Stuck

Once again, I've arrived at the point of not knowing what on earth to do with this blog. 

All really good blogs have some sort of theme to it, and of course, this theme is something of interest to the blogger herself. The problem with me is that a) I am moderately interested in everything, b) I am not intensely interested in anything, and c) for the things I am moderately interested in, I feel I am not quite qualified to say anything about them.  

This was initially intended to be a journal. A... public diary of my life. A place to share all my answers to 'what have you been doing?' And sometimes a place where I can just share my opinions. I mean, that's what I did with my old (now non-existent) blog. But those don't seem to be popular unless you vlog and are already pretty famous, because who wants to look into the life of some unknown chick with a relatively lacklustre life? I mean, I know there were two people who used to read my old blog and enjoyed it but these people already knew me. 

Oh well. 

So... What have I been doing?

1. Working. Remember how I said I was going to be more out and about because I would be leaving my house daily to go to work, and how I said I was going to take a picture everyday and write about it? That plan immediately fell apart as I quickly learned that stepping outside your house everyday isn't that fun when you're going the same route and to the same place each time. I mean, sometimes, I do see different things, but most of the time they're unremarkable. Anyhow, work has been fun. My coworkers are all really great people and being with them all the time has really made me feel a bit more comfortable about myself because they think I'm really great too. It's a nice feeling. 

2. I am still volunteering once a week. I don't quite enjoy it sometimes because of reasons. But there are days that have been better than the rest. Last week, a patient who could speak very little English taught me how to count in Italian.

3. Acting classes. Yup. It happened. I've been doing it for two months now and while I have no idea if I'm actually improving or learning anything, the classes are fun and I'm finally getting a chance to do something I've wanted to do for the longest time. Bet you didn't know that.

 4. Squats. My (mostly) daily routine of 20 squats in the morning while brushing my teeth has basically been my only form of exercise for the past few months. I need to do more exercise... I've also been throwing in some wimpy push-ups. They're my go-to exercise for warming up on cold days. 

Alas, that is all I've been up to really. It's usually relatively late by the time I get home from work so I can't do much else in the few hours that are left in the day (also especially because I have to wake up super early to commute to work!). There are more things I want to get to but those will have to wait a bit longer...

But yeah. I'll let y'all know. 

TL;DR I am alive. Stop poking me on Facebook 

#canadastrong

teebe:

• Someone went to the War Memorial and shot a soldier (point-blank, reports CBC). The soldier was a reservist from Hamilton standing guard over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Bystanders stepped in to help the soldier and CPR was performed. He was taken to hospital alive.
• After the War Memorial shooting, the suspect supposedly got in a car and drove to Parliament Hill, which is right near the War Memorial. He ran into Centre Block. 30-50 shots fired. As he approached the MP Caucus room, he was shot and killed by Sergeant-at-arms Kevin Vickers. Death was confirmed by police. Early reports suggested police had found the car.
• Police are reporting that there was NO INCIDENT at the nearby Rideau Centre.
• It was confirmed by the hospital that three victims were brought in. Two of them were reported to be in stable condition. One of whom is a parliamentary guard. No comment on the third, who was confirmed to be the soldier from the War Memorial. Conservative MPs then began reporting that the soldier from the War Memorial died in hospital. Police have officially confirmed this. No I.D yet as next of kin is being notified.
• This is still an active situation. Number of suspects has not been confirmed by police.
• All of downtown was on lockdown (cannot go in/out) buses are re-routed. UOttawa is on lockdown and Carleton is telling everyone to skip class. Yes, the hockey game is postponed (Leafs were apparently staying not far from where the shootings happened.) All military bases, police stations, federal buildings, etc. are closed. Cell networks were clogged for awhile but they seem to be clear now.
• Soldiers that are off-duty are being told NOT to wear their uniforms.
• Security has been heightened across the country.
• CBC reporting that the terror threat had been raised last week.
• The U.S. President was briefed on the situation. The President and PM have spoken over the phone. According to White House, they discussed the shootings in Ottawa and what happened in Quebec.
• U.S. has also stepped up their security measures.
• Also, DO NOT post on any social media about where police are stationed.
• If you are in downtown Ottawa— do not go outside and stay away from the windows. Listen to the instructions of your building manager. Police are asking that everyone else stay away from downtown.
• There are NO reports of who the suspects are or why this is happening. Any person or news agency claiming this is linked to ISIS, or any other group, is currently reporting false information. There is speculation this is linked to what happened in Quebec but it’s only speculation.
• RCMP held a news conference at 2:15pm. Says police presence will continue for as long as necessary and are asking for witnesses to come forward (see contact info below)
• PM will make a speech sometime tonight.
• The Rideau Centre has re-opened and people were allowed to leave. Police have begun easing barriers around the War Memorial, but are still sweeping the downtown area. Police still consider this ongoing.

