Since we didn't pick a theme for this week and I haven't finished a punishment post yet, I'm just going to tell you gals about how much I love my job right now.
I'm working as a Youth Services Officer at a Service Canada Centre for Youth. Basically that means that I help youth find jobs and make career decisions and important things like that.
One of my favourite parts of the job is doing presentations. We go out into the local schools and present to classes about things like making resumes, interview skills, where to look for a job, career options, and workplace health and safety. It's a lot of fun to interact with the younger students, and it's always nice to get out of the office for a little while.
I also really like how much freedom we have in this job. There are certain things we have to do, and certain target numbers for presentations and clients and such that we're supposed to try to meet, but it's really up to us how we want to go about doing them. So when it's nice out we can just decide that we want to go out and spend a few hours putting up flyers to advertise our services, and the other day we spent like three hours making fun posters to put up in the office, and the other day we had a meeting with the mayor just because we decided to call him up and ask if we could talk to him about youth issues in the community.
The most satisfying thing about this job, though, is when we feel as though we've actually really helped someone. After one of our presentations, a girl asked us about applying for Student Loans, because no one else had explained it to her, and it felt like we really helped her figure out what she needed to do. Another girl asked us to help her find some information about small engine repair because her boyfriend was really good at it but wasn't sure it was a viable career option. It's nice to feel like we're actually doing something good for the world!
So that's what I'm doing this summer. It's wonderful and I love it.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
HAGFISH
So we don't have much of a theme this week, I don't know what we're going to do, unless we picked one and I'm an oblivious cloud. I'm due a punishment anyways so I think I'll be doing an essay/report about hagfish.
The first thing to know about the hagfish is that you are spelling it wrong. Word might say it's right, but everywhere else you are wrong, hagfish will get the little red line. It is still spelled hagfish.
Hagfish are blind, eel-like organisms found in many locations. They're also another one of those fish that can change gender every now and then.
The hagfish is a rather odd organism found in our oceans, it looks like an eel but it is not, the hagfish is a fish, just like its name says (although it has also been called a slime eel). Hagfish are most commonly known for they're ability to produce massive amounts slime from their bodies. Producing slime is their own defense mechanism. They will frequently cover themselves in a thick layer of mucus when under stress, to humans it makes them disgusting and sticky, to predatory fish that would attack the hagfish, the slime can deter them by clogging the predator's gills or allowing the hagfish to slip out an on its way.
The way hagfish eat is pretty interesting too. They commonly eat their prey from the inside out. Prey might exactly not be the best word, they're a little like scavengers since the fish they eat tend to already be dead or near death. They go inside the animal and start eating their way out. I don't think I'd want to have a hungry hagfish near me.
So that's the hagfish, a sticky, slimy, eel-like fish that will eat other animals from the inside out. It lives in many parts of the world's oceans and seem not to have a ton of predators because of its defense slime.
It is really late, this was a bit of a rush job, sorry.
Here are the the websites I learned stuff from.
/cough/wikipedia/cough/
http://www.itsnature.org
and
http://www.seasky.org
The first thing to know about the hagfish is that you are spelling it wrong. Word might say it's right, but everywhere else you are wrong, hagfish will get the little red line. It is still spelled hagfish.
Hagfish are blind, eel-like organisms found in many locations. They're also another one of those fish that can change gender every now and then.
The hagfish is a rather odd organism found in our oceans, it looks like an eel but it is not, the hagfish is a fish, just like its name says (although it has also been called a slime eel). Hagfish are most commonly known for they're ability to produce massive amounts slime from their bodies. Producing slime is their own defense mechanism. They will frequently cover themselves in a thick layer of mucus when under stress, to humans it makes them disgusting and sticky, to predatory fish that would attack the hagfish, the slime can deter them by clogging the predator's gills or allowing the hagfish to slip out an on its way.
The way hagfish eat is pretty interesting too. They commonly eat their prey from the inside out. Prey might exactly not be the best word, they're a little like scavengers since the fish they eat tend to already be dead or near death. They go inside the animal and start eating their way out. I don't think I'd want to have a hungry hagfish near me.
So that's the hagfish, a sticky, slimy, eel-like fish that will eat other animals from the inside out. It lives in many parts of the world's oceans and seem not to have a ton of predators because of its defense slime.
It is really late, this was a bit of a rush job, sorry.
Here are the the websites I learned stuff from.
