Life Continues Gloriously and I Play Video Games. Fantastically.

Well now, blogging kind of escaped me for a while there. I had nothing to talk about. Lots of lovely nothings to fascinate and enthrall you all, as usual, and I'm sorry you've missed them. Should I do another run down about what happened in the last month and a bit? Stuff happened. I finished my first semester of third year, and I think it went really well. Possibly my best semester yet, not because I worked especially hard, which I certainly did not, but because I didn't have any courses that were impossible to do well in. Not only were all my professors good (or goodish, anyway) but I actually liked all of my courses. This semester was important for me partially because it was the first semester where I didn't have to take any of the courses I chose, and by that I mean that they weren't prerequisites for either my degree or another course I wanted to take. All five of my courses were chosen by me, for me. And it actually turned out really well! This was especially significant for my science course, because I'd previously been very disappointed with my grades and lack of enjoyment in my bio courses, and this semester I got to take a course that I didn't have to take and in a specialization that high school Ronnie would have never, ever, in a million million years, have taken. Turns out not only do I enjoy botany, but I'm actually pretty good at it as well.

But now that's all over, and as sad as it sounds I am still a child and I cannot wait to get back to school with a fresh attitude and work ethic in January. I know. Where is my slacker student spirit? Lost forever, I can only hope.

Not to say that I'm not looking forward to my holidays! Oh, I so am. I'm back home now, in Tobago, and it's been lovely. I feel like I haven't done very much at all, but it's early days. I have a few plans and of course, some work to get done, but all work that I enjoy and am generally looking forward to. Can this be life forever? Fingers crossed, because I don't see why not. Also can you see that picture??? Google figured out it was a Christmas tree and so naturally IT MADE THE LIGHTS TWINKLE. What is this brave new world that has such programs in't???

If there is one thing I could complain about, it would, so ironically, be the weather. It's been so windy lately! I mean yeah, it's warm and all, and to be honest I like a nice breeze more than anything down here. Hot weather and I don't generally get along without one. But this is gale force winds! And that was an exaggeration! Still, it's been too windy to sit outside and read a book so that means too windy for me. Mainly I've been sitting inside, playing Animal Crossing, doing some baking, and showering a lot. Is that weird? I've been showering a lot. I swear I'm not dirty, I'm just really loving cleanliness? Maybe this is an indication that I want to hit the pool. We shall see. I was going to take some pictures of my baking, because I was so excited, but it was actually a monumental failure. I hadn't realized how out of practice I was, and it did take me a couple of trays to get back into the swing of things. Naturally my ego and I had been playing up the occasion of Christmas baking quite a bit, so the ol' pride took a bit of a hit, but I'll make up for it. The next seven days are going to be so fucking festive, I'll make this family cry. Cry for more cookies, that is. I'll keep you updated.

I also made an alt character in Animal Crossing! I know. God, I know. I have been playing too much. I wouldn't even mind if I'd been playing some other games too, but I haven't. I haven't been playing anything. Just AC...

This is my new character. I'd tell you his name, but I'm assuming I don't have to. When I told my mom I was making a male character, she didn't even need to ask... I did love that he was already wearing a red shirt, though. And that hair style. Suddenly my town looks like the setting for a perfect self insert. I'm okay with that? I needed the storage!

What even happened this October?

So I carved my very first pumpkin this Halloween! As you can see I went for the traditional look, and I think it came out pretty well! Kind of want to make this a new tradition but I haven’t roasted the seeds yet (that’s tonight’s adventure!) so I think we’ll have to wait and see how they turn out. Naturally, I’ll let you know.

Other things that have happened since I last posted were Thanksgiving 2013, which was lovely. The nice thing about living away is that it makes family gatherings extra extra special. Mom and Dad both flew up to Ottawa for the weekend so it was kinda perfect. It was also a little bit sad though because Christmas this year is officially messed up. Now that Kevin has a full time job (rollin’ in the cash- the jerk) he isn’t swimming in free time, even around the holidays, and since Dad’s working Christmas (again) it doesn’t look like we’re going to have a Kratz family reunion. Alas, growing up. Luckily I’m still fun and fancy free come mid-December onwards so it’s not getting me down too much. But enough of that holiday cheer! Let’s get back to the real world! School!

School has been weird. I haven’t been feeling like myself at all lately. For one thing, I keep sleeping in. I’m actually late to class on a regular basis now, which is bizarre. I’ve always been the kind of person who needs to be early for things. I like to be wherever I need to be before anyone else, especially when it comes to classes. For some reason this year I can’t seem to get moving in the morning, and even when I know I’m going to be late, it just doesn’t bother me. Generally I have a harder time getting things done in the fall semester anyways (never been sure why, but the winter semester is always my most productive time of year) so I’m trying not to worry myself, but I really hope this isn’t going to be a permanent change! I miss super-keen me.

I also think I’m spending too much money. This kind of relates to the above because, in general, I’ve never had a problem with getting my thrift on and being the cheapest student I could be. While that hasn’t changed I keep finding myself splurging for no real reason, and with Christmas coming up there’s no foreseeable end to this guilt trip. I have a feeling it’ll all be okay in the end, though. It’s just the right now that I’m worried about.

Oh, and I’ve also chosen my courses for next semester. It’s looking like I’ll only have class Tuesdays and Thursdays, which I have very mixed feelings about, so we’ll see how it all works out.

I think that’s a pretty good update on my life lately! Crunch time is coming up with regards to the semesters assignments, so wish me luck with that!

