Confessions of a "Nice Girl"

Light the Night

2011-10-14T21:01:00.003-04:00

I’ve been putting this off for a really long time, because Iwas afraid of how I was going to get through this, but now it’s time. I apologize in advance for my lack ofeloquence.

On May 29, 2009, my uncle Greg Lockwood started showingsymptoms of and was later diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. It was scary and sad, but it was onlysupposed to be a minor interruption, after all Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma has an87% percent survival rate. Another oneof my uncles had battled the same disease five years ago and is now livingcancer-free, we decided to remain hopeful.

On May 30, 2010, the morning after Greg had celebratedone year of survival, he went into the Hospital for the last time. On June 15, 2010 Greg lost his battle tocancer.

I don’t think that I will be able to write many detailsabout how much his death affected me, and how painful it was in those last fewweeks to see him so ill, but I will tell you that his death was the biggestpersonal tragedy I’ve ever experienced in my life.

I will also tell you what kind of man he was. He was a passionate, loving, funny, nerdyman. Greg was a video journalist for CTVnews, a company he was proud to work at for over twenty years. He was viewed by his colleagues as one of thebest and loved to chase down a good story. He was also an incredible photographer; he nurtured my growing interestin photography, and would always bring his newest gear to show me at everyfamily gathering. I clearly remember howhe would stand in my Grandparents’ backyard, patiently waiting for a Falcon orHeron to fly into just the right position to get the best shot possible. He would take dozens of shots, sometimesending up with only one good picture, but it was always worth it. He loved scuba diving, video games, actionmovies and Dracula.

He was big, tall and strong. He gave the best hugs and always knew how toput a smile on your face. He made myaunt Nancy very, very happy. I miss himso much.

Cancer is a frustrating disease because no matter who youare or what you do, you are at risk for getting cancer. It doesn’t discriminate and the world haslost so many good people to this disease far too soon. Greg wasn’t even 50 years old.

The overwhelming feeling of helplessness is the thingthat I remember most, helplessness and anger. I just wanted to do something, but I felt like I couldn’t do anything,it got worse after he died; I just had to do something.

Now I am.

Saturday, October 22^nd I am walking in theLeukemia and Lymphoma society’s “Light the Night” event in Memory of Greg. This is a 5K lantern-light walk starting inHalifax’s North Commons to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society,not only to develop live-saving cancer research, but also to provide supportfor patients living with blood cancers and their families.

I would appreciate it very much if you would sponsor mefor this walk. You can do so by clickinghere.

Also, if you are in Halifax, I am holding a recital toraise additional funds. It will beOctober 21^st, at 7:30pm at St. Andrew’s United Church on the cornerof Robie and Spring Garden. It will alsofeature my boyfriend Jeff on violin. It’s going to be great, please come.

~Nice Girl

It Starts with a Girl

2011-10-03T22:50:00.002-04:00

The world is a mess. Seriously. We’re killing the planet, each other and thehuman spirit for a lot of really dumb reasons. Things have gotten so bad that it’s even starting to affect us here inthe cushy first world and targeting the things that we hold dear.

-Gas Prices are Higher

-Tuition prices are higher

- Food prices are higher

-The housing market is inshambles

-So is the government

-And it’s nearly impossible toget a job anymore.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the things that Icomplain about, or the times when I have it really bad.

-Times when I get into a stupidfight with my boyfriend

-Or when I’m down to my last $100dollars in my bank account and I have to call my parents and ask for money

-Or when I have to do so muchhomework that it keeps me up all night and I’m a zombie at my 8:30am class (ifI even make it all)

-Or when I’ve spent weeks tryingto get a job and have nothing to show for it.

But even when I’m going through all of that, I still have itreally good. I’m in a lovingrelationship, I have parents with money to feed me, I have a right and a meansto education (thanks parents with money!) and even if I didn’t have a job ( Ifinally found one after five months of looking) I have the opportunity to getone and make a living for myself.

Many girls in the developing world don’t have theseluxuries. They rarely get a goodeducation, marry young (12 years old young), have more children than they canafford to take care of and don’t often have very good family lives. Not to mention the risk of illnesses like HIVand Malaria and the fact that they live in abject poverty.

But that isn’t the way it has to be. All we need to do is invest in girls. It’s called the Girl Effect

Well, not all we need to do, but it’s certainly a good way tomake a big difference.

Watch this video

No, seriously. Watchit. I’ll wait

Have you watched it yet?

That is some pretty amazing stuff. But why only girls?

There are two reasons that girls are the key to changing thedeveloping world. The first is that theyare living in societies where they are treated as second-class citizens and ifhalf of your population is marginalized, things aren’t going to be very goodfor society or the economy. Also, when agirl in the developing world earns an income, she will reinvest 90% of it intoher family, compared to 30-40% for a man (Chris Fortson, “Women’s Rights Vitalfor Developing World,” Yale News Daily 2003.) So giving a girl an education andputting her in a position where she can earn an income is beneficial to everyone. Seriously, just think of the trickle effect of this thing.

Now, I know a lot of you are going to get pretty jaded about this, question the numbers or the optimism of the movement, or whatever. But that is no excuse. The fact is that if you are a human being who cares just a little bit about other people, then these girls deserve your attention and your help.

Want some more information?

How about this

Or this

Or this.

The Girl Effect. It’smind-blowing, world-changing stuff.

Thegirleffect.org

It’s no big deal, just the future of humanity

If you want to read more about this, click here to see themovement of bloggers writing about The Girl Effect

Kicking the Habit: 30 Days without Facebook – Day 8

2011-09-11T20:45:00.000-04:00

So much for blogging every day.

BUT there is a reason for that, and that’s because I justhaven’t had all that much to write about lately. I’m adjusting to a life without Facebookpretty easily. For most of the week Ihad the impulse to update my Facebook status with inane and/or funny thingsthat I had seen or thought, but that impulse is finally dying down now. This week I’ve realized just how stupid someof the things that I want to post are. I’m pretty open about expressing my thoughts or the things that happento me (anyone who reads this blog regularly knows this from experience) and Ionly ever share information that I feel comfortable sharing, but until I nolonger had an outlet, I didn’t realize just how much I was sharing about mylife, and I was a little shocked. Iwasn’t sharing anything overly personal and I never complained about my life asa rule, but I was just sharing so much useless information that no reallyneeded to know or care about. I think Iwas one of those people who tried to write witty facebook statuses in order toget the most “likes” as if that was a sign of how popular or funny I was. This is kind of dumb, and I’m glad I can’t doit anymore.

The times that I miss Facebook the most is when I’m boredand not really doing much. It’s nice tohave something that updates itself rather rapidly to click around on, but whenI do have these feelings of boredom, I have often been finding better, nontechnological ways of spending my time. I read books and am putting together a 1000 piece puzzle. I also do things like bake granola bars andput together large batches of soups and salads so that I have something to eatwhen I’m on the run. I’ve also startedgoing on bike rides. In short, I’m doingmore interesting things off the computer now that I don’t have Facebook. It’s pretty awesome

One of the biggest changes that I noticed is how much I wasalways talking to people while I had Facebook. Even if I was working in a room where I was completely alone, if it hada wifi signal (and chances are it did) I would periodically go on Facebook andtalk to someone. Yesterday I was sittingalone in a coffee shop doing some work and I realized just how alone I waswithout Facebook, I didn’t have my phone with me so I couldn’t even text and soI was completely alone for the first time in a while. It wasn’t a horrible experience or anything,but I was certainly struck by how often we are in constant contact with eachother and how isolated a person could be if they weren’t on facebook.

Because Facebook is the main way that most people my agecommunicate with each other, I’m worried about a few things when it comes tobeing off Facebook. Firstly, I’mconcerned about how out of the loop I’m going to be when it comes to eventsaround the city. I’m already facing thisdifficulty and I’m a little afraid that I will be having a very anti-socialmonth without social media. Anotherthing that I’m worried about is this blog. I get a lot of reader traffic from Facebook and I’m expecting the numberof readers to go down now that I don’t have as many friends or family who knowwhen I’m updating.

What I’m most worried about however, is the fact that I’mfundraising for the Light the Night walk in support of the Leukemia andLymphoma society and since Facebook is an easy way to get information out aboutthe event, I could get quite a few sponsors from my facebook friends. I’ll have time after the 30 days are over inorder to fundraise before the walk, but I’ll have to fundraise the old fashioned(and more personal) way for a little bit. But more on that fundraiser later.

One week in and my life away from Facebook is great. Maybe I’ll go away from it for longer!

~Nice Girl

Kicking the Habit: 30 Days without Facebook – Days 1 and 2

2011-09-10T12:20:00.001-04:00

It is very hard to leave Facebook, not because it is hard tosurvive without constant social contact, because Facebook makes it hard. Obviously they don’t make the “disableaccount” function easy to find, that’s just bad for business, and after a tripto the Facebook help page I finally managed to find the place where I disabledmy account. When you click disable itnot only has the “are you sure?” command window, but it also takes you to anexit page, asking once again if you are really, really sure that you want toleave. The top of the page told me thatmy friends will miss me on Facebook, andthen found a pictures of me and some of my Facebook friends with the caption“Joe Schmoe will miss you.” As I looked at the pictures of four of myacquaintances and my boyfriend, I was fairly certain that none of them wouldactually miss me. Then I had to fill outa mandatory questionnaire about why I was leaving the site. When I thought I was finally out and free, Iimmediately received an email explaining how I could reactivate my account if Iso wished. It was like breaking up witha boyfriend who just wouldn’t get the hint.

But after I jumped through all of the hoops and Facebookfinally left me alone, I felt so much better. Just knowing that I would be away from all of the drama of Facebook, atleast for a little bit took a load off my mind. Not to say that it cured my depression or anything, but it stoppedmaking it worse.

Of course I immediately started running intocomplications. I didn’t have a lot ofpeople’s contact information which made issues around selling and buyingtextbooks a little more difficult, and I found out later that old friends whowere trying to reconnect with me because they were coming to visit couldn’tfind me. Perhaps the biggest problemcame from the fact that I was now completely out of the loop when it came touniversity events. Facebook is a waythat most societies communicate with their members, and now I’m completely outof the loop. I’ve had to get myboyfriend to go on Facebook to find information on a few events, which isprobably cheating, but I got off Facebook so that I could get off the computerand see people in person, I need to know event times for that.

We’ll see how things go in the next few days.

~Nice Girl

Kicking the Habit: 30 Days without Facebook – An Introduction

2011-09-05T17:20:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I disabled my Facebook account. It’s something lots of my friends have doneevery once and a while, especially during exams but since I signed up for it atthe beginning of High School, I have rarely ever been away from it for verylong, besides the times when I wasn’t around a computer. While I wouldn’t say that I’m addicted toFacebook (although what addict ever does?) it is definitely a habit. A habit that I’ve finally decided tokick.

I left Facebook for a few reasons; the obvious ones beingthat it is a huge source of my procrastination and a little bit creepy, butanother reason was how using Facebook made me feel. Social media is really wonderful in that itallows us to connect with each other in so many new and exciting ways, butalmost all of these new and exciting ways are very public. There are some really great benefits to this,but there are a lot of downsides, sometimes within the benefits. For example, if someone invites you to aparty via a Facebook event, you can discuss the party with your friends and seewho else is attending the party. However, in most cases you can see who is attending the party even ifyou are not invited. It’s likeelementary school all over again, when you’re the only kind who hasn’t beeninvited to your classmate’s party. Youcan also see conversations that your friends are having, theplus side of thisis that you can join conversations and have really interestingdiscussions. The downside is that it canalso be painfully obvious when a person is not talking to you, especially whenyou are trying to talk to them. This ismade even worse when your “wall-to-wall” is accessible by not only all of yourfriends, but all of the friends of the person you are trying to have aconversation with. Then your rejectionbecomes embarrassingly public.

I have a pretty severe anxiety disorder that sometimes leadsto bouts of depression and the poor self image that comes with it. I’m coming out of a pretty terrible summerand I’m not only feeling depressed, I'm also incredibly anxious about the coming year. This was a perfect storm for all of thesenegative social consequences to really start to take its toll on me. Every time I went on Facebook, all I saw wasthe events I wasn’t invited to, things I wasn’t a part of, performanceopportunities that I didn’t have and friends who weren’t talking to me. I would leave Facebook feeling friendless,untalented, and unwanted. None of these thingsare true, but I that’s the way anxiety works and it was really starting to mess me up. So I decided to get rid ofthe source of the problem.

I know that using Facebook won’t always make me feel thisway, so I’ve only temporarily disabled it, but now the temptation is gone. However, this is habit I’ve had for six yearsand I’m going through some withdrawl. That’s why I’ve decided to blog about this. Partly so I’ll have something to do now thatI am without Facebook, but also because I want to examine how much of a holdFacebook has on us.

I disabled my account in the middle of the afternoon, sotomorrow I will have a combined Day One and Two journal.

Wish me luck!