/cough/wikipedia/cough/
http://www.itsnature.org
and
http://www.seasky.org
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Decision-making
I completely lost track of the days this week where Monday was a holiday. I just kept thinking that yesterday was Monday and today was Tuesday, which is why I'm a day late. I was actually really confused about why Sophie was posting a day early for a few minutes before I figured out that it was actually Wednesday. Anyway, here I am. I guess I'll need to do another punishment.
I'll admit that I'm not entirely sure about this week's theme either, but here goes. Something about me that most people wouldn't guess is that I like to be in charge of planning/organizing/deciding things. I'm usually pretty quiet, and I tend to be very indecisive most of the time. In group situations I'm hardly ever the one to make a decision or even offer a strong opinion about them because usually I don't care enough whether we do activity A or activity B (or whatever the decision is) to be bothered to disagree with someone about it.
So since I'm usually not fond of being a leader, it surprises people that I enjoy it. I guess the thing is that I don't like it when I'm dealing with people that I feel like I'm on an equal footing. If it's something that I'm actually legitimately the leader of, whether it's a project for work that I'm taking the lead on, or if I'm planning a party, or whatever, than I really enjoy getting to actually make decisions and be in charge.
I wish I had an awesome story like Sarah did, but I really don't, so I guess that's that. As an extra tidbit, I'll add that people are also really surprised to find out that I used to kickbox, since I'm quiet and not really particularly strong or tough or anything.
I'll admit that I'm not entirely sure about this week's theme either, but here goes. Something about me that most people wouldn't guess is that I like to be in charge of planning/organizing/deciding things. I'm usually pretty quiet, and I tend to be very indecisive most of the time. In group situations I'm hardly ever the one to make a decision or even offer a strong opinion about them because usually I don't care enough whether we do activity A or activity B (or whatever the decision is) to be bothered to disagree with someone about it.
So since I'm usually not fond of being a leader, it surprises people that I enjoy it. I guess the thing is that I don't like it when I'm dealing with people that I feel like I'm on an equal footing. If it's something that I'm actually legitimately the leader of, whether it's a project for work that I'm taking the lead on, or if I'm planning a party, or whatever, than I really enjoy getting to actually make decisions and be in charge.
I wish I had an awesome story like Sarah did, but I really don't, so I guess that's that. As an extra tidbit, I'll add that people are also really surprised to find out that I used to kickbox, since I'm quiet and not really particularly strong or tough or anything.
I talk
Ok, so I don't really understand this weeks theme too well and I haven't actually thought of anything. There are things about me that people wouldn't guess but I don't really have a story about any of them.
I guess one thing about me that most people don't realise about me is that I like to talk. I'm naturally a really quiet, shy and socially awkward person, particularly in larger groups of people. I also don't really talk to people unless they talk to me first. So, when someone actually hits a topic I know something about or I like and I talk, they're surprised.
So, that's my story.
Also, I'm still working on my punishment, sonnets are hard.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Unaccompanied minors require feeding
So I think we're doing stories or things interesting that people wouldn't normally guess about us this week. I'm so boring so prepare for it. I'm also not being original because I stole this story from my brother, but I'm telling it in my perspective.
Something about me is probably how much I hate taking leader positions or anything regarding responsibility if I can avoid it. I'm much better with responsibility now, but I didn't used to be. One of the first times I really had to deal with it was when I was going to Alabama for space camp and had to take my brother with me too. I was only thirteen years old and he was just ten, our parents couldn't come with us so we were unaccompanied minors flying with Delta Airlines.
Our parents left us at our gate in Boston and from there we sat on the plane to Atlanta, Georgia. I was really scared being thirteen and on my own traveling halfway across the country not to mention needing to take care of my little brother who has a really negative and painful reaction to altitude changes.
We arrived at Atlanta only to find out that we missed our next flight. We ended up sitting in this small room designated for unaccompanied minors waiting to find out what would happen next. We were given food tickets since we were in the care of Delta Airlines but we were never allowed to get any food at all. My brother and I had to go the entire day with nothing. We may have been babysat the entire time but Delta was so irresponsible in taking care of us and other kids that I felt like the only adult around for my brother.
Because we missed out first flight we were assigned to a second, we sat at the second gate for around five hours until it was canceled due to thunderstorms. For a second time we found ourselves sitting in the little room for children. Some hours later we were rushed off in a little bus to another plane headed from Atlanta to Huntsville, Alabama. That turn of events was a major relief, I kept worrying what would happen to us if we couldn't get a flight and what our parents would say or do.
