Edited from an e-mail forward:
Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know" feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?
I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.
It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com (CBC.ca) and the link takes me to a video instead of text.
Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".
Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".
Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....
You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.
I'm always worried when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. Do I ask them? Do I ask them again? But that will that look like I don't want to watch it. What do I do?
Bad decisions make good stories
When I meet someone new, I'm terrified of mentioning something they haven't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.
Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!
I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
Saturday, 29 August 2009
Thursday, 27 August 2009
I Got In!!
I just got notice from Carleton that I was accepted into the Fiction Workshop. I guess my story was good enough, or not many people applied. Now I'm really scared!! I'm going to have to be regularly producing creative fictiony type stuff. I have no idea how I'm going to do it.
They Are Tiny
I found out tonight that the province of Newfoundland only has a population of around half a million people. Canada as a whole is working its way over 33,000,000. That means that Newfoundland is like one-sixty-eth of our nation. That is crazy!! Ottawa has one and half times that many. It is the last remaining province for me to visit. I have seen all the others. I'm dying to go, it is supposedly absolutely beautiful. Teri, who has Newfie liniage, has been. (Though she hasn't been to Manitoba so we are tied on provinces with 9 of 10.) Teri , Anna - the Nova Scotian and Jerrica - the true Newfie, all correct me on my pronunciation of Newfoundland as I tend to say New-found-land which is how it is spelt. However, it is actually said New-finland. There is also a bit of an ongoing debate on whether the term 'Newfie' is derogatory (a provincial-slur) or not. I don't think so and I would never say it to mean anything negative. To quote Jerrica, "Newfies Rock!!"
Wednesday, 26 August 2009
The Guild
The Guild is an online sit-com (Yes, they have these) about an online guild. Basically it is about a group of people playing World of Warcraft but the game itself is never explicitly named. I find it super funny!! I watched the first two seasons in one sitting. (Which sounds impressive until you realise that there is only about 10 episodes a season and each is only around 5 minutes long.) What brought my attention to the show was the following music video, which is a trailer for the upcoming 3rd season. I love it!!
Tuesday, 25 August 2009
So I Don't Know
There has been no word yet on whether I got into the Fiction Workshop. It feels like next semester is fast approaching and I would really like to know if I'm taking that course or not. If I do get in I'm not sure whether I will bother posting stories and such onto Always Standing. I really liked having a few days off as the story slowly automatically posted itself but I miss the comments which I think show up more if I write a bunch of random stuff. I don't know if "A Little High School Drama" really worked all that well on Always Standing. I don't know.
Sunday, 23 August 2009
A Little High School Drama - 7/7
In order to keep posts short, I am splitting up the short story I wrote for my Fiction Portfolio into sections. It is coming to you now - serialised. How very 1800's! It isn't the greatest solution because it will get posted backwards and to read as a whole will involve some scrolling. But the seven sections will get released slowly, so most will be able to read it as it comes. The story is quite conducive to this as it was written with breaks, which I'm using to divide up the sections. Enjoy!
At lunch Julia and Brianne met in line at the cafeteria. Brianne gave Julia a sad look. After learning that she hadn’t made it into the class Brianne had ran into the bathroom crying. Julia had just stood still and stared at the list for a long time, until other students started showing up to look at it. Walking slowly to the bathroom, she had found Brianne fixing her make-up in one of the mirrors. “Sucks, totally sucks,” she said when she noticed Julia walk in. Her bottom lip started to quiver and Julia walked over to give her a hug.
“Oh, Brie,” she said, “Next time, right? Next time.” Brianne stroked Julia’s hair. As they left the bathroom, the girls had started to talk about other possible plans for the next semester. Julia wanted to take a Business and Marketing class instead of Physics and Brianne was hoping to run for the Drama Club executive. Julia pulled out her notebook and started writing down some campaign ideas. “So, what’s your platform?” she asked. “What are you going to do differently with the Club?” Julia suggested having improv games at lunch open to all students and Brianne started to outline a series of workshops she thought could be offered to help members prepare for auditions.
Julia showed Brianne her notebook. “I had some campaign slogan ideas during second period,” she said, “And I want to show you some poster designs I thought you might use.” Brianne followed Julia across the cafeteria to their usual table. They sat down and started looking through Julia’s notebook.
Rachael looked up and asked, “So did you guys get in?” They shook their heads and shrugged.
“You know I might take accounting,” Brianne said. “Because, when I’m doing theatre full time, I’m probably going to have an agent or a manager and how will I know if they are keeping my books straight...” Julia smiled as Brianne started into long discussion about her future career. Stealing a nacho from Rachael, she sat back to listen.
