who wore it.




8. The Sims 2
How could I have a list like this and not include my favourite PC game evaaar!?? It's funny, heartwarming, sad, and at times, creepy. It has aliens, zombies, vampire, werewolves, and sexy professors. (Everything that REAL life has!) Thanks to recent expansion packs, we have cars, pets, university, and even WEATHER! It's pretty queer friendly for the most part. I'm just mad that we haven't gotten horseback riding yet. Will there ever be a decent horseback riding game? NO


9. Dollar Store Eyelash Curler
Despite being from the Dollar Store in Rideau Centre, it cost me $2.99. That's still more than 50% cheaper than a no-name brand eyelash curler from Shopper's Drug Mart, and I cringe to think about how much "designer" eyelash curlers cost. This curler is pretty much the best thing that ever happened to me. I also picked up other great cosmetic stuff there too. (Makeup sponges, cotton balls, makeup brushes, make up remover.)


10. Hubba Bubba Max Bubble Gum
Omg. Where do I even begin. Meredith cleaned our her drawer and found a gazillion packs of this stuff and gave me like, five. I've been chewing and bubble blowing NONSTOP since she gave it to me. It's like a compulsion. Get this stuff awaaay from me!!! It is quite strong and resilient in the bubble department. Unfortunately, my jaw is quite pained from the insistent chomping. Bad Side: This morning I forgot I was wearing my glasses and... well... It didn't go so well.


I luv u.
Amanda

P.S. Freakishly, this thing took me forever. I had to find decent pictures and links and stuff. Wow, I'm pathetic. I should do like, one product=one post or something, like Mindy does.

Google Maps- You kill me!

--Go to Google.com
--Click on Maps.
--Click on get Directions.
--From New York,New York
--To Paris,France.
--And read line # 23.

Now I shall have a nap. I say goodday.

My Pockets Are FILTHY!

Oh, Scrap of Paper
In my dusty, dirty pocket,
Do you have secrets?

The answer is yes, you do have secrets... Secrets about what groceries I'm buying tomorrow.

Scritch Scratch

That familiar itch,
Far too inappropriate.
I just scratched my bum.

Note: I'm scratching that ducky's bum if you didn't know. Also, I keep haiku-ing about things that aren't fit for googling.

Burly Men

They are so muscle-y,
I think I love them TOO much!
It is unhealthy.


P.S. I don't advise searching for "burly man" in Google Image Search. *sigh* You're doing it right now aren't you?

Cat House Picspam

this morning I went and looked at kitties and adopted two cats. Not kittens, but pretty young. (About a year old.) Boris and Olivia. I have pictures of them, but I'm warning you that the cats and I have severe red/yellow eye and it's terrifying.


The shelter was an old farm house FULL of cats. It wasn't stinky or creepy or anything... Ok, a little creepy, but very adorable nonetheless. The kitchen was all old geriatric cats, the rest of the first floor was middle aged/adult cats and then the top floor was the younger cats. When I went up to the top floor, a wee tabby leaped from a bunk bed onto my shoulder as if saying: "I CHOOSE YOU" and then he just rode around on there until I pried him off my shoulder and put him down. It was quite adorable. And then he followed me around the rest of the rooms. Then when I sat down in the middle of the room, a little girl tabby climbed into my lap and looked up at me adoringly, sniffing my face and kneading my leg and purring loudly. These were Boris and Olivia. They look like siblings, but they aren't.


The Boris has landed.


I'm fallling!!


She's much prettier IRL. The flash made her look crazy. Notice the little caramel patch on her chin. Awww. P.S. She has kitty red eye. It's weird.


Olivia guarding her fluffy pink bed.


Olivia and Boris protecting me from other cats. (Olivia is licking her nose and Boris is on the other side rubbing my side while I play finger wiggly with the black cat.)


When I sat down, Boris climbed into my lap. I didn't move. He just did. It was adorable. And he was like: DON'T TOUCH MY HUMAN.

P.S. My red eye is terrifying, my hands are porky, and I'm not wearing any make up. Sorry about that.

They are staying at the shelter until mum picks them up to bring to me. I'm so excited. And I just can't hide it. I'm about to lose control. AND I LIKE IT.

