The Whiteboard

2011-09-21T22:31:00.004-04:00

ebwhite.tumblr.com

Wolf, tequila and end of semester blues

2011-03-26T16:15:00.061-04:00

Here are three expressions I have taken a liking to in the last few days/weeks.

Don't feed the bad wolf
My mother's coworker has this tattooed on her arm and as she told me the story, I immediately took a liking to the expression. The moral which is based on an old Cherokee Native American tale, is a good one for someone like me who is just a little bit negative.

One winter’s evening whilst gathered round a blazing camp

fire, an old Indian chief told his grandson about the inner struggle that goes on inside people.

“You see” said the old man, “this inner struggle is like two wolves fighting each other. One is evil, full of anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, deceit, false pride, superiority, and ego."

“The other one,” he continued, poking the fire with a stick so that the fire crackled, sending the flames clawing at the night sky, “is good, full of joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith." For a few minutes his grandson pondered his grandfather’s words and then asked, “So which wolf wins, grandfather?”

“Well”, said the wise old chief, his lined face breaking into a wry smile,

“The one you feed!”

Tequila can save any night
I am a firm believer that it rarely gets more fun than the pre-drink. The apartment chill always seems to exceed what is encountered at the bar. Last night began as one of those evenings. Cold weather, long lines and bad atmosphere made the night less than appealing. When I was about ready to give up and catch a cab, Lisa who was determined to save the night-out exclaims that there was nothing tequila could not fix! I have to admit how right she was and say this may become my new motto.

Everything is going to be alright

Maybe not today but eventually.
Our fabulous student paper the Concordian, features a weekly mix-tape hosted on 8tracks.com. I have become a pretty avid user of the site and the other day one of the sets had this photo attached. It stuck probably because it describes my current state end of semester blues perfectly.

Impending failure

2011-03-23T00:53:00.019-04:00

I am not sure if it was the love/pressure from my "fans" that sent me back to this very familiar blog or just nostalgia but here I am at 1 a.m. on the night before my political science essay is due to say that I have officially given up! Okay, that reads a little dramatic but basically I have this essay that is 3000 words due tomorrow and I have written 1600. While an all-nighter would be a solution, I simply no longer have the brain capacity to write another word on the subject of clientelism and patron-client relations in India.

Seeing as it is worth 40%, handing in a half completed essay is basically subjecting me to a mark in the D-F range. For someone who cries at the sight of an A- in political science classes, giving up is not only a sure GPA killer but also an emotional disaster waiting to happen. Yet, despite this I still will not return to the essay because I think everyone is allowed one little fuck up in university and with one semester to go, I figured I would use mine up with this essay. Also as someone who stresses and panics over every little thing, I have a sense of calmness about this decision. This of course may change if I fail the class which hopefully will not happen.

While this was not what I planned as my first post back, I figure I can't justify spending time writing much else while my essay sits neglected. SO for now, this is what is here BUT hopefully with each day the Whiteboard will take one step closer to it's glory days....whenever those were.

The Blue Bin: this year's grinch

2010-12-28T15:39:00.008-05:00

Well well, its been quite a few months but a recent event has led me to blogger. You see, despite being of the Jewish faith, I have a christmas tree in my house. No, not a chanukah/hanukah bush but rather a 9ft balsam pine. You see, my step-father is not part of the tribe and as a result we celebrate both holidays.

So here we were saturday morning opening gifts nice and early as I was going to work and my mother was going up north. I was delighted to be gifted a new knapsack, electric toothbrush (upon request) and one beautiful black leather purse. She was stunning. My step-father believes in using "fake boxes" aka hides the real gifts inside un-matching wrapping so my toothbrush came in a kindle box and my knapsack in a heating pad one. My purse on the other hand came in a nice gift bag.

Anyways, I went downstairs with my knapsack to see if it was big enough to hold my laptop and left the other gifts upstairs in the time-being. Being a newbie at the christmas traditions, I was informed that all gifts stay under the tree at least for christmas day. No questions asked I left my assortment of gifts in the gift bag and ran-off to work.

Last night I realized I had no clue where my toothbrush was and figured I had left it in the knapsack. This morning I went to checked the bag, no toothbrush and went to look under the tree with the purse. But there were no gifts under the tree at all. As I scavenged the entire house and garbage pale it dawned on me that the recycling man had already passed earlier that morning and before I knew it, I had deducted that the purse was gone. Recycled. Dead. Along with it went the new beautiful purple toothbrush.

So here I am, three hours into my sulk session and still feeling awfully shitty about my misfortune and felt there was no better place to express it than the Whiteboard. Whether this means future posts to come or not is unclear but at least for the time being all 3 of you will be entertained for five minutes.

8000 ft above

2010-06-10T15:46:00.007-04:00

As I have mentioned before, I am heading to Peru at the end of the month! In order to celebrate my nearing departure date, I created a travel blog.

CHECK IT OUT

8000 ft above

One Month in

2010-05-19T14:38:00.004-04:00

So I have technically been on summer vacation for one month already but between working at the bakery and taking a summer class I have not had too much free time.On the bright side having a job and going to school is helping me kill time until I head to PERU! I am not sure if I mentioned on my blog already, but Lisa and I are heading to Lima in a little over a month! I am so excited! There is still lots and lots to do before then including today's adventure which will include a trip to the travel clinic for some vaccinations.... I also need to buy hiking boots, a backpacking knapsack and some other gear. The trip advises that we get in shape which I am trying to do but my laziness wins over me sometimes. Unlike yesterday when I biked to and from school it was about 25 mins each way and I went to class a little red in the face but it really felt great to give my body a work out. Besides for Peru, I hope to make a few other trips this summer. I alreadyhave plans to head to Toronto but my heart is really set on visitin Truro, Nova Scotia!!!

In other EXCITING news, Vampire Weekend is returning for their second show in Montreal. They come in sometime in September but tickets went on sale today and I just could not resist seeing them again. Hopefully this time they will have some merchandise for purchasing, more specifically a poster. On the subject of music, my friend Teddy gave me this amazing amazing site that is very much worth sharing. It is called Stereomood... I will not say more but I highly suggest clicking the link and checking it out.

2010-05-04T20:37:00.005-04:00

So today was back to school... yes I am taking a summer course. I did so mostly to keep me from crying of boredom. Five months of summer vacation is just too long to sit around and do nothing. This was a lesson I learnt after spending the last three weeks depressed in bed because I had so little to do. This is why I decided to take POLI 204 in the first place and it looks like it won't be too bad minus the 15 page paper. There seems to be tons of "characters" in the class that share their opinions about everything whether it is relevant or not.

But ya, besides for sulking, I have also occupied my time working at the bakery pretty much everyday since school ended and being a bandwagon Habs fan. The truth is Montreal is just so much fun when they win. Last week when we won the series, I was downtown with Jill and the streets were filled with people cheering and celebrating. Apparently there was also tear gas but we left before things got too wild. We ended up going for pizza which is where I made the world's best discovery well actually Jill ordered it so she deserves the credit...but ya BACON PIZZA is the most delicious thing ever. The pizza shop had it diced up super tiny and I fell in love (sorry moses).....

I started this post last week and never got around to finishing it or posting it so I just figured I would do it today...

Purple Bicycle

2010-04-25T21:02:00.004-04:00

YAY! I found a super awesome bike yesterday and I love love love it! I got it from a guy on Kijiji behind a warehouse on St. Patrick. Let me just say if I had gone alone (without my father) I would not have gotten out of my car. It was sooooo sketchy that I wanted to take a picture but was being watched by some people who I assume were his "employees". Anyways I think the bike comes from an old rental shop because the seat has a number on it and there were some compromising stickers that I have since peeled off. I also Vim'ed the tires and sprayed the squeaky springs. All that is left is the decision of whether or not to name it... suggestions?

Here are some proud mother snapshots of me looking very unphotogenic on my new purple gem (as Alex refers to it as)!

Sunny Saturday

2010-04-23T23:16:00.023-04:00

Tomorrow is supposed to be gorgeous and sunny. Not to mention I have appointments with craiglisters to go look at bikes but have nobody to drag with me. I need exams to be over so I can have some friends again...so basically if you are free tomorrow let me know so we can play. I also must add that I am addicted to Mr. Freeze Jumbo freezies lately - more specifically the white one which I have discovered is Cream Soda flavoured! yum yum! I wish I had more to report on but today was rather lame. I worked, watched more episodes of Psych, had dinner, watched the HABS WIN and played on Sporcle, a highly addictive website whose tag-line is "mentally stimulating diversions."I highly recommend it because it is a great way to kill time without feeling too guilty since it is very educational. Here was my

favorite quiz of the day -"Antonym Movie Titles."

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

So back to my summer, which is currently very planless. I have two goals for the next week:

#1. Find a super duper awesome location to travel to with friend Lisa at the beginning of July

#2. Find tons of fun local activities in Montreal to keep me busy until then

What next...

2010-04-22T14:57:00.010-04:00

After several months of hibernation I decided to return to the Whiteboard mostly because I am bored and in need of a hobby. I have graduated from my second year at University which freaks me out because I still feel and look about fifteen. I am usually pretty at peace with my youthful appearance but today I was out for lunch when a stupid waiter ruined my entire day. I was with my stepmother at a mexican restaurant. She ordered a piña colada and I ordered a margarita...no questions asked. Halfway through my drink I mentioned how by that point in a drink I usually feel a little tipsy but was currently feeling as though there was very little alcohol. I shrugged it off and blamed it on eating too much. BUT SURE ENOUGH, when we got the bill it listed "1 virgin margarita." I get that I look young but I think the waiter could have had the decency to ask me or maybe even the decency to apologize when we told him his mistake. All he had to say was that he "didn't realize." K thanks buddy but I still would like some tequila. Plus side is that I got treated to an awesome new pair of Converse (after ruining the ones I had with bleach.)

Anyways today is Earth Day but nothing seems to be happening in the city or maybe I just didn't get word of it. Like always though, Google represented with a cool graphic and tons of links. This reminds me of my latest fixation - finding a bike to buy. I am desperate to find a bike I can ride to work or even school. I have searched craigslist and other websites but I still have not found "the one" aka a bike thats pretty and cheap and the right size for my 5"2 height.

Aside for those two little anecdotes/rant so much has happened since I have last posted, none of which include finding summer plans. But I can proudly boast that I am next year's Journalism Student Association President and the Editor of the Life Section of the Concordian!!! Both jobs start in the fall which is why I need something to occupy the next four months. For the last twelve years I have attended sleep-away camp and this will be my first year not returning. This was a decision I was confident with until it was April and I still had ZERO planned. I remember back in November thinking that it all was just going to work out. I believed that I would either find some super awesome amazing trip to go on, a volunteer opportunity to engage in or maybe even some career enhancing internship. I do have to admit that I did not try too hard to find these plans but for once I wanted something to find me which up to now has not happened. And as you can imagine, I am feeling slightly defeated. Though one would think sitting in bed to noon everyday would be amazing, it is less than a week in and I am already so bored I could cry. The one thing that has kept me going is Psych, a TV show I have become completely addicted to and highly recommend!

Other than that, not much to report on but I can imagine there will be lots coming up in the next four months (or so I hope.)

Hibernation

2010-02-08T12:00:00.005-05:00

This post is a little overdue but heavy course load, short deadlines and hours at work have kept me from posting as frequently as I would like. So until

I have more time it appears that the Whiteboard is in a temporary hibernation.

Before I sign off, I have one more self-promotion.... check out and follow - ConcordianLife on Twitter! (There is nothing there yet but I promise you it will soon be full of fun things).

