Thursday, October 19, 2006

The 3 Step Plan to Waste My GST Rebate

Step #1:



Step #2:



and Step #3:




Actually to be fair, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs T-shirt featured in Step #3 was ordered well in advance of the gst cheque's arrival. But at least now I don't feel quite as guilty.

Friday, October 13, 2006

My Imaginary Trip

At this particular moment I want very badly to be writing an actual post about my adventures in Europe. I am not in Europe however, so I would like to tell you about the imaginary trip that I have planned there.


Friday October 13th- Depart Toronto on British Airways. World Traveller class (slightly bigger seats, but not so pricey as to be out of my range)

Arrive October 14th in the morning- check into downtown London Hostel. Sleep until 5pm. Go out for a light dinner and do double decker bus tour. If there's time a play at the Old Vic. Hit up pub and drink heavily.

October 15- Wake up next morning whenever humanly possible. Eat lunch on restaurant over looking Thames. Afternoon: tour of the tower of London, dinner- something cheap. Evening: either a play at Drury Lane or go see The Mousetrap. Night: find cool Tavern my Aunt went to hidden in old wine cellar. Drink heavily.

October 16- Early wake up to get on tour bus (courtesy of Travel Cuts "The Full Monty")



"Day 1: London - Bath
Leave the smog of London behind and travel through the rural English countryside with its green fields and thatched cottages. We stop at the mysterious Iron age Uffington White Horse and then wander amongst the 5500 year old Avebury Standing Stones. Next to the Roman spa town of Bath, one of England's masterpieces. See the Anglo Saxon abbey, beautiful georgian architecture, and visit Sydney Park (from where the Ozzie city gets its name!) or walk in the footsteps of Jane Austen before settling in for the night.
Day 2: Bath - North Wales
Heading west we travel into Wales, learning a bit of the Welsh language before crossing the mighty River Severn. The magnificent Chepstow Castle provides an awesome backdrop where you can stand in 2 countries at the same time! Lunch is in the border town of Hereford with its stunning cathedral and the Mappe Mundi, the oldest map of the world in existence. We end the day with a tour through the lovely mountains of North Wales before arriving at our fantastic farm house hostel to enjoy a truly unique BBQ.
Day 3: North Wales - Lake District
After a hearty breakfast, we leave the gorgeous farmhouse and head to Mount Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales, and then on to the walled town of Conwy, home to a magnificent 13th century castle. The tour then travels northwards through Welsh speaking Wales (Cymru) and over to the Isle of Anglesey to visit a tiny place with a huge name. We conclude the day with a stunning drive through the Lake District to the picturesque lakeside village of Ambleside.
Day 4: Lake District - Edinburgh
We start the day driving through the northern Lake District and head for the largest construction the Romans ever built, Hadrian's Wall! (all to keep the warrior Scots from invading the Roman Empire!) Across the border into Scotland for lunch and an afternoon tour of the rolling hills of the border region, which was William Wallace's (Braveheart) stomping ground. We regale you with haunting stories of the battles which took place on these hills before arriving in one of the world's most beautiful cities, Scotland's capital, Edinburgh!
Day 5: Free day in Edinburgh
Explore this World Heritage listed city, enjoy the lively nightlife or why not head off on an adventure around Scotland with HAGGiS! 1, 3, 6 and 8 day adventures available. (please enquire with our sales team if you wish to 'hop off' in Edinburgh and take a tour in Scotland before 'hopping on' to return to London).
Day 6: Edinburgh - York
Leaving Edinburgh we visit eerie battlefields, border towns, North Sea villages and perhaps more castles! Then it's back into England and on to York, ancient Viking capital and staging post for every invasion of Scotland by the English. We spend the afternoon exploring the medieval streets (including the oldest street in Europe) and city walls but nothing prepares you for York Minster Cathedral (the largest in England!) To end the day we head outside the city to Beverley where we stay in a 600-year-old haunted Dominican friary!
Day 7: York - London
Passing through the industrial heartland of England, we leave Beverley and make the journey into Robin Hood's Sherwood Forest for a walk to see if we can find any men in tights! Here you will discover the ancient oak tree where Robin hung out with his merry men! Next it's on to the birthplace of the man himself, Shakespeare's Stratford-Upon-Avon. See the house where the world's greatest dramatist was born or retrace the steps where the young bard courted his muse - Anne Hathaway. We arrive back in London around 6pm."

