FOUND: 1 PAIR OF EXPENSIVE GLASSES

I found out something sweet. Tim, Tyrone, Jamie and I were playing a classic game of Settlers (if you don't know what that is, shame on you) and the topic of my new glasses came up. I showed them to Tim and Tyrone and they were like, YO MAN YOU LOOK REALLY HIP AND NEAT WEARING THOSE. So I let Tim take a look at them and he quickly informed me of my incredible style choice of getting Brooks Brothers glasses. Tim, convinced that Brooks Brothers produce only quality products, couldn't stop commenting on how neat it was that it was almost as if the frames were broken, but since they were NEW glasses, it must just be a new and innovative style, (clearly he doesn't follow the blog often enough) and as a result he was hoodwinked to believe I had bought myself some designer frames. So after the hilarious conversation convincing him I knew what product I had on my hands and having him believe they were designed to be beyond crooked and broken, I learned the cost of these spectacles, and realized that someone may be looking for these expensive frames. So since our blog gets about, 20,000 views a day, if these glasses are yours, message me and I would be happy to return them to you. (NOTE: bent frame does unfortunately = broken.)

Fiasco.

So it's been a week now, and finally i'm confident that my difficult situation has now been resolved. Basically, my nightmarish week, all turned out for the best. yet, i still cant help but think, ...if only someone could have told me this last week.

let me fill in the gaps.

one week ago for BU111 we had to finalize our proposal for new venture. you may remember my "Meet Market" idea that got vetoed pretty hard, so i kept working at it, and we came up with something, that in my opinion is pretty great. its a not-for profit organization, and ill explain it further later. for now all you need to know is- we felt pretty stellar about our idea and was stoked to give'r on this report.

inevitably, our enthusiasm shifted to anticipation which shifted to anxiety as the deadline approached. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 12 NOON, NO EXCEPTIONS.

Thursday night rolls around, my attitude was positive- "lets finish this thing".

*work though the night*

....friday morning rolls around, my attitude was willing "lets finally finish this thing".

*cut, paste, edit*

....1130am rolls around, my attitude was determined "lets just get this thing printed."

Katie, max, brandon and I, head over to the HUB to get this beauty printed out, with a cool 20 minutes to spare. (unexplainably my groupmates were getting anxious) then this happened...

Lady at the HUB - "umm im sorry the file on your USB isnt compatible...did you use a mac?"

not the ideal thing i wanted to here, especially as i was standing in line, holding my mac, and watching the minutes go by. (explainably my groupmates are getting anxious)

no problem, im taking CP102- imma computer whiz, click, click save. (11:42am)

head back over, "try this lady!"

*printing* WE HAVE THE DOCUMENT, walking over to the SBE building to turn this badboy in when I, rather luckily, noticed the page numbers didn't print. hmmmm thats strange....i continue looking it over...WHAT THE!?!? this isnt the right document (11:49)

RUN back to the HUB, "Hey! it printed the worng copy!? (at this point, my group is rather frantic.)

i whip out my macbook, she offers to take a look to print the correct revised document. (11:51)

Lady at the HUB- upon noticing my background (a pic from zambia), she begins to ask me if i've been to africa, and telling me about her trip to uganda.

OK lady, thats great, but this things overdue in 9 minutes...so would you mind.... (she understood)

...printing...printing....verifying that is the correct one (i checked twice to make sure)

and ran over too the business building. (11:56) submitted the document.

down to the wire, but we did it! got it in on time, and as long as we have the online version in by midnight, were in the clear!

....if only it were that easy.

4 am that night, i jolt up in bed. did we submit the online version...

in the euphoria of the down to the wire printing catastrophe, we completely over looked the the online submission, and our worst fears were realized, zero on our first large assignment.

i had to wait untill monday before we could make our appeal to Jim, the department head, and plead our case to accept our business proposal. over the weekend, i heard many success, and horror stories about people who have found themselves in the same situation. on moday we would find our fate.

i was almost more nervous for this meeting, than anything i can remember. I suited up, need to look official, and practiced using big words, (Understanding the prudent influence of vocalizing intellectual disposition) and I walk in and....

...killed it.