Playing Catch Up

2010-01-19T18:43:00.010-05:00

So it is only week three and the stress is already on and I feel like I have already fell so far behind. I am trying desperately to catch up which is hard to do while also writing articles for The Concordian and producing a certain someone's Bar Mitzvah video. Though with that said, I rather be busy than bored out of my mind. I know it may seem a little strange to complain about vacation, but winter break was rather boring and it is kind of nice to be back with some of my school friends being productive.

Anyways, a lot of people seem to be heading on exchanges and I have that "left behind" feeling. It does not make it easier that of all my school friends, I am the only one that lives at home. I was originally thinking that I should go on an exchange next year but certain circumstances like a full year course and an interest in getting involved in the school paper is keeping me home. I am definitely happy with my decision but saying all these goodbyes is just getting depressing.

In an attempt to stick with some resolutions, I had mentioned my discontent with my high school group of friends but promised to be proactive about solving this... well guess what? Tomorrow night it so happens that we are going out! I shall keep you posted on this.

I know the posting has been infrequent but as I have already mentioned I am totally overwhelmed. On the bright side, having a long list of things to do means I get to waste my time making a to do list... I do not know about anyone else but that has to be my favorite procrastination tool. I also often put things I have accomplished on it, so that I can cross it out and feel more productive than I may actually be.

Check out my newest article in this week's Concordian.

Time out: why taking a year off might be exactly what you need

How I Love Reminiscing

2010-01-11T12:31:00.005-05:00

My previous post featured a link to an old post of mine. In order to post the link, I needed to search the archives which when I did, I came across this post from a little over a year ago. It is funny how little life changes.

P.S - Since that post I have probably acquired at least 8 new scarves.

Not Again...

2010-01-11T12:12:00.008-05:00

A little while back, I received a friend request from an "Emily White". Interested I decided to click on her friends and noticed she had around 60 other Emily's as her facebook friend.

I was a little creeped out so rather than respond to the request I kind of just let it it there in my requests on facebook. Over the next few weeks I continued to check her friends and noticed she had gone from 60 to 102 Emily White friends. Finally journalism bff Jill told me it was enough and I deleted her. BUT it did not end there.... a few days later I received the following private message:

"Hello! As you can see my name is also Emily White. I have decided to friend request other Emily White's and start a group for us, since clearly, we are awesome. So Accept if you want but no worries if you don't. You can also find the group, Emily White’s of the World, and send me a request to join the group! - Emily"

This was followed by another Emily's friendship request. It

has now been weeks upon weeks that the two requests have been pending on facebook but I avoided deleting them until I wrote this post. Although I found it too sketchy to accept them as friends, I did request to join the Emily White's of the world facebook group just in case... Truthfully, I only did that this morning as I was writing my post so this post will definitely deserve an update once I have been accepted into the group.

The reason I entitled this post "Not Again...." was because it seems that every so often, facebook loves to remind me that there are 500+ Emily White's. Remember last year's "My Scottish Alias or Identity Theft". Maybe I should message that girl and find out if she ever found the right Emily White.

Room Redecorated

2010-01-04T12:04:00.004-05:00

A few new touches to my room:

New Decade

2010-01-04T09:50:00.027-05:00

Vacation is already over and I have very little to report on. The few weeks off were rather boring because I did not have nearly enough "fun" as I expected and hoped for. But what is good about that is I am not really dreading the new semester all that much. In fact I am kind of really excited about school and starting a new decade.

I know it is totally cliche to talk about resolutions in the days following new years, but I can not help but do it anyways. Amongst the typical promises to myself to 1. exercise more (well at all) and 2. eat healthy, I have also decided to attempt to 3. be more positive in life and 4. worry less. Two areas that for anyone who knows me, know how desperately I need to do this. My anxiety and pessimism are hard characteristics to rid myself of but I am making a promise to attempt it. A final resolution is to 5. to finish what I start. All too often I start a craft project, start re-organizing my room or avoid cleaning up after myself which eventually causes my surroundings to become a total mess which stresses me out, something I want to avoid.

Round Up - Part 2

So in an attempt to keep with my resolution, I will tie up some loose ends from a couple of posts ago when I wrote a list of things I want to blog about but only ever got to half of them.I wrote about Halloween, Building a portfolio, Buying a new watch, Olympic clothing and Where the Wild Things Are.

Here is what was left:

6. Going on an exchange - I really want to go on one with my friend Teddy because I think I will be too much of an anxiety case if I go alone. Unfortunately, we have not chosen our top destination though the deadline is in less than a month. Though this week we vowed to get together to discuss and I plan on approaching teachers to ask for letters of recommendations.

7. Black ankle boots - gave up the search and instead bought high riding boots which I adore. In fact, my boots were featured in Cosmo this month.

8. Being more confident - This is not just another resolution of mine but rather an attempt to be more comfortable in my chosen field. Too often I am overly shy to approach people or take initiative, something that I need work on if I am going to succeed as a journalist. Also, in life I just want to 6. be more bold.

9. Dwindling group of friends - basically our high school clique is dead, a fact I have had trouble handling for the last few years. I waste a lot of energy being disappointed in friends and rather than dwell, I have decided to categorize my friendships into "worth it" and "not worth it". This may seem overly I don't know what, but I need to avoid wasting time and energy making an effort with someone who has not interest in reciprocating it. I don't mean this rudely just a little frustration vent.

10. Camp - I am not going back for the first time in twelve years, and I am not okay with it. I am actually the opposite of okay, I am depressed about it... especially since I have no plans this summer. Not to mention my blog description is "camp addict". How can I be a camp addict if I don't go to camp :(

p.s - after all the NYE dreading the night was not so bad... who could have predicted that?

Already? Really?

2009-11-25T18:29:00.009-05:00

September is always ruined with the pressure of what to do for my birthday.

October is always ruined with the pressure of how to celebrate halloween.

And December is always ruined with the pressure of finding the perfect New year's party.

That is why I like November... there is nothing to worry about.

Now it may seem a little unnecessary and pathetic to have an entire month ruined because of one day but it is more than just the day, it is living with the disappointment if (when) that day does not live up to my expectations. This year I was a little more apathetic than usual and barely acknowledged my birthday or halloween. In fact I went so far as to avoid both these holidays completely. A pretty losery way to celebrate but I just could not handle the pressure of invitations or of a costume.

Which brings me back to New Year's Eve. Can someone please explain to me why this holiday has creeped up into my November. Today when I signed onto facebook, there sitting in my events was a New Year's party. I was not ready for such an invite. Guess the pressure is already on :(

Countdown-Clocks

Okay enough ranting!

Check out my latest article:

Mind your manners: modern day etiquette guide for students

ps: if you are in town during the break aka not migrating to florida.. let me know

As seen in the Life section

2009-11-13T18:12:00.010-05:00

So as a journalism student, it is pretty important to start getting involved. Whether it be in the school paper, school radio station, etc. In my first year I was nervous and self-conscious about my abilities so I made zero effort to write for the paper or get myself out there at all. Then it hit me... scholarship applications, internships and summer jobs in my field all require portfolios. They require at least 2 clippings of work you've had published. I had none. This lack of published work was not a good thing. So I decided to conquer my fears and my laziness and I emailed the editor of the life section at the Concordian. A couple of hours later, I had my first story - Recycled Clothing. The 1000 word limit came with a two week deadline. Now four weeks later I have had three articles published which is nothing in comparison to certain friends of mine (jill) but it is a start and I am proud. So here are my three feature articles that appeared in the life section of The Concordian.

1. Green fashion special

2. Sexin' up Halloween

3. Hotter than Ever (tea)

Time Check

2009-11-07T10:49:00.008-05:00

After eight years wearing the same watch I got as a present for my Bat Mitzvah, I bought a new one! It was a "no plans to go anywhere for winter vacation or spring break" present to myself. I am truly in love with it though it is a little heavy to wear but I am sure it will not be long till I get used to it. It this this lovely Michael Kors gunmetal -------------------------->

I was torn between this one and a silver/white one but I thought that one was a little too classic and if I commit to such a classic style at twenty than I was being boring. Plus my mother liked the other one better and who doesn't love going against their mother's fashion sense? My tiny little wrists meant they had to take 5 links off the band but they did it right there so I did not have to wait for it. Best part is that it comes with a two-year warranty, something I hopefully won't need but are glad to have. The only reason this post is so long is because I could not figure out how to make the picture smaller and it looked weird without text next to it.

Halloween

2009-11-04T09:35:00.007-05:00

Even though Halloween is now over, I have to admit that it caused me lots of stress and I am glad we have already found ourselves in November. Day Light Savings was great because I got an extra hour of sleep before work, but boy does it get dark out early now. Guess that means winter is approaching...

So for Halloween I hoped to find awesome plans that didn't involve a "very revealing" costume but waited too long and instead stayed home Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, the actual day of Halloween, I went trick or treating with my one-year-old niece who was dressed up as a very cute moneky. I got all dressed up in a geek costume but looked more like Avril Lavigne or Taylor Swift before she gets the guy than I did a geek. It was still lots of fun but most of the houses we went to were wondering where my bag was... they were shocked to find out I was twenty and their embarrassment often meant more candy for the baby (which really meant more candy for us adults).

Highlights included: the first house having FULL-SIZED chocolate bars, another giving out candy and halloween themed pencils AND the house that had foam flowing down their driveway!

Then later saturday night, I went to see Paranormal Activity... um I haven't slept in days. No that is not exactly true but it was for sure one scary scary movie though I recommend seeing it. Everyone in the theatre was dressed up which was funny. I was a ballerina by that point though I didn't really put the costume to much use after the movie.

SO to wrap up my halloween, I dressed in two very cliche costumes, got free candy and saw a scary movie making it a less awful halloween than I had expected. Guess it is time to start dreading New Year's Eve :)

Wild Things

2009-10-28T10:01:00.008-04:00

I went to see Where the Wild Things Are with very little expectations because I did not want to be disappointed if it did not live up to my childhood memories. Firstly we were the only ones in the theatre but even given that was friday at 9, not the most popular time for a kids movie, I expected to see a few more nostalgic teens. I mean they sell Wild Things t-shirts at Urban Outfitters... that must mean it is cool to be a fan? The movie like the book had very little of a story line between when Max runs away and when Max returns but they somehow managed to pull off an hour and half visual masterpiece with an awesome soundtrack and a scene where you couldn't help but shed a tear. Plus the wild things were so real it was incredible (supposedly they used real fur with real people inside?) I fell in love with every single one.

Overall the movie did an pretty solid job of bringing Maurice Sendak's classic children's story to life.

Olympic Nostalgia

2009-10-27T23:33:00.010-04:00

So when I was about eight years old, the Roots Olympic clothing line featured a poor boy hat I didn't take off. It was a pretty lame accessory for an eight year old girl but I loved it. One day my father and I went to go pick up my mother at the airport and I was of course sporting my team Canada hat while waiting for my mother to arrive. Once she did, she excitingly told us that Celine Dion had been on her plane and she got her autograph for us. See that may seem lame but the year was 1998 and Titanic the movie was less than a year old making Celine a still very A-list celebrity. Anyways not before my mother could explain the courage she required before asking for the autograph, walked out into the limo line. My parents encouraged me to go meet her and tell her I was a fan. So I approached Celine Dion and have no recollection of what I may have said but I do now what she said..."I like your hat". You may be wondering how this is relevant but it is I promise. So a week or two ago my mother and I ventured into the Bay to check out their Team Canada collection that we saw advertised and fell in love with. Most of the pieces were still not available (like the plaid henley I have on my wishlist) but we did pick up their awesome trapper hat.

