Today didn't quite follow my usual routine, but that's always affected with any kind of notable change. I watched Donnie Darko in two segments. It had to be the earliest that I had ever started watching a movie. It was grey outside, but it didn't rain like it was supposed to.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Impulsive Skulls
This post is dedicated to Grant, the only reason why I'm writing it. The pictures aren't very good because I wasn't feeling well. When my mom got home, she commented that I looked so sad and it was only after she mentioned that I noticed that I really was. I don't know why. A busy day with a lack of sleep, plenty of anxiety, hunger with nausea and a stomachache would do it, but I don't think that was all.
I was at Pacific Mall on Sunday, where I bumped into Francis who was killing time until his Casino Rama bus arrived, so we wandered around. I hadn't really intended on buying very much. Really, I didn't. Somehow I was missing $200 when I left and I was still owing $60.
JCY House was having a "sale", like they always do at any given time. They just tag everything in the store with ridiculous prices then offer 70% off. If you so much as stop to look at something, the sales ladies are immediately hovering around you, reminding you that there's a sale and if you're really interested, they'll "see what they can do."
I've been pining after this jacket for a long time now. The first one I saw had a purple design and they claimed that they didn't have it in anyother colour, while trying to convince me to buy it anyways. What's wrong with purple? It's one of my least favourite colours, next to green. After calling all of their ubiquitous stores, they found that they had one left in the warehouse that was closed on Sunday, so they'd call me when it arrived and I'd have to go pick it up on Monday. That turned out to be a lie. They had actually just gotten it transferred from the Times Square branch, but they didn't want me to go personally or else they'd lose their commission.
The collar and belt can be left open or they can be fastened.
On the back, there's lovely pinstripe design and a pocket on the left arm.
There's also a removable hood and there's a second smaller collar underneath it.
There are two pockets on the front, as well as two extra ones on the inside. These clothes aren't very typical of JCY House, because they usually just carry a lot of casual, brand name clothing and apparel, such as those of PUMA, Emily the Strange, True Religion, Paul Frank, and Miss Sixty sometimes. Did I mention that everything is tagged at unbelievable prices?
Yes, I know my hair is getting rowdy. I'm going to get a haircut soon. It's always in my face. I once chopped off a lot of my hair in an effort to lose weight. There was one point when I had seriously thought it through and was ready to shave my head bald, but that's a story for another time. I should probably dye it black again, because I kind of fried it so it looks brown and damaged. I wish I still had my bright red hair, but it fades into a glowing orange too quickly and I used to have to keep re-dying it all the time. Auburn or maroon are both very nice, but they have a tendency to fade to brown very quickly. I like it very unnaturally black, even for a Chinese person, to the point that it's very shiny and almost has blue highlights. Of course, that's hard to maintain for very long, but it's the least fussiest of all the colours. Because I'd have to wash the dye out in the shower, I'd better wait until my *ahem* wounds heal.
I had really only wanted the jacket, but since they thought that they only had the purple print jacket, the lady started to push me into buying the matching skirt in grey. If there was a grey skirt, then wasn't there a grey jacket? It was sold out and I should have come earlier. But I did and it hadn't existed at that time. After the incredible discount on some outrageous sum, she said it would be $110. That is definitely over my allocated budget, but if I really wanted it, "we can talk about the price later."
I have to admit that it was very appealing. It's laced up with ribbons on each side of the outer skirt made up of numerous ruffled layers. It has lace at the bottom of the inner skirt. Pinstripes. Shiny silver buttons. Silkscreen-style prints. Gothic lettering. All of my favourite things :]
I couldn't resist.
It also came with a hilarious detachable suspender/hood. The hood is huge. My head disappears when I put it on. In the photo of the two skirts separated, there's a flap at the waist of the outer skirt, which is placed below the inner skirt. The flap is used to fasten the two rings of the suspender straps to the outer skirt. There was also another set with shorts worn underneath in the place of the skirt. Shorts? I never wear shorts. Skirts are infinitely better :]
Say no to "skorts". Just. Say. No.