~Nice Girl

How to Survive High School

2011-09-05T12:05:00.004-04:00

One of my cousins whom I haven’t seen in a really long timeis going into high school in September, and for some reason, I feel it is myfamilial duty to pass on this list of advice to her and anyone else who isexcited/nervous/apathetic about going to High School.

1. Hazingwent the way of the dinosaur

WhenI was a kid, my father loved to tell me the stories about all the hazing he hadto go through as a “niner” in High School. There were horrifying stories of eggs being thrown, wearing gross makeupand something to do with garbage. Partof me knew that something like that would never happen in this day and age, butas I neared my first day of High School, there was still a tiny part of me thatwas nervous.

Obviouslythere was no hazing. It’s been thirtyyears since our parents went to high school (I just made half of my readersfeel old, sorry about that) and people have gotten way stricter about bullyingand harassment. So if someone tries tomake you roll an egg up the stairs with your nose, tell them to get a life.

2. Be(genuinely) nice to everybody

Youknow those teen movies/books/TV shows where the popular girl is the richest,prettiest, and bitchiest girl in the school? Well in real life, that’s not the case. In my experience, the “popular” kids are actually very likeablepeople. That’s what makes thempopular. Society and the media haveskewed the idea of popular to mean the most powerful person but in reality theword popular means someone that everybody likes.

So,how do you get people to like you? Thereare a lot of possible answers; buying lunch for them, helping them withhomework, throwing wild parties at your house while your parents are away (thisis a bad idea. Seriously.) But all of these actions are useless if theonly reason you are doing them is so that people will like you. In fact, it will probably lead to peopletaking advantage of you, which never turns out well. The best way to get people to like you is tobe nice to them. You have to do thingsfor them without expecting a reward or something in return, you have to be niceto everybody, even weird people or people that you don’t like, and you can’t bemean behind other people’s backs.

Sometimesyou will come across “popular” people who are nice to everybody’s face, but hasno problem talking about them behind their backs. People do this to try and get ahead in life,but it’s a bad idea because nobody actually likes those people, they justpretend right back.

Onemore thing, it’s hard to be nice to everyone and I don’t think anyone has everbeen nice to everybody all the time but the important thing is that you try.

3. Nomatter what you do, there will always be someone who doesn’t like you

Sometimespeople make decisions about people based on one bad encounter or a dumb rumouror even something as stupid as what shirt you happen to be wearing the day youmeet them. It (probably) won’t be yourfault, but it won’t matter to them. Youcould be a saint and it wouldn’t change their minds. The important thing to understand is thatit’s just one person and you shouldn’t let their opinion of you affect youropinion of yourself. I promise you thatyou are better than that.

Unlessa lot of people don’t like you, then maybe you should go back to #2 and thinkabout how you treat other people.

4. Unlessyou want to be a doctor or an engineer, you don’t have to have your lifeplanned out by the end of grade ten

Sometimein your high school career your guidance counsellor will hold an assembly andtell you it’s time to start planning your future. They will talk about doors closing andadmission requirements and the University Prep credits vs College Prep creditsand it will make your head hurt and scare you into thinking that your life willbe ruined if you make the wrong choice.

Honestly,don’t worry too much about all of this. University isn’t as scary as people make it out to be in highschool. Once you get into university youcan change your degree as much as you want so if you don’t know exactly whatyou want to do by the time your start picking grade 11 and 12 courses then it’snot the end of the world. Also, there isnothing wrong with taking summer school courses or a victory lap. It doesn’t mean you’re dumb and it can be agreat way to get ahead or upgrade a mark.

5. AskQuestions when you’re confused and demand straight answers

Thisis the first time people will start to treat you like an adult (although itwon’t seem that way sometimes) and you should take advantage of that. ProTip: Acting like an adult helps.

6. Dosomething other than school, it makes you a more interesting person

It’sreally important to have a hobby. Itlooks good on a university application, gives you something to talk about otherthan school work and it will prevent you from going crazy. I don’t care how studious you are, you havetime to do an extracurricular activity or two.

7. Havefriends who don’t go to your school

It’sa well known fact that High School is a sea of hormones and everybody isdealing with body image, self acceptance, social expectations and a whole lotof other things that help you become a functioning member of society. This means that there will be drama and youwill be involved in it at one point. Therefore it is really important that you have friends outside of all ofthat so that you can vent to, get advice from, and just generally spend timewith when you need to get away from all of that drama.

8. Takecourses that are interesting, not ones that will get you good marks

Thereis nothing worse than taking a bunch of courses that you don’t care about inorder to get good marks. Chances areyou’ll stop caring and your marks will suffer anyway. The more you’re interested in what you’relearning, the less you’ll hate school.

9. Teachersare interesting people

Don’tbe afraid to talk to them, forming good relationships with your teachers isanother really good way to make school suck less.

10. GuidanceCounsellors are better than Facebook (to complain to).

Timefor the hard truth: Except for your parents and your best friends, no one elseon facebook cares if you think your life is horrible. Guidance Counsellors however do care, and notjust because they are paid to. They arealso more likely to be able to help you. There is nothing wrong with going to a guidance counsellor, it doesn’tmean you’re crazy or a problem child and no problem is too small or too big forthem. I went to my guidance counsellorfor everything from issues I was having with friends or boys to worrying aboutmoney for university, to being stressed out about school. In fact, it was because of my guidancecounsellor that I discovered I had an anxiety disorder and he helped me learnstrategies to help me deal with it that I still use today.

GuidanceCounsellors are trained to deal with the big issues like abuse, depression,pregnancy and suicidal thoughts better than you or friends are and there is noshame in going to them because you are worried about someone else who has aproblem that is too big for you to deal with. In fact that is often the best thing you can do for your friend.

11. Thereis life after High School.

Alot of people say that High School never ends. What they mean is that there will always be people who are two-faced,people who don’t like you for any good reason, and there will always be dramain your life. Sorry, that’s just beinghuman.

Whatthey don’t mean is that if you were picked on when you were in High School youwill always be picked on. If you werepopular and successful in High School, it means nothing in the real world. Atthis point in your life, High School will seem like your whole world, but itisn’t. You’d be surprised how little itmatters just one year after you get out of there. Sometimes people have a great time in HighSchool and some people have a really hard time of it. The important thing isthat you just get through it and join the rest of us in the real world.

SoHannah (and everyone else reading this going into High School in tomorrow)good luck, and make good choices.

*cheesyfamily moment over*

How to Survive First Year: FYP Edition

2011-09-03T12:12:00.000-04:00

Today is the first day of Frosh Week at Kings, which is always an exciting time. No one really goes into first year at Kings and knows exactly what to expect. I’m not going to tell you what to expect, but I will tell some things that will make the Foundation Year more enjoyable and things that I wish I had known when I was doing FYP

1. Don’t take yourself too seriously

The first thing that I am going to do is congratulate on having the balls to do FYP. It’s a lot of fun, but it’s very intense. But you know this already. You also know that Kings is a pretty prestigious university and there’s a part of you that is feeling pretty self-important right now. This is normal, but you’re going to have to get over it. Lot of other people who didn’t do FYP are very smart, successful people and they’ve all read the same books that you have. At the end of first year I had a very interesting five minute conversation with Yann Martel where he wanted to know about some of the fiction that I had read as part of FYP. He was impressed with exactly one book on the list, when I mentioned some of the really cool ones that I had enjoyed reading (The Waste Land, Death in Venice) he dismissed them as books that everybody read, and the one he was impressed with was one that I hadn’t even really read (The Emigrants). This is when I realized that FYP wasn’t as special as I thought it was. It is still an amazing program that does something not many universities do, and it is a great way to get prepared for the rest of university, but it isn’t doing anything new and innovative. So don’t take yourself to seriously when you talk about FYP to people who haven’t done it, because being in FYP is impressive, but not as impressive as you think it is.

If you do end up taking yourself very seriously (sometimes it’s hard not to) don’t worry, you’ll come down from that as an upper year.

2. Get involved with the KTS

Or the KSU, or KAFCA, or the Chapel Choir, or SAMS, or YAS, or one of the sports teams, or the Orchestra, or the King’s Chorus, or the Watch, or the DSS, or the Swing Dance Society, or the Dance Collective, or Journalists for Human Rights one of the many other really cool societies that Kings has to offer. There are so many and they are all really cool. Go to the society fair during frosh week and find out all about them. It’s really important that you do things outside of FYP. You will make friends you don’t go to class with and it will help you be less crazy. You have time.

3. King’s is a fishbowl

This is something you will hear over and over again, but it doesn’t make it any less true. Kings is a small school, it becomes even smaller when you take into account that not everybody becomes really involved in life at Kings (which is a mistake). Things get even worse in FYP because the people you go to class with are also the same people you live with, eat with, get drunk with, and make out with. Everybody knows everybody’s business. There were some people who I hadn’t talked to more than once and I still knew about their sex lives, and the same thing happened with me. You can’t escape this so keep this in mind when it comes to the decisions you make, especially when it involves hooking up and learn to care a little less about what people think of you.

4. Embrace the traditions

A lot of you are probably really excited that Kings is a lot like Hogwarts, but in case you aren’t, get over it. The traditions are great! Formal Meal¸ Matriculatrion, Sherry Hour, College Christmas (the best thing ever), Big Night, the Resurrection Party, the Dante Party, the April Fools water fight, these are all wonderful things that you should take part in whole-heartedly because they are all fun, all cool and all a big part of why Kings is so much better than any other university you could go to.

5. You will never, ever, ever be right. Stop trying.

Seriously. Being right isn’t the point of FYP. There is rarely ever one right answer in the humanities so stop trying to find one, and explore the different opinions and answers to questions rather than waste your time trying to prove why yours is right.

This will make you especially likeable in Tutorial.

6. You will not do well on your first FYP paper

You’ve been told this at least a hundred times since you applied for Kings, but I’m going to tell you again, because no matter how many times you’re told¸ you will still probably be upset by your grade. You’re used to getting A’s without trying, so when you think of a low mark, you’re probably thinking a B. That’s not the kind of low we’re talking about; I’m talking C-/D low. High School did not teach you how to write a paper, even if you did IB or went to a fancy private school that cost more money than the tuition you’re paying now. The reason you write so many papers in FYP is so you learn how to write a paper. Your mark will go up gradually and it is possible to get and A, but don’t expect to get one for a very long time.

7. Do at least some of the readings

No doubt you’ve heard or will hear about the FYP 2/3. The idea is that if you attend two of the three ways you study in FYP (readings, lecture, and tutorial) then you will do well. This is true, but try to do at least some of the reading, even if you don’t finish a book. These are really, really great books and worth reading. Even if you don’t read them on time (my goal is to do all of my FYP readings by the time I graduate)

8. The Wardroom is a wonderful place. Don’t be the one to ruin it.

When they tell you not to drink underage in the Wardroom, they mean it. Kings has a Wet/Dry license which means you can hang out in the Wardroom even if you’re underage, which is great because the Wardroom is so much fun. However it also means that the liquor board people are super vigilant about making sure the liquor laws are followed and since they don’t give out that kind of license anymore, if it gets revoked all of your underage fun at the Wardroom (and possibly any fun at the wardroom at all) will be at an end forever. And since kings is a fishbowl, everybody will know if it was you who ruined the Wardroom, and they will hate you. So save your fake IDs for downtown.

9. Don’t believe the hype about Dal kids

So everybody thinks Dal kids are dumb because they don’t read all the books that you do and they don’t care about class. But remember that the first experience you will likely have with Dal classes will be a first year language or science credit and there will be lots of kids who don’t want to be there. This is the way things are with most universities. You’re sheltered from this because not many people do FYP unless they are interested in it, but you have to remember that Kings is not the real world. There are lots of really great, friendly, intelligent Dal kids who don’t hate you automatically for being a Kings student and aren’t bros. In fact I’m dating one right now, and honestly there is nothing better than dating someone who doesn’t also go to Kings (see the part about the Fishbowl, again)

10. FYP is hard work, suck it up

Last year there was this big plagiarism scandal that rocked the school. A bunch of kids plagiarised a paper that was due the Wednesday after the midterm and a lot of people were upset for various reasons. I was just kind of confused because everybody makes it very clear before you start FYP that it is hard work. If you don’t want to work hard then you shouldn’t be in FYP. There will be days where you will be expected to read a whole book in a night and write a paper the same week you have an exam, and you will feel overwhelmed. But everything is doable. FYP is a picnic compared to upper years when you are taking five or six different classes with different expectations and you’ll have to hand in a paper on the same day as an exam, or two papers on the same day. Use FYP as a chance to develop a work ethic that will help you get through the rest of your degree. I wish I had.

11. Be open to the wonderful things you are going to learn.

FYP is awesome and eye opening and you will never experience anything else like it and you will never be able to look at the world in the same way after FYP. This is a wonderful thing that you should embrace. You won’t come out of FYP enlightened, you will come out confused, learn to love the confusion it’s not a road block, it’s an adventure.

So enjoy Frosh, enjoy FYP and remember that you go the best university ever.

How to Survive First Year

2011-09-03T12:09:00.000-04:00

Frosh week is upon us and teenagers everywhere will be moving in, making friends and doing their first keg stands all over the country. So here is a list of things that I wish someone had told me in first year.

