Today I packed my stuff. Still trying to figure out if my baggage fits the luggage limitations, though. This total dimension by length + width + height is difficult. Fits the weight limitations, though. If it doesn't make the dimensional limitations, I have a plan B.
Also got my travel to Toronto, and from Toronto to the airport figured out. All plans have become finalized. The only issue left is implementation.
I spoke to my grandparents for the final time until I leave. Another grandparent visited me today, for the last time until I leave.
Got my E-ticket printed out, but it's in... French. I hope that doesn't cause an issue. Going to one English-speaking place to another English-speaking place with a French ticket seems a bit odd.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Sorry I didn't update yesterday. I was just kind of stressed. I'll try to update twice today, but don't expect much.
Volunteered at Habitat for Humanity for three and a half hours yesterday. That place has sort of a boom-and-bust need for volunteers. While there are times when you can be very productive and it's a good place to go if you're looking to expand in experience through volunteering, there are also long stretches when there's nothing to do. This time, there were a lot of volunteers, all high school students. Me and another guy stayed there until the end of the day and I had a nice chat with him. It was funny because I kept initiating conversation and he actually seemed to enjoy my company. Having gone through high school and it still being fresh in my memory, I felt like a cool veteran on the topic we were speaking.
For the first while there was very little to do. Most of it was just sitting down and waiting for someone to tell me to fetch something, but eventually I was set to work taking shelves out of boxes, then sorting cardboard and plastic. There was... A lot of that. Kind of tedious, but a lot better than nothing, IMO.
Since Katimavik is a volunteer program I wonder if I can put everything I do there under volunteer experience on a resume, or if I would just slot it under one point as education? After all, I didn't put down every class I took in high school...
Volunteered at Habitat for Humanity for three and a half hours yesterday. That place has sort of a boom-and-bust need for volunteers. While there are times when you can be very productive and it's a good place to go if you're looking to expand in experience through volunteering, there are also long stretches when there's nothing to do. This time, there were a lot of volunteers, all high school students. Me and another guy stayed there until the end of the day and I had a nice chat with him. It was funny because I kept initiating conversation and he actually seemed to enjoy my company. Having gone through high school and it still being fresh in my memory, I felt like a cool veteran on the topic we were speaking.
For the first while there was very little to do. Most of it was just sitting down and waiting for someone to tell me to fetch something, but eventually I was set to work taking shelves out of boxes, then sorting cardboard and plastic. There was... A lot of that. Kind of tedious, but a lot better than nothing, IMO.
Since Katimavik is a volunteer program I wonder if I can put everything I do there under volunteer experience on a resume, or if I would just slot it under one point as education? After all, I didn't put down every class I took in high school...
Friday, February 26, 2010
Collecting From Old High School
Well, I've got it all. I have everything on the list now. What I didn't get in donations from the school, I was taken out shopping for with an old Guidance counselor. And after we got everything, he gave me $200. Plus an extra $20. Plus another teacher slipped me $20. Second time I've been reverse pick-pocketed (or put-pocketed I think I've actually heard it called).
Plus someone else bought me some stuff. And she's going to give me some cash, too.
Now that I have high-quality versions of everything I need and more from that absurdly large and detailed list, you want to know how much money I have left from donations?
$500.
I never even really asked for anything.
My old Social Science's teacher's parents went shopping for me.
My old English teacher gave me... let's see... eleven dress shirts. I remember that guy gave me a grade over 100% twice and asked me to do an ISU on a book he only ever had one other student do. After I failed to get into University (school offered to pay for my application on that, too) I remember I returned to the school once, and we had a long staredown. Eventually he turned his head and walked away, neither of us having exchanged a word. I felt like a samurai that had fallen out of grace with his liege lord.
This guy is 300 pounds. Back in the day, when I was a measly 235, I never would have been able to wear this guy's stuff. But now I am also a daunting 300!
I met up with both my old History teachers. One of them tried unsuccessfully to teach me a high-level History class. He took his job very seriously and was a very individualized teacher. All the students in the class were completely unprepared for his method or his curriculum. When we failed to reach his expectations, it seemed to me that he was genuinely pained by it, and held himself responsible. But everyone in the class adapted and reached levels I didn't think were possible through a high school history class dealing with a random bunch of lazy students. The only person that couldn't adapt was me.
He thought I had a lot of talent and a good spirit, but no matter what he tried with me I was the one student that couldn't catch up.
Anyway, he had already caught wind of what I'm doing and he seemed really genuinely glad for me.
...This Guidance counselor... He worked overtime to help me out. We spent five hours shopping.
They want me to stay in contact while I'm at Katimavik, so that they can use my insights and know what to tell students who are looking into joining Katimavik.
From Value Village we got... two brand-new brand-name pairs of jeans, a pair of shorts same condition same brand, a pair of shoes and a brand-new pair of boots that would normally cost like, $500 I'm told, for $12 each. And the place we went to get mittens, we got 40% off.
My Guidance Counselor was ballistic at all the great deals. He said it was eery. He even got himself a few things.
But I'm not even touching the full roster of items I got. That would be too much. I can't pack it all and I didn't accept a bunch of things because they wouldn't fit me or Duncan. Yes, they were giving to Duncan too. He got a bag of clothes from the original base donations same size as mine.
It all seems like a bit of an overreation doesn't it? Everyone over there is going ballistic. I feel pretty loved right now... After this big brew-haha, I truly can't allow myself to lose resolve or get kicked out.
No gaggle of worshiping schoolgirls this time, though...
Went to my final Karate lesson today. Of the five people who always show up for every single class, a grand total of none of them were there. It was just me and one other guy. The head sensei also wants me to stay in contact.
It'll be no issue. If I can blog I'll just keep a link of people who want to stay in contact and forward my posts. It won't be a daily thing, pretty sure. If it's too frequent I won't forward EVERY post. I might just modify a few posts and send a summary via email.
Seems like a lot of weird coincidences today...
Oh, I spoke to a guy from Katimavik who wanted to test my French. He confirmed that, yes, I wasn't lying when I said I couldn't speak French. He asked me four questions and I was supposed to answer them in full sentences in French. It was funny because he followed up the request by saying that I'd already been accepted, this wouldn't affect my participation it was just being done for research purposes, he knew I couldn't speak French so this would be over very quickly but then his pbhrasing afterwards was the standard for anyone taking the test which sounded like it expected some level of competency.
Last chapter of Naruto out today. I'm gonna talk about it! I haven't really done that except for passing statements since one post near the beginning of this blog. But since this is my going-away chapter I'm going to indulge.
I had made a prediction and it turned out to be wrong. I thought that Kakashi would beat Sasuke in the fight, but that it would be attributed to Sasuke's injuries from fighting the Five Kages, so it wouldn't make him look weak and then, as Kakashi dealt the finishing blow, Naruto would save Sasuke.
Turns out, though, that instead of Sasuke being saved from Kakashi by Naruto, Sakura was saved from Sasuke by Naruto...
Gotta hand it to Sakura... She's managed to be rescued from Sasuke by both Kakashi and Naruto in one encounter!
The fight was uncreative... I've already rewritten it in my head.
Plus someone else bought me some stuff. And she's going to give me some cash, too.
Now that I have high-quality versions of everything I need and more from that absurdly large and detailed list, you want to know how much money I have left from donations?
$500.
I never even really asked for anything.
My old Social Science's teacher's parents went shopping for me.
My old English teacher gave me... let's see... eleven dress shirts. I remember that guy gave me a grade over 100% twice and asked me to do an ISU on a book he only ever had one other student do. After I failed to get into University (school offered to pay for my application on that, too) I remember I returned to the school once, and we had a long staredown. Eventually he turned his head and walked away, neither of us having exchanged a word. I felt like a samurai that had fallen out of grace with his liege lord.
This guy is 300 pounds. Back in the day, when I was a measly 235, I never would have been able to wear this guy's stuff. But now I am also a daunting 300!
I met up with both my old History teachers. One of them tried unsuccessfully to teach me a high-level History class. He took his job very seriously and was a very individualized teacher. All the students in the class were completely unprepared for his method or his curriculum. When we failed to reach his expectations, it seemed to me that he was genuinely pained by it, and held himself responsible. But everyone in the class adapted and reached levels I didn't think were possible through a high school history class dealing with a random bunch of lazy students. The only person that couldn't adapt was me.
He thought I had a lot of talent and a good spirit, but no matter what he tried with me I was the one student that couldn't catch up.
Anyway, he had already caught wind of what I'm doing and he seemed really genuinely glad for me.
...This Guidance counselor... He worked overtime to help me out. We spent five hours shopping.
They want me to stay in contact while I'm at Katimavik, so that they can use my insights and know what to tell students who are looking into joining Katimavik.
From Value Village we got... two brand-new brand-name pairs of jeans, a pair of shorts same condition same brand, a pair of shoes and a brand-new pair of boots that would normally cost like, $500 I'm told, for $12 each. And the place we went to get mittens, we got 40% off.
My Guidance Counselor was ballistic at all the great deals. He said it was eery. He even got himself a few things.
But I'm not even touching the full roster of items I got. That would be too much. I can't pack it all and I didn't accept a bunch of things because they wouldn't fit me or Duncan. Yes, they were giving to Duncan too. He got a bag of clothes from the original base donations same size as mine.
It all seems like a bit of an overreation doesn't it? Everyone over there is going ballistic. I feel pretty loved right now... After this big brew-haha, I truly can't allow myself to lose resolve or get kicked out.
No gaggle of worshiping schoolgirls this time, though...
Went to my final Karate lesson today. Of the five people who always show up for every single class, a grand total of none of them were there. It was just me and one other guy. The head sensei also wants me to stay in contact.
It'll be no issue. If I can blog I'll just keep a link of people who want to stay in contact and forward my posts. It won't be a daily thing, pretty sure. If it's too frequent I won't forward EVERY post. I might just modify a few posts and send a summary via email.
Seems like a lot of weird coincidences today...
Oh, I spoke to a guy from Katimavik who wanted to test my French. He confirmed that, yes, I wasn't lying when I said I couldn't speak French. He asked me four questions and I was supposed to answer them in full sentences in French. It was funny because he followed up the request by saying that I'd already been accepted, this wouldn't affect my participation it was just being done for research purposes, he knew I couldn't speak French so this would be over very quickly but then his pbhrasing afterwards was the standard for anyone taking the test which sounded like it expected some level of competency.
Last chapter of Naruto out today. I'm gonna talk about it! I haven't really done that except for passing statements since one post near the beginning of this blog. But since this is my going-away chapter I'm going to indulge.
I had made a prediction and it turned out to be wrong. I thought that Kakashi would beat Sasuke in the fight, but that it would be attributed to Sasuke's injuries from fighting the Five Kages, so it wouldn't make him look weak and then, as Kakashi dealt the finishing blow, Naruto would save Sasuke.
Turns out, though, that instead of Sasuke being saved from Kakashi by Naruto, Sakura was saved from Sasuke by Naruto...
Gotta hand it to Sakura... She's managed to be rescued from Sasuke by both Kakashi and Naruto in one encounter!
The fight was uncreative... I've already rewritten it in my head.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Photo Upload, Books
Alright here's my cop-out second post of the day, that I post just to say that I've posted it, and haven't fallen back on my word.
I uploaded three more Winter images to Gryphon's Gallery. Now I have seven images in one post, which I had to divide between two for Fall. The trick is, if you edit a post with images already in it, they'll let you upload as many as if you were starting fresh. I just edited my old Winter post, because I thought that my three images wouldn't be worth a new post, but now that I think on it, it would have been as even a divide as possible... Three in one, four in another.
Now that I've got seven, I've equaled Fall. I think I might have to edit a comment I made on an earlier Winter post, saying that I didn't have as much as Fall.
Anyway, here's the ink: http://gryphonsgallery.blogspot.com/2010/01/winter-2010.html
I got another $100. Not a new person. It's just that, my Uncle in Ireland's PayPal donation went through. I was worried before, because of PayPal's qualifier, that it wouldn't go through until Monday, which would be really pushing it. I'll probably be leaving next Tuesday, even though my flight is Wednesday, because of how early the flight is.
I got a $20 phonecard, which I'll be able to use while I'm traveling, though I don't know how sparsely. At any rate, all I need is one card, because it offers me OVER 600 HOURS!!!!! And I'm not being mislead. Having had a long-distance girfriend, I know the extent of worth on phonecards. This one will last six months (the duration of my trip, sans one week) and hold to it's word of six hundred hours.
Someone told me I had "an adventurer's spirit" today. I took that as a pretty high-grade compliment. I don't know how important it is to have an adventurer's spirit in the real world, or how it reflects on a person, generally, but I appreciated hearing that someone found me to be that way. I guess it's a quality I'd like to see in myself, even if I don't think it's a terribly important feature in most people.
Alright, looking over my book selection...
...I have to apologize to the two people who went to the trouble to recommend me books. I haven't got anything that you've suggested. What I have is...
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
The Coral Island by R.M. Ballantyne
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Keep in mind that I'm not exactly angling to read stuff I like. I'm more angling to read stuff I can brag that I have read/write a scornful review about/have in the house.
I'm told Fried Green Tomatoes is kind of chick lit, but that's kind of why I'm reading it. I want to read at least one thing from every genre. I'm thinking I'll add a murder mystery to my list. We also have The Joy Luck Club, but I think we'll wait and see how I take to Fried Green Tomatoes first.
I was also thinking of taking Helter Skelter, the biography of a detective on the Charles Manson case, but I dunno... I know I'm only traveling in Canada, but... I don't want to toy with any sensitive spots in other cultures.
I'm also thinking of bringing Gandhi's Memoirs. I've been inching along with that for some time. Also, I've got a UFO conspiracy book and Plato, Aristotle, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's works.
I uploaded three more Winter images to Gryphon's Gallery. Now I have seven images in one post, which I had to divide between two for Fall. The trick is, if you edit a post with images already in it, they'll let you upload as many as if you were starting fresh. I just edited my old Winter post, because I thought that my three images wouldn't be worth a new post, but now that I think on it, it would have been as even a divide as possible... Three in one, four in another.
Now that I've got seven, I've equaled Fall. I think I might have to edit a comment I made on an earlier Winter post, saying that I didn't have as much as Fall.
Anyway, here's the ink: http://gryphonsgallery.blogspot.com/2010/01/winter-2010.html
I got another $100. Not a new person. It's just that, my Uncle in Ireland's PayPal donation went through. I was worried before, because of PayPal's qualifier, that it wouldn't go through until Monday, which would be really pushing it. I'll probably be leaving next Tuesday, even though my flight is Wednesday, because of how early the flight is.
I got a $20 phonecard, which I'll be able to use while I'm traveling, though I don't know how sparsely. At any rate, all I need is one card, because it offers me OVER 600 HOURS!!!!! And I'm not being mislead. Having had a long-distance girfriend, I know the extent of worth on phonecards. This one will last six months (the duration of my trip, sans one week) and hold to it's word of six hundred hours.