At first she was telling me how the skirts were independent of each other and so I could wear them separately - the top one shown above on its own and the lower one over anything, such as jeans. She asked me for my size and since they vary from brand to brand, I really didn't know. Plus, my size is always changing. She took a look at me and guessed far below what I expected would have fitted me. How flattering ;)
She picked out a pair of True Religion jeans, but they really didn't look nice with that shade of blue. I had to rummage through my closet before taking these photos and I was delighted to find a pair of jeans with a dark brown wash from Buffalo Jeans that suit the outer skirt. The top shown above was purchased for $25 the last time I was at Pacific Mall. I like lace and ruffles.
Since she failed to demonstrate that the skirt would go with any pair of jeans and it didn't fit with the dress pants I was wearing when I went in, so I was pretty convinced that it wouldn't match anything else and I wouldn't be able to wear them separately as she claimed. Then she pulled out the matching pants. Unlike the skirt that I was persuaded to buy as a replacement for the jacket, I had absolutely no intention of buying the pants. She made me try them on, just to show how the skirt could still be versatile.
Just as I was about to refuse to buy the pants and insist on just the skirt, another sales lady came to say that they found a grey one. That's when she pulled out the calculator and punched in a jumble of numbers to tell me that the original price was close to $500. That's my cue to gasp and say that I couldn't afford it. But wait! Guess what? I get a special discount. Even more if I bought them together. How much is each item on its own? That wasn't important; they would be sold as a combination so they couldn't really tell me.
I didn't get a chance to say that I didn't want the pants. It just got added up with everything else and I'd have to take them if I wanted a special deal. But if I didn't buy it all, I'd save even more. She told me I "should" buy it as a set - it just made sense.
I can't remember, but I think after my discount, it was going to be $335 or something like that. There was no way I was paying that much. They gave in and said the best they could do would be $285. I don't think so. They asked me how much I was willing to pay. Maybe $220 - $230. That was unreasonable. That was only the beginning of the negotiations.
I started going on and on about how I don't have much of an allowance, how long I had to save up, etc. But it's from Japan. How about $250? Studio Tokyo is a brand name. Really? I've never heard of it. She showed me a picture of a Japanese girl wearing it in a magazine. It was the most I had ever spent on just three articles of clothing. $280 was the lowest price. I don't think my parents would approve, they're very conservative, they'll get angry at me, etc. They couldn't lower it, they really couldn't. I don't really have that much in savings. How about $250? Absolutely not. $255? No, $280.
I was starting to get anxious because I was worried that I was running out of time, but I wasn't willing to just give in. Come on, $255. Fine, fine, $275. That's still too much, I think I might only be able to afford the jacket and skirt.... After much more bartering, we finally arrived at $265. While she was getting her invoice pad out, I asked if we could just even up the number. She seemed appalled and there was absolutely no way that they would charge $250. No, no, I meant $260. She reluctantly gave up on the $5. No tax if I paid cash. Of course.
I only had $230 on me. I wasn't lying when I said I was pressed for cash. Since I wasn't getting the jacket and I still had another article of clothing I was planning on buying from another shop, I paid $200 with part of it being a deposit. I left my name and number but also wrote all of that information down - how much I paid, how much I was still owing. She wrote me a receipt and told me that she'd call me as soon as it arrived. She gave me a plain plastic shopping bag, and because I collect bags of any kind, I asked for a paper JCY House bag - "umm, to advertise for you" - they were more than happy to give me one.
While I was waiting for my dad to arrive, it finally registered that I had spent $260 on three articles of clothing. I usually choose to have more items at a bargain price. I started convincing myself that it was okay because I really liked the clothes and I kind of got a good deal. It's all just a scam. The customer is supposed to feel a strong sense of satisfying achievement. I was wondering how I would get to the mall again tomorrow. I started making my way towards the bank to use their ABM machine, so I wouldn't have to ask whoever might be driving me to make a stop at the bank. I was rather annoyed when I was halfway there and remembered that my dad had told me to leave my ID and all of the other important items in my wallet at home. That included my debit card. I had taken out the cash and put it in another wallet, because there really was a good chance that there might be pickpockets in the crowd. It wasn't such a big deal because I wasn't intending on returning to the store to pay the remaining $60, so I'd have to find another way to the bank. Maybe I could drop in on the way home.