1. You do not have to drink to have a fun time at university

Seriously. I know lots of people who don’t drink and have lots of fun. It’s a myth

Also, if you choose to drink, you don’t have to drink a lot to have a fun time at university. Some people have fun when they’re drunk, some people don’t. Figure out which category you fit into and make sure you have a few friends who fit into the same category as you do.

2. It doesn’t matter what year you’re in

This applies to friends, dating, maturity, and pretty much everything else. Age and year don’t match up in the same way that they do in High School. You will find this out on your first day of school. The only time age matters is when you’re in a bar.

3. Go to your frosh events

All of them. Frosh isn’t about getting drunk, it’s about making friends, getting to know the city and learning important things like where your classes are, where to go if you need help, when mealtimes are and where you can smoke weed without getting seen. Also, it’s a good place to meet people from other degree programs you wouldn’t necessarily meet during classes, which is always nice.

4. Don’t be a jerk

It is possible to go through university successfully without any friends, but it isn’t very fun.

5. Frosh week doesn’t count (unless you do something really stupid)

So you’re finally on your own, away from parents and master of your own domain. Chances are you’re going to party a bunch, drink a lot, maybe abuse some substances and do a lot of dumb shit. So does everybody. I know very few people who didn’t make at least one stupid decision during frosh week. I made at least 3 (probably more, but I don’t remember them). For the most part, you get a mulligan on the mistakes you make this week because everybody goes crazy and doesn’t act like themselves during frosh.

BUT, if you do something really dumb, really memorable, or illegal (and get caught) then it does count, and because you meet so many people during frosh, these really dumb actions can colour a person’s opinion of you forever (like that guy who’s computer you broke that one time) so make sure you have friends around to keep each other in check.

6. Professors do care (but only if you care back)

It’s every High School teacher’s favourite speech “you get babied in here, but in university they don’t care about you, you’re just one student in a thousand and they won’t make special exceptions for you.”

This is a lie. Sort of.

Despite what your High School teachers like to tell you, your professors do care about, but only if you make the effort. If you attend classes, work hard and generally try a little, then professors (or TAs) will be happy to help you if you have a problem with the material, or need an extension. But they will only go as far as you are willing to.

7. It is possible to act like a grown up and still have fun

This is pretty tied into the drinking thing, but honestly, you’re an adult now and the sooner you start acting like one the better, because idiotic behaviour is only funny for a limited amount of time.

8. Don’t expect straight A’s

We all know that in High School you can get straight A’s without trying at all. University is hard and you have to work hard to well. Also, High School didn’t prepare you for university, so expect a rocky start grades wise until you learn how to write a paper/lab report/study properly.

9. Do things outside of School

University is hard, but if you spend all of your free time studying in the library, not only will you have no social life, you will be the most, boring, un-hireable person ever.

10. Get off Campus

This is good for your sanity and your boredom levels. I don’t care where you go to university, your campus only has so much to offer, and the city/town/village it’s in, no matter how small has something to offer that your campus doesn’t. Go find what that is and embrace it.

11. Study something you’re interested in, not something that you think will pay well.

All the high paying jobs (doctors, lawyers, engineers) require an incredible amount of dedication, schooling, money, and time that isn’t worth it unless you’re in one of those professions because you’re truly passionate about it. University is a place to learn stuff, not a place to get job training. Also, you will probably change your major at least once so don’t sweat about your career goals too much, especially not in first year.

So there you have it. Stay safe, have fun, and if you happen to go to University of Kings College, then stay tuned for special a special list just for you!

~Nice Girl

In Loving Memory

2011-06-20T21:40:00.001-04:00

I’ve been thinking about death a lot lately.

June 15th marked one year since my uncle lost his battle with Lymphoma. A childhood friend of mine passed away at just 19 on February 17th. And today, June 20th, I found out that Dr. Peggy Heller, former director of the Foundation Year Programme and Contemporary Studies professor at King’s lost her battle with Cancer this morning.

So much death.

As I sit here, reeling from the death of a woman I didn’t know very well, but had the utmost respect for, I’m reminded where I was this time last year. I had come home that summer to the news that two of my older, but still dear friends had passed away after complications with their health. They had lived many wonderful years, left those of us behind with so many lovely stories, and as they were both craftsmen, physical reminders of their life on earth and the things they did for the community. As much as it hurt to say goodbye, it was a little easier. This wasn’t the case with my uncle. Not even fifty years old, Greg Lockwood was stolen away from his family by a disease that has an 87% survival rate. The final two weeks my uncle spent in the hospital were the hardest days I’ve ever had to face. My mood shifted constantly between rage and despair. I exhausted myself trying to stay strong for Greg during the hospital visits, and for my family the rest of the time. The evening I found out he probably wouldn’t make the night was the first time I ever remember crying myself to sleep. By the time my father woke me up that morning to tell me that Greg had died, I was so drained I didn’t have the energy to cry. But I remember thinking that three deaths in just a few months was just too much to handle. It’s taken me the better part of the year to get over my uncle’s death, partly because my healing process was upset by the accidental death of Michelle Monkhouse, a beautiful, athletic girl I had gone to girl guides with. I hadn’t spoken to Michelle in many years, but for a long time she was a very dear friend of mine.

And now, just as I’m starting to feel better about everything, this happens. I beginning to feel the same exhaustion I felt last year. I need some respite from all of this death.

A few days after my uncle’s death I was speaking on the phone with a dear friend of mine (you learn so much about your relationships with people during periods of great sadness) and I remember being so confused about how life just keeps going after someone dies. I kept expecting pathetic fallacy, an eclipse or for the earth to stop turning for a moment, some kind of physical reflection of the things my heart was feeling. But of course that doesn’t happen. Life keeps happening, and over time things slowly start to get better. People say that death makes you feel more alive, reminds us that we should treat every day like a gift. Those aren’t the feelings I get from death, dealing with death makes me feel languid, introspective, and impossibly fragile.

However there are a few things I have learned from my experiences with death.

The first and probably most important thing that death has taught me was that love was worth it. No matter how short-lived it is, being in love is always worth the risk of heartbreak. Always.

The second is that in end, the bad things don’t really matter. This is especially comforting to me, as my anxiety disorder likes to constantly push the bad things at me.

The third is that in retrospect, everything you choose to do with your life, no matter how mundane will be seen as a triumph, and that people should stop trying to be great, successful, famous, whatever and just do the things that make you happy

And finally, everyone you touch in your lifetime will remember you. So if you want to really be remembered, you should just love the world.

I don’t know when I’ll feel better. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be ok, I’m not sure if anyone is ok after they lose people that they love, but as I listen to the words of a song it’s taken me a year to build up the courage to listen to, I know that things will eventually get easier.

I didn’t know Peggy Heller very well; I can’t remember having an extended conversation with her and I don’t know if she even knew my name for longer than the fifteen minutes she gave my oral exam in December of first year. But I do remember that she loved Don Giovanni, she had a beautiful smile, a calm, soothing voice, was one of the smartest women I ever had the pleasure of meeting and that she always smiled at me when we passed in the hallways. I know how much she was loved and respected by the King’s community, and I know that she touched the lives of so many people. King’s really won’t be the same without her, and we will all miss her. Dearly.

I close my eyes and hope they do not fade

These remnants of a voice and a smile

Images of landscape, cloaked in forest green

Like your life unfolding mile by mile

A fierce embrace, a word of thanks

A cheerful whistle, and hours in a van

Somehow these pieces must bring back the man you were

Though the ocean claims your ashes on the sand

(Say Uncle, by Vienna Teng)

"That's so Gay"

2011-06-19T09:28:00.000-04:00

So lately there's been a whole lot of talk about homosexuality in the media. For the past few weeks my news and twitter feeds have been full of stories about the continual stupidity of the Catholic school boards in Ontario, the dawn of the so-called "Post-Mo", and just the other I heard about Elle Noir, a Trans performer in Halifax who was shot on Tuesday, and how despite the fact that it had all the makings of one, the Police aren't treating the attack as a hate crime. Now, there are people who are going to complain about the things I'm going to say right off the bat because I am a straight, white woman, but as a person who cares about social justice, knows and loves many wonderful queer people, and has an opinion. I've decided to throw my two cents in.

The Gay community has been up in arm's lately about Paul Aguirre-Livingston's controversial essay in The Grid about his experience of being a young gay man coming of age in Toronto where gay marriage has been legalized. According to Aguirre-Livingston, this generation of gays are living a life free from political struggle, in a world that accepts people for who they are regardless of their sexuality. Sexuality for this generation of gay men and women, he argues, is secondary. He describes the new life of the gay man in Toronto in his essay:

We vacation with our boyfriends in fabulously rustic country homes that belong to our parents, who don’t mind us coming to stay as a couple. Hell, we even marry our boyfriends, if we choose to, on rooftops overlooking Queen West. Our sexual orientation is merely secondary to our place in society. We don’t need to categorize or define ourselves as gay, and who we sleep with—mostly men and, hey, sometimes women—isn’t even much of a topic of conversation anymore. The efforts of Wittman and his peers produced a whole new type of gay. Say hello to the post-modern homo. The post-mo, if you will.

While Aguirre-Livingston's personal experience is completely valid, a lot of people are taking issue with the sweeping generalizations he's making about the gay community in Toronto and in general. While many people may live this lifestyle and be accepted for who they are, this is by no means the norm, even in Toronto. This reminds me of something that I hear all the time as a Feminist in today's society "But we have achieved equality! Feminism is outdated and unnecessary now." This is absolutely not true, women have made great strides, but we still live in a world where I can (and have) been turned down for a job because I was a woman, and they thought a man would be a better candidate for the job, where women don't make the same wages as men do and don't hold as many top positions in companies. And that's just in the developed world. The reason people feel they don't need to fight for women's rights is because institutional, public sexism is no longer popular. Sexism is quieter, less obvious, but still present. Apathetic gay men and women don't even have this excuse. In some circles public and institutional Homophobia is still very much in vogue, and there is still so much ground to cover. Although I find nothing about this article personally offensive because I'm on the outside looking in, I do see the danger in this kind of thinking. The status of women in Canada has declined significantly in the past few years, and although everybody loves to blame Harper for it, I really believe that the reason Harper gets away with it is because so many women believe that they don't need to fight for their rights anymore. I'd hate to see this kind of thing happen with the Gay Rights movement.

One of the saddest things about the essay in the Grid is the idea that 20-something gays are enjoying freedom and acceptance, when the news is full of stories of gay high school students who are fighting for their right to assemble and be recognized. It all started in January when the Halton Catholic school board banned Gay-Straight Alliances (GSA). The chair of the HCDSB defended the board's action with everybody's favourite metaphor:

"We don’t have Nazi groups either,” rationalizes board chair Alice Anne LeMay. “Gay-straight alliances are banned because they are not within the teachings of the Catholic Church.”

Moral Debate Rule #1: Never compare anything to the Holocaust. Ever.

And with these words, Xtra went on a crusade against the Catholic School Boards of Ontario. They began to report that there were no Catholic GSAs in Ontario, called into question the public funding of Catholic Schools, reported on a whole bunch of other instances where the and just generally hated on the Catholics (A favourite pass-time of anybody who isn't catholic). This led to a whole lot of public outrage, and a lot of other people hating on the Catholics. My reaction to all of this wasn't rage so much as it was sadness. I went to a Catholic High School and it was not like this at all. Now, a lot of this has to do with the fact that it was a school for the arts, but my High School (which by the way, had part of its campus in the TCDSB building) was incredibly queer-positive. We had openly gay and warmly accepted gay students, gay teachers, a GSA (Held in a classroom the TCDSB building), the principal allowed us to be out of uniform on Pink Shirt Day, and queer issues were always discussed during Respect for Life Week. I remember one year, our school was the target of an attack by Catholic bully website "Life Site News"and a far right Catholic magazine that I have never heard of called "Catholic Insight" these inflammatory articles are journalism at its worse. They bend the truth and sometimes tell outright lies. Let me point out at this time that none of my teachers, gay or straight ever talked about their personal lives in great detail.

I think it's interesting to point out that while Xtra is preaching Catholic intolerance, the Catholic media is in outrage over all the queer-positive teachers. Since both media outlets are extreme ends of the spectrum. It makes me wonder what it's really like in Catholic schools. I don't really know, since my experience with Catholic schools are the very inclusive Arts school that I went to and the all boys schools that I did musicals at. Now, even secular all-boys schools have a reputation for being simultaneously homophobic and homoerotic; if you add to that mix the right-leaning beliefs of the Catholic church you have the other extreme. I doubt that most Catholic schools are as welcoming as mine was, but I also don't think that they're all as homophobic as the boys schools were. I wish I knew.

A last note, the GSA at my school was called "Dialogue", which maybe saved it from the School Board, since Xtra seems to have a problem with boards that don't allow groups with "Gay"in the title. I wonder if there are any other Catholic GSAs operating under the same disguise, there probably are.

~Nice Girl

PS: Feel free to comment on this, but know that I do moderate comments. So don't even think about being a jerk.