Someone told me I had "an adventurer's spirit" today. I took that as a pretty high-grade compliment. I don't know how important it is to have an adventurer's spirit in the real world, or how it reflects on a person, generally, but I appreciated hearing that someone found me to be that way. I guess it's a quality I'd like to see in myself, even if I don't think it's a terribly important feature in most people.
Alright, looking over my book selection...
...I have to apologize to the two people who went to the trouble to recommend me books. I haven't got anything that you've suggested. What I have is...
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
The Coral Island by R.M. Ballantyne
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Keep in mind that I'm not exactly angling to read stuff I like. I'm more angling to read stuff I can brag that I have read/write a scornful review about/have in the house.
I'm told Fried Green Tomatoes is kind of chick lit, but that's kind of why I'm reading it. I want to read at least one thing from every genre. I'm thinking I'll add a murder mystery to my list. We also have The Joy Luck Club, but I think we'll wait and see how I take to Fried Green Tomatoes first.
I was also thinking of taking Helter Skelter, the biography of a detective on the Charles Manson case, but I dunno... I know I'm only traveling in Canada, but... I don't want to toy with any sensitive spots in other cultures.
I'm also thinking of bringing Gandhi's Memoirs. I've been inching along with that for some time. Also, I've got a UFO conspiracy book and Plato, Aristotle, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's works.
More Katimavik Prep, Mostly
Sorry I didn't update yesterday. Just couldn't get on the computer. I'll update right now, disregard everything I've done today, and update again later today.
Yesterday I went to my old school because I thought my teacher had said to come that day to collect donations. Turns out, she said Friday. But I met up with another old teacher, who gave me a bit more detail on what's going down. Apparently, they've amassed a truckload of stuff for me, and I'm welcome to take all or none of it, and to get stuff for Duncan, too. Furthermore, they've got a surprise that has nothing to do with gear, and after that, an old Guidance Counselor wants to do something with me. Probably wants to talk about sex. Every older man and most older women want to have a man-to-man talk with me about sexual interaction while I'm traveling abroad.
I got another $100 from a family friend for my travel funds. I'm going to have money left over!
At times like this, you can't help but wonder if you're worth all the support you're receiving. From a worldwide, economic standpoint, personal worth is difficult to gauge, because consumption fuels society, so even by sitting around like a lump and consuming, it's possible that the world is better off with you than without. At least most of human civilization is. From a personal perspective, it's difficult to gauge, too, because people enjoy giving. So by receiving, it's not necessarily like you're hurting anyone. Your appreciation gives back. It sounds corny, but it's a valid point.
But still... people don't give to causes they're not interested in. There are so many worthy causes begging us for money constantly, that we've had to train ourselves not to give until we go bankrupt or lose our sanity. People only give to causes they feel some personal resonance with.
A lot of branch family and friends have been giving to me, and I have to wonder... Why do they have interest in me? I've been going through a bit of a self-depreciating stage, thinking that everyone hates me, that I have no personality, that I've accomplished nothing in life etc. But it seems I don't have a right to be going through that when people are forking such immense quantities of material and financial support, and I never even really asked.
Some guy named Matthew "from Katimavik" left a message and wants me to call back. Interesting, since that's the name of my travel buddy. Could it be the same guy, and he wants to contact me for travel arrangements?
Katimavik had me fill out a pre-trip questionaire. 117 questions, testing my eligibility. It was mainly questions based on interacting with people in a variety of situations. I worry that I was too generous with myself. I ranked high seventies low eighties in almost all of the categories! They said not to worry if the score comes out low, because if I'm already perfect, Katimavik will have little in the way to aid me. Only area I sagged in was the French speaking one. I got 22% for that. And maybe I did bad in the information section. They didn't show me the results for that, for some reason.
The reason they had me do this quiz was because they want me to do one before and after, to see how I improve. I might actually be tougher on myself when I'm coming back from the trip. All humbled or whatever, even though I've gained in ability. That sometimes happens. And then it will look like my competency dropped even though it actually rose.
My writing teacher did not get back to me with notes on my final assignment. She can't flunk me if she turned a four week course into a six week course and failed to meet her own deadlines returning projects, right? I should hope not!
My karate problem went away. I knew it would. Oftentimes, in a problem situation that you don't want to voice, it will go away as soon as you voice it, for absolutely no reason whatsoever. That's why I voiced it while there was still one day left of regular class. Grading is happening Thursday, and there is open practice on Friday, but this Wednesday was my last class where I'd be guaranteed to be training with them.
I voiced the issue to a few trusted people, but apparently that wasn't enough. To break the spell, you need to voice the uncomfortable situation in an environment that you're uncomfortable voicing it. If this place wasn't uncomfortable enough, it's not hard to imagine a more uncomfortable place I could have gone...
Remember, overcoming your issues is always about making yourself uncomfortable!
Oh, and just a BTW, I did ourselves a disservice by saying we got gold and silver in katas, bronze in sparring, and gold in self-defense. Turns out, we got gold, silver and bronze in katas, gold, silver and bronze in sparring, and gold in self-defense! We completely and utterly dominated every single school in Guelph! If we aren't a "tournament school" then we surely decimated a few tournament schools!
Yesterday I went to my old school because I thought my teacher had said to come that day to collect donations. Turns out, she said Friday. But I met up with another old teacher, who gave me a bit more detail on what's going down. Apparently, they've amassed a truckload of stuff for me, and I'm welcome to take all or none of it, and to get stuff for Duncan, too. Furthermore, they've got a surprise that has nothing to do with gear, and after that, an old Guidance Counselor wants to do something with me. Probably wants to talk about sex. Every older man and most older women want to have a man-to-man talk with me about sexual interaction while I'm traveling abroad.
I got another $100 from a family friend for my travel funds. I'm going to have money left over!
At times like this, you can't help but wonder if you're worth all the support you're receiving. From a worldwide, economic standpoint, personal worth is difficult to gauge, because consumption fuels society, so even by sitting around like a lump and consuming, it's possible that the world is better off with you than without. At least most of human civilization is. From a personal perspective, it's difficult to gauge, too, because people enjoy giving. So by receiving, it's not necessarily like you're hurting anyone. Your appreciation gives back. It sounds corny, but it's a valid point.
But still... people don't give to causes they're not interested in. There are so many worthy causes begging us for money constantly, that we've had to train ourselves not to give until we go bankrupt or lose our sanity. People only give to causes they feel some personal resonance with.
A lot of branch family and friends have been giving to me, and I have to wonder... Why do they have interest in me? I've been going through a bit of a self-depreciating stage, thinking that everyone hates me, that I have no personality, that I've accomplished nothing in life etc. But it seems I don't have a right to be going through that when people are forking such immense quantities of material and financial support, and I never even really asked.
Some guy named Matthew "from Katimavik" left a message and wants me to call back. Interesting, since that's the name of my travel buddy. Could it be the same guy, and he wants to contact me for travel arrangements?
Katimavik had me fill out a pre-trip questionaire. 117 questions, testing my eligibility. It was mainly questions based on interacting with people in a variety of situations. I worry that I was too generous with myself. I ranked high seventies low eighties in almost all of the categories! They said not to worry if the score comes out low, because if I'm already perfect, Katimavik will have little in the way to aid me. Only area I sagged in was the French speaking one. I got 22% for that. And maybe I did bad in the information section. They didn't show me the results for that, for some reason.
The reason they had me do this quiz was because they want me to do one before and after, to see how I improve. I might actually be tougher on myself when I'm coming back from the trip. All humbled or whatever, even though I've gained in ability. That sometimes happens. And then it will look like my competency dropped even though it actually rose.
My writing teacher did not get back to me with notes on my final assignment. She can't flunk me if she turned a four week course into a six week course and failed to meet her own deadlines returning projects, right? I should hope not!
My karate problem went away. I knew it would. Oftentimes, in a problem situation that you don't want to voice, it will go away as soon as you voice it, for absolutely no reason whatsoever. That's why I voiced it while there was still one day left of regular class. Grading is happening Thursday, and there is open practice on Friday, but this Wednesday was my last class where I'd be guaranteed to be training with them.
I voiced the issue to a few trusted people, but apparently that wasn't enough. To break the spell, you need to voice the uncomfortable situation in an environment that you're uncomfortable voicing it. If this place wasn't uncomfortable enough, it's not hard to imagine a more uncomfortable place I could have gone...
Remember, overcoming your issues is always about making yourself uncomfortable!
Oh, and just a BTW, I did ourselves a disservice by saying we got gold and silver in katas, bronze in sparring, and gold in self-defense. Turns out, we got gold, silver and bronze in katas, gold, silver and bronze in sparring, and gold in self-defense! We completely and utterly dominated every single school in Guelph! If we aren't a "tournament school" then we surely decimated a few tournament schools!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Katimavik, Cat Attack, MSN, Karate
Today I got a notification that a sleeping bag sent from my Uncle has arrived. I also got a cheque for $150 from those employment counselors I only saw once. Tomorrow I'm collecting donations from my school.
My cat slashed my face three times today. No reason at all. It's so weird, because remember, he attacked my hand a little while ago? I said before that it was because I touched a cat urine-melted metal object with that hand, but it's not like I ever touched it with my face! And when I was petting him later in the day I saw him go through the sudden change. He suddenly stopped purring, and when I went to pet him he flinched away from me. I think if I hadn't stopped before I touched him, he would have attacked me again.
I'm the only person he's like this with! And it never happened before the incident with my hand! What's weird is that he's been acting generally normal with me. He's just going through weird fits.
I had an interesting MSN conversation today. Remember how I said I was friended by someone I don't know? Well, I saw that she was available for chat, so I decided to find out more about her. I didn't record our conversation, so I'll outline it rough from memory. Only doing this because I'm pretty sure it doesn't violate the privacy policy, because I'm pretty sure she was a robot, but nonetheless, I'll censor her name, just in case.
Gryphon: Hi
???: Hi baby want to see me naked?
Gryphon: What?! Who are you?!
???: A friend told me about you and said you'd like me.
Gryphon: All of my MSN friends are female and my account is untraceable, so I find that unlikely.
???: Don't you like me?
Gryphon: What's your motivation? Why do you want me to like you?
???: I know a fun way to chat. Do you have a cam?
Gryphon: No.
???: K
???: Join this site (link)
Gryphon: Are you a spambot?
???: I just need you to join this site because I've been recorded on other sites. On this one I can't be recorded.
Gryphon: Hi
???: Don't you want to see me naked?
Gryphon: Kind of but I don't trust you.
???: What kind of panties should I wear? Maybe I have your favorite color.
Gryphon: Who are you?
???: I'll do anything you want.
I closed the chat box and opened a new one to continue testing if she was a spambot. That's why two of my last statements were similar to two near the beginning. I wanted to see if she would respond in the same way. Here's the next chatbox.
Gryphon: Hi
???: Are you on the site?
Gryphon: No
And then I logged off. Stupid! Now that I write all that down, it looks like she wasn't a spambot after all. I really thought she was for some stupid reason. Actually, let's see if she's available to chat right now...
Oh she is! Let's figure this out!
Oh... she just logged out. Right when I made myself appear online (I was appearing offline though I was logged in). If she were a human, and trying to avoid me after I jilted her that's how she'd act.
Alright, I'm back to appearing offline... Now I wait.
Anyway, don't click on stranger's links online. There are a few spambots that even get to this blog. Have you seen the ones that are a series of dots that all link to separate sites? Yeah well, only click on those if you want your computer tanked with viruses.
My writing course teacher says she'll get her notes to me by Wednesday, then I'll hand in my final project by Monday or earlier. If things work out that way that's fine.
Something bad happened to that guy who hasn't been showing up for class. Someone made a topic saying they were sorry to hear about the accident, and that he should be taking it easy. I responded "What happened?! Accident?!", and he responded his thanks to the person who showed concern and said that it was hard to type. Nobody responded to me!
Looks like my dojo raked in the medals at the inter-school tournament. In the kata competition, we got the gold and silver. Kata is one of the largest areas so that's impressive. The person who won gold was a 13 (maybe 14) year old girl, and an orange belt (3rd belt out of 10). She beat our other guy, a brown belt (8th belt) by 0.01 points. Because that portion wasn't separated into belt divisions, that means that she beat every black belt from every school that showed up. That's why she received a "Grand Championship" and not just a standard gold. She, along with her partner, another 13 or 14 year old girl, won the championship for self-defenses, but apparently nobody entered that competition except them, so they won by default. Another brown belt from our dojo got a couple golds and a bronze in his belt division.
The brown belt that lost to the orange belt was sulking about it to the rest of us privately. He said that he only lost because judges expect more from higher ranks. Nobody was too impressed. Everyone likes to root for the little guy. If you want to be the higher-ranked and more physically imposing yet still liked, you have to act ashamed if you win against someone with a disadvantage (people will still hate you, but not as much as if you're proud) and you have to smile, laugh, congratulate your opponent and tell them what a great job they did when you lose.
It's David vs Goliath syndrome, and this brown belt guy probably didn't realize he was suddenly Goliath after spending his life as David. I've never been anything but Goliath.
Actually, since these two girls are in my general belt division, it's caused me some trouble. They show up every single class, and are undoubtedly the hardest trainers in the dojo. Even the hyper-intense people from overseas that show up every class won't jump on every opportunity to expand their workload the way these two do.
Since I show up the most frequently of anyone in our belt division besides them, I'm the person they train with the most. And see, they can't break my grabs. In self-defenses, you're taught how to escape from holds. White belts learn wrist grabs, yellows learn shoulder grabs, oranges learn strangles etc. The expectation is that every grab can be countered. Now, the best person at disproving that theory is me. One time I went through every belt purple (6) and higher, and nobody could break out of my underarm bear hug using the traditional method, not even the head sensei.
So if I go easy on these girls, they get mad, and if I go hard, they can't break it and get mad. I'm the only person in the dojo they don't talk to. I've seen them go so far as tell the head sensei if I'm doing something wrong, and then he tells me.
Eventually you gain the distinct feeling that you're an obstacle meant to be surpassed, rather than a person who has the right to try and be the best they can be, and be proud of overcoming personal challenges.
Okay, so in a situation like that, it's not like we're fighting, so being glad of their success doesn't count against me, and if they don't talk to me, I can't complain until I try talking to them, especially since I have seniority.
But what can I say? When I was 13, I couldn't talk to girls. Now, I talk to lots, and I thought that was because I'd gained maturity with age. But no, it turns out that 13-year-old females are just impossible to talk to.
Well, whatever. Now to check MSN... Oh, she's on! Here I goooooo!!!!
....Some time passes.....
....Disappointing. This time I got the conversation:
Don't include information like passwords or credit card numbers in an instant message.
Gryphon says:
Hello
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
hows it going sweety
Gryphon says:
Not bad how are you?
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
i'm 21/female want to see me?
Gryphon says:
I already know that
Don't you remember me?
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
one of ur friends gave me ur id and I promised not to tell, he said you would like me!
Gryphon says:
Who?
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
k
Gryphon says:
I'm going to post this in my blog if you're cool with that
Just tell me not to and I won't
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
nice, I finally got some time to relax ?
