Sanity

Sometimes as a student you accidentally let your sanity, along with your life outside of school get away from you. I don't think I've ever dealt with this to as much of an extreme as I have this week, and this term.

We need to discuss the outfit I wore out in public a couple days ago.
Sweatpants.
Socks.
Flats. Tweed. See here.
Sweater typically used as pyjamas.
I can't wear blazers and cute dresses anymore. I just can't. I need sweatpants.

Also my list of things I've left to the last minute for my trip is ridiculous.
Today I slept in until 1. I didn't get home from work until almost 3am, and I've been sick, so I'm calling that acceptable. But nonetheless my day is pretty much gone.

I needed to come into school today, so I'm here for another few hours.
I leave for the airport in 10 hours and I haven't even started thinking about packing yet. or bought any of the things I need in order to pack. I can't even tell you where my passport is. In one of 6 typical hiding places for important things let's hope.

But I think I'm going to go out and drink tonight anyways. You can only be a young and irresponsible student once, right?

Wish me luck!

Wing Night

I'm amazed at the extreme cases of manners, or lack thereof, that I witness every single shift working at the bar. I was serving a younger couple this week on a wing night and when I went by to grab the finished baskets off their table they said something that totally shocked me.

"Sorry, I hope it's okay, we just piled our napkins between our plates here. We just didn't want you to have to touch our used napkins!"

SHOCKED

There are people out there who understand how gross it is for servers to pick up your slobbery, wing saucy, torn up napkins?!

The manners that this young couple had is an amazing and extremely rare thing on wing nights.

So just to clarify for people that may not know what is an acceptable level of manners to maintain while gobbling down your deep fried wing deliciousness here's a list of guidelines to follow:


1. Use the plates

Remember how a couple minutes before your wings showed up I gave you plates? That wasn't just      for shits and giggles. They have a purpose. You're supposed to put your bones on them so I don't have to pick up your chewed on bones from the floor, and the table. OHHHH. 

2. Whatever you touch with your saucy fingers, I touch an hour later.
You have full access to wetnaps and napkins. There is no reason why your beer mug should lose its transparency five wings in. It was see-through when i dropped it off, it shouldn't be brown when I pick it up.


3. Be Patient
No, sometimes your wings won't come in ten minutes. There are 15 people at your table, all ordering two baskets, and we're clearly full and on a wait. Do you think we have 30 deep friers in the kitchen?! WAIT. CHILL OUT. THEY WILL COME.


4. If you wouldn't do it to your mother, don't do it to me.
Don't command me, ask me. I am not a slave.
Why did you leave pieces of wings and onion loaf on the chair, table, floor, in your water glass, in the wetnap container, lining the salt shaker, on the window ledge, and inbetween the booth and the wall?
Why did you take the ice out of your glass and watch it half melt on the table? That was very weird and inconsiderate.
If you are over 8 years old you cannot get away with making concoctions of pepsi, bbq sauce, salt and pepper in your glass. Hell, you can't get away with that even under 8. It's never cute.
Have you ever yelled at your mother for not giving birth to you a year earlier? Then don't yell at me for it! You're 17! Leave the lounge! I'm not the law!


And I've said it before, but I'll say it again, Don't you EVER snap your fingers at me.

Grumpy

The looming cloud of shitty months of winter has been extra shitty this week. Lets throw ourselves a pity party shall we?

1 - Everyone said that the third term of CreComm is the hardest, but holy shit they could have told me a few more times so that I took it seriously.
I think I'm going to need extra physio and chiropractor appointments to accomodate the "I'm carrying a camera, tripod, lighting kit, audio kit, purse, laptop, and binder" back problems. My goodness. 
Pray for sunshine for 2 more weeks. I want to do outdoor interviews. The life of a CreComm... sigh.


2 - I accidentally decapitated my new owl. Sorry budday.

3 - I have been given strict doctors orders to not play Ultimate for another 4 - 5 weeks. Or more. Unless I want knee surgery. Bring on the winter weight!! 

Okay I'll stop being whiney. Only if you serve me cupcakes in bed. Thanks friend. 

Waiting

Last night I dislocated my knee.
Today I waited at the sports injury clinic for 7 hours before I got to see a doctor and get some X-rays.
Here is a list I compiled of other things I could have done with 7 hours of my life.

1. Go to my Wednesday classes. That one's obvious.
2. Do 9 loads of laundry.
3. Fly to Toronto and back.
4. Drive to Minneapolis.
5. Do tomorrow's Broadcast J assignment... twice.
6. Run a marathon.
7. Watch the entire Back to the Future trilogy.
8. Play a complete game of Monopoly... maybe.
9. Watched a week and a half worth of PVR-ed Ellen shows.
10. Write at least 3 news stories.
11. Play at least 3 Ultimate Frisbee games. Dislocate my knee another 6 times.
12. Ride every roller coaster at Universal Studios.
13. Make 7 batches of cookies.
14. Facebook creep everyone in my high school graduating class.
15. Cooked two thanksgiving turkeys.

Now to figure out how to make a knee brace stylish. Wish me luck.