I am a fan of the olympics and supporting my country, so I was pleased

that the team Canada line was all made in Canada but was shocked to see that their accompanying Vancouver 2010 line was made overseas.

Tsk Tsk Hudson Bay Tsk Tsk.

Round-Up

2009-10-27T23:23:00.009-04:00

Here is a list of things I have either meant to post about or that are really stressing me out:

1. Halloween a

2. Building a portfolioa

3. Buying a new watcha

4. Olympic clothing a

5. Where the Wild Things Are a

6. Going on an exchange

7. Black ankle boots

8. Being more confident

9. Dwindling group of friends

10. Camp

My goal is to blog about all these things in the next couple of days... weeks

Testing Blogger from Blackberry

2009-10-17T19:52:00.002-04:00

This may or may not become my first post submitted by my phone! Today I added the internet package to my blackberry and it is crazy what you can do on here...
Let's see if this worked
Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.

Good News Day

2009-10-06T14:57:00.006-04:00

So not only is today the Vampire Weekend concert which is really exciting as it is BUT they also released a free download on their website! I know fabulous news.

Loving the FREE Music

2009-10-03T16:15:00.016-04:00

There is nothing I like more than Free stuff but I think the ultimate score is FREE MUSIC. The anticipation over whether you have just discovered your new favorite artist or the lamest single is always so exciting.

Sure iTunes single of the week has had its fair share of disappointments but mixed in there were some unforgettable gems that made their way onto my most played playlist. Upon walking into Osheaga all attendees were given a free 15 song sampler filled with hit tunes from Osheaga artists. Many of the songs were already in my library but it was still a great score none the less. I also can't forget the free CD given to me at the Froshashana Party which hasn't found its way onto my iTunes but my friend Lori loves it and swears it keeps her up while driving late at night.

However, This week I found something even better than 1 free single, a 15 song sample and a driving CD, I found a free 29 playlist! Well truthfully, someone else found it on facebook and I just investigated. Anyways iTunes is giving away 29 songs (though they advertise only 25?) to all members. So my suggestion to you is if you don't already have one, set up an iTunes account and then head to this link and start redeeming.

The iTunes Canada Facebook Back to School Sampler is filled with genres for every kind of music lover. One Tree Hillers will be pleased with Kate Voegele aka Mia's "Angel" and POP Montreal's Joel Plaskett's "Wishful Thinking" is sure to be a new favorite. Artists like Metric, Alexisonfire, Our

Lady Peace, The Great Lake Swimmers are also featured.

Oh and for the Fun. fans aka those who were with me at the Jack's Mannequin concert and got the free single emailed to them (you know who you are) their song "All the Pretty Girls" makes an appearance too.

Sorry for the brief 30 sec demo guess imeem no longer allows full songs to be embedded :(

1989 - When blackberrys and facebook didn't exist

2009-09-27T20:43:00.007-04:00

So today I turned 20 years old....a pretty big milestone.

I got loads of texts, BBMs and Facebook wall posts but very few calls. I wonder if an electronic birthday greeting is really equivalent to a phone call from a BFF?

Oh well, either way I had a great weekend but I am not stuck at home sunday night of my birthday doing way too much homework and fasting.

Easily Distracted

2009-09-23T11:08:00.004-04:00

With school only starting at 2:45 on wednesdays, I thought I would use this morning as productively as possible. I hoped to complete some homework that is due for next week but most importantly start and finish a scholarship letter I've been meaning to write. With Friday's due date fast approaching, I am an hour into this productivity period without a word on the page. I think the two main reasons I am having so much trouble concentrating is that my birthday is this weekend and I have made no concrete plans of what I am going to do AND I haven't had homework yet so I am not back in into the sitting at a desk working thing. Not to mention getting distracted by blog posts is not helping me get anything done.

VAMPIRE WEEKEND

2009-09-20T11:58:00.006-04:00

So on the first weekend of August, Montreal hosted Osheaga a two day outdoor music festival at Parc Jean-Drapeau. I attended the event with some camp friends on a day off. We went to the show's first date and rushed back to camp that night to make curfew. The day was incredible only thing was that one of my favorite bands Vampire Weekend were playing the next day. This was disappointing because more than anything I wanted to see them perform live. So after some sulking I got over it and prayed they would return to Montreal soon.

GUESS WHAT?

Vampire Weekend - Montreal - October 6th @ Le National.

And no their band name has nothing to do with vampire cult things. There will not be people dressed in black wearing fake fangs. According to wikipedia the band in fact got its name from an amateur film made by lead singer Ezra Koening. You can check out the trailer here!

Techno Overdose

2009-09-20T09:52:00.008-04:00

So I think that I am pretty technologically savvy but currently I am overwhelmed with all my new technology. As an early birthday present I received a blackberry. Yes I entered the dark side.

Anyways I haven't yet been able to fully set up my mac and now I have to set up the blackberry and to be honest I feel like a technology newbie. Hopefully this anxiety will go away soon because seriously I can't deal with not being able to work my phone and computer.

The day I bought my computer they offered a package called One-to-One. Where you basically go to the mac store and get tutored. My mother thought it would be a good idea to purchase the one hundred dollar program. So I did but haven't used it yet. Thinking I may go this week though and learn how to do some random stuff I just can't figure out.

Baaaaaack

2009-09-08T22:42:00.018-04:00

After a much needed summer vacation, school has resumed for the fall semester. I only had one class today but it was long enough to exhaust me. I must admit that it was slightly fun to be back... there is nothing like getting a new agenda and seeing old friends (cheesy I know).

This is in fact my first post on my brand new Mac that I used my entire life savings on aka camp paycheck. I can already tell it was well worthy it mostly because of the intense battery life that is closer to 6 hours than my old pc that lasts maybe 20 minutes.

Okay so as much as I try to avoid watching CW shows that make me all depressed, it was the season premier of 90210 tonight and I obviously watched. Anyways at the end of the show one of the main characters goes something like "girls it is going to be our year". Coincidentally a friend and I made this same bold statement a week or so ago. I am beginning to think thought that it is the phrase of the month since I have heard several others in the past week say it too. I hope though that it will be my year, although it appears it hasn't exactly started off that way but who knows what can happen in a year.

Next matter is WHY is everyone all of a sudden doing things in life. Like getting jobs that help their future, going on exchange programs, volunteering abroad, getting published? I am about to attend my second going away party in less than a week. BYE BYE my friends have fun being productive in life. Sorry I am kind of really jealous. I know that the truth is that I can blame no one but myself but it still sucks when you are the one stuck at home.

Also, I am pretty sure I am unemployed. Though I would actually have to call my boss to tell her I am back to find out for sure... but word on the street is that the part-timers have ZERO hours, cool!!

Alright... I think this is the part in the long blog post where I promise to write more often and more interesting entries. So on that note - I hope to update more frequently and with more interesting subjects. Get psyched.

Whiteboard's 1st Birthday!

2009-08-20T16:37:00.004-04:00

Milestones & Other Stuff

2009-08-19T21:44:00.008-04:00

Seeing as it is The Whiteboard's one year anniversary tomorrow, I decided to reread some old posts. I headed back to my first post ever which describes my addiction to camp and my belief that starting a blog would help me prepare for daily writing as a journalist. It is funny to see how little has changed since my first post ever: a) I am still addicted to camp and just returned home from summer #12 and b) I still feel totally unprepared for journalism school. I don't want to get all sappy but it is hard to believe that soon I will be starting my second year of university, my second year of The Whiteboard AND that I will be turning twenty in a little over a month. They may not seem like the biggest milestones but I find them pretty major.

Anyways... There is still 3 weeks left of summer and I plan to make the most of it before school starts. Which is why today I went to Super Aqua Club and tomorrow I will think of something else that is awesome to do.
On a completely separate note I have to admit how much I am loving the 200 picture limit in facebook albums. I mean now everyone has one album maybe two unlike last year when my entire facebook was engulfed by peoples numerous westcoast or europe albums.

My only complaint of right now is that I feel like a social reject in my group of friends because I don't have a blackberry. I think I am losing friends over the fact I don't BBM.... but the good news is that earlier this month I dropped my phone in the toilette and it died but yesterday I turned it on and it worked! So exciting!

I hope that this post is a start to another year of blogging and I don't get lazy and infrequent about my postings like I did last year...

CAMP IS TODAY

2009-06-12T08:07:00.002-04:00

One Week Countdown

2009-06-05T10:13:00.004-04:00

Camp is creeping up on me... in just one week I will be heading up to Huberdeau! The thought is getting easier to imagine since its finally summer outside but I am totally freaked out about everything I have to do before there: walmart, laundry, labeling, packing, haircut, co-staff assignments, bunking finalization and shopping for a summer wardrobe. I haven't had a second to do anything this week because it was a big sale at work and I was doing twelve hour wrapping shifts. It is so much worse than one can imagine. It is over now and my last day is saturday which is happy and a little sad cause I feel bad leaving my co-workers.

So my good friend Lisa is over in China and has blackberry access which means lots and frequent emails. Lisa like me doesn't use a blackberry in the city... in fact we often make fun of users who when in social settings rather be BBMing that conversing with those in front of them. I just can't believe how addicted people are... I mean I have my phone on me at all times too it is just that I feel like a nuisance to my friends because I don't have BBM. I swear they shun me because they have to send me an actual text message. Yet as a proud samsung owner I must admit that only being able to send a email from my phone of 140 characters or less makes all my emails to lisa look like twitter statuses - which I imagine is super annoying to her. So as much as nag my blackberry friends when it comes to email access... I admit I am slightly jealous.

P.S - HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARO!

Summery

2009-05-28T10:38:00.008-04:00

I haven't been especially busy these past few vacation weeks and while this may seem amazing to some it can get pretty boring and lonely with everyone but you jetting off. Of course facebook is mostly to blame since I am welcomed each log in with status filled of fun adventures in london, israel or even china. Don't get me wrong I chose camp this summer and absolutely cannot wait to go back it is just when I find out that other people are living it up overseas I get slightly depressed and jealous. It is true I had ample time before camp to travel somewhere I just couldn't really find anyone to travel with me since they were either working full time or in summer classes.

Work has given me zero hours lately probably as punishment for leaving for the summer and the need to train the new staff who will be there this summer but with the big oink oink sale next week (where everything is 20% off) I am working monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday and saturday. On the actual sale days, I am working 8-8 pretty much which will be okay if I am wrapping otherwise I just might cry/die.

After that saturday I am home free and have the next week to buy everything I need for camp. With the weather the way it is, it is hard to believe that in just two weeks I will be heading up for camp for the summer. I mean I haven't even worn shorts outside and I am expected to be in a bathignsuit within the month eeeek. I feel like I don't realize how much I have to do before I go and will get stuck washing towels at 1am the night before I leave.

So in a past post I mentioned taking these weeks as an opportunity to do things in Montreal that were touristy - so far nothing has been crossed off my list not even the Imagine exhibit. However, depending on the weather tomorrow I might head to Parc Safari...