Young Girl Smacked in the Face with Adulthood at 9:05 Yesterday Morning

So I'm twenty now.

Despite this impressive age I've managed to attain, I got excited like a five year old on my birthday. The night before I was giddy, and I spent pretty much all of Friday with a big, stupid grin plastered all over my face. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I started my day with a google hangout with my Mom before leaving for class. And that Spiderman present I've been holding on to? Nailed it. Totally a book.



But I didn't have a clue that it was Hyrule Historia!!! The best part about this present is that not only will it look fantastic on my shelf/beside me forever, but it came at the perfect time. I've been listening to the 25th Anniversary Legend of Zelda Symphony Orchestra CD all month and I've been dying to dive back into Majora's Mask. In summary, I have been in such a Zelda lately, and now I have this. Joy.

What I didn't know was that there was another little surprise in that bag, these lovely, lovely sterling silver (right? I think that's right.) celtic earings. So pretty. If I didn't mention it, I trained my ears to wear earings again this summer. After around six years of never really wearing them this was very exciting and totally worth the pain. Since the summer I've been wearing earrings almost every day, so this was, once again, the perfect gift. All of my gifts were perfect, I guess, because I don't think that something purchased with love for you could ever be less than perfection. Gift giving trumps all.



My whole family, but especially my mother has kind of a thing for anything celtic, so I like that these earrings make me think of her. Also Charmed. But that also makes me think of comfy afternoons couching-it with Mom and plowing through a few seasons of our favorite witch-y show.

As you might imagine, with all this excitement, I was late to my 10:30 class. To my credit, I was only around ten minutes late, but still. Eventually I ran into the two best friends in all the world, and more gifts were given. I'm just going to put pictures of all of them here because let's face it, you can show off on your birthday. It's not my birthday anymore but let's pretend that the rules still apply.

I got some German coffee that I am rather excited to enjoy. Another addition of the summer was a kind of addiction to caffine, which I'm pretty much over now but I do still really enjoy a good cup of Joe. Plus isn't this just the perfect present for a student? The answer is yes- yes it is.



Along with this I got a glorious Clinique Chubby Stick. It's in the shade 'Whopping Willow', which is really (I imagine) just a typo for 'Whomping Willow'. But you guys. This colour. You guys. Let's go full beauty blog on this and swatch it. Oh yes.



I feel I should offer some form of explanation here. Remember last winter when I got crazy into vlogs on youtube? This summer that subscription sphere grew to absorb beauty channels, and now... yeah. Make-up. I cannot wait to get this shit all over my face. It may seem kind of weird for a twenty year old woman to only now be delving into the world of make-up, but just shush. It's not weird at all. I've been busy. Point is, perfect present, because I would never have bought something like this for myself.

But that's not all! I feel like my friends really upped the game on birthday presents this year, to which all I can say is challenge accepted. I got this Star Trek Earl Grey tea (it smells out of this fucking world). I have to say that the tea itself is a ridiculous bonus to the prettiness of the actual tin it comes in. I also got the Teatanic, which is a tea infuser SHAPED LIKE THE TITANIC. I know, right? This gift was perfection because I have this weird thing. I'm not sure how to explain it. Essentially I consider time in relation to the day the Titanic sank. For instance, WWII started in 1939, right? So to give myself some perspective on the world at this time, I just automatically think to myself, 'oh, that's 27 years after the Titanic sank'. It honestly does help me picture the time period even though I wouldn't say that I have a crystal clear picture of 1912 or anything, it's just... this thing that I do. Teatanic!



As for my actual day, after classes I went shopping with friends and had the best time considering that I have no money, and then I actually had to go to a student involvement training thing on campus for like two and half hours. Not my favorite birthday activity, but hey. We got free dinner. After that it was off to finish The Hobbit with tea and my personal favorite, cake. My friend baked this for me last night. It's true. She baked it for me.

The only thing better than how pretty it looks is how delicious it tasted. And it was full of apples. Guys, I love apples. She baked this. We ate it while we watched The Hobbit. It was like a dream come true.

As a side note about that movie, does anyone else feel like it's sort of a dream when they watch it? I feel that I was waiting for this movie to be made and to come out for so many years that sometimes I still can't believe that it's actually a thing that exists now. Every time I watch it I'm struck by this happiness that this is a thing that exists in real life, not just in my head. It's like when I was little and I got a Buffy the Vampire Slayer advent calendar in the shops. That was a thing that existed, and I was there when it did. Happiness!

After the movie I caught a bus home and played Majora's Mask for about fourty minutes before going to sleep. It may sound like a boring way to end a birthday, but to be honest I think I've done something exciting every Friday night since school started and it was euphoric to be able to spent this Friday scarfing down an amazing cake with some friends and enjoy my favorite story ever happen on the screen in front of me. Ending that magic with going to sleep in my own bed was icing on a fabulous birthday cake.

Birthday #20: Successful.

Pain and Suffering had a lovechild called Disease, and it's currently residing in my sinuses.

                Life happened this weekend, and it was just too hardcore for me. On Friday night, what was supposed to be a quiet night in with friends turned into alcohol, straight up. The strangest thing is, it wasn't even like our usually get togethers with all of us sitting around slurring a hilarious commentary on the Lord of the Rings films. I'm not going to lie, we didn't even finish The Hobbit.

                This isn't to say that it wasn't still a fun night. From what I can remember wonderful times were had, and that's a certainty. If I'm honest, I'm not sure if I've ever been to that state of inebriation before, but I could be wrong. It's more from the description of the events afterward that lead me to this conclusion, rather than my memories of the night itself. I do remember that we unfortunately went on twitter.