At lunch Julia and Brianne met in line at the cafeteria. Brianne gave Julia a sad look. After learning that she hadn’t made it into the class Brianne had ran into the bathroom crying. Julia had just stood still and stared at the list for a long time, until other students started showing up to look at it. Walking slowly to the bathroom, she had found Brianne fixing her make-up in one of the mirrors. “Sucks, totally sucks,” she said when she noticed Julia walk in. Her bottom lip started to quiver and Julia walked over to give her a hug.
“Oh, Brie,” she said, “Next time, right? Next time.” Brianne stroked Julia’s hair. As they left the bathroom, the girls had started to talk about other possible plans for the next semester. Julia wanted to take a Business and Marketing class instead of Physics and Brianne was hoping to run for the Drama Club executive. Julia pulled out her notebook and started writing down some campaign ideas. “So, what’s your platform?” she asked. “What are you going to do differently with the Club?” Julia suggested having improv games at lunch open to all students and Brianne started to outline a series of workshops she thought could be offered to help members prepare for auditions.
Julia showed Brianne her notebook. “I had some campaign slogan ideas during second period,” she said, “And I want to show you some poster designs I thought you might use.” Brianne followed Julia across the cafeteria to their usual table. They sat down and started looking through Julia’s notebook.
Rachael looked up and asked, “So did you guys get in?” They shook their heads and shrugged.
“You know I might take accounting,” Brianne said. “Because, when I’m doing theatre full time, I’m probably going to have an agent or a manager and how will I know if they are keeping my books straight...” Julia smiled as Brianne started into long discussion about her future career. Stealing a nacho from Rachael, she sat back to listen.
Saturday, 22 August 2009
A Little High School Drama - 6/7
In order to keep posts short, I am splitting up the short story I wrote for my Fiction Portfolio into sections. It is coming to you now - serialised. How very 1800's! It isn't the greatest solution because it will get posted backwards and to read as a whole will involve some scrolling. But the seven sections will get released slowly, so most will be able to read it as it comes. The story is quite conducive to this as it was written with breaks, which I'm using to divide up the sections. Enjoy!
It was two weeks before the casting list got posted. Auditions had to be held in all the other schools as well. On the bus ride to school, Julia felt shivers of excitement run up and down her spin. Beside her, Brianne was practically vibrating with energy and talking none stop. “Juls, it is going to be great! So great!” She kept saying. “What if I get the lead? Wouldn’t it be awesome if I got the lead? Cinderella. I mean, I would totally make a great Cinderella.” As if to prove it, Brianne shook her long blond curls and beamed over at Julia.
Julia smiled back and turned to look out the window. The last couple of weeks they had spent every bus ride talking about what parts they wanted in the play and what jobs they would like for backstage. Brianne liked to paint, so was hoping for something in set decoration. Julia was still excited about the different marketing and business positions that were available and had even started to jot down ideas about tickets and advertising in a notebook.
As soon as the bus pulled up to the school, Brianne and Julia were the first ones off. They rushed to the Drama office. Turning the final corner, Brianne grabbed Julia’s hand and gave it a squeeze. The list was posted. Their bus was always one of the first to arrive at school, so the hallway was relatively empty. Julia stared at the clean white piece of computer paper taped to the Drama office door. Winter Semester’s Senior Drama Class List it read at the top, followed by a chart with four columns. The list was arranged alphabetically with each student’s name followed by their school, the part they were to play, and the backstage task they had been given.
Julia skimmed the first column of the chart. Her name wasn’t there. She checked again, slowly reading each name in the list and noticed that Brianne’s wasn’t either. Neither of them had made it into the class.
It was two weeks before the casting list got posted. Auditions had to be held in all the other schools as well. On the bus ride to school, Julia felt shivers of excitement run up and down her spin. Beside her, Brianne was practically vibrating with energy and talking none stop. “Juls, it is going to be great! So great!” She kept saying. “What if I get the lead? Wouldn’t it be awesome if I got the lead? Cinderella. I mean, I would totally make a great Cinderella.” As if to prove it, Brianne shook her long blond curls and beamed over at Julia.
Julia smiled back and turned to look out the window. The last couple of weeks they had spent every bus ride talking about what parts they wanted in the play and what jobs they would like for backstage. Brianne liked to paint, so was hoping for something in set decoration. Julia was still excited about the different marketing and business positions that were available and had even started to jot down ideas about tickets and advertising in a notebook.