Those in Ottawa, if you need to speak with someone:

• Ottawa Crisis Line 613.722.6914 | http://www.crisisline.ca/
• Distress Centre Ottawa 613.238.3311| http://www.dcottawa.on.ca/

From the Ottawa Police:
The Ottawa Police Service wants to speak to witnesses of today’s shooting incidents.  Witnesses are to call Ottawa Police at 613-236-1222, ext 5493.
Those with tips regarding the shooting incidents, or those looking to report suspicious activity, can call 613-236-1222 or call 9-1-1.
Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers at 613-233-8477(TIPS), toll free at 1-800-222-8477 or by downloading the Ottawa Police iOS app.
—
If you have photo or video from what happened today, RCMP are asking you upload it HERE to help with their investigation.
—
*This post will continue to be updated
Updated Oct 22 2:30 pm
Updated Oct 22 3:08pm
Updated Oct 22 3:14 pm
Updated Oct 22 3:20 pm
Updated Oct 22 3:29 pm

(stolen from tumblr)

Scary day here in the Great White North. 

Every time I hear about a terrorist attack, I always think to myself that it'd never happen here. Every day, it feels like things like that won't ever happen here. Maybe because in my head, it feels like all of us are friendly people up here, like we're all friends with each other up here, like no one would ever have a problem with anyone or anything here. Because Canada's a great country.

But I know it's naive to think this way, and the realities of this country and this world are glaring, and that things like this have happened before and will probably keep happening because nothing can ever be truly all right.

Please, please, please, if you're in Ottawa, follow instructions from authorities and stay hella safe. And if you're a witness, please, please, please chip in and call the police so we can get to the bottom of this and get some answers for the families affected.

Music Monday ON REPEAT: Fireproof - One Direction

I don't know if this has ever been mentioned by once in a while, I will find a song, and put it on repeat for the entire day (and maybe even for the next few days too). Examples of songs that have been abused in such way: She Looks So Perfect by 5SOS, La La by The Cab, Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People, and Rope by the Foo Fighters.

Be very ashamed of me, for I have had Fireproof by One Direction on repeat for the entire day.

If you haven't heard it yet:

And here's a link for a free download! Never mind, apparently that's over.

My irrelevant comments:

1. I CAN'T PUT MY FINGER ON IT but this song reminds me of other songs and artists. But like, wow, I can't even think of who or what exactly it reminds me of. 
2. Um. Louis part. lk if u cry evrytim
3. Why did Harry have to end this song
4. Why does Harry have to end almost every one of their songs
5. He didn't even hit the high C (in "it's been SO long") AND IT IRKS ME
6. Still, I am a big fan of it. I don't know how to describe it, but I am a fan of the very simple, lazy, repetitive groove (kinda like in Pumped Up Kicks).
7. So yeah, I guess this song reminds me of Pumped Up Kicks.
8. I'm liking the direction 1D is taking away from the overly poppy, dancy stuff. 

Over and OUT!

End of summer wrap-up

Just checking in to let y'all know that I survived the OAT because I friggin' killed it! Well, not really, but I got a preeeeeeeeeetty decent score, if I do say so myself. I mean, it's higher than the average scores of students accepted to the American optometry schools last year. I haven't looked up Waterloo's stats but I think the stats from the American schools were enough to tell me that I did decently.

This summer went by slowly. Not too slowly, but not fast at all. Maybe it's because I'm not going back to school this year, so there isn't the dreadful thought of having to return to a structured schedule of lectures and labs making me wish I had done more or cherished the days more. But I still do have a few things I want to knock off my summer to-do list before September starts. For example, I didn't have a Wonderland season's pass this year, so I have missed the Leviathan dearly and I would really, really, really like to go before the season ends (alternatively, I've been wanting to go to the Ex, but with how my family's weekend is planned out currently, that is probably not going to happen).

Still, if anyone asked me what I did this summer, I wouldn't be able to tell them much.

1. I studied.
2. And volunteered.
3. Oh, I also went to a wedding.
4. And a concert.
5. And I watched How To Train Your Dragon 2. Twice.
6. I painted my room!
7. I went to Dave and Buster's once.
8. I got into reading again... (young adult fiction novels, is this weird)
9. AND I FOUND THE LEAFS WINTER CLASSIC TOQUE AND BOUGHT ONE.
10. Oh and I bought the best pair of jeans I've ever bought yesterday.

Yup, those are sadly the highlights of my summer.

Anyhow, this has been a random and pointless blog post. I remember starting this blog wanting it to have some sort of consistent theme, other than my rambling... so much for that. I don't really have any idea what theme or topic to stick to because I am kinda interested in way too many things.

AAAAAHHHHHH

Today was my official "no-studying" day, but I have not been studying much since Sunday evening...