Luckily my more sober friends didn't let me tweet this little gem. But I kid, this picture actually wasn't taken with twitter in mind, it was taken for this blog! Yup. I wanted to make sure that I got evidence of last Friday night for all the internet (and mostly me, a few years down the road) to see. Forever. What a treat. The picture actually makes it look like I was drinking alone (never a good thing to do), so I'll include another one: 

See? I had Bilbo! Bilbo was there! But seriously, I wasn't alone.

... I WAS WITH A CAT! No but really, I'm only joshing you. That's my friend's cat. Ain't she adorable? I'm a dog person but that cat is cute. Seriously though it wasn't just me the cat and Bilbo.

There you go. I don't have three hands. This could not have been faked. I was going to put a few more up with some faces, but I feel like I should ask permission before doing that. Also I feel I should mention that my hair was wet, and that's why it looks all funny. What else do you do when drunk during a t-storm but go outside for a Natalie Portman moment in the rain?

                But enough about that. I haven't even come to the main event yet. On Saturday morning, not only did I awaken with a lovely aching of the head, but I was downright sick as a dog. You should understand, because I'm not sure if I've mentioned before, that I do not get sick. Ever. It's just not a thing  that happens to me with any sort of frequency. I feel like maybe once a year is a good estimate. But right now, as I type this, I am SO FUCKING ILL. My throat is on fire with every breath that I take and my sinuses are congested to bursting. From the constant tissues, the whole area around my nose is burning, along with some of my upper lip. In short I am miserable. And short. Saturday night I even had a fever. This is really not funny. This is not a pretty picture. This, future me, is the time when you got so drunk that your immune system took a night off during back-to-school sickness season. I hope that I remember this occasion of suffering for all time.

                But here, ladies and gentlemen, is the rub- next Friday night is my birthday, which either means that I'm going to (and I sincerely, desperately hope that I won't) do this all over again, or that I'm going to spend my twentieth nursing my sinuses and conserving my speech, because it hurts so much to talk. At least I'll finally know what's in that goddamn Spider-man bag. I think it's a book. Oh, and the other rub is that I have to go through a three hour botany lab today in a forest. Considering how weak and fumbling my person currently is, I will honestly be amazing if I can survive this, and I'll be gobsmacked if I can then return home and finish this English assignment for tomorrow.

                 There's a few lessons to be learned here, I do believe. The first is that you should never, ever drink when there's even a chance that you're fighting back some godawful disease. The second is more something for me to keep in mind for the future, I think my idea of a good time does not involve copious amounts of booze. If there's one thing I do remember from the night it's an extreme annoyance that we were all too drunk to finish watching The Hobbit. Moderation is key, because otherwise sitting down becomes more amusing than actually watching a film, and that's just a waste of time.

Optimism Parameters in OVERDRIVE.

First week of third year happened! How exciting is that? I know that at the time, I thought high school went flying by but I guess the fact that university is something I dreamed of for so long before actually coming here that I just sort of assumed that it would take up a greater portion of my life. Really, though, your undergrad is only four years long, which is... not very long at all...

But I'm sure you're all wondering just how my first week of classes actually went, so I'll give you the lovely scoop on my activities. : )

Overall, it actually went fantastic. Being in third year, I feel like I really have this whole university thing down. Guelph is my main city. Profs are my peeps. Various other like expressions. I love that every year I come back to Guelph I can't go on campus without running into familiar faces. At least, I love this now, come exam time when I'm plowing through campus to get a book from the library despite having not showered for three days I'll be significantly less happy about running into friends who want to 'chat'. But it's the beginning of the semester, so let's not go there just yet! Let's enjoy the fact that I have lots of friends and people to say hello to on campus. I know that this must be at least a semi-new concept for me, because I think I have a really over the top reaction of surprise when I run into someone I'm not expecting. Maybe it's because I'm a scientist- I find order in the world, and when that order get's disturbed and my housemate comes home early while I'm still cooking dinner and I flip the fuck out. You'd think a scientist would be more composed, but again, maybe that's the issue. New hypothesis: I've developed a careful exterior persona to be used when in the company of others, with slight variations depending on whether I'm with friends or acquaintances. When people surprise me they're effectively shattering this persona, or my 'cool' which takes me an inordinate amount of time to regain. That, or I just get surprised really easily. But it's always good to go more in-depth when it comes to self-reflection.

One person I ran into was actually a... I suppose' role model' of mine. It was wonderful getting the chance to catch up with her and hear about what she's been up to lately. I don't think she knows this, but she's kind of living my dream, and ever since meeting her in my first year I've really looked up to her. It was a lovely surprise seeing her again and I think it's given the whole semester a really inspiring atmosphere. I feel like great things are going to happen this season. I think I told you that second year was the year of 'what the hell am I doing with this degree', yes? Well, third year is looking more and more like the year where I finally figured my life out and just went for it. 

Speaking of old friends, this past week has been a whirlwind of socialization and I'm loving it. My two bestest friends in the world are always the best thing about coming back to Guelph and I feel like we've already had a mountain of good times. Sometimes I'm just happy.

Also, 13 more days until my birthday. Whaaaaaat?!

Summer's End, New Beginnings, and Fancy-Looking Temptations.

I finally managed to find a place where the AC works, and I'm freezing cold now. Life.