The flight from Atlanta to Huntsville must have taken about half an hour, despite that it was almost midnight. A man met us somewhere near the gate and I recognized the uniform he had on to be that of the camp's and I wondered how long he had been waiting for us. We managed to survive the hectic flights with Delta and were driven to the camp. The man got us some sandwiches and sodas, the first bit of food we'd seen all day, there wasn't a crumb left by the time we'd finished them. We had made it to camp and were still alive, that's pretty much all that had mattered.
So I knew the whole time we were under someone else's watch, but none of those people were all that good at watching over kids so we were alone most of the time. I don't know how my brother felt on that trip but I was constantly worried about him. We were on our own and very far away from home for the first time. I felt like I had to protect him and make sure he was okay no matter what happened.
I also learned that, one day if I ever have kids, they will never fly without me on Delta. Those people have no idea how to take care of minors.
That's the story about me and having to deal with needing to have at least one drop of responsibility for the first time. It seems like no big deal to me now, but back then it was a lot.
Something about me is probably how much I hate taking leader positions or anything regarding responsibility if I can avoid it. I'm much better with responsibility now, but I didn't used to be. One of the first times I really had to deal with it was when I was going to Alabama for space camp and had to take my brother with me too. I was only thirteen years old and he was just ten, our parents couldn't come with us so we were unaccompanied minors flying with Delta Airlines.
Our parents left us at our gate in Boston and from there we sat on the plane to Atlanta, Georgia. I was really scared being thirteen and on my own traveling halfway across the country not to mention needing to take care of my little brother who has a really negative and painful reaction to altitude changes.
We arrived at Atlanta only to find out that we missed our next flight. We ended up sitting in this small room designated for unaccompanied minors waiting to find out what would happen next. We were given food tickets since we were in the care of Delta Airlines but we were never allowed to get any food at all. My brother and I had to go the entire day with nothing. We may have been babysat the entire time but Delta was so irresponsible in taking care of us and other kids that I felt like the only adult around for my brother.
Because we missed out first flight we were assigned to a second, we sat at the second gate for around five hours until it was canceled due to thunderstorms. For a second time we found ourselves sitting in the little room for children. Some hours later we were rushed off in a little bus to another plane headed from Atlanta to Huntsville, Alabama. That turn of events was a major relief, I kept worrying what would happen to us if we couldn't get a flight and what our parents would say or do.
The flight from Atlanta to Huntsville must have taken about half an hour, despite that it was almost midnight. A man met us somewhere near the gate and I recognized the uniform he had on to be that of the camp's and I wondered how long he had been waiting for us. We managed to survive the hectic flights with Delta and were driven to the camp. The man got us some sandwiches and sodas, the first bit of food we'd seen all day, there wasn't a crumb left by the time we'd finished them. We had made it to camp and were still alive, that's pretty much all that had mattered.
So I knew the whole time we were under someone else's watch, but none of those people were all that good at watching over kids so we were alone most of the time. I don't know how my brother felt on that trip but I was constantly worried about him. We were on our own and very far away from home for the first time. I felt like I had to protect him and make sure he was okay no matter what happened.
I also learned that, one day if I ever have kids, they will never fly without me on Delta. Those people have no idea how to take care of minors.
That's the story about me and having to deal with needing to have at least one drop of responsibility for the first time. It seems like no big deal to me now, but back then it was a lot.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Challenge accepted: Punishment (and awful poetry) complete
I'm not sure whose idea it was to make writing a blog in iambic pentameter a punishment, but as soon as I saw it, all I could think was: challenge accepted!
This is my second late blog, so I'm due a punishment anyway. And I'm so, so sorry to submit you to this because not only am I just generally bad at poetry writing, iambic pentameter is a particular weakness. But just know: I'm saying that what I miss doing that I don't get to do as much as I'd like is to really be with people; not necessarily always have stuff scheduled but instead just to live life together, hang out, and... be friends.
On to awful poetry! (please don't laugh)
Reading and sleeping,
being creative,
cooking and thinking,
being productive.
These things I enjoy
don't tell the whole tale -
a sort of decoy -
of my life's detail.
Interaction with
lives of those dear;
friendship is no myth,
and helps me see clear.
I find myself blessed;
people stand time's test.
This is my second late blog, so I'm due a punishment anyway. And I'm so, so sorry to submit you to this because not only am I just generally bad at poetry writing, iambic pentameter is a particular weakness. But just know: I'm saying that what I miss doing that I don't get to do as much as I'd like is to really be with people; not necessarily always have stuff scheduled but instead just to live life together, hang out, and... be friends.
On to awful poetry! (please don't laugh)
Reading and sleeping,
being creative,
cooking and thinking,
being productive.