Review: Opera de Montreal’s La Boheme

2011-05-29T10:51:00.000-04:00

So my incredibly overwhelming, slightly terrifying trip to Montreal to meet The Boyfriend’s family began after a 21 hour train ride on Friday, and I was thrown into everything right after we got off the train Saturday morning. It was a day of new people, a new city and people who really, really needed to like me. Introvert that I am, I was absolutely exhausted at the end of the day and really craving something familiar, and some time on my own. Luckily, I had opera tickets!

There have been a lot of really great opera productions in Toronto this year and I’ve unfortunately had to miss them all. One of the downsides of being Halifax, there isn’t much Opera. Besides the Dalhousie productions (which I’m in) and one or two travelling shows during the year, Opera Nova Scotia only does one full production a year, and this year it happens to be on the weekend I’m here in Montreal. So thanks to a gift from my parents (Opera de Montreal doesn’t have student discounts for individual shows) I got my opera fix, and a much needed respite from all the unfamiliar yesterday.

The Wilfrid-Pelletier theatre in Place des Arts is beautiful on the outside and impressively large on the inside, but like most Canadian theatres, it was built for concerts and Broadway musicals rather than opera. As a result of the crummy acoustics, It was hard to hear the singers over the orchestra, especially in the Balcony seats that I was in.

The cast was a spectacular group of young Canadian singers, but at the beginning you could really tell their age. While I am all for supporting young artists, the age of the singers added a certain believability to the characters, some of their voices were still very young, and I suspect that this, paired with the acoustics of the theatre played a role in the volume issues that I was hearing from everyone in the cast. A particular stand out was Antoine Bélanger playing Rodolfo. He has a beautiful voice and an impressive career ahead of him, I’m sure, but I’m not convinced if his voice is robust enough yet to play this role (at least not in that theatre), his Che Gelida Manina was beautiful and lyrical, but lacking in power, even when it wasn’t fighting with the orchestra to be heard. Additionally, it seemed that all of the singers needed an act and a half to warm up, and the second two acts were much better.

A real standout performance was Lara Ciekiewicz as Musetta, she was delightfuly flirtatious, emotionally complex and incredibly talented. She injected life into whatever scene she was in and had an impressive stage presence (and not just because she was always dressed in red). This was a show in which the women performed above and beyond the men and Marianne Fiset as Mimi also delivered, turning the usually boring character of Mimi into someone with personality whom the audience could actually care about. Her death scene was absolutely beautiful, although at times a little heavy-handed. I also must mention Pierre Rancourt (an Atelier Lyric de Opera de Montreal member) and Alexandre Sylvestre as the comically brilliant Schaunard and Colline.

The production itself was also beautiful. Puccini often lends itself to impressive box-sets that take a very long time to change in between acts. The Canadian Opera Company production of the same opera had an intermission after every act in order to facilitate scene changes. The set in this production was simpler and more beautiful. Rodolfo and Marcello’s industrial flat with big windows turned seamlessly into the Cafe Momus and with a few additions became the city gates in the third act. The costumes were traditional, turn of the century Parisian and I was taken up by the look of the production, and found the less elaborate production very refreshing. Overall a very good-looking production with some very promising young singers

~Nice Girl

Confessions of a First Time Voter: Dirty Little Secret

2011-04-26T14:55:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I voted. Judging from my friends’ Facebook statuses and twitter updates, I should have felt ecstatic, blissfully happy, and proud to have contributed to the country and done my democratic duty. But that’s not how I felt at all.
Yesterday, I voted and it kind of sucked.

So first of all I had to vote by special ballot because I wanted to vote in my home riding where I know the candidates, and since I don’t plan to settle down anywhere in the near future, my parents’ house is the only permanent residence I have to speak of. This meant that I had to go to a special Elections Canada office in your friendly neighbourhood abandoned high school after walking all the way around the enormous building to the back door of the school, I found my way to the office, set up in a classroom. As I was entering, a say a young woman talking to the receptionist. She seemed really frustrated because she only had fifteen minutes to vote and the wait was a least an hour. There were at least ten people waiting to vote or be registered, but there was only one ballot box and two revising officers. The woman left frustrated and the receptionist gave me her number, telling me that it might save me some time. Then I waited, and waited, and waited and waited I think I waited for at least an hour before all was said and done. It’s fascinating the people you meet waiting in line. I talked to a friend from school, a magician, and my boyfriend’s upstairs neighbour. About thirty minutes in, they decided to open another ballot box. When I finally got to vote, I was taken into an empty classroom with a makeshift desk and an election cubicle. Then the election officer started going through books. First a book to find out the number of my electoral district for the form I had to fill out. Next, a book with the name of my riding (even though I knew it already), finally I received a book with all the candidates running in the election. As I flipped through the book, looking for my riding, I discovered that there are a ton of Marxist-Leninist candidates, and they all have awesome names. Finally, I found my candidates. I was giving a little black slip of paper that said “I am voting for ___________” I wrote down the name of the candidate that I was voting for and was given an envelope to put it in. I sealed that envelope, signed it and gave it to the officer who then put it in another envelope. She wrote some stuff on that envelope, and then put it into one more envelope. She then gave it to me and told me to mail it. I asked if I had to pay for postage. She said yes (really Elections Canada? Really?) but that she could get me a stamp from the office. She said she wasn’t supposed to, but that “I worry you young ones just won’t vote if you have to go out and buy stamps.” Which sounds ridiculous, but honestly I probably would have forgotten to buy a stamp, I did have an exam to study for. Voting was like government sanctioned procrastination. So I left the building with the most important envelope ever. I felt like someone in a spy movie, except it was less awesome, and I was more terrified of losing the envelope. After wandering around the city looking for a mail box put the letter in, hoped Canada Post wouldn’t lose it, and went home.

It took me a while to understand how I felt after voting, but there was no euphoria, no pride. I had just voted, but I didn’t want to. I almost didn’t go; the prospect of voting depressed me. I was so dissatisfied with all my options. I took the Angus-Reid Political Personality Poll , I was told I was a Crushed Hope Citizen. I had never felt so accurately described. I lied in my last posting, I’m not apathetic- I’ve just given up. No matter who I vote for, the government’s going to suck. I was voting, by my heart wasn’t into it. I felt like a slut.

A dirty, election slut.

I went home with crushed spirits, got my hair cut, pigged on garlic fingers and watched Disney movies to pick up my spirits. I’m not joking; I haven’t done something in a long time that made me feel so gross. That’s not the way it should be

So politicians of Canada, please pay attention to the youth. Because next time, I’m not voting unless I have a reason to.

~Nice Girl

Confessions of a First Time Voter: Apathy

2011-04-16T11:13:00.000-04:00

I thought I would take advantage of the election and share my thoughts, as a first-time voter, on the various things that are happening during this election. It’s also a good way to avoid studying for exams.

Today I wanted to talk about something that everyone seems to be talking about, Voter Apathy. Every single election I remember, voter apathy is an issue. The big after-election headlines are the ones bemoaning the poor voter turnout , particularly among the Youth. In the last election, 37.4 percent of Canadians aged 18-24 voted. During the 2008 election (an election with the worst voter turnout in the history of Canada), my 16 year-old self was perplexed and outraged. I was so upset that I hadn’t been old enough to vote, and the people who were lucky enough to vote weren’t doing it. Like every stary-eyed, under-aged, young activist, I vowed that I would vote in every election that I could when I turned 18.

But now that I’m old enough to vote, I can honestly say I don’t care. Now that’s not to say that I won’t vote, I know all the stuff about it being my democratic right and how my great great uncle was blown up in World War I so that I could vote, but on May 2nd, I won’t be voting because of a greater sense of duty to my country. I will be voting because society and Rick Mercer have nagged me into it. The problem is that I don’t really want to vote for anyone (but more on that later). To me, Election Day feels a little bit like the family reunion you don’t want to go to, but your parents guilt you into it anyway. The one where there isn’t anyone your age and a bunch of obscure relatives who pretend to be interested in your life, but will forget about you the next day.

So, even though I will be attending the vote mobs and voting on Election Day, I confess I will still be apathetic about it. But at least I am voting, and this way, maybe I’ll actually care about the next election.

~Nice Girl

Train of Fools

2010-12-18T18:44:00.000-05:00

Train, Train, Train...

The Second Leg of my trip home

10am

We depart for Toronto in the second train. This train is not as nice as the first one. Breakfast was a McCrepe and Hash Browns from McDonalds. It was wonderful. My friend Meghan is also on the train to Toronto, it’s such a small world

The woman across the aisle from me is speaking very expressively in French. It’s incredibly comical.

We have wifi on this train, which means that I could post up the first half of by blog. Now that Katie and I have internet, we are much quieter.

10:30

A direct quote from the father and son in the seats across from us

Son: “I really don’t like being in the same clothes two days in a row”

Father: “No, it really cramps your style”

I’m looking forward to seeing my Dad again.

10:45

That storm I saw coming in Drummondville seems to have hit us here too. I can barely see out the window. The train is moving much faster in Quebec than it was in New Brunswick. Katie has a theory that it’s because the soil is looser in New Brunswick, and it makes driving much slower. I’m not sure about this.

There is a refreshment cart on this train, just like on a plane. I’m not sure if this is good or bad.

Katie just tweeted me rather than speak to me in person, even though she is sitting right beside me. The internet can be such a curse sometimes.

11:11am

11:11, I made a wish. The snow covered scenery is back. It’s super pretty. We are almost in Cornwall and I’m super excited to be in Ontario again, it’s such a pretty province

11:23

We have been delayed for the past fifteen minutes waiting for another train to leave the station. The people are starting to get restless. Maybe there will be a coup

11:45

We’ve finally left Cornwall. There was no coup. This train ride is considerably less interesting than the other one. I blame then internet

12:15

I’ve officially been on a train for 24 hours. That is a very long time to be on a train.

12:21

Heading into Brockville. The father and son across from me are arguing over text messages. Father wants to send a message to his wife, son doesn’t seem to think that father can type on a phone. Or maybe he just doesn’t want to give up control over his phone. I’m very rapidly learning that technology ruins everybody.

12:39

The son across the way from me has been chatting with us throughout the train ride and using our computers for charging his iPod. In return he gives us candy. Momentary friendship of convenience? Don’t mind if I do!

Apparently Son’s sister hit a deer with Father’s truck. They are now going over the cost of repairs. Father doesn’t seem pleased.

12:50

The train is apparently broken. Sweet.

1:10

The train is no longer broken. The snow has turned to rain. Thanks Ontario.

Katie is balancing her moleskin on one finger. Apparently even the internet stops being interesting. This apparently is much more entertaining.

1:21

They came by to collect cans when I had garbage to get rid of; my pop can was still full. When they came by to collect garbage, my can was empty. I just can’t win

The closer we get to Toronto, the less snow is on the ground. I’m not too happy about this. I did however, see the first completely frozen over lake, and that was fun.

1:37

We’ve been stopped in Kingston forever. There are so many delays on this train. It’s the universe laughing in my face. The closer to home we get, the more delays there are

1:54

Katie just pulled out a mystery envelope full of cash. Which is not as fun as carrots because I don’t think she’ll share this time. Also the presence on Wifi on this train means that I’ve gone back to my regular habits of obsessively checking my email.

I just saw some Cows. Entire trip made.

2:05

We just stopped in Napanee. Katie loudly exclaimed that this is where Avril Lavigne is from. The entire train car just judged her taste in music.

The expressive French woman keeps switching places with her husband. Probably because he was giving us dirty looks.

We just went past a recycling plant. I loudly exclaimed that all the compressed plastic looks really cool. No word on how the train car judged me.

2:52

The Father just offered to lend us some old national geographic magazines to occupy us during the train ride. Adorable.

If the train is delayed 11 more minutes, we might get a refund on our ticket. I’m not sure if the ten minutes is worth it

The sky looks gross. I suspect there will be a blizzard. Katie hopes it will slow us down by 11 minutes

We checked the via rail website. They give themselves a 5 minute grace period, so in reality we need a 16 minute delay to get a refund. Katie is infuriated by this. She says that’s like promising them a gift under conditions you set yourself, then changing the conditions in a way that you hope will appear inconspicuous.

Did I say blizzard? I meant rain storm. There’s no snow here, we’re in southern Ontario! How could I have been so naive?

3:16

In coburg, driving past lake Ontario (?) It’s pretty, but I kind of miss the ocean.

According to via rail, we’re picked up six minutes. Even though we were delayed going into the station again. I guess there will be no refund.

The official sounding guy on the train says we are 40 minutes behind schedule. Now we really won’t get our refund.

3:23

Direct quote from a man on the train

“I don’t understand how a train can be late. There’s no traffic, no lights, no weather. It’s just pure incompetence if you ask me. Forty minutes late? That’s ridiculous”

Why don’t you try to drive the train buddy?

The Father told us a story about an 11 year old Russell Crowe in a tutu. That just sounds adorable.