Waitress

A pocket full of change is an unacceptable way to pay a $20 bill.

I am not the transit bus, I don't want change. That and a coffee shop are the only acceptable places to pay in all change. 

This shit will be weighing down my apron all night.

I understand you liked 

"This thing, I had like a few years ago, it was a Japanese looking box with stuff in it. I think there was fish, maybe like veggies..."

But we don't have that. I understand you're

"so sure it was at this restaurant"

But we don't have that. We've never had that. 

I don't now how else to express to you that we don't have that. Nor will we make it for you. 

"What kind of alcohol do you have"

Like cocktails? 

Like specials?

Like blended drinks?

Like draft?

Like shooters?

Like our rail liquor?

"No just like.... everything"

Unreasonable question. Moving on. 

Our side items are Baked potato, mashed potato, fries, gravy, rice, beans, broccoli, coleslaw, roasted veggies, bacon mac and cheese, and a lovely truffle oil potato hash. Or you can replace both with a bowl of soup or salad. 

WHY AREN'T YOU LISTENING WHEN I TELL YOU THAT.

Each mean comes with two side items. 

No I will not repeat that list for every one of you sitting at this table. There are ten of you. I have other stuff to do. The list is written in the menu. 

LISTEN THE FIRST TIME. 

Thank you for the compliment on my necklace, drunk sir. 

No you can't touch it. 

Why are you touching it.

Stop touching it. 

That's too close to my boob.

Okay, we're done here. 

Skype

What girls are actually doing while you're having a Skype date...

Okay. Skype date. gunna talk

"One second, my computer's uncomfy on my legs"

 Well that's a bad angle

Noses are so gross

Do I really have this many chins is real life?!

Beige walls are so unflattering

Kitchen background?

Red Background?

Outdoorsy background?

Giraffe background?

"Oh nothing sweety I'm just getting comfy!"

"Hey, hey look how big I can make my eyes go"

I could be a cheerleader with this little ponytail

PUPPYYY

OTHER PUPPY

PLAYING WITH PUPPIES

"Sorry, you were saying something?"

Technology

Technology is starting to turn on me.

Society (at least the society that I'm involved in) is becoming more and more dependent on technology every day. We can't go anywhere without a phone, not just a phone though, a smart phone. A phone that can do more than our brain can do. But that's only because we've let it become our brain. Our problem solving skills are quickly deteriorating because Google can do everything for us and it's right at our fingertips 24/7. I can't be satisfied with just my phone though. I have an iPad and an iPod touch (which is essentially the exact same thing), a laptop, and a GPS with Bluetooth. But my external brains have been acting up, and I don't know how to deal with it.

For anyone that knows me well enough you'll know that if it's plugged in and turned on and it's still not working, I'm out of solutions.

So here's how I've been breaking down recently... if you have any helpful suggestions, please feel free to educate me in the comment section below.


1. Blackberry.

I used to say that my Blackberry was just fine and I didn't need an iPhone. Well fuck Blackberry. I eternally have a Facebook notification on my home screen when I don't actually have one and it's driving me bat shit crazy. Every now and then it'll disappear randomly and life goes back to normal, but most of the time my Blackberry is just tricking me into thinking I'm more popular than I actually am, then letting me down.

I repeat, fuck Blackberry.

Oh and while I was taking pictures for this post my screen turned white and shut down. Had to take out the battery and reboot. WHYYY


2. iPad

I don't have Flash player and that pisses me off. Besides that iPad is out of the woods. I actually love it. Good job Apple.

3. GPS

I haven't had an issue with my GPS before I moved to Kitchener, I don't know why it isn't adjusting to life here. I went to downtown Toronto to visit a friend a couple weeks ago and on my way home my GPS should have got a signal once I was away from all the tall buildings. Well I took a wrong turn and drove down a highway to Hamilton (that's not the right way to Waterloo is all I really knew) for 45 minutes before I found somewhere to ask for directions. I haven't been able to get a GPS signal ever since. 

I guess everywhere I go in K-W and hope for the best.

4. Laptop

Sometimes the WiFi works, most of the time it doesn't. It randomly turned on by itself yesterday after a 2 week hiatus.

Yes, I was trying to connect to the right network
No, It wasn't a problem with the router
Yes, the dumb little WiFi switch was turned on.

I don't know why. But I got to finally download & watch the Survivor finale because I'm still living in 2002 when Survivor was cool. It was wonderful.

5. iPod

Here's my main frustration of the day.

This morning I pulled my aux. cable in my car out of my iPod and it broke off inside the headphone jack. Just a tiny piece enough to prevent me from using my iPod.  And here's where my iPod beef really starts.

About a year and a half ago I dropped my iPod and cracked it, still works fine but it gave me an excuse to buy a new one since 4 gigs was way too small anyways. I bought a 32 gig iPod touch. It got stolen at a party shortly after because I partied with dumbasses. So now I'm back to the 4 gig cracked one.

But that's really a different story.

