A Little Bit of Inspiration

As always, I apologize for my lack of blogging this year! University certainly takes up a fair amount of time, and when I write, I feel like I owe y’all something really worth reading – not that my little rambles aren’t worth reading, of course.

First order of business: I’m looking for inspiration. I’ve been thinking about it, and I want to write a story, and I suppose sitting here waiting for inspiration to strike me isn’t quite the way to do it, but I need a good character or two to get going. I’ll get there eventually, but in the mean time I thought it might be nice to share two little videos I find very inspiring.

The first is an awe inspiring talk by Sarah Kay – and her amazing performance of “B”. The second is my favourite of all stories, Jonathan Harris’s story collecting. I hope you enjoy them both, and I’ll try to stay in touch over the Christmas break! I’m on my way westerly in just under two weeks, and I’ll be taking lots of relaxing time – which we all know means lots of blogging time! I’ll work on blogging next term as well, now that I’ve got a routine, and a handle on this university thing.

Marcel the Shell With Shoes On #2

Marcel the Shell With Shoes On #2

Marcel the Shell With Shoes On

Wishing for the Holidays

Hello all! So as you all know, I’m busily working away at my first semester of university – henceforth why the blog is well… dun dun duuuunnnn, as of late.

I know it can be hard to stay positive as winter sets in – nothing like dry skin, staticky hair, and permanently cold feet to make you feel quite dull. But look on the bright side of things! Only just over a month until Christmas [meaning only a few more days before it’s entirely acceptable to play Christmas carols at any time]! I’m personally excited for that eight hour plane ride home for the holidays. After spending four months nonstop in university residence – eating meal hall food, and dealing with one-ply ridden communal bathrooms – there is not much else I want to do except see more of my family than their heads and necks [over Skype], be able to cuddle my darling kittens, and have a good long chat with my Daisy-dog. Not only do I get to go back to my beloved west coast, my family, and my animals; but I also get to partake in my favourite Christmas activities!

So in the spirit of keeping things positive, I’ve decided to share some of my favourite new things about the holidays so those of you who aren’t so into the whole concept of winter can keep the holidays in mind as something to look forward to! [

Some people have old traditions that they do every year, but new traditions can be fun too! And yes, there are such things as new traditions, because they have to start somewhere. My favourite new holiday tradition is the musical production of White Christmas. It’s been part of my holidays for 2, going on 3, years now! The first year I played Betty Haynes in my high school’s production of it, then last year I went to see it done by the Arts Club in Vancouver – ours was good, but those Arts Club performers tap dance like fiends! I love the festive air in the theatre around that time, getting to get all dressed up in my fancy going-out wear, and watching people sing and dance and celebrate the holidays!

Another thing my family started doing last year was celebrating Solstice! It’s a super fun holiday where our whole town gets together at the community hall and has a big feast, and the kids from the school sing Christmas carols, and people just enjoy each other’s company. Then we all go outside and light a big ol’ bonfire, and use sparklers, because Solstice is all about making light on the darkest day of the year. It’s a fabulous time!

Of course my favourite part of the actual Christmas part of the holidays is giving gifts. Of course I like to receive them, but my very sweet friend taught me [subconsciously – he wasn’t actively trying, I don’t think] just how satisfying gift giving can be! A few Christmases ago I painstakingly sought out the perfect gift for my [ex] boyfriend [now that very sweet friend], and when I found the perfect thing [in mid-November] it took all my self-control not to just spill the beans and give it to him. The self-control won in the end, and the look on his face showed me just how much I really love giving people wonderful, thoughtful, personal gifts. Who knew you could learn so much from a skateboard deck!

This year, might I recommend giving your gifts a little differently? Last year my sister and I decided to wrap our gifts in brown paper and make pretty little decorations for the wrapping ourselves. It was an inexpensive, really fun and creative way to make our gifts even more meaningful. I also learned how to make reindeer garlands that day, so now I’m obviously Martha Stewart’s heiress. I’ve also heard of people wrapping gifts in newsprint, or scarves, or other creative little ways. I think I’m going to give some thought to cute reusable packaging this year!

So there are a few things that keep me excited for the snowy, wintery days ahead of us! Well, snowy here on the east coast – probably quite rainy and mild on the west coast. I hope y’all feel inspired for the Christmas season, and I’ll be back with more holiday and final exam inspired posts later – get stoked, finals are the BEST PART OF UNIVERSITY.***

*** I don’t actually know this for sure – I haven’t experience finals yet. I feel like I might be being sarcastic, though. No guarantees! I will let you know.

Gift Ideas for Men Who Already Have a Motorcycle

For Him…

A set of 4 sterling silver cocktail picks (Tiffany & Co.) for only $305?! A steal, I tell you.

Every fashionable, modern day golfer has one. A sterling golf tee (Tiffany & Co. $125)

A beautiful pair of sterling silver ice tongs (Tiffany & Co. $600) for the warm heated, but chilly fingered giftee.

Disclaimer: I confess to actually being truly, madly, deeply in love with Tiffany’s. And yes, I do have the movie poster for Breakfast at Tiffany’s on my wall. This is all just one giant joke. But if anyone feels the urge to get me some overpriced cocktail picks, I wouldn’t object.

Les chatons de Bouygues Telecom…

Oh ho ho, oui oui.