Gryphon says:
You said that last time and I have no idea what that means
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
I know a way we can chat and have a better time.. do you have cam?
Gryphon says:
yes
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
k
Gryphon says:
Alright follow that up with something
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
Well i don't do yahoo cam or any other cam because i have been recorded before... But i do know one site you can watch me on, it assures me that I wont be recorded...
Gryphon says:
Oh wow what site could this be?
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
Im sorry sweety I mean... Do you want to see me on my cam?
Gryphon says:
No
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
check me out at http://www.freecamlink.net/k6j5 accept the invite on the page baby
Gryphon says:
You're a spambot most def
I'm going to unfriend you
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
sweety, fill out the info .. i can not wait for you to see me baby let me find something nice to wear
Gryphon says:
Hey, that's different
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
its the sites policy to ensure no minors get access to the site, so they might ask for CC to verify your age babe.
Gryphon says:
I think you phrased that different then before
No not that last bit
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
What color Panties do you think i should wear? i might have you favorite color here somewhere...
Gryphon says:
Same as before
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
Your such a good boy, i'm gonna show you what good boys deserve.. you can tell me to do anything you want me too do!
Gryphon says:
But your intro was a bit different and your rate of posting
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
Ok let me know when you get in so I can invite you directly to my cam.
Gryphon says:
And it seems that if I open a separate chat you speak differently
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
u have to enter a cc, atm, debit card,or even a gift card,so they can check to see if your minor, thats the only way to see me sweety
Gryphon says:
If you're a bot, though why didn't they give you better spelling and punctuation?
I mean, they had the time
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
k you in yet babe??
Gryphon says:
Oh that's what you said in the second chat last time
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
k
Gryphon says:
You were still registering it as the original chat despite me having cancelled it.
But still, I remember the first time, you linked me in the first post, but this time you didn't.
I think you linked several more times than that, too.
Not talking anymore, eh?
I'm unfriending you.
My cat slashed my face three times today. No reason at all. It's so weird, because remember, he attacked my hand a little while ago? I said before that it was because I touched a cat urine-melted metal object with that hand, but it's not like I ever touched it with my face! And when I was petting him later in the day I saw him go through the sudden change. He suddenly stopped purring, and when I went to pet him he flinched away from me. I think if I hadn't stopped before I touched him, he would have attacked me again.
I'm the only person he's like this with! And it never happened before the incident with my hand! What's weird is that he's been acting generally normal with me. He's just going through weird fits.
I had an interesting MSN conversation today. Remember how I said I was friended by someone I don't know? Well, I saw that she was available for chat, so I decided to find out more about her. I didn't record our conversation, so I'll outline it rough from memory. Only doing this because I'm pretty sure it doesn't violate the privacy policy, because I'm pretty sure she was a robot, but nonetheless, I'll censor her name, just in case.
Gryphon: Hi
???: Hi baby want to see me naked?
Gryphon: What?! Who are you?!
???: A friend told me about you and said you'd like me.
Gryphon: All of my MSN friends are female and my account is untraceable, so I find that unlikely.
???: Don't you like me?
Gryphon: What's your motivation? Why do you want me to like you?
???: I know a fun way to chat. Do you have a cam?
Gryphon: No.
???: K
???: Join this site (link)
Gryphon: Are you a spambot?
???: I just need you to join this site because I've been recorded on other sites. On this one I can't be recorded.
Gryphon: Hi
???: Don't you want to see me naked?
Gryphon: Kind of but I don't trust you.
???: What kind of panties should I wear? Maybe I have your favorite color.
Gryphon: Who are you?
???: I'll do anything you want.
I closed the chat box and opened a new one to continue testing if she was a spambot. That's why two of my last statements were similar to two near the beginning. I wanted to see if she would respond in the same way. Here's the next chatbox.
Gryphon: Hi
???: Are you on the site?
Gryphon: No
And then I logged off. Stupid! Now that I write all that down, it looks like she wasn't a spambot after all. I really thought she was for some stupid reason. Actually, let's see if she's available to chat right now...
Oh she is! Let's figure this out!
Oh... she just logged out. Right when I made myself appear online (I was appearing offline though I was logged in). If she were a human, and trying to avoid me after I jilted her that's how she'd act.
Alright, I'm back to appearing offline... Now I wait.
Anyway, don't click on stranger's links online. There are a few spambots that even get to this blog. Have you seen the ones that are a series of dots that all link to separate sites? Yeah well, only click on those if you want your computer tanked with viruses.
My writing course teacher says she'll get her notes to me by Wednesday, then I'll hand in my final project by Monday or earlier. If things work out that way that's fine.
Something bad happened to that guy who hasn't been showing up for class. Someone made a topic saying they were sorry to hear about the accident, and that he should be taking it easy. I responded "What happened?! Accident?!", and he responded his thanks to the person who showed concern and said that it was hard to type. Nobody responded to me!
Looks like my dojo raked in the medals at the inter-school tournament. In the kata competition, we got the gold and silver. Kata is one of the largest areas so that's impressive. The person who won gold was a 13 (maybe 14) year old girl, and an orange belt (3rd belt out of 10). She beat our other guy, a brown belt (8th belt) by 0.01 points. Because that portion wasn't separated into belt divisions, that means that she beat every black belt from every school that showed up. That's why she received a "Grand Championship" and not just a standard gold. She, along with her partner, another 13 or 14 year old girl, won the championship for self-defenses, but apparently nobody entered that competition except them, so they won by default. Another brown belt from our dojo got a couple golds and a bronze in his belt division.
The brown belt that lost to the orange belt was sulking about it to the rest of us privately. He said that he only lost because judges expect more from higher ranks. Nobody was too impressed. Everyone likes to root for the little guy. If you want to be the higher-ranked and more physically imposing yet still liked, you have to act ashamed if you win against someone with a disadvantage (people will still hate you, but not as much as if you're proud) and you have to smile, laugh, congratulate your opponent and tell them what a great job they did when you lose.
It's David vs Goliath syndrome, and this brown belt guy probably didn't realize he was suddenly Goliath after spending his life as David. I've never been anything but Goliath.
Actually, since these two girls are in my general belt division, it's caused me some trouble. They show up every single class, and are undoubtedly the hardest trainers in the dojo. Even the hyper-intense people from overseas that show up every class won't jump on every opportunity to expand their workload the way these two do.
Since I show up the most frequently of anyone in our belt division besides them, I'm the person they train with the most. And see, they can't break my grabs. In self-defenses, you're taught how to escape from holds. White belts learn wrist grabs, yellows learn shoulder grabs, oranges learn strangles etc. The expectation is that every grab can be countered. Now, the best person at disproving that theory is me. One time I went through every belt purple (6) and higher, and nobody could break out of my underarm bear hug using the traditional method, not even the head sensei.
So if I go easy on these girls, they get mad, and if I go hard, they can't break it and get mad. I'm the only person in the dojo they don't talk to. I've seen them go so far as tell the head sensei if I'm doing something wrong, and then he tells me.
Eventually you gain the distinct feeling that you're an obstacle meant to be surpassed, rather than a person who has the right to try and be the best they can be, and be proud of overcoming personal challenges.
Okay, so in a situation like that, it's not like we're fighting, so being glad of their success doesn't count against me, and if they don't talk to me, I can't complain until I try talking to them, especially since I have seniority.
But what can I say? When I was 13, I couldn't talk to girls. Now, I talk to lots, and I thought that was because I'd gained maturity with age. But no, it turns out that 13-year-old females are just impossible to talk to.
Well, whatever. Now to check MSN... Oh, she's on! Here I goooooo!!!!
....Some time passes.....
....Disappointing. This time I got the conversation:
Don't include information like passwords or credit card numbers in an instant message.
Gryphon says:
Hello
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
hows it going sweety
Gryphon says:
Not bad how are you?
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
i'm 21/female want to see me?
Gryphon says:
I already know that
Don't you remember me?
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
one of ur friends gave me ur id and I promised not to tell, he said you would like me!
Gryphon says:
Who?
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
k
Gryphon says:
I'm going to post this in my blog if you're cool with that
Just tell me not to and I won't
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
nice, I finally got some time to relax ?
Gryphon says:
You said that last time and I have no idea what that means
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
I know a way we can chat and have a better time.. do you have cam?
Gryphon says:
yes
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
k
Gryphon says:
Alright follow that up with something
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
Well i don't do yahoo cam or any other cam because i have been recorded before... But i do know one site you can watch me on, it assures me that I wont be recorded...
Gryphon says:
Oh wow what site could this be?
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
Im sorry sweety I mean... Do you want to see me on my cam?
Gryphon says:
No
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
check me out at http://www.freecamlink.net/k6j5 accept the invite on the page baby
Gryphon says:
You're a spambot most def
I'm going to unfriend you
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
sweety, fill out the info .. i can not wait for you to see me baby let me find something nice to wear
Gryphon says:
Hey, that's different
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
its the sites policy to ensure no minors get access to the site, so they might ask for CC to verify your age babe.
Gryphon says:
I think you phrased that different then before
No not that last bit
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
What color Panties do you think i should wear? i might have you favorite color here somewhere...
Gryphon says:
Same as before
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
Your such a good boy, i'm gonna show you what good boys deserve.. you can tell me to do anything you want me too do!
Gryphon says:
But your intro was a bit different and your rate of posting
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
Ok let me know when you get in so I can invite you directly to my cam.
Gryphon says:
And it seems that if I open a separate chat you speak differently
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
u have to enter a cc, atm, debit card,or even a gift card,so they can check to see if your minor, thats the only way to see me sweety
Gryphon says:
If you're a bot, though why didn't they give you better spelling and punctuation?
I mean, they had the time
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
k you in yet babe??
Gryphon says:
Oh that's what you said in the second chat last time
krystennordenstrom16@hotmail.com says:
k
Gryphon says:
You were still registering it as the original chat despite me having cancelled it.
But still, I remember the first time, you linked me in the first post, but this time you didn't.
I think you linked several more times than that, too.
Not talking anymore, eh?
I'm unfriending you.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Toronto Trip
I'm back from Toronto! While there, I did some shopping for Katimavik and got:
-Two T-shirts
-Two pairs of jeans
-Two pairs of dress pants
-Q pair of snow pants
-A pair of running shoes
-A pair of dress shoes
-A pair of insulated winter boots
-Some long underwear
-A hat
-A scarf
We couldn't find a pair of leather and fur mits ANYWHERE in Toronto! According to various salespeople, they're really hard to find, and really expensive once you find them. I'm looking to see if Katimavik will not harsh on me too bad if I just get some kind of equivalent, or if they'll at least tell me how to find them. One salesperson said that there's nothing in the world as warm as leather and fur. But I mean, the list they gave me was general. It needed to apply to the person with the lowest cold tolerance in the program, going to the coldest location they could send them, during the coldest time of the year. I don't freeze too easy and I'll be in my coldest location in mid-summer.
My teacher has requested I drop in Wednesday or Thursday to collect the items they've pooled together for me. Among them is a sleeping bag and set of sheets. An uncle sent me a sleeping bag, which is on it's way but hasn't arrived yet, but I can't be held responsible for accepting both bags, when I didn't know I'd get this later offer when I accepted the first, and right now I can't know that the one being mailed is going to make it in time!
My greatuncle sent me $100 over PayPal, but it won't be available to me for five to seven business days, so I might not have opportunity to spend it.
I got more information on my flight. It's at 8:45 AM on March 3rd. Apparently I'll be traveling with another participant, named Mathew, but since Charlottetown is the destination for four groups, I can't know that this fellow will be in my group. It'll still be fun to have a travel-buddy.
When I was in Toronto, oddly enough I saw movies The Lovely Bones and Coach Carter. Maybe I'll do reviews on those at some point.
I was also at one point given the opportunity to spend $200 on groceries in twenty minutes. I have no idea what $200 in groceries looks like and I didn't know the layout of the store. I undershot by about $100.
I'm trying to get all the comics on my computer online by the time I leave, but I'm having an incredibly frustrating time with it. Seems like they all need to be image-manipulated to work with the formatting of the sites I post them at.
-Two T-shirts
-Two pairs of jeans
-Two pairs of dress pants
-Q pair of snow pants
-A pair of running shoes
-A pair of dress shoes
-A pair of insulated winter boots
-Some long underwear
-A hat
-A scarf
We couldn't find a pair of leather and fur mits ANYWHERE in Toronto! According to various salespeople, they're really hard to find, and really expensive once you find them. I'm looking to see if Katimavik will not harsh on me too bad if I just get some kind of equivalent, or if they'll at least tell me how to find them. One salesperson said that there's nothing in the world as warm as leather and fur. But I mean, the list they gave me was general. It needed to apply to the person with the lowest cold tolerance in the program, going to the coldest location they could send them, during the coldest time of the year. I don't freeze too easy and I'll be in my coldest location in mid-summer.
My teacher has requested I drop in Wednesday or Thursday to collect the items they've pooled together for me. Among them is a sleeping bag and set of sheets. An uncle sent me a sleeping bag, which is on it's way but hasn't arrived yet, but I can't be held responsible for accepting both bags, when I didn't know I'd get this later offer when I accepted the first, and right now I can't know that the one being mailed is going to make it in time!
My greatuncle sent me $100 over PayPal, but it won't be available to me for five to seven business days, so I might not have opportunity to spend it.
I got more information on my flight. It's at 8:45 AM on March 3rd. Apparently I'll be traveling with another participant, named Mathew, but since Charlottetown is the destination for four groups, I can't know that this fellow will be in my group. It'll still be fun to have a travel-buddy.
When I was in Toronto, oddly enough I saw movies The Lovely Bones and Coach Carter. Maybe I'll do reviews on those at some point.
I was also at one point given the opportunity to spend $200 on groceries in twenty minutes. I have no idea what $200 in groceries looks like and I didn't know the layout of the store. I undershot by about $100.
I'm trying to get all the comics on my computer online by the time I leave, but I'm having an incredibly frustrating time with it. Seems like they all need to be image-manipulated to work with the formatting of the sites I post them at.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Going to Toronto, Saying Goodbye, Writing Course
Forgot to say I was surprised that my Katimaroute has me down for ADD, Generalized Anxiety and Dysthymia... just because both my doctor and my psychiatrist's notes seemed totally unreadable!
I made a hard phonecall today... I don't feel like going into details, but it turned out well.
Gonna be in Toronto visiting my Dad and Aunt over the next two or three days, collecting my Katimavik gear and saying goodbye to my Torontonian contacts, so don't expect any updates.
Today, I managed to tell my karate people that I'm leaving for six months. They were the final group of people that needed telling. It's hard when you've got your own division that your growing with in ability, and to think that, when you get back, you'll be in a separate division. There's also a fellow in his sixties who has taken to mentoring me, and that's hard... I told them all that I'll look into studying while I'm abroad, but... between you and me, unknown public... there's really not much of a chance of that. It's true that I've got my belt and certificate, and there's dojos everywhere, and they usually welcome people in my situation, but... Katimavik doesn't want you doing anything but Katimavik, and really, that's fair. Even if they did, I'm allotted very little free time... A lot less than a 9-to-5 job, I think. They're slightly vague about it, but I get the impression they're gonna work me hard, and they won't let up.