So I spent this evening fashioning tiny pliers with a bobby pin and a large knife that I shouldn't have the authority to use, but cutting the tips of the bobby pins off broke the scissors so I needed to upgrade to giant knife. Little mofos are tough. Don't tell the roomies that's why the scissors are all bent.

Needless to say my homemade tiny pliers didn't work and half of the end of a cable is still stuck in my iPod.

That was an exceedingly whiny post and I apologize. Try reading this Clubbing or this Pepsi
I'm much less annoying and much funnier.
#selfpromotion

Unpaid

The other day this article came up on my Twitter feed.

http://www.poynter.org/how-tos/career-development/173377/how-to-tell-when-unpaid-internships-are-opportunities-when-theyre-an-abuse/

It's talking about internships, mainly in journalism, and the idea of unpaid internships, something I'm very familiar with. It discusses what you get out of working for free, and the difference between being offered an opportunity and being taken advantage of.

PS. if you're getting executives coffee all day for free, they're taking advantage of you. 

This summer I'm working (for free) at MHM publishing. They produce both Canadian Skies magazine, and Vertical magazine. Skies is planes, and Vertical is helicopters... clearly something I have no experience in.

I'm learning.

So why would I want to work for them for free?

I'm a communications student. I didn't enter a field that will have me rolling in cash the second I graduate. I willingly, and eagerly, chose a field that is extremely competitive. There is always going to be someone that wrote a more compelling article than me, or designed a better looking ad than me, or wrote a catchier news release than me. But this is what I chose. I chose to be a part of an industry that always wants more from you.

ask better interview questions!
pay more attention to your grammar!
network, network, network!
be more cutting edge!
be CREATIVE!
Strategize!
and more than anything..


HAVE MORE EXPERIENCE

No one wants to hire someone that doesn't have experience. But without experience you can't get the job to gain experience. It's impossible to win. Unless in many cases you are willing to work for free.


A guy from the article I posted at the beginning of this post says

“The main thing that you want to get back is opportunity and training,” he said. “Opportunity means the chance to write, edit, take pictures or make videos; a chance to do meaningful work. Training means that you don’t just sit in your apartment and send things off to somebody who never says anything to you. That’s not training, that’s them taking your work for free and using it.”

And that's what I'm getting from my internship. Opportunity and training.

If I wanted to get a good paying job with no experience right out of school I would have got a degree in nursing, or business, or anything to do with oil. Or maybe I would have taken a trade like electrician, or mechanic. But this is communications. It's just the reality of the business. 

My resume consists of "student" and "waitress" right now. I can't get a job in communications with that. I need this opportunity and training. I need to beef up my resume.

Vertical and Canadian Skies weren't hiring when I contacted them. They weren't looking for anyone, I went to them. I asked them for a job so that I can have something more than "wing night expert" to show for my summer. After only a week, the opportunities I've had are things that I can never get out of formal education.

I look at my internship as if I'm taking a really great summer course for free.

On day #1 they sat me down and got me straight to work. I've been editing news releases into articles to put on their websites. I've written two articles that have already been published online.

http://skiesmag.com/news/articles/16453-top-amateur-aviators-invited-to-join-national-competition-.html
http://skiesmag.com/news/articles/16463-statscan-reports-decline-in-aircraft-movements-for-third-con.html

And I'm learning things and gaining experience that I couldn't get anywhere else. They can't teach me in school what to do when I'm writing an article and I've called every major airport across the country and no one will give me a comment. They can give me a lesson on it, but they can't actually put me in that situation. All my work gets edited by one or two people. I get sent all the revisions and told why they were made, so I can improve.

I am so appreciative that MHM publishing gave me the opportunity to work for them for free. It's already one of the best educational experiences I've had since entering the industry. I can feel confident looking for jobs when I graduate next year knowing I have this extra bit of education under my belt that some of my competitors don't have.

I sincerely congratulate any my classmates that are doing paid internships this summer, but I'm happy to just be learning and getting published. The money will come eventually. Just have to pay my dues.

Waterloo

So Lindsay, how's Kitchener?
Well golly thanks for asking!

Well turns out I don't actually live in Kitchener. I live in Waterloo. What's the difference? I don't really know. The hip people here call this place KW. (Kitchener/Waterloo) but they talk about Kitchener and Waterloo like it's 2 separate places. They also claim that there is a clear divide between the Kitchener side and the Waterloo side, but I can't seem to find it.

I've also heard it being called the tri-cities? ... counties? I don't know. I think that includes Cambridge.

In short I don't really know where I am. I got lost in the exact same way 2 days in a row. Maybe I'll make it home from work in less than an hour tomorrow.

My GPS doesn't like me. 

I spent 2 days unpacking and organizing all my stuff into my room and when I had finally settled I found out that they had accidentally put me in the wrong room and another tenant was moving in that day. So I moved again. That was fun.

It actually wasn't that bad. It's not like I have anything to do here.

The plus side of not having anyone to hang out with here? I've gone to the gym every day since Saturday! Nothing else to do! Operation get abs is a go.

The gym and the lounges and the laundry room in my building are beautiful... I'll post pictures when I get the chance.

