05.27.08
Room 532
Recently Caity wrote a blog about whether or not classes can be family… and it made me want to write about my experience in that dreary, dimly lit, white-walled, would-be depressing, corner room. Room 532.
The school year began the same way they always had… except I was one year older and could offically be on the ’senior’ teams. When I walked into room 532 for my Canadian Literature class I saw a group of people with whom I rarely spoke and only a few I called friends. I expected to hate dragging my feet up those stairs and walking into room 532. But I didn’t.
Let me rewind for a second and take you back to junior high… not that you’ll want to visit the me I was then, but it’s important. Junior high was a hilarious atrocity. Between the endless pimples and the ever-changing body it’s hard to come out on top. However… I managed. I was pretty cool in grade six and seven, but it came with a price… I was a total bitch. I was one of those girls that flicked her hair over her shoulder, flirted with far too many boys and should’ve been voted most-likely to give you the stink-eye in between classes. So I had pretty much grown out of this phase by grade eleven. I wasn’t really a chronic hair flicker and managed to save my flirting for a select few 
. The eye I frequently gave was rather sweet-smelling and all in all, I was less of a bitch. When I walked into room 532 on September 4th, 2006, I liked myself, hated who I used to be, and considered myself to be a pretty decent person.
But I could’ve walked into room 532 the same girl I had been in junior high and came out as the exact same person I am now. It was my grade eleven year and that stupid jail-cell room that made me who I am today.
The people in room 532 were all very different. We had different friends, different interests, different personalities. We were shoved together in that room forced to spend the rest of our school year together. The course was called Canadian Literature, the teacher Ms. Wright. I can honestly say that I have cried more, laughed harder, and learned more in that class than I ever have before. That room had a way of bringing its 17 (17, right?) occupants together in the most fascinating way.
I have 532 and the book Crow Lake to thank for that incredible year. The first book we read – Crow Lake – sparked enough discussion to bring our class together. For some reason those dreary walls, horribly uncomfortable desks, and windows that blocked out every single ray of sunlight seemed to make you want to share your life with complete – or almost complete – strangers.
I have an appreciation for every single person in that class because I do believe that they have all been incredibly important in my life and have moulded me into, well, me. I think without room 532 I could have easily let myself walk back down the path of hair-flipping and stink-eye-giving. It was in this class that I came to terms with the person that I was and promised myself to never be that person again. This class let me cry for the first time in one year. It was in this class I learned to accept people as they are. It was in this class I sincerely apologized to someone I had unknowingly hurt in my junior high days. This class let me listen to others in a way I never had before. This class helped me appreciate the little things in life. It was in this class I realized that my life isn’t as bad as I thought. This class showed me what I wanted to do with my life. This class gave me the courage to speak freely.
To the people reading this who were in that room… thank you for changing me. Because no matter how much I liked the person I was when I walked into that room, I love the person I left as. I’m happy to have left a piece of me behind in that room and even happier to have taken a piece of everyone else with me.
Between the circle of desks that held in our deepest secrets and let out our deepest emotions and the always hilarious moments I could expect in that class, what I thought would be a terrible year and a terrible decision turned out to be the best decision I could’ve ever made.
But enough about me. What I really wanted to say was thank you to everyone who was in that class, share an experience and ask you guys… can you pinpoint a moment in your life when you were absolutely changed? Was there a year, a month, a week, a day, an hour, a minute of your life that changed the person you are today? Why?
04.29.08
Hit The Hard Button Instead
Try hitting the easy button. Put the big red button under your desk at work or at school, and when you’re bogged down, try hitting it. Make your life a little easier. It’s what we all want, right? For something like that to actually work? Well we do have an easy way out, it’s called technology. People think that technology makes things easier, and I guess that’s undeniable. Where these people go wrong is when they think that this is a good thing. Easy doesn’t always mean better. In fact, easy often means worse. The rapidly growing technological age is a major contributor to crime. It makes it easier for criminals to evade the police. Easier for stalkers and hackers to follow our every move. Is this really the society we want to be living in, raising our children in? A society where TV shows tell criminals exactly how to get away with crime, and cell phones make it easier for people to track you?