My writing class has extended indefinitely. My teacher is doing the Olympics. I think writing about it...? She said "Doing the Olympics" but I think...
...
...
...No, readers, we are too mature for that joke.
I was actually going to make a joke about her PARTICIPATING in the Olympics. I only got stupid when I wrote that phrase out in that way.
Anyway she's busy, this is a new format of teaching, there's technical difficulties... But I have to make sure this all ends next week.
I think someone in my class dropped out. He hasn't submitted his last assignment, and that was like... a week ago, and we haven't heard from him. Too bad. He was a really vocal member of the group, and since two of the members knew each other before the class, with him gone, everyone in the group has history together except me.
I have now completed 15 games of Scrabble and have a 40% win percent. I'm winning the current game, though!
My school has already pooled together a number of items and are ready for pick-up! It'll have to be next week, though, since I'm leaving pretty early tomorrow.
I made a hard phonecall today... I don't feel like going into details, but it turned out well.
Gonna be in Toronto visiting my Dad and Aunt over the next two or three days, collecting my Katimavik gear and saying goodbye to my Torontonian contacts, so don't expect any updates.
Today, I managed to tell my karate people that I'm leaving for six months. They were the final group of people that needed telling. It's hard when you've got your own division that your growing with in ability, and to think that, when you get back, you'll be in a separate division. There's also a fellow in his sixties who has taken to mentoring me, and that's hard... I told them all that I'll look into studying while I'm abroad, but... between you and me, unknown public... there's really not much of a chance of that. It's true that I've got my belt and certificate, and there's dojos everywhere, and they usually welcome people in my situation, but... Katimavik doesn't want you doing anything but Katimavik, and really, that's fair. Even if they did, I'm allotted very little free time... A lot less than a 9-to-5 job, I think. They're slightly vague about it, but I get the impression they're gonna work me hard, and they won't let up.
My writing class has extended indefinitely. My teacher is doing the Olympics. I think writing about it...? She said "Doing the Olympics" but I think...
...
...
...No, readers, we are too mature for that joke.
I was actually going to make a joke about her PARTICIPATING in the Olympics. I only got stupid when I wrote that phrase out in that way.
Anyway she's busy, this is a new format of teaching, there's technical difficulties... But I have to make sure this all ends next week.
I think someone in my class dropped out. He hasn't submitted his last assignment, and that was like... a week ago, and we haven't heard from him. Too bad. He was a really vocal member of the group, and since two of the members knew each other before the class, with him gone, everyone in the group has history together except me.
I have now completed 15 games of Scrabble and have a 40% win percent. I'm winning the current game, though!
My school has already pooled together a number of items and are ready for pick-up! It'll have to be next week, though, since I'm leaving pretty early tomorrow.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Cat Attack, Donations, Family Counseling
Sorry I was in a grumpy mood yesterday. I oughta watch that, especially if reminding people of my existence might attract people to this blog. You see, my cat attacked me yesterday, and I was still kind of surly about that. I don't know why I didn't think to mention it.
I think the reason he attacked me is because I was going through some stuff in my room, and I found something that I think he... eroded with his urine, a... long, long time ago. I touched it with my right hand, and even though I washed it thoroughly, to the point I couldn't smell anything on it, I guess his nose is sharper than mine.
First time, I tried to pat him, and he slashed me. Then, watching his behaviour and reviewing the events I'd just gone through, I offered my left hand. He requested to be petted tentatively, which I did without consequence. I held out my right hand, just for him to sniff, and he slashed me again.
I think that's the first time he ever struck to damage with me. He shouldn't have been frightened... It was his own scent. He must have thought it was some robo-cat, since the object he marked was metal.
I wish I'd been more in-depth about the people who are offering their assistance. I feel I gave them a disservice yesterday, but I was still overwhelmed and couldn't think what to say. A great-uncle in Ireland has offered. An uncle in California. A teacher is running a petition for donations among all my old teachers. An employment counselor I only met once has offered...
It really is quite an experience. I'm speechless.
We went to our last session at family therapy. Not only am I leaving, and therefor, there'd be no reason to continue, Mom and Duncan only having issues with me, but also, our counselors are graduating next month!
Final analysis is that the experience was... less than revolutionary.
I don't have anything else to say except karate things...
I got to say the principles of the black belt today! That was pretty awesome. I screwed it up three times but oh well.
And we've been learning how to introduce ourselves in a tournament. It's not technically supposed to effect your grade, but apparently it's important to wake up the judges and to get yourself keyed into what you're doing. I saw an introduction done proper by a black belt. In his bow-in, he shouted his exhale, somehow. When he introduced himself, he went through the friendly formalities, but he barker them violently. I had to choke back snickering into my sleeve. I couldn't help but think "What're you so angry about, Sensei? Gonna fight the judges?" If I were one of the judges, I would've been tempted to roll up my sleeves and throw down with the guy, he seemed so aggressive.
And we've been going over that attitude that says "I'm not here to compete, I'm here to win." I'm afraid I couldn't help but think "There's only one winner. If everyone is taught to have that attitude, most of the people who have it are still going to lose... They're just lying to themselves".
I think the reason he attacked me is because I was going through some stuff in my room, and I found something that I think he... eroded with his urine, a... long, long time ago. I touched it with my right hand, and even though I washed it thoroughly, to the point I couldn't smell anything on it, I guess his nose is sharper than mine.
First time, I tried to pat him, and he slashed me. Then, watching his behaviour and reviewing the events I'd just gone through, I offered my left hand. He requested to be petted tentatively, which I did without consequence. I held out my right hand, just for him to sniff, and he slashed me again.
I think that's the first time he ever struck to damage with me. He shouldn't have been frightened... It was his own scent. He must have thought it was some robo-cat, since the object he marked was metal.
I wish I'd been more in-depth about the people who are offering their assistance. I feel I gave them a disservice yesterday, but I was still overwhelmed and couldn't think what to say. A great-uncle in Ireland has offered. An uncle in California. A teacher is running a petition for donations among all my old teachers. An employment counselor I only met once has offered...
It really is quite an experience. I'm speechless.
We went to our last session at family therapy. Not only am I leaving, and therefor, there'd be no reason to continue, Mom and Duncan only having issues with me, but also, our counselors are graduating next month!
Final analysis is that the experience was... less than revolutionary.
I don't have anything else to say except karate things...
I got to say the principles of the black belt today! That was pretty awesome. I screwed it up three times but oh well.
And we've been learning how to introduce ourselves in a tournament. It's not technically supposed to effect your grade, but apparently it's important to wake up the judges and to get yourself keyed into what you're doing. I saw an introduction done proper by a black belt. In his bow-in, he shouted his exhale, somehow. When he introduced himself, he went through the friendly formalities, but he barker them violently. I had to choke back snickering into my sleeve. I couldn't help but think "What're you so angry about, Sensei? Gonna fight the judges?" If I were one of the judges, I would've been tempted to roll up my sleeves and throw down with the guy, he seemed so aggressive.
And we've been going over that attitude that says "I'm not here to compete, I'm here to win." I'm afraid I couldn't help but think "There's only one winner. If everyone is taught to have that attitude, most of the people who have it are still going to lose... They're just lying to themselves".
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Begging Results
Well, it turns out that begging helped me out quite a bit, after all! A lot of branch family and friends surprised me by offering their support!
Miles Edgeworth: Ace Attorneys Investigations came out today, but there's no way I'll be angling for it when I've got my beggar's face on. I'll play it in six months.
The only community that hasn't cashed out is deviantART (old account that I abandoned a year ago). Selfish artists!
Recommend some books for me! The guide recommends I take reading material for travel days. You don't know what I've read and I probably can't get it, but you know... worth a try. I know several places where I can get a book for a quarter, and I have enough books that, if your recommendation has some level of renown, there's a significant chance I have/can get it.
Feels like a long day, but I don't really think I did much. I researched prices for things, scheduled meeting with people before I leave...
Um... Well, my brother got married in his videogame. Some belly dancer lady. SCORE! Mom got married to a wizard. SCORE! It's a game from the Harvest Moon series. You know, the one about farming that I talked about near the beginning of this blog? The one without monsters. I'm still working on the one with monsters. I can't decide who to marry in either game...
Those Eskrimastick people got uniforms... Still look pretty tough.
Miles Edgeworth: Ace Attorneys Investigations came out today, but there's no way I'll be angling for it when I've got my beggar's face on. I'll play it in six months.
The only community that hasn't cashed out is deviantART (old account that I abandoned a year ago). Selfish artists!
Recommend some books for me! The guide recommends I take reading material for travel days. You don't know what I've read and I probably can't get it, but you know... worth a try. I know several places where I can get a book for a quarter, and I have enough books that, if your recommendation has some level of renown, there's a significant chance I have/can get it.
Feels like a long day, but I don't really think I did much. I researched prices for things, scheduled meeting with people before I leave...
Um... Well, my brother got married in his videogame. Some belly dancer lady. SCORE! Mom got married to a wizard. SCORE! It's a game from the Harvest Moon series. You know, the one about farming that I talked about near the beginning of this blog? The one without monsters. I'm still working on the one with monsters. I can't decide who to marry in either game...
Those Eskrimastick people got uniforms... Still look pretty tough.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Haircut, Scrabble, MSN, Katimavik, Family Day
Got my hair cut today. Is that the second or third haircut this blog has seen me go through? None of my age-mates wanted to see me have it cut. When I first grew it out, nobody wanted to see me do that! I really had an Einstein look going, which gave me mixed feelings about having it cut, too. Mom did the cutting. I guess I could have gone to Magicuts. With this Katimavik thing, I've got a little more leverage in conversation when people ask me what I'm doing with my life, so I don't have to worry so much about the barber grilling me, but I think Mom does an okay job, and I don't really have the extra cash to be spending on haircuts. Not even the $12 Magicuts asks for. Of course, if Mom were butchering my hair, I doubt I'd ever know, since really, I've no eye for hair, and I doubt anyone would tell me.
Getting a haircut was one of the things on my list to do before I leave. I only have to meet two more sets of people and accomplish one thing and I'm through with my list. Okay, well, I need to get all this stuff bought,
Won a Scrabble match! Going to lose two rounds soon, though. At least I got off unlucky number 13 in total Scrabble matches played on Facebook. I started a new round, too, which is pretty intense so far. 32 points, 45 points, 37 points. Not bad for the start of a board, when double letter scores are basically all that's within reach. The smallest score on the board comes from the only word that had a significant advantage based on placement.
Got a new MSN pal from waaaay back in the day. Someone else requested to be added, too, and I accepted, although I've no idea what our relation is. My MSN account's email is based on a random sentence fragment, and my name is a pun, so I don't know how anyone could trace me.
Interestingly, everyone in my MSN friend roster is female. It's just an interesting coincidence. I'm not rejecting dudes or anything. MSN isn't my favoured method of communication, so I add based on request.
Oh yeah, and all of my Katimavik team leaders will be female, too. I keep finding out new information.
We'll be team #15133. Uh-oh, there's a 13 in that.
Also, they list your ability to speak your second language before and after the program. I guess that's why they wanted to test my ability. It was so they can see how much I learn over the course of the program.
I did a bit of inventory in respect to what I'll need for my trip, and it looks like this is what I've got:
-Socks and undergarments for 1 week (no long underwear though)
-Got some casual wear (could use more, though, I think)
-I've got some dress shirts and pants, although I don't know what they mean by “enough for 1 week” (Am I going to have to dress up seven days a week?)
-I've got a warm winter coat, and a windbreaker jacket
-Bathing suit
-Toiletries.
Not great, when compared to that list I posted a little while ago.
Today was Family Day in Canada. It's a new-ish holiday. I don't think it's the day after Valentine's Day every year. The way it worked this time around seems odd, but I don't have anything witty to say about it.
Didn't update my comic today, partially because the next update will require me to put in a bit more effort.
Getting a haircut was one of the things on my list to do before I leave. I only have to meet two more sets of people and accomplish one thing and I'm through with my list. Okay, well, I need to get all this stuff bought,
Won a Scrabble match! Going to lose two rounds soon, though. At least I got off unlucky number 13 in total Scrabble matches played on Facebook. I started a new round, too, which is pretty intense so far. 32 points, 45 points, 37 points. Not bad for the start of a board, when double letter scores are basically all that's within reach. The smallest score on the board comes from the only word that had a significant advantage based on placement.
Got a new MSN pal from waaaay back in the day. Someone else requested to be added, too, and I accepted, although I've no idea what our relation is. My MSN account's email is based on a random sentence fragment, and my name is a pun, so I don't know how anyone could trace me.
Interestingly, everyone in my MSN friend roster is female. It's just an interesting coincidence. I'm not rejecting dudes or anything. MSN isn't my favoured method of communication, so I add based on request.
Oh yeah, and all of my Katimavik team leaders will be female, too. I keep finding out new information.
We'll be team #15133. Uh-oh, there's a 13 in that.
Also, they list your ability to speak your second language before and after the program. I guess that's why they wanted to test my ability. It was so they can see how much I learn over the course of the program.
I did a bit of inventory in respect to what I'll need for my trip, and it looks like this is what I've got:
-Socks and undergarments for 1 week (no long underwear though)
-Got some casual wear (could use more, though, I think)
-I've got some dress shirts and pants, although I don't know what they mean by “enough for 1 week” (Am I going to have to dress up seven days a week?)
-I've got a warm winter coat, and a windbreaker jacket
-Bathing suit
-Toiletries.
Not great, when compared to that list I posted a little while ago.
Today was Family Day in Canada. It's a new-ish holiday. I don't think it's the day after Valentine's Day every year. The way it worked this time around seems odd, but I don't have anything witty to say about it.
Didn't update my comic today, partially because the next update will require me to put in a bit more effort.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Valentine's Day, Katimavik, Forest
Well, today is Valentine's day, and the anniversary of my breaking up with my ex. I didn't even realize it happened on Valentine's day, when it happened.
It really feels like this is more of a New Year's celebration, to me. It almost feels like I've only been alive for one year, and that my new life started last Valentine's day.
Hey, remember when I said that older folks tell you not get in trouble when they want you to get up to mischief? Well, recently, someone told me straight that I need to get my f***ing and fighting out of the way while I'm young, so that I don't have to have a mid-life crisis.
...Make of that what you will. I'm withholding my comment, for the time being.
Seems like every older folk I know is envisioning this Katimavik thing as my saga where I f*** and fight across Canada.
That reminds me, reading this Summary of Behavioural Standards they sent me, I notice that they make a point of stating that they allow Katimavik participants to engage in amorous and romantic pursuit toward fellow Katimavik participants and locals.
...I feel kind of pressured.
I've been reading some of these blogs that participants do while on Katimavik. Only three so far, but the general consensus is... negative. People complain of homesickness, about being overworked, and about their peers not pulling their weight. Everyone's counting the days until they go home, and they talk about what they miss in their old life. And complain about the length of the program. They also say they had fun doing this and doing that, but generally, this is pretty depressing stuff.