Drink heavily

By this point I've lost track of days and time, but who cares? Because...
On week the second I make use of my Eurorail 5 country pass. I chunnel to France and visit Paris, I then proceed to Germany for two days. Amsterdam (for undrug related purposes, ahem) the fourth day, on the fifth I double back toward Italy, spend some quality time in Florence, and round it all off with my dream since the fifth grade: Greece! Most specifically the old ancient theatres from the Dionysis festivals.

I return to London on November the 4th and stay one day extra to purchase a white mask and some firecrackers. No one ever hears from me again.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Is it snowing in Sudbury?

Because it is flipping blizzarding here!

And nearly cold enough to freeze your winnebego (if like me you are foolish enough to try to get groceries in this weather when you are sick).

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Thank god they found each other

















Just kidding guys, Happy Anniversary!





Monday, October 09, 2006

"You'll see when you move out it just sort of happens one day and it's just gone. And you can never get it back. It's like you get homesick for a place that doesn't exist. I mean it's like this rite of passage, you know. You won't have this feeling again until you create a new idea of home for yourself, you know, for your kids, for the family you start, it's like a cycle or something. I miss the idea of it. Maybe that's all family really is. A group of people who miss the same imaginary place." -(Gardne State, courtesy of imdb)


Andrew: You remember that idea I had about working stuff out on my own and then finding you once I figured stuff out?
Sam: The ellipsis?
Andrew: Yes, the ellipsis. It's dumb. It's dumb. It's an awful idea. I'm not gonna do it, okay? 'Cause like you said, this is it. This is life.
-(same as above)

Sunday, October 08, 2006

You can take this job and fill it!

I am officially bidding a fond(ish) farewell to The Keefer Mansion Inn. It's been... a job anyways. Had it's ups and downs like any, but it is ultimately time to move on. I got two shifts this week, one tonight from 11-7 and another on Thursday morning at 7am. I don't know how they expect anyone to support themselves on two shifts a week, and they must because it's almost impossible to juggle a second job when you're flipping back and forth between overnights and early mornings (ie; I had to work at 1pm on Saturday and had to be woken up forcefully at 11:30am because I hadn't been able to sleep until 7am).

So there it is. As I bid the Mansion a fond farewell, I think back the last six months of my life.

- I had the lead female role in a Shakespearean comedy. (crossed off the Life's ToDo list)

- I went to the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago (crossed off the Life's ToDo list after realizing that it should have been on there all along)

- I volunteered at the Toronto International Film Festival and got to see a couple of foreign films that will probably never make it to mainstream cinema

- I overcame my fear of birds (and can watch people bite fabric without freaking)

- In the past three weeks I have lost 5 pounds as a result of healthy eating and moderate exercise. I haven't been able to say that in years.


Not everything has been this great. In fact lots of stuff has been tougher that I imagined. One of my personal struggles (that pretty much everyone reading this is already painfully aware of) is a preoccupation with my being "strong". I often worry about being a weak person, and sometimes excessively worrying about this compounds my problems far beyond what they actually are. So I needed to get my head wrapped around that, and I think that since my move here I have had some real success doing that.

But now it's time to move away and shine :) I will be everything I've ever dreamed, but maybe I don't need to accomplish all of my goals right this minute now. Maybe what I need to do is take my time and live for the moment.

I am applying to York University, the Stratford Conservatory Program and the National Theatre School and a neat little program at Flemming College called The Expressive Arts. I will also apply to McMaster University for the Child Life Specialist program, Humber College and Algonquin College for the accelerated Child and Youth Worker Program. I have a couple of different ideas of what I'd like to do, including working with at risk youth by introducing them to theatre (specifically Shakespeare) and doing theatre work with children with physical disabilities. I also hope to audition for the Stratford Festival, attend the Atlantic Theatre Company training program, or pursure some other exciting acting opportunities.

I think I enjoy learning about acting even more than I actually enjoy acting. It's the process and the struggle and being pushed that motivates me more than the performance (darn that Val!). This is one of the reasons why I didn't enjoy my experience this summer as much as I thought I would.

So I've analyzed, and thought to death and there it is. I know where I am right now, I have at least some idea of where I'm going, and I'm a lot happier with myself now than I was. Now it's time to just be happy the way I know best, and go back to listening to my heart. My head isn't that reliable anyways.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

I've Been Drinking and here's what I think VI: Return of the Jin & Rye

I tried to make a video for this post. I had this joke at the end where I would say "and technically it's not drinking alone if I do it with people on the internet" and then to a shot of Whisky straight from the bottle. As it turns out, ten takes in a span of less than 15 minutes, does not increase video quality. None of those are acceptable for posting. Instead I will leave you with this picture of me in my new hat:



"We did 35 takes and this was the best one."