2009-05-26T20:06:00.003-04:00

New obsession: textsfromlastnight.com

First Week of Summer

2009-05-05T12:38:00.004-04:00

So I could write a whole post explaining where I have been for the last few weeks but that would be pointless and boring since I have mostly been at home studying. Now though, I am done exams and living the high life aka vacation. I was planning on working but my lovely manager is punishing me or something because I am not on the schedule! So I have all of May to play around. I was thinking of playing tourist in Montreal and check out places in my own city I have never been or do things I have never done. So far my list includes the Imagine exhibit and La Ronde... but I haven't given it much thought yet. Today my big plans are going to buy new eyeglasses since mine are cracked and I am missing a lens on the right side. Anyways I am also in desperate need for some intense shopping which anyone who saw me in the last week knows (since I outfit repeated one too many times.) That is pretty much all but I hope that whatever adventures I have will make good blog posts because I am definately lacking in those.
P.S - I am obsessed with Big Bang Theory

My Scottish Alias or Identity Theft?

2009-04-17T15:16:00.006-04:00

Clearly I am not studying as much as I should but there is just something about exams where you get the questions in advance that makes it hard to get motivated. Regardless of why I am not studying, I wanted to share this little private message I received several minutes ago:

Melissa Wilson: Hi...I am SO sorry if this is totally the wrong person, but did you ever live in Scotland?? I'm looking for an emily white I used to know!! Melissa Xx

Unfortunately for her she has the wrong emily...what is even worse though is that on facebook there are over 500 emily whites... pretty daunting of a task. When I replied to give her the bad news I asked how many other emilys she messaged - her response: well, you looked like the most likely guess at first (i was trying to see any familiar-ish faces...but we lost touch quite a while back, so it looks like a pretty hard task...I'll ask around old friends though and see if anyone else had any luck!! thanks, XX

I found this answer pretty interesting mainly because my display picture is of me with two other people so I wonder if it was actually me who looked familiar or those in the picture with me? Hmmm will never know I guess. Is it just me or is signing a private message to a stranger with two 'kisses (XX)' a little strange?

Craigslist aka Jill is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G

2009-04-16T22:14:00.016-04:00

Read this before continuing:CLICK HERE

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So I am kind of a missed connection loser too. Basically anything that could distract me on the internet does. However, it has been a few days since I checked because I became rather bored with the quality of them recently. Today I was bored as ever and went to craigslist to have a look. There the post hit me "Cute girl. Store in Westmount" - As a Westmount employee I clicked without hesitation curious as pathetic as that was. I didn't even pay attention to the W4W (women for women).

The messsage itself was captivating: I stopped by a shop in westmount the other day looking for a gift for my cousin, you were the girl behind the counter. Your smile absolutely lit up the room. I was immediately attracted to you. You were wearing some sort of charm bracelet. Your hair was out of this world! Can't stop thinking about those 15 minutes. Coffee

I did not think anything of it initially because A. I hadn't worked in a few days, B. I don't work on cash aka not near any counters and C. Rarely do I ever serve anyone below the age of 35. Yet I have to admit - the charm bracelet got me thinking... not to mention the crazy hair description. (I am known to have some crazy curls and volume at times.)

Anyways my friend Teddy and I were intrigued and decided to use our alias email (musiclova89) that we use for embarrassing things like Moshi Monsters (don't ask) and other numerous iternet stupidity to email this girl back asking for more info.
Not even a second later do I get a call from Journalism BFF Jill asking if I was on Craigslist and saw that post.
GULLIBLE ME goes "oh my god I DID!
Jill goes that is so you!
I continue to be an idiot and go "Is it...OMG!"
She goes did you reply?
and I of course spill that I had.
She goes: "MUSICLOVA89?"
Me - ACTUALLY? JML!

In case you didn't catch on... Jill pulled a nice big prank on yours truly: Me.
I fell for the entire thing and am totally embarrassed but it did make for a good laugh and study break.

Just My Luck

2009-04-13T22:47:00.010-04:00

So this post would ideally be about the amazing adventures I have planned after school and before camp but unfortunately... I have zero going on. There are a lot of birthdays coming up though but just my luck they will all fall on the same day. Not sure what has brought on this depressive post but it probably has something to do with the fact that I was cooped up inside today at work unable to enjoy the sunshine. Anyways I want to return to the phrase 'just my luck'... last weekend a couple of friends and I headed out to see monsters vs aliens 3D but we were late and got there 8 minutes into the movie. We had no other choice but to see Adventureland (not recommended) where the main character at one point goes 'that is just my life.' Thinking we were cool, Caroline and I decided that this expression has FML potential so we abbreviated it to JML (just my life) yet half an hour later we had already forgotten what it stood for and spend the rest of the night saying Just My Luck.

Long story short: I am trying to make Just My Luck happen. ok?

Best part of this phrase is that unlike the negative nature of FML, Just My Luck can be totally positive like for example: "OH WOW, I just got a parking spot right outside the door, JML!"

Sorry if this post isn't obvious that I am already struggling with exam studying procrastination, then maybe the fact that I already designed my camp sweatshirt is better proof...

Message from Above?

2009-04-07T15:39:00.003-04:00

I am guilty - I use facebook and twitter as procrastination probably for hours a night. Anyways I think the homework gods are giving me a sign that I need to cut this habit because both facebook and twitter are sending me error messages about my account be unavailable.
How interesting...

Bye Bye Bread

2009-04-06T21:30:00.010-04:00

Ahh not only is the end of the semester nearing... so are the days in which I can eat bread/anything with yeast. In an attempt to prepare for Passover, I am trying to eat every bread product imaginable. I have accomplished most - pita, pizza, Naan bread, challah, some delicious honey oat thing... all I am really missing is a bagel. Which judging by my track record the last couple of days, I can't imagine I won't eat a bagel before Wednesday. After that it is all Matza. I certainly miss elementary and high school when passover meant a trip to the matza making factory and/or a week off from school.

I registered for schoool this morning which was pretty exhausting since it opened at 6am and the eager student that I was set my alarm at 5:45 to prepare. A waste of time though since apparently the Concordia serve can only handle 600 students at once. So useless but it is done now so I can cross one more thing off my to-do list.
Only things left are 1200 word profile, 3 minute radio documentary and a religions response (plus three exams but they are far away). After that freedom to indulge in everything but bread.

I best be back to editing my documentary if I want to attend tomorrow's mandatory camp meeting... if it weren't for the lousy weather I would think it was nearly summer with all these camp events.

Tick Tock

2009-04-04T11:32:00.004-04:00

I feel like my blog has changed tones recently. I usually would only post when I had stories or revelations I thought were entertaining but now I seem just to summarize my week...

Anyways this week has been quite an exciting one for me. I finally got published - a requirement for one of my classes but still I did it. It has to be one of the best feelings seeing your name in print at the byline. The story was less than exciting it was about composting at a high school, I think the only people who read through the WHOLE thing were related to me. If you are so inclined you can check it out here (scroll down). Also this week I got elected to the Journalism Student Association which seems bigger than it really is since I ended up running uncontested. BUT I am still pretty excited even if I am the secretary. I found out over an email that was headed by this: "If you're getting this email than you've been elected into the JSA. Huzzah!" It is a very formal association as you can see.
So school is coming into its final hours and I cannot believe I have finished my first year of university. It is such a scary thought. The only thing standing between me and camp at this point is two major assignments and three barely important exams. On one hand I can't wait for summer... on the other I wouldn't be all that upset if time slowed down because I am not sure I am ready to be in Year 2.

Too Early for Camp Mode?

2009-03-30T17:31:00.007-04:00

So in my pursuit of a career in journalism I decided to run for my student association. Anyways as I have mentioned in an earlier post I was the only person with a running opponent. BUT apparently according to one voter today... the other girl dropped out! So as you all can imagine this makes me very excited :) Although I still need to have enough votes to get elected so if you're in journalism still vote for me.

Camp is getting closer which is great since school is totally overwhelming at the moment. Anyways as a supervisor this summer I am required to make sure my staff "bond" so yesterday I organized what I called a Staff Meet and Eat. Aka all my staff and I went out for breakfast to meet each other. As anyone who knows me can imagine I was so nervous all day Saturday and all morning yesterday but in the end (like always) it was really fun and I wondered why I was nervous in the first place.... Such a camp filled wekeend with the friday night dinner, and allergic reaction the breakfast and tonight which is the YCC Fashion Show... not my favorite of camp events but I am excited to see some campers and make a good impression on whatever parents might be in attendance.

Other interesting events of the weekend included: karaoke birthday festivities and ordering mcdonalds at work... there might be more about these events but no guarantees.Oh and hopefully tomorrow's Concordian will include a really fascinating article about composting written by yours truly, me.

Two Tablets - non-drowsy

2009-03-28T00:15:00.006-04:00

Moral: Always carry Benadryl (when travelling with Caroline)

So lets go back in time to Christmas where at Alex's family dinner our friend Caroline had what we classified as a mild allergic reaction. She took some Benadryl and everything was great. Now several months later a bunch of us are at dinner for a camp reunion thing. We literally just sat down when Caro turns to me and I notice that her face is all red and swollen. I immediately recognize this as another allergic reaction. We decide to head up the block to get some meds at the depanneur. They don't have any, they don't even know what Benadryl is. We go check another dep on another block, aspirin but nothing else. Twenty-five minutes later and three more deps... still no pills. We decide to bite the bullet and head down to St. Catherine's where we know there is a pharmacy. We go in all excited to finally have ended our search, when we see it aka the metal gate surronding the pharmacy section. No pharmacist = no pills. Just fabulous. Then I see out of the corner of my eye the Bendaryl right next to the gate... arms reach. I stick in my hand and grab the closet one (ended up being the wrong one so I had to take another) anyways... I was worried that we would get to the cash and they wouldn't be able to scan it. Thankfully they were able to and Caro got her pills and her face de-swelled. We return to the dinner 40 minutes later having missed dinner. We were upset and hungry until we heard it was minced meat stuffed chicken that was served. Tear Tear.

Fargo

2009-03-26T08:34:00.003-04:00

This was too good not to share:
Someone from Fargo North Dakota ended up own my blog when she searched on Google "what was the persons name who came up with the whiteboard" - Just click and see

This, That & the Other

2009-03-25T00:32:00.007-04:00

So I am heading to bed really soon but I felt like giving a little update or lack there of on my election campaign. My total number of group members has peaked at 23, I have yet to create a poster of any kind and I have no clue what or even who my competition is. Yet... I am still very excited and hopeful!

My compost story is less than exciting and I pretty much stared at a blank word document for four hours without writing a single word. Thankfully there was no Self -Bullying involved tonight. If anyone has any suggestions on how to make a story about organic waste in a small private high school interesting, let me know.

It will be past two tomorrow (wednesday) before I step foot in school for the first time this week. I had to cut class today to conduct interviews ,I have no school Mondays and class tomorrow morning is cancelled... which explains my lack of schooling so far this week.

Even with all these impending deadlines and a never ending to do list, I haven't been feeling the pressure that usually encourages me to get my work done. This might be due to the fact a BFF from Santa Barbra is here on spring break and I seem to think I am too. I sense that there will be a bunch of very late nights in the very near future.

Ohhh and my camp staff brunch (aka our pre-camp bonding session) is this sunday! I am split between being nervous and being overly excited. I hope it goes well and if not... the truth is we have a whole summer to make up for it. I also plan to choose which item of clothing my unit will buy and personalize. I am not sure if I want to push the practical angle and get hoodies or sweats OR go for novelty and get like hooded towels, or footed pajamas.

Which is Worse?

2009-03-23T18:46:00.002-04:00

That my election campaign group on Facebook has only 13 members?
Or
That more than half those people are my friends... who can't even vote?

A Day of Past and Present

2009-03-23T14:17:00.010-04:00

There is something about doing an interview that makes me exhausted. Every time I finish one I feel like I deserve an hour or five hour break before I start homework again. So dumb seeing as I have tons due this week.