I’m finding I’m not too concerned about the delay. When you’ve been on a train for 26 hours, an extra 40 minutes doesn’t really make that much of a difference

I just checked the weather for while I am in Toronto. It will be frigid and snowless. Lame.

MORE COWS!

3:49

Waiting to pull into Oshawa, there is a guy behind me talking about a giant graffiti tag and wondering how people would get it done without being caught. He is speaking like he has an intimate knowledge of the art.

There is a man behind me who keeps burping. It’s gross

Speaking of Graffiti, the tags on the cargo train beside us are pretty fantastic. They are my favourite part about cargo trains.

4:12

We’ve pulled into Guildwood. It’s on the GO Line. So we must be close to home. There is some snow on the ground, I have hope.

The sun is gold and setting behind some grey stratus clouds, it’s really pretty.

They announced that we’ll be there in 15 minutes! Yay! I’m so ready to get off the train and see my family

4:30

In Toronto! Finally I’m so happy. Now for sleep and food and family.

Leaving on a Jet Train...

2010-12-18T10:03:00.001-05:00

Train Travel Musings

First term is over and I’m finally going home for Christmas Holidays, but I really hate flying, so instead I am taking the train from Halifax to Montreal, and then Montreal to Toronto. All in all it will be a 27 hour train ride, so I thought I would document my adventures on the train

11:21am

I’ve been at the train station for almost an hour. I didn’t plan to get to the station by 10:30, but I was more efficient in packing than I thought I would be, and the cab came much faster than I thought it would. It’s finally snowing in Halifax, on the day I leave. Thanks for that, universe. I think there’s something incredibly romantic about train travel in the snow. But I also fear that it will cause delays to an already very long ride. I do however, hope I get a window seat.

There is a guy sitting on a bench playing a blue ukulele with a reusable grocery bag discussing the benefits of organic produce. This makes me miss Halifax already.

One of the coolest professors at Kings (think Blackadder episodes in the middle of lectures) is also at the train station. I bet we’re taking the same train. I like his hat.

Ukulele boy’s girlfriend is sitting beside him now. She looks exactly like the kind of girl I’d expect ukulele boy to be dating. They’re like the poster couple of Halifax culture. She’s holding the cardboard ukulele box, so it’s probably new. This takes them to new levels of hipsterdom. I will definitely miss Halifax.

11:37am

The line up is starting to get long. I think I will join it, maybe talk to the guy in the chartreuse skinny jeans and bright orange sweater. He looks fun.

12:30 am

Skinny jeans guy was nice, it made waiting in line much better. My friend Katie is also taking the train all the way to Toronto, so I have a train buddy, which is really great. I could have dealt with 28 hours of solitude, but having a friend is waaaay better. The snow is falling in thick flakes and collecting on the ground. It’s pretty much the best. The scenery out my window is beautiful. I’m pretty sure there won’t be any snow in Toronto, because there is never any snow in Toronto, but I will get to at least enjoy looking at the snow while I am on the train. Also, all the best graffiti is by the train tracks so not only do I have beautiful scenery to look at, I also have interesting art. Train travel is pretty much the best.

My friend has just informed me that there was a blizzard in Toronto, so maybe there will be snow when I get home after all, but part of me doesn’t want to keep my hopes up.

We are now driving past a lake surrounded by evergreen trees. Covered in snow (duh) I love Canada so much. I wish I had brought my camera with me. But just picture a scene from a Christmas card. That I what I’m seeing out my window.

They just blew the train whistle. It was awesome. I feel like such a child, but I’m so excited that I actually sounds like “choo choo”

We’re out of the city completely now and I’m so taken by the beauty of the “wilderness” and the wooded areas. I really want to do more camping in Nova Scotia. I haven’t gone winter camping in a really long time, maybe I’ll try and work something out in the New Year. I really need to take advantage of the fact that I’m living in one of the most beautiful provinces ever.

1:25pm

They just made announcement that Santa Buddies was playing in the entertainment longe/car. Santa Buddies. A bad movie starring adorable puppies who save Christmas. But unlike a plane, I don’t have to be subjected to an annoying giant screen with the movie playing, because it’s in another car. Score 1 for trains.

3:04

I have no cellphone signal, so we must be in New Brunswick by now. Also there’s a lot of nothing around, which makes the likelihood of being in New Brunswick even greater (Not that I don’t love New Brunswick, it’s just doesn’t have as many cities, and in my experience of it, is a giant dead zone for cellphone signal). I like that I look out my window and can see nothing but trees. It’s lovely. There’s less snow on the ground, but I can see bits of blue sky, and even the sun peeking out from behind the clouds (cumulo-stratus). The light dusting of snow on the ground and on the evergreen trees makes me think of Narnia when the white witch starts to lose her power and the snow starts to melt.

Katie and I spent the last hour having a conversation that ranged from Wikileaks, to Feminism, to religion, to Sex Education, to Philosophy. I’ve realized that I still really love Leibniz, even though I was up till four writing a paper about him. I’m also pondering how we can look at the optimism of early modern thought in light of the Holocaust. This is why I love my school, because it’s full of people that I can have fascinating and varied conversations with.

3:21

The train is about to stop in Amherst I guess we’re not in New Brunswick yet. Amherst is a place I’ve always kind of wanted to go to, just because it had a pretty name and I like going to random places for adventures, but there is nothing here that look remotely adventure worthy. I guess I will have to find a new place to find adventure.

3:41

Pulling into Sackville station. Now we are in New Brunswick. There is not much to say, but at least I still have cellphone signal.

4:10

Katie pulled a giant carrot in out of her bag and started eating it as a snack. Katie is the greatest.

5:00

Just pulling out of Moncton after a 15 minute stop. Katie pulled another carrot out of her bag and offered it to me. Katie is my new best friend.

I realized I that I might have kicked my iPod habit. Usually I need my iPod to help me stay sane on long trips, even when I’m travelling with other people, but I haven’t had to use it at all. In fact I haven’t used my iPod very much this year. This means I am either becoming more comfortable with silence, or I’m becoming comfortable with the thoughts in my head (or both) either way, I think this is a good thing, I’m becoming less plugged into my head and more open to human interaction. Take that Steve Jobs!

5:23

The all nighter I pulled last night is starting to kick in. Time to try and nap.
6:23

Nap accomplished. There is not very much good vegetarian food on the train. Katie and I bemoan this fact and get more excited for the train station in Montreal when “The world will become our culinary oyster” this is a direct quote. I buy Hummus and crackers from the canteen while Katie drinks tea out of a Mason jar and eats her third carrot. She also tells me to note that she is wearing mucklucks. The combination of the shoes, the mason jar and the fact that the carrots are from Homegrown Organics (home of the weekly vegetable boxes) makes her the perfect example of a young Haligonian. The fact that she is writing an essay on post-modern feminist French film in French is the Cherry on top.

I went to go to the bathroom, but a man was already in their who had forgotten to lock the door. I apologized profusely and tried to close the door again, but it didn’t work. I was mortified.

6:54

We’re in Miramachi. I now have Donkey Riding stuck in my head. Which is a step up from do they know it’s Christmas. I can’t believe this train ride has only lasted for 6 hours. Katie wants it on the record that this would go by much faster if there was wifi on the train. Preferably twitter

The road is lined with inflatable Christmas decorations. One was a rock band fronted by Santa and a bunch of penguins. I would like to point out that penguins live in the south pole, and Santa lives in the north pole. The house beside them had a boat with three snowmen in it, but it was deflating on one side, making the boat look like it was sinking. Also, they were all paddling on the same side, so the boat wouldn’t have gone very far. The Christmas decorations are all pretty spectacular. I can’t wait to see them in Quebec.

7:33

I feel like we are legitimately in the middle of nowhere. There is no light outside and I have no cellphone signal, which is frustrating because I’m trying to send a text message to someone. It’s like the train is travelling through a black void of nothingness (insert New Brunswick joke here)

8:31

I figured out how to make my chair recline, but unfortunately it compromises my leg room rather than the space directly behind my seat. Nice for the people behind me, not so nice for my legs
9:54

Still in New Brunswick, I had no idea New Brunswick was so big.

10:30

After many false alarms we arrive in Campbellton. Our need for cash and fresh air means Katie and I almost get stranded in Campbellton. Although we think that it would provide great material for a hit song, we are glad that we reached the train in time
10:57

Katie and I eat dinner in the observation car, and celebrate my first train ride with Gin and Tonics. Classy (and way too expensive).

10:19 (Say what?!)

We arrive in Matapedia, Quebec. Eastern Standard Time for the win.

10:48

Going to give that sleeping thing a shot. Here’s hoping I wake up in Montreal.

7:30 am, December 18th

Woke up in Drummondville after mostly uncomfortable sleep. We are driving past endless amount of snow covered farmland. The rising sun is bright red. It’s beautiful, but I make a mental note to warn any sailors I might meet on my travels.

8:40am

We drove past a highway sign that said “Chateauguay” I don’t know if we’re anywhere near Chateauguay, but if we are then we are near to where my country house was. I’m feeling very nostaligic going through this part of quebec anyway, most of the small towns look the same.

9:00

We’ve arrived in Montreal! First leg of the journey done, now I’m off to get some food before boarding the next train to Toronto. I’ll be sleeping in my own bed tonight, and that’s super exciting!

Author Influence

2010-12-08T08:07:00.002-05:00

So there’s been a facebook meme going around where you list 15 authors who’ve influenced you in 15 minutes. I was tagged four different notes of on facebook, all asking for my response. So here’s my list of 15 (actually 17) authors that have influenced me, or at least left an impression

1. Elizabeth Gaskell
2. William Shakespeare
3. Jane Austen
4. Virginia Woolf
5. Chris Wooding
6. Oscar Wilde
7. Emily Dickenson
8. Lewis Carrol
9. Roald Dahl
10. Frank Herbert
11. Carolyn Keene
12. Tom Stoppard
13. Neil Simon
14. Douglas Adams
15. Tamora Pierce
16. Martin Luther
17. George Herman

I know, I cheated. But after listing the first 15, these two came immediately to mind and I couldn’t deny their influence on me. I also couldn’t replace them with any of the first fifteen.

When I first looked at this list, I was surprised to find discover that there is not really any philosophy here, considering that I’m a philosophy student, but part of me wonders if it’s a good thing, I mean, I’m only 19 years old. It’s probably a good idea not to be so taken in by one way of viewing the world. I should note that Martin Luther’s presence on this list is not a philosophical or really even a theological one, but reading Luther helped me go through a huge religious breakthrough in my personal faith last year, so he has to stay on the list

Looking through other people’s lists, I’m noticing that they’ve put lots of musicians and songwriters. I think for me, that this might have to be a completely different list, as I can probably list 15 of those on my own. But that’s a post for a different time.

I’m in crazy exam mode, but hopefully I’ll have another update by next week. I have one that’s half-done, but I have to find the words to finish it.

Cheers!
~Nice Girl

The Best Kind of Insomina

2010-09-01T02:18:00.000-04:00

I am writing this at two thirty in the morning. I need to wake up at nine tomorrow to do a marathon day of shopping for house stuff with my parents before they leave, and I should be sleeping. But I’m not. I can’t. This summer one of my friends told me that there are times that she can’t sleep because she is too excited about life. It’s a strange and beautiful thought that I didn’t quite understand at first because I worry about things a lot. But tonight, I understand it. In fact I’m living it.

Today was the beginning of a wonderful new chapter in my life. It was my first full day back in Halifax and the first day when all of my housemates were together in the house. We spent the day cleaning the house, packing, and generally being excited about living together. Now that I’m finally alone with my thoughts, I’ve had a chance to reflect on the year ahead. I’ve never been so excited for a year to start than I am now.

This summer was hard, life changing, and taught me a lot about myself. There was so much beauty, laughter, and meaningful and wonderful friendships, both new and old, but there was also a great deal of pain and loss, including the death of my uncle, who lost his battle with Lymphoma in July. But now that I am back in a familiar place, and reunited with my friends, I’ve realized how much this summer shaped me, and turned me into a stronger, more confident person. Last year felt like a wonderful year long vacation, almost like being at camp for a whole year, but now I can clearly see my whole life ahead of me and it looks like the most exciting adventure ever.

First of all, I’m in an incredibly exciting place musically. I’ve never been more excited to sing, and I have a renewed sense of the fact that there is nothing else I could ever imagine doing with my life then singing. Nothing. All I want to do every day is sing. I have a new voice teacher this year, and I can see so much opportunity to do what I love this year and it makes me so happy. I’m also absurdly excited about my living arrangements. I have the greatest roommates, I’m in love with my house, and for the first time in 19 years I have a backyard, which I’m so excited about using.

But all my other excitement stems from the fact that I am most excited about where I am mentally. I’ve lost so much insecurity and anxiety, I’ve gained so much self-confidence, and I’ve shed things that were holding me back from getting the most out of life. I’ve never felt freer. I feel like I can accomplish anything I want to. And this year I plan on doing exactly that.