At least now I know they won't censor anything I say! I was actually kind of concerned about that.
Here's a link: http://www.gokatimavik.com/ (Lower-right side of the page, titled "Blogroll" are the blogs)
Notice that they're all from different places? There's even an eBlogger Katima-blog, and an active one used by someone who took the program over a year ago. Maybe they'll let me use this one! Probably not, though. I think it needs to be Katima-centric, which it probably only will be while I'm in the program.
Went to my old forest. I've taken a few pictures of it in my gallery blog. It's not looking too well. There must have been some kind of wind storm. There's no clear-cut areas, but the forest has been majorly thinned. Some trees look like they were torn out of the ground, and others look like they were cut down by humans. There are also trees that look like a lot of branches have been cut off. This is all only in the first section of the forest, though. Go far enough in and it looks pretty normal.
Went to see an old pine tree that I loved as a kid. It doesn't look as full as it should, and it's pines are slightly discoloured.
I took a few pictures and ran the camera out of batteries again. I'll upload the images at some point. I wish I'd taken a picture of that pine tree...
At karate last week, I forgot to mention that we trained for tournament participation. I was mistaken when I said that our not being a "tournament school" and that preparation for one would be all toning up meant that we were a basically sub-par school. Turns out I took the term "intensity" to mean "better". See, there are kata and self-defense rounds that are rated on a point system. A kata, as I said, is like a fight-dance. Self-defense has you go with a partner from your school, and your partner is expected to let you break free. Basically, these are rounds based on acting, and "intensity" basically means how real your act looks, in this context. So it might not mean that our school has worse fighters... Just worse actors.
It really feels like this is more of a New Year's celebration, to me. It almost feels like I've only been alive for one year, and that my new life started last Valentine's day.
Hey, remember when I said that older folks tell you not get in trouble when they want you to get up to mischief? Well, recently, someone told me straight that I need to get my f***ing and fighting out of the way while I'm young, so that I don't have to have a mid-life crisis.
...Make of that what you will. I'm withholding my comment, for the time being.
Seems like every older folk I know is envisioning this Katimavik thing as my saga where I f*** and fight across Canada.
That reminds me, reading this Summary of Behavioural Standards they sent me, I notice that they make a point of stating that they allow Katimavik participants to engage in amorous and romantic pursuit toward fellow Katimavik participants and locals.
...I feel kind of pressured.
I've been reading some of these blogs that participants do while on Katimavik. Only three so far, but the general consensus is... negative. People complain of homesickness, about being overworked, and about their peers not pulling their weight. Everyone's counting the days until they go home, and they talk about what they miss in their old life. And complain about the length of the program. They also say they had fun doing this and doing that, but generally, this is pretty depressing stuff.
At least now I know they won't censor anything I say! I was actually kind of concerned about that.
Here's a link: http://www.gokatimavik.com/ (Lower-right side of the page, titled "Blogroll" are the blogs)
Notice that they're all from different places? There's even an eBlogger Katima-blog, and an active one used by someone who took the program over a year ago. Maybe they'll let me use this one! Probably not, though. I think it needs to be Katima-centric, which it probably only will be while I'm in the program.
Went to my old forest. I've taken a few pictures of it in my gallery blog. It's not looking too well. There must have been some kind of wind storm. There's no clear-cut areas, but the forest has been majorly thinned. Some trees look like they were torn out of the ground, and others look like they were cut down by humans. There are also trees that look like a lot of branches have been cut off. This is all only in the first section of the forest, though. Go far enough in and it looks pretty normal.
Went to see an old pine tree that I loved as a kid. It doesn't look as full as it should, and it's pines are slightly discoloured.
I took a few pictures and ran the camera out of batteries again. I'll upload the images at some point. I wish I'd taken a picture of that pine tree...
At karate last week, I forgot to mention that we trained for tournament participation. I was mistaken when I said that our not being a "tournament school" and that preparation for one would be all toning up meant that we were a basically sub-par school. Turns out I took the term "intensity" to mean "better". See, there are kata and self-defense rounds that are rated on a point system. A kata, as I said, is like a fight-dance. Self-defense has you go with a partner from your school, and your partner is expected to let you break free. Basically, these are rounds based on acting, and "intensity" basically means how real your act looks, in this context. So it might not mean that our school has worse fighters... Just worse actors.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Well, here's the list of things I'll need for Katimavik:
Clothing for physical work and casual wear (mandatory)
§ Undergarments (enough for one week)
§ Long underwear
§ Socks (enough for one week, plus three pairs of warm socks for winter)
§ Pants, jeans, t-shirts (casual wear)
§ Pyjamas
§ Warm winter coat and snow pants (overalls)
§ Warm hat (tuque) and scarf
§ Good quality mittens (leather and fur) – NOT GLOVES
§ Waterproof jacket (rain boots aren’t necessary)
Clothing for community work and social activities (mandatory)
§ Dress pants/skirts, dress shirts (enough for 1 week)
Clothing for sports (mandatory)
§ Bathing suit
§ Windbreaker jacket
§ Comfortable clothes
Footwear (mandatory)
§ Running shoes
§ Dress shoes
§ Insulated winter boots (appropriate for -50° Celsius)
Bedding (mandatory)
§ Sleeping bag (appropriate for - 5° to 0° Celsius)
§ A set of sheets for a single bed
Toiletries (mandatory)
§ Brush, comb, toothbrush, bath towel, etc.
And here are my baggage limitations:
Limit of one checked baggage
each piece must weigh under 23 kg (50 lbs) and have a total
dimension (length + width + height) of less than 155 cm (62 in).
Carry-on luggage
One small piece of carry-on luggage is also allowed provided it weighs
less than 10 kg (22 lbs) and does not exceed the following dimensions:
23 cm + 40 cm + 55 cm (9 in + 15.5 in + 21.5 in).
What was this whole "cost is not an issue" thing they promised me?! Certainly seems like cost is an issue!
Alright, that's it. I know this is terribly short, but at least I did manage two updates!
Clothing for physical work and casual wear (mandatory)
§ Undergarments (enough for one week)
§ Long underwear
§ Socks (enough for one week, plus three pairs of warm socks for winter)
§ Pants, jeans, t-shirts (casual wear)
§ Pyjamas
§ Warm winter coat and snow pants (overalls)
§ Warm hat (tuque) and scarf
§ Good quality mittens (leather and fur) – NOT GLOVES
§ Waterproof jacket (rain boots aren’t necessary)
Clothing for community work and social activities (mandatory)
§ Dress pants/skirts, dress shirts (enough for 1 week)
Clothing for sports (mandatory)
§ Bathing suit
§ Windbreaker jacket
§ Comfortable clothes
Footwear (mandatory)
§ Running shoes
§ Dress shoes
§ Insulated winter boots (appropriate for -50° Celsius)
Bedding (mandatory)
§ Sleeping bag (appropriate for - 5° to 0° Celsius)
§ A set of sheets for a single bed
Toiletries (mandatory)
§ Brush, comb, toothbrush, bath towel, etc.
And here are my baggage limitations:
Limit of one checked baggage
each piece must weigh under 23 kg (50 lbs) and have a total
dimension (length + width + height) of less than 155 cm (62 in).
Carry-on luggage
One small piece of carry-on luggage is also allowed provided it weighs
less than 10 kg (22 lbs) and does not exceed the following dimensions:
23 cm + 40 cm + 55 cm (9 in + 15.5 in + 21.5 in).
What was this whole "cost is not an issue" thing they promised me?! Certainly seems like cost is an issue!
Alright, that's it. I know this is terribly short, but at least I did manage two updates!
Writing Course Reception, New Katimaroute Info
Sorry I didn't update yesterday. I didn't go to karate, either, so both those goals went bust in one day. However, I only didn't go to karate because I was visiting with an old friend from middle school, which was on my list of things to do before I leave for Katimavik, and I only didn't update the blog because our Internet was down. I can't bring back that karate lesson, but I can update this blog twice in one day.
This old friend is the guy who's getting married. I didn't meet his fiancee. Did I say that, apparently, they're moving into this apartment building?! Why did he wait until now to do all these things?! Could've been a groomsman and then a neighbor! Oh well.
Got my grades back for my 1-2 page short rewrite, plot outline, and ten novels first paragraph exercise. Apparently I am doing excellent. Sweet.
I think I'll send another mass email about my destinations, although I don't think many people in my network are too savvy with Canadian Geography (lots of branch-family in the States).
By-the-by, my final destination, which I stated as being "a small village in Northern Quebec that I don't remember the name of" goes by the name "Chisasibi".
Those are some wicked names, eh? Like, right out of fiction. "Summerside", "Thunder Bay", "Chisasibi".
Let's see if I can find out what Chisasibi means...
Okay, they have an official website, and I learned that it's a Cree nation. What...? Our Native community will be in Quebec? So I'll be around people who have a Native first language and French as a second. I guess it would be too much to hope for for them to be trilingual?
Nothing on their name, though. Just a sec...
Okay, it means Great River. Thank you, Wikipedia!
I guess Great River will do. I would have preferred something like "Valley of Death" or "Destruction Kill Land", but I guess Great River is pretty badass, too. It's no Thunder Bay, though.
I just revisited my Katimaroute and it contains all sorts of interesting information, like the names of my destinations :P. I didn't know that it was useful as anything other than to tell you how your application process was going in the context of acceptance. Thats's why, when I got accepted, I didn't check back there. That's also why the lady expected me to know my destinations when I called.
Jeez, under medical diagnosis, they put me down as having Attention Deficit Disorder, Dysthmyia, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Let me give you guys some advice... When you are depressed because you broke up with your girlfriend of three years, don't tell your doctor. Doctors love to diagnose you with intimidating-sounding things. That's the only reason I've been put down as having Dysthmyia and Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and those are things I don't think will ever be taken off my record. And no matter how many people have these things, only the ones who get diagnosed can have it held against them. I've heard of people not being allowed to take jobs overseas because they were diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, which sounds the most tame of those three titles.
Looks like they also sent me a departure guide for things to pack. I'm glad I'm discovering this now!!! I was waiting on them to send me something through the mail!
Well, I can't go too in-depth right now... Something else I gotta get doing, but you can bet I'm sending my list of things to pack along with my destinations. I'm not ready to travel materials-wise! I'm wearing rags right now and don't have a dollar to my name! (Okay, seven dollars, but that's it).
Screw congratulatory lunches/dinners and going away presents! It's time to be a beggar!
Otherwise, I found out that if I rejoin my dojo after Katimavik, I won't lose any stripes, and if I join another, I won't lose my belt rank.
I also found out that that dojo I thought was trying to top us is actually separate from the one that comes to train with us. It's just taken the spot where our partner school used to be. But this school isn't new, because this old friend that's getting married used to be a member of it years ago, and our partner school doesn't look like it went out of business, because they're keeping up their regiment with our school.
Also, turns out, there are more than three degrees on a black belt. You know what? Google could answer most of these questions. I'm not so fond of Google, sometimes. Makes life too easy.
Okay, well it turns out you can go beyond eleven degrees, but it doesn't give me a cap. Didn't help me too much this time!
This old friend is the guy who's getting married. I didn't meet his fiancee. Did I say that, apparently, they're moving into this apartment building?! Why did he wait until now to do all these things?! Could've been a groomsman and then a neighbor! Oh well.
Got my grades back for my 1-2 page short rewrite, plot outline, and ten novels first paragraph exercise. Apparently I am doing excellent. Sweet.
I think I'll send another mass email about my destinations, although I don't think many people in my network are too savvy with Canadian Geography (lots of branch-family in the States).
By-the-by, my final destination, which I stated as being "a small village in Northern Quebec that I don't remember the name of" goes by the name "Chisasibi".
Those are some wicked names, eh? Like, right out of fiction. "Summerside", "Thunder Bay", "Chisasibi".
Let's see if I can find out what Chisasibi means...
Okay, they have an official website, and I learned that it's a Cree nation. What...? Our Native community will be in Quebec? So I'll be around people who have a Native first language and French as a second. I guess it would be too much to hope for for them to be trilingual?
Nothing on their name, though. Just a sec...
Okay, it means Great River. Thank you, Wikipedia!
I guess Great River will do. I would have preferred something like "Valley of Death" or "Destruction Kill Land", but I guess Great River is pretty badass, too. It's no Thunder Bay, though.
I just revisited my Katimaroute and it contains all sorts of interesting information, like the names of my destinations :P. I didn't know that it was useful as anything other than to tell you how your application process was going in the context of acceptance. Thats's why, when I got accepted, I didn't check back there. That's also why the lady expected me to know my destinations when I called.
Jeez, under medical diagnosis, they put me down as having Attention Deficit Disorder, Dysthmyia, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Let me give you guys some advice... When you are depressed because you broke up with your girlfriend of three years, don't tell your doctor. Doctors love to diagnose you with intimidating-sounding things. That's the only reason I've been put down as having Dysthmyia and Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and those are things I don't think will ever be taken off my record. And no matter how many people have these things, only the ones who get diagnosed can have it held against them. I've heard of people not being allowed to take jobs overseas because they were diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, which sounds the most tame of those three titles.
Looks like they also sent me a departure guide for things to pack. I'm glad I'm discovering this now!!! I was waiting on them to send me something through the mail!
Well, I can't go too in-depth right now... Something else I gotta get doing, but you can bet I'm sending my list of things to pack along with my destinations. I'm not ready to travel materials-wise! I'm wearing rags right now and don't have a dollar to my name! (Okay, seven dollars, but that's it).
Screw congratulatory lunches/dinners and going away presents! It's time to be a beggar!
Otherwise, I found out that if I rejoin my dojo after Katimavik, I won't lose any stripes, and if I join another, I won't lose my belt rank.
I also found out that that dojo I thought was trying to top us is actually separate from the one that comes to train with us. It's just taken the spot where our partner school used to be. But this school isn't new, because this old friend that's getting married used to be a member of it years ago, and our partner school doesn't look like it went out of business, because they're keeping up their regiment with our school.
Also, turns out, there are more than three degrees on a black belt. You know what? Google could answer most of these questions. I'm not so fond of Google, sometimes. Makes life too easy.
Okay, well it turns out you can go beyond eleven degrees, but it doesn't give me a cap. Didn't help me too much this time!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Angst, Phrasing Analysis, Rainforest Essay
Forgot to mention yesterday that my old counselor brought up a good point about my worry that W2W's selection is based on personality compatibility while Katimavik is based on geographic incompatibility... He said that W2W is aimed at helping troubled people, while Katimavik is not, so it would probably be a different roster of applicants... and less necessary to make sure no one is going to fly off the handle at someone else.
I managed to get the rough draft for my 6-10 page short story in. That should've been the hardest this course has to offer. One more assignment and I should be done.
So far I've been keeping up my resolution to update my comic every day and go to karate every lesson (Okay, I missed an update for my comic, but I did that on purpose because I double-posted that one day).