So I'm not unaware that there was a distinct gap in my posts recently. The truth is very dull- nothing really happened to post about. I did find a place to live, which means that I did get to go back to Guelph to continue my education. Sometimes it seems like the world is conspiring to not get me my undergraduate degree, but if that's so then it's also true that I'm winning this battle of wills, and that's not so bad. When I think about how much my staying here at university is chance, luck, government loans and a totally modest iron will to stay, I get a little worried, and then I get very angry that this country is set up in such a way that I have to worry about being able to stay in school.

But anyway, the important thing is, my greatest and most unforgettable fuck-up has finally been corrected and I have a place to sleep! Not to worry, though, the summer has taught me that I'll never be able to live it down and escape those off-shoulder comments about my irresponsibility, and the cosmos has told that if it had an opinion, it would be that it's not forgetting any time soon because I'm living next to one of the people who put me in this position, besides myself.

I swear, this wasn't meant to be a poor-Ronnie post, that just sort of happened when my fingers hit the keyboard.

Life isn't all bad, though. Orientation Week started up at my school, and my student organization did really well! Lot's of people came to our events, a good number actually seemed interested in getting involved, and overall I'm thinking I might turn out to be a pretty swell prez. I do, however, need to work on my ability to delegate. This summer was crazy and if actual schoolwork is going to happen next week and beyond, I have to start sharing some responsibilities.

Oh yeah, and here's a little shot of what I guess is now a Kratz family tradition, the really early birthday present that I get to hold on to until September 27th. My Mom wrapped it this year. Can you tell? It's bursting with spider power.

Man O' Steel Review - Superman is a super man.

Either superhero movies are getting better and better or my standards for them are crumbling to the point where spandex is all I need for contentment. For the sake of my pride I'll go with the former explanation and say that with so many of these movies zipping out of the box office lately, filmmakers everywhere have really gotten it down to an art.

 

As far as my personal background on the topic goes, I do need to make a few things clear. First of all I am in no way an expert on comics, especially on the Superman canon. Only in the past three years or so have I been inching my way into the land of comic books, so while I do like to think that I know significantly more than the average Joe, this is likely the pinnacle of my achievements in the field. Give me time! For right now understand that this review comes from a comic book novice, essentially.

For what it's worth, and without further ado, I give you my very own impression of Man of Steel...

I enjoyed Man of Steel. Part of the reason has to be my feelings walking into it, which is a factor I believe to be massively important in terms of determining movie enjoyment. Prior to my seeing the film, the rumor mill seemed to be communicating a very negative vibe for the movie, so my expectations upon seeing it were very low, which is the best mindset with which to see a movie (provided that your expectations aren't stubborn enough to discourage enjoyment). I do think this made it easy for the Man of Steel to soar above my expectations. I can understand how people may have been let down by this movie, but I was expecting, for whatever reason, garbage. I never even liked Superman. I didn't know enough about him to base an opinion.

So, in a long winded fashion, I enjoyed the film. But why?

Well, I really liked what this movie did with a character that everybody knows. Despite my having just explained that I know nothing about Superman, general public knowledge includes a lot of information regarding the character and his world. He's iconic, which is a hard, hard thing to represent effectively, and I think that Henry Cavil deserves all of the props for this one. He was inspiring and believable as Superman, which is quite an accomplishment. I liked that Henry Cavil played a very mature and grown up Clark Kent who was trying to figure out what was going on. The story jumps in at a very nice point in his life where he is still trying to understand himself but also gleefully past the emotional turmoil of whiney puberty. He was also beautiful and enormous, but that's not really significant to the artsy, filmy quality of the picture.

That artsy, filmy stuff was part of the next thing I was impressed by, and what first turned me on to the idea of a good Superman movie - the look of the movie. Man of Steel looks really, really good. Krypton looks fantastic, and in particular, the Kryptonian armor was really neat, but number one has to be the environments. Being able to fly made it so that this movie sort of seemed to go everywhere very fast, but at the moments where it paused the visuals were astounding, especially in space. It was a visual delight to see this film.

I also discovered two things that really attached me to Superman as a character. The first was a wonderful little irony that I can only hope is present in the comics; I got the impression that almost all things associated with Krypton are detrimental to Superman. It's like his home and his people that he's been longing for are his Kryptonite. As I said earlier, I don't know very much about Superman at all, and I don't know what Kryptonite actually is other than a green rock, but if it turns out to just be anything from Krypton, then that is just a beautiful, tragic, and almost Shakespearean kind of plot device. His home is poison to him. I get tingles just thinking about it. Imagine what that must do to him? Storytelling delight!

The second was that because he can do anything and has essentially no weaknesses (while on Earth), the movie turns their greatest dilemmas away from whether or not Superman can do something - he's Superman, of course he can - to whether or not he should. To be honest after some reflection I think this was my imagination a little bit. The movie does focus heavily on whether or not he can accomplish this or that mighty feat, but there are definite moments peaking through where they put their mind to what I think is always the more interesting avenue - the moral dilemma. It's the best part of Star Trek, and I think it may be the best part of Superman. It was wonderful. They presented our hero with a choice that had no good outcome, and in the end he made a choice that was a little bit good and a little bit horrible which he now has to live with. I didn't get the feeling that this was hugely what they were going for in the movie, rather I think their intention was to justify the actions of the villains, but I think it was possibly the best part of the plot, or at the very least the most pleasantly disconcerting. Again, storytelling tingles of delight.