Anyways aside from the homework I've got to do, I decided I would 'involve' myself in the school and I am running for Secretary of the JSA (journalism student association). This is quite unlike me but I am really excited anyways! But in Emily fashion out of five available positions mine is the only one where there is more than one person running. How typical. Not that I am not up for some good competition... because I am! If I do get elected I might need to invest in a laptop battery that lasts more than 20 minutes or in a mac. ALSO people I need you to weigh in on what you think my campaign colour should be. The thing is purple and green would be my first choice but the CSU have clearly overkilled that. So SUGGESTIONS? (leave comments with colour choices!) Ya JSA!

So aside from University drama, for a feature I am doing for the school paper I had to visit my high school to learn about composting. See I graduated in 2006, not very long ago by any standards. EXCEPT the school has completely changed. There is a new lunchroom, and added floor, a brand new second gym, a stage, a weekly podcast, a "green" initiave and you now choose a 'major'... as if I had any of those things. Also I can't forget to mention that there is a whole new set of teachers who were up-downing me trying to figure out why I wasn't in uniform vs the old teachers who barely recognized me and also were trying to decide where my uniform was.
They really mean it when they say you can't go home again.

Carpool

2009-03-21T15:37:00.009-04:00

So I woke up this morning totally inspired by the sun and wanted to do something kind of outdoorsy. Ignoring the fact I had homework I texted Jill, another Taylor Swift fan and told her I wanted to take her and her friend Sarah who was visiting to the Orange Julep. As Nova Scotia natives the two of them had never been so I thought it was my duty to share the wonderfulness of the OJ. Marissa (HAPPY BIRTHDAY) and Mel joined too. So in carpool fashion we piled into the car hit up the giant orange, then went to Walmart, Real Bagel and TCBY. We headed home stomachs full and the sun roof opened... But in the midst of this fun adventure I thought I lost my San Fransisco key chain. Which was very said because it has sentimental value...but it was in my pocket. yay!

Gosh...How I Love Spring!

P.S - I highly recommend Pop Rock Mini Eggs

Beads, Beers and Out of Town Visits

2009-03-20T12:20:00.013-04:00

Since I last updated I went back to work after a long retirement. Toy stores seem to be very quiet in the months post x-mas. I was dreading going back, but the truth is it was a pretty fun and easy work day. I was on wrap which made the day go by pretty fast. Then at my cousin's birthday party I was offered a job being a beader... aka someone who works at parties helping seven year old put beads on strings.
I will take what I can get if I want to go away before camp this summer.

Then there was St. Patty's day where in an attempt to be festive I dressed up in a little green and went about my day. On the way home though I bumped into Jamie who somehow convinced me to go drinking with him. Note: it was 2:30 but I followed him to some Irish Pub where by 4 o'clock I had sorta of finished my first beer ever and was slightly tipsy. Let's just say the bus and metro home by myself was less than enjoyable. Don't think I am done celebrating... this sunday is the St. Patrick's day parade. I have lived here all my life and never been so I think it is about time to get dressed up in green and head out onto St. Catherine's Street.

That is not all I am excited about. In fact, best friend Madeleine from all the way in Santa Barbra is coming to Montreal for her spring break, yay! Though we have nothing major planned it will be the first time seeing her in almost year (well aside from Skype) so I am VERY excited. Also there has been this package I have been meaning to send her since this summer that she will finally receive.

Other than that I have lots of work and tons of interviews but as it is the first official day of SPRING I will avoid stressing.

My Guilty Pleasure

2009-03-13T13:49:00.005-04:00

I like Taylor Swift. Which is hard for me to admit after mocking certain friends like Paige who told me the same thing. I even bought the song on iTunes twice because the first time it went missing after it was downloaded. I just can't help but sing along to Love Story. I don't know how I let this happen but I already know all the words and have even watched the music video...twice. Not to mention I just wrote a blog post about the song. My only complaint though is that I know get all this country music suggestions in my Genius on iTunes.

Moving on, I don't know how much I appreciate the fact facebook is making me adapt again. The truth is that I know in max 2 weeks I won't even notice the changes. What is interesting about it though is that many twitterers have been commenting on its similarity to twitter. And I think they are dead on....

Flowers and Butterflies

2009-03-09T16:11:00.005-04:00

It is sort of almost spring so I decided to be a little more cheerful

Mild Freakout

2009-03-07T18:04:00.018-05:00

What kind of terrible journalist accidentally plugs the microphone into the headphone jack? So that the entire interview is barely audible? With the assignment already a week late? With an entire grade penalty? With another project in that class due the day after the extension?
The same kind of person who has this comment on their -A test "Maybe you missed the key concept because you have the terrible habit of talking when I am talking" Note: this teacher in his course outline states that a 5% penalty will be deducted from your final mark for every incident you are caught talking. Sounds like I might need to drop this class. But I won't know for sure until I go speak to him Tuesday. Which is fine minus the fact that we have a 10 page research paper due on thursday... meaning I need to start a paper I might not even have to finish.

So Camp sends out a newsletter to all the campers. Being the supervisor means I have a picture and small blurb written about me so parents and kids know who I am. This is fine especially since I get to choose the picture myself. HOWEVER in this blurb they totally messed up my camp legacy saying it was my eleventh summer when really it's my twelfth. They also referred to me as the supervisor of the camp website rather than just simply calling me the camp photographer. So I may be overreacting a little but considering they know who I am and have for TWELVE summers I thought they could have been a little more careful.

K I am done crying... and if you read to the end of this post I apologize for my emoness

Oh and PS - we lose an hours sleep tonight... sucks

Purim Positivity

2009-03-04T22:10:00.017-05:00

So I think... rather I know that I live my life too structured and too worried about everything. Which is one of the main reasons why I update so infrequently. Every blog post has to be written, edited and formatted to match all my other ones. This obsession with only using purple and arial font size large is just one of my neurotic behaviours that I think is preventing me from freedom. Well that and the fact that I am way too comfortable living at home. Anyways my goal is to live life a little less seriously and take myself a little less seriously too.

So in an un-whiteboard fashion I will fill you in on my last few adventures in a list form that doesn't involve and FML worthy moments (ok, just one).

1. Went to a foam party - had lots of fun... I even danced
2. Bought a pinata and filled it with candy for lisa's birthday - it was amaaazing
3. Barely studied for one of my poli sci tests - YET the teacher wants to use my essay as an example of a good essay
4. Packed up and went to Florida for my first time in years (I know, totally NOT stereotypical)
5. Enjoyed Florida and the sun but accidentally left my necklace on and got stuck with an untanned heart on my neck that still shows
6. Ate a lot in Florida and ate a little more
7. Came home to lots of unfinished homework that is still mostly unfinished and for some reason I barely care
8. Enjoyed vacation for the most part minus the awkward tan lines
9. Ran on the treadmill for like the first time ever but it was fun because of my super upbeat playlist I made.
10. TCBY with Stalkers Katie and Stacy in honor of their birthdy to happen sometime soon
11. Planning to attend a party tomorrow night in celebration of Jewish Halloween and come home later than I should *gasp*

There are some funny stories from these last few weeks that deserve blog post themselves but I am not sure when I will get around to writing them.

Happy Purim everyone!ps. this post only took fifteen minutes compared to my average hour

A Quick Vent

2009-03-01T16:52:00.008-05:00

I have totally neglected this blog over the month of February because I was too busy enjoying some much needed vacation...

Anyways, I feel that I do not take enough advantage of living in Montreal. It is such a fabulous city full of amazing places that I am unaware of and this bothers me. I live in my little suburban bubble rarely venturing out to different parts of town.
Like for example, last night was Nuit Blanche and although I headed out to the Old Port I spent more time eating then I did discovering art exhibitions or listening to showcases of local musicians. Or the fact that this week is Montreal Fashion Week I feel should excite me more than it does.
This lack of exploration is especially bad since being a journalism student, I should probably make more of an effort to get to know my city. Especially since I have a radio assignment due wednesday with no topic and no interviews.

Ahhh... sorry for the complaining I think I am just suffering Back to School Blues.

Though I have to add that one day when lying on the beach with my iPod on shuffle I found my new addiction:
Boyz - M.I.A

Weekend Wonders

2009-02-12T22:57:00.006-05:00

I am going on a ski trip tomorrow to Stoneham, where tomorrow night the only bar is holding a FOAM PARTY...
If I don't get a blog worthy story out of that one, then I dunno what the Whiteboard's future is. Either way I am excited to get out of town and not acknowledge Valentine's day. Actually I love the holiday mostly because I get to indulge in chocolate and give my friends little cards with the Rugrats on them. They are dated 2001 which probably explains how I got a box of 35 of them at the dollar store.
Happy Birthday MJ!!!!!!!!!!!
and early birthday Lisa (warning be prepared for the festivities I have planned)

Keeping it Short

2009-02-09T21:00:00.011-05:00

So typically I update my The Whiteboard on sundays but this weekend
has been slightly overwhelming. I went up north to camp for the supervisor bonding weekend. It was super fun despite the fact it was also pointless. Camp in the winter is so weird but also really pretty. Disregard the fact that I ruined this picture by blinking.
Came home to a lot of homework which occupied my time yesterday and today. An 800 word article and a radio news story is an understatement but I felt like it was necessary to say hello. I should also mention I kickbox with Lisa and it is our new addiction. Maybe on next weekend's ski trip we can practice.. maybe not.
Anyways Happy Birthday to Everyone! It seems that world is celebrating birthdays this month.
I leave you all with great procrastination advice - fmylife.com... If you haven't heard of it, you are living in the dark and if you have I am surprised you were able to tear your eyes and mouses away long enough to read this blog. I take no responsibilities if you become addicted.

Saturday Night.

2009-02-01T13:12:00.011-05:00

Background info: So I went for dinner for my friend Samara's birthday, and then we went out to Hatters. Unfortunately, it was some crazy boxing match and every seat was filled and there was barely standing room let alone a table for ten. So we kind of just stood until the match was over. I was with my friend Teddy. Anyways we had a great time until it was time to leave.

We go to get our jackets at the coat check and there is a table of guys who call us over. They ask us some question about the difference between homicide vs. assasination...whatever not the point. One of the guys at the table asks us if we are fans of R. Kelly. Great a 'you look 14 joke'. We explain that we are in fact 19 and they are shocked. Fun fact - they had a bet on it. Just Fabulous.

We tell them we get it we look twelve and one of the guys goes well you also look jewish. No surprise he was a Jew too. Jewdar at it's best. He then goes let me guess your names. He calls me Michelle and calls Teddy Rebecca. We tell him he got it wrong when he goes to me well then, your last name is White and hers is Green. Well 1/2 isn't bad. He wasn't surprised at all because and I quote "Jew last names, always a colour!" So true. We talk about CSL, Hampstead, Westmount and DDO and then make our ways out the door.
Though, the anti-ego boost is far from over.

Some guy outside smoking goes to us "Hey girls can I ask you something... don't take it the wrong way." Oh let me guess he wants to know if we are actually legal. Ha Ha we get it we look 12. He continues "I had a bet with my friends upstairs about your age, I guessed you were barely 18. So are you?" Thanks but we are on our way to 20. He was SHOCKED and apologized.

Nothing spells out a fun like two different set of guys betting against your legality...

Friday Night.