These things I enjoy
don't tell the whole tale -
a sort of decoy -
of my life's detail.
Interaction with
lives of those dear;
friendship is no myth,
and helps me see clear.
I find myself blessed;
people stand time's test.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
It's been too long
If there is one thing I enjoy but don't get to do very often it's hanging out with my best friend. I don't get to see him very much any more since I moved but we always try to find time to do stuff together. We've known each other since we were eight years old, so that's pretty much half my life I've known him, I think because we've known each other so long it makes it harder to be apart. He's a photographer so I often just go with him when he goes on photo shots.
There's lots of other things I like to do but don't get to, it's just I can't think of any right now. It's one of those things that you don't realise you miss until you do it again.
I'm really sorry this is so short but I'm not feeling very well.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
I would if I could
Something that I absolutely love is long, leisurely meals with a large crowd of people. The kind of meals where you have a long table full of people who can talk and laugh for hours. Meals with lots of courses. It doesn't have to be a fancy meal. Just slow. Relaxed. I love that sort of shared time, just appreciating each other's company without distractions or disturbances, but just being in everyone's company, enjoying the simple sensory pleasures of the meal. I don't get to do this very often because it's hard to get that many people together and usually the only places you can get multi-course meals are expensive restaurants.
I also enjoy summer Saturdays on my own. A typical Saturday like this would usually involve going to the farmer's market, wandering around and smelling all the wonderful things and watching all the interesting people, having crêpes for breakfast and buying some fresh produce and flowers. Then I'd curl up at my favourite coffee shop with a chai latte and my notebook to write for a while, and stop in at the used book store and the thrift store on my way home. I like having adventures with other people too, of course, but there's just something satisfying about doing things by myself, so that I can go at exactly my own pace and stop to look at all the things I find interesting without feeling like I'm slowing down everyone else. I don't get to have these sorts of days very often because summer only has so many weekends, and I can't spend all of them on my own.
I also love camping, like really really really love, but sadly I only get to go once or twice a year now that my family doesn't really go any more and my friends are more dispersed and it's just harder to organize.
I also enjoy summer Saturdays on my own. A typical Saturday like this would usually involve going to the farmer's market, wandering around and smelling all the wonderful things and watching all the interesting people, having crêpes for breakfast and buying some fresh produce and flowers. Then I'd curl up at my favourite coffee shop with a chai latte and my notebook to write for a while, and stop in at the used book store and the thrift store on my way home. I like having adventures with other people too, of course, but there's just something satisfying about doing things by myself, so that I can go at exactly my own pace and stop to look at all the things I find interesting without feeling like I'm slowing down everyone else. I don't get to have these sorts of days very often because summer only has so many weekends, and I can't spend all of them on my own.
I also love camping, like really really really love, but sadly I only get to go once or twice a year now that my family doesn't really go any more and my friends are more dispersed and it's just harder to organize.
I need more occasions for this.
Sorry, late post, do I get a punishment? I don't like making excuses about stuff but I'll be honest, I got severely sick last night and didn't get a lucid moment to write anything. This happened a couple months ago, I need to find out what's causing it.
So this week's theme is things we enjoy doing but don't get to do often.
I like to wear pretty dresses. I only wear pants, long pants, no shorts and bulky jackets and sweatshirts because New England is ridiculously cold. I also just don't like dresses, I feel really awkward in them and worry about whether or not they might get caught on something, get pulled up or blown up by an inconvenient gust of wind.
But I really like long gorgeous ball gowns.
I only get to wear a pretty dress about once a year and that's at the Anime Boston formal ball. I kind of jump at the chances to wear formal dresses. I may not like regular dresses, but I make exceptions and I wish I had more chances to wear them.
Especially poofy dresses that go -swish-, like the Disney princess gowns. Belle's was always my favorite.
I also really like looking at wedding dresses, I don't plan on getting married in the future even though Life might have plans that conflict with mine. Either way, just looking at them is fun.
So that's what I like to do, wear pretty dresses, they're fun to wear and sometimes I like not wearing jeans and sweatpants. I'd say it was the childhood me from my Disney days, except I mainly remember watching DBZ and ThunderCats.
I also don't have many occasions to play video games, my brother hogs the consoles. And I know I'll never get around to buying Portal 2, there needs to be more hours in the day.
So this week's theme is things we enjoy doing but don't get to do often.
I like to wear pretty dresses. I only wear pants, long pants, no shorts and bulky jackets and sweatshirts because New England is ridiculously cold. I also just don't like dresses, I feel really awkward in them and worry about whether or not they might get caught on something, get pulled up or blown up by an inconvenient gust of wind.