The next day I ended up calling them a couple of times because they didn't call me. My mom started to fret about whether they didn't actually have it in stock after all and kept bothering me about what I would do. That ended up getting me anxious. She wanted me to start bargaining to try to get as much of my money back as possible and we were debating how I should phrase it; for example, the pants and skirt should be worth around $150, so they should return $50. Maybe if I didn't get my jacket, then I'd refund everything. No exchanges, no refunds. I hate it when she does that because it makes my head spin. Eventually, I pulled out the receipt and it stated that the jacket costs $88 and so my deposit was $28. Great, but what if I didn't get my jacket? I'd only get $28 back. At around 6 PM, I called again and she said she'd call me back after checking in the back room. Yes, my jacket had arrived. Why didn't they call me if they had already received it? Then I received a phone call not long after I hung up and was informed that my jacket had arrived. I guess I got my phone call.
My dad was not at all happy to see that jacket. He didn't like the skulls. I hadn't really noticed them when I was trying them on. He said I was already down on my luck and black wasn't such a nice colour - but skulls!! He wanted me to just give up the deposit. I didn't even want to say how much I had paid and my dad didn't know that I also had a skirt and pants that had skulls all over them. My mom thought the articles were unique. I was a bit worried that it might give off the 'wrong impression', but if it did, then that's part of my image. I told my dad it was my birthday gift for myself. He said it wasn't a matter of birthday presents or not. He didn't like the skulls and black background. I paid and left as quickly as I could.
I was at Pacific Mall on Sunday, where I bumped into Francis who was killing time until his Casino Rama bus arrived, so we wandered around. I hadn't really intended on buying very much. Really, I didn't. Somehow I was missing $200 when I left and I was still owing $60.
JCY House was having a "sale", like they always do at any given time. They just tag everything in the store with ridiculous prices then offer 70% off. If you so much as stop to look at something, the sales ladies are immediately hovering around you, reminding you that there's a sale and if you're really interested, they'll "see what they can do."
I've been pining after this jacket for a long time now. The first one I saw had a purple design and they claimed that they didn't have it in anyother colour, while trying to convince me to buy it anyways. What's wrong with purple? It's one of my least favourite colours, next to green. After calling all of their ubiquitous stores, they found that they had one left in the warehouse that was closed on Sunday, so they'd call me when it arrived and I'd have to go pick it up on Monday. That turned out to be a lie. They had actually just gotten it transferred from the Times Square branch, but they didn't want me to go personally or else they'd lose their commission.
The collar and belt can be left open or they can be fastened.
On the back, there's lovely pinstripe design and a pocket on the left arm.
There's also a removable hood and there's a second smaller collar underneath it.
There are two pockets on the front, as well as two extra ones on the inside. These clothes aren't very typical of JCY House, because they usually just carry a lot of casual, brand name clothing and apparel, such as those of PUMA, Emily the Strange, True Religion, Paul Frank, and Miss Sixty sometimes. Did I mention that everything is tagged at unbelievable prices?
Yes, I know my hair is getting rowdy. I'm going to get a haircut soon. It's always in my face. I once chopped off a lot of my hair in an effort to lose weight. There was one point when I had seriously thought it through and was ready to shave my head bald, but that's a story for another time. I should probably dye it black again, because I kind of fried it so it looks brown and damaged. I wish I still had my bright red hair, but it fades into a glowing orange too quickly and I used to have to keep re-dying it all the time. Auburn or maroon are both very nice, but they have a tendency to fade to brown very quickly. I like it very unnaturally black, even for a Chinese person, to the point that it's very shiny and almost has blue highlights. Of course, that's hard to maintain for very long, but it's the least fussiest of all the colours. Because I'd have to wash the dye out in the shower, I'd better wait until my *ahem* wounds heal. I had really only wanted the jacket, but since they thought that they only had the purple print jacket, the lady started to push me into buying the matching skirt in grey. If there was a grey skirt, then wasn't there a grey jacket? It was sold out and I should have come earlier. But I did and it hadn't existed at that time. After the incredible discount on some outrageous sum, she said it would be $110. That is definitely over my allocated budget, but if I really wanted it, "we can talk about the price later."
I have to admit that it was very appealing. It's laced up with ribbons on each side of the outer skirt made up of numerous ruffled layers. It has lace at the bottom of the inner skirt. Pinstripes. Shiny silver buttons. Silkscreen-style prints. Gothic lettering. All of my favourite things :]I couldn't resist.
It also came with a hilarious detachable suspender/hood. The hood is huge. My head disappears when I put it on. In the photo of the two skirts separated, there's a flap at the waist of the outer skirt, which is placed below the inner skirt. The flap is used to fasten the two rings of the suspender straps to the outer skirt. There was also another set with shorts worn underneath in the place of the skirt. Shorts? I never wear shorts. Skirts are infinitely better :]Say no to "skorts". Just. Say. No.