2009-02-01T12:31:00.010-05:00

Living at home while going to University is always sort of a buzz kill. This friday night, a few of us decided to live it up and head out. Our first stop was McGill rez where a friend from camp lives and then our plan was to go to a McGill party. This is not a stereotypical way for me to spend my weekend but I figured it is about time I left my house.

So we get to rez where I notice that everyone is dressed up in costumes. Oh? Well fun fact... the party is a Time Warp where you choose a decade to represent. Great to know that instead of some blouse and boots I could be perfectly dressed in a off the shoulder sweatshirt, converse and a sideways pony tail! I was pretty devastated and have still not gotten over it. Clearly I should have checked the facebook event FML
But the party was really fun!..which is an even bigger surprise considering I was the designated driver and I danced. The thing is I DO NOT DANCE ever...especially sober.
So anyways I left the party feeling rather 'old' since there were tons of under 18s binge drinking and puking all over the pace. I guess they still haven't learnt their limit yet. I remember those days... not actually since I was always too scared to go out when I was 16 because I looked 12 which embodies my Saturday Night...

Looking Back

2009-01-26T14:05:00.007-05:00

Weeks like this one where I have a radio package to produce and an article to write, I wonder why Journalism? And truthfully, I am not so sure.

I guess it started back in my final year of high school when I was asked with a good friend of mine to be the high school newspaper editor. Without hesitation we said yes. What we published that year was less than successful. The editions were short and far apart and lacked any sort of substance. Also I was one of those kids who took double art... not physics and chemistry. So when it came time to apply to Cegep science was out of the picture and my lack of mathematical capabilities made commerce less than desirable. Therefore, I went into Cinema and Communications and found myself in a program I hated. I thought about switching but I was too much of a chicken to let myself fall behind a semester. There were some perks to such a program. I never had more than four days or school or more that two classes a day. The best part though, was becoming friends with everyone else who hated it. As you can imagine, we developped quite a large clique. When University applications came around many of us lacked any creativity or ambition to apply to anything besides communications. That of course was my second choice, Journalism being the first. Getting accepted felt like such an accomplishment and spent the summer excitingly awaiting the fall. Now I find myself already in semester two and totally unsure if I want to pursue Journalism at all....

There was really no point to this story but I was hoping conjuring up some nostalgic memories would help inspired me to get my homework done...

High Expectations

2009-01-25T15:05:00.005-05:00

So in an attempt to make the most of my time at University, I decided that I would minor in Political Science because I thought it was a good blend with journalism. This semester I am in Western Philosophy... we are reading Machiavelli the Prince. Not the easiest book to understand but our teacher does a fair job of explaining it. Last night this teacher sent us an email entitled "Midterm Exam." Well really what it was was a two page warning on the exam's difficulty.
This was what was written under the heading Expectations:

- As noted at the beginning of the semester, the mid-term will be detail oriented. The questions are very specific, and to do well you must have a firm grasp of the details of the arguments in The Prince. - Having only a superficial understanding of the material will be of no use and will only lead to a very poor, or, as is more likely, a failing grade. To get a good grade, you must have a detailed grasp of the material. - It is impossible to “improvise” (otherwise known as B.S.) your way through my exams. The questions test your knowledge of specific aspects of the material and only a firm grasp of this material will earn you a good grade. Attempts to improvise are completely obvious and will earn you an F, so don’t make the mistake of thinking you can get by without studying hard.

It doesn't end there but I didn't find the need to share his study/test writing suggestions. I just want to add though that our class is an hour and a half...not very much time to answer 2+ essay questions in prefect essay format. The exam is two weeks away but it looks like studying should start...now?

Snow-bored.

2009-01-18T11:01:00.007-05:00

I am a pretty big fan of winter....Which is pretty depressing to admit especially in this -20 weather Montreal is calling a 'cold spell'. The truth is I associate winter with all things fun like wearing layers, wearing scarves, going tobogganing, lactose-free hot chocolate, Nuit Blanche, skating, fireplaces and especially snowboarding.

Three weeks ago I bought brand new snowboard boots trading my old ones in for a mere $10.... however,the new ones are still in the box. This is pretty depressing since Montreal has had snow since like November. The only wintery thing I have done so far was sugaring off/Tire d'érable which barely counts because it was done indoors at school... I didn't even need a jacket.

Therefore, I am planning to escape this cold during spring break and head out to Florida...something I unstereotypically haven't done since I was maybe 5. I figure that I no longer owe my loyalty to winter and instead I will shed the layers, whip out the summer scarves, drink iced tea and go boogey boarding but come back just in time for Nuit Blanche! (aka Montreal's all nighter).

UPDATE

2009-01-13T17:17:00.001-05:00

Supervisor bonding weekend has been changed! YAY!

Friday the 13th

2009-01-11T14:02:00.011-05:00

I wasn't the superstitious about the horror of Friday the 13th until...

So for my summer job as a camp supervisor I am required to attend a weekend up north with the other supervisors. We play games, eat, and mainly bond with each other in preparation for the summer. Attendance at this weekend is MANDATORY.

Anyways my friend Lisa's program is offering a ski weekend the weekend of her birthday February 13th- 15th and I decided to go on this trip with her. Seeing that the date was mid February I was hesitant because I had a feeling the supervisor weekend would be planned around then like it was last year. So I emailed the camp director asking for dates before I signed up and paid for the ski trip. He insisted that the dates would arrive shortly. They didn't so I decided to risk it and sign up for the ski weekend giving McGill an $100 dollar deposit.

I figure like last year I will have several dates to choose from or worse comes to worse I am out a hundred dollars. Months go by and still camp has yet to send out the dates. I am beginning to get annoyed as the rest of the money for the ski trip is due very soon. I email the director again and was told that we will get the dates ASAP. Once again no email was sent out and the payment deadline for ski trip was the next day. I pay for the ski trip and hope that it won't be an issue and that there will be other suitable dates. Obviously I am not so lucky.

So on Friday January 9th, Lisa gives in my second $109 dollars to the ski trip committee at around 9:30 am. On this same Friday at 11:30am, I get an email from camp saying that there is only one weekend that works for everyone and it is Friday 13th-14th. OBVIOSULY this is the same weekend as the skip trip I JUST hours earlier paid for - no money back.
So it seems that Friday the 13th seems to be a very unlucky date for me. Either I lose out on my $200 or I am fired from camp neither of which I would like happening. So now I am stuck with both a frustrating situation and a frustrating new superstition surrounding Friday the 13ths.

Actually? or not...

2009-01-04T12:56:00.012-05:00

So as per usual my father went to Florida for winter break and left me frost bitten in Montreal. This of course left me very bitter especially since he was staying inches away from some of my friends. Pre-Florida departure, my father explained he didn't get me a chanukah present because he was hoping to find one while he was a way. Legit explanation.
Anyways, half-way through his sun filled vacation he texted me that I am the hardest person to shop for and that he can't find anything he thinks I would like. So he asks me if there is anything I NEED. Well being the sarcastic person I am, I replied to his text message with a simple "I need gloves and a hat." This reply was SARCASTIC and an attempt to guilt trip him for leaving me behind. Well my father called me back questioning my sanity: "Who asks for a hat and gloves from Florida?!" Seeing this as another great opportunity, I explain that the Abercrombie, Delias, Hollister, etc websites all advertised winter gear. So he is now completely convinced that I am serious in my request.
Note: I am not expecting winter gear from this 'tropical' location'.
Clearly my father misread my sarcasm for truth and told all my friends who he was evidently seeing on a regular basis that their friend/his daughter is nuts. On my facebook wall Alissa goes "and I see joy and your dad every day on the beach and today we discussed how you wanted gloves hahah" and Lauren goes "Hahhaha lol I hear u wanted gloves and a hat for chanukah lol". Oh gee thanks.

Well, currently my father is on the plane ride home and I am anxiously waiting to find out if my request for winter gear was fulfilled. Only time will tell.....

After all the anticipation I received a tshirt, socks and bracelet... no winter accessories! tsk tsk. Also I mentioned to my father that I was into peace signs. AKA each gift received was a peace sign. But overall the gifts were good, no complaints.

2009 is Divine

2009-01-01T23:54:00.016-05:00

I feel that a new years post is almost mandatory for bloggers considering all 3 people I follow posted one. This new years post should also probably include some major epiphanies and resolutions I have for the coming year...

Pretty much as I mentioned earlier I realized that I am too negative of a person so my first attempt at a resolution was being more optimistic aka being excited for this party I was planning on attending. And guess what? I had a great new year's eve and hope that is a sign of good things to come (this thought too is an attempt at more optimism). Keeping with this theme of happy thinking, I also want to be less nervous about life. For anyone who knows me, they know EVERYTHING makes me nervous, even breathing.
So as to not disappoint myself I will refrain from any more resolutions like working out and eating healthy because I know it is only a matter of seconds before I break those.

Thought it might be fun to share how I spent the first day of 2009:
Well for starters, I didn't leave my house. I woke up earlier than I wanted in a desperate thirst. Probably the result of one too many drinks last night. Barely had an appetite but was made waffles and ate one anyways. Watched the Rose Bowl Parade - super exciting. Watched a bunch of TV I taped all semester. The next part of my day had to be the most exciting... I painted. See for chanukah my mother bought me a scarf. As you already know from my previous blog, I wasn't exactly thrilled. So I explained to her I wanted something more creative. And what does she do? Buys me a paint-by-numbers sort of activity. So here on new years day I began my acrylic painting of a fence and flowers. Monet better watch out. Then I had family dinner where we played scattergories and whoonu. Then I watched more TV and finally ended the night with this post. Not the most exciting day, but not so bad either.

The one thing I just cannot muster up the happiness for is school.... 4 ish days. left of vacation But then it will be study break soon enough and will hopefully get to travel out to visit a friend in Santa Barbara though she isn't aware of this plan yet (another optimisitc thought generated by my new years resolution for more positive thinking)!

Happy New Year's Day
I greatly enjoyed Google's very artistic festivity

New Year's Resolution? No More Scarves

2008-12-30T15:05:00.012-05:00

I love scarves, I do.
I have a nice collection ranging between 12-15 and a multitude of colours, textures, fabrics and sizes.

The thing is.... it seems that people think it is the ONLY thing I like because for the holiday season I have received 5 more. And not that I don't appreciate presents because I really do I just can't handle another scarf. Like literally, I have nowhere to store the things.
I discovered my lack of space today when my mother forced me to clean my room. I realized that I just have way too much JUNK. Currently, I am on a cleaning 'break' which judging by the giant pile in the middle of my floor, I can't really afford the Time Out. Yet its my first day off in ages so I can't afford to waste precious lying in bed time either...

Anyways, so just like my birthday and halloween... NEW YEARS stresses me out. What to do. No matter what, let's be honest... it is always a bust. But in theme with my resolution to 'be positive', I believe tomorrow night will work out and be awesome!

I am Back...

2008-12-25T16:26:00.011-05:00

I guess it is no secret that I have been absent from Blogger for most of this month. The truth is that I have spent a lot of time working and I don't really have much material. I was hoping that working as a wrapper the week before christmas would leave me with some much needed entertainment but nothing out of the ordinary boredom has happened at work. boo.
I haven't even had the chance to break out my snowboard yet this season which is a whole other load of disappointment.
But seeing as it is Christmas, I am going to move on and think of things I am looking forward to....
- Doroshenko Christmas Dinner (which is in like 5 minutes)
- Shopping trip to Burlington
- Hitting the slopes (hopefully)
- Sleeping in past 9

So ya, hopefully some new material will come out of all these exciting upcoming events

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY CHANUKAH!