Jim was more than understanding, he was sympathetic to our situation and willing to give us a second chance. our given redemption does have some stipulations however, and if ya know katie doherty....im sure she'll just love if you can ask her bout it ;).

maybe not.

but it was, after all, a very happy ending. and because this is a happy blog, i refused to post these events unitl i was sure that was the case.

so yeah, my groups great. we've since submitted another assign, which turned out great.

- and were kinda like one, interesting, multi-cultural, sometimes (dis), sometimes functional family.

and im starting to love it.

I Wear Glasses Now.

You may be asking yourself such questions as, "I didn't know you wore glasses?" or, "How long have you had glasses?" I would answer with this, I have been wearing glasses since 23:30 on Monday night, the approximate time I found them on the ground.

Mobility Pt. 2: The Mobilization of James Anthony Grantis

If you have been a reader of our blog, you would know that Jamie has had some trouble watching all his friends get around in ways cooler than walking. Although he says he has come to terms with it, I know a part of him is still aching. So, I took it upon myself to help him out. While on my way to Church Sunday morning, I saw two fine folks doing something that I could really see catching on, and mainly for Jamie. In case you haven't heard of it, (I hadn't and had to Google a bunch of describing words to find it) what I am talking about is roller skiing. I mean, this picture pretty much sums up how cool it is. But Jamie, being the practical BBA student that he is, would most likely like to have things broken down for him. Ok, so...
PRO'S
-It looks like you can roller ski in any weather giving an extreme advantage over longboarding.
-It looks like you can go pretty darn fast. Check that guy out!
-I think you can achieve maximum style points as a roller skier, especially considering all the different types of helmets, cool sunglasses and awesome coloured spandex shorts.
-You can use the poles to have sword fights anytime, anyplace.
-The neon boots and skis are bound to draw attention in a positive way.
-The more pro's I write, the more I realize that the list will never end.

CON'S
-It's a definite possibility you may get pulled over for going too fast.
-The flocks of girls will have a hard time keeping up with you.
-Your instant celebrity status as the "Rugged Roller Skier" may have the paparazzi from The Cord snapping your pics when you are just trying to listen in your BU 111 lecture or grabbing a chicken finger wrap at the Dining Hall.

So Jamie, take a look at the list contemplate things, and I think you know what to do.

P.S. I have provided a link to help you get started. We can use my eBay account to get a good new set off the internet for cheap.

http://www.xcskiworld.com/training/rollerguide.htm

Just-Us Files (Pilot)

Your gonna wanna check this out.

Overheard.

ok. imagine your self trying to study, or trying to have a conversation, or in any circumstance really, and your trying to focus. But you can't help but tune into a conversation thats going on between two randoms, just within earshot. this is very small list that have happened to us recently. these are just a few off the top, well be sure to continue to keep yall updated as randoms continue to make us laugh.

"i can run a kilometre in 3 minutes, maybe less"

- obnoxious dude in the 24 lounge trying to chat up a girl.

"If he thinks he can just tell me i'm beautiful, to get into my pants, he dunno! ...like ill make him tell me i'm 'fyynneee'., but if he still thinks he's getting into THESE apple bottom jeans... Helllllll nahhhhhhhh.

- hilarious [bootylicious] girl on skype with her girlfriend, in the DH.

"Im in favour of medical marijuana, i will certainly try it. i just haven't had the right injury yet"

- Global studies tutorial professor. (60+ year old women)

"i think i just got wheeled by the guy that works at the hub??"
- concerned girl talking with friend.

all these have been inspired by moments of hilarity that we have experienced throughout my days at WLU. since i began spreading the moments of joy with friends, i came to learn about a great facebook page called "Overheard at wlu." and in honour of that, we present Overheard- blog edition.

International Suit Up Day

So today I spent the entire day wearing a suit to celebrate International Suit Up Day. Now I won't go into too much details considering the origins of this holiday, however, it comes from a T.V. show that I don't even really watch (How I Met Your Mother Fans, please don't be mad at me, I just don't have the time to get into a new series). Long story short, what normally would have been a mediocre, kind of rainy, routine day, was made approximately 32.3 times better purely based on the fact that I looked so great. Don't believe me? Take a look for yourself. Imagine all the ladies checking out this dreaded, longboarding, stud cruising around in a suit. Live it.