At first she was telling me how the skirts were independent of each other and so I could wear them separately - the top one shown above on its own and the lower one over anything, such as jeans. She asked me for my size and since they vary from brand to brand, I really didn't know. Plus, my size is always changing. She took a look at me and guessed far below what I expected would have fitted me. How flattering ;)
She picked out a pair of True Religion jeans, but they really didn't look nice with that shade of blue. I had to rummage through my closet before taking these photos and I was delighted to find a pair of jeans with a dark brown wash from Buffalo Jeans that suit the outer skirt. The top shown above was purchased for $25 the last time I was at Pacific Mall. I like lace and ruffles.
Since she failed to demonstrate that the skirt would go with any pair of jeans and it didn't fit with the dress pants I was wearing when I went in, so I was pretty convinced that it wouldn't match anything else and I wouldn't be able to wear them separately as she claimed. Then she pulled out the matching pants. Unlike the skirt that I was persuaded to buy as a replacement for the jacket, I had absolutely no intention of buying the pants. She made me try them on, just to show how the skirt could still be versatile.Just as I was about to refuse to buy the pants and insist on just the skirt, another sales lady came to say that they found a grey one. That's when she pulled out the calculator and punched in a jumble of numbers to tell me that the original price was close to $500. That's my cue to gasp and say that I couldn't afford it. But wait! Guess what? I get a special discount. Even more if I bought them together. How much is each item on its own? That wasn't important; they would be sold as a combination so they couldn't really tell me.
I didn't get a chance to say that I didn't want the pants. It just got added up with everything else and I'd have to take them if I wanted a special deal. But if I didn't buy it all, I'd save even more. She told me I "should" buy it as a set - it just made sense.
I can't remember, but I think after my discount, it was going to be $335 or something like that. There was no way I was paying that much. They gave in and said the best they could do would be $285. I don't think so. They asked me how much I was willing to pay. Maybe $220 - $230. That was unreasonable. That was only the beginning of the negotiations.
I started going on and on about how I don't have much of an allowance, how long I had to save up, etc. But it's from Japan. How about $250? Studio Tokyo is a brand name. Really? I've never heard of it. She showed me a picture of a Japanese girl wearing it in a magazine. It was the most I had ever spent on just three articles of clothing. $280 was the lowest price. I don't think my parents would approve, they're very conservative, they'll get angry at me, etc. They couldn't lower it, they really couldn't. I don't really have that much in savings. How about $250? Absolutely not. $255? No, $280.
I was starting to get anxious because I was worried that I was running out of time, but I wasn't willing to just give in. Come on, $255. Fine, fine, $275. That's still too much, I think I might only be able to afford the jacket and skirt.... After much more bartering, we finally arrived at $265. While she was getting her invoice pad out, I asked if we could just even up the number. She seemed appalled and there was absolutely no way that they would charge $250. No, no, I meant $260. She reluctantly gave up on the $5. No tax if I paid cash. Of course.
I only had $230 on me. I wasn't lying when I said I was pressed for cash. Since I wasn't getting the jacket and I still had another article of clothing I was planning on buying from another shop, I paid $200 with part of it being a deposit. I left my name and number but also wrote all of that information down - how much I paid, how much I was still owing. She wrote me a receipt and told me that she'd call me as soon as it arrived. She gave me a plain plastic shopping bag, and because I collect bags of any kind, I asked for a paper JCY House bag - "umm, to advertise for you" - they were more than happy to give me one.
While I was waiting for my dad to arrive, it finally registered that I had spent $260 on three articles of clothing. I usually choose to have more items at a bargain price. I started convincing myself that it was okay because I really liked the clothes and I kind of got a good deal. It's all just a scam. The customer is supposed to feel a strong sense of satisfying achievement. I was wondering how I would get to the mall again tomorrow. I started making my way towards the bank to use their ABM machine, so I wouldn't have to ask whoever might be driving me to make a stop at the bank. I was rather annoyed when I was halfway there and remembered that my dad had told me to leave my ID and all of the other important items in my wallet at home. That included my debit card. I had taken out the cash and put it in another wallet, because there really was a good chance that there might be pickpockets in the crowd. It wasn't such a big deal because I wasn't intending on returning to the store to pay the remaining $60, so I'd have to find another way to the bank. Maybe I could drop in on the way home.
