When I turned 18 I was really into the club scene. Until the novelty wore off. Now I just don't really understand the appeal. I admit, I enjoy going out with a girlfriend every now and then but I can't wrap my head around the idea that people go to the clubs every weekend and have fun! Here are a few reasons why I don't fit in at the clubs:
I don't know what to wear the last time I went to the club I wore tweed shoes. Apparently tweed isn't hip anymore. No one informed me.
The time before that I wore a vest. I got ready with another non club going friend of mine and we decided it looked nice. People don't wear vests to clubs.
I'm 5'10''. The apparent social protocol is to wear painful heels to the club. Being a head taller than my girlfriends is the most awkward way to dance.
Personal space
If I don't know you, please don't touch me. It's not flattering and I have issues with people in my personal bubble who were not invited.
Walking and drinking
For a long time now I've struggled with my inability to move and drink at the same time. There's a 50/50 chance I'll spill my drink standing still or sitting down so when I'm forced to walk or even worse dance with a drink I stain my clothes. Dry cleaning isn't in my student budget.
Dancing
My dancing skills are non existant. Unless you count awkward swaying or flailing as dancing. Don't ask me to demostrate.
Frizzy hair
Everytime I go to the clubs I straighten my hair and try to look cute and when I get there the humidity in that place is worse than Hawaii and it almost immediatly goes curly and frizzy and gross.
I'm not saying it's impossible to have fun at a club but for the most part I end up standing around with a big question mark on my face because I feel so incedibly awkward. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing at a club... If they maybe turned the music down so I could hear the person next to me I would have fun. Buy a pool table, get a good band, anything! For now I just don't see the appeal.
About a year ago I was getting my hair cut wearing a poop green shirt and when I was leaving the salon I came across matching poop green nail polish!
Super cool right?
Nope.
But I sure thought so at the time. So I bought it.
It was actually OPI's Here Today... Aragon Tomorrow
It looked less emerald and more poop on me.
I got home, put on my awesome, trendy, poop green find and sported it for a few days before realizing that I was nowhere near trendy enough to make poop green nail polish look good.
But as some of you girls know OPI is good quality and not the cheapest around so I felt an obligation to wear it every now and then to get good use out of my money.
Now, a year later I'm searching for my beloved poop green polish to use and I can't find it.
And I kind of really miss it. Like a lot.
It doesn't look good, I can't pull it off, but I've been attempting to do so for a year and to know the task is over is a little disapointing.
I don't know which fork is for salad and which course will come first. I may not be able to sit through an entire ballet or symphony, but I am an expert in concert etiquette. One of my favourite things is seeing live music and I'm lucky that most of the music I like tends to be shown in smaller venues so I can go see my favourite bands. Throughout the years I've noticed variations on what I call the "Concert Shithead" here they are:
1. The Chit Chatter
This is a person that chats with the person next to them, across from them, behind them, and anyone else who will lend an ear during slow quiet songs, song breaks, or when the band is trying to talk to you. The conversation is irrelevant and loud. The most recent Shithead I encountered committing this concert crime was at Hey Rosetta! just last week. During Yer Fall I listened to a girl talk about her grandmas car and how stale beer "totally sucks". I don't care about either of those things. I do care about Yer Fall.
prominent spot stealer at this Stars concert
2. The Spot Stealer
This is a particularily annoying Shithead. He or she tries to shove past the easy going concert attendees who have been waiting in line for the past hour to get at the front. These concert goers sacrifice basic needs such as peeing to maintain their positions at the front. The Shithead pushes these kind people to the side and steps in front of them until they must move back to avoid accidental groping. He or she is typically 6 feet tall or more.