I haven't frequented the laundry room yet besides my day 1 tour. It's getting hard to avoid doing laundry as I only own 2 towels.

I ran out of food that isn't Kraft Dinner today.

Skittles cost exactly the same amount as milk

People here talk about Winnipeg like it's some booming metropolis.

Driving in downtown Toronto is the worst.

Writing articles about aviation is hard when you don't know anything about aviation.

I should have stayed in Writers Craft. I have the worst grammar.

My boss brings his dogs to work and it's the best thing ever.

The dog next door barks in the middle of the night. It's the worst thing ever.

There are really cute guys at the gym in my apartment.

Too bad I'm a really ugly workout-er.

I've been pretending to be a sports fan to make friends with my roommate.

It's easier than pretending to be a computer fan.

... So that's Waterloo. 


 

Showers

Nobody likes how they feel at the end of a long day of travel.
I've never seen somebody get off a long plane ride, or out of a car after a day long drive and say

"wow my smell is wonderful!"
or
"my hair feels so soft and not greasy at all!"

So why is it that hotel showers are as awful as they are?
They require skill.

Rule #1 is
Accept that you won't get your whole body wet. The water pressure is so meager that if you're like me you'll get your hair wet... on the top layer... then it'll probably jut slide off like a sea otter.

Do a Dance
You're going to have to move around quite a bit to have any chance at getting your legs wet. Hotel shower nozzles are only big and powerful enough to get about 1/8 of your body at a time. A lot of turning will be necessary.

Go First
If you're like me you're going to forget to bring at least one essential item on any trip. Today it was shampoo and conditioner. If you have any inkling that someone else in your traveling party may have forgotten the same thing GET IN THE SHOWER FIRST. There is not a chance in hell that the tiny, ass smelling, shampoo and conditioner will go around.

Why are the shampoo companies not using some kind of product placement or sponsorship or whatever and getting their mini products in hotel showers? I'm looking at your guys; Garnier, Herbal Essences, Pantene, whatever... I can't be the first person to think of this. Maybe I just need to take my CreComm hat off.

Cramming

Some people have organized notes from day 1 of the semester to day whatever we're at now.
Some people study for exams for days, even weeks before the day before the exam and even refuse invitations to go out on weekends so they can study.

But most of us are crammers.
Cramming rarely works, but we all continue to do it. Here are my top 5 signs that I'm a crammer.


1. Where the hell are all my notes?
I swear I took notes every day for the past 4 months but I mysteriously only have about 5 or 6 pages of handwritten notes for each subject... interesting...


2. My bed is no longer used to rest
It has become a place where happiness goes to die. Covered in papers, highlighters, and electronics used mainly for procrastination purposes.

3. Sweatpants aren't practical
When you spend a week straight locked up in a hot miserable room with a computer on your legs or right beside you discover that sweatpants get too hot to be worn in these conditions. It's my ugly 80's style gym shorts all the way.

4. Health? what's health?
I brought my gym clothes to school every day for a week and never went to the gym. Was I fooling all of you? My typical diet has become Redbull (when was it not), chocolate, and I even went to McDonald's the other day. Shame on me. No time or effort to care.


5. I hope people remember what I looked like before cram week.
How did I not notice until 10 at night that I've been walking around all day with my hair like this? My nail polish is so chipped some fingers don't have any. No I'm not going for the uni-brow look, it's just kind of happening.

If my IPP doesn't get approved tomorrow I might kill myself.
And wine is my best friend. That's all. #stircrazy

Rejection

My IPP got rejected for the second time yesterday morning, and anyone who has been in earshot of me over the past two days will have heard extensive bitching and moaning about it.

Needless to say I haven't been handling it very well.

For all the non-CreComms out there an IPP is your Independent Professional Project.
Its a project of our choosing that we work on from now until about February of next year that has to be completed in order to graduate CreComm. Think of it as the equivalent of your thesis I guess.

Well before starting this project we write detailed proposals about them, and present them to a panel of our teachers to get approved or rejected.

As I was rejected for the second time I have gone through the following stages over the past 24 hours:

1. Throw yourself a pity party

I hosted mine in an edit suite on the second floor of the college.
There was tears, chocolate, and depressing music.
It was a wonderful 3 hours of feeling sorry for myself


2. Consider alternate career paths.

....cry a little more.


3. Disregard showering

 In this faze the general public can deal with the fact that I did not shower this morning. That's what bandanas are for. I was too sad to care about getting out of bed more than a minute before I had to leave for school.

4. Hug cute things

5. Reenergize

I unnecessarily took a 2 hour power nap in the middle of the day today, and followed it by pounding back a jumbo Redbull.

Time to get psyched and get back on the IPP horse.

Dionysus

Last week, my CreComm class filed into the Rachel Browne Theatre to indulge in a night of Winnipeg culture. We all saw the play Dionysus in Stony Mountain, directed by Bill Kerr starring Sarah Constible and Ross McMillan.

The play follows a psychiatrist’s descent into perceived madness using her patient at Stony Mountain as her muse.

Sounds like a pretty interesting concept, right?

Well maybe some people enjoyed this play, but I was definitely not the audience for it.