There is ALWAYS Time for Procrastination...always

2008-12-11T21:20:00.007-05:00

So exam studying has turned me into quite the emo-kid but by monday it will all be over. Thank God because I don't think I could last much longer with all the wrist-slittage I have been doing (not actually).
Anywhooo I have a great story to tell about a certain facebook group of mine known as JERC but it will have to wait until I am feeling confident in my Marketing and Political Science abilities.

Also I have come across this amazingly awesome website that should immediately be checked out. http://www.joytshirt.com
I highly suggest clicking the 'random button'.
The truth is though I saw a story about it on the news last night and I am not sure whether the same affect is given off online but I hope so. All I do know is that LadyAwkz and I have plans to purchase someone ASAP.

Alive

2008-12-09T23:27:00.009-05:00

The Whiteboard has been lacking posts lately due to the fact that exam studying is killing me.
All I have done in the last week is sit, eat, type, read, eat, eat, and eat. I am actually embarrassed of the amount I have consumed or the amount of Diet Cokes I have drank. One of my favorite treats of the week are Hershey Kisses - Cherry that my mother brought home. Despite the fact I prefer dark chocolate to milk these little delicacies taste like the good old fashion cherry blossoms (minus the cherry). While searching for a picture online, I learned that they are Limited Edition (I love the Holidays!)... a good way to justify the dozen I have already eaten.
Oh and I forgot to mention I also voted in the election and walked my dog. Sorry for this post's lack of 'substance'....
With vacation soon, I am sure that there will be lots more to come - not that I am going anywhere exciting butt I work at a toy store and it is almost Christmas so I am hoping for lots of blog worthy stories.

Personal Space?

2008-12-04T22:15:00.008-05:00

I know this pet peeve has been said so many times before, but I just had to vent. So tonight I went to the Habs game and got there pretty early so I went to the bathroom. It is completely empty minus me. I go to some random stall and seconds later a woman comes to the stall DIRECTLY next to mine. I don't understand what inclined her to cuddle with me.
Anyways, I guess there wasn't toilet paper or something because she walks right out a second later. I figured she found it as awkward as I did. NOPE... where does she go? Why of course, she goes to the stall directly on my other side! I just don't get it. People should learn that there is public bathroom etiquette that requires a person to respect another's personal space. There is actually an entire site dedicated to it.

Jesus Week

2008-11-30T20:09:00.018-05:00

It seems that Sundays are a good day to write a blog post. To be honest though, nothing exciting has really happened to me lately. Except maybe for the fact I think Jesus is following me.

The whole ordeal started when I attended a lecture at Concordia. It was a presentation to be given by Kim Phuc known as The Girl in the Picture. Anyways it was being hosted by Campus for Christ a ministry that acts as a spiritual resources on university campuses across Canada... whatever that means. Kim was an amazing speaker and shared her incredible story but clearly I should have expected that for an hour and a half I would listen to how becoming a Christian changed Kim's life and how accepting Jesus into her heart allowed her to blah blah blah. The best part though, had to be when she started crying and saying God is the essence (or something like that). Pretty much confessions of a love for Jesus was a little to much for Moses loving me. Though, maybe I am just acting like a naive Jew.

My Jesus week is still not over. For anyone who watches and obsesses with TLC reality specials, you would be familiar with the show about the Duggar family "17 Kids and counting". This uber religious family has seventeen children and one on the way. All whose first name starts with the letter J. How cute, kinda like Sesame Street. All the children have been brought up with strict beliefs about religion and popular culture. The fifteen year old J-whatever was sharing his belief that internet in the home is a terrible influence because of the access to pornographic content. (Ironically, the family has its own website) How could I forget the only music they listen to is gospels. According to the eight year old girl J-whocares rock music is a terrible influence, Jesus music is better. I was thankful when Jon and Kate Plus Eight came on.

LadyAwkz (Alex) and I went digging at the salvation army on Friday. We were looking for inspirations for a bag line we hope to launch on etsy. I got sidetracked in the picture frame/other random junk department. I was scavenging around looking for interesting frames when I found one that was almost perfect...minus the words inscribed at the bottom "Confirmed in Christianity" with a nice little cross in the little side corner. Um never mind then.

Lastly, my grandmother's care-taker, Lynette, was eating dinner with us on Friday. My grandmother was excited to tell us that Lynette sings in the choir and has a mini concert for us. Not exactly mosh pit... So she gets up to sing the famous Christmas carol "Silent Night". The lyrics go something like this:

Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Saviour is born
Christ, the Saviour is born.

Every year I hear it and never notice the lyrics. I guess my sensitivity to Jesus these days made me aware. After the solo performance my mother thought it would be a great idea for the WHOLE family to go see her sing at the church.

Maybe I am over thinking the whole thing, but I don't know it seems that a higher power is trying to tell me something...

Hey!

2008-11-25T16:45:00.008-05:00

Friday night I decided to be a hermit and stay in and do work. By 10:30 I was productive and working away on my TV package. There was a section I was unsure about so I decided to email my teacher.

So I don't know about the rest of the world, but I find it very hard deciding how to address teachers in emails. Well it always stresses me out (but what doesn't) and I usually go with a simple 'Hi' or I head right into the question.
Friday though, I sent out the email quickly. This is what I wrote:

Hey,
I had a question about broadcast format for websites

(long boring question)
Thanks,
Emily

I didn't reread it I just sent it out and moved on with the assignment. WELL, wasn't I in for a surprise Sunday afternoon when I received the following reply:

"Hey" -- that's a rude way to address one your instructors.
(long boring answer to question)
B. ________

Mortification is the understatement of how I felt. I was totally embarrassed and was freaking out. I figured I would write him an apology explaining that it was a subconscious action... which isn't a lie. I didn't notice the informal heading for my email. So I explained:

Sorry, I wasn't conscious to it. Bad habit from years of informal emails
my apologies
thanks,

Emily

Then I basically spent the next hour clicking refresh in my email inbox. As you can imagine I desperately wanted a reply. Well one should learn to specify when they wish because my reply was less than calming. The reply:

apology accepted...
b.

It made me feel so much better and excited for Monday's class. NOT! Anyways luckily class was okay and instead he picked on other people but I am pretty sure he isn't a fan of me. Unless ... stands for 'you are amazing', which for some reason I highly doubt it does.
FML
oh ps: there are only 18 people in Monday's class, aka - very intimate.

Whiteboard visit from Baltimore

2008-11-21T11:31:00.006-05:00

So a few weeks back I was curious to know how many people were reading my blog. I signed up for a site counter that also tracks who the visitors are. I know that sounds creepy but really it just tells me how people were referred to my blog and like where in the world they are reading it from. (I hope this doesn't sketch you out to the point you will never read my blog again)

Anyways, I was checking out this info when I saw I had a visitor from Baltimore, Maryland. I don't know anyone who lives out there so I decided to see how they got to my blog. And what do you know? The referring link was a google search for self-bullying. In case that doesn't ring a bell check out the 7th result or click here!

Obviously...

2008-11-20T21:46:00.006-05:00

So as part of the journalism curriculum, first year students must attend a play. Our whole year went to see Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Segal Centre. This theatre is notoriously attended solely by jewish elders, aka old jewish women with short white hair. Based on this reputation, a few of my friends were teasing me about the fact that they assumed by grandmother would be there. I assured them she wouldn't and told them to stop stereotyping the token jew in the crew.

Well sure enough, the joke was on me. My grandmother called to tell me she too was going to see the play. So when I picked up my friends, I had to admit to them that despite anything and everything I had said earlier that week, my grandmother was front and center in the audience. Not that you could find her among all the other little cute old ladies with white and gray hair sitting next to her.

I was a good granddaughter and went to say hi just before the show started. I ended up meeting half the theatre but its okay cause I love my grandma so I kept a smile on my face as strangers pinched my cheecks.

My Cheesy Love for Jack's

2008-11-20T21:20:00.018-05:00

Because I haven't written in so long I am having trouble deciding where to start...

I love Jack's Mannequin and this is no secret. Friday was his concert and it was amazing.
Here are the reasons why:

- I bumped into a classmate who let me push into the FRONT of the line with her.
- Therefore, I was touching the stage.
- His music was incredible live
- I bought a limited edition signed poster
- Got free stickers
- Was with my best friends
- Oh and how could I forget? I MET HIM.
- Got more paraphernalia signed
- Took a picture that is now my facebook display, desktop background, and cell phone background!
(ignore his 'tour stache', even my undying love for him doesn't make it okay to grow a porno mustache)

Okay I was going to summarize my whole week in this post but the cheesiness is too much...

(from left to right: lisa, me, GOD, karen, & caro)

The Second Line

2008-11-16T22:18:00.004-05:00

I don't know if anyone else feels the pressure I do with birthday wishes on Facebook.
When I go to post a birthday message on someone's wall, I always stress over the second line.

Stress Factors:
I want to make it personal not generic.
I don't my second line to be a repetition of the posts before mine, so 'have a good day' is usually taken by the million before mine.
I am not an 'xoxo' type of girl so using that is out of the question.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
................................... <-- Insert personal AND original message there.

Pretty much, I am being ridiculous, BUT I figured I can't be alone in this dilemma of the second line so I decided to share.

P.S Happy Birthday Alexandra!

Breaking it Down.

2008-11-12T21:12:00.013-05:00

So a shopping trip to Boston translated into panic trying to find 'cool' outfits to wear attack. My attempt at being stylish was pretty much useless because I wear the same thing everyday. Despite my inability, the people on the streets of Boston showed us their fair share of cool. I wish I had taken notes.

People watching was a very important part of our trip. Throughout the weekend we tried to classify the 'cool' people according to two terms 'hipster' and 'scenester'.
Now I am going to do the uncool thing and try to break down the difference between hipsters and scenesters so that you too can stereotype the fashionable people you see on the street.

Hipsters
According to Urban Dictionary Hipsters:
- Listen to bands that you have never heard of and claim to be in a band
- Have hairstyles that can only be described as "complicated" but is most likely achieved by a minimum of one week not washing it.
- Are probably tattooed.
- Maybe gay.
- Have a closet full of clothing but wear same three things which are most likely very tight black pants, scarf, and ironic tee-shirt over and over again
- Chips off nail polish artfully after $50 manicure.
- Addicted to coffee, cigarettes and possibly cocaine.
Most IMPORTANTLY:
- Hipsters are definitely cooler than you
- They always deny being a hipster

According the Hipster Handbook Hipsters:
Note: it is no longer recommended that one use the term "cool"; a Hipster would instead say "deck."
- Possess tastes, social attitudes, and opinions deemed cool by the cool.
- Walk among the masses in daily life but is not a part of them and shuns or reduces to kitsch anything held dear by the mainstream.
- Ideally possesses no more than 2% body fat

Scenesters
According to gurl.com and myself

- Consciously try to fit into a
cultural scene based around a genre of music,
art, film or other media.
- Will adopt the fashion and habits of people in the scene in an attempt to claim oneself as part of it.
- The difference between a scenester and a person who is simply in a culture is originality and sincerity.
- Seen as trendy wannabes.
-Bring underground scenes into mainstream, which then "packages" the scene and turns it into a trend, ruining it.
- Love and idolize their Myspace page
- May claim to be hipsters, but they are not.

Twitter

2008-11-11T20:26:00.005-05:00

Jamie got me thinking it was time to actually start using my Twitter.
So for all three of you Whiteboard fans, you can now stalk my life via My Twitter Page
Oh and you all should get one... its the new cooler version of a facebook status!
(Twitter Updates to appear on my left sidebar)

Hired & Home

2008-11-09T23:49:00.006-05:00

All in all, it has been a very awesome weekend.
Camp FINALLY hired me for the position I wanted which is very exciting because karen and I now run all of junior side girls. Oh boy so much responsibility.