Take, for example, the television show CSI. Every episode begins with a crime scene. Detectives enter the room and search it for evidence. The criminals they portray in this show are extremely intelligent and make almost no mistakes. However, in order to make the show interesting the detectives always find a flaw in the plan, and catch the criminal. Imagine yourself as a criminal, looking for a way to get away with your next crime. Why wouldn’t you sit down in front of the TV and watch CSI? Figure out the mistakes that those in the show made, and make sure you don’t make the same mistakes. If you follow the carefully set guidelines CSI has given you, you could easily get away with your next crime. Oh, and if you’re having trouble coming up with a brilliant idea for a crime, just watch CSI. It gives you plenty.
Suggesting that television is the root of crime problems is over-the-top. However, television is a major factor influencing the rising rate of crime, and that is undeniable. According to Statistics Canada, the crime rate has increased by 6% since 2001 – CSI was released in October of 2000. 1939 was the year when commercial television launched. In the United States, television became more popular in the 1950s, when the crime rate was at about 4.6, and by 1980, the crime rate had shot to 10.2. It is safe to assume that crime rate has increased because people are getting more and more ideas for crimes from television. Criminals can commit more crimes because they are getting smarter. They are watching these television shows and learning how to not get caught, and as a society we are allowing these shows to air. We are giving them the ratings they need by watching these shows. We are directly linked to the rising crime rate and we need to take responsibility. Our reliance on technology and simplicity in our lives is dangerous.
The incredibly popular obsession with cellular phones isn’t helping us much, either. Teens trying to text their friends without the teacher catching them, people calling and answering their phones while driving home, or to work, or to school. It’s ridiculous. And stalkers are using your cell phones to watch your every move. With new technology shaping the way we live, we are so focused on how easy it makes our everyday lives, that we forget to realize that it is also making it easier for the people we don’t want watching us to monitor us. Computer hacking has become so common that security experts are now teaching computer safety self-defense classes. A startling 77% of people are convinced that they are safe from hackers when the reality is that only about 30% actually are. Our cell phones and computers are the windows into our lives and some of us just don’t understand how to close the blinds.
Recently, an episode of The Tyra Show brought on a family who had been victimized by cell phone stalkers. A family was being stalked by a man who used the family’s cell phones to toy with them. He would activate the camera on the family’s phones and be able to see where they were, what they were wearing, and who they were with. He would then call their cell phones and threaten the family and friends of the family. This is becoming more and more common. The cell phones that we think make our lives so much easier are doing the exact opposite. We are at risk and many people are victims of cell-phone stalkers among many other technological related crimes. The victims of these crimes will not tell you that their lives are so much easier since they got their phone. They will tell you that their lives have become nightmares. Constantly worrying about who is watching them, never being able to gain self-esteem back after someone stuck a camera up their skirt and took a photo.
The amount of car accidents having to do with cell phones is ridiculous. The amount of victims from technological crimes is growing. The number of people who are safe from computer hackers is getting smaller and smaller. The crime rate is rising, and rapidly. The amount of criminals getting caught, however, isn’t as high. And yet we watch the shows, we buy the newest, top of the line cell phones with the built-in cameras. We spend thousands on computers but find ourselves taking them in to get the viruses cleaned once a month. In our search for technology that makes our lives simple, we are only adding to the amount of crime in our society. Simple has never been so complicated. Why don’t you try something different today? Do us all a favour, and hit the hard button instead. Wait until you get home to make your calls. Wait until after class to talk to your friends. Watch a different show, or don’t watch one at all. It really isn’t that much harder.
04.28.08
Tarzan and Jane
OHHHHKAY
Were you ever an ‘Aqua’ Fan? Because I was. I was a HUGE Aqua fan. I had their album. I listened to every song, every day, and sang along. I even created my own dance routines. I’m sure everyone (at least, all the girls) have done something like this before.
So today, I was on msn with good ol’ Jake, and we were youtubing (yes, it’s a verb) and came across a few Aqua videos, including Barbie Girl, Lollipop, and My Oh My (Classics). By fantastic luck, I discovered a video by an Aqua-imitating band called Toy Box. This video is to the song ‘Tarzan and Jane’.
This song is by far, the funniest song in the world. The lyrics are so terrible, and if you listen to the actual song, the stress they put on certain syllables makes the lyrics even worse. The great thing is that all of this ’suckyness’ creates the incredible hilarity of this song.