The first act was packed with philosophy driven convoluted sentences, and Friedrich Nietzsche (who’s that??) quotes that left myself and many other audience member with a bad taste in their mouths. Who talks like that? No one.

I don’t know any intellectual people that speak as if they’re reading from a textbook.

The first act was a snooze fest. I really didn’t grasp onto any emotional moments and nothing stuck out for me as particularly interesting. I didn’t connect with either character, and didn’t care about what may happen to them in the future.

My main focus during the first act was that my legs were too long for the tiny seats, followed by “who wears ultra skinny jeans to a 2 hour long play? Come on Lindsay.”

My leg comfort should not be my main focus during a play.

The second act was an improvement on the first. I could focus on the show for the entire duration of the performance, and the actors seemed to be more passionate about the material.

They measured already cut-to-size isolation, changed from grey sweater to grey sweater, and drank scotch. Thrilling material. But seriously, the second act wasn’t so bad.

I used to minor in theatre and I really do enjoy going to see shows, but this was not a fun evening. By the time I got home I was bitter about being out past my bedtime, and disappointed in my sore legs. I definitely recommend getting out to see some plays in Winnipeg, but please, for your sake, avoid Dionysus in Stony Mountain.

Journey for Justice

**This post is a CreComm assignment**

I've never read true crime before, frankly I don't read many books at all. but a couple weeks ago I finished reading Journey for Justice by Mike McIntyre in just two days.

Mike's newest book covers one of Winnipeg's most notorious crimes that happened in the 80's; the abduction of Canadace Derksen. Canadace was a normal kid, 13, very social, just walking home from school one afternoon when her parents were too busy to come pick her up. Unfortunatly Canadace was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was picked up by Mark Grant who later tied her up and let her freeze to death in a shed.

It's hard for us to even imagine the horror of losing a child this way. This is pain that I sincerely hope no one else has to endure the way the Derksens did... but what about Mike? The guy who now has the task of writing about the tragedy that they went through. How can a journalism possibly pry into the Derksens' lives to hear their story?

Well Mike sys it's all about trust. He and Wilma Derksen ( Canadace's mother) formed a relationship through the writing of this novel. Wilma was a CreComm herself, and a writer who understands how hard it is to get a story. Journalism is hard. Especially when it gets so personal and painful, but that's what makes great stories right?

Not the "if it bleeds it leads" mentality, but the mentality where the more personal you can get, the more good you can do with your writing. Without the help of journalism over the past 27 years Wilma may ahve never shared her story. No one would know about Candace. The media helped alot during the search for Candace and are now helping keep her memory alive and help support other families who may be going through the same thing. So dig deep when you write these stories.

Mike covers crime in Winnipeg every day. That's his job, he writes about crime for the Free Press. This is different. This is personal. This is something that Winnipeggers have held onto for years, people wanted to see Mark Grant convicted. People needed closure. his story isn't writed like any other crime story. It's really about the people and the emotion. The book gets slow near the middle, but then you get back to these wonderful testimonies that really show how much Winnipeg needed this book.If you have the time definitely pick up Mike's book, worth a read.

Smells

So I've posted on here before about my Not a Nose Job nose job surgery I got this past summer, but I failed to mention how awesome it is to smell things all the time that I never knew had a smell!

I was noticing these things the most during my first couple months after the surgery. Things like...

sour cream
Sambuca (ew)
spicy foods
Burning hair product
leftovers that sit in the trunk of my car
and the dishwashers at work near the end of their shifts.

Not all of these new smells were enjoyable.

But at the same time, it's been really cool getting to know this sense I've always had but never really been able to use to it's full extent.

but this afternoon I had another new smell experience that I was really excited about...

CRAYONS!!

... yes we do use crayons at college. 

Kitchener

As many of you already know, this summer I'm going to be interning at Vertical Magazine and Canadian Skies Magazine in Kitchener, Ontario. And for those of you who didn't know, surprise! I leave April 30th.  22 hour road triiiip!!

As someone who has lived in the same room i their parents house since they were 3, I'm not going to lie as my departure date approaches I'm switching from excited to anxious to shit scared, and back again.

In Kitchener I'm going to be living alone and working full time at the magazine, as well as hopefully working a part time serving or retail job. So as therapy for myself and for you for no particular reason you are now going to be treated to my list of excitements and fears about my going away to the foreign land of Kitchener, Ontario.

1. I'm terrified that I won't meet any friends out there. I'm need people to talk to, my professional training is to be a social person. Get your skype accounts set up Winnipeg.

2. Im stoked to see how a real magazine is put together and get some relevant experience in one of the fields I would love to work in.

3. I get my own bathroom. And kitchen. And TV. I'm terrible at sharing. This is awesome.

4. I'm a terrible cook. I may be eating KD and grilled cheese all summer.

5. What if I forget something major at home?! I'm not a good packer!

6. Who will I go to concerts and dinners with? I can't spend all my time alone in my apartment, I know i'll go stir crazy.