The next day I ended up calling them a couple of times because they didn't call me. My mom started to fret about whether they didn't actually have it in stock after all and kept bothering me about what I would do. That ended up getting me anxious. She wanted me to start bargaining to try to get as much of my money back as possible and we were debating how I should phrase it; for example, the pants and skirt should be worth around $150, so they should return $50. Maybe if I didn't get my jacket, then I'd refund everything. No exchanges, no refunds. I hate it when she does that because it makes my head spin. Eventually, I pulled out the receipt and it stated that the jacket costs $88 and so my deposit was $28. Great, but what if I didn't get my jacket? I'd only get $28 back. At around 6 PM, I called again and she said she'd call me back after checking in the back room. Yes, my jacket had arrived. Why didn't they call me if they had already received it? Then I received a phone call not long after I hung up and was informed that my jacket had arrived. I guess I got my phone call.
My dad was not at all happy to see that jacket. He didn't like the skulls. I hadn't really noticed them when I was trying them on. He said I was already down on my luck and black wasn't such a nice colour - but skulls!! He wanted me to just give up the deposit. I didn't even want to say how much I had paid and my dad didn't know that I also had a skirt and pants that had skulls all over them. My mom thought the articles were unique. I was a bit worried that it might give off the 'wrong impression', but if it did, then that's part of my image. I told my dad it was my birthday gift for myself. He said it wasn't a matter of birthday presents or not. He didn't like the skulls and black background. I paid and left as quickly as I could.
Do you really want to hurt me?
Boy George sure does. He's been haunting me all day. The strange thing was that I forgot that he sang "Do you really want to hurt me?" with Culture Club. Good old New Wave. I just kept seeing his face and hearing the song but couldn't make the connection. Strange.
Then I came home, turned on the television and there he was, singing that very song while they were talking about how Boy George dressing in drag was what really made Culture Club stand out and gain popularity. I've never even seen the video before either and I still haven't as I'm writing this post, so here it is:
Then I came home, turned on the television and there he was, singing that very song while they were talking about how Boy George dressing in drag was what really made Culture Club stand out and gain popularity. I've never even seen the video before either and I still haven't as I'm writing this post, so here it is:
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Village 1 - E3 Single Room
Single Room
- single bed and mattress
- closet, vanity & dresser
- desk, desk lamp & chair
- bookshelves & waste basket
- active telephone line
- ResNet (high speed Internet) connection
- cable-ready (each student must make their own arrangements with a local cable company once they arrive)
- approximate room measurements
3.0 x 2.9 metres
This is a three-dimensional diagram of a Village 1 single room. The bed is placed next to the door with the desk and bookshelf next to it on the side wall. On the back wall, there are two closets with a dresser and vanity area in the middle. Beside that is the window. The far side wall is covered in cork board.
There are actually a number of configurations. Does anyone else find that their three-dimensional diagram...lacks a third dimension?Here are some quick facts about Village 1:
- single, double and interconnecting rooms for 1379 residents
- 4 quads (North, South, East and West) with 6 to 8 houses in each quad
- each house has 50-60 students and one don
- each house is connected to at least one other house by an elevated walkway.
- houses contain 3-4 floors of approximately 16 students per floor.
- for first-year students in the fall and a mix of first-year and upper-year students in winter and spring
- on-site cafeteria and required meal plan
After all the trouble I went through to upload my own photographs, I just noticed that they had a "Village 1 Virtual Tour" with Java that I never bothered looking at. Since I'm already almost finished, I'm just going to leave this post as is and you can have a look at their cluttered example if you'd like.
"The oldest of the UW residences, Village 1 offers an ideal combination of privacy and community living to first-year and upper-year students. V1 is a traditional style residence with a large community centre and on-site cafeteria. It is located near the north-west corner of campus with Mackenzie King Village and Ron Eydt Village.
V1 was designed to help students meet their academic and personal goals. It is a traditional style residence with single, double, and interconnecting rooms arranged in "houses" of 50-60 students. The on-site cafeteria and location on ring road mean that you can spend more time studying or socializing and less time preparing meals or walking to class."