3. The Grump
This Shithead does not want to be there but insists
In the muck and the mire
on standing somewhere in row 1-4. They complain loudly and wont move or clap with the crowd. Extensive texting, drinking, and grumbling is involved. I encountered one of these Shitheads on day 3 of Lollapalooza this summer. I waited 2 hours in the rain up to my knees in mud to see Cold War Kids. Last show of the weekend. When the band started playing Hang Me Up to Dry the crowd starting splashing around in the muck and the mire when the band sang "splashing around in the muck and the mire". The guy beside me was wearing white pants in the muck in the mire. He got upset with me because i splashed him. You're wearing white pants in knee deep mud during a song about splashing in the mud. Put two and two together buddy.
4. The Drunk Chick
When one of these Shitheads started throwing elbows at Mother Mother last year to get to the front I became thankful that I'm not 18 anymore. This particular Shithead is typically barely legal or underage and is wasted off two beers. I only noticed this particular downfall of concert goers after an incident a few years ago when I became one of these Shitheads and spilled beer all over Said the Whale's posters and cried. I don't drink more than one at concerts anymore and neither should you; don't be a Shithead.
If all venues had a better screening process at the door concerts would be much better. A Shithead identifier should be appointed to weed these people out. Live music is fantastic. Just be nice, not a Shithead. Pleeease? :)
I'm not saying I enjoy winter... but there are a few things to like.
Here's my top ten reasons to love Winnipeg Winter!
10. Moccasins are the most accepted form of footwear
9. A toque can disguise any horrible hair day
8. Extra time en route to school or work for some self taught voice lessons in the car.
7. I don't have to straighten my hair, the snow will make it curly anyways. what's the point?
6. Wearing slipper socks inside my boots.
5. The river trail. Every year I suffer embarrassing falls and injuries, but for people who know how to skate I'd imagine it's pretty fun.
this is hoar frost
4. Staying in on a Friday night to watch movies in your pyjamas isn't lazy - it's practical.
3. Making S'mores inside over a fireplace.
2. Hoar Frost on the trees... and saying hoar frost.
1. Baileys in your coffee or hot chocolate is accepted at any time of day!
I know winter sucks... but cuddle up by a fire in 5 or 6 layers of clothes plus a cozy blanket and try to enjoy it, it's not going anywhere anytime soon.
I don't know much music by Lykke Li, but holy crap is this live acoustic version of "I'm good, I'm gone" fantastic.. definitly made me want to listen to more of her music. Incredible voice, and to believe it's recorded live. The first video I looked up just to listen was "Get Some" where a ton of comments compare her to Lady Gaga. Yes the videos have a similar look, but Lykke put hers out before Gaga's "Born This Way" and after listening to the live version here it's clear the talent level is above and beyond Gaga (not that I ever questioned it). Sorry Gaga, Lykke gets my vote any day!
I constantly have these small bruises on the sides of my hips and I've never really known what from, the other night I figured out that they're from walking into the chairs at work every single night. So this got me thinking about other places I injure myself on a regular basis.
So here's the list:
1. Chairs at work
2. The top step.
Common error.. hurts nonetheless.
I once fell down my stairs and my foot went through the drywall.
3. This tree.
I park in this lot every day at school. and nearly everyday I swing around the edge of that rail when I'm climbing over and smack my head on the lowest branch.
Keep your eyes our for a power hungry ginger with a branch. I'm gunna rip it off soon enough.
4. Grey Bin
This bin is overhanging it's spot on the shelf blocking the entrance to my house through the garage. Either I dodge it at the last second like a ninja or hit my head. My mother has admitted to doing the same. Plans to move it in the future? nope.
I do learn from a few of my more memorable mistakes. One in particular was the incident with the over hang in my basement.. I was chasing my dog down the stair, jumped and wacked my head on the ceiling. Fell right to the floor, drywall flakes fall on me, big bump for days, and some blood. I was not as young and stupid as you'd hope. I was 17. There's still a mark in the drywall... wasn't fixed as well as we'd hope
Another lesson I've recently learned was don't run in the dishpit at work. About a year ago I was rushing out of work to get to the liquor store before it closed (karma) and fell in the dishpit.
*hint* don't speed walk on tiled floors that are visibly wet.