Thanksgivin'er

Everybody thinks thanksgiving originated when the European settlers came to colonize north america, and they encountered the Native Americans. from this, a beautiful picture of Settler and Native sitting down in harmony, sharing turkey and pumpkin together. This unfortunately is NOT true. No, Thanksgiving started somewhere else, and I've been led to believe I know where it is... COSTCO.

have you been in there this weekend!? everybody frantic to buy enough bulk gravy to feed their entire family, or to find a turkey too big for normal grocery regulations. i was in there friday, and the place was packed. over 15 free sample stations, all good, and all the old ladies too busy working to look up at me sampling (dream come true) I must have tried the miniature pumpkin pie sample a dozen times...

all the excitement was great, and the 227 dolla costco bill is average. but it really gets you thinking about thanksgiving. There are tons of things we can be thankful for and now I will toss things over to Jer for an update on his weekend.

I guess I am thankful for my first date, in well... a long time. Now this was one of those dates that was "set up" by someone else. Before you try to guess who the matchmaker is, relax because you will never guess. My accounting prof, Lynn Carty. She set me up for a Saturday afternoon date with MAL. Now again before you start trying to figure out who MAL is, (Mallorie? Marie-Ann Lacutie? ) Let me enlighten you. MAL is short for myaccountinglab, the online site where I get to practice my balance sheets and income statements. Not my idea of a good first date, but I mean, sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. With my textbook as my wing-man I went in feeling confident. However very soon after starting, I looked out the window at the beautiful day which was much more enticing than MAL. Just as I started to be extremely confused with the questions MAL was asking me, and why she was asking them, my phone rang. It was a good friend of mine, Josh Willms who was there to save the day. He told me he could sense that I was in need of saving from a horrible situation and that he would be right over with some backup. Willms, Charles and Adam all came over. I ditched MAL without paying the bill and went outside. We grabbed 2 canoes and headed down the creek. What a great adventure. So much better than sitting inside on a beautiful weekend meant for hanging out with friends. So, now what I am really thankful for.
-A creek teeming with wildlife in my backyard.
-Silent Waters & the Red Rocket (The names of our sleek canoes)
-Pellet guns (For ship to ship warfare/hunting on the creek)
-Granola Crunchers (For a feast on the seas)
Also this weekend Willm and me went for a sweet trek down the beach and found enough dead animals (Flying, swimming and climbing kind) for what would make a great Roadkill Calendar. A bunch of us came down and had a giant bonfire on the beach after a night of Jack Astors chicken fingers, Value Village excursions and snacking galore during the Leafs domination at Olivia's with others of mine and jamie's great friends. We played Sequence (great game) and darts too. I guess Willm deserveres a shout out for his legitimate bullseye. (note: after his first two darts that missed the board completely)

The more I say, the more I realize at how packed and sweet this weekend was. One more highlight was skitching on my longboard behind Willms Buick Rendezvous. Charles was carving up a storm through the St Catharines subdivisions. Let us all be Thankful for family, friends, the blessings and for the bounty that we all enjoy in this country.

I just want to go home for thanksgiving.

(this happened on friday) I may have mentioned it once or twice, but i've been scheming something for a little while now, that i've been very anxious to try. and with the weekend upon me and all of my friends gone home for thanksgiving- the conditions could not have been more perfect. So I told myself, I am going to hitchhike home.

and this was my experience:

8:10 grabbed some cardboard and made a sgin. started walking toward the highway 85 on ramp.

8:23 set up base at an excellent location. stoplight near the highway. excellent for controlled traffic. people had ample time to see me, and were forced to slow because of the light.

8:29 5 minutes of standing, still feeling confident.

8:36: Classic awkward moment, the cars were backed up at the light all the way to my spot. i was looking forward, but could tell the couple in the car beside was starring at me. so i looked at them, they immediately looked away. awkward.

8:43 I've been at it for 20 minutes, confidence is still relatively high, but it's quite dark and my chances are looking less and less likely.