One last thing that I have to mention is the really interestingly significant role that Superman's biological father (played by Russell Crowe - me loves Russell Crowe) had in the movie. They had to bring him in for introductions, explanations, and the only hope of anyone understanding what was going on with the alien technologies. All in all, it sounds like an awkward, all-knowing, convenient plot device sort of role, but they nailed it. Russell Crowe does a lovely job and they take advantage of his super-acting to explain everything from Superman's weird Kryptonian name to the things that are usually the most difficult for super hero movies to explain without becoming childish, the suit. Loved it. Loved it. Loved it.

There were downsides, of course. In particular what bothered me is a continuation of the annoying habit these movies have for really atrocious one-liners. Thor was bad for this, and Superman is no better. The line between funny, witty, and just plain painful is apparently difficult to grasp. I imagine these lines are designed to show a "real-world" reaction to men in suits flying around, but they just feel very unnecessary and I consider them to be a very cheap shot at humor. I think the best way to show the difference between nice, classy, witty lines and these atrocious assaults to the ears is to compare the "I think he's hot" line (which I may not be quoting accurately, but you'll spot it in the film as the point where I sincerely hope you cringe a few undesirables snicker) compared to Lois' "welcome to The Planet," line. One is terrible. The other is not. It may seem as though I'm making a lot of fuss for a very small thing but I can't help it, because these lines really will ruin, perhaps not a whole movie, but certainly a scene. As evidence I invite you to think back to the embarrassingly painful "oh my god" moment of Thor. That is not good writing.

On the whole I hope this review gives you reason to check out the movie, because if you do enjoy super movies I think you'll enjoy this one. Particularly if you've never been fond of or just generally ignorant regarding the Man of Steel, this movie may do for you as it has done for me, and open up the character in a new and interesting light which I look forward to seeing again.

"Tahraaahnah" is evidently how the cool kids say it. Stick with me, kid.

Did I ever tell you guys about my love affair with big cities?

I have one.

After thinking about it, I've been living in coastal areas all my life, essentially moving from one small town to another. Guelph is the 'biggest' place I've lived in, unless you count Ottawa. Can I count Ottawa? I'm here like four months of the year. I don't know. Either way, I want to try living in a big city. And it's not just because small towns are, in general, creepy, inbred, devoid of all life and miserable (though lets be honest, they are). I love the energy, life, and size of the big cities. Anywhere that contains so many humans has to be something amazing, right? Because we're amazing. Hurrah for the  human race. Go us.

Anyway, the point of this post is to say that I had a recent trip to Toronto where these feelings were solidified. Toronto is awesome and wonderful. It is vibrant, and I want to be a part of it. My parents are both Torontonians, which I think I've actually mentioned before, so I think it's almost a duty I have to my heritage to discover their city and make it my own. At least for a little while.

For instance, this shot (which turned out waaay too bright) was taken in front of old City Hall, where my parents got married. : ) It's actually the exact spot where their sort of 'most used' wedding photo was taken. If I had it scanned I'd do a comparison shot, because it's pretty neat and time travel-y to look at them together. Especially since you can see that all those little signs around me are no-smoking signs, and in my parent's wedding photo Dad is of course holding a cigarette. We live in such a different world.

Also you see that purse? It is wonderful. It is so pretty and so functional.

As for the trip, it was super-fun! I went with my Mom to visit her sister, whom I hadn't seen in a very, very long time. I'm not especially close with any family that isn't immediate, but visiting always makes me wish that I were. When I become an aunt, hopefully this blog post will remind me to be annoyingly close to my little nieces and nephews.

Also, final thought - another thing that I love and completely don't care if it sounds horrendously childish is dressing thematically for movies. It doesn't have to be obnoxious, but it damn well should be. I feel like if everyone only went to see movies they were willing to dress thematically for they wouldn't be nearly so busy and you wouldn't always end up sitting beside someone who chose to have a coughing fit throughout Man of Steel rather than go home and hack a lung out in the comfort of their own bed. 

...Go human race! Yeah...

I guess that's it! Just a little post this time. Short posts can be fun too. I think I'm doing a lot of museums and galleries and far too many trips to Value Village so that I don't really feel as though I'm out of school and jobless for the summer. Does that mean success? I think it does. Yeah.

STAR WARS Identified... With Twi'leks!

I went to the STAR WARS: Identities exhibit at the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum last week! I heard about the exhibit in March, so the excitement as been building up for a while now and I'm happy to say that I really enjoyed it! If you're in the Ottawa area I highly recommend the trip out to see it (and if you aren't in the Ottawa area, the exhibit should be heading to other cities soon).

Top among my favorites at the exhibit was Anakin's podracer from The Phantom Menace. Big and impressive props are always a winner for me. I think scale is my favorite thing about movie or television related exhibits. I love being able to stand in front of the podracer and appreciate how large it actually is, or discover that Chewbaca is in fact ridiculously tall. How did he even fit into that cockpit. I don't know. In any case, seeing them in person is like creating a new moment or a new experience with something that's been with you for a long time, which, for many of these guys, means as far back as I can remember. Plus podracers are totally awesome.

Of course one of the best experiences was going face to face with the actual Yoda. One of the things I noticed when we got home and (naturally) started to watch all of the movies, was that there weren't any cool things from the gungans, or the new clone troopers (aside from a few neat concept drawings/sculptures), because of course, there are essentially no props. You can't come face to face with  Jar Jar because he never had a face outside of a screen. So I think we can officially list the lack of physical props as another negative of relying too heavily on CGI. I'm not going to attack the prequels, but I do think that puppetry is the way to go for realism, and puppetry with CGI enhancements might be even better.

