love in an elevator

Do you know when celebrities go into the hospital and claim it was from "exhaustion"? Well I believe I'm suffering from that. So I'm just a lot of sick, laying in bed, and it makes me realize how many people I see every day, and about how lonely I get when you take that all away from me! Granted, I need my alone time regularly, but everytime I get sick I gain some perspective. I'm kind of loving life right now, even though I'm a lonely sad sack. :)

I also found some amazing photos in an old 70's National Geographic, so I'll post those later.

hex and the single guy

On Friday night, Lindsay had her 19th birthday party at Martini's downtown, which was incredible. During the day I had a leadership retreat, and after school Leyla interviewed Graham and I for the Edge, and I bused back to my house for 10 minutes, threw on some makeup, tights, and jewellery and tamed my hair, and attempted sprinting to the bus stop in my highest heels. I ended up running down the street with a shoe in each hand, gussied up, when all of a sudden I heard 'Your Body is a Wonderland' by John Mayer, except it wasn't him singing it. So I was sprinting and laughing at how ridiculous I looked when I heard where it was coming from and I turned and saw a gorgeous guy with brown tousled hair playing the guitar on his front porch, bein all "your skin like porcelain" as I ran past. It was amazing, and I will marry that man.

I met up with Claire, Connor, Evan and Lindsay, and they drove me the rest of the way to the restaurant. We got there and it was beautiful, with dim lighting and candlelight. Aaron, Kim, Daria, Ben, Nathan, Dustin, and Sarah also came after, and we had an amazing time. It was great to see Ben again since he's been at Brock in St. Catherine's, and the food was amazing. Later, we went back to Evan's and played Rock Band and drank red wine.

Kim and Daria ^

Ben and I ^

Then today, Emma, Maya and I went to the University fair in Toronto with my parents. We went to the Dumpling House in China Town, which was delicious (of course), and then to the Convention Centre. I am more excited than ever to go to U of T, but I'm concerned that they won't be able to see my extra-curriculars with my application. Emma ran out while I was in meetings and got her stunning headphones from Urban Outfitters (Limited Edition) -- the last pair! We were all exhausted, but we went out for dinner at Casa Rogantino's for Italian, and Emma and I had Caesar salad and lasagna, which was amazing. We had some great conversation, and then dropped her off at Trepid house for a 'Mixing Music and Politics' event. I came home and cozied up in my PJs - it was a great day. Tomorrow morning I go out for brunch at Rushes with my aunt and uncle. Here's a picture of Emma at the poultry level of the parking garage:

just say yo

Today was astoundingly better! I got positive feedback on my last Writer's Craft piece, and she said she wanted to keep it for future reference.

Then in Art we talked about the collective conscience, which was a really interesting theory, and we looked at typical archetypes throughout history, such as the "goddess" figure, ie: Aphrodite, Marilyn Monroe, Cindy Crawford, Ginger from Gilligan's Island, and Angelina Jolie. Then we used archetypal cards to look at the various archetypes that make up our person. I got: a) The Alchemist: the agent of change (not a change in direction or appearance, but in a profound change of elemental nature), b) The Child - Orphan: the independent, from a very young age. Very aware of past, and take lessons from it, and c) The Prostitute: the archetype which activates the aspects of the unconscious that are related to seduction and control, whereby you are as capable of buying a controlling interest in another person as you are in selling your own power. Prostitution should also be understood as the selling of your talents, ideas, and any other expression of the self.

Anyways, so I enjoyed that thoroughly, and it was interesting to think about the cards I received and how they could possibly relate to me, and overall I just found myself feeling much more positive and self assured.

I also got lunch off today, so I bought my pitas and five cheese dip like last year, and Red Apple Arizona Iced Tea, which is my favourite thing in the world. Then, I proceeded to my driving lesson where I successfully parallel parked, and am three lessons away from being complete.

Finally, this evening I went to see Serge LeClerk speak at the University about his life in crime, and how he earned a degree and discovered learning. It was fascinating to hear him talk about what he did, and how intelligent he was to organize complex crime syndicates when he was young. He was also an observer of people by nature, and combined with his degree in sociology, he shared what he knew, learned, and observed about people with us, which was incredible.