8: 46: Again a car is backed up at the light beside my location. This time, a Cab full of loud drunks. they roll down the window to make a comment (i expected this) the comment was in an Australian accent (i did NOT expect this.) I then had a 30 second conversation with two kiwi's from Zew Zealand that gave me some inspiration, that reminded me why i was doing this after all. the experience. They offered to take me as far as the nightclub they were going too, but decided on st. Catharines, i declined. they wished me luck.

8:50: i got a honk from some fellow laurier students that recognized me. they weren't going to st. kitts tho.

8:54 A green suv in the middle lane was slowing as it approached to the light. it flashed its high beams, and swerved (over two lanes) in to the right turning lane closest to me. as it got closer i saw into the car, as a wife (presumably) was hitting the man on the arm and pointing back into the middle lane. the SUV then drove past me and swerved back into the middle lane.

Convinced this man would have picked me up, it gave me a nice boost, but i was a little disappointed with the lady who i coundnt hear what she was saying (even tho, im a hitch hiker, and i could hardly blame her)

After 9: i got a call from Krista saying she was on her way home this weekend, and that she could drive me. as the night got darker, my chances became looking more bleak. i accepted, but asked for 10 more minutes of trying.

9:10 Krista drove by me, and pulled over to pick me up, with only one more honk in the last ten minutes i was disappointed not to be riding with a stranger, but more than happy that i had found a friend to drive me home. ASLO. i did develop a list of several Tips for Next time:

- large, clear, readable sign would probably be beneficial.

- smile, or make whatever face prevents you from looking psychotic, crazy or depressed.

- stand in a location where, if someone WOULD pick you up, the actually COULD (i spent some minutes on the on ramp, untill i realized there was no shoulder for a car to pull over.)

- utilize daylight. my circumstances forced me to start at night because of my exam. but i blame most of the unsuccess on the darkness. if it was noon, it may have been a different story.

- don't lose hope. Although i did kind of bail, by accepting a ride from a friend, i was prepared to wait another hour unitl i would have called it quits, if krista's offer had never came.

- have fun. there's greyhounds, and busses, but it's for the experience and story, keep that in mind, and make the best of it.

so I share this story with you so when future events occur that allow me to successfully Hitch hike, (and blog about it) you will understand the training and experience i had to prepare me. and as i share it with you, and endorse this mode of transportation. I wish you all the best and hope you were able to learn a thing or two, and appreciate this style of mobility.

Raf's got his scooter, Jer's got his Longboard, and Me? I'm going after other people's passenger seat.

mobility.

You know when you see someone doing something, and all you can do is think to yourself , "Man, i wish that was me doing that thing right now." well it keeps happening to me ...alot. The first is the obvious, Jer on his stupid cool longboard, with his stupid dreads that blow in the wind, and his cool headnods to other long boarders, and or, people with dreads. it's a little bit tough to travel with the guy. he zooms ahead catching all the glances of the cute girls, and im the goofy guy half jogging to keep up. but that's fine. it's his thing and it's rad.

the next is Raf. As a solution to solve the problem of his enormous campus he has engineered an equally ingenious mode of transportation. Scooters. yeah (like the kind from grade 6). it's so cool,

it's efficient- i've seen him clock at least bike speed,

its stylish- he looks like Hansel from zoolander.

its adaptable- indoors? outdoors? its all the same when your on a scooter.

its storable- Raf's unit collapses, and its like he's not even holding an awkward piece of metal.

however i think the best part of all is, its catching on.

Raf and Paul have formed a legitimate club for the appreciation of scootering, and i would just like to mention it real quick to add to it's critical acclaim.

University of Waterloo's Scooter Alliance (UWSA) is snow balling in popularity. with funding from their school, and a fierce logo i only wish i still had my scooter. but it's fine, it's his thing, and it's rad.

everybody's got their thing. and it's got me thinking, who's walks anymore?

- I would make my thing 'morphing around', (me and jer on the right) but it get itchy and hard to breath.

- I would make my thing roller bladeing, but don't like scraping my kees.

- i would make my thing running, but i hate looking like im late for class. it's really quite unfortunate. these guys have all found the coolest methods of mobility. and im left in the dust; walking.