As soon as the bus pulled up to the school, Brianne and Julia were the first ones off. They rushed to the Drama office. Turning the final corner, Brianne grabbed Julia’s hand and gave it a squeeze. The list was posted. Their bus was always one of the first to arrive at school, so the hallway was relatively empty. Julia stared at the clean white piece of computer paper taped to the Drama office door. Winter Semester’s Senior Drama Class List it read at the top, followed by a chart with four columns. The list was arranged alphabetically with each student’s name followed by their school, the part they were to play, and the backstage task they had been given.
Julia skimmed the first column of the chart. Her name wasn’t there. She checked again, slowly reading each name in the list and noticed that Brianne’s wasn’t either. Neither of them had made it into the class.
A Little High School Drama - 5/7
In order to keep posts short, I am splitting up the short story I wrote for my Fiction Portfolio into sections. It is coming to you now - serialised. How very 1800's! It isn't the greatest solution because it will get posted backwards and to read as a whole will involve some scrolling. But the seven sections will get released slowly, so most will be able to read it as it comes. The story is quite conducive to this as it was written with breaks, which I'm using to divide up the sections. Enjoy!
“If I get in I’m dropping accounting,” Julia whispered to Brianne. The two sat on the gymnasium floor waiting to be called forward for their individual auditions. Julia felt much more comfortable at the audition than she had expected. She had been almost shaking with fear all morning but as they entered the gym she could tell that everyone was nervous. Julia handed in her application, a package which included her resume, school transcript, an essay about theatre, and her preferences for the backstage positions. Because the Drama teacher had extra help, the audition was set up in a rotating fashion. After a brief explanation about the Senior Drama Class format, the play, and the style of the audition, the teacher split the students into three groups of about 15 each. Each group visited the three audition areas.
Julia and Brianne were in the same group, which moved through the two student teachers first. One student ran through some basic readings of the play and took notes. Brianne had borrowed a copy of the script ahead of time, so Julia had been able to practice with her. The next student organized some inprov games which made Julia very nervous. However, she found that the other students around her were very eager to play and be creative. Soon she was having fun and found the she was quite good at thinking on her feet. She couldn’t get over what a supportive environment it was and spent lots of time laughing at what others came up with.
The final part of the audition was with the Senior Drama Class teacher. Each student had to present a memorized monologue. Julia and Brianne sat with their group, as everyone was called up one by one. Julia looked over her shoulder at another group doing the improv games on the far side of the gym. She felt a pang of jealousy, wishing she could join them again. A little surprised with her new found creative side, Julia whispered to Brianne again, “Physics too, but my dad was more upset about the accounting.”
“But accounting is the fun math,” Brianne whispered back. “I was even almost thinking about taking it. In all the other math courses it is always my favourite unit. Just remembering simple rules and stuff and the math is all just adding and subtracting. Is there another period you can take it in? And, Physics? Gross! I can’t believe you were evening thinking about taking that. Oh, Juls, you’re up.”
“If I get in I’m dropping accounting,” Julia whispered to Brianne. The two sat on the gymnasium floor waiting to be called forward for their individual auditions. Julia felt much more comfortable at the audition than she had expected. She had been almost shaking with fear all morning but as they entered the gym she could tell that everyone was nervous. Julia handed in her application, a package which included her resume, school transcript, an essay about theatre, and her preferences for the backstage positions. Because the Drama teacher had extra help, the audition was set up in a rotating fashion. After a brief explanation about the Senior Drama Class format, the play, and the style of the audition, the teacher split the students into three groups of about 15 each. Each group visited the three audition areas.
Julia and Brianne were in the same group, which moved through the two student teachers first. One student ran through some basic readings of the play and took notes. Brianne had borrowed a copy of the script ahead of time, so Julia had been able to practice with her. The next student organized some inprov games which made Julia very nervous. However, she found that the other students around her were very eager to play and be creative. Soon she was having fun and found the she was quite good at thinking on her feet. She couldn’t get over what a supportive environment it was and spent lots of time laughing at what others came up with.
The final part of the audition was with the Senior Drama Class teacher. Each student had to present a memorized monologue. Julia and Brianne sat with their group, as everyone was called up one by one. Julia looked over her shoulder at another group doing the improv games on the far side of the gym. She felt a pang of jealousy, wishing she could join them again. A little surprised with her new found creative side, Julia whispered to Brianne again, “Physics too, but my dad was more upset about the accounting.”
“But accounting is the fun math,” Brianne whispered back. “I was even almost thinking about taking it. In all the other math courses it is always my favourite unit. Just remembering simple rules and stuff and the math is all just adding and subtracting. Is there another period you can take it in? And, Physics? Gross! I can’t believe you were evening thinking about taking that. Oh, Juls, you’re up.”
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