I feel like my communications with people have been really difficult lately. I feel like I'm in a state of reevaluation before I leave on my trip, and nobody else is on that wavelength. Can't blame people. That would be a pretty cryptic thing to pick up on, but nonetheless, I've been a lot more critical than usual (can you imagine?!?!?!).
Also, I've been getting some existential angst and have been going through some self-esteem issues. I know I'm not a teenager, and can't have that most potent teenage angst, but until I turn 25, I'm still considered a youth by the Ontario Government, required to go through special training if I take on a construction job, and I'm eligible for youth employment and parenting counseling, all of which has been put down in order to stopper my youthful angst!
After 25, I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to feel that way anymore, though.
Hmmm... Well, let's see...
I can't think of anything else I did today, so allow me to tell you a little observation I've made. When older folks tell you to "not get in trouble", you know what they mean? They mean get in trouble! Some people genuinely don't want you to get in trouble, but they usually go a bit more in-depth of what you should specifically not do. The classic line, "stay out of trouble" means "get in trouble", or maybe more specifically, "Do things that would get you in trouble, but don't get caught."
Older folks, I understand you!!!!
I was going through some old schoolwork and found my old essay on disappearing rainforests. I'd forgotten that I wanted to somehow make that available to the public. You would not believe how difficult it is to find relevant information on rainforests. It's out there, and from relevant sources, but it is maddeningly, excruciatingly difficult to compile it into any kind of worthwhile pool of knowledge. Even if I can't make it a really well-established source, I should at least make it generally public, even via posting it to this blog, or one of my branch-blogs. I'm tempted to put it in "reviews" just because I don't want to make an "essays" blog, because I'll never post in it again, even though this isn't really a review...
I managed to get the rough draft for my 6-10 page short story in. That should've been the hardest this course has to offer. One more assignment and I should be done.
So far I've been keeping up my resolution to update my comic every day and go to karate every lesson (Okay, I missed an update for my comic, but I did that on purpose because I double-posted that one day).
I feel like my communications with people have been really difficult lately. I feel like I'm in a state of reevaluation before I leave on my trip, and nobody else is on that wavelength. Can't blame people. That would be a pretty cryptic thing to pick up on, but nonetheless, I've been a lot more critical than usual (can you imagine?!?!?!).
Also, I've been getting some existential angst and have been going through some self-esteem issues. I know I'm not a teenager, and can't have that most potent teenage angst, but until I turn 25, I'm still considered a youth by the Ontario Government, required to go through special training if I take on a construction job, and I'm eligible for youth employment and parenting counseling, all of which has been put down in order to stopper my youthful angst!
After 25, I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to feel that way anymore, though.
Hmmm... Well, let's see...
I can't think of anything else I did today, so allow me to tell you a little observation I've made. When older folks tell you to "not get in trouble", you know what they mean? They mean get in trouble! Some people genuinely don't want you to get in trouble, but they usually go a bit more in-depth of what you should specifically not do. The classic line, "stay out of trouble" means "get in trouble", or maybe more specifically, "Do things that would get you in trouble, but don't get caught."
Older folks, I understand you!!!!
I was going through some old schoolwork and found my old essay on disappearing rainforests. I'd forgotten that I wanted to somehow make that available to the public. You would not believe how difficult it is to find relevant information on rainforests. It's out there, and from relevant sources, but it is maddeningly, excruciatingly difficult to compile it into any kind of worthwhile pool of knowledge. Even if I can't make it a really well-established source, I should at least make it generally public, even via posting it to this blog, or one of my branch-blogs. I'm tempted to put it in "reviews" just because I don't want to make an "essays" blog, because I'll never post in it again, even though this isn't really a review...
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Katimavik Update and Preparations for Leaving
I spoke with the transportation official at Katimavik, and I got the locations of where I will be going. First I'll be heading from Toronto to Charlottetown, where I'll stay only for three days and meet up with my peers and team leader, then we'll head to our first serious-business destination where we will do our first project. That will be Summerside, Prince Edward Island. After that it's Thunder Bay, Ontario, and after that, some small village in Northern Quebec that I don't remember the name of.
Our phone cut out at an awkward time and I missed Katimavik's call, so I had to call them back. Their main office is stationed in Quebec, and, interestingly enough, they give you the English option before anything else. I thought that in a primarily French-speaking community, French would come first, because in my English-speaking community, English is always the first option.
So my plane ticket has been ordered and the details will be posted on my Katimaroute. They're sending me a list of things I should pack, too, by mail.
I met up with an old W2W employment counselor... The guy I've been trying to beat at arm wrestling? Yeah, lost again.
Got my red stripe for my yellow belt in karate, though!
Aw, man... You know how people, before they die, feel a need to confess their sins? Well, BAD NEWS! I've been doing that. I guess it's because the future is hard enough to perceive that it feels like death. Not many people are interested in hearing my sins, though. C'mon! I listened to yours!
So keep reading, because this blog might get a little more spicy! I can't unload all my regrets yet, because life could still get painful in the span of three weeks. Make sure to read when I'm about to make my grand escape.
Unless you don't want to hear! Just like everyone!
So you know my friend who is getting married? Well, he's moving into our building! He doesn't know where we live, I don't think. He just made that decision by chance. What's his deal? Doing all this when I'm leaving!
Hey, you how everywhere has hand sanitizer nowadays? Well, my building does, now. In front of the first floor elevator. I actually use it, just because it's funny to get it in such a place.
Our phone cut out at an awkward time and I missed Katimavik's call, so I had to call them back. Their main office is stationed in Quebec, and, interestingly enough, they give you the English option before anything else. I thought that in a primarily French-speaking community, French would come first, because in my English-speaking community, English is always the first option.
So my plane ticket has been ordered and the details will be posted on my Katimaroute. They're sending me a list of things I should pack, too, by mail.
I met up with an old W2W employment counselor... The guy I've been trying to beat at arm wrestling? Yeah, lost again.
Got my red stripe for my yellow belt in karate, though!
Aw, man... You know how people, before they die, feel a need to confess their sins? Well, BAD NEWS! I've been doing that. I guess it's because the future is hard enough to perceive that it feels like death. Not many people are interested in hearing my sins, though. C'mon! I listened to yours!
So keep reading, because this blog might get a little more spicy! I can't unload all my regrets yet, because life could still get painful in the span of three weeks. Make sure to read when I'm about to make my grand escape.
Unless you don't want to hear! Just like everyone!
So you know my friend who is getting married? Well, he's moving into our building! He doesn't know where we live, I don't think. He just made that decision by chance. What's his deal? Doing all this when I'm leaving!
Hey, you how everywhere has hand sanitizer nowadays? Well, my building does, now. In front of the first floor elevator. I actually use it, just because it's funny to get it in such a place.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Apologies, I Hate Toucans
Sorry about the length, and uh... content of the last update. I was allotted 15 minutes to write something, and I had vowed to update every day until I left, so after 15 minutes of automatic writing, I decided to put aside my reservations and just publish what I'd written.
Anyway, I'd just like to say that, although it certainly doesn't culminate all my congratulatory responses, the first five people to messaged me back were the five people that claim to read my blog, so maybe I'll have to start believing them (I already believed two of them).
I Hate Toucans has a new member! This time, I don't know how. I haven't done anything special. I just noticed her when I entered the group to link an article about how that despicable Toucan Sam deceived an innocent man into believing that he was following the regulations of a healthy diet, when in reality, the deadly breakfast food was rotting him from the inside out!
Here's a link to the article: http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2009/09/froot_not_fruit_sf_lawsuit_all.php
Yeah, I admit that I was playing kinda safe with the content of this blog for as long as Katimavik might read it, and now that I've gained admission, I'm playing loose and wild! WOOO!
Well, it's pretty early in the day. I may or may not post again, but my obligation to you guys has been fulfilled.
Anyway, I'd just like to say that, although it certainly doesn't culminate all my congratulatory responses, the first five people to messaged me back were the five people that claim to read my blog, so maybe I'll have to start believing them (I already believed two of them).
I Hate Toucans has a new member! This time, I don't know how. I haven't done anything special. I just noticed her when I entered the group to link an article about how that despicable Toucan Sam deceived an innocent man into believing that he was following the regulations of a healthy diet, when in reality, the deadly breakfast food was rotting him from the inside out!
Here's a link to the article: http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2009/09/froot_not_fruit_sf_lawsuit_all.php
Yeah, I admit that I was playing kinda safe with the content of this blog for as long as Katimavik might read it, and now that I've gained admission, I'm playing loose and wild! WOOO!
Well, it's pretty early in the day. I may or may not post again, but my obligation to you guys has been fulfilled.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Trip Back to Old High School, Mainly
I just remembered that men aren't supposed to get jealous because of people getting married, unless it's to a specific girl. It signifies desired dependency or something, so I take back yesterday's statement.
^Not really. I don't so much buy into the traditional male stigma, but I recently checked up on some people who have gotten divorces and are in new relationships, and the similarity of their behaviour between then and now is depressing. Doesn't your perception of your partner have any variation in accordance to WHO YOUR PARTNER ACTUALLY IS?!
Today I went and saw a teacher at my old high school who gave me a reference for Katimavik, and I wound up talking to several old teachers. I told them about not only Katimavik, but also about finding my father's side of the family, being reunited with my father, and getting the writing course scholarships.
A gaggle of high school girls were nearby, and they kept fawning over me like crazy! Gasping, sighing, blushing, giggling, laughing hysterically at my jokes, trying to make conversation, and one time bursting out with a spontaneous declaration of how cool one of them thought I was, followed by gasping blushing, giggling and trying to hide her face in her hands. Well, this is certainly different from when I was a student! It was funny that these teachers, who knew exactly how luckless I was with the ladies back in high school saw my newfound magnetism toward the opposite gender in action.
Ha, I don't usually blog about it, because I don't want to become a "Cassanova Douchebag" (I already went over the Musclehead and Artistic Douchebags in a previous update) and for the past couple months it seemed my magnetism was wearing off, but now it's back full-blown. This isn't even the only example of womankind expressing interest in me TODAY.
Don't worry, I'm still really inexperienced and have made very minimal expansion on the romantic field since I broke up with my ex. And I'm still your typical loser: a 20-year-old male, unemployed, not in school, and living with his Mom.
It's not good to mess with high school girls, but you can't help standing a bit straighter, talking a bit louder, and speaking a bit more theatrically when you're being showered with so much attention and praise.
Otherwise... uh.... Hey, do you remember that old cartoon, Samurai Pizza Cats? Don't you think that's the most awesome name for a show EVER?! Think about it... All three of those words are extreme power-words. It's hard to think of words more awesome than:
1) Samurai
2) Pizza
3) Cats
And they stapled all three of them together! Impossibly cool.
I don't know if I said, but I found a person to help teach me how to drive once I get bck from Katimavik.
^Not really. I don't so much buy into the traditional male stigma, but I recently checked up on some people who have gotten divorces and are in new relationships, and the similarity of their behaviour between then and now is depressing. Doesn't your perception of your partner have any variation in accordance to WHO YOUR PARTNER ACTUALLY IS?!
Today I went and saw a teacher at my old high school who gave me a reference for Katimavik, and I wound up talking to several old teachers. I told them about not only Katimavik, but also about finding my father's side of the family, being reunited with my father, and getting the writing course scholarships.
A gaggle of high school girls were nearby, and they kept fawning over me like crazy! Gasping, sighing, blushing, giggling, laughing hysterically at my jokes, trying to make conversation, and one time bursting out with a spontaneous declaration of how cool one of them thought I was, followed by gasping blushing, giggling and trying to hide her face in her hands. Well, this is certainly different from when I was a student! It was funny that these teachers, who knew exactly how luckless I was with the ladies back in high school saw my newfound magnetism toward the opposite gender in action.
Ha, I don't usually blog about it, because I don't want to become a "Cassanova Douchebag" (I already went over the Musclehead and Artistic Douchebags in a previous update) and for the past couple months it seemed my magnetism was wearing off, but now it's back full-blown. This isn't even the only example of womankind expressing interest in me TODAY.
Don't worry, I'm still really inexperienced and have made very minimal expansion on the romantic field since I broke up with my ex. And I'm still your typical loser: a 20-year-old male, unemployed, not in school, and living with his Mom.
It's not good to mess with high school girls, but you can't help standing a bit straighter, talking a bit louder, and speaking a bit more theatrically when you're being showered with so much attention and praise.
Otherwise... uh.... Hey, do you remember that old cartoon, Samurai Pizza Cats? Don't you think that's the most awesome name for a show EVER?! Think about it... All three of those words are extreme power-words. It's hard to think of words more awesome than:
1) Samurai
2) Pizza
3) Cats
And they stapled all three of them together! Impossibly cool.
I don't know if I said, but I found a person to help teach me how to drive once I get bck from Katimavik.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Friend Getting Married, Writing, Karate, Resume, Katimavik
Well, I just found out that one of my friends is getting married and wanted me to be a groomsman, but that it will occur while I'm at Katimavik. Arg! People keep getting married and having children! They really need to stop doing that! Makes me feel like I'm falling behind. I mean... congratulations! I mean... what? I didn't even know this guy had a girlfriend!
Urk...
...Wadda story-topper! I'm all "Oh, I got into this program," and he's all "Oh, that's cool! Too bad you'll miss the wedding... Was gonna ask you to be a groomsman..."
...No, I'm mad with jealousy and I know it. Not his fault, and I shouldn't act such away when he was going to bestow such an honour on me.
Well, I just learned about this so it's weighing pretty heavily on my mind, but I don't have anything more to say on the topic, so I'm going to... go update my comic... and then resume writing here.
Okay, so I updated my comic. And I just remembered that I already updated today! First time I've updated twice in one day.
I resurrected my Drunk Duck account (webcomic hosting site) that I hadn't updated in four months, the reason being that, for some reason, my uploaded comics were coming out in a strange size. They didn't used to do that, and dA offers a resize function, so I thought that I had figured out how to work DD previously and had just forgotten, especially since I have my original images on my computer, but no resized ones, meaning that I never resized anything through my own image manipulator.
My brother theorizes that it's because I was using a different scanner at first, and it sized things appropriately, whereas the new one doesn't. I conceded that this was a plausible theory and finally gave in to search for an equivalent size and start resizing all my comics...
Oddly, my Drunk Duck account has my comic ranked well over the 50% marker for every series on the site. Not bad for someone who hasn't updated in four months, right? I have a theory about that. See, I have one comment, and that commenter gave me a perfect 5. So that means I have a perfect 5 star score overall!
For the first time since... I dunno, my first five deviations, I got a little attention on my dA account. I have 20 deviations now, by the way, two watchers, one favourite, and 120 pageviews (not including myself).
Anyway, the new attention came from a person usernamed IQUnlimited, who informed me that I had submitted the 1244444th dragon-related deviation. I asked this person if that was a significant number, and they said that it had five fours in it.
*Shrugs shoulders*
Asked some pals from my old account how to activate the displayed collections feature, and someone told me she thought that was something you had to pay for. So either she's wrong, or some of these people who say they don't have paid accounts are just lying.