They have Jaba's eyes. Just his eyes. Apparently that's all that's left of the enormous puppet built for Return of the Jedi. There's just these two big eyes on sticks, staring at you. I found them so incredibly cool, and I think they might have been my favorite thing in the whole exhibition. I don't know why, but my mind just keeps going back to them.

They still have his eyes.

I feel obligated by eight-year-old Ronnie to mention Padme's clothes. They only had three of her outfits, and my pictures didn't really come out (in my defense, lighting was shit and I was, according to my family, "taking way too long") but I still loved loved loved this. I can't be the only one who derived at least part of my love of Star Wars from the pretty outfits. They had so many clothes. It was so pretty. We're talking Leia's slave outfit (which included cute little boots I've never noticed before!), Leia's Hoth outfit, Padme's ceremony gown from Phantom Menace, her Attack of the Clones outfit (with wicked-awesome poncho wrap thing), and a random but gorgeous senator outfit. They didn't have Leia's Bespin outfit, which is, for whatever reason, my favorite. And  they didn't have Padme's classic red gown/headdress or Leia's classic white outfit, which was odd. But still. So pretty. I was so happy. I said earlier that I wasn't going to attack the prequels (even if, perhaps, I should) because one thing that the exhibit did remind me of was that I loved all of the Star Wars movies growing up. Phantom Menace came out when my brother's and I were kids, and we loved them. We didn't care that there was an annoying kid, or that the plot made little to no sense, or that none of the characters had any depth whatsoever. It was still Star Wars and we loved every second of it.

The exhibition does cost a pretty penny to get in, but if you're a fan of the series then I think it'll be worth the money to see some really cool stuff. : )

The 'Identities' part of the exhibit relates to the interactive activity they had were you 'build' your own Star Wars character. I really liked it! It was essentially a real-life self-insert, and I wish they had this for everything. Everything. It also reminded me of why Star Wars: The Old Republic is so much fun - because you're immersing yourself in that wonderful universe. You started off by choosing your species, and they recorded all of your choices in a bracelet you wore throughout so that at the end, you could see your character and their bio which was emailed to you. Naturally, I was a Twi'lek. I think we can officially say that a new life-goal is to write a book centered around the life of a Twi'lek. Anyway, as you went through the exhibit you chose your characters skills, upbringing-style, planet of origin (Bespin, of course), mentor, occupation, friendships, as well as other things, and ultimately you had to choose whether or not you would align yourself with the dark or light side of the force. My family and I mutually agreed that it would have been way cooler if the exhibit took all of your choices and told you what side of the force you came out on, but it was a really neat activity all the same. Check out Onnie-Ka, my Twi'lek senator. Because senators can be cool too.

One More Academic Hurdle Obliterated.

If there is one thing that I love about university, it's planning out all of the courses I'm going to take. At least once every semester (usually more than that) the master plan is revamped and updated according to what I liked or didn't like about a course I was taking, or some other great new idea I had. One of the best things about my degree is that it's so incredibly flexible that I have the room to do whatever I'd like. I just love my degree. I love it so much. And I'm president of our Student Association (sorry, sorry, but I am never going to get tired of saying that!).

Back to the point of this post (as there is a point), I was switching around my courses to suit the new master undergraduate plan and I started thinking about my master graduate plan (though I suppose I could just call it the 'Masters Plan', eh? Ha.). I decided to do something I'd been avoiding for weeks - checking the entry requirements. I mentioned a few posts ago that the newest graduate plan revolves around Glasgow's MLitt in Environment, Culture, and Communication. There are two major obstacles to the master graduate plan, the first being that I cannot in any way, shape, or form afford to go to Glasgow on international fees. I am seriously and horribly in debt going to Guelph on local fees. Ignoring that mountainous obstacle, the other issue was actually getting into this program, meaning whether or not my marks are good enough.

I used the university's US grade requirement (since I couldn't find any Canadian requirements), which meant taking all of my grades and calculating my American GPA. I made two discoveries. The first was that I actually, amazingly, meet the entrance requirements for this wonderful program. What. What? Still can't believe it. The second even more surprising discovery was that I'm on the Dean's Honours List!?!

To understand my amazement, you have to know that my grades have been atrocious since coming to university. I was one of those horror stories used to scare high school kids. I went from I think a 90-something average coming out of high school to a semester 1 average of 65%. I was passing. I didn't go crazy with the partying uni lifestyle or anything, I just couldn't seem to get the marks that I wanted. It had never been a problem before. In high school I put the effort in and got good grades, but in university that really wasn't working. The only thing I could think of to fix the issue was to work harder. And now, at the end of my second year, I'm on the Dean's Honours List. Job well done, me. Job well fucking done. (Apologies that this is turning into a super prideful post; I realize I'm essentially writing this to pat myself on the back.)

When I examined all of the data, I discovered (and had been vaguely aware previously) that since that horrible first semester my grades have been rising and my semesterly average has been increasing by about 5% each term (it's actually been a weirdly steady increase). This means that as of right now, after a very long and painful climb from essentially the bottom of the barrel, my marks could actually be considered decent. If I can keep it up then I should be able to graduate with a pretty good GPA, hopefully well above the entrance requirements, and with any luck at all, it'll get me into that MLitt program. Yeah! I still have no idea whatsoever how I could ever afford it, but if I can get accepted that's got to be the first step of this dream coming true. Yeah! So, in other words,

Dwarven Vow #16: You can do anything if you try.