To really keep me from studying, I spent the afternoon filming this. It's obviously not perfect, but eh; there comes a point with everything I do when I think "that's the best it'll ever be." Maybe that's a shitty thing to think, but I honestly feel like in everything I do, there's a plateau point where it can't get any better, even if it's still pretty bad. And when I push myself to keep going, I usually end up deteriorating... For example, there was a time in grade 8 when my goalie skills in soccer were stupidly on point; and then when I joined the team, I just lost it all. But I guess some of that has to do with my confidence shriveling up when these kids in my grade put me in net during recess and some third grade kid scored on me.

Anyhow, I need to sleep. Or try to. I'm trying not to feel butterflies, but I can kinda feel 'em coming on already. Please wish me luck because I will need it very much.

Music Monday ft. FIVE SAUCE

Before I get into this post, I just wanted to note that at the time you read this this gets published, it is 10 days before I write my OAT. And as I am writing this (on Thursday August 14, at 12:10 a.m.), I am nervous as hell, I still have a ton of orgo to learn, bio and chem to review, and a few more chapters of physics to study, and I am really dreading test day. Anyhow, life shall go on. Hope you enjoy this post... or not.

[[[In five months, I'm probably going to look at this post and facepalm myself so hard.]]]

"Five sauce" is officially my secret code for discretely referring to 5SOS, which you may or may not know stands for 5 Seconds of Summer.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again - where were all the cool teen boy bands back when I was a teen?! No, the Jonas Brothers weren't that cool.

Birthday wrap-up.

Yes, it is only 8 p.m. and for regular people, 8 p.m. would be just the beginning of their birthday, or no where close to the end. However, I hadn't planned any other birthday festivities for today, so it's over now.

Scratch that, I have plans later on in the week to celebrate with a friend, so it ain't really over yet!

But, uh, yes, here is how I spent my birthday weekend.

Yesterday, two close friends and I went out to Dave and Buster's, which is close to being one of my favourite places on earth. We had initially planned to go today - we'd be there right now, if we stuck to the plan - however, one of us couldn't make it so we changed the date. Luckily, it wasn't too busy when we got there - I was a bit worried that there'd be a lot of people there, since it was a Friday night, however, it was pretty empty, until later on (which is when, I guess, regular people come out to play).

I had a grilled salmon with buttered spinach and citrus rice, which I picked in place of their "spicy" rice. It was all really good and filling. I couldn't even finish my dessert, which was a slice of plain cheesecake (why it came with two forks, I will never know).

Then we went to the midway, which is always the best part of going to Dave and Buster's. I mean, it's the reason you would decide to go to Dave and Buster's, right?

Highlights: FRUIT NINJA! which was really fun, but hurt my fingers (darn you, friction!); some clown game where you had to throw balls and knock them over (we hogged that game for a few minutes); Pac-man, which I was surprisingly good at; and air hockey, which I was surprisingly bad at (I was down 5-0 early in the game, managed to score 4, lost 7-4).

Today - or more specifically, as the clock struck 12 a.m., I was in bed... scrolling through a certain someone's Instagram feed, liking all of his pictures... I need to grow up.

In the morning, I awoke to find that I had been challenged in a Pokemon scavenger hunt.



My sister says she was awake at 3 a.m. drawing all 23 Pokemon and then posting them all over the house. I managed to find them all in about 20 minutes.



Then I spent the rest of the morning and afternoon studying a tiny bit, and working on a medical school application, which has come to make me feel so sick to my stomach, as I've started realizing how weak my application will be once it's completed.

Then I went out with my siblings to the mall. My little brother had said our mom gave him $20 to buy me a gift, so we headed to HMV, where I was hoping to find the 5 Seconds of Summer deluxe CD... which they did have; however, it wasn't the version I was hoping for. And after coming home and researching it for a bit, I learned that the version I wanted was only available in the UK and Australia. And the song that I really wanted from the deluxe version that's only available in the UK/Australia isn't even available for download on iTunes!

It's been a few hours and I am still utterly devastated and disappointed. But life shall go on.

We're currently waiting for one of my sisters to return home before heading out for some impromptu birthday dinner. We're thinking Korean BBQ, but I have no idea what will happen.

Anyhow, that was my birthday. Nothing exciting. I mean, I wish I could tell you all about how I went clubbing, or to an awesome concert (1D does not count!), or to a super swanky restaurant with my handsome date by my side.

But that is not how I do... for now.

THEY CAME FROM YOUUUUUUUUUUUU! Down With Webster - Friday, February 7th @ The Sound Academy

HA! I told you I'd post it. Actually, I've had most of this written up for a while now. Anyhow, here it is - my little review of DWW's concert.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Sometime during the last week of January, I was at our university's community center doing some reading between classes when I received a phone call. The caller ID was UNKNOWN, so I debated not picking up; but like many times before when I got a random phone call, I gave the caller the benefit of the doubt and answered it. And wow, if I didn't answer it, I wouldn't have gotten to see Down With Webster. Funny how things work...