My most difficult task was due today in my creative writing class... The rough draft for the final story, but since she was late getting feedback on our story outlines, she's giving us until next Thursday, and then we get another week to touch up our story, extending the four week program to a five week one.
The workload is a bit harsher than what was advertised. The original published curriculum said four 1-page assignments and a 10-page short story. Well, the first was 1-2 pages, then there was a rewrite for that assignment, the second was about 1, the third was 4, the fourth... 6-10 pages, and the final project also 6-10.
Actually, it's different than the public course outline, and looks larger, but to be fair, it's probably about the same length. After all, the reason I said the 6-10 page rough draft was the hardest assignment is because the 1-2 page assignment rough draft was a lot harder than the final copy... Most of the core writing stays the same from the rough draft, so the final assignment shouldn't count as a full 6-10 pages, and the 10-page minimum was changed to 6, and 10 became the cap.
She says we all have such diverse voices and that we're all doing great, so I guess that means I'm not in danger of failing. On my first paragraph assignment, I was supposed to analyze ten first paragraphs from ten novels and write my own. I did all the analyzing, but forgot to write my own. It would be pretty hard to flunk the entire course because of that, but I'm an extremist, so I still worried.
...Hmmm... Maybe I could appeal for an extension, since she's fallen behind so many deadlines...
Serious creative writing is a lot more embarrassing than any other form of writing. I look back on all my reviews and comics with a good amount of pride, but I'm terribly embarrassed to read anything sort of literary that I did. And it's embarrassing to write it now, too.
So, you know those guys who sometimes share their dojo with us? Well, they changed the name of their dojo to the head sensei's last name and "Karate", like school! And they changed their symbol from a yin-yang to the silhouette of a guy kicking, like our school! Except their silhouette is kicking higher! Those... those jerks!
Hey, want to hear some weird disadvantages of being large, karate-wise? Being large is mainly advantageous, and most people already know the reasons for that... Increased strength, range, harder to move etc, but it does have it's disadvantages. Ever heard the saying "The bigger they are, the harder they fall"? Well, apparently it's true. The bigger you are, the harder it is to throw you, but if it does happen, the effect will be more devastating. Also, a larger person will try to keep a smaller person at a distance... In the area where they can hit them, but they can't hit back. But if a smaller person breaks through, their agility in close-quarters is superior. Also, larger people are more susceptible to strangling, strangely.
...So those are all tips in case you guys need to fight me.
Hey, should I put my karate and work at Mom's bead business on my resume?
Concerning karate, I was thinking it wasn't relevant, but I would put it on once I hit blackbelt, anyway (first degree though... I wouldn't wait longer). Turns out that anything you put on a resume is fair game so long as it impresses the employer, and I fear that anything between white and black wouldn't be universally recognized on sight. However, someone recommended I put it on right now as a yellow belt, just because it would illustrate that I have gone up at least one belt rank. Someone else recommended I wait until I turn orange (third belt)someone else that I wait until green (fourth) and someone else until I turn brown (eighth).
As far as the beading business goes...This is something I've considered for a while, but since the business has slowed down a bit for the Winter months, I sort of forgot to think about it at least on this level. However, Louise mentioned it in my reference letter, so I'm thinking about it again.
Oh, by the way, the beading business has been kind of on-and-off. Looks like the Farmer's Market is genuinely mainly for farmer's during the winter months. Looks like they won't get a steady spot until Spring, when the farmers move their product outside again, opening up spots on the inside of the building.
Yesterday I watered my cacti for the first time since I got them at Christmas. I used to have a whole bunch, and I killed them all. So this time I waited for them to give me a cue for when I needed to water them. They finally began to show a bit of a bend at the top, and I took that for a sign of dehydration. So far this looks like an alright move, as they absorbed almost all excess water in the dish-thing at the bottom of their container. After 24 hours, I got rid of the excess.
Ha, when I go to Katimavik, I hope the leader isn't too amped to get a crowd of peppy youngsters. Because I'll probably wind up like, "The air's too fresh, the sky's too high, the ground's too dirty, that squirrel's too fast! In my day, squirrels knew how to go at their own pace! These newfangled squirrel's are all rush-rush-rush!"
...I don't act too youthful, I fear...
People keep asking me why I didn't go for the 9 month program. Gimme a break! 6 months is a long time! It's half a year! That's approximately one 160th of a lifespan! A significant percentage! And I'm no spring chicken! Besides, Ways2Work was four weeks, and that felt like ages!
You know why time perception increases with age? Because time perception is memory-based, and you only remember important life events, and the younger you are, the more you're learning. Once you get a grip on things, not as much stands out, so it feels like time is accelerating. This is why the only way to be happy in life is to enjoy learning and working. The saying "life is short" is foolish. It's the longest thing you'll ever live to experience! A day would take what you perceive as years if you fully acknowledged every moment of it.
That's why Ways2Work felt so long. I was in a state of reevaluation... Almost like a second childhood, so I was seeing the world with new eyes and relearning many things. Four weeks felt like four years, and I brought as many memories from it.
I expect to learn a lot! So this program will take a long time!
Urk...
...Wadda story-topper! I'm all "Oh, I got into this program," and he's all "Oh, that's cool! Too bad you'll miss the wedding... Was gonna ask you to be a groomsman..."
...No, I'm mad with jealousy and I know it. Not his fault, and I shouldn't act such away when he was going to bestow such an honour on me.
Well, I just learned about this so it's weighing pretty heavily on my mind, but I don't have anything more to say on the topic, so I'm going to... go update my comic... and then resume writing here.
Okay, so I updated my comic. And I just remembered that I already updated today! First time I've updated twice in one day.
I resurrected my Drunk Duck account (webcomic hosting site) that I hadn't updated in four months, the reason being that, for some reason, my uploaded comics were coming out in a strange size. They didn't used to do that, and dA offers a resize function, so I thought that I had figured out how to work DD previously and had just forgotten, especially since I have my original images on my computer, but no resized ones, meaning that I never resized anything through my own image manipulator.
My brother theorizes that it's because I was using a different scanner at first, and it sized things appropriately, whereas the new one doesn't. I conceded that this was a plausible theory and finally gave in to search for an equivalent size and start resizing all my comics...
Oddly, my Drunk Duck account has my comic ranked well over the 50% marker for every series on the site. Not bad for someone who hasn't updated in four months, right? I have a theory about that. See, I have one comment, and that commenter gave me a perfect 5. So that means I have a perfect 5 star score overall!
For the first time since... I dunno, my first five deviations, I got a little attention on my dA account. I have 20 deviations now, by the way, two watchers, one favourite, and 120 pageviews (not including myself).
Anyway, the new attention came from a person usernamed IQUnlimited, who informed me that I had submitted the 1244444th dragon-related deviation. I asked this person if that was a significant number, and they said that it had five fours in it.
*Shrugs shoulders*
Asked some pals from my old account how to activate the displayed collections feature, and someone told me she thought that was something you had to pay for. So either she's wrong, or some of these people who say they don't have paid accounts are just lying.
My most difficult task was due today in my creative writing class... The rough draft for the final story, but since she was late getting feedback on our story outlines, she's giving us until next Thursday, and then we get another week to touch up our story, extending the four week program to a five week one.
The workload is a bit harsher than what was advertised. The original published curriculum said four 1-page assignments and a 10-page short story. Well, the first was 1-2 pages, then there was a rewrite for that assignment, the second was about 1, the third was 4, the fourth... 6-10 pages, and the final project also 6-10.
Actually, it's different than the public course outline, and looks larger, but to be fair, it's probably about the same length. After all, the reason I said the 6-10 page rough draft was the hardest assignment is because the 1-2 page assignment rough draft was a lot harder than the final copy... Most of the core writing stays the same from the rough draft, so the final assignment shouldn't count as a full 6-10 pages, and the 10-page minimum was changed to 6, and 10 became the cap.
She says we all have such diverse voices and that we're all doing great, so I guess that means I'm not in danger of failing. On my first paragraph assignment, I was supposed to analyze ten first paragraphs from ten novels and write my own. I did all the analyzing, but forgot to write my own. It would be pretty hard to flunk the entire course because of that, but I'm an extremist, so I still worried.
...Hmmm... Maybe I could appeal for an extension, since she's fallen behind so many deadlines...
Serious creative writing is a lot more embarrassing than any other form of writing. I look back on all my reviews and comics with a good amount of pride, but I'm terribly embarrassed to read anything sort of literary that I did. And it's embarrassing to write it now, too.
So, you know those guys who sometimes share their dojo with us? Well, they changed the name of their dojo to the head sensei's last name and "Karate", like school! And they changed their symbol from a yin-yang to the silhouette of a guy kicking, like our school! Except their silhouette is kicking higher! Those... those jerks!
Hey, want to hear some weird disadvantages of being large, karate-wise? Being large is mainly advantageous, and most people already know the reasons for that... Increased strength, range, harder to move etc, but it does have it's disadvantages. Ever heard the saying "The bigger they are, the harder they fall"? Well, apparently it's true. The bigger you are, the harder it is to throw you, but if it does happen, the effect will be more devastating. Also, a larger person will try to keep a smaller person at a distance... In the area where they can hit them, but they can't hit back. But if a smaller person breaks through, their agility in close-quarters is superior. Also, larger people are more susceptible to strangling, strangely.
...So those are all tips in case you guys need to fight me.
Hey, should I put my karate and work at Mom's bead business on my resume?
Concerning karate, I was thinking it wasn't relevant, but I would put it on once I hit blackbelt, anyway (first degree though... I wouldn't wait longer). Turns out that anything you put on a resume is fair game so long as it impresses the employer, and I fear that anything between white and black wouldn't be universally recognized on sight. However, someone recommended I put it on right now as a yellow belt, just because it would illustrate that I have gone up at least one belt rank. Someone else recommended I wait until I turn orange (third belt)someone else that I wait until green (fourth) and someone else until I turn brown (eighth).
As far as the beading business goes...This is something I've considered for a while, but since the business has slowed down a bit for the Winter months, I sort of forgot to think about it at least on this level. However, Louise mentioned it in my reference letter, so I'm thinking about it again.
Oh, by the way, the beading business has been kind of on-and-off. Looks like the Farmer's Market is genuinely mainly for farmer's during the winter months. Looks like they won't get a steady spot until Spring, when the farmers move their product outside again, opening up spots on the inside of the building.
Yesterday I watered my cacti for the first time since I got them at Christmas. I used to have a whole bunch, and I killed them all. So this time I waited for them to give me a cue for when I needed to water them. They finally began to show a bit of a bend at the top, and I took that for a sign of dehydration. So far this looks like an alright move, as they absorbed almost all excess water in the dish-thing at the bottom of their container. After 24 hours, I got rid of the excess.
Ha, when I go to Katimavik, I hope the leader isn't too amped to get a crowd of peppy youngsters. Because I'll probably wind up like, "The air's too fresh, the sky's too high, the ground's too dirty, that squirrel's too fast! In my day, squirrels knew how to go at their own pace! These newfangled squirrel's are all rush-rush-rush!"
...I don't act too youthful, I fear...
People keep asking me why I didn't go for the 9 month program. Gimme a break! 6 months is a long time! It's half a year! That's approximately one 160th of a lifespan! A significant percentage! And I'm no spring chicken! Besides, Ways2Work was four weeks, and that felt like ages!
You know why time perception increases with age? Because time perception is memory-based, and you only remember important life events, and the younger you are, the more you're learning. Once you get a grip on things, not as much stands out, so it feels like time is accelerating. This is why the only way to be happy in life is to enjoy learning and working. The saying "life is short" is foolish. It's the longest thing you'll ever live to experience! A day would take what you perceive as years if you fully acknowledged every moment of it.
That's why Ways2Work felt so long. I was in a state of reevaluation... Almost like a second childhood, so I was seeing the world with new eyes and relearning many things. Four weeks felt like four years, and I brought as many memories from it.
I expect to learn a lot! So this program will take a long time!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
More Katimavik, Karate, Rabbit
Well, I think I told everyone except a few Facebook, MSN and Karate connections about getting into Katimavik. Took longer than I thought it would. I know a surprisingly high number of people! And just as I thought, the congratulatory lunches/dinners are rolling in! Someone better get me Miles Edgeworth: Ace Attorney Investigations for a going away present!
Katimavik makes their selections by taking the percentages of people living in the various provinces throughout Canada and turning that into a group of ten, with five males and five females. I'd heard somewhere that other than that factoring, it's a random selection. If that's true, though, then what's the deal with the gargantuan forms? Especially the opinions section!
I did really well in Ways2Work, which was a group life-coaching thing, like this is, which is one reason that I think I'll be good for Katimavik, but I'm still a little nervous, because W2W's selection was based on personality compatibility within the group, whereas Katimavik's selection is based on geographic incompatibility. I know they can't factor personality in too much for Katimavik, because they barely know anything about me.
Jeez, I'll have 24 chapters of Naruto to read when I get back...
Dang, I probably don't have enough time to ferret out those data management and telemarketing positions before I go... I know those aren't exactly power-moves, but I like to expend all my resources.
I've been able to watch bits and pieces of those Eskrima Stick classes at my dojo, because they come directly before my classes. They have like, two students starting from scratch and a number of karate blackbelts that are looking to add to their repertoire, but the new people are the only ones that show up regularly. It looks like a really tough-guy art. There are no uniforms, and the teacher wears all these skulls and things, and he's got this big ol' beard and long hair. Doesn't take away from his integrity as a teacher or a person. He seems like a nice guy and a quality teacher from what I've seen, but it's quite the contrast when you have all of us in our formal attire, and then you've got these biker-looking fellows bashing things with sticks. I'd probably look right at home in that class, what with me being a bruiser-type, but I've grown to like the formality of my art.
I made a topic in my creative writing class on Salinger's death, and NOBODY responded! They call themselves writers?! I got two responses on my brother's forum!
I found someone to help teach me how to drive when I get back from Katimavik.
I was trying to get some pictures of my pet rabbit, but he was too fast for me! It takes all I have just to keep up with him and make sure he doesn't chew any electrical cords when I let him out... Chasing him with a camera and trying to get a picture is nigh on impossible! I'll just have to take some of him in his cage...
Katimavik makes their selections by taking the percentages of people living in the various provinces throughout Canada and turning that into a group of ten, with five males and five females. I'd heard somewhere that other than that factoring, it's a random selection. If that's true, though, then what's the deal with the gargantuan forms? Especially the opinions section!
I did really well in Ways2Work, which was a group life-coaching thing, like this is, which is one reason that I think I'll be good for Katimavik, but I'm still a little nervous, because W2W's selection was based on personality compatibility within the group, whereas Katimavik's selection is based on geographic incompatibility. I know they can't factor personality in too much for Katimavik, because they barely know anything about me.
Jeez, I'll have 24 chapters of Naruto to read when I get back...
Dang, I probably don't have enough time to ferret out those data management and telemarketing positions before I go... I know those aren't exactly power-moves, but I like to expend all my resources.