7. I just hope I'm able to figure out technicalities of living fast enough to spend most of my time relaxed. Driving routes, grocery stores, a gym, the nearest Tom Hortons..... those things you can't live without

8. Getting a break from my job right now will be so refreshing. I've been at the same part time job for just over 2 and a half years and I need a break to do something differet with my life.

9. I'm nervous about the fact that I won't have a back-up plan if something goes wrong. My family and friends aren't going to be there to catch me. I've always considered myself an independant person but 've never actually tried anything like this.

10. I'm going to miss Janey so much!!

All in all I'm soooo excited to start my new job, I think it'll be an amazing experience and life lesson... I'll miss Winnipeg more than I think I realize right now but I'll be back before you know it.

Check out :
Vertical - www.verticalmag.com
Canadian Skies - www.skiesmag.com


MGMT - Time to Pretend.  Because I feel like it. Cheers!

Spring

For me, spring is all about sheeding whatever isn't working for your life and starting a new chapter. That's why I felt so good today when I stepped outside and figured out that I should have been wearing rubber boots.

Spring just makes people feel good, it makes everyone happy and active. For monthes we all sit inside being grumpy, not even wanting to venture past the front door in fear of our ears falling off. Then we get inside and the Tims line is a half hour long and you go cry in a quiet room, because a cold day without Tims is near life threatening.

But spring time is all about anticipation.

When will it be warm enough for me to wear shorts?
Is it too early to get my bike out?
how much longer until summer?
How hot does it have to get before afternoon margaritas become socially acceptable?

PS. I don't own a bike. I just think it would be something people wonder in the spring

There's only just over a month left on our first year of CreComm, just buckle down and finish while trying to hold onto your sanity. It's so close. And this is when you can start enjoying yourself because nothing beats studing outside.

except for doing anything besides studying while outside.

I had my first tequila shot in 6 mothes the other day. I think thats a sign that good things are coming for spring 2012. It's the first time in my life that I feel like I know what direction I'm going in and having that even vague future figured out feels amazing.

So have a wonderful spring/summer 2012. Let go of whatever wasn't working in the winter and enjoy yourself. It's super lame to be stressed and grumpy when it's so beautiful out. So why not just be happy for the sake of everyone around you.

I hope I didn't jynx this nice weather with this post.
sorry if I did.

.

Vegas

So I know when you go to Vegas you're supposed to party like alcohol poisoning isn't a danger and bail money grows on trees, but I'm not relly into clubbing (please refer to my previous post "Clubbing") So here are the best things to do in Vegas that won't get you thrown in jail:

5. Hoover Dam

Good clean, family fun. The only place I went in Vegas where alcohol wasn't allowed. I have zero understanding of electricity or really what the dam does, but it's a pretty cool sight to see. Highly reccomended.

4. Piano Bars

So I went to a deuling piano bar twice while I was there. Super fun, they have 2 pianos facing each other and the guys there know every song known to man and you throw 15 - 20 bucks and your request on the piano and they'll play it. To stop someone elses song you put your request with more money. Everyone's dancing having a good time, definitly worth a try if you like to dance but not where you might go home with an std.

3. The Shows

A couple good ones I went to were David Copperfield, and Mark Savard... I'm saving my favourite one for last! Copperfield is a little hokey but it's one to see. I got on stage and he made me disappear. It was pure magic. That's what he told me to tell my friends and family. It wasn't magic. Mark Savard was hillarious. It's "comedy hypnotism" and whether you believe or not it's super funny, you get to see audience members do just the most hillarious embarassing things. Check out his Youtube Channel if you want to see what I'm talking about...

http://www.youtube.com/user/HypnotistMarcSavard

2. Freemont Street

This is old Vegas where all the run down hotels are and all the great deals. 5$ blackjack so it takes longer to lose all your money than on the strip and cheaper yardsticks it's a better more relaxed party atmosphere than on the strip. Less swanky places and more people just looking to have a good time. The blackjeack dealers double as the gogo dancers, there's free stages going on all night, and there's the famously huge video screen covering the entire street where they have shows every half hour.

1. Beatles Love

You have to see it. Highlight of the trip. I've never seen a Cirque du Soleil but this was fantastic. Cirque has basically taken over the strip, every show has it's own theatre in the hotles, unless you're a huge act good luck getting a theatre in Vegas because all people are looking for now is Cirque, and for a good reason. This was fantastic, there's so much going on in the show, so many complex acts there's no way to see it all on the first go. You have to see it more than once. Fabulous show.

Parking

Alright lets talk first world problems.

So I was heading to the college last week on a Saturday to work on an assignment and I ran into the biggest whiner in the city.

I think everyone can agree that parking in downtown Winnipeg sucks. So when you get a good spot congrats you just struck gold so put a smile on your face and shut up. You don't have to walk 20 minutes from your car to wherever you're going in minus a thousand windchill. Yay!

Not this lady.

So here's what happens.

Step 1 - We both pull up to these spots at the same time. She gets out of her car first to pay, so I just sit in my car and wait for her to be done.

Step 2 - She waves her arms around and looks at me and mouthes OH MY GOD!!  She looks like she's going through some kind of personal tragedy so I get out of my car.