So yeah! I won two tickets in a contest held by Toronto Star (it was one of those easy ones where you just send them your name and contact info to enter). I wasn't too excited because it wasn't a contest I really wanted to win (they also had contests to win tickets to all Leafs home games for each month - those were the contests I was really hoping to win!), and I wasn't a "true" fan of DWW; but I accepted the tickets wholeheartedly because, hey, it's not everyday you win free stuff.

[[CRAZINESS BEHIND THE JUMP CUT!]]

OH EM GEE BOY BANDZZZZZ!!!~~!~ One Direction ft. 5 Seconds of Summer - Friday, August 1st @ The Rogers Center

Dear reader, please forgive me, for I attended a One Direction concert and thoroughly enjoyed it.

That’s right. Out of all the things going on this weekend – out of all the music events that were going on this weekend (VELD, Osheaga, Lollapalooza, just to name a few), I was at a One Direction concert.

I'm not too ashamed though.

Donned the Luongo shirsey, cuz they asked for the crowd to wear red & white. And you can't get more red & white than going with a team Canada shirt, can ya?

To those of you who don’t know, two things:
1. My taste in music is very, very broad. I can deal with nearly any kind of music, so don’t be surprised that I enjoy myself some teen boy band music.
2. I am a sponge. When there is a lot of energy and fun being had, I take it all in and in turn have fun myself. Hence, despite being introverted, I enjoy myself a good dance party once in a while.

A family friend had bought tickets way back near the beginning of the year and had generously given my youngest sister two of them for free, knowing that she was a huuuuuuuuuuge One Direction fan. And since she didn’t have anyone else to go with (read: she didn’t have any friends who were enthusiastic enough about 1D as she is), her default invitee was me. And I couldn’t really say no – first of all, free tix to what I thought would have been an okay show, but also because I dragged her out to a Down With Webster concert back in December when I couldn’t think of anyone to bring with me (a concert for which I have still not blogged about. I’ll do it soon!!!).

We headed downtown at around 3:30, and arrived sometime before 5, but even though the concert wasn’t starting for another two hours or so, there were already hoards of people/girls outside the Rogers Center. We grabbed some street dogs, and headed into the stadium at around 6.

My view. 

Our seats were pretty far away... but, eh, you couldn’t really expect anything more for $50 tickets to a concert like this. However, I was upset that they had set up a light stand which obstructed my view of the stage (and hence all the performers) all night long.

5SOS!

Source: Google.

I learned right before we left that 5 Seconds of Summer was opening the show, and this made me more excited than I was before because it meant I was going to hear one of my current favourite songs LIVE! And Australian boys. Mmm. Okay no, I’m kidding. I mean, yes, Australian boys, but these ones might be a little too uh, young. (Okay I did my research and the oldest of them is the drummer who is three years younger than me. That’s acceptable, right?)

(No but WHERE WERE ALL THE COOL BOY BANDS MY AGE WHEN I WAS A TEEN!?!?!?)

tHAT DAMNED LIGHT POST

Anyhow, they were charming and energetic, and I had to wait ‘til the end of their set to hear She Looks So Perfect, but that was expected and it was worth it. Their voices were just a bit below annoying (except for one of them, I can’t remember who... I think it was Michael? His voice was lovely), but I’d give them a leg up over 1D because INSTRUMENTS!

1D

Source: Google.

Ah, but they’re One Direction; a group of five young lads, who literally started from the bottom and now they here. The screams were deafening for 5SOS, but even more so when they showed up. And I don’t even mean on stage – during a video of an advertisement for their next movie; during a little animation, which did not even show their faces, but had them explain safety instructions and rules; and when their SUVs pulled into the stadium behind the stage.

Luckily, I’ve had no hearing loss, but I probably won’t be able to hear the high frequencies I can hear now at the age of 30.

I don’t remember what song they opened up with, but, let’s be real; I didn't know a lot of the songs off their new album. I thought I would have, seeing as my sister plays it every single time she’s in the shower. A lot of them were familiar, at least.

I think it was Midnight Memories.

LIGHTS!

However, they did perform a lot of their old songs, too, including some of my favourite ones – One Thing, C'mon, C'mon, and ohmigosh MOMENTS. I almost cried, especially when Louis sang.


Yes, Louis is my favourite.


His voice is so. Effin'. Precious. Ughhhhasdl;kfjadslkj I got to hear Louis’ voice live I can die happily now.

THE LIGHTS OMG

The laser show that was happening simultaneously was also very, very impressive (or, it’s just me. I’m very easily amused).

Overall, it was a great concert and a great experience. I danced all night to the best songs ever~~~ (see what I did there?). But seriously, I need to get out to more concerts because the atmosphere is so exhilarating (even if this concert was full of teens and pre-teens and reluctant parents).

Lastly, I’ll leave you with my song recommendations.