To fully understand the humour, you definitely have to see the video, not just hear the song.
Please… just watch this video. You can’t from the school though, which is unfortunate. Here are the lyrics, and the link for the video!!
Tarzan & Jane – Toy Box
Narrator: Deep in the jungle in the land of adventure lives Tarzan
Jane: I am Jane and I love to ride an elephant
Tarzan: My name is Tarzan I am jungle man
Jane: The tree tops swinger from jungle land
Tarzan: Come baby come I will take you for a swing
Jane: Let’s go honey I’m tinkeling
Jane: Tarzan is handsome Tarzan is strong
He’s really cute and his hair is long
Both: Tarzan is handsome Tarzan is strong
So listen to the jungle song
Tarzan: I am Tarzan from jungle you can be my friend
Jane: I am Jane and I love to ride an elephant
Tarzan: When you touch me I feel funny
Jane: I feel it too when you’re touching me
Tarzan: Come to my tree house to my party
Jane: Yes I’ll go if you carry me
Jane: Tarzan is handsome full of surprise
He’s really cute and his hair is nice
Both: Tarzan is handsome Tarzan is strong
So listen to the jungle song
Tarzan: I am Tarzan from jungle you can be my friend
Jane: I am Jane and I love to ride an elephant
Tarzan: Yeah
Go cheetah get banana
Hey monkey get funky
Jane: Swing along tarzan
Tarzan: Go cheetah get banana
Hey monkey get funky
Tarzan: When I am dancing I feel funky
Jane: Why do you keep ignoring me
Tarzan: Tarzan is here, come kiss me baby
Jane: Coochie coochie kiss me tenderly
Jane: Tarzan is handsome Tarzan is strong
Tarzan: (me Tarzan)
Jane: He’s really cute and his hair is long
Tarzan: (long hair)
Jane: Tarzan is handsome Tarzan is strong
So listen to the jungle song
Tarzan: I am Tarzan from jungle you can be my friend
Jane: I am Jane and I love to ride an elephant
Tarzan: You go
Go cheetah get banana
Hey monkey get funky
Jane: I am jane and I love to ride an elephant
Narrator: and so they got funky. But will Tarzan have Jane? Stay Tuned!
Yes, those are the lyrics. Combine those with some incredibly ‘funky’ dance moves, a jungle, some fake apes, elephants, and some incredibly sexual moments, and you have the ‘Tarzan and Jane’ video.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=P0aXY2pM2sA
Watch it.
04.14.08
Three Magical Mexicans
All these posts about dreams made me want to write about a recurring dream I have been having. I’m warning you right now… it does not make any sense. If you’re one of those people who has dream book and likes to analyze dreams… go ahead and analyze this one because part of me really wants to find out what it means! If this was any old dream that I have once and its gone, I wouldn’t care but I’ve had it three nights in a row! It’s messed…
So the dream begins on a beautiful island. It is filled with gorgeous trees, beautiful flowers and birds, and endless sunshine. All of my friends and family live on the island with me and we seem really happy to be there. The really cool thing about this island is that it is magically protected (seriously). Only people who are ‘meant’ to be there can be, and I’m pretty sure it’s like ‘MY’ island so only the people that I want to be around can actually live on this island. If anyone else tries to get inside, they get shot back out and magically transported to their hometown. Say for example Jake Scott and Scott Futher (who I don’t want on my island ever) decided to try and come for a visit, they would get shot back to Wellesley. Just kidding you guys are on my island 
. Anyways… back to the actual island. It’s impossible to get into. Or so I thought…
So everyone on the island is grouped for dinner in the dining hall, and all of a sudden three Mexican drug smugglers magically appear in the dining hall. Everyone gets down on the ground and they kidnap me.
They take me to the middle of the desert and make me run around barefoot as they shoot the ground behind me, so that I run faster. Then they open up a vortex (yeah) and out come like 150 Mexican drug smugglers, into the middle of the desert. Then, the three magical ones set up a feast for them and create a cage out of thin air, and put me in it. I watch them eat and listen intently to their conversation. Somehow, I understood spanish. The Mexicans were convinced I didn’t understand it so they spoke freely about their plans. Apparently, I was the only one holding the magical protection over the island and only the three magical mexicans could get in and out. I guess the island is covered in plants that can be used to make some futuristic drug called ‘Salmanko’ (yeah, I don’t know why), and they can’t get to the plant unless I am off of the island. So they are planning to infiltrate the island now that my magical hold is not there, kill all my friends and family and take over the island and begin producing ‘Salmanko’. That’s really all I heard from the conversation but it was enough to put a fire under me. I knew I needed to save my family and friends.