Even Better Than the Iron Maiden Song - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

I'm hoping to add a little more content to this blog and thought that diving into the world of reviews was a good place to start. It's another one of those things that I've just always wanted to do. : )

The concept for these reviews is to keep them short and sweet. I'll touch on a few quick ideas regarding the novel, and hopefully inspire some of you to pick it up. I will also endeavor to keep the posts free of spoilers, so I will never go into detail about the plot, though I will discuss the setting. I'll post a review as frequently as I read a new book, which you're about to discover is really not as frequent as it ought to be for an English Student.

Without further ado, I give you review number one!

A few days ago I read Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, which is a book that doesn't really need an introduction, but I'll give you one anyway. The classic science fiction novel shows a dystopian world where people are not born, but decanted from bottles. People are segregated  into a strict and genetically-enforced caste system while the World Controllers work to keep us all in an infantile state of blind happiness through drugs, sex, and other base pleasures. Already sounds like something I'd pick up in an instant, but as you undoubtedly know, what makes this dystopian society so interesting are the striking similarities with  our own world today. The thought is that Huxley's predictions are actually coming true.

This is a fantastic thought to have in your head as you read. It creates an atmosphere of panic and urgency around the novel. What if you're reading the future? Obviously that's the question any good dystopian wants to ask, but Brave New World is one of the few which has been receiving answers in the affirmative. The novel  starts off with the aspect of society that I suspect may have been the most outlandish when the book was first published in 1932 - the Hatcheries and Conditioning Centres, specifically the fertilizing of an egg artificially and without sex. This is wonderful. You start off reading this book that's supposed to tell the future and the first thing it does is succeed. It's enough to get you started, to get you thinking, and even to get you believing it for a little while.

This beginning of the novel is fantastic, but not just because of the science - which falters, as it is wont to do in science fiction, but not out of this world. I should actually talk about the science a bit. As a biology student at university, I do notice and appreciate when a novel grounds it's ideas of new technologies in actual science. This gives science fiction, and particularly dystopias, that semblance of realism the readers need to really believe it. Huxley mastered this trick, and everything that he comes up with (if it hasn't already come to pass) is grounded in real discoveries and well-known science fact. The biologist in you will appreciate his imaginings in the hatcheries, and the psychologist in you will get a real kick out of what he does in the conditioning centres, and there are many more examples of this as the book goes on to expand on the world. But as I mentioned, this is not the only reason why the introduction to the novel is brilliant, it's also because of Huxley's style, which is clever and sneaky and cruel when it wants to be. I found endless enjoyment at how the introduction that seems to introduce the world is also introducing the main characters of the tale. There's a part where he switches between about three or four different scenes constantly, at times sentence by sentence, but he keeps it together so well and uses it to make his point in so creative a manner that I think it might be my favorite part of the book. (I've written a multi-scene scene kind of thing before, but nothing like what he did with it. Entirely going to try and bring some of that into my own writing.)

Another one of my favorite things is the huge part played by the works of Shakespeare. It's hard to go wrong when you incorporate the Bard, but 'Brave New World' (actually a quote from The Tempest - how did I not know this??) did some really neat things with his influence and the timeless quality of his works.

It's a very quick read, as the book isn't terribly long, so I definitely recommend it for a summer afternoon. I consider myself to be a slow reader and it took me two afternoons and a morning. As to whether or not it actually tells the future… perhaps not. I'm too much of an optimist to buy into it completely. However there are a few things in there that I could easily see coming about, along with a few things that already have, and a few that are too horrible and too possible for comfort, which is great.

This is one of those books that's been sitting on my to-read shelf for what seems like forever, so if any of you are in a similar position I can confidently tell you that the next time you browse for a new title, I hope your finger lands on Brave New World.

Young Student Seeks The Creation of Accent Walls

I want a desk! I want a desk!

Does anyone else experience this lamenting struggle upon returning home from school? The September that I came to Uni my parents moved from Trinidad to Tobago, and in the process got rid of my bedroom. That sounds kind of horrible when I put it that way. It really wasn't a jumping for joy at getting rid of the last kid kind of thing (I hope), it was just something we'd been talking about and my Dad's work and all the rest of that life stuff. I sleep in the guest bedroom now.

Okay never mind it is horrible.

My brothers live in an apartment together,  so they have rooms to call their own, they have lovely, expansive desks and even desk chairs. I have a suitcase. I love my suitcase, but it's driving me!

The problem is that I live on my computer, and therefore I live at my desk. I do my work there, I write there, I have my fun there. When it isn't there I have to wander the house for a wall plug and play MMOs on the floor. Technically, my old desk from highschool is down here, in storage along with some of my belongings while another much larger chunk is in Ottawa and another much smaller chunk is in Guelph and Ronnie is somewhere between all of these places in a land called Frustration. I may or may not be sick of my transient lifestyle right now.

Which is weird! I love being on the go! I love living out of a suitcase and heading off to who knows where at the turn of a dime, but I have come to the conclusion that a home port, no matter how expensive and awkward it may seem, is really a necessary part of life. So I think that's my problem. The boy's apartment isn't home, but Tobago isn't really home anymore, either. At least, it's not as much home as it used to be. I'm only around for a few months of the year anyway. So where is home? Where is my desk? Guelph especially isn't home right now, Guelph is where I am really and truly homeless (to save on tears let's change the topic). I had always imagined that out of university I would keep this life up as best I could, and try to keep as mobile as I can, but now I want a pad. I want a crib. I want a fucking desk. When I get out of here I want to go to wherever it is that I decide I want to go after my undergrad, and I want to rent a place. I want to nest like nobody has nested before. Independence, ahoy! I'm coming after ye.