5 SECONDS OF SUMMER

3. Amnesia

2. English Love Affair

1. SHE LOOKS SO PERFECT

UP ALL NIGHT

1. One Thing

TAKE ME HOME

3. C'mon, C'mon

2. Kiss You

1. Moments

MIDNIGHT MEMORIES

3. Right Now

2. You & I (even though it's grammatically incorrect, haha! Then again, there are so many songs that just don't give a shit about grammar...)

1. Little Black Dress

Please don't judge me. Stay rad.

I play duh piano

When people ask me what I do for fun, the answer is usually "I play piano." And when they ask, "What else?" I have the hardest time answering that - partly because "oh, you know, I go through the vicious cycle of checking Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and email until I get peeled away from my computer" isn't a really great answer, but mostly because I hardly do anything else for fun.

"What a boring person..." Yes, yes reader, I am.

But, in all seriousness, it is my most favourite thing to do for fun, especially now, in between studying. I would describe myself as a creative person, or at least a person who needs to create (and hence I am not really all for dat medical/optometry school life, but, eh, you gotta make a living...) so it is a huge break away from reading about Newton's laws and other physics formulas.

A lot of what I do is sit at my piano, and figure out covers to top 40 songs (this gets really boring because it gets pretty redundant, repeating the same four chords over and over) or whatever else I hear, by ear (and sometimes with the help of sheet music I manage to find). I've been riding the How To Train Your Dragon 2 wave most recently and have set myself the task of covering some of the songs from the soundtrack. I posted my cover of For The Dancing And Dreaming not too long ago:

The whistling part was my favourite to do. As for the piano playing, I'll admit it was really rough... like, unclean. But that's how all of my piano playing has been. I have never really been able to really nail down a song - except, maybe, for Fur Elise back in grade 5 piano and I'd have to say, I did a damned good job on it. I guess if I spent a year on it, it'd get better. Sucks that I'm not a piano-playing robot-Asian...

Anyhow, I just wanted to post that I'm working on two more pieces from the soundtrack, and both are so close to being done; I just need to work on some details, and be able to... play the entire thing (because I work on my covers in chunks, and transitioning from one to the other is my kryptonite). Posting this makes it a commitment now, so if you don't see any videos being posted here, you can, uh, throw tomatoes at me or something.

(unless of course, no one sees this. It's like the whole tree-falling-in-the-forest thing. If no one's here to read this, was a commitment really made?)

The dull life and dragons?

It is official. I will be writing the OAT on August 28th! This, of course, is assuming that I won't chicken out and cancel, or nothing happens along the way that prevents me from writing it. Studying officially started... on Tuesday, so I have a little less than two months to prepare for it all, which is a little alarming. I would have liked to write it later, but a certain school *cough cough* wants OAT test marks from before August 31st, 2014, which prevents me from writing it any later.

I just have to remember that I spent a little less than two months to cram for the MCAT last year (even though our course was four months long, I procrastinated a bit too much) but I was still able to manage a less than shitty grade, so anything is possible!

Other than that, life has been dull. I mean, not literally, as summer officially began a few weeks ago and the sun has been out in full force since then (on most days).  But I haven't done anything too exciting.

Okay, there were three things, I guess:

1) My youngest sister graduated high school! This isn't really exciting until you hear how each student was given only two tickets because the graduating class was huge (the largest in York Region!); and so, my other siblings and I had to be smuggled into the venue. And we did just that by being in the band...

Yup, it's like I never left at all.

Unfortunately, I found out right after putting my oboe together and trying to play a few notes that my oboe was way out of commission (my brother probably did something to it... he's been trying to learn, but yeah, fragile things and twelve-year-old boys don't mix) and so I ended up having to fake everything (this isn't to say that I would have been able to play everything even if my oboe was working). And now I have to get it fixed...

2) Going to the movies is not my favourite thing to do because it's expensive, and sometimes it feels like a chore or work, since you have to commit two or three hours to it. But I make a few exceptions for movies that I genuinely want to see. For example, when The Incredibles 2 comes out, you know I'll be there opening night. In costume.

I watched two movies! First was the new X-Men movie, which I went to see my brother. It wasn't a movie I really wanted to watch in theatres, but since my brother wanted to see it, he needed adult supervision, and it was a Tuesday (half price admission!), I went.

I'm not too critical of it - it wasn't too boring, but it was that great either. It was entertaining seeing Peter Dinklage as Trask because, if you don't know, he's in Game of Thrones as Tyrion, and if you didn't know, I've been watching me some Game of Thrones and I always get excited when I see actors from shows I watch in other shows or movies.

The next movie I got to see was..... *drumroll* How to Train Your Dragon 2!

Yes, this was indeed a movie I had been waiting for ever since watching the first one about four years ago at a friend's house; and man, did it deliver. Everything was amazing, but the music is my absolute favourite part of the movie. The soundtrack for the first movie was beautiful; and despite re-using the main themes and melodies, the soundtrack for this movie was STILL epic and beautiful. Here's one of the songs off the soundtrack. I won't spoil it for you... but this was at a very sad part of the movie.