Things I Have Learned…

So there are a few things that I have learned over the last couple months, my first months of university, and I am going to share them with you now. So get stoked. Free, unsolicited advice – the best kind. A lot of this advice is based from things I’ve learned at university, but I feel like it applies to a lot of places, and situations.

1. Don’t take home for granted. Tell your parents you love them often, tell your friends you love them often, snuggle your pets as often as you can, and enjoy the peace and quiet of home before you move to the land of paper-thin walls, and neighbours that like to think they are nocturnal.

2. Accept change. Allow yourself to discover who you are. Don’t make a plan, and follow it like it’s the only option. You’ll find new things that you like, and new things you want to pursue.

3. Be a grown up about things. If there is something you don’t like, and it bothers you, confront it. Unless it’s a whole lot bigger than you… then bring reinforcements.

4. Like what you like! I really am over people telling me what I should like. You’re not soooo smart because you like indie things. Get over yourself. I know we go over this on a  regular basis. But just do what you want to do. You’re you for a reason, and if you don’t like who you are… well, let’s face it, you’re probably not being yourself.

5. Don’t tie yourself down too soon. Be flexible where friends are concerned.

6. Get out there! Studying is important, but so is having a social life. Unless you have a History midterm that’s worth too much of your mark to not study for all weekend. That’s okay. You’re forgiven for an antisocial, sweatpants weekend.

7. Have a good time. And make sure the good time is you’re idea of a good time. If you don’t like to party, don’t party! If you don’t know if you like to party, try it and judge that. If you don’t like studying… well… don’t go to university… or learn how to make it bearable, and fast.

8. Make sure you have something that cheers you up no matter what. I like to talk to my friends and family, or do yoga when I’m upset. I do familiar things when I’m feeling homesick, and sometimes just going for a walk + rant really does help.

University (a.k.a. communal living, Bisquick meat, and the best thing ever)

Wow! I know it’s been a while – okay, understatement: it’s been months! – but I’m going to try to blog at least once a week now. I’d love to blog every day, but I have a feeling that’s just going to get unrealistic. This way there will be way more interesting things for you to read too, because I’ll accumulate all kinds of exciting things to tell you from the week!

So I’ll start from the beginning! I got here almost two weeks ago, and have been settling in. Classes are  awesome! One of the best things about this university is definitely the class sizes. My English class is about 25 people, and my biggest class is 110 people. Teensy weensy. The food is… interesting. Most of the time it’s really good, but sometimes I’m convinced the meat is actually pancakes… which makes me skeptical of everything ever.

I think the best part, so far, has been meeting all kinds of new people, and experiencing new things. I’m pretty much foreign here… Nova Scotia is not like BC at all. It’s nice in a way, but sometimes I really miss home. It’s also really weird to be learning about the Atlantic Ocean in my Geology class, and not the Pacific. Just wrong, I tell you!

So I’m going to post a couple pictures of campus – it’s beautiful – and leave it there for today because I am going to go think for a couple hours about my place in society, and how I think the world works. This is, of course, for my Sociology class.

Oh, just one more thing that I’d like to point out: today my SOCI prof said that sometimes people’s opinions are just WRONG. So there. Just cause it’s your opinion doesn’t mean it’s right. Good day!

University Hall (where Matriculation, Graduation, other university events happen)

Class of 2015 processing during the Matriculation Ceremony where we were officially enrolled/welcomed to the university.

The stage before the Academic Procession during Matriculation.

 The best stairs ever. These guys are in the environmental science building.

Best room ever, is all.

I will try to post again soon! Sorry again for the delay, it’s been a hectic couple of weeks, but I’m excited to be settling in, finally.

Impulses: right time, or wrong time?

Hi y’all! I’m going to assume right off the bat that you read my post from last night. About life being too short to not take risks, etc. I’m also going to assume that you’ve all had something you want to tell someone, but have hesitated on.

First off, why do we hesitate so much on things like telling people how you feel about them? I’ve always been the kind of person that thinks it’s important to tell people how I feel. Maybe it’s not the best when you don’t really like the person… people don’t like to hear that you don’t like them, and I’ve worked on that. But what about the people you do like, the people you love? Why should you hold that in? Even if the person doesn’t feel the same way back, they sort of… well… I don’t like to use the word deserve here, but I feel like they should know. Nothing even has to happen from you telling them! You can just say it, and that can be that. It can just be a statement of fact that doesn’t even really change anything.

I suppose this warrants a teensy explanation… well…. I feel a certain way about someone. So I told them. Easy enough. It’s all the freaking romantic comedies I’ve been watching. Oh my God, just have to take a small side-tracked rant here. DON’T YOU HATE IT when you go to watch a romantic comedy, and it’s not even FUNNY?! It has all the crappy plotting of a romantic comedy, just without any of the comedy. So disappointing. Anyway, I watched a particularly inspiring one last night that actually made me realize that I was being a n00b, and if I want to actually grow up and be a real human being, I’m going to have to express my feelings. So ba-boom. Expressed.

Anyway, what do you guys think? Should you tell people how you feel? Even if it might possibly ruin a really awesome new friendship, and even if you’re moving 4,766km away from the person that you’re expressing your feelings to? And you might have possibly expressed these feelings before… a long time before… and back then they were reciprocated… but you might possibly have been a ginormous jerk and ruined any possibility of ever getting them reciprocated again? *Sheepish face*… Eh?