But I really like long gorgeous ball gowns.
I only get to wear a pretty dress about once a year and that's at the Anime Boston formal ball. I kind of jump at the chances to wear formal dresses. I may not like regular dresses, but I make exceptions and I wish I had more chances to wear them.
Especially poofy dresses that go -swish-, like the Disney princess gowns. Belle's was always my favorite.
I also really like looking at wedding dresses, I don't plan on getting married in the future even though Life might have plans that conflict with mine. Either way, just looking at them is fun.
So that's what I like to do, wear pretty dresses, they're fun to wear and sometimes I like not wearing jeans and sweatpants. I'd say it was the childhood me from my Disney days, except I mainly remember watching DBZ and ThunderCats.
I also don't have many occasions to play video games, my brother hogs the consoles. And I know I'll never get around to buying Portal 2, there needs to be more hours in the day.
Friday, May 13, 2011
A Quick 'Un
I hope you guys will forgive me for the shortness of this, but it's just before finals and whatnot...
Also, please don't laugh :)
I have a kind of irrational obsession with England. Don't get me wrong - I'd love to visit all of Europe! (as someone who can drive at least 12 hours north or south before hitting another country, and is locked out from other countries to the east and west, the idea of being able to drive for a few hours and be in a completely different country fascinates me) And there are very few places in the world that I wouldn't like to visit - though maybe the more rural parts of Africa might be on that list - because the world is so big and wide, and there are so many fascinating places to go and people to meet and histories to learn.
But anyway, back to England. I kind of feel like it's our older sibling; yes, we've argued a lot in the past, but as we've both grown up we've started to get along. There are still some things that England's ahead of us on (I get the general impression that it's significantly more progressive than America, but I realize that could I could be mistaken) and may try to gently nudge us in the right direction, but we're kind of equals now. Also, I think it's really interesting to have monuments that are more than 200 years old, and to have a country and history that stretches back far longer.
Anyway, back to paper writing. DFTBA, Nerdfi-sisters!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Temples, temples and Taco Bell
I don't know if I've ever mentioned on here that I'm half Italian, but I am, so I'd really like to go to Italy. I've been twice before, once with my family and the other time on a school ski trip, and they were both amazing and fun but I would really like to go myself and explore it myself, make it my own. I think it would great since I'm actually about to start learning to speak Italian too.
I'v always wanted to go to Japan too. I think Tokyo would be an amazing city to see, I mean it's got to be bursting with strange, unusual things to see and do. I'd also really love to visit Kyoto to all the old, beautiful temples. I've always had a fascination with Japanese temples, I think it started with all the manga I used to read. And also Japan is just a stunningly beautiful country.
Also along the lines of temples I'd like to see is the hidden temples at Angkor in Cambodia. I just think that they are so amazing looking and just unbelievably old and special and just words can't describe them.
And lastly, I'd like to visit the US. I know you're probably wondering why, (I don't really understand why anyone would want to come to the UK) but it's just somewhere that I think has huge impact on the world and pop culture. There's so much that I really want to see, admittly most of these are like fast food chains like Taco Bell but still. A couple of the cities I really want to visit if I ever get the chance is, New York, San Diego and Las Vegas.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
I'm a great big cliché-face
I feel like this is probably the most clichéd answer in the world these days, but I would really like to go to New Zealand. Really really really. I've lived in Tolkien's world since I was very young: some of my earliest memories are of my mom reading me the Hobbit before I could read on my own. The years that the movies came out lined up exactly with the years I was in junior high, and it was the. thing. Everyone liked Lord of the Rings, whether they were nerds or popular or if they'd read the books or not. It didn't matter. Those movies brought us together. And they were gorgeous. Middle Earth has always been a bit of escapist fantasy for me, and actually experiencing the landscape I've come to associate with it would just be an incredible experience.
I also want to go everywhere. I used to have a list in a word document on my computer of all the places I wanted to go and it was three or four pages long. Unfortunately it seems to have gotten lost in a computer shuffle at some point, so I guess I'll have to start over!
I'm planning to do an exchange semester during my law degree and I'm so torn on where to go. The places they offer exchanges to are Australia, China, Singapore, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Mexico, and the States. You can't do exchanges in first year, so I've got at least a year to make up my mind, which is probably a good thing. I think pretty much any of them would be amazing... maybe not the States, just because it's so similar to Canada that it probably wouldn't be quite as exciting as the others. I also really like the idea of going somewhere and staying for awhile and really getting to experience a place, rather than just being there for a brief trip and hitting the highlights, so that's exciting too.