They are $50 each, and they are sterilized and have all their shots/regular vet check ups. It's a GREAT place to get kitties. When I know them long enough I'll give them each birthdays according to their personalities. (Like, if they are very Libra or very Capricorn or whatever.) It will be adorable.

HAIKU SHMAIKU

I've decided to put this blog to good use. Instead of just randomly copying tandem eljay entries, I will instead make this my poetry/random art/HAIKU blog. Woot. Sometimes it will be typed, sometimes handwritten, sometimes ... who knows.

I luvs you.
Amanda

OmG. Best Thing EVAAR

The apartment that we wanted to get today was our second choice of apartments. When we got there, the landlord told us that the other people backed out of our first choice earlier that day. ERGO= WE GOT OUR FIRST CHOICE!!! The one we fondly call "the Bridget Jones" aparment on account of the walkup nature of the entrance. It's a three story walkup.

It's NEXT too the Schwarma place from from JCVH above the Subway and across from the Timothy's. It's pretty much the best located place for us. Plus, the landlord is going to give us the keys a week early so we can start moving boxes and stuff over as soon as we are done exams. This place has utilities included too! It's smaller, but so much cleaner and brighter. At first, we flipped a coin and Meredith got the bigger room, but she's letting me have it because she has a smaller bed and less stuff. I feel kinda bad because she won fair and square, but on account of her coin-toss given right, she can revoke/switch at any time.

When Meredith and I move in, we are splitting buying a bottle of Amaretto to celebrate. Then when drunk, we will email a prewritten letter to her biggest crush.

Life is good. Except my dad shaved his beard and I'm VERY upset. He hasn't shaved it since 1978 and for good reason. But Annie and I are going to look at kittens this weekend. I'm so freaken exited I can't even tell you.

P.S. I applied to work at Chapters and I'm going to apply at a few other places just in case the gov. job falls through.

My TWSS Day Sccchedule

This is copied from my LJ and not posted on Myspace because of creepy stalkerdom.

7:50- Wake up
8:15- Leave for exam
8:30 10:00- Write exam.
10:30- Shower

11:00- Start laundry.
Two loads (dark/colours & towels/runningshoes)
Use dryer (put jeans in separate dryer)
Maybe do Durkheim paper while doing laundry

13:00- Finish laundry
15:00- Go get bus tickets with Meredith
15:30- Catch bus.

16:00- MUSEUM CIV. (Bring camera to catch all the hilarious moments and "That's What She Said" moments.)

Be home for 20:30 when The Office starts. (Annie, tape it in case I dont make it home in time!) Woo for the Joss Whedon episode.

Aaanyway, that's my day in a nutshell. It's gettin off to a rocky start as I was supposed to be in bed ten minutes ago. If I sleep through my exam I may DIE. I'm kind of worried about it because it's one of those profs who try to make things waaay more complicated then they need to be. I can know all the material and still fail the exam b/c I can't make out exactly what she's asking me.

I.E. How did Socrates die?
A) Suicide
B) Muder
C) Hemlock

Technically Hemlock killed him, but he was forced to drink it... So it could also be considered murder or suicide. I would pick C because it's what ACTUALLY killed him... But the prof would be choose a different answer. And it's a scantron so a computer is marking and I can't put down reasoning next to my answer.

Gah. I need some sleep.

P.S. I tried to use all my valentine's day icons in the last few days. Sorry if some of them went to waste.

Vow of WHAAT?

Dear All,

I've been single for over a year and a half now, and I've spent my year and a half having friends with benefits, short-termed relationships, and the rare one-night stand. I've had a lot of fun and it's been a jolly good time, but after a recent one-night stand I've suddenly noticed that, as much fun as they can be, they aren't special. There's no caring and there's no evolution. It's not special. It never could be special.

I'm also starting to want having a long term relationship again. My first year of university is coming to an end, and I'm not going to be moving or doing anything major in the next five years, so I'm at a stable plateau. I'm in a new city. It's the perfect time to start a relationship. Of course, I'll never have a long-term relationship if I don't stop... er... giving the milk out for free. (Is the euphemism "Giving the popsicle out for free" the male equivalent?)