I didn't take too many pictures of the large community centre because it has a fairly generic cafeteria that wasn't open and a recreational area that was missing its pool table for some reason. I took a picture of the laundry room behind the windows, while standing where the pool table should have been. I believe their machines are paid through the swipe of a WatCard and a deduction from the deposited Flexible Dollars.
I finally managed to bring my lazy self to upload the pictures I took on Saturday to provide a better idea of what a typical single room would look like. I only realized when I got home that these pictures really aren't very good because I had to take them quickly after waiting for people to get out of the way. All the items included on their list are italicized.
The desk and its corresponding chair in this room is next to the door and under the aforementioned desk lamp. It's also in front of the active telephone line and ResNet (high speed Internet) connection.
They failed to mention that I was actually getting, not one, but two lamps - one around my desk and one over my head while I sleep.
This is the included single bed and rock hard mattress. I don't think the way that the corner of that bookshelf would be directly over a person's head is very good feng shui, but the positioning varies every so slightly from room to room, so it depends on my particular room.
This is the closet, vanity and dresser promised. At least the mirror isn't facing the bed.
Here's a better picture of the door from the first photo. It has a little bar over which towels may be draped to dry...
...After taking a shower in the shared washroom on the floor. In case you're as worried as my parents are, "most houses are co-ed but each floor is single sex". They keep asking me about that because they claim that my brother's floor was coed...and so was the washroom. I doubt that, but I don't have the best recollection of his residence which I visited once about four years ago, so I won't argue.
Here are a couple of photos of other rooms. They're all largely the same.
We're looking to find somewhere convenient to put a mini fridge. Since I'm going to be moving in and out twice, we're probably going to rent one instead of buying my own. The one I think I'd choose is something like $75 for one term or $90 for two and includes services/repairs. It would probably cost roughly $100 to buy one, but we'd rather not have to deal with the hassle of trying to move it with our sedan.
This is how it looked outside. If you look closely, I was trying to take a picture of what appeared to be a groundhog. I was in a rush and I was deleting photos at home and I think I got rid of the better ones on accident, but you can see a grey-ish blob if you look really carefully.
In contrast, this is where I would have been living if I had started school last Fall:
All Mackenzie King Village suites come fully-furnished and include:
- 4 bedrooms - each with:
- single bed and mattress
- desk, desk lamp & chair
- dresser & closet
- bookshelves & wastebasket,
- ResNet (high speed Internet) connection
- active telephone line
- cable-ready (each student must make their own arrangements with a local cable company once they arrive)
- living room (live cable outlet, 2 chairs, loveseat & end tables)
- kitchen (table with 4 chairs, fridge & stove)
- 2 full washrooms
- 2 storage closets
This is an extensive three-dimensional diagram of an MKV suite. The suite is split into two sections with two bedrooms on each side. Each side has its own bathroom and storage closet. The living room, kitchen and entrance are placed between the two sections.
Cleaning and Maintenance
All residents at Mackenzie King are responsible for the day to day cleaning and maintenance of their suite. Early in the term, suitemates should delegate cleaning tasks and set up a mutually agreed upon cleaning schedule. Monthly inspections will be conducted by UW staff (prior notice given), to ensure an acceptable level of cleanliness is met.
A Morbid Anniversary
That's what Mike called it. Francis said it gave him nightmares. That was the beginning of a whole series of events, including the development of a number of friendships, particularly the ones formed with Grant and A.
It's been a full year. A rather busy and stressful one, the opposite of what it 'should' have been.
Most people didn't notice that I changed my birth date on Facebook, which is reasonable because I wouldn't have known if someone else had done that. I wasn't conscious yet at this time last year, in either time zone.
Around May/June 2006, a lot of people had already changed their school/network on Facebook to the university they were going to attend in the fall. I thought that was somewhat...I don't know how to describe it - shameless? bold? I just didn't think that it was 'correct' that people were claiming to be in university when they hadn't graduated from high school yet. Who knows if they would? Either way, that's how I felt about it, so I decided against doing that as I wanted to be precise about my status information. Sometimes I wonder if I had quickly entered 'University of Waterloo' as my school, that's where I would be right now by some twist of fate.
On the other hand, I still haven't changed it this year because I don't believe anything is 'certain' anymore. If someone had asked me where I would be right now and how sure I was of my answer, I would have said UW with about 99% certainty (1% reserved for some freak accident). It would be an understatement to say that a lot has changed since then.