71 genius ideas.

today, actually just minutes ago, i finished my first ever university midterm. It went really quite well. it was the first of my two economics midterms, (yeah you heard me right, i have 2 midterms for the same course) but this was in nice tho. its much ahead of the other midterms, so it safely avoids my exam slam week. (this is what i call the last week in october when i have my three hardest midterms in a four day span) plus i did have time to study for this one. ...maybe too much time. I spent most of it at Willy's in Tim and Tyrone's room studying away. But there were times when we drifted.

thus resulting in this find:

"The top 71 things to do when you know your going to fail your exam"

the following are my ten favourites,

1) As soon as you get a copy of the exam, take it, and run out of the room screaming "Andre! Andre! Ive got the secret documents!!"

2) Take 6 packets of rice crackers with you. at the beginning of the exam stuff two into your mouth at once. Chew, then cough. Repeat if necessary.

3) Bring a water pistol with you. enough said.

4) Bring a Gameboy. play with the volume at max level.

5) When you walk in complain about the heat. strip.

6) Try to get people in the room to do "the Wave"

7) Bring Cheerleaders.

8) As soon as the instructor hands you the exam, eat it.

9) (if the exam is multiple choice, and your prof is a female) fill in the answers B.A.B.E B.A.B.E B.A.B.E ect.

10) Do the exam with crayons, paint, or fluorescent markers.

unfortunately, i never got around to any of these, but i did do pretty well on the exam.

im not too worried, i foresee many more opportunities in my future.

Today I was out out for lunch with with Jer and other two buddies, Tyrone and Tim. They asked me to play goalie for their hockey team tonight, but i had to decline due to other athletic council commitments. So they then asked jer, which caused me to practically choke on my chicken laughing. Not because i think jer is incapable of playing goalie, but because my mind pictured the guy in full gear. Dreads crammed into a helmet, pads strapped to his skinny jeans, his longboard and drumsticks resting on the net. Its just a picture that i wanted to share with you our friends.

that is all.

Recreational Superstars.

Monday's have a very specific meaning to our floor. Monday's are Intramural Soccer Nights.

with jersey's on the way- and our record sitting at 2 wins 1 tie and 0 losses, Tonight was one for the books.

since we somewhat chucked a team together, we opted for the recreational over competitive league, and it couldn't be going better. we just go out every monday, kick at some balls, practice a few goal celebrations and have fun, but sometimes, we like to try too. Tonight was one of those nights, after the two previous weeks of comfortable victories against other first year teams, this was a challenge. a fourth year team with legitimate talent. ill spare you the play by play, and give the important details. despite my boys being on form, we fell to a 3 goal deficit, and with 5 minutes to go, it had been a fun game, but it didnt look promising. at this point, Nick "pasquals" Micelotta switches to striker and scored an immediate goal. With some good team play another goal off pasqualsy's foot. and with only 2 minutes to go a Third! we played extremely scrappy for the final two minutes and our side had significantly more chances but it ended deadlocked at a tie. but what a tie it was.

Our unity has never been higher, and even our floor meeting tonight warning about the excessive noise and ruckus associated with us this past weekend didn't bring us down.

not even in the slightest.

Hooligans

There's something that happens when you live on a floor with all males. this is the protocol that inevitably occurs- at first everyone talks about how much they hate living with all dudes, how theres no chick's, and how much it sucks. that lasts a little while, but slowly and gradually, day by day, through football sundays, and forming a soccer team, everybody starts to warm up to our living arrangement. This is something i've experienced living in Little House, and something jer knows just as well, having experienced the same just last year.

It's true, these guys become your good friends. But also your teammates, and essentially your brothers. Brothers with the family name of 'Hooligan'. What I mean by that is that our floor has be given the name: Little House Hooligans. it is our team name for soccer, and now our heritage.

these hooligans are my brothers.

and little house is my home.

stop by anytime, were usually throwing a jam in B16, or willing to chuck the football at the turf, Welcome to Little House. The Home of the Beauty.

The Eighth Longboard.. er... Letter

Here's just a quick update on my life. This past weekend I skipped out on homecoming. This however was for the best as I attended this really cool conference in Toronto called the Eighth Letter. The topics brought to the table were really eye opening and thought provoking. To find out a little more about what it was about, you can check www.eighthletter.com/. It was put on by Epiphaneia, a group of four friends who set up sweet conferences.