In any case, I made a vow to myself today, with Sue as my witness, to obstain from sex until I'm in a long term relationship. I haven't exactly decided what time period constitutes a "long-term relationship" yet, but it's something I really want to do and I'm really serious about it. I don't mind if I don't have sex for a year... okay, I might be a little irritable by that point, but I will still keep the vow. I guess this is my delayed New Years resolution.


Much love,
Your recenlty abstinent friend,
Amanda

P.S. I should start making a pledge sheet, and then when I have sex with my future "long term partner" y'all have to pay up. (Of course you don't have to pay me if I break the vow.)

P.S.S. Yes, that's a good idea... I will start making a pledge sheet!

A Nice Grocery Shop

I went and did a nice grocery shop. I know my family brought a lot of food for me, but it was all dried goods. I bought a considerable amount of protein this time. We went to the wholesale seciton in the Loblaws and I got 96 chicken nuggets for about 9 bucks. Huzzah! We also split buying some veggie rolls. I bought juice and milk and other kinds of non-dried items. Should last me a few weeks. (Except milk and bread and stuff. Which I buy pretty much every week.) I may nip down to the market tomorrow or on Tuesday and buy some Orangina. The yummiest drink ever! Anyway, time to do some homework. ta ta.

Brenna's For Dinner

Last night I went to Brenna's and her, Jon, Kat and I had a lovely lovely din din! (Well, Kat missed the dindin bit, but ohwell.) I was actually ecstatic when we got there early and found extra place settings and homecooked food. My heart jumped for joy. I was all, YAY FOOD. For 'zerts we had ice cream! Brenna and Jon made fun of me because of my tragic inability to long divide. Then Brenna broke out the snacks. We Jon had bits and bites and then we I had chips... Then we had mini-quiches and Brenna and I set up 13 Dead End Drive, even though we both knew in our hearts, we couldn't play it. We also watched T3 which hurt Jon's head beause of the horrible physics.

I'm going to watch some tv and go to bed.

The Office x Merger

The problem with blogging is that when things get interesting, you don't get time to write about it," well said Gaiman.

Office Space is on tv! But in french. No fair. How come when we watch a french movie, it's in french with english subtitles, but when the french watch an english movie, it's dubbed??? WhatEVER!

Okay, I know that the writers want to be realistic and stuff, but I can't help but feel that The Office sort of just jumped the shark. I hope I'm wrong, because it's quite honestly my favourite and my life wouldn't be complete without the characters. (Unless Stanleys and Phylises grew on trees... Show me that tree.) But it just seems like Jim is being a dick. I honestly am so mad at him right now. I'm not so much mad at Karen, because it's not her fault, (though I'm not really a huge Karen fan). I'm just so mad at Jim, especially for him essentially blowing Pam off in the break room. I mean, that's their spot. Also, at the end of the episode in the parking lot, why did he say he was "seeing someone"? Because in the last episode Karen wasn't even sure if Jim liked her. Moving kind of fast isn't it? And if he was lying about seeing anyone, then that makes me more of a dick because he's lying to Pam now. Does he even really love this woman, because he sure as hell isn't acting like it! And if he is indeed seeing someone, and it's not Karen or Pam, then I want to slap him across the face. The nads he'd have to have in order to bring some other chick into the mix! GAH! P.S. Hugs for Pam because I love her. If I were her, I'd march right up to Jim and tell him how she feels. She loves him, Jim loves her. What's the problem!? The only loving relationship in this whole show is Phylis and BobVance (of BobVance Refridgeration). Phylis is my homegirl. I need a hug from Phylis. Ok, moving on...Breast pump? Creed? Perfect... Did he take a picture, or what was happening in that tiny little clip?And that poor fat guy. I was mad at Michael, even though I normally love Michael. GAAAH. Okay, everyone comment with what they think is going on. (For those of you who watch the office....) I'm sorry if my post is ranty, but I just had to let it out. That's how I feel, and it might change later after I mull it over a bit. Damn't JIM! I just got a whole slew of icons of you!Sigh. That's better. Now, I have to go play with my newly stickied sticky hand for a bit, do a wee bit of handwash and go to bed. I'll listen to Harry Potter, but I'm on book five, which, as everyone knows, is the angsty book, so that really won't help my anger. P.S. If someone (i.e. Alysson) want's to make their sticky hand sticky again, they have only to soak it in some soapy water and rub it down a bit... then leave it to dry. Poor Sue, she came home and found it floating in the bathroom sink. "That will haunt me forever." Then later, as I stood in her doorway, flinging the sticky hand in to change the pages of the her text book, she gave me a "I should have destroyed that sticky hand while I had the chance" face. lol... P.P.S. I haven't had a good post in a long time and it feels pretty damn good. *sigh*