Moving on, BOSTON was this weekend and it was amazing. The weather was pretty decent and so was the shopping. While there, I thought of so many things to write about in my blog but now that I am home I obviously cannot. So frustrating. Hopefully though some stuff will come back to me.

This was just a quick update before bed because it has been almost a week since I have written anything and even longer since I have written anything good. Also, not sure who the anonymous commenter is but I am really glad you liked the blog title but please for the sake of my sanity who are you? (note: you can notify me via facebook or text if it is more convenient)

The Irony...

2008-11-04T19:34:00.003-05:00

Applying into journalism, I thought that a minor in political science would be a nice compliment. So now, in first semester I am taking an intro to political science.
The material is less than exciting but what can one really expect from an intro course.
I have been able to deal with the boredom but I cannot deal with the midterms!
WHY? well...
Our first midterm was held the day after the Canadian Election. Seeings as that our federal election was less than exciting, I had no problem spending the night studying.

Now the night before our second midterm, I am less than pleased to be missing out on the historical American election coverage.

Its quite ironic that a political science class designed to teach me about politics is in truth preventing me from doing just that.
So if I fail tomorrow's exam, at least I saw history in the making.

Hello

2008-11-03T16:28:00.005-05:00

Thanks for all the comments!
Loving the feedback.
Keep it coming...

Connect Four - Creating a Legacy

2008-11-02T16:53:00.008-05:00

I live 10 months of my life for 2. Camp.
For eleven summers I have gone to the same sleep away camp and plan on making it a twelfth if they ever call to hire me. (I have only spent all day nervously staring at my phone). My anxiousness reached such extremes that I left my cell with my mother because it was preventing me from functioning. Now shes upstairs with it and every time I hear the floorboards creek, my heart is in my throat. Totally not what this post was supposed to be about.

Moving on...
For those of you who aren't aware, I am an only child. Therefore, at camp or at school I create my own legacy which ends once I leave. Yet recently my younger cousins have 'come of age' for sleep-away camp. So when they told me that they would never attend sleep away camp, you could imagine I took it personally. Here was my one shot of maybe having someone continue my legacy but no.
I was pissed.

Anyways, my cousin told me he was the best Connect Four player ever. I told him that there was no way he could beat me, I am a professional. But he insisted and after a close game I won. (No great feat considering hes 7.) Then the rest of my anti-camp cousins challenged me and I proceeded to beat each of them. Then beat them again when they took me on as a team.
They were not happy.
And refused to play against me ever again.

I guess I should have let them win at least once, but my immaturity to their anti-camp spirit got in the way.
Then they asked me how I got so good at the game.
My answer?
Camp.

Maybe now they will reconsider.
Maybe I should gain some maturity.

No More Top - 3... I am over it

2008-11-02T16:33:00.003-05:00

The Not So Brady Bunch

2008-10-28T23:33:00.005-04:00

Disclaimer: what you are about to read is awkward, really awkward.
Necessary background info: my parents are divorced and remarried.

So a couple of months back, my mother and I decided to switch our individual phone plans to a family plan. It seemed like the perfect solution to our overages and ridiculous monthly fees. We made the switch effortlessly. One family plan. Two family members. For now... Within the next day, included in our plan was my mother's common law husband's son, aka my sorta step-brother.

Now this may seem normal enough but just wait...

I was so excited about my new plan that I told my father all about it. I bragged about my cheap rates, unlimited texting, 300 weekeday minutes, etc. I guess the offer was so appealing, that he wanted in. So he called up my mother, aka his EX-wife and asked to join this family plan. Within the next day, my father was in on the deal.
And here we have the world's most awkward unfamily family plan ever. A daughter, her two divorced parents, and a sorta step sibling all cashing in on bell's latest offer. The best though is that there is free calls between members!

Can't you just picture my father calling his ex-wife's new husband's son???

Top 3 - things I should be doing (instead of blogging)

2008-10-26T16:44:00.004-04:00

1. History of Journalism essay - worth 30% of my grade - due tomorrow
2. Radio Package Script - worth 25% of my grade - due tomorrow
3. Marketing Assignment 7&8 - already a week late - due last tuesday

Off to try and make some progress in my work load. peace.

Friday's 2nd Fabulous Event

2008-10-25T17:45:00.009-04:00

Update: fireplace seems to be empty although nothing ever flew out... my dog however was haunted all night and slept INSIDE the fireplace.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So last night four of us journalism students attended a women's hockey game in support of a fifth journalism friend Keely. The game was at 7:30, clearly an unpopular time for hockey because the rink was empty (or people don't care about girls hockey). There were maybe 60 people besides for us.
Anyways, its midway through the first period and they announce a contest. I am not paying attention at all to what the DJ is rambling about but journalism friend Evan, reaches into his pocket and takes out his ticket. He gets all excited because they called out #115 and hes was #114. Meaning that most likely, it was one of us who had won.

SURE ENOUGH I scramble in my purse to find winning ticket 115. I am instructed to go up to the DJ booth where a girl tells me I have a chance of winning $650 to Super C. All I have to do is go onto the ice and take a shot from center ice and get it into a tiny slit in front of the net.
Cool that I have never played hockey.
Cooler though, that I felt totally guilty cause Evan is a hockey player and probably could have gotten it in. He told me that whatever I do, don't turn my body and don't use too little power (so it doesn't make it down the ice).

At the end of the period the DJ wishes me luck and I am escorted by the girl onto the ice. I am very focused on not slipping because that would probably be worse than missing it. Then with all my might I attempt the $650 shot. Obviously, I do the exact opposite of everything Evan warned me about and send the puck into the side boards barely making it to the other end of the rink.

Then followed the walk of shame back to my seat...

Luckily though, I received a souvenir puck, I didn't slip and I had the satisfaction in knowing only about 56 people saw me fail!

This WOULD happen to me

2008-10-24T14:07:00.006-04:00

After hours of procrastination, I finally begin my homework. I set everything up in my basement which has a huge table. I call my dog downstairs for company. My dog cuddles up beside me for about five minutes and all of a sudden it leaps off my lap and runs to our fireplace. She begins barking, crying and jumping up the walls.

So I am thinking that she has thrown one of her balls behind and is trying to get it out when i hear the squeak. I listen closely and that is when I hear fluttering feathers and chirping. Sure enough, there is A BIRD IN MY FIREPLACE. My dog is freaking out and so am I.

I call my mother - she is useless.
I decided to call the SPCA, they tell me to call the Wildlife Control. They tell for 350 dollars, they can send someone to try and get it out - no guarantees. Oh thats nice, no guarantees meaning you might come and leave without saving no god damn bird. Not going to happen.
I call my mother back - she is still useless. $350 non-guaranteed rescue is out of the question (duh!)

I try to distract my dog by putting her outside. After 10 minutes of yelping on the back balcony, I let her in BUT she ran to the basement and cried even louder. Fun fact = dogs don't have short term memory. So I thew her back outside where she is currently barking. I am sure my neighbors love me! Plus now I have moved all my books up to the kitchen out of the echoes of dying bird.

Nothing says study atmosphere quite like dying bird and crying dog.

Fabulous October/November

2008-10-21T18:13:00.006-04:00

So in the next month, I have lots to look forward to. Unfortunately though school is interfering with all my excitement. Overall the transition to university has been relatively smooth, but this past week I find myself totally overwhelmed. Of course school has been stressful since day 1 but deep down I knew that I would do everything I needed to....eventually. I don't have that same belief in myself these days however which is lame. There is something about a 10 page research paper on the history of journalism that does that to you.

Anyways, I mostly wanted to write this post to list some of the wonderful events that will happen between now and the end of November.

First there is Halloween. Although I am not really excited actually kind of the opposite but I'm being optimistic and hoping I attend some crazy awesome party. Very doubtful. I am excited about the Halloween Journalism Student Association (JSA) Stache Bash where students are encouraged to wear/grow a mustache in exchange for a free beer. The reason this is so exciting is that at work (toystore), we sell fake mustaches and I am always like WHAT are these for? Now I know! I wonder if I should sport the handle bar or fu manchu.

There is also my trip to BOSTON. So excited. More details to come...

The FEIST concert for which I bought tickets in like april so really it is about time.

Oh and how can I forget? JACK'S MANNEQUIN concert too!

So as I struggle through school I am trying to focus on these fabulous events rather than sulk about all the work I have, that I am not doing.

Top 3 - Things I Can't Live Without

2008-10-19T11:23:00.004-04:00

Midterms have left me no choice but to love the following 3 things

1. Diet Coke
Honestly without diet coke I don't think I would ever study. Plus I use it as a treat/reward as a way to limit my daily consumption.

2. Pomegranates
Sounds totally random I know. But a pomegranate is probably the best study snack ever. In general while I am study I need to be constantly eating so like this fruit has what a million seeds it takes me hours to finish. Plus, it is a lot healthier than chips/popcorn which was my old study snack.

3. Desk Chair
I just recently bought a new chair for my desk and it is the love of my life. It leans all the way back which is just fabulous really. I owe its wonderfulness to my bureau en gros employee friend. Unfortunately though it doesn't really fit under my desk which is sort of a problem. Oh well.

As you can tell from these top 3, there isn't really anytime in life anymore to think of anything unrelated to midterms. The season is almost over though, just in time for essays to be assigned.

The Whiteboard

Wolf, tequila and end of semester blues

Impending failure

The Blue Bin: this year's grinch

8000 ft above

One Month in

Purple Bicycle

Sunny Saturday

What next...

Hibernation

Playing Catch Up

How I Love Reminiscing

Not Again...

Room Redecorated

New Decade

Already? Really?

Mind your manners: modern day etiquette guide for students

As seen in the Life section

Time Check

Halloween

Wild Things

Olympic Nostalgia

Round-Up

Testing Blogger from Blackberry

Good News Day

Loving the FREE Music

1989 - When blackberrys and facebook didn't exist

Easily Distracted

VAMPIRE WEEKEND

Techno Overdose

Baaaaaack

Whiteboard's 1st Birthday!

Milestones & Other Stuff

CAMP IS TODAY

One Week Countdown

Summery

First Week of Summer

My Scottish Alias or Identity Theft?

Craigslist aka Jill is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G

Just My Luck

Message from Above?

Bye Bye Bread

Tick Tock

Too Early for Camp Mode?

Two Tablets - non-drowsy

Fargo

This, That & the Other

Which is Worse?

A Day of Past and Present

Carpool

Beads, Beers and Out of Town Visits

My Guilty Pleasure

Flowers and Butterflies

Mild Freakout

Purim Positivity

A Quick Vent

Weekend Wonders

Keeping it Short

Saturday Night.

Friday Night.

Looking Back

High Expectations

Snow-bored.

UPDATE

Friday the 13th

Actually? or not...

2009 is Divine

New Year's Resolution? No More Scarves

I am Back...

There is ALWAYS Time for Procrastination...always

Alive

Personal Space?

Jesus Week

Silent night, holy night!Shepherds quake at the sightGlories stream from heaven afarHeavenly hosts sing Alleluia!Christ, the Saviour is bornChrist, the Saviour is born.

Hey!

Whiteboard visit from Baltimore

Obviously...

My Cheesy Love for Jack's

The Second Line

Breaking it Down.

Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Saviour is born
Christ, the Saviour is born.