Next on the list of updates is something that I am pretty excited about. I got a new long board! My very own! Now I don't have to borrow Kayla's. Here is the story...

It was a cold rainy evening and Jeremy Enns was searching the depths of Kijiji for a good deal on a longboard. He sent emails to approx 10 different ads with locations anywhere from St. Kitts to Toronto to Waterloo. He went to bed thinking about ripping up the streets of Waterloo, enjoying nature and the fresh air that God has provided for him. He woke to another rainy day, however, the glimmer of hope came when his inbox was full of replies! Deals everywhere! The skies cleared and Jeremy Enns contacted "Trevor from Cambridge." What happened next was an exciting car ride with Danielle DiFrancesco to pick up the basically brand new used longboard. Emery and Anberlin were keeping us company musically in the morning ride in the black beauty (my rusty Jetta). Jeremy then saw his new friend, a beautiful slab of maple atop 4 round hunks of polyurethane. Trevor was then handed about 1/2 the money it would have cost to purchase the item brand new. Jeremy was then en route back to school with a smile on his face. Three cheers for a happy ending. Thanks for reading.

feastival.

ok, try your best to imagine this phone call.

ringing...ringing...ringing...

Jamie: Yo?

Jer: Yo.

Jamie: come get food on campus

Jer: It's raining, you come here.

Jamie: no way, its raining.

Jer: we'll make MY food?

Jamie: I'm on my way.

about 10 minutes later,

two of the best

(self-proclaimed) chefs fire up the grills in Jer's kitchen.

Now, I must admit. since my cereal days, i've been calling my self a master chef. but now, combining with jer, and the use real live appliances. (and im not talking microwaves). legit stoves and pans- were cooking up a storm.

today's 2:30 menu. Perogies, bacon, shish-kabobs,

mini pizzas and sour cream. Mr. Christie provided the dessert, and ya, some serious salivation ensued.

To be honest, as we sit here together, we've come to realize something. We owe someone a huge 'thank you', so were trying to give a little shout out: so ya, Thank you Food. You've been so great to us. Especially since the new year at uni. Jer and I have shared some great meals with friends (and food). generally once or twice a week, Jer and I meet up with some friends from home or from school, and we take turns cooking, and hosting the meals. It's been great times, meals with Julia, Krista, Aaron, Hannah and others have been a beaut.

Further, Food has provided some inter dorm entertainment. Snack swaps (grade three lunchroom style) always makes munching more enjoyable. The snack stash under my bed has never been bigger.

so. anyway. back to today's afternoon feast. just as we were finishing, Jer was dreading the dishes, when our friends arrived not a moment to soon...

nice smiles, The end.

Strictly Business.

As you probably know, im in the Business program here at Laurier. between either BU111 (business), or EC120 (economics) i've got readings, case studies, tutorials and tax problems. Its kind of consuming my educational life. everything in my mind is sorta morphing into some strange business lesson. 1.pizza pizza is out of pepperoni? (quantity demand is lowered- loss in sales) 2.Phil's serves to under aged (absolute advantage in their market-share) theres drama in the girls res? (human relations case study)

almost everywhere, business theories are creeping into my head. whether that's a bad thing, i dunno. but it is happening and hopefully i can find a away to shut it off. ...eventually.

Despite being much more intensive and a heavy workload, I'm liking BU111, and the prof Jim- Legend. but its starting to pick up. and its happening fast. last week we were assigned to these venture groups which accounts for a substantial portion of our grade. to catch ya'll up; Our new venture group has to come up with a new business idea, research it, write up a feasible proposal for funding. project sales. project profits and liabilities. market it. make it creative, make it new. and do it by next friday.

so here's my situation. you know when your trying to come up with a new idea, but you already have this other one idea kickin around in your head? and no matter what you do, or how hard you think, your brain still goes back to the one stupid idea.

this is my problem. When I read the assignment outline, I instantly came up with this one goofy idea, Its an outdoor dating service in the summer. the setting is in a park or open area and we sell flowers and fresh produce. I call it Meet Market.

my groupmates declined.