A beautiful day! And clear blue skies. Now I'm just watching some Fresh Prince. Here are some photos of the day:

Christina ^

Ali ^

Sarah ^

Jasmine ^

there ain't no better reason to rid yourself of vanity and just go with the season

Today was another difficult one. I feel like I'm supposed to have all sorts of responsibilities, which I'm excited about, but I'm not actually doing anything. As student body president, I am mainly delegating and talking a lot, and I'm not allowed to actually do anything. In Managing Editors, I was excited to gain some journalistic control over the newspaper and yearbook, but although I am technically an editor, Adam and Joanne are the main people in charge of the newspaper, and Dan is the main person in charge of the yearbook, which leaves me floundering. Then, a representative from the Record came, and talked about the youth advisory board and the new newspaper they're creating targeted at teens. This got me very excited, as I want to go into English, and I found out that Dan and Adam have been working on it since last year. I said I wanted to apply for the Catch 21 position available at our school, and Dan said the chances of that happening are slim, given his experience and the fact that he's a guy (which they need more of, because it's a vast majority of girls). I just feel as though I am not being taken seriously, and that I haven't had the chance to prove myself and learn about opportunities like this because this is only the beginning of my second year at the school. I guess I also feel like everybody else is given jobs which I would love to do and would be able to do well, but nobody thinks of me. The student activities director is also not listening to what I say as both student body president and a member of the prom commitee. I just feel a little stepped on, and as though I'm not being taken seriously.

On the bright side, Emma lent me her mustard yellow knit cardigan from King of Kensington in Toronto today, and I like it a lot. I wore it with my highwaisted patchwork skirt (with patches of Che, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and vespas), and a white wifebeater tucked in, with my gold chain and gold birdcage necklace. Emma and I also wore our matching floral crowns from the Medieval Faire today, and we got a positive response.

Anyways, I'm off to study. More updates later.

Update: I'm back! I've been taking some down time, and cheered myself up. Tomorrow I decided I am going to have my classic five cheese dip and greek pitas! Delicious. That's what I need. :)

fresh flights and fancies

I am thoroughly enjoying the new October issue of People StyleWatch. I love the fall prints and colour pallettes, the heavy coverage of Rachel Bilson, and the boot and coat blowouts!

The pumpkin and forest green coloured leather boots by Juicy Couture and Sisley respectively are rich in colour and luxurious in material. In addition, it only strengthened my resolve to find the perfect chunky, low heeled, black leather motorcycle boots! (I will enclose photos once the collections are viewable online)

The coat collection provided me with a deep plum wool coat by Gallery and a royal blue wool-cashmere-blend coat by Rebecca Taylor. That's another addition which is necessary for my collection! More beautifully coloured fall and winter coats, instead of my standard black pea coat and bulky grey toggle coat.

Also, in the "In Stores Now!" section of this issue, they show a gorgeous jacquard dress by French Connection, and it prompted me to check out the French Connection website. They have some beautiful dresses right now!

Finally, I love the October issue because of a new advertiser I found - No nonsense, which is a company of tights, lingerie, sleepwear, etc., designed by women for women. The colours of the tights are stunning, and it's all very reasonable online at www.nononsense.com.

west philadelphia born and raised

The nineties were an excellent time. Video girls adorned in mom jeans, bras, and neon windbreakers, hair up in a half ponytail, and loud patterns in louder colours were widespread across televsion. Del Tha Funkee Homosapian wrote songs with characters such as "Doctor Bombay" and "Mistadobalina," with choruses of women singing soul to the hook. Will Smith starred in the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which is now one of my favourite shows of all time - I am constantly calling things dope, or asking things like "Why's a brotha gotta play a brotha like this?" althought mostly with my family for now. Boy bands such as *Nsync abound, and can you even imagine a song called "www. Never Get Over You" would be a number 1 hit in this day and age, the late 2000's?