I tried to grab onto a counter top and instead scraped my arm down the edge.
Lesson : your wellbeing is more important than booze.
So what I guess I'm trying to say is that I won't die of natural causes... if you hear about some fatal accident where I just did something stupid, don't be shocked.
This morning I read a story on the Free Press app about a
judge who beat his sixteen year old daughter (now 23). One of her many “spankings”
was caught on camera 7 years ago and released on YouTube earlier this week.
When I came home from school this afternoon I watched the video, one of the
most disturbing things I’ve ever witnessed.
The seven and a half long video shows William Adams, a judge
from Texas whipping his daughter Hillary with “the big belt”. William appears
to be about six feet or taller, winds up with all his strength and whips his 16
year old daughter EIGHTEEN times. Hillary screams and cries “that’s enough!”
but William doesn’t stop. The man beats his daughter “into submission” until
she is curled up in a ball on the floor. Her mother also takes one whip at her
and tells her to take it like an adult.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police defines child abuse as
“any form of physical,
psychological, social, emotional or sexual maltreatment of a child whereby the
survival, safety, self-esteem, growth and development of the child are
endangered.”
I realize this story is from Texas, but I’m going by the
definition I’ve known as a Canadian. This man was not disciplining his daughter,
he was abusing her.
Oh and why was this girl being whipped like an animal? She
downloaded music and games off the internet.
Why this person (I have a difficult time calling him a man)
has not been thrown in jail yet is beyond me. If that child was an animal he
would be charged with animal cruelty. If that child was not his own he would be
thrown in jail so fast the media wouldn’t even have time to report it. If that
was his wife he would be charged with domestic violence and thrown in jail immediately.
Saying he was disciplining his child and that “it looks worse than it is” is
complete BULLSHIT.
All night I’ve been thinking about this video.
*The Daily What has a vieo up of an interview with Hillary as well as the video of the beating.
http://thedailywh.at/tag/hillary-adams/
*YouTube has an age restriction on the original but here it is if you have an account..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl9y3SIPt7o
*CTV on their decision to play the video
http://m.ctv.ca/topstories/20111103/lisa-laflamme-blog-texas-judge-beating-video-debate-111103.html
Every time my mind goes blank I picture it. I can’t even
imagine the kind of pain both physical and emotional Hillary went through. Even
with no personal connection to this story it’s been haunting me all night.
So how did this go unnoticed for 7 years?
Are her neighbours, teachers, family, and any other adults
going to claim they didn’t know anything? How can that go unnoticed? The people
in that girl’s life should be ashamed that they didn’t do anything to stop the
abuse. I don’t care if there was no “proof”. Suspicion is enough when it’s
about a child. Adults NEED to defend children.
Which brings me to Jamie Hubley.
Jamie was a 15 year old openly gay man from Ottawa who
committed suicide on October 15th. Bullying attributed to his decision
to kill himself. Jamie had tried in his highschool to start a Rainbow Alliance
club to build tolerance amongst the students. His posters were torn down and
mocked by his classmates.
And nothing was done.
To tell Jamie to look towards the future because things will
get better is not enough. Adults have that responsibility to build tolerance in
all children to prevent this from ever happening again. It’s disgusting to see
someone kill themselves because they can’t be accepted for who they are. This
problem arises again and again, and nothing gets better. No one changes to stop
it.
I wish I lived in a world where all types of people were
celebrated with children. I want to see gay couples become mainstream in kids
books and classrooms. I wish that we could get to a point where throughout elementary
kids were taught acceptance of all people. I don’t care what a parents beliefs
are about gay people. I don’t care if they get offended by the material, it has
to be done.
Rick Mercer on the topic...
Two stories that broke my heart in the past month. Being a
teenager is hard enough, if you see one in need, give them your love and
support. Do whatever you need to do I don’t want to read anything like this
again.
the last time I went to the club I wore tweed shoes. Apparently tweed isn't hip anymore. No one informed me.