My Padawan Learner

This year at Laurier, I have someone that I have taken under my wing. I will leave their identity anonymous. I will however go over some of his achievements just so we can all understand how good a job I have been doing. My padawan is already well known in his residence as the representative for an Inter-Res sports committee called RAC. He is popular with the ladies (obviously learned from me) and has transitioned well with his studies at the same time. This young lad, while still underage, knows how to have a good time in residence by abiding by the rules outlined in the residence handbook. I am very proud of this young fellow. I look forward to teaching him more so that he may one day become a Master of university like me. Speaking of Padawans, I may as well just post a cool Star Wars pic. Just for the heck of it.

Don't Sleep On It!

Elect Jamie Grantis For House Council President Today!

Studious.

Today is Friday. Afternoon. and my classes are finished for the week. what is the importance of this you may be wondering? I have now concluded my first week of real classes. Granted, they were mostly introductory, you gotta start somewhere. I attended every single class, kept stellar notes, and have been so on top of my reading, you would think i enjoy it.

class isn't so bad either, some of my profs are legit. (shout out Jim McCutcheon) and some are just interesting, (shout out to my Muslim prof, who's call to prayer reminder popped up exactly at 5p.m. on her comp while it was connected to the projector and loud speakers, laughter ensued.) anyway. like i was saying,

Today is Friday. Afternoon. and I am in the library studying.

4th floor, its so quiet the only indicator of other human life is this sniffling girl on the other side, whose sneezes keep me alert about every 5 minutes. I like it here I suppose. I can work hard.

and I realize the fact that I'm writing a blog while I'm here, is somewhat counter productive. but I'm putting in some serious academic effort here I swear, and with boats to still read. its a start.

Walking is Overrated.

Recently, a great friend gave me a great present. Not for keepsies but to borrow. I am now in possession of a long board. I live a little off campus and what at first seemed like a life that must be lived with long depressing walks to school has now turned into something new. What I now experience is a joyous freeride downhill both ways to and from school (yes I have mapped out two different routes). The longboard carves similar to a snowboard but is a little more dangeros because instead of snow, there is pavement and instead of other skiiers there are cars and SUV's. I now get frequent adrenaline rushes when I cruise out of the parking lot of my building right onto the road with only a brief second to look for traffic and jump off the board risking catasrophe. Not only is longboarding helpful for transportation, I now get to look extra cool while carrying it around with me. I find that lengthy stares have gone up a total of 13% since I have started longboarding. Not bad.

ps. Thanks Kayla.

My Love Hate Relationship with Rice.

Rice eh, what a product. you can make it taste like so many different flavours. and its perfect when you want to eat a thousand of something.

The thing is, my relationship with this product of asian genius goes so much deeper than just eating it. At one time i honestly despised the food. if your were keeping up with rafandjamie.blogspot.com

while we were in australia, you may remember the series of prank wars posts, that was all instigated by the infamous 'rice attack' if you are not familiar. upon our return of our team from south africa, during a celebratory night out, a few of the staff got us with a beauty of a welcome home prank. they put uncooked, white rice literally EVERYWHERE in our room. On our floor, in our droors, on our clothes, in our sheets... everywhere. even at worst doesnt seem so bad right, to just clean it up. Wrong. we did clean it up. even the most serious vaccuming. then just when you think your rid of em. some fall outta your clothes, or sheets, and again are attaching themselves to your feet as you walk around the room. IT WAS A NIGHTMARE. but a first class prank. the picture on the left is of our retaliation. However, just recently i had an experience with rice, my friend turned foe. making it a friend once more. obviously, as i wrote earlier. I was responsible for a ridiculous series of events that caused my cell phone to fall into a glass of water. with the screen broken and my hopes fading, I had no other choice but to turn to my one time enemy. the server was nice enough to bring out a big cup of rice, so i buried my dismembered phone pieces in the rice, and could only pray. after Wilf's I went to wilson res where i left my phone overnight to be babysat because I knew if I had it around i would have only done something to further hurt its chances at being fixed. that's when the phone was outta my mind and i had come to terms with getting a new one (a blackberry probably). almost two days had past, when the one and only Danielle DiFrancesco came to me with my repaired phone. I don't exactly know how she got credited with it's recovery, but it was her. and at this point, with class started and the semester kicking off, I am more than relieved to rely on my phone once more. I can not wait to see how this semester goes down. an just wanna say one more time, rice, you did it again.

and also thanks for complementing my sweet and sour pork and chow-mein the other day at lunch.

cheers

Blessing In Disguise

Yesterday I found something out that was a little surprising. I missed the cut off average for business co-op by 0.1%. It was a really weird feeling because I fully expected to get an interview for co-op. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to be in co-op, however I would have liked to get in and then deny if I wanted. Getting cut doesn't feel good.