I've been able to watch bits and pieces of those Eskrima Stick classes at my dojo, because they come directly before my classes. They have like, two students starting from scratch and a number of karate blackbelts that are looking to add to their repertoire, but the new people are the only ones that show up regularly. It looks like a really tough-guy art. There are no uniforms, and the teacher wears all these skulls and things, and he's got this big ol' beard and long hair. Doesn't take away from his integrity as a teacher or a person. He seems like a nice guy and a quality teacher from what I've seen, but it's quite the contrast when you have all of us in our formal attire, and then you've got these biker-looking fellows bashing things with sticks. I'd probably look right at home in that class, what with me being a bruiser-type, but I've grown to like the formality of my art.
I made a topic in my creative writing class on Salinger's death, and NOBODY responded! They call themselves writers?! I got two responses on my brother's forum!
I found someone to help teach me how to drive when I get back from Katimavik.
I was trying to get some pictures of my pet rabbit, but he was too fast for me! It takes all I have just to keep up with him and make sure he doesn't chew any electrical cords when I let him out... Chasing him with a camera and trying to get a picture is nigh on impossible! I'll just have to take some of him in his cage...
Friday, February 5, 2010
Accepted into Katimavik!
I got into Katimavik! The 6-month Cultural Discovery and Civic Engagement program starting March 3rd, to be exact. There were three other courses I may have been slotted into had I not gotten into this one, and if I didn't make any, I would have been put on a waiting list and had three more shots at getting in before I passed the age cap, and they make you select an order of preference, so I thought my chances of getting into my ideal program selection at the ideal time was slim, but that's exactly what I got! I thought my chances of getting in at all were pretty bad, since the forms asked some pretty in-depth questions, some of which I thought put me at a disadvantage, as I've said, and because the economy has been so bad to this area, and since they select based in part on geography, I thought that would increase the amount of Ontarian applicants, which would decrease my chances.
They're going to give me a call and tell me what I should bring, and they're going to... test my French skills. They already know I barely know a word, and they say that it won't impact my selection... That decision has been made, but they want to make sure that I... can't speak French, I guess. Jeez, if I could speak French, I would think pretending I couldn't speak it wouldn't be too hard.
I don't know how my Internet access will be. I think it depends on the team leader and my current location. But I also might get a Katimablog, so I could just hit you guys up for a link there, and it might not change things too much for you dedicated readers.
Well, I guess I'll be charging care of my rabbit and cactus over to Mom and Duncan. Now Mom will get my room for her Hep C treatment and me and Duncan won't have to share. Me and Duncan had already volunteered to share a room. I don't like to admit it, but Mom's been sleeping on the couch. Hey! She volunteered! And it's a couch-bed! She decides to use it in couch form! Also, me and Duncan had spent our whole lives sharing a room, Mom was just taking a turn!
Looks like I'll be sharing a room with four other guys now, though!
In my brother's RP, I had my character kicked off a train so that his ability to catch up to the rest of the group would be determined by whether or not I got into Katimavik. Looks like it will take him six months.
I am going to have to update this blog every day, and go to every karate class, and go to the ReStore, and update every one of my comics, until I go to Katimavik. Those are my resolutions! Ha, you're not allowed to make them over a month has passed since the New Year, and these only count until March 3rd. I don't know if you're allowed to make one-month resolutions, either....
They're going to give me a call and tell me what I should bring, and they're going to... test my French skills. They already know I barely know a word, and they say that it won't impact my selection... That decision has been made, but they want to make sure that I... can't speak French, I guess. Jeez, if I could speak French, I would think pretending I couldn't speak it wouldn't be too hard.
I don't know how my Internet access will be. I think it depends on the team leader and my current location. But I also might get a Katimablog, so I could just hit you guys up for a link there, and it might not change things too much for you dedicated readers.
Well, I guess I'll be charging care of my rabbit and cactus over to Mom and Duncan. Now Mom will get my room for her Hep C treatment and me and Duncan won't have to share. Me and Duncan had already volunteered to share a room. I don't like to admit it, but Mom's been sleeping on the couch. Hey! She volunteered! And it's a couch-bed! She decides to use it in couch form! Also, me and Duncan had spent our whole lives sharing a room, Mom was just taking a turn!
Looks like I'll be sharing a room with four other guys now, though!
In my brother's RP, I had my character kicked off a train so that his ability to catch up to the rest of the group would be determined by whether or not I got into Katimavik. Looks like it will take him six months.
I am going to have to update this blog every day, and go to every karate class, and go to the ReStore, and update every one of my comics, until I go to Katimavik. Those are my resolutions! Ha, you're not allowed to make them over a month has passed since the New Year, and these only count until March 3rd. I don't know if you're allowed to make one-month resolutions, either....
Thursday, February 4, 2010
NMH2 Review Abridged, Writing Course Assignments
Guess what? Two people read my entire 12 page No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle review! I didn't say anything about length, and nobody commented. I have made an abridge version of it comprising only game basics, an analysis of the protagonist, and the conclusion. Rewritten very slightly at parts. Not quite four pages. If you want it, here it is: http://gryphonsreviews.blogspot.com/2010/02/videogame-no-more-heroes-2-desperate_04.html
I also finished an exercise and my 1-2 page short story revamp for my writing course. The revamp was easier. The exercise was surprisingly tough! It wound out to be four pages long.
For the exercise, we had to select ten novels, read the first paragraph of each, then answer four questions about each first paragraph. The novels I chose were:
Watership Down by Richard Adams
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
Talking to Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
Shogun by James Clavell
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgsen Burnett
That's actually a fairly good representation of the books that have impacted me the most throughout my life. I'm sure if I read them all over again, I'd have new opinions, though. It's not like I've read all of those within the last few years. I think I'd also add Rule of the Bone by Russell Banks, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, the Moomintroll series, and, if I'm being true to myself and including even the regrettable stages of my development, the Xanth series.
Hey, if I'm being given 60% on sheer completion of my short story, then to even get a passing grade on content, I'd earn 20%. That's 80% total! Even if I only do well enough to pass, I'll get a pretty rocking grade, and since the advice was pretty straightforward, I don't see how I could screw up too bad.
I had the urge to add another twist on my revamp, but resisted. I'm getting a lot better at writing pages and pages of stuff. But I was already at a page and a half on a two page cap, and I didn't want to stray from my teacher's advice.
I also finished an exercise and my 1-2 page short story revamp for my writing course. The revamp was easier. The exercise was surprisingly tough! It wound out to be four pages long.
For the exercise, we had to select ten novels, read the first paragraph of each, then answer four questions about each first paragraph. The novels I chose were:
Watership Down by Richard Adams
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
Talking to Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
Shogun by James Clavell
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgsen Burnett
That's actually a fairly good representation of the books that have impacted me the most throughout my life. I'm sure if I read them all over again, I'd have new opinions, though. It's not like I've read all of those within the last few years. I think I'd also add Rule of the Bone by Russell Banks, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, the Moomintroll series, and, if I'm being true to myself and including even the regrettable stages of my development, the Xanth series.
Hey, if I'm being given 60% on sheer completion of my short story, then to even get a passing grade on content, I'd earn 20%. That's 80% total! Even if I only do well enough to pass, I'll get a pretty rocking grade, and since the advice was pretty straightforward, I don't see how I could screw up too bad.
I had the urge to add another twist on my revamp, but resisted. I'm getting a lot better at writing pages and pages of stuff. But I was already at a page and a half on a two page cap, and I didn't want to stray from my teacher's advice.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Bathroom Tap Malfunction, NMH2 Review, Official People
You know what's gross? Washing your hands after going to the bathroom (yes, I do this because I'm awesomely cleanly), looking down, and seeing that the water coming out of the tap is brown.
Errrrg....
Well, now that I've won your attention, I'd like to announce that I finished my No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle review. In Word, it is 12 pages long. By far my longest review to date. My previous record was four and a half pages on my Brave Little Toaster review. I officially am not allowed to complain about my 6-10 page short story writing assignment. The reason it's so long is because I analyzed every individual boss and major character. If you don't feel so ambitious as to read the entire thing, just reading about the game mechanics and plot, and about Travis would comprise your average review. That is... a little over three pages.
WARNING! Spoilers and mild swearing: http://gryphonsreviews.blogspot.com/2010/02/videogame-no-more-heroes-2-desperate.html
Did I say that yesterday I did a follow-up with Katimavik? Well, I got a response and it turns out that everything I sent is perfect, and my Katimaroute has been updated from "follow-up required" under criminal record check to "sent to police". She says that she's confident I will get a response soon.
Dealt with a lot of... official people, today. I've been doing this sort of side project that I haven't been blogging about. It's only caused me damage so far, and a lot of discomfort, and it's still a long ways from being complete, and I don't see the reward as being that sweet, but a lot of people near to me are pretty insistent that I see it through. Also, I haven't been too fond of the way these people near to me have been handling this situation. I've tried speaking to them, but it falls on deaf ears, and with everyone having an alternate agenda, and a reason not to listen to me, I feel the brewings of deep resentment. I had best find a way of to see this situation fall into something closer to my comfort zone, or else I might wind up seriously souring over.
This isn't a short update because it's actually over 12 pages. You just won't read them.
Errrrg....
Well, now that I've won your attention, I'd like to announce that I finished my No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle review. In Word, it is 12 pages long. By far my longest review to date. My previous record was four and a half pages on my Brave Little Toaster review. I officially am not allowed to complain about my 6-10 page short story writing assignment. The reason it's so long is because I analyzed every individual boss and major character. If you don't feel so ambitious as to read the entire thing, just reading about the game mechanics and plot, and about Travis would comprise your average review. That is... a little over three pages.
WARNING! Spoilers and mild swearing: http://gryphonsreviews.blogspot.com/2010/02/videogame-no-more-heroes-2-desperate.html
Did I say that yesterday I did a follow-up with Katimavik? Well, I got a response and it turns out that everything I sent is perfect, and my Katimaroute has been updated from "follow-up required" under criminal record check to "sent to police". She says that she's confident I will get a response soon.
Dealt with a lot of... official people, today. I've been doing this sort of side project that I haven't been blogging about. It's only caused me damage so far, and a lot of discomfort, and it's still a long ways from being complete, and I don't see the reward as being that sweet, but a lot of people near to me are pretty insistent that I see it through. Also, I haven't been too fond of the way these people near to me have been handling this situation. I've tried speaking to them, but it falls on deaf ears, and with everyone having an alternate agenda, and a reason not to listen to me, I feel the brewings of deep resentment. I had best find a way of to see this situation fall into something closer to my comfort zone, or else I might wind up seriously souring over.
This isn't a short update because it's actually over 12 pages. You just won't read them.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Mix and Match
Sorry, I've been trying to update this blog, but having some difficulty. Last time I tried, it just said "ERROR" in giant red text across the top of my screen with no explanation. Here's the post you guys missed that day:
A little while ago, Mom went to have her final examination to make sure that she was still eligible for Hepatitus C treatment, which she is. The final confirmation that she'll get it still needs to happen, but there's no reason to think that she wouldn't.
The due date for my second writing course assignment has passed, and I made it. This time, my time management actually seems to have paid off.
My Katimaroute says my criminal record check has a follow-up required STILL! I'll need to do a follow-up on that tomorrow.
I've had killer insomnia. My schedule is all turned around. This time, I got my 3 hours between 10 PM and 1 AM. I'm not up late right now. I'm up early.
Salinger died, eh? 91 years old. He was involved in all those practices that he believed would drastically prolong his lifespan, but looks like it didn't work. Ah, and I was rooting for him, too.
My loungewear tore, yo! Past repair! Less than a month, they lasted. How pathetic. Oh well, now I can wear my sweat pants again. They became too large for me, but now I have suspenders!
Hey, remember how, a while back, I cleaned my room? Yeah, well, since then I'd been making a real effort to maintain it, but somehow, it's trashed again. Oh well.
I calculated my grade point average based on how the U of G said they did it. It's 69.5%. You need 70% to get into university. 75% now for the U of G, but the general cut off is 70%. See, if I'd taken only the mandatory grade 12 courses, they would have taken into account my grade 11 grades, but since I had six grade 12 credits, they used them even though my grade 11 would have easily seen me through. What's extra painful is that I did pretty good on five of those six grade twelve courses, but because my grades fluctuated so harshly, number six dragged my average all the way down.
The moon has been glorious. Humongous, round, and clear. It was just orange, and full, a day or two ago. It really sucks that I can't find my camera.
Just finished a new videogame. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. That's a "grown up" game, so you should read the review when I'm finished. It's four pages so far, and I'm not all that close to done. Normally, I don't get into the more gritty titles. People who look for that kind of heaviness in a game are usually looking to videogames for what I'm looking for in literature. You even get the same kind of snobbery in those guys that you see in more well-read people.
But NMH is less thuggish and more psychopathic, so I like it. And since snobs play it, it sure has opened some new conversation dynamics.
I sure have been finishing more videogames than books lately. I wonder why. Probably like I said above... I don't feel the need for anything so heavy at this time in my life.
A little while ago, Mom went to have her final examination to make sure that she was still eligible for Hepatitus C treatment, which she is. The final confirmation that she'll get it still needs to happen, but there's no reason to think that she wouldn't.
The due date for my second writing course assignment has passed, and I made it. This time, my time management actually seems to have paid off.
My Katimaroute says my criminal record check has a follow-up required STILL! I'll need to do a follow-up on that tomorrow.
I've had killer insomnia. My schedule is all turned around. This time, I got my 3 hours between 10 PM and 1 AM. I'm not up late right now. I'm up early.
Salinger died, eh? 91 years old. He was involved in all those practices that he believed would drastically prolong his lifespan, but looks like it didn't work. Ah, and I was rooting for him, too.
My loungewear tore, yo! Past repair! Less than a month, they lasted. How pathetic. Oh well, now I can wear my sweat pants again. They became too large for me, but now I have suspenders!
Hey, remember how, a while back, I cleaned my room? Yeah, well, since then I'd been making a real effort to maintain it, but somehow, it's trashed again. Oh well.
I calculated my grade point average based on how the U of G said they did it. It's 69.5%. You need 70% to get into university. 75% now for the U of G, but the general cut off is 70%. See, if I'd taken only the mandatory grade 12 courses, they would have taken into account my grade 11 grades, but since I had six grade 12 credits, they used them even though my grade 11 would have easily seen me through. What's extra painful is that I did pretty good on five of those six grade twelve courses, but because my grades fluctuated so harshly, number six dragged my average all the way down.
The moon has been glorious. Humongous, round, and clear. It was just orange, and full, a day or two ago. It really sucks that I can't find my camera.
Just finished a new videogame. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. That's a "grown up" game, so you should read the review when I'm finished. It's four pages so far, and I'm not all that close to done. Normally, I don't get into the more gritty titles. People who look for that kind of heaviness in a game are usually looking to videogames for what I'm looking for in literature. You even get the same kind of snobbery in those guys that you see in more well-read people.
But NMH is less thuggish and more psychopathic, so I like it. And since snobs play it, it sure has opened some new conversation dynamics.
I sure have been finishing more videogames than books lately. I wonder why. Probably like I said above... I don't feel the need for anything so heavy at this time in my life.
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