I also want to go everywhere. I used to have a list in a word document on my computer of all the places I wanted to go and it was three or four pages long. Unfortunately it seems to have gotten lost in a computer shuffle at some point, so I guess I'll have to start over!
I'm planning to do an exchange semester during my law degree and I'm so torn on where to go. The places they offer exchanges to are Australia, China, Singapore, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Mexico, and the States. You can't do exchanges in first year, so I've got at least a year to make up my mind, which is probably a good thing. I think pretty much any of them would be amazing... maybe not the States, just because it's so similar to Canada that it probably wouldn't be quite as exciting as the others. I also really like the idea of going somewhere and staying for awhile and really getting to experience a place, rather than just being there for a brief trip and hitting the highlights, so that's exciting too.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Honorary Penguin
This week's theme is where we would travel is we could travel anywhere in the world.
Well, right now, I'd say Morocco since I can't go anymore on account of my school deciding to change destinations after a bomb in Merrakech. All other World Challenge Morocco trips are still going, just not to Marrakesh, but because we have so many parents threatening to pull their kids, the school is changing the destination to Costa Rica. I've already gone to Costa Rica on school trips multiple times and I found out I can't get a refund if WC wasn't the one to make the change. All the work I've done for over a year now to earn that trip to Morocco is not worth Costa Rica, in my opinion.
So I would do anything to go to Morocco right now. That's where I would go.
Other than that bit of an angry rant, sorry, there are tons of places I'd love to go if I could. I'd love to go to Antarctica, Australia, Peru, and a certain country in Africa. One goal I have to accomplish before I die is to visit every continent, I've got North America, Asia and Europe down, four more to go. In a nutshell, I want to go everywhere, everywhere old, new, and exciting. Wherever I go though, I won't go for the sites, I don't want to be a tourist, I want to be apart of where I go and get involved in something.
I'm not sure about Antarctica, though. Not much to be apart of there unless you're doing scientific research. Maybe I could be an honorary penguin? Are the penguins really strict about that? I want to be an honorary penguin.
I'd also really like to go to England, I'll visit my uncle and aunt in London and freeload at their place. I hope they don't read this. But just in case, I will baby sit the twins for you if you let me stay.
There are so many places I'd like to go in the world, I can't even name them all. I want to go everywhere and learn everything I can from the places I go.
Most of all, more than anywhere else in the world, I want to go to Antarctica. So that I can be an honorary penguin.
This was so scattered I just can't chose one place that I would want to go. I spent forever thinking about it and couldn't do it. I think Antartica is my top choice.
Well, right now, I'd say Morocco since I can't go anymore on account of my school deciding to change destinations after a bomb in Merrakech. All other World Challenge Morocco trips are still going, just not to Marrakesh, but because we have so many parents threatening to pull their kids, the school is changing the destination to Costa Rica. I've already gone to Costa Rica on school trips multiple times and I found out I can't get a refund if WC wasn't the one to make the change. All the work I've done for over a year now to earn that trip to Morocco is not worth Costa Rica, in my opinion.
So I would do anything to go to Morocco right now. That's where I would go.
Other than that bit of an angry rant, sorry, there are tons of places I'd love to go if I could. I'd love to go to Antarctica, Australia, Peru, and a certain country in Africa. One goal I have to accomplish before I die is to visit every continent, I've got North America, Asia and Europe down, four more to go. In a nutshell, I want to go everywhere, everywhere old, new, and exciting. Wherever I go though, I won't go for the sites, I don't want to be a tourist, I want to be apart of where I go and get involved in something.
I'm not sure about Antarctica, though. Not much to be apart of there unless you're doing scientific research. Maybe I could be an honorary penguin? Are the penguins really strict about that? I want to be an honorary penguin.
I'd also really like to go to England, I'll visit my uncle and aunt in London and freeload at their place. I hope they don't read this. But just in case, I will baby sit the twins for you if you let me stay.
There are so many places I'd like to go in the world, I can't even name them all. I want to go everywhere and learn everything I can from the places I go.
Most of all, more than anywhere else in the world, I want to go to Antarctica. So that I can be an honorary penguin.
This was so scattered I just can't chose one place that I would want to go. I spent forever thinking about it and couldn't do it. I think Antartica is my top choice.
Friday, May 6, 2011
A tale of shorts and the death of a terrorist (quite a range, huh?)