That transition from the sad music to the stoic (haha) main theme gets me every time (3:15). Damn it, that theme just gets me every time. Here, listen to this song and tell me that transition from the singing part to the instrumental main theme does not make you cry.

So... beautiful...

But if you ask me for my favourite part of the story, I'd have to say when ****SPOILER ALERT!**** Toothless breaks out of the ice and has essentially digivolved into ultimate-mega-cool-glowing Toothless.

3) My sister took me out to watch a musical that one of her teachers was in called MUTE. And it wasn't that bad. There were moments that were a bit cheesy, but the cast was very talented, and the story had a good message and moral too. After that, we all went out to watch HTTYD2. Again. But hey, if we didn't go, I wouldn't have ever won my first ever game of TimePlay.

Anyhow, writing this took longer than expected. Back to studying!

Hockey in May, what?

Mr. Johnny Bower dropping the puck.

Yes, it is a very strange thing for there to be hockey in May and June. Especially in Toronto. *ba dum tssss*
However, the Leafs aren't the only hockey team in Toronto!

Last Wednesday, I went to game 3 of the Western Conference Finals featuring the Texas Stars versus the beloved Toronto Marlies! We arrived right as the boys were heading out onto the ice despite being stuck in heavy traffic (there were two other big events happening that day - the Jays had a game and so did the TFC) and had pretty darn good seats. I brought my camera along to play with, and to keep me from getting too into the game (it didn't work - I ended up yelling a lot, and all you'll hear from the people I went with is "Henderson sucks! YOU ALL SUCK!").

Watching the puck drop.

Mmmm, smelling salts...

Opening face-off.

Uncle Drew!

Now you know Macaulay Culkin has a twin who plays hockey.

Fights aren't too common in playoff games, but man, did they hate each other.

Holland and Leivo discussing strategy.

Stu Percy!

Petey standing around like it's his job ft. some dudes who showed up to the wrong sporting event.

Yeah, I'm looking at you.

Carter flying through!

I kinda wish I had gone through the camera manual prior to the game... I mean, a lot of the pictures I took looked great in the thumbnails, but on my computer, they're all really blurry. Womp womp. I did a bit of editing on them. Still crappy. Whatever. It's a learning process...

But here are two of my favourite pictures! Korbinian Holzer's helmet got knocked off during play, and during the stoppage, someone (I didn't see) tossed it to the backup goaltender, Garret Sparks.

"Hey, throw it over here!"

"OOOMPH!"

In the end, the boys lost 3-2. They won game 4, but lost game 5 on Saturday and are currently trailing the series 3-2. They play game 6 today. Hopefully they force game 7!

Oh captain, my captain! I BELIEVE IN YOU TAKE OUR BOYS TO GAME 7 OKAY

June 1st

It's been a little more than a month since I came home from school. Aaaaand I haven't done much since then. Surprise, surprise.

Clarification: I haven't done much to be productive.

Music Monday ft. Saints of Valory

Quick post.

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but I subscribe to e-mails from a website called NoiseTrade, which is a site where you can download music by indie artists for free. It's basically how I discover new music. And sometimes, it's a hit and miss thing - there is the option of sampling the songs before you download the album, but there have been times when I was in a hurry, or I was in a "SURPRISE ME!" mentality and downloaded albums without listening to the music first and ended up not liking them later. Or sometimes, I just get tired of them; the novelty wears off.

Enter Saints of Valory: I did listen through each of the tracks before downloading the EP. The NoiseTrade page said it was for fans of Kings of Leon and U2, but for some reason, it also reminded me of Coldplay a bit. I think it's the lead singer's voice, though his voice is a tad weaker than Chris Martin's. But still good.

And like for most things, I kinda forgot I had downloaded it and left it on my computer for a bit before transferring it to my phone. I don't remember how long it's been (at least a few months), but the novelty has not worn off. Whenever I want to listen to music, but don't know exactly what I want to listen to, their EP is my go-to playlist.

Click here to find out more and to download their EP which consists of four tracks. This one's my favourite:

Neon Eyes (Into the Deep) - Saints of Valory

GO LISTEN TO THEM NOW.
Okay bye!

Digging up some old stuff

I going through a (sort of) abandoned e-mail inbox of mine - it's one of those e-mail accounts you make just for the heck of having another e-mail account and use to sign up for a whole bunch of stupid websites (like tumblr - I had no idea tumblr actually sent e-mails... maybe it's a thing it started since Yahoo acquired it).

Anyhow, I was just going through all the e-mail and deleting everything when I came across a message from LiveJournal. I've deleted my LiveJournal by now, but I had it for the longest time - since grade 10 'til the time I deleted it really (which was some time last year). One of the main reasons for deleting it was because I kept getting spam comments and it was just annoying.