Step 3 - She yells to me "It doesn't work. Oh my god. Why is this so hard"

Step 4 - I point to the machine DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET FROM US

Step 5 - I say "oh, well lets just use that one then"

Step 6 - Crazy lady says "Uhhhhg this should NOT be this hard."

Step 7 - We walk the 10 second trek across the street to use the other machine, cue Crazy lady "This is RIDICULOUS", she uses it, all I'm thinking is "why do you keep yelling at me...", storms back to her spot, and walks back across the street into Kays Deli.

Lady, you aren't late for work, you don't have some appointment you're missing, you are going for lunch on a Saturday afternoon and got a spot right in front of the restaurant!
No one is dying, and you got a spot in the exchange right where you wanted it?!
You didn't have to pay 14$ for the parkade because you litterally had no other parking options?

You should be doing a celebratory dance

Vampires

I just had my traditional cheap seats viewing of the newest Twilight movie with a friend of mine, and I have to say those movies get worse everytime. I read all the books in high school and I see the movies out of obligation to the commitment I made to the series. Also don't hate on it until you've seen it. But man are those vampires wimps.

I am ridiculously obsessed with True Blood, and the Twilight vampires are such an embarassment. I've never been into old school vampire books or movies and I really have no interest in them, I just like the show. I don't want any variations of vampires, all I want are my southern accented, sexy, murders that I've come to love.

Unfortunatly being that True Blood is on HBO, it only plays 12 weeks out of the year I am going through a serious case of TBD (True Blood Withdrawl) that I tried to counteract with reruns and Twilight. Bad choice.

Twilight vamps go to high school and eat animals and stare longlingly into whiney teenagers eyes while they sparkle. True Blood vamps kill just about everyone that pisses them off, eat their loved ones, and all those other things we all love HBO for.

True Blood plot lines consist of a few key elements:
           -Blood
           -Sex
           -Drugs
           -Supernatural shit
           -Sex, blood, drugs, and supernatural shit combined.

I seriously don't think anyone in that show owns more that 3 changes of clothes. They're just always naked and killing stuff.

Characters that have died over the past 4 seasons:
1. Tommy - beat to death
2. Jesus - stabbed by his possessed boyfriend
3. Marnie - Shot in the head
4. Nan - staked
5. Maryann - heart ripped out
6. Rene - decapitated with a shovel
7. Debbie - shot in the head
8. Eggs - shot
9. Lorena - staked
10. Adele - strangled
11. Melinda & Joe Lee - Beaten to death
12. Godric - extreme sunburn
13. Sophie-Anne - shot

I really could go on but you get the point... and those are just some main characters. Basically what I'm saying is if you like a new character don't get too attached... their brains are probably going to be blown out in Sookie's kitchen by the end of the season. (I'll miss you Debbie).

Oh and don't see the new Twilight unless you're sick at home and your PVR suggests it. Then it's ok.

10 Things

Ten things (some of you) Don't know about me!

1. I find chewing gum absolutly repulsive. Did you know in Singapore gum that isn't needed for theraputical reasons is banned? Good! Why would anyone want to keep chewing on something they already chewed on? It's like chewing vomit. gross.

2. I've never dyed my hair. That purple stuff that stayed in my hair for 2 weeks when I was in grade 7 doesn't count... ginger and proud of it!

3. I've never flown a kite. :( Childhood has passed me right by. I hear it's not very fun, but it's something I would like to try!

4. I've been subconsciously hoarding bar coasters from work. Sorry.

5. I played bottom of the barrel league softball for 10 years and umpired for 7. I may umpire again next year. After the first time a coach makes you cry it gets easy and fun, I swear.

6. I am what I call a cute-etarian. I don't eat animals that are cute. This includes but is not limited to baby cows, sheep, and ducks. Fish? ugly. Cows? ugly and stinky. Chickens? Cute as babies, but once they grow up... ugly.

7. Before settleing on CreComm I went tested out majoring in Business, Kinesiology, Environmental Science, and Theatre.

8. My dog, Janey, is my number one source of entertainment. I would love to be in her head for a day.

9. I am completely obsessed with everything Kardashian. Every now and then they say something intelligent and it's fun to watch for. Also it's a moral boost watching people that are so clueless.

10. I'm sexy, and I know it. This is song writing gold.

Resolutions

So it's that time of year when all you silly kids with new years resolutions haven't been to the gym in 2 and a half weeks, and ate a Kitkat for lunch. You haven't tried anything new since January 4th and you've been somking again since January 5th.

New years resolutions are complete crap I think. Why is it that so many people feel like since it's the beginning of a year their lives merit some kind of extreme change? Shouldn't you be changing all the time and adjusting your lifestyle as needed? There's no motivation to make a change because of the date.

I'm sure the conspiracy theorists have a thought on the concept of resolutions.

I didn't make a resolution this year and I've been doing just fine this past month. I did however recently find a list from last year about all the things I wanted to do in 2011, and it's complete bullshit. Apparently I was in an inspirational mood because I wanted challenge myself daily, set goals, and live a healthy lifestyle.