The more I think about it, the stranger this is. Even when I was working out for 5 hours a week, the skinniest I've been since puberty, and felt relatively confident in my appearance, my legs stayed covered up to the best of my ability regardless of how hot it got.
Over the last year or so I've been working on being healthier - namely, getting more color in my diet and moving around more - and even though the weight has stopped dropping off, my body's continued to shift around as the proportions of muscle to fat change.
And slowly but surely, my perception of myself has changed too. I think I first noticed
it near the beginning of the year, when I realized that what I saw in the mirror wasn't what everyone around me saw. You know those images of people with eating disorders where they're super skinny but look in the mirror and see themselves as obese?
I've always thought that it's crazy that someone's perceptions can be so warped. And, while certainly not to the same extent, I realized that I'd been doing the exact same thing.
In the months since I've slowly started becoming more comfortable with my body - yes, even the chubby patches I've still got - and learning to be happy with where I'm at. I've still got further to go, both in terms of being healthy and in not being too hard on myself, but it's definitely improvement.
I'd had another post planned for this week's theme, but this week as I was doing goofy dance moves surrounded by mirrors in my gym class, as I watched myself I had a sudden realization:
I never thought I'd say this, but I like the way I look.
I just got my paycheck, and I see some shorts on the horizon...
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Oh! Almost forgot: we said we'd talk about the Osama Bin Laden death in our posts this week. I feel a little torn on the issue. The September 11th attacks had very little effect on me personally, since I'm across the country with no relatives in New York and was fairly young at the time. So on a personal level the whole thing feels kind of surreal, (this isn't meant to be tongue in cheek, but this is the best analogy I can make) like if you actually definitively killed off the Daleks in Doctor Who, a mainstay villain who always comes back and we've all gotten used to being around. What do you do with the big bad guy dead? Does this even change anything in the day-to-day, since there are so many other terrorists out there? Isn't it hypocritical of us to condemn a killer and then kill him with no trial or public tribunal (or even after that?)
But. At the same time, while I can't find it in me to condone the death of a human being, I also can't condemn those who have celebrated his death. Many, many people have had their lives taken from them or irrevocably damaged because of the terrorist attacks, and I think as humans we have a deep-seated thirst for "eye for an eye" justice. While I don't think revenge is a healthy method of dealing with grief, if the people effected by 9/11 feel more at peace now then I certainly can't tell them to stop feeling that way.
Bah, life is complicated. To quote Hank Green: truth resists simplicity.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
I never thought I'd say,
I need to stop buying so many books. Don't get me wrong, I love to read, but right now I have an ever growing pile of books which I have yet to read. I've been really busy lately and haven't had time to read, which really sucks. Anytime I go into a bookshop (which I have to stop doing now) I actually have to stop myself from buying more. I guess I'll just have to wait until summer to get through them.
Anyway, part two, Osama Bin Laden. I think I feel very disconnected from the whole thing. I was 9 when 9/11 happened and I didn't really understand much about it. I think most of would have spent about half their life in a world full of fear of terrorism, but still I think the UK has slightly less of a threat. But I'm not sure how I feel about Bin Laden's death, I'm kind of indifferent to it, I'm not happy, I don't feel the need to celebrate it but I'm also not upset. I don't think his death will mean a better world, there will still be terrorist attacks and stuff like that. But what's done is done, he would of died at some point.
I'm sorry this is late, at least in my time zone and is poorly written because of this.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
I never thought I'd say this, but:
I'm glad that the Conservatives won a majority government. Sorry, but I'm going to go into Canadian politics here for a minute, because that's the most important thing that's been happening in my life recently. As someone whose political leanings are somewhat left of centre, I don't support the Conservative party. I disagree with quite a lot of the things they've done and the things they're planning to do in the near future. I dislike Stephen Harper and his attitude about government and his abuses of power and his general sleaziness. My dislike for the party was made even worse by a lot of the crap they pulled throughout their campaign. So I'm not glad that they won. But if they had to win, I'm glad they got a majority government rather than continuing to have a minority government like we've had for the last seven years. At least now something will get done, and even if those somethings are not the things I want to have happen, hopefully either things will turn out alright anyway, or it will be bad enough for people to finally vote differently in the next election.
As for Osama Bin Laden, I just don't know. I can't help but feel that in some way that it was basically an execution without trial. I know that there's really no question of his guilt, and I know they tried to take him alive first, but at the same time, it just doesn't seem right. I don't know. Revenge is not justice. Death is not something to celebrate. I understand why this was done and all, but it just doesn't sit right with me.