On another note, the last time I wrote about saying goodbye, I mentioned how much I love reunions. I am in a whirlwind of reunions and I’m absolutely loving it. This is contributing a great deal to my happiness.
It’s cliché but I feel like I started living today. I see so much opportunity in front of me I literally can’t process it all yet. I’m so happy right now. I know that this year will have its fair share of ups and downs, but I’m so ready for it. Insomnia has never felt so wonderful.

To my parents: I apologize in advance for my zombie-like state.

All We Ever Do is Say Goodbye

2010-08-04T21:34:00.002-04:00

The other day, while I was on facebook I noticed that it today was an old friend’s birthday. When I went to her profile page to wish her a happy birthday I was greeted with the faces of many of our mutual friends she had managed to keep in contact with. We had been friends in high school and it was nice to go through some of her pictures and see how the people I had gone to school with were doing, but I was struck by how few of my high school friends, even ones I was very close with I still talk to today. Back on my Facebook feed I saw an update about one of my friends that I had gone through elementary school with. This was a girl that I had grown up with, we were in the same class every year since grade 1, and while she is still a dear friend of mine, I realized that I had barely talked to her all year. All of this happened within the space of about 15 minutes but I realized something about myself in that time.

I leave so many people behind.

Now that is most certainly the dramatic version of my epiphany, but it rings true. In my thirst for new adventures and experiences, and in my journey to follow my dreams I’ve made major changes in my life and social circle and people that I had been nearly inseparable with one year can turn into people I rarely ever see in the next. This is a startling revelation, but one that is completely logical and, in the end, not all the depressing or anti-social.

My problem is that since grade 3 I’ve uprooted myself every four years or so, and every time I do I increasingly distance myself from the people I knew before. In grade 4 I switched elementary schools so that I could be part of a gifted class. However the shift wasn’t that big because many other kids at my old school made that same switch and I still went to daycare at my old school. I stopped going to daycare in grade 6 and lost contact with my daycare friends, but I hardly noticed because it was my third year with the same class I had been in since grade four, and as the “non-gifted” kids became increasingly exclusive, and sometimes pathetically hostile in ways that only 13 year olds can be, my classmates and I were becoming a cohesive unit. To this day I have never been as close with a group of people as I was with my gifted class. We spent a total of five years together and navigated the treacherous waters of late childhood together. There were incredible highs and terrible lows, we fought, we bonded, we learned and we celebrated together. It took me a while to realize it, but I loved every single kid in that class, and I still do. In fact I vehemently believe that in 15 years we will all be exactly where we want to be in our lives because we all share an incredible determination to succeed. I knew that going to high school would be an adjustment, not only because my classmates would be different, but because I was going into a regular class instead of a gifted class, but grade nine was much harder than I imagined because of where I chose to go to school.

It had always been my intention to go to a high school for the arts, so when I didn’t get accepted into the public arts school, but I did get into the catholic one I didn’t even question my decision. I knew this was where I had to go. The first day of grade nine was one of the most exciting and terrifying days I can remember. I was overjoyed to be going to a school where I’d get to do what I loved more than anything else; but while everybody, even the other niners, was greeting their friends before classes started, I was completely alone. It was an incredibily uncomfortable experience. Introvert that I am, it took me a lot to put myself out there and make friends, but I managed to do it and in that first day I made a few friends, including the girl who would become my best friend in the world. I never once regretted my choice to go to Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts. It was the best high school experience I could have had, and I found a new family in my vocal class. Four years of rehearsals, concerts, classes, key changes, more fights, tears, so much laughter and some truly horrible choreography. That class taught me just how far teamwork can get you and I’m still so proud of everything we accomplished together. But when graduation rolled around, my pursuit of my dreams took me away from the people I loved in a much bigger way than switching school boards.

My heart had been set on University of King’s College and the Dalhousie music program for years and getting those acceptance letters was one of the happiest moments of my life. (Read my last blog post if you want to know more about that). I was so excited about the prospect of going to my dream school and studying the two things that I loved that I hardly even thought about the effect that it was going to have on my social life. I was going to pick up and move to Nova Scotia, two thousand kilometres away from almost everything I knew and loved, and I had absolutely no reservations about it. It would be sad to leave everything behind, but this was something I had to do. The adventure enticed me so much, and while I was sad to say goodbye, it wasn’t really that hard.

When I go back to Halifax at the end of August, I will be returning to a familiar place, full of friends, and I can honestly say that I don’t really remember what that’s like. I’m looking forward to being familiar with my surroundings again, and while there will be changes and new friends, much of it will be the same as it was last year. I mean to cherish the familiarity of these next few years, because if everything goes according to plan, after I graduate I will be uprooting myself again to continuing chasing my dreams across the Atlantic in Europe, putting even more distance between myself and the people I grew up with.

I don’t think this is a bad thing, in fact I think quite the opposite. When l look back to very beginning of the various stages of my life, those first years when I made the transition from a place where everyone knew me to one where no one did, those were the times I grew the most. With no one to hide behind I’m forced to put myself out there, make my own decisions and friends and every time I do I learn more about myself and I gain a little more confidence. It gives me the chance to look at everything I’ve experienced in the past and put into perspective. The drama goes away and the bad doesn’t seem so bad anymore, which allows me to be proud of the things I’ve achieved without worrying about all my mistakes. It’s a chance to start fresh.

However that doesn’t make leaving the people I love behind any easier. I enter into relationships with people with my whole self, so I can fully enjoy the benefits of knowing that person. As a result I have more affection for friends and acquaintances than what is considered normal, but everyone I’ve known has touched my life in some way and I’m not going to take that for granted. I think this is why saying goodbye is so important to me. It isn’t fun, but it gives you the chance to affirm to a person that they have made enough of an impact on your life that you need to acknowledge the fact that they will no longer be a part of it, even if it’s just for a short time.

Even though I’ve said goodbye to so many people, I still remember them. In fact I remember almost everything. The Halloween dance parties in daycare, the antics of my gifted class, all the inside jokes I’ve shared with anyone, all those late nights at summer camp, the absurd conversations over the lunch table, the school trips, the canoe trips, the songs I’ve sung with friends, the rehearsals that went on forever, the parties that didn’t last long enough. All of it. I cherish these memories and relive them often.

If you’re reading this and you’re an old friend, give me a call. I haven’t forgotten you and I’d love to hear from you. If you’re a new friend who’s a little unsettled at all of this. Please know that I cherish each every one of you just as much as I do my old friends and I always will, even if we won’t be in contact four years from now. And who knows? Maybe I’ll have gotten better at staying in touch with people!

~Nice Girl

Title courtesy of John Mayer

Going To Him! Happy Letter!

2010-07-14T22:18:00.004-04:00

The title of this article is from an Emily Dickinson poem that I love.

Lord Byron once said that “Letter writing is the only device for combining solitude with good company.” In our world of Facebook , Twitter, and Text messages, letter writing isn’t something we are familiar with anymore. The age of friendly neighbourhood mail carriers and mailboxes with little red flags sticking up has ended, letters have given away to emails, and postcards are for people who are too lazy or lack the skill to take vacation pictures.

As a child I used to love getting mail from the mailbox; there was so much adventure in the idea of going down the stairs to the front of the apartment building, finding my name on one of the long, thin metal doors of the mailboxes, turning the finicky key and finding envelopes inside. I was too young at the time to understand what was usually in the envelopes wasn’t exciting at all and my huge imagination would invent stories as to where they were from-bills from the Bank of Nova Scotia were epistles from sailors and pirates in the Maritimes and the names of insurance companies became faraway lands full of adventure.

As I grew up I lost interest in the mail because it was rarely ever addressed to me, and I had learned what bills and junk mail were. Retrieving the mail became my job once again in High School because I was the first one home. It meant another key on my key ring and having more than one key made me feel grown up and important. What was in the mailbox mattered less than the fact that it was my responsibility to get the mail every day. The mail became exciting again in Grade 12, when the possibility of correspondence from universities made me run home on beautiful spring days to see whether there was a large manila envelope addressed to me, and which institution it was from. I would usually make myself wait until I got home to open the envelopes, but I still remember the day when I stood in front of the mailboxes in broad daylight, literally screaming in excitement over the fact that I had been accepted into Dalhousie music- much to the horror of a neighbour whose mailbox was beside mine.

This summer, getting the mail depresses me. I’m sick of bills and endless catalogues and when the people I’ve lived with all year are suddenly spread across the country, it has become very obvious that even though we have more ways than ever of connecting with each other, we are drawing more and more into ourselves. One day I snapped. I wanted to get letters from people, real letters. My mother always told me that if I wanted to get letters I would have to start writing them. So that’s what I did. I went out and bought stationery and collected addresses. I haven’t written very many letters yet, but so far I can honestly say that I love writing letters. I love being able to think about what I’m going to say, and even put off finishing a letter until I have something more interesting to stay, because when you’re writing letters, it’s not the speed that is important, it’s what you are saying. Unlike emails and text messages, there’s no pressure to respond instantly. The letter will take at least two days to reach the recipient anyway, why not spend some time on what you are saying?

Lord Byron was right on the mark. Even though I’m miles away from the people I’m writing to, I feel much closer to them when I’m writing than when I’m texting or messaging them. I think the technology emphasizes the distance between you, but a letter is something that is going from your hands into of the person you’re writing to. It’s like long distance intimacy.

More people should write letters to each other.
~Nice Girl

My Not-So Triumphant Return to Blogging

2010-06-09T18:50:00.005-04:00

So...I didn’t blog all year. Nothing at all. I failed. But damn it I’m going to try again. I spent the entire year reading books and meeting fantastic people and now I’m filled with philosophy and friendship and I’m inspired to try this blogging thing again. I have a few ideas for new and exciting things that I want to do this with this blog so this is the official start of Confessions of a Nice Girl: Take Two

Here’s what I have planned so far:

New Quote of the Week Author! I love Oscar Wilde, but I’m going to try someone different but just as quotable. I’m leaning towards Nietzsche.

Videos! I made a Youtube account in order to audition for Roots Among the Rocks, and although I didn’t end up being a part of it this year, I still have the account and I’ve been using it to take part in the discussion that the Philosovloggers are having this summer. But, I’ve been thinking about using it for other purposes. For example here is a review that did of Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel. It was originally part of a response to one of the Philosovlogs so it focuses more on philosophy than literary critique and is rather short, but since I never got to use the review in my response, I thought I would publish it here. I don’t know how I’m going to use videos on Confessions but I will be exploring exciting ways. Do you have any ideas? Let me know!

Articles! I read the newspaper, and in the newspaper there are lots of weird articles. I’ve collected a bunch to share with you.

More Reviews! I’ll watch more movies, operas and plays and if I ever pick up a book that was published in this decade (something I haven’t done in a very long time apart from Beatrice and Virgil) I’ll write a review of it

God! I’m Anglican and I love youth ministry. I’ve discovered a wonderful faith community in Halifax as well as some wonderful people who are passionate about youth ministry. So I’ll be writing more about the great things that happen when two or three (or a lot more) are gathered in Christ’s name.

Adventures! One of my favourite posts was my prom dress shopping adventure, and I want to tell more stories about cool things that happen in my life. This will be tricky, as I don’t want to get too personal, but I love telling stories, so expect more of them.

More of the Same! I don’t know about you, but I thought I had a good thing going with what I was doing before. So even though I’m doing some new stuff, I’m going to keep using this as my digital notebook.

I’m excited about starting this up again, and I’m hoping all of you previous readers are excited, as well as anyone who is discovering Confessions for the first time. Here’s hoping I’ll do better this time

~Nice Girl

Why I love Barack Obama

2009-09-16T17:03:00.004-04:00

Now, I'm not going to get into any of the politics of the US or the VMAs but I really enjoyed this when I found it. I love that rockstar-status President is still just a regular guy.

If you've been living under a rock Kanye West interupted Taylor Swift when she was accepting her award for best female music video because he thought Beyonce's was better. This is the president's reaction in an "off the record" chat with a reporter before an interview

Once again, political implications be damned I love how normal all this sounds. I'm pretty sure I had this conversation in my dorm with my friends yesterday

What I've Been Up To...

2009-09-03T23:28:00.003-04:00

Dear Readers,

I have been shamefully silent lately, and I am sorry for that. But I do have an excuse. And that excuse is, I’m going to university. I don’t know how good of an excuse that is, but it’s the truth.

Tomorrow I move to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Which brings on feelings that are scary and exciting and unfathomable all at the same time. It also means that I had a whole lot of stuff to do in order to get ready for this great move . These things include: Shopping, Visiting People I wont see for many months, taking care of boring things like bank accounts and health cards, and worst of all, packing. Packing for a trip that is longer than 3 days is often a long, involved, and generally high-stress process. But packing in order to move somewhere for an entire year? It was absolutely crazy. I have come to the conclusion that not only do I have too much stuff, I need too much stuff. I tried to cut back on the stuff I was bringing more times than I can count, but everytime I looked at something, more often than not I would say “oh I need this, I use this all the time.” So far I have a way to get everything out there, but I have a feeling that I will have to keep a lot of it in Halifax when I go home for the summer.