This list goes on and on but it's pretty embarassing.

It got me thinking about 2011, and I realized I've done all those things without needed to think about a stupid list that I had completely forgotten about by the next week I'm sure.

I don't think life can be defined by these huge changes you made in your life, but the little ones that happen everyday that you don't really notice. So lets take a photo journey through my experinces and lessons learned in 2011!

I perfected my Jello shot recipe for my birthday



I served some of the dumbest people in Winnipeg




I dropped out of University for a term and went back to summer courses where assignments were "go get coffee and take a picture of it" I was good at that course.




I went to Hogwarts! (Universal studios counts)




I drove through the most insane storm of the summer on a dirt road with no cell reception, and waited it out in a random person's garage on the side of the highway.




I climbed to the top of Old Blady for Michelle to put her first rock on an inukshuk at Malachi! She's a lifer now.




I drove to Chicago where my friends demostrated their amazing art skills.




I sat on the Skydeck at the top of the Willis Tower (formerly Seers tower)




I went to Lollapalooza with 4 people and left Lollapalooza with 4 people. That's an accomplishment.




Janey and I cleaned out my car for one of the first times since I bought it




I started CreComm, met some incredible people, and ate a stupid amount of hotdogs.




I cocaptained an ultimate frisbee team where we learned to play with more beer in our systems than water.




I learned how to cut corn off the cob




And I rang in the new year with some of the best people in the world.

Get rid of your lists and resolutions, you're going to forget about them anyways. Live your life as it comes. It worked out just fine for me. 

Cabbing Alone

A little under a month ago I saw this article in the Winnipeg Free Press:

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/When-taking-a-taxi-turns-ugly-136367528.html

The story is about a woman who shared her experience of being allegedly sexually assaulted by her cab driver this summer. Jennifer Joslin, who is the co-ordinator of the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program helps woman who have been sexually assaulted by cab drivers. In the past two years there have been about 12 woman who have come to her with sexual assault cases against cab drivers.

So 12 woman have reported being sexually assaulted, but how many have just been harassed? Like me.

About a year and a half ago I was working when some friends and I from my workplace decided to have a night out after our shifts. Since I had the latest shift I decided to just meet up with them at Whiskey Dix nightclub. Since they were all at the bar already I decided to take a cab by myself from my home in River Park South to the bar on Main Street.

I was 19 and going to a club so I was wearing big heels and a little dress ready to have a good time. I've never been given any reason to not trust a cab driver so i got in the front seat, I think that was my mistake and I still regret it.

The driver was nice and friendly and I was being friendly and joking around with him at first as well. As we started to get out of my neighbourhood he asked me what my plans were for the night and I told him that I was just meeting up with some friends to dance and have a night out. Then he told me, "no you're not"

I asked what he meant.

He told me that I wasn't meeting up with my friends tonight.

Well why not?

He told me that I was going to his house tonight. He told me that there were other girls there that I could be with. He told me that it would be just as much fun as going to the bar with my friends.

Despite my sinking stomach I was still trying to keep the mood light so I laughed and said "No, no... my friends are expecting to see me, let's just go to the bar"

This is when things took a turn. To get to Whiskey Dix from my house it's literally one straight shot down St.Marys which turns into Main Street. The driver instead took me on a big loop of downtown heading west in the opposite direction of the bar.

He told me that the other girls were scared at first too, but now they love him. He continued to say that I wouldn't be seeing my friends that night and the more I argued with him the more told me to stop arguing because "I'm going to kidnap you"

It's hard to in a situation like that to decide what to do. It seems so clear when you think about it later or read it from someone elses perspective but it's a whole different game once you're there. I was scared and alone and in an area I was unfamiliar with. I was wearing big heels, no chance to run. So I kept my phone up to my ear and told him I was going to call someone. I had one hand on the door handle as we moved and I tried to stay confident and calm. I told him I was calling someone, and I think he started to get nervous. Cabs all have cameras and ID numbers. 911 calls are easily traceable. If I called anyone, even if he did take me somewhere he would be caught.

So he detoured and went to the bar where as soon as we slowed down I threw open the door and jumped out.

Some people have a sick sense of humour. Could it have been a joke to him? Even if it was, it is 100% inappropriate. I don't know if maybe my confidence at the time or my idea to threatened to make a phone call saved me, I don't even know if what he was saying was true but it's a night I still remember vividly.

I never reported this incident. I know I should have, but I didn't.
I often wonder how many other woman or men for that matter have had experiences similar to mine. NEVER get into a cab alone, especially in the front where you are easily accessable.

I am in NO way trying to say that all cab drivers are bad. 99% of the time cab rides go exactly as planned, the drivers are friendly, polite, and safe.
I also believe that cab drivers are probably often harassed by drunk or aggressive passengers as well. This is just one side of the issue.

But just as your parents warned when you were little, never go anywhere with a stranger, they might be a bad person and it could be too late by the time you figure that out.

Follow up article in the Winnipeg Free Press: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/blogs/Ride-Gone-Wrong-a-taxi-story-136967968.html