Why I Would Never Be A Child Again

Write your own essay on why a particular group of your choice has reasons to be unhappy with its current situation. Your essay could be serious or humorous, as long as it has a thesis and makes effective use of the example technique. (Explaining through example.)

Word count: 5 382
Pages (dbl spaced): 5

P.S. We are allowed to use "I" and "We" etc when we are using a personal example.

Why I Would Never Be A Child Again

Childhood is filled with reasons to be unhappy and frustrated with one’s situation. Everyone remembers his or her childhood differently. Children growing up in small towns will have different experiences than kids raised in the city. Little boys and girls in China will have a childhood that would be alien to boys and girls in Australia. However, there are some basic sources of a child’s unhappiness and frustration that one can not help but feel is universal. Growing up in the countryside of Southern Ontario and belonging to one of the only immigrant families certainly caused a lot of woe for me as a child. However, I was never exposed to the violence and mistrust of living in a big and crowded city. The city kid and I still shared three sources of unhappiness: adults, other children, and ourselves.

Adults are a main source of unhappiness in children’s lives. Kids constantly complain that adults just don’t understand, they don’t take them seriously, and they don’t remember what it’s like to be a kid. For instance, most kids yearned for a pet. (After all, what Disney movie character does not have a creature companion?) If you have never experienced the war between child and parent induced by the want of a pet then consider the following scenario. Early in winter, a boy starts drafting his Christmas list. He has a copious amount of video games and comic books already. What he wants is a fussy, loyal, friend, preferably one who can play fetch. He looks at a book in the library, searching for the right breed of dog for him. The boy decides he wants the classic golden retriever, they are intelligent, playful, and in most movies they are excellent at some kind of sport. He presents his research to his parents, pleading for a nice big golden retriever. Christmas approaches and the child gets more and more excited, he even has a list of possible names ready. Christmas morning comes and there is a big box under the tree with rustling coming from inside it. The boy tears away the wrapping paper to find a startled guinea pig staring back at him. He grimaces and thanks his parents. His parents didn’t mean to disappoint their son, they just didn’t understand that he didn’t want any old pet, he wanted his big, cuddly friend. Later, when he asks for the dog again, his parents contest saying: “You can barely remember to clean your guinea pig’s cage! How will you take care of a dog?”
The parents don’t take the child seriously; they don’t remember what it was like to be a child.

Adults don’t hold a candle to the amount of problems posed by other children. Kids are cruel. They tease each other mercilessly, they form elite cliques and a social hierarchy, and they add drama to every situation. No child has great self-esteem in the first place, and public school is the place where it gets even lower. When she was in grade three, my mother moved from Toronto, where she lived and went to school with other European immigrant children, to southern Ontario. There she went to a country school and lived in a log cabin in the woods. She spoke poor English and her strong Hungarian genes stuck out amongst the very fair skinned English children with light hair. She was held back until her English improved and then she was put into advanced classes. The other children didn’t understand her cultural differences and only saw them as things to be scoffed at. While the other children munched away on their bologna and Wonderbread sandwiches, my mother ate liverwurst and green pepper on homemade potato bread. She felt ostracized at first because she was in the “slow learners” group and later because she was in the “nerd group”. She was experiencing the social hierarchy developed among different cliques in public schools. Any child can tell you who the popular crowd is, who the smart kids are, and which kids one shouldn’t be caught dead with. This “us against them” mentality adds much drama and complication to a child’s life. An origin of much grief comes from the drama generated by wondering how one can avoid the critical eyes of other children, reaching the status of one of the popular kids, or just flying below the radar.