But now that I have most of my packing out of the way, I can tell you what I’ve been up to lately. I got a new computer for starters, which is fantastic but is not without its problems. The first problem being Windows Vista. It is quite possibly the worst piece of software I have ever used. Windows should have known better than to try to mimic Mac’s operating system because everybody knows that Macs suck. One would think Microsoft would just try to achieve the look of Mac’s operating system, but they went one step further and made sure that the computer would crash all the time. Just like a Mac. It’s no longer the blue screen of death it’s the blue screen of “oh my God not again!” Thankfully the system is pretty good at recovering from the crashes. Perhaps a little too good. If I had a dollar for everytime the computer restarts after an “expected” shutdown (when I actually wanted to turn off the computer) I could probably go out and buy dinner for two. Not that I don’t love my computer, because I do. In fact I’m using it right now, typing this posting on its (slightly) temperamental keyboard.

So that’s the exciting computer stuff taken care of. Then comes the really exciting stuff! Some of you may know that I am on twitter (in fact some of you are probably here because you clicked a link on my twitter page) and lately I’ve been discovering that there is quite a big opera scene on twitter that I’m starting to get into. In fact I have some followers who found me through my discussions of opera-like things (it was the most exciting day in the world when I found out that the Canadian Opera Company was following me.) Anyway, through this community of tweeting opera lovers, I came across The Opera Insider, a website currently in development that promises to link opera lovers from both sides of the curtain-singers and audience members. I signed up to join the site early (cause I’m just a keener like that,) and offered to blog for them. Long story short, I will soon be a guest blogger for TOI. I’ll be talking about my experiences as a young singer and a music student, so if you want to hear what I’m up to in that respect, you can find out here. Rest assured I will still be talking about student life here on Confessions of A Nice Girl, but anything music related will be on TOI. I hope you’ll follow my adventures there too!

Tomorrow I leave Toronto for Halifax! I can’t wait to tell you about it!
~Nice Girl

This week in ...huh?

2009-08-25T01:12:00.000-04:00

So it’s a little known fact about me that I listen to the radio obsessively. I don’t like much TV, especially during the day, (unless I feel like finding out what’s happening on Days of our Lives) so the radio it is. I generally listen to Virgin, but the problem with it is that if you’re at home all day listening to the radio you hear songs over and over again. So after about the millionth time I hear songs, I start to think about the lyrics, which always leads to confusion
The song that bothers me the most with its weird lyrics is Carrera by Karl Wolf. It’s a song about a hot girl in a hot car (pretty much a man’s idea of perfection) and in the chorus of the song he compares this girl’s body to the Sahara desert, calling it soft and curvy. I don’t know about you, but these are not the first adjectives that come to mind when I think of the desert, in fact when I think of the desert I think of dry and barren. That’s not sexy. The desert may be hot, but not in the same way a girl or a Porsche is. This is probably the worst rhyme in the history of pop music. In fact if someone can find a worse one, let me know, you’ll get a gold star.
~Nice Girl

Oscar Wilde Quote of the Week

2009-08-19T16:48:00.002-04:00

It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information
~Oscar Wilde

this is very true. Fortunately I am a wellspring of useless information and will offer some up right now!

Did you know that Virginia Woolf and her husband Leonard founded a publishing company called Hogarth press that specialized in publishing books on psychoanalysis and English translations of Russian literature?
NOW YOU KNOW!!!
~Nice Girl

Fiiiiigaro, Figaro, Fiagaro, Figaro, Fiagarooooooo

2009-08-18T23:11:00.004-04:00

If you gave me the choice between going to see a movie or an opera, I would want to pick opera, but I would probably end up choosing movies. This is because movies are sadly cheaper and more convenient, but generally not as good, at least in my opinion. But now I can have the best of both worlds. For the past few years the Met has broadcast live Operas to movie theatres all over the world in HD. This means not only that going to see an opera is considerably less expensive; you get better seats than you could ever imagine getting in an opera house. Thanks to The Met Live in HD I have discovered that opera singers do in fact have faces!

Because the Operas are live, the series runs during the regular opera season, but some of the operas are rebroadcast in the summer. Last Saturday (August 8) I went to see the rebroadcast of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville and it was absolutely fantastic. The Barber of Seville is the story of a young girl named Rosina (brilliantly played by Joyce DiDonato) who is kept locked up in the house by John Del Carlo, who plays her comically cruel guardian Dr. Bartolo. This is a problem for her admirer Count Almaviva (Juan Diego Flórez, my future husband) and so he enlists the titular character, Figaro (Peter Mattei) to help him fool Bartolo and win Rosina’s heart.

The libretto and music alone make this opera fantastic already, but what set this production apart from the others was the cast. Not only were they all great singers, every single member of the cast, down to the last chorus member was also an actor. My biggest opera pet peeve is singers who can’t act. It happens far too often in opera, from student productions in university theatres to the most extravagant ones at La Scala (I’m talking about you Roberto Alanga, if he’s not the prime example of a singing cardboard cut-out I don’t know who is!) Bad acting can really diminish a production for me, but good acting can make the show, and it can even forgive a singer who otherwise would have been nothing special. There were no mediocre singers in Barber, but the acting chops of the cast made the opera a pleasure to watch, after all, I went to see an opera. If I just wanted to hear Rossini’s music, I would buy a CD.

When watching an opera, most people focus on the main characters; they’re usually the bigger names and often get the best arias, but for me the most memorable part of this production was the minor characters. Not that Mattei, DiDonato, and Del Carlo weren’t great, because they were, (and Flórez…well, he gets his own paragraph) but the smaller roles that rounded out the principal cast and filled holes in plotlines were what made this opera so damn funny. Hands down the best character in the opera was Ambrogio, Dr Bartolo’s (mostly) silent manservant played by Rob Besserer. The tired, haggard, old man slunk through his scenes half asleep providing contrast to the rest of the cast, who always seemed to be running around, and although he seemed like he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the box, he was often the first to notice when things went wrong (Like when a giant Anvil descended from the heavens at the end of the first act and crushed a cart of pumpkins,) his impeccable comic timing made a role that has the inherent danger of being forgettable into the guy to watch when he was on stage. Bass-Baritone John Relyea (who’s a Toronto boy!) played Don Basilio, the next best minor character. With his funny hat, pigtails, and devious plans he was the perfect mix of silly and shifty, which made him the perfect right hand man for Del Carlo’s Bartolo, not to mention his only aria about the effectiveness of slander (“La calunnia”) brought the house down in the middle of the first act, I sincerely hope to see Relyea sometime again in a larger role, he has a tremendous amount of talent.

Speaking of tremendous talent, Juan Diego Flórez has more than that. If you haven’t noticed I’m kind of in love with him. He has the most beautiful tenor voice I have ever heard, he’s an incredible actor and he’s very good looking. But wait! There’s more! The most impressive and attractive quality he has is his humility. It’s easy for a tenor who has half of Flórez’s talent or success to turn into a huge Divo (insert another snarky comment about Roberto Alanga here) because everyone in the vocal community loves tenors. It’s just a fact of life. It was so refreshing to watch Flórez react to the audience in this opera. At the end of the opera he sings “Cessa di più resistere” an aria so difficult that is it cut from most productions. Flórez not only made it look effortless but he also stopped the show. As the crowd went wild, he stood at the edge of the stage his fist raised in triumph (the operatic version of a fist pump I’m sure) and his head tipped back with his eyes closed, a mixture of satisfaction (nailed it!), relief (thank God it’s over!), and surprise (they like me, they really like me!) on his face. It didn’t look like he had expected to stop the show, but he did seem genuinely pleased and grateful for the response he got. The overwhelming amount of gratitude he had for the audience showed through at curtain call as well. He didn’t seem like some superstar tenor, just a guy doing a show who enjoyed the experience as much as the audience did. It was so very refreshing to watch.

If you’ve unfortunately missed your chance to see the Barber of Seville in movie theatres, but if you want to see what all the fuss is about, or even if you like theatre or music just a little bit I highly recommend you go see Donizetti’s La Fille Du Regiment next Saturday the 22nd. It is one of my all-time favorite operas, and the production they’re showing is so fantastic I own it on DVD (I was actually watching it today, for like the fourth time in a month, it’s just that good.) It stars the amazing Natalie Dessay in the titular role (she is astounding, if I ever become half the singer she is I would the happiest person ever,) and my fiancé Juan Diego Flórez as the love interest. On a related note this is the role that made Pavarotti famous, it features an aria with nine, count ‘em, nine high C’s and Flórez pulls them out effortlessly, in fact when he sang the aria in 2007 at La Scala, (known for the most discriminating audiences in the world, I could throw in another mean comment about Roberto Alanga, but I won’t,) he broke the theatre’s 74 year tradition of no encores and when he performed it at The Met in 2008 he was the first singer since 1994 to perform an encore . The Live in HD production of La Fille also stars the brilliant Dawn French in the spoken role of the Duchess of Krakenthop. It’s such a good show, go see it.

It is one of my goals in life to make opera cool again, and in order achieve that opera has to become more accessible. The Met is doing just that with their Live in HD program and while most of the seats will be filled with opera lovers and old people, I always hope that some newbies will come out. And yes – there are subtitles.

~Nice Girl

How My Wedding is Going to Go Down

2009-07-23T09:56:00.004-04:00

...if I ever get married...

Cause this is waaaay more exciting than 'here comes the bride' kudos to the awesome couple who did this

Oscar Wilde Quote of the Week

2009-07-19T13:05:00.001-04:00

Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative
~Oscar Wilde

Hitting the Books

2009-06-20T10:13:00.003-04:00

So the first year program at University of King's college is called the Foundation Year Program and it is unique in the way that they study the history of Western civilization from a philosophical, historical, and literary point of view. If you're anything like me, you can understand why I think this is so cool.

I thought I'd share the large reading list with you

Section I: The Ancient World
1. The Epic of Gilgamesh
2. The Holy Bible
3. Homer, The Odyssey (I've already read this one. Maybe I'll play my board game instead this time)
4. Complete Greek Tragedies: Sophocles I
5. Complete Greek Tragedies: Euripides V
6. Plato, Republic (I forsee many philosopher kings jokes)
7. A Presocratics Reader
8. Virgil, The Aeneid (looking forward to this one)

Section II: The Middle Ages
9. Augustine, Confessions
10. Dante, The Divine Comedy, Paradise, (really looking forward to these three)
11. Dante, The Divine Comedy, Purgatory
12. Dante, The Divine Comedy, Inferno
13. Anselm, Proslogion (ew, the ontological argument. I will cry if it is discussed)
14. The Song of Roland

Section III: The Renaissance and the Reformation
15. Thomas More, Utopia
16. Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great
17. Pico della Mirandola, On the Dignity of Man,
18. Christopher Marlowe, Dr. Faustus
19. Machiavelli, The Prince
20. Martin Luther, Martin Luther: Selections from his Writings (Looking forward to a discussion of the protestant reformation where I won't be attacked by my teacher)
21. William Shakespeare, Othello (yay)
22. William Shakespeare, The Tempest (yay)
23. William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice (meh)
24. Francis Bacon, Selected Philosophical Works
25. de Montaigne, The Essays: A Selection

Section IV: The Age of Reason
26. Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (Actually really looking forward to reading the rest of this)
27. Madame de Lafayette, The Princesse de Clèves
28. J. Locke, The Second Treatise of Government
29. Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
30. Julien Offray de La Mettrie, Man A Machine (I'm also looking forward to this, even though materialism is lame)
31. Rousseau, The Basic Political Writing
32. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Don Giovanni (This is my favorite part. obviously)
33. Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals (ick x10)

Section V: The Era of Revolutions
34. Hegel, Introduction to the Philosophy of History
35. Schiller, On the Aesthetic Education of Man
36. Robespierre, Virtue and Terror
37. Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (Already read this, didn't really like it)
38. Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil
39. Baudelaire, The Flowers of Evil
40. T. Mann, Death in Venice
41. S. Kierkegaard, The Present Age
42. K. Marx, Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts
43. J.S. Mill, The Subjection of Women (interested in reading this one)

Section VI: The Contemporary World
44. Eliot, The Waste Land and Other Poems (went to a lecture on this when I visited. Excited to read it)
45. M. Frayn, Copenhagen (Love this playwright. He wrote Audience, one of my favorite plays)
46. W.G. Sebald, The Emigrants
47. S. Beckett, Krapp's Last Tape and Other Dramatic Pieces
48. B. Brecht, Mother Courage and her Children
49. S. Freud, The Ego and the Id (Horny old man who smoked too many cigars. ick x15 plus the connection with my grade 12 religion class. more ick)

So this is what I will be reading all of next year. Here's hoping I'll still have enough time to blog.

Happy Travels!
~Nice Girl

Non Oscar Wilde Quote of the Week

2009-06-09T20:52:00.002-04:00

Men are like a fine wine. They all start out like grapes, and it's our job to stomp and them and keep them in the dark until they mature into something you'd like to have dinner with.
~Kathleen Mifsud (I don't know who she is)

Marianas Trench Review - Better Late Than Never

2009-06-02T21:14:00.003-04:00

I’ve decided to take a stab at reviewing things. Books, Movies, CDs, Operas, Restaurants, whatever I happen to encounter and decide to write about.