In the middle of the night when all the Mexicans were sleeping, a spirit – the spirit of my mother (I guess she is dead in this dream) – comes to me and tells me that I have the magical ability to mentally communicate with someone on the island. Problem is, she doesn’t know who it is and I am supposed to ‘find the spiritual connection’. So all night, I’m searching for this ‘connection’. I try to talk with the likely people: my boyfriend, my best friends, and my aunt. However, I can’t communicate with any of these people. I try all night long, and go through every single person that I know is on the island, and can’t seem to find a connection with any of them. As the sun was rising and I’m beginning to lose hope, I remembered about the exile. On the island there’s one person who I originally planted on the island but decided he wasn’t worthy… so instead of sending him back home I exiled him. The exile is my dad, which I’m sure has some sort of symbolic meaning… but anyways. I try to contact him and somehow manage to make a connection with him. I tell him all about the Three Magical Mexicans and their plans to take over the island. I end up leaving the fate of my island in his hands. I don’t know what he does or how he does it, but the next thing that happens in the dream is the battle. I suppose he got everyone together for the battle with the Mexicans, and managed to get guns and swords. I’m not involved in the battle as I am still stuck in my cage in the desert… but I watch the battle through my father’s eyes and somehow none of my friends or family get hurt. So next thing I know all the Mexicans are dead and I’m back on the island and my dad isn’t in exile anymore. The witch who cast the protection spell over the island increases its strength and we cut down all the Salmanko plants and put them in the ocean so that no one can ever get addicted to this drug.
Wierd… I know.
03.28.08
Relay for Life
Two years ago I had the opportunity to participate in Relay for Life, and it was one of the greatest things I have ever done. So this year, I am encouraging all of you to participate in this amazing event. I know you have heard about Relay For Life already, but hopefully I can convince everyone to go!
Two years ago, I had a group of ten people and went to sign up and three people backed out because they had “better things to do”.
Point one: There is nothing better anyone can do than help another person. Consciously making a difference in a persons life is an experience that changes you! After these three people backed out, another three people backed out because “they didn’t know anyone with cancer”.
Point two: It doesn’t matter if you know someone with cancer at all. When I entered relay for life, no one in my family had cancer, I didn’t even know anyone with cancer, I didn’t know anyone who knew anyone with cancer. Cancer doesn’t have to affect you personally. The important thing is to realize that it does affect so many people all over the world. It’s important to do something about it.
So, my team of ten slowly dwindled down to four participants.
Point three: you don’t NEED a team of ten to participate. Two years ago my team consisted of four people, and that was fine! If you want to participate, you can!
Now to the actual event… (of course this is what happened two years ago, and it might change!)
The relay started with the survivors lap, which was emotional for everyone involved. Watching the survivors walk around the ‘track’ (bus turn-around) encourages you to join the fight against cancer. If they can fight it ‘face-to-face’, we can sure help them!
Another emotional part of the relay is the… bag ceremony. I don’t know what it’s called but it was a very powerful moment. Everyone has a luminary bag and writes who they are relaying for on the bag. Even if you aren’t relaying for a specific person… you can write ‘keep fighting’ or something like that. Then the glow sticks or candles are put in the bags and they are placed around the track. I cried, a lot. It was very emotional.
To keep people entertained there are bands who perform throughout the night. It also helps to keep people awake. Hard to fall asleep with music blaring!
Another exciting event that happened last year was head shaving. I’m sure this will happen again this year. Many people participated in this and shaved their head and donated the hair to cancer. It was really emotional and powerful.
One of the ‘rules’ of the relay is that one person from your team must be on the track at all times. No, they don’t keep track and it’s not a big deal if you have to pee or something, but participating and following this rule makes it a lot of fun. You get to meet new people and talk with people you might not talk to very much when you’re walking. Since your close friends are most likely on your team, and only one of you has to be on the track at one time, you often find yourself on the track by yourself. I found that I strengthened friendships with some people I probably wouldn’t have talked to if it weren’t for the relay.