The last focus of unhappiness is generated from children themselves, as individuals. Even as adults, we have pieces of ourselves that we dislike, but we generally have the ability to accept the things we cannot change. Children, on the other hand, dwell on small issues like the colour and style of their hair, the brand of running shoes they wear, and even what kind of school supplies they have. This somewhat stems from the expectations of other students, but it seems that the majority of these feelings come from within the child who only wants to fit in and be accepted. This yearning to be accepted is within the individual. As they think of how great life would be with less freckles and a pair of Lucky Star running shoes, they also have to attempt understanding the adult world around them. It’s not the fault of a parent that their child does not understand the reasoning behind a divorce or why one can’t consume a block of baking chocolate. It is within a child to understand in their own time the reason behind such issues. Understanding such complex topic is a misery all to it’s own. As a child I had a large golden retriever named Max. He was my mother’s dog when she was a teenager. He died when I was around ten and I could not accept or understand that my friend was gone forever. As an adult, I understand what death is and that it is a part of life that can’t be changed. As a child, struggling with the concept was a major source of frustration that I believe is less difficult as an adult. Children’s minds buckle under the weight of the adult world they live in.

The culmination of these aspects of childhood result in a child’s general unhappiness and frustration with the situation they are in. Of course, no action taken by adults can lessen the severity of childhood. The problems we face and struggle through as children shape our personalities as adults. A boy wouldn’t develop a strong sense of resolve without the battle with his parents to gain his beloved pet. My mother would not have her signature streak of independence without going through her childhood being a slice of homemade potato bread stuck in a white loaf. I would not have formed such a perception of acceptance without the loss of a childhood friend. Despite the qualities we gain through the hardships of childhood, the difficulties remain unappreciated to children.

X MAZ LisT 'O6

X MAZ LisT '06

• Duo Student Membership to the Canadian Museum of Civ/War
• New earbud headphones
• RAM upgrade
• Barbie Horse Adventures: Mystery Ride PC (shut up -_-)
• iTunes Music Card
• New oil paints
• New paintbrush
• Michael's giftcard so I can get new oil paints and new paintbrush
• Spiral notebooks, pens, pencils, etc
  
• Another year of lj membership with 100 userpics (doesn't expire until August, but it can't hurt to pay for another year now)
• George Forman grill (small one)
• TS2 Seasons Expansion (pending release date)
• The Office DVD (Seasons 1 & 2... or just 1 or 2)
• A new, high quality umbrella. (Really, a super good one, because I've gone through two cheap, crappy ones already.)
• This Jon Stewart tee
• Gift card for Montana's
  

I'll update more later when I think of more stuff.... Time to get back to the damn boring essay....

Ice Cream Social???

Ok. So Sue and I wandered in the rain to the Rideau Centre so I could investigate the sims 2 pets situation. (You know you have a good roommate when...) We discovered that it doesn't ship in Canada until tomorrow! He told me that it should be in by tomorrow afternoon. It kind of works out better that way because I have to write an essay and study tonight. Plus, I am finished at 2:30 tomorrow, so I can go pick it up. I don't have to be in class on Thursday until 1pm so I can stay up late playing it too. Tomorrow is the Ice Cream Social too though. But, as my hot r.a. told me, there's time for both. Sue and I think he's gayer than the day is long, but he is nice to look at and really friendly. *high five*

Procrastinatin'

Alrighty. I have to finish this essay. It's about half way done, but it's sooo boring. I also have to study for my Latin quiz tomorrow. I wish I could take the pussy way out and drop it. I just dont want to lost the credit. Everyone just drops stuff if it's too hard or too challenging. I wish people could just finish what they started. You know, like soldier through it. I don't really know how this prof marks, but she doesn't seem too hard. I think I'm doing ok though. As long as she doesn't get bored or offended I'm okay.

Effing Maxis. I want the game in Effing Canada now!

EDIT: I should also add that I'm moving all my music files to my external harddrive so I wont be able to listen to iTunes for another 197 minutes. (It's already taken hours... there's a lot of music...) Anyway, it's going to suck trying to put all my music on iTunes again. *sigh* Oh well, I'll have more precious space....