But, there were a few times which I got real comments, and this was one time:

Somebody replied to your LiveJournal post in which you said:  [present me: beware, your typical teenage angsty-emo post coming up]

There are so many things going on in my head. Actually, there are only two. But it just feels like so many things...

For organization's sake, I'll number them off.

NUMERO UNO:
I hate people. I really do. I can hardly stand anyone. I can hardly stand myself.
People are selfish. greedy. gluttonous. vain. too easily tempted. desperate. cowards. stupid. irresponsible. disrespectful. unkind. not loyal. materialistic. flashy. blind. unsympathetic. forgetful. psycho. screwed up. impolite. not generous. not helpful. imperfect.

This, of course, doesn't apply to everyone. There are some people who are way better than others.

NUMERO DEUX:
I'm often happy for people. Or at least, I show or say I am. What else am I supposed to say? "Yeah, whatever, that's great, go away." "Yay. Go enjoy the rest of your life." "Sure. Yeah. I think I should give you a standing ovation." "GTFO." If I said any of the aforementioned, everyone would probably be shocked. Because it would just simply be out-of-character for me.

But why do I always keep myself "in character"? I'm too conscious about what others think of me. I guess this is why I keep quiet. If I don't say anything, no one will judge me. No one will even think of me, know of me, or remember me.

NUMERO TROIS ET PLUS: (just came to mind) [present me: DINGDINGDING ALERT ALERT EXTREME TEEN ANGST ALERT]
I think I'm an ugly duckling.
I think people use me.
I think I'm just a piece of decoration.
I think people are out to get me.
I'm invisible.
people don't like me.
I'm the only one who's truly abnormal.
I should just stop. With things.
I'm not going to be successful in life.
I'm not going to be successful.
I'm not going to live until 80.
I'm not going to do anything important.
I'm not going to be found.
I'm not going to have a happy ending.

Their reply was:

The only advice I can give you is to forget about other people. Because honestly, the only thing you can do in life is to be happy. Forget or change (this is the best) or ignore anything that gets in the way of your happiness. You sound like a very modest, nice and honest person who cares too much about other people. Just forget about them and focus on you. I know it sounds selfish on paper, but that is really all you can do. Because "people are stupid". Feel better.

I never found out if this was left by someone who knew me or knew of me in real life, but judging from the "You sound like a..." part, I would say it was from a total stranger who somehow ended up on my blog.

I don't think my teenage self ever really took the advice Anon left. I don't think I've really been more focused on myself than I have these past several months, even though it's still arguable that I'm not that much more focused on myself. I don't even know for sure if everything I'm doing right now is for me and only me, but a few things are certain:

a) I am caring less about people. Man, that sounds shitty. I still care about people; don't get me wrong. But I'm not letting other people bother me as much. Only the people relevant in my life matter. Only they can throw me off now, I guess.

b) I am caring less about what other people think of me. I still do care about what others think of me, and it is terrible, but I'm not as concerned with it as I probably was back in my glorious high school years.

c) I am still trying to figure out what kind of character I am, but I'm bit less rigid. I'm trying to come out of my shell a bit more; I'm letting myself be a bit more silly and angry and reckless.

d) Most of the things in NUMERO TROIS ET PLUS are still in my mind. But to a lesser extent.

Stay awesome.

P.S. AND GO TEAM CANADA.

Happy Lunar New Year!

I am so terribly sick right now, so I'm off to a great start...

One thing I do every year: read last year's horoscope, and reflect on it; then read my horoscope for the upcoming year.

So here's last year's:

You would love to travel or even move. You favor things with lots of actions. However, you also tend to be very spiritual. This is truly a Yin and Yang year for you.

I did travel this year in the summer. Things with lots of action? I guess that accounts for my love of watching hockey... and roller coasters. Not too spiritual though.

WORK: You favor to be in a spiritual business, such as religions or philosophy. Writing is good for you. You are also good in business to do with burial such funeral homes and cemeteries.

Well... I didn't work at all this year, so...

WEALTH:Your wealth would be stable, not many up’s and down’s. Do not gamble or speculate.

I guess my wealth has been stable? Well, my personal wealth. My family's wealth in general? Not doing too good.

RELATIONS: There may not be too much romance. Enjoy your stable relation. Being in peace is a great fortune.

Yup. no romance at all. Relations were pretty stable. If anything, I strengthened a few, and made new ones.

HEALTH: You may encounter many small ailments. Rest well and exercise well.

I think the worst 'ailment' I had this year was in the summer when I was hit by some kinda stomach flu that kept me in bed for a few days. Definitely didn't rest well. As for exercise, I have hit the gym more than ever, so I did well in that department.

Highlights of Sheep of Individual Years - 1991: You are prone to accidents. You also have too many thoughts about things. Drive carefully  Stay focused on what you are doing.