To avoid dragging on and on, I will close with this.
This year, I am relaying for my aunt, who has terminal cancer. She has fought this disease for one year now and her time is running out. For her, and for all others struggling with this disease… there IS hope, and this relay can help. It’s so important to participate and help other people. It is a life changing experience and I encourage all of you to participate in this amazing event.
03.25.08
Carrie Underwood & Josh Turner
My mom’s boyfriend Paul turned 55 on Sunday. My mom and I needed to find something fun for the three of us to do that wouldn’t cost us too much money. He’s a BIG music buff so my mom and I bought tickets to see Carrie Underwood in Hamilton. I LOVE Carrie Underwood (I know some of you might not ), so naturally I was extremely excited for the concert on Saturday night! The tickets were actually relatively cheap, I think only about $45.00 per person.
Now… to the concert itself!
Country artist Josh Turner opened up for Carrie, and he was fantastic! I have never heard him before, and if you don’t like country music you definitely wont like him, but he has a fantastic voice. His voice is very VERY deep and soulful. He is a wonderful performer. For those interested, he did some amazing covers of ‘Long Black Train’ and ‘One Woman Man’, and sang some of his original songs including ‘The Difference Between a Woman and a Man’, and ‘Good Woman Bad’. If you like country music and deep soulful voices, you will definitely like him!
Carrie Underwood came out with her fast paced song ‘Flat on the Floor’ from her new CD Carnival Ride. She has an absolutely AMAZING set of pipes. You know when you hear an artist on their CD, and they sound awesome, and you HIGHLY DOUBT they will be that good live? Well she was.
She sang songs from her first album ‘Some Hearts’, and included a medley of four songs from this album. Her memorable performances from this particular album include ‘Jesus Take the Wheel’, where she had the audience sing two choruses and did a beautiful a capella (without instruments) chorus and she actually cried. Well, a little. She teared. . Her other memorable performance from this album was ‘I Ain’t in Checotah Anymore’. On the screen behind her she had a video playing of her hometown, Checotah. She had photos of the school, the corner store, her house, etc. It was really moving to see where she had come from and she had pictures of her family and her dog too. It personalized her and I loved it!
From her new album, she performed many songs such as ‘All-American Girl’ (changed to All-Canadian Girl!), ‘The More Boys I Meet’, ‘Crazy Dreams’, and ’Last Name’. All were performed to perfection and sung absolutely beautifully. She made changes to every song to keep the audience interested. She moved all over the stage and managed to keep the audience interested during her ‘costume’ changes. There was a neat light show while she changed . Her outfits were awesome, the band was amazing, the props (such as lighting and videos in the background) all worked together so wonderfully. She has really grown as an artist and put on an amazing show.
To wrap it up she came back for an encore of – get this – November Rain, Paradise City, and Before he Cheats. When she began November Rain I was a little worried about how the entire encore would play out… but it was actually really, really good. She performed this song acoustically (while wearing a Hamilton Bulldogs jersey, which made the crowd pretty excited…), and then moved to Paradise City and did a pretty good job with it. I mean, she’s no Guns ‘N’ Roses, but she did a good job with a tough song. It’s easy to sound very cheesy and amateur when singing that song, but she made it her own and did well. And of course, she finished with Before He Cheats, probably one of her most famous songs, and it was awesome.
All in all it was a fantastic concert. I would recommend buying Carrie’s new CD and checking out Josh Turner if you havn’t heard of him. Carrie’s new CD Carnival Ride isn’t as ‘country’ as you might think, so I’d check it out even if you’re not into country!!
03.09.08
March Break!
So I figured I’d write about what I’m doing this march break and then you guys can tell me what YOU are doing. If you’re away on some fantastic trip don’t brag too much 
.
So this week I decided to do some volunteering… I need about 10 hours to finish my 40 hours for school. My mom got me in at an Early Intervention office run by KidsLink. For those of you who don’t know… KidsLink is a huge organization that helps children all over Canada. Since I want to be a social worker I’m really glad I got in here to volunteer! What the office I am in does is work with children from 2-5 who are in preschool or kindergarden and are having difficulties learning. The social workers from this office go to schools in the area and teach these kids the fundamental skills that will help them to learn. They also run their own preschools and kindergardens for students who have so much trouble that they cannot be in a regular school system.