Last night, the TV was on in the background, and it was on an American channel when the news came on and they were talking about Osama Bin Laden. At the same time, I was watching the results of the election come in online. There was this really strange moment of juxtaposition between watching the democratic process in action and people celebrating something that, frankly, feels really undemocratic. That's not to say I think Canada is better or more democratic than the US - I'll be the first to tell you that Canada has done some really awful things - but I was just hit by the really stark contrast between the major events of the day.
As for Osama Bin Laden, I just don't know. I can't help but feel that in some way that it was basically an execution without trial. I know that there's really no question of his guilt, and I know they tried to take him alive first, but at the same time, it just doesn't seem right. I don't know. Revenge is not justice. Death is not something to celebrate. I understand why this was done and all, but it just doesn't sit right with me.
Last night, the TV was on in the background, and it was on an American channel when the news came on and they were talking about Osama Bin Laden. At the same time, I was watching the results of the election come in online. There was this really strange moment of juxtaposition between watching the democratic process in action and people celebrating something that, frankly, feels really undemocratic. That's not to say I think Canada is better or more democratic than the US - I'll be the first to tell you that Canada has done some really awful things - but I was just hit by the really stark contrast between the major events of the day.
Monday, May 2, 2011
I Never Thought I'd Say This, but...
I need to stop having a life. Really, life just gets in the way of all my school work. Everything just seems to get crammed into the months before summer. I have a bunch of IA's to do, some world lit papers and an extended essay on top of all my regular school work. (My worries must seem so trivial to all of you in the grown-up world, I feel so little compared to you guys). Now I've got a figure skating show to do and my grades are closing. The figure skating show is taking up a ton of time and leaving no moments for focus on work. I say that I need a life all the time, but the truth is that I need to lose it.
There isn't much that I never thought I'd say, I spend my time thinking of wacky and crazy situations and how to handle them, so a lot of things pop into my head.
But concerning recent events, I never thought I'd say that I'm not exactly rejoicing Osama Bin Laden's death. He's responsible for the 9/11 attack which killed thousands of people, he's also been apart of many other terrorist attacks, so shouldn't I be happy he's dead? My uncle is a survivor from the World Trade Center and I still don't know how he feels about this, I know I have mixed feelings. Part of me feels that Bin Laden deserved this for all the pain and damage he's caused in this world, another part doesn't feel like I have any right to judge anything regarding life and death. Finally, I just can't celebrate the death of another human, no matter how horrible they were, it makes me feel like I'm sinking down a level on the morality meter and killing him doesn't bring back anyone who died, then again it also prevents him from killing more. I feel a bit indifferent, leaning towards the happy/relieved, the world is now a little bit safer. I do view this as a success for the U.S. government, however. We didn't let him truly get away with the things he did, because in the end we found him after years of searching.
It boils down to this, I guess. Bin Laden is gone, the world is one terrorist less, and thus a little bit safer. Yet I realize now this isn't something I'm going to party over.
This is my post, sorry if it wasn't that great, this subject was a little difficult for me. I hope I didn't say anything too controversial, I feel like people expect me to be singing and bouncing off the walls like a lot of other people I've seen, but I'm just not.
There isn't much that I never thought I'd say, I spend my time thinking of wacky and crazy situations and how to handle them, so a lot of things pop into my head.
But concerning recent events, I never thought I'd say that I'm not exactly rejoicing Osama Bin Laden's death. He's responsible for the 9/11 attack which killed thousands of people, he's also been apart of many other terrorist attacks, so shouldn't I be happy he's dead? My uncle is a survivor from the World Trade Center and I still don't know how he feels about this, I know I have mixed feelings. Part of me feels that Bin Laden deserved this for all the pain and damage he's caused in this world, another part doesn't feel like I have any right to judge anything regarding life and death. Finally, I just can't celebrate the death of another human, no matter how horrible they were, it makes me feel like I'm sinking down a level on the morality meter and killing him doesn't bring back anyone who died, then again it also prevents him from killing more. I feel a bit indifferent, leaning towards the happy/relieved, the world is now a little bit safer. I do view this as a success for the U.S. government, however. We didn't let him truly get away with the things he did, because in the end we found him after years of searching.
It boils down to this, I guess. Bin Laden is gone, the world is one terrorist less, and thus a little bit safer. Yet I realize now this isn't something I'm going to party over.
This is my post, sorry if it wasn't that great, this subject was a little difficult for me. I hope I didn't say anything too controversial, I feel like people expect me to be singing and bouncing off the walls like a lot of other people I've seen, but I'm just not.
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