Driving record is still clean! My focus has never ever been focused, though I don't think it was too bad this year. 

 And here is this year's horoscope:

This is a connecting year for you. You may get lots of help from other people. Your people relations are good. This year especially favours the male sheep people. However, you are subject to accidents. Don't push yourself over your limit.

Connecting... maybe in reference to how I need to network? 

Work: You favour business to do with cars. You also favour analytical work. If you are a surgeon, butcher, soldier or police, you should do very well. Other favourable businesses include public relations and entertainments.

No, I don't favour business to do with cars. Wonder if the last statement is hinting at me to start my YouTube career...

Wealth: Your wealth would be stable and even going up. Both regular and speculative incomes are good for you. For investments, you should simplify your portfolio.

Not sure how the slight increase will come, seeing as I'll have to start paying off my student loans. What on earth is a "speculative" income?

Relationships: This year makes you very lovable. Beware of love triangles. If you are still single, consider marriage. If you are married, you should be more loving to each other.

I'm lovable this year. GUYS, COME AT ME BEFORE I'M NOT LOVEABLE NO MORE.

Health: You are much healthier this year compared with last year. However, you tend to get hurt easily. take your time in your work and drive carefully.

 Again with the driving warning... But I guess I'll be driving more come summer time, so I'll keep this in mind (as if I don't drive too cautiously already). And so much for being much healthier this year than last! *sniffles*

Highlights of Sheep of Individual Years - 1991: Your achievements are in proportion to your effort.

I'm gonna have to print this out and paste it everywhere so I can be reminded.

Time to sleep away this cold...

Music Monday: Cold

I don't know if this will be a weekly thing, but for now, it (hopefully) will be, as I try to post on this blog weekly.

I'm also gonna have to start thinking of some organized way to choose my music. By artist, by genre, by theme... I dunno. But since the temperature is dropping again, since the polar vortex a few weeks ago, this week's music will be music that is somehow related to the cold.

1. Shiver Shiver - Walk the Moon

... I'm watching the video for the first time as I'm writing this, and I'll admit, yes, it is pretty random and strange. But if you click go to the Youtube page and watch the video, you'll see their explanation in the description. Basically, they're making series of "officially unofficial" music videos from scratch, without a budget or film crew or anything. I must say, the dance moves are en point.

Back to the actual song; like most music I end up listening to, I first heard this on a Songza playlist I was listening to while reading. And after this song played, I couldn't study anymore because it took me out of my studying mood because it's one of those songs that make you feel really happy and good about yourself.  If you're into poppy indie music, this is a good one.

2. Sweater Weather - The Neighbourhood
I first heard this song in a dance video (pasted down below). A little known fact is that I really, really, really like watching people dance.

My absolute favourite part about this song is the transition from the upbeat rock groove into a slower ballad-kinda feel (yeah, I'm real great at describing things, but you know what I'm talking about!!).

Cool fact! In the demo version of this song, the verses were rapped (rapped?) instead of being sung.

3. A Jagged Gorgeous Winter - The Main Drag
I first came across this song while playing Rock Band. It's a cute, fun, fast pop-rock song. Again, as I'm writing this, I'm watching the music video for the first time in a while. Watch it. They pretend to be Calvin and Hobbes, hehehe.

Stay warm! And if you already are

... booooooooooooo.

Music Monday!

First post of 2014! It's rather late. To be honest, I lost most hope for this blog and wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with it anymore. I still don't know what to do with it, but Music Monday is something I kinda want to continue.

Without further ado, this edition of Music Monday's feature songs are:

1. The Mother We Share - CHVRCHES
First of all, let me just point out how difficult it is to type out the band name; because it's pronounced "churches", my fingers, which are usually on auto-pilot always get so confused when I tell them to throw a 'V' instead of a 'U' in there. Anyhow, I learned of this band a long while ago. I can't remember when, but it was late at night, and they were being interviewed and performing on the Jian Ghomeshi show. I remember thinking, at the beginning of songs, how obscure everything sounded, but when the vocals came in, I was immediately captured by how pretty the lead singer's voice is; and the songs just came together and didn't sound too abstract. I forgot about them until a few days ago when another one of their songs (song #2) came up on a Songza playlist I had on. But The Mother We Share has been stuck in my head for longer!

2. Recover - CHVRCHES
Catchy, catchy chorus. That is all.

And lastly, 

3. Rude - Magic!
There are a lot of times when you hear a new song come on the radio, think it's catchy, and then try to sing along. Of course, it's kinda hard to when you don't know the lyrics. It's also hard to understand what the song is about (though you can sorta make the assumption it's about love. Because most songs are like that fortunately or unfortunately). The first time I heard the chorus of the song, I thought it was about a guy telling a girl that she's rude, but that he'd marry her anyway. Nuh-uh. Instead, it's a song to the girl's dad. Big difference. Aside from what the song is about, I love love looooove the reggae groove.

That's it!