I had to get a police check done and fill out a LOT of confidentiality forms so that I could volunteer here, but it’s so worth it. They have this really cool way of teaching kids with learning disabilities. Friday was my first day, and I helped create a booklet for these kids… and it was to learn songs that most children know… (BINGO, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Old MacDonald). What the booklet was was a bunch of pieces of paper with pictures to describe every part of the song… and then as we sing the song wtih the kids we get them to point to the pictures. It’s really cool to see how this thing works… it may sound silly or something but it actually helps a lot. I am loving every minute of it right now. I was just going to volunteer Friday from 8-5 and Monday 12-5 but I am just having so much fun with these kids so I’m going to be volunteering with them monday, tuesday, wednesday, and next friday as well. I’m glad to have something productive to do!
On Thursday I am going to McMaster with my mommy for a campus tour. I am pretty excited about that and I can’t wait to see some residences and then apply for residence! It’s all becoming so real, I’m sure many of you understand what I mean! I can’t wait until Thursday!
Other than that I’m not doing anything wacky. Unless you include going on msn and talking to Jake about fish, Gene Simmons, catnip, and cheese exciting. In which case… I’m doing something exciting RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!! (happy Jake? lol)
Anyways… what are YOU GUYS doing over march break?
02.20.08
And That’ll Get Rid of My Wisdom?
Joey: ‘I can pass for nineteen, right?’
Phoebe: ‘Sure… except… you’ve got to do something about your eyes.
Joey: ‘My eyes? What’s wrong with my eyes?’
Phoebe: ‘There’s… too much wisdom in there. You know what you should do? Put teabags under your eyes for ten minutes.’
Joey: ‘And that’ll get rid of my wisdom?’
Phoebe: ‘Maybe just five minutes for you.’
Classic Friends. Anyway, that was just to explain the title of my blog. Now, to point out the relevance… I am getting my wisdom teeth taken out tomorrow. Hopefully I get to keep my wisdom .
I can’t begin to describe how nervous I am for tomorrow. I’ve never had surgery of any kind so I’m extremely stressed out. I know it will go okay but I’m still scared. My mom makes me laugh pretty hard and she’s helping me feel better. Last night, I was getting really worked up about it and I kept saying that I was convinced I was going to die in the chair. To calm me down, my mom says (and this is an exact quote) ”Ashley, you could die right now. The chances of you dying because of your surgery are just as likely as you dying becuase you get hit by a car or something. It’ll be fine. I doubt you’ll die. I mean, how many people actually die from it? Probably only a handful. And hey, even if you do die, you can come back and haunt your friends. It’d be fun. And then I’ll die eventually… I dunno maybe I’ll get struck by lightning… and we can haunt people together. Okay?” If you don’t know my mom or me very well, then you might not think this would be helpful but for me it is. When she can joke about it I know that I don’t have a lot to worry about.
The big issue for me is needles. I have a really big fear of needles, and I cry and hyperventelate and shake and stuff whenever I even see a needle. Tomorrow I have to get two needles in the back of my hands, because the veins in my arms aren’t big enough. Recently I’ve been having dreams about them injecting the stuff into me and then instead of putting me to sleep, it keeps me awake… except they think I’m sleeping. (Does that make sense?) Anyways, so I’m actually awake but they don’t know that I’m awake and I can feel EVERYTHING. I know its irrational but hey, I’m scared!!
I’m also scared that my body wont react properly to the drug that they give me to put me out and I’ll wake up in the middle of it. I’ve heard of that happening a couple times and I’m a little worried about that. Especially since I am allergic to something in the anesthesia that they usually use, so they are using a substitute. Apparently ”it works the same”, but I’m not completely convinced!!
Anyways, thanks for letting me rant! Hopefully I’ll see you all in class on Tuesday. If not, expect some serious hauntings . I’ll update this blog after the surgery to let you guys know how it went, for those of you who care 
02.12.08
LOVE is the Movement
I recently heard about an event that I thought I would tell everyone about. It is called ‘LOVE is the Movement’, supported by the foundation “To Write Love On Her Arms”, which raises awareness for suicide and depression.