The whole topic of business co-op has been the main portion of the next big decisions of my life. Do I need to get a serious job at a business firm? Would that mean my dreads would have to depart their home on my itchy scalp? I can only imagine the regret... Jamie writes a post on his emotions after the departure of his rattail, I would have to write a novel to describe similar feelings. 3 years is approximately 6 times longer than 6 months!

I see this troubling e-mail as a blessing in disguise. Now I do not have to worry about finding employment, I get to graduate in 4 years instead of 4.5/5. Better yet, my summers are free! Summer is now something I get to plan without working around a lengthy work term. I am very excited for the possibilities and hopefully God will open some big doors for me.

Optimism is key. We have just one life.

ps. Jamie. Don't drop your phone in your drink. Like come on.

Regret. Stupidity. and Laura Allen.

in the past week, I've met so many people here at school. Heaps actually.

and zero of them have even made the slightest rattail comment to me. sadly, it is because the beaut is gone.

i suppose i was forced to chop that baby off before school but am starting to really regret it. basically what I'm trying to say is; I started growing it back on Tuesday.

also yesterday, while dining at Wilf's, I managed to drop my phone in a glass of water. don't even ask me how i did this. because when I explain, it sounds even stupider. This is running the list of stupidest things I've ever done, near the top at the moment. I even tried to think of people that could possibly share responsibility for this misfortune. but its left so clearly and obviously all my fault. and that is why, my phone is sitting in a cup of rice. off. and broken.

as if yesterday wasn't a good enough day with all the unluck, I attended my first academic session for BBA. A first year's prof gave the lecture, but there was something about her. other than the fact that she scared me silly, Jer was able to put it best into words. this women- Laura Allen, is a real live Jan Levinson. if you don't know who that is, that's a shame. but the 40 midterm fail rate, and 30 percent course fail rate had me a little spooked. but eh, if jer did it. how hard can it be? ill just be waiting till Monday.

oh and yo. people are still asking me like i should have BBM. especially now, camon I DONT EVEN HAVE A PHONE.

sill, after all that, cant help but love it. cheers

Live the Dream.

yesterday something happened. something almost forcing me to use the word 'epic'.

but first, i need to back up and include an interesting fact about the room that i now call my home. out of the hundred's, actually thousands, of residence room's on Laurier's Campus. i have hung out in this room before. Jer used to live just down the hall, which is crazy enough, but when i would come visit, i spent most of the night in this room- B18. i remember because I remember the guys that lived. and whose names are conveniently still carved all over in here.

that was just the prelude. I'll now explain why I bother to mention all this. yesterday while unpacking, when i found it. I found 'the letter'

the entire letter is too explicit to be replicated on this family rated blog, but i would be more than happy to give you excerpts to help you grasp as much of 'the letter' as possible.

"to the descendant of the Legend" - this was the intro, basically the title of 'the letter' it starts off by explaining that the reason for writing 'the letter' as a result of inebriation. but just gets so much better from there. it included their motto "**** *******, Get *****" (censored) and their records (including drinking penalties and hospital visits) however, the one overwhelming thing that i can take from 'the letter' is something thats was mentioned several times, and usually in capitals. "LIVE THE DREAM" these words are sharpied huge on my board, and littered throughout the letter. and i couldn't agree more.

epilogue. I was walking through the parking lot near Bricker hall, and who do i see. not Jer, but his good buddy from last year. the man of my room. I yelled his name, and he came over. it took him a sec, then he eventually remembered me from the times i visited. i told him I was in his old res. and he was pumped for me. then i told him i was in his exact room, and he got stoked. just a cool, coincidence to already know the guy who was randomly selected to rep your old room proudly. but then when i mentioned my under the desk discovery. The Guy went baserk.

good times already here in the home of the beauty. many more to come. live the dream.