Last year, I had planned on being 4-stream, meaning at school for the Fall 2006 term (the four months from September to December), at work for Winter 2007 (January to April) and back at school from May through August. That way, I would be on-stream with everyone I knew. I had also wanted to be living at Mackenzie King Village, in an apartment-style suite with three or four other girls. This year, I had wanted to be in 8-stream, but I still got 4-stream and I'll be off-stream with all my friends, so I'll never meet them regularly at school. I don't think I know anyone with this streaming.
I'm told that there were more students who accepted UW's offer of admission than they had anticipated, so there's a bit of a shortage in residences. I'm glad I submitted a request for a single room instead of waiting and hoping that I'll get my choice through their "random lottery." I picked Village 1, because it's the only residence with completely single rooms. No, I don't want to live in a suite with a "single room" but still have to live with other people. I hate to say it, but I don't think I can deal with that right now.
I went to UW's Student Life 101 on Saturday and had a hard time concentrating to their presentations, so I don't remember much of anything that was said. I bought my textbooks, but I think there might be a problem with the Calculus one. On the sheet, MATH 135 is supposed to require a 6th edition textbook and it warned not to look in the used bookstore because it's a new edition, but they had stacks upon stacks of 5th editions even in their new bookstore. I wasn't paying very close attention, because I didn't realize that it wasn't a 6th edition one until I got home. I thought it looked strangely like the one Puiyan used at UWO and gave me because she heard that it was going to be out of date. I don't think it's my fault, because those were the ones they had set out for this very common course, so a lot of people must have purchased it. I am certainly not going to take this problem up with the department, because I'd like to continue using Puiyan's textbook, study guide and solutions manual. The new package I bought, which costs about $108, has what appears to be the same textbook split into two volumes, in addition to a solutions manual for a non-existent study guide. Very strange. I'm going to keep it for now and hope that it's too late for them to correct their mistake, then refund my package by September 28th.
Aside from picking up all of the textbooks except the one for BUS111W because WLU wasn't open on Saturday, I visited my residence. My particular room wasn't open, but they did have a sample one that would be pretty much identical to mine. I took photos, but they weren't very good, so here's the illustration:
A lot of people were surprised that I got this room and said I was very lucky. I've heard many times that "There's no such thing as luck unless it's the lottery. When it comes to your life, luck is when preparation meets opportunity." That's especially true in this case. I wasn't in the lottery with everyone else ;)
It's been a full year. A rather busy and stressful one, the opposite of what it 'should' have been.
Most people didn't notice that I changed my birth date on Facebook, which is reasonable because I wouldn't have known if someone else had done that. I wasn't conscious yet at this time last year, in either time zone.
Around May/June 2006, a lot of people had already changed their school/network on Facebook to the university they were going to attend in the fall. I thought that was somewhat...I don't know how to describe it - shameless? bold? I just didn't think that it was 'correct' that people were claiming to be in university when they hadn't graduated from high school yet. Who knows if they would? Either way, that's how I felt about it, so I decided against doing that as I wanted to be precise about my status information. Sometimes I wonder if I had quickly entered 'University of Waterloo' as my school, that's where I would be right now by some twist of fate.
On the other hand, I still haven't changed it this year because I don't believe anything is 'certain' anymore. If someone had asked me where I would be right now and how sure I was of my answer, I would have said UW with about 99% certainty (1% reserved for some freak accident). It would be an understatement to say that a lot has changed since then.
Last year, I had planned on being 4-stream, meaning at school for the Fall 2006 term (the four months from September to December), at work for Winter 2007 (January to April) and back at school from May through August. That way, I would be on-stream with everyone I knew. I had also wanted to be living at Mackenzie King Village, in an apartment-style suite with three or four other girls. This year, I had wanted to be in 8-stream, but I still got 4-stream and I'll be off-stream with all my friends, so I'll never meet them regularly at school. I don't think I know anyone with this streaming.
I'm told that there were more students who accepted UW's offer of admission than they had anticipated, so there's a bit of a shortage in residences. I'm glad I submitted a request for a single room instead of waiting and hoping that I'll get my choice through their "random lottery." I picked Village 1, because it's the only residence with completely single rooms. No, I don't want to live in a suite with a "single room" but still have to live with other people. I hate to say it, but I don't think I can deal with that right now.