Valentines week has the highest rate for suicides than any other time of year. It also has the highest rate of breakups. Valentines day might be happy and joyous for those who have a girlfriend/boyfriend, but for those who don’t, it can be a really depressing time. This year, TWLOHA has organized a world-wide event called Love Is The Movement. Participants are to write the word “LOVE” on their arm, or “Love is the movement”, or something to that effect on both the 13th and 14th. Then throughout Wednesday and Thursday, when people ask about your arms, you are to explain about TWLOHA and tell people that they are loved by someone. This is a really close issue to my heart as I recently lost someone to suicide, and I think it is really important to just show other people that they are loved. This isn’t just something you can do on Valentines day, you can do it for the rest of your life. You can make a difference in peoples lives every day just by spreading a little love… a smile, a hello. It really makes a difference and I would love if more people got involved in Love Is The Movement. After you talk to people you are supposed to ask if you can write love on their arms, in order to spread the word.
For those who want more info about TWLOHA and LOVE is the Movement, just post a reply and I’ll get back to you today. It’s really important to spread the love!!
02.07.08
Juno
Okay so I recently had the absolute pleasure of watching the greatest film in the history of the world. Well, I don’t know if it’s the best, but it’s pretty good!
So for people who havn’t seen it yet and want to see it and be completely surprised, the next little bit you might not want to read. I don’t give a bunch away but still. Anyways, Juno is about a teenage girl named Juno who sleeps with Paulie Bleeker, her boyfriend/friend (it changes over the course of the movie) and ends up pregnant. At first she plans to have an abortion but Sue-Chin is there and tells her that her baby has fingernails, so she decides to give the baby up for adoption. She chooses to give the baby to a couple who lives in the suberbs in a really gorgeous, perfect house. The couple – Mark and Vanessa, seem completely perfect. During the nine months of her pregnancy the movie goes over the struggles she faces with pregnancy, Bleeker, and Mark & Vanessa. Eventually Mark tells Juno that he’s divorcing Vanessa and there’s a huge emotional moment, and everyone cries, and it’s great. And then Juno has to make some decisions. And that’s all I’m going to tell you so as not to ruin it!
This movie can appeal to people our age and our parents age. I loved this movie because of the humour, and how witty it is! It’s not just your standard ‘haha, I made a sexual comment’ humour, it’s actually witty and so clever. I also liked the characters and how I could imagine people in our school when I was watching it. It was real. My mom liked it for the real-life aspect too. She loved how it showed the ups and downs of pregnancy, and the issues teens face when pregnant. She also loved that the ‘perfect’ couple may not be so perfect. My mom really enjoyed the humour too. Sometimes at dinner we just quote Juno, and it’s great! I’m surprised that we found a movie we both love!
So now I’m going to put some quotes that I just loved. This is such a great movie!!
- (Juno grabs a pregnancy test and goes into the bathroom at the convenience store) Convenience Store Guy: You better pay for that pee stick when you get back! Just because you marked it with your urine doesn’t mean it’s yours!
- (Juno comes back with the pregnancy test in hand) Convenience Store Guy: What’s the verdict fertile mertle? Juno: It’s positive. (Juno shakes the pregnancy test in attemp to change the sign) Convenience Store Guy: That aint no etch-a-sketch. That’s one doodle that can’t be un-did, homeskillet. Your eggos preggo, my friend.
- Vanessa: We’ve been trying to adopt for a while.
Juno: You should’ve just gone to China. ‘Cause I hear they give away babies like free iPods. They pretty much just put them in those t-shirt guns and shoot them out at sporting events.
- Adoption Lady: There’s a few forms we’ll need you to fill out.
Juno: What? Can’t we just do this old school, I put the baby in a basket and send it your way, like Moses and the reeds?
- Juno’s BFF: Are you sure you’re pregnant? Maybe it’s a food baby.
Juno: No, it’s not a food baby, I’ve taken like three pregnancy tests and I am for shizz up the spout.
Juno’s BFF: How did you even generate enough pee for three pregnancy tests?
That’s all I’m going to say, GO WATCH THE MOVIE AND YOU’LL HEAR LOTS MORE!