This post deals entirely with my own feelings and love of sailor slang; it has nothing whatsoever to do with my recent enjoyment of interior design blogs. Nothing at all!

Shocking Discovery at Pearson!

The summer has officially started out cray cray busy. Its strange, because my life used to be a very slow one filled with only the minimal amount of activities necessary to fill each day. Since graduating high school my life's activity levels have entered a period of exponential growth. I can't say I'm not happy with it it, but right now I'm quite pleased to be able to sit out here under Tobago's beautiful sun and write. It's been far, far too long. The topic of today's post is a little unorthodox for this blog and indeed, my life. It comes from my trip down here which happened to correspond with the night  of a presumably important hockey match between Boston and Toronto. That's right, today I'd like to talk about sports.

It was during the wait to begin the second leg of our journey, the long plane from Toronto to Port of Spain. The hockey game was begun, and one of the televisions in the gate was showing it. I was travelling with my parents, and they decided to sit and watch it. I was in the excellent spirits that airports and airplanes inevitably inspire in me so I was 'game for the match'. My shocking discovery was that it was really very entertaining. We came in the middle, but from my perspective of start to finish I was entertained. It wasn't so much the actual players and their actions (though they did their fair share), but a combination of the suspense in the game and the reflection in the spectators around the TV. Airports are the best places in the world for people watching, and people in an airport watching a hockey game was wonderful. Everyone took hold on the edges of their seats and sat far closer together than they ever would otherwise to see the game. My favorite part was the people walking by. The number of people who slowed down and even stopped to see who was playing and check out the score was incredible to me. A range of people from the obvious sports fans to the quietest, quaintest old ladies were slowing to scope out the game. People really cared about what was happening that night in Toronto, and that much combined interest was infectious. I cared too. I think, and hope, that we were all rooting for the Maple Leafs, because the end game sent our whole audience into an uproar of excited disappointment. I find myself now for the first time able to understand people who watch and enjoy following sports. At least, I think I can begin to understand. The grand canyon that once lay between us is perhaps now a large crevasse. Maybe if they could witness us spectating the season finale of Game of Thrones they would feel the same way. There is hope rampant on the horizon!

A few minutes later I spied a man walking along the terminal wearing a Maple Leafs jersey, and jokingly told my father how embarrassed he must feel. He then explained to me that there was no cause for embarrassment at all; he was a Leafs fan. To explain I must here delve into the breadbox of Canadian culture. According to my parents, thorough Torontonians that they are, being from Toronto requires you to support her teams, including the Maple Leafs, even and perhaps especially if they lose, which, from my understanding, we always do. Its a wonderful and old fashioned kind of tradition, don't you think? As Canadians, we really don't have much worth having, but I'm quite pleased that we have this.

So in closing, I have not submitted myself to the title of 'hockey fan', but as a Canadian, I don't think I'll be quite so dismissive or unwilling to dive into the realm of the spectator again. Go leafs, go!

My Degree is Half Full!

New layout, new design, new title, new blog!

I get the strange feeling that this blog gets a revamp every time exams season rears its ugly head. In any case, hope you like it! I think it's much more neat and clear than previously. When I was designing it the comic theme just kind of asserted itself, and I think it works.

Obviously I haven't been keeping up with the blog this semester so I'll just jump right on in to the complexities of my life.

It's the end of my second year of university! And I'm starting to get really excited for third year. As of this semester I got a lot of prereqs out of the way and can focus entirely on taking the courses that are interesting and significant to what I want to do in my life. I suppose that's where the trouble begins, really. Next year these courses really will count towards whatever it is I do with my life after my undergrad. My marks have to be better than ever and just the thought of that is exhausting. Not only that, but this semester I've been elected president of the student organization that I'm involved with on campus. The world now has to refer to me as madam president. Also I don't think I can adequately describe how much it means to me that I've been given this incredible responsibility. On the one hand, yeah, it's just a club but on the other hand it's my go-to example of something that I just dove into without really thinking (or over-thinking) and I've actually succeeded. Not that I don't ever succeed at things, but this was different. I'd never done anything like student government before, but in first year I just picked up a form and decided it was something that I wanted to do. That kind of direction and, frankly, stalwart optimism that things weren't going to blow up horribly in my face is kind of the way I want to live my life.

So in other words, I sort of don't want to fuck next year up.

It's exciting, but also very worrisome. On top of this stress heap I also have teetering the monumental issue of not having anywhere to live for next year. I know things will work out (see that optimism? See how good I'm getting?) but I just want to run out and sort them right now. I keep finding myself caught in this very awkward life stage somewhere between relying on parents and relying on myself. I know it's a learning process for the parents too, they don't really know when to assign me to helm control for my life and I don't really know when to maneuver. Somehow I feel like the confusion is driving us towards the edge of a cliff and into a deep dark crevasse of adulthood (optimism gone), but I had been picturing a spaceship with this driving analogy so cliff sides shouldn't be a thing. In a perfect world I don't want to have to worry about stupid and largely pointless things like where I'm going to live for eight months of the year.

Overall, the future looks bright, even if there is a thunderstorm rolling through Guelph this fine evening. My spirits shan't be dampened! I found an incredible masters program at the University of Glasgow last week, and after what could accurately be called the year where I didn't know where the hell I was going with all of this education shit, I think I may finally have a new goal. Her name is MLitt in Environment, Culture, and Communication, and I think you're going to like her.

Final note- I just discovered upon tagging this post that I last tagged 'Glasgow' when blogging about my acceptance out of grade 12. Well, I can't really afford her, but she clearly wants me. ; )