I went to UW's Student Life 101 on Saturday and had a hard time concentrating to their presentations, so I don't remember much of anything that was said. I bought my textbooks, but I think there might be a problem with the Calculus one. On the sheet, MATH 135 is supposed to require a 6th edition textbook and it warned not to look in the used bookstore because it's a new edition, but they had stacks upon stacks of 5th editions even in their new bookstore. I wasn't paying very close attention, because I didn't realize that it wasn't a 6th edition one until I got home. I thought it looked strangely like the one Puiyan used at UWO and gave me because she heard that it was going to be out of date. I don't think it's my fault, because those were the ones they had set out for this very common course, so a lot of people must have purchased it. I am certainly not going to take this problem up with the department, because I'd like to continue using Puiyan's textbook, study guide and solutions manual. The new package I bought, which costs about $108, has what appears to be the same textbook split into two volumes, in addition to a solutions manual for a non-existent study guide. Very strange. I'm going to keep it for now and hope that it's too late for them to correct their mistake, then refund my package by September 28th.
Aside from picking up all of the textbooks except the one for BUS111W because WLU wasn't open on Saturday, I visited my residence. My particular room wasn't open, but they did have a sample one that would be pretty much identical to mine. I took photos, but they weren't very good, so here's the illustration:
Single room – 3.0 m x 2.9 m
- 1 single bed and mattress
- 1 closet with built-in dresser and mirror
- 1 desk, desk lamp, and chair
- 1 bookshelf
- 1 wastebasket
- 1 active telephone line
- 1 ResNet high-speed Internet connection
A lot of people were surprised that I got this room and said I was very lucky. I've heard many times that "There's no such thing as luck unless it's the lottery. When it comes to your life, luck is when preparation meets opportunity." That's especially true in this case. I wasn't in the lottery with everyone else ;)
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Queen of the Golden Age of Burlesque
Dita Von Teese is my favourite female celebrity, hands down. I think she's beautifully talented and it was great that she came to Toronto for the benefit event for HIV/AIDS, which is why I was reminded to make this post.
She rose to fame through her relationship with Marilyn Manson, which is when I first took notice of her. They seemed to make the perfect pair at the time, especially when he put out his album, The Golden Age of Grotesque, which is one of the only CDs I've ever purchased. She appears near the end of his mOBSCENE video, but it's unfortunate that I can't embed it, so you'll have to follow the link if you really want to see
From wikipedia:
"Through the wearing of a corset for many years, she had reduced her natural waistline to 22 inches, and can be laced down as far as 16 and a half inches. A diminutive person already, Von Teese stands at only 5'3" and weighs 105 pounds."
I think that's pretty awesome. It's even better that she divorced from Manson. He's getting old and she's too good for him. Think what you like, but she's pretty high on the list of my idols :]
Thursday, July 12, 2007
New Camera
I made it a point not to make any posts in the month of June, because I was putting it off so much that I figured I wouldn't update at all until July. The same thing was about to happen, but I don't like the idea of a completely abandoned blog.
In accordance to the title of this post, I did get a new camera, but I think I spent more time working on it than actually using it. I am please the price has gone up again since I purchased it for $199.99 to $239.99 at Future Shop.
I used the above tools to measure out, cut, attach, trim and squeegee the protective film over the camera's screen after cleaning it with the brushes and cloth included. All of that took me about 30 - 45 minutes.
The intention of buying this camera was really so that I could take pictures and record videos and audio to help trigger my memory. I am going to UW's Student Life 101, so I'll bring it along to take pictures of the campus and maybe make a video of their presentations.
That's it for now. I may or may not make a more detailed post sometime soon because the purpose of this post was to prove that my blog is still somewhat active.
In accordance to the title of this post, I did get a new camera, but I think I spent more time working on it than actually using it. I am please the price has gone up again since I purchased it for $199.99 to $239.99 at Future Shop.
I used the above tools to measure out, cut, attach, trim and squeegee the protective film over the camera's screen after cleaning it with the brushes and cloth included. All of that took me about 30 - 45 minutes.The intention of buying this camera was really so that I could take pictures and record videos and audio to help trigger my memory. I am going to UW's Student Life 101, so I'll bring it along to take pictures of the campus and maybe make a video of their presentations.
That's it for now. I may or may not make a more detailed post sometime soon because the purpose of this post was to prove that my blog is still somewhat active.
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