My first will begin with a story.

I was résumé dropping at the mall the other day when I saw a girl wearing a T-Shirt that said Masterpiece Theatre on the back. I wondered if it was referring to the Marianas Trench Album, and when she turned around I saw that she actually was. I had been planning on leaving the mall, but when I saw the T-Shirt I felt the urge to go upstairs and all the way to the other end of the mall to go buy the Album myself. Moral of the story? Advertising works.

I have a huge soft spot for Canadian musicians, (one only needs to look through my iPod for proof) and Marianas Trench is hands down my favorite Canadian band. I discovered them when I was in my radio phase last year, and their song Shake Tramp played on what was then Mix fm. I’ve been a huge fan ever since. As a singer, and a person who’s sung in poorly balanced choirs all my life, boys who can sing induce involuntary squeals from me and really great harmonies (especially dissonant ones) give me shivers and spark discussions about just how great certain chords in a song are. Marianas Trench has both boys who can sing (boy can they sing, all four of them too!) and sick harmonies/vocal arrangements. Not to mention the fact that Matt Webb and Mike Ayley resemble two of my closest friends in both appearance and sense of humour so closely at times it is rather creepy.

Because life got in the way (and I might have been living under a rock), I didn’t realize that their second album Masterpiece Theatre was in stores until the end of May, even though it came out in February. Oops.

But now that I have it, I can wholeheartedly say that it is one of the best albums I’ve bought in a while. I’ve been listening to it non-stop since I bought it. More than just a regular album, Masterpiece Theatre features three parts of the same song. Tied by a common lyrical and musical theme, the songs give the album a sense of progression, starting with acapella four part harmony at the beginning of the ‘Masterpiece Theatre I’ and ending with a medley of the songs on the album in the brilliant ‘Masterpiece Theatre III’ (which I’m listening to as a write this). I was impressed by Josh Ramsay’s song writing skills when listening to the songs on the album in their original forms, but I was blown away when I heard how flawlessly they fit together in the last song, because it’s incredibly difficult to do. I also loved how the drum beats from the iconic jazz song ‘Sing Sing Sing’ were incorporated into ‘Sing Sing’. ‘Celebrity Status’ managed to send out a message about the poisonous effects of fame without sounding like every other song about it on the radio, Kate Voegele sounds fantastic on the duet ‘Good To You’ and ‘All To Myself’ makes me want to dance in my living room in every time I listen to it (a desire I usually give into). And did I mention that they all sing? In harmony?

MT is playing in Toronto on the 18th at Opera House and but unfortunately they’re sold out. Which breaks my heart, because I was dying to go and I almost bought tickets earlier but didn’t. I guess I will have to wait and see if they come to Halifax when I’m there, but for now I’ll just have to be happy with their fantastic CD

Ps they’re up for an MMVA for the video for ‘Cross My Heart’ go vote for them

Oscar Wilde Quote of the Week

2009-06-01T23:06:00.003-04:00

If occasionally I am a little over-dressed, I make up for it by being immensely over-educated
-The Importance of Being Earnest (the best play ever)

this clearly does not appear every week, but that's ok because quote of the non-specific interval of time doesn't fit as well

Bettering the World

2009-06-01T22:23:00.003-04:00

Ever get the feeling like you could be doing something to change the world, but decide to surf the internet instead???

Well now you can do both!!!

My fantastic mother introduced me to a great website called Better The World. the premise is that you surf the web for charity. All you have to do is download the sidebar and surf the web with it up. Every time you see an ad you get points, and those points add up to real money that goes to a charitable organization that you choose. My points go to Trickle Up an organization that empowers girls and women through microenterprise. It's dead easy and really kind of fun. each cause has specific goals that people try reach through surfing the web. Right now we're trying to raise $20 for women.

There are a lot of causes that you can support through better the world and I really think it's great. You can also refer people and if they sign up you get 200 points. (so if I refered you, you better sign up) it's an easy thing to do and I really think it's totally worth it.

here's my profile

You should go sign up!!!!

This week in "Are You Kidding Me??"

2009-05-13T15:45:00.004-04:00

So I was merrily wandering through facebook when I came across this

"For the last couple of months now, teens at private schools all over the GTA have been hearing about PRIVA, the new all-ages party for the private school crowd"

Ok, I thought, it's just some elitist snob party for kids who think that they're better than the rest of us because they pay thousands of dollars for a high school education and higher grades. They must have been watching too much Gossip Girl.

But then I read this:

"People ask us "Why private schools only?". Well, with all the dangerous things happening at some of the public-school all-ages parties these days (stabbings, rapes, etc), we wanted to have a special type of party for private school people where you guys will know for sure that the crowd will be safe, and that the people that will be there will be the people you are used to. It's not meant to be elitist.....just a safe party of the type you want."

Then I laughed. What deluded sunshine and lollipops world do you live in where you think that a party full of rich kids will be any less dangerous than a "public school" jam? I haven't heard of a stabbing or a rape at any of these events before, private or public.

This is an example of classism at its most entertaining. Money does not equal safety. Just as many drug dealers, rapisits, and idiots who'll pick a fight with anyone go to private schools as the ones who go to public schools. So the 135 members of this group are either deluded and pusillanimous (cowardly, I just like the word pusillanimous) and honestly think that this "PRIVA" event will be safer, or they're pretentious and want an excuse to show off the fact that they're rich while making friends with other rich kids.

I have a lot of friends who go to private schools, and I don't really have anything against people who go to private schools, but this is ridiculous. Stop watching 902010 and Gossip Girl and come back to reality.

Or maybe they shouldn't, I mean who would us dangerous, impoverished, public school kids laugh at if they did?

Oscar Wilde Quote of the Week

2009-04-26T20:35:00.004-04:00

Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months
~Oscar Wilde

The Most Important Night in High School

2009-04-25T13:57:00.009-04:00

No, it's not graduation, it's Prom!

Yesterday, I went on an adventure looking for a Prom dress, and it was quite the adventure.

It all started, as most things do in the realm of highschool students, with facebook. To avoid the mortification of showing up to prom wearing the same or a similar dress to someone else, I looked over the facebook group where girls going to prom were describing and showing pictures of their dresses. I now knew what to avoid. The overflowing amount of dresses from BCBG, Want, and Lemor told me that I wasn't going to look for a prom dress at any of those stores. I wanted something different, cooler and so I hopped on the subway with my mom and headed out to Queen Street West

My first stop was the haven for edgy, cool prom dresses, Pam Chorley's Fashion Crimes(http://www.fashioncrimes.ca/). Pam Chorley is my favorite dress designer of the moment and I thought it would be fantastic to wear one of her dresses to prom. I did my homework and looked at her collection online, and became besotted with the Jezebel Tivoli dress. I loved its 1950's style and was pleased to find it came in red, a colour I had decided on last year. I found the dress in the store but was heartbroken to find that it was $500. I wasn't going to spend that much money on a prom dress, no matter how much I loved it, and left Fashion Crimes in considerably lower spirits.

Crushed, my mother convinced me to walk down Spadina, because she thought that there might be a good store or two along there. There weren't. It was all fur shops and old lady stores. One of these old lady stores was owned by a woman that my mother knew and so she had the quixotic idea to try there. obviously I wasn't going to find anything at this store, but the woman did recommend another dress store right at the corner of Queen and Spadina called Just Miss, that specialized in "younger" dresses that weren't so expensive

With renewed spirits we made our way to Just Miss. The outside of the store gave the impression of tacky dresses no one in their right mind would wear, but a store was a store, and I was willing to try it. I was completely surprised when I walked in. The store was covered in cute prom dresses in every colour imaginable. I wasn't complete sold at first, my mom went around picking out dresses that weren't really my style or that other people were already wearing, but when I drifted away from my well-meaning but mistaken mother and explored the dresses on my own, I picked out quite a few and soon had a dressing room filled with dresses I was ready to try on.

There was only one red dress I liked, it was the first one I picked out and the first one that I tried on. It was absolutely perfect. I felt like a bride who had finally found her wedding dress, I just knew it was the one. I tried on the other ones in my dressing room, just to make sure there wasn't anything else, but nothing measured up. The matter was closed. The best part was that it only cost $150.

We spent the rest of our shopping day wandering down Queen Street and I came across quite a few cool stores. One of my favorites was a store called Original, it sold dresses, shoes, and accessories (including fancy rubber gloves that I'm tempted to buy for my mom for mother's day-her idea). There was a wide variety of dresses, from the precious designs of Jessica McClintock to the fun, flirty dresses by Besty Johnson and everything in between. There was also a whole section of the store devoted to crinolines and a whole bunch of weird Gothic skirts and bustiers. It was a little on the pricey side, but if you have money and don't want to deal with the disorganization of Fashion Crimes, check out Originals on Queen Street past Spadina. (No website yet, but here's an article about it http://www.cbc.ca/news/citizenbytes/2009/04/launching_a_business_in_the_mi.html)

The other great store I found was an accessories store called Outer Layer on Queen on Portland(http://www.outerlayer.com/). The one word I would use to describe this store is Quirky. Magnets with funny sayings; a wall full of floral, herbal, and generally girly beauty products; smart alecky t-shirts; pretty journals; products of every kind filled with a healthy dose of sarcasm. It was quite the little store and I highly recommend it. Anyone would have fun at a store like that.

I finished off the day with a dinner at the Elephant and Castle (a long walk from where we were but definitely worth it) and the Toronto Operetta Theatre's production of Iolanthe (which was fantastic by the way!) all in all, It was a great day.

Ch..ch..ch..ch..changes

2009-04-25T13:37:00.004-04:00

Where will I be going to school next year?

Halifax!

That's right I've been accepted to the Bachelor of Music Foundation Year Program at University of of King's College in Halifax, Nova Scotia. So come September I will be far, far away from my home in Toronto and I can't wait.

I recently went to Halifax for March Break and can safely say that I love it. It's almost too small to be a city and the downtown is like Queen Street West, Eglinton and Front Street all squished together with a little bit of Kensington Market thrown in for good measure. Essentially it's all my favorite parts of the Toronto in one city without all the boring crap.

Oscar Wilde Quote of the Week

2009-03-13T23:37:00.001-04:00

Hard work is simply the refuge of people who have nothing whatever to do.
-The Remarkable Rocket (From the Happy Prince and Other Tales)

Words of Wisdom

2009-03-13T23:23:00.003-04:00

Wilfrid Laurier University has the cutest boys of all the universities I've been to.

The campus is also beautiful and most of the buildings are connected so you can walk around the school without wearing a coat. Which rocks. Weird stuff though, you can turn off the air in the practice rooms and all the pianos have humidifiers in them. Crazy!

Ps. The Skirt in the picture below is not actually the skirt that I wanted. The skirt that I wanted was not on sale, but I got it anyway and it is beautiful.

I also now own a pair of three inch black pumps and I feel sufficiently fashionable.

In other news, I wore a Prada tank top. PRADA! it was this weird red sequined thing and I don't think I'd ever wear it, but I still had to try it on, cause it was Prada. The sequins weren't sewd on very well though, and one fell off so I now own a really expensive sequin. and not just a little one. a rather large cool looking one. It will probably be the only Prada thing I own ever

If I had lots of time and money to spend on fashion, this is what I'd be wearing this spring

2009-03-06T18:10:00.005-05:00

The Boyfriend Look-with actual men's clothing
Soft Romantic Colours and Silhouettes
(Tastefully) Lower Necklines
Classic Make-Up and Shoes

There's actually a very good chance that I will be wearing that H&M skirt though. You can't see the price but, it's $16 which is way down from when I first saw it in stores. Good things come to those who wait!

I Wish I could get my hair to do this

Things that I'll also be wearing:
Red Trench Coat!!!! (Just bought it today and I'm totally in love with it)
Hats
Ballet Flats
Headbands

Pictures From: H&M, The Globe and Mail, Vogue, Smart Set, and I don't remember where I got the lovely hair picture, from a blog of some sort

Boys Just Say the Darndest Things...

2009-03-06T17:45:00.005-05:00

This entertained me for like half an hour straight.
The boyfriend who says all this stuff is French Canadian too, so if you fail to find in funny the first time, imagine being said in a French Canadian accent and you will laugh

Oscar Wilde Quote of the Week

2009-03-05T12:34:00.003-05:00

"Quotation is a serviceable substitute for wit."

The Best Idea Ever

2009-03-05T11:48:00.000-05:00

Bookworms Everywhere are Rejoicing!!!

This is a product from Pantalaine, a company that specializes in "plural clothing" I especially like the Dancing Shoes and the Hug Jacket

What would make this perfect? a camera-periscope attachment so you could read a book and walk down the street at the same time in the winter

Welcome

2009-03-05T11:43:00.000-05:00

For anyone that knows me I have a lovely green notebook that I guard jealously from the eyes of others, but contains my entire life. This is the internet version of my green notebook, which will be publicly accessible so that (if you dare) you can see what goes on in my crazy little head. Enjoy!

~Lauren!!!!