things that are irritating

1. How often the phrase "poorly understood" was used in a chapter of my archaeology textbook. Seriously, you couldn't think of any other way to say that? You, sir, are a great author.
2. Emails from people in my anthropology class asking for notes. In my English class in grade twelve, we all had to have homework buddies who we would ask about things we missed. Make a friend and just exchange notes amongst yourselves! I don't want to send you my non-existent notes and I don't want emails asking for them! The worst is when they ask you about dates for exams, or what chapters exams will be on. Everything is posted, look it up yourselves!
3. Computer science assignments
4. Contacts. They irritate my eyes.
5. People who talk in my calculus class. The professor is already really quiet, I don't need you talking about non-math-related things when I am already struggling with understanding what she is saying.

I stayed up until three in the morning last night studying calculus, and the quiz was super easy and that sucked a little. I still need to learn how to prioritize and focus on school. I'm hoping that the anthropology test went alright, please please please be at least 80! During my math lab I talked to Cailey on Skype, I miss her a lot! We have plans to go to a pub and eat wings and drink cheap beer.

School is really stressful, and there are so many things going on at once that most of the time I feel like I can't handle it. I am really scared that I won't be able to do my computer science assignment. I need to stick to my plan and work on it for an hour before the tutorial tomorrow. And then my TA can discuss it and hopefully give me some idea as to how to do it. And if all else fails, I'll ask Bronwyn's friend and pray that this all works out.

I really can't wait for Christmas break.

listening to: love is simple - akron/family

note to self

1. "I want a piece of chicken with a lot of barbecue sauce. Oh wait, I'm wearing white." I then wore a paper napkin around my neck and covered my shorts with the table cloth. I'm just dripping with class.
2. Alana said that she was going to get a glass of pop, so I asked for one as well. She returned with an empty glass.
3. When my name was announced for winning second low gross in my flight, they pronounced my name "Alyssa Set-o". When they were taking a picture of us, they were trying to get us to stand closer and Alana yelled, "c'mon, squish in there Alyssa!" It took me a while to realize she was talking to me.
4. There was a paper trimmer in the middle of all of the prizes on the table, and immediately I knew I wanted that to be my prize. When they finally got around to the draw prize, the second girl who went up took the paper trimmer. I was the third. My friends laughed so hard at me. When the girl realized I actually wanted the paper trimmer, she traded her prize for mine, so I got the paper trimmer. "I am going to trim SO much paper with this!" Then a lady came up and told me that it wasn't actually a prize; somebody owned it and it was about five or six years old. So I had to give back the paper trimmer and get a new prize.
5. Kristina picked a prize bag with a bag of cement and a sleeve of shitty balls. We thought that it was a joke prize so we opened the bag of cement ... to find a block of instant drying cement in there.

Cities was a lot of fun this year. I can be such an idiot most of the time.

i wrote some witty banter

1. Volunteered at the mainstage at Olympic Plaza, which consisted of sitting by the exit, telling people it was an exit and not an entrance, and getting yelled at by a Native American for not letting him in without a festival pass.
2. HOLY FUCK was .. holy fuck. So good. One of the best live acts ever.
3. Went over to The Loose Moose Theatre with Mikki, and it was surprisingly really good. There are some kids my age who really know how to play guitar and sing.
4. Volunteered at Artlife on Saturday, which consisted of helping put up posters for the poster show and sitting down to listen to some amazing female singers. One of my favorites was Foonyap, who played violin/mandobird (sp?)/sang for Woodpigeon on Thursday. She was so hilarious, and I don't even think she was trying to be. My favorite song by her was the one about falling in love with a bicycle. Followed by the one about falling in love with a robot. The Doer and the Doddler was amazing, actually they all had such beautiful voices that soared and filled up the room and my soul.
5. Ran into Morgan Greenwood at Artlife, he mistakened me for my sister but after we talked for a bit before he went with Knots to go get something to eat. Then I ran into Austin from BRAIDS because Raphie was playing (as INDIENSOCI) but he was about to leave as well. Oh and ran into Katie Lee and she convinced me to try and get into the HiFi to watch BRAIDS play. INDIENSOCI played a sweet pop song as the last song of her set.
6. Walked over to The Palomino for the all-ages show and had a super garlic-y salad. Seriously, there were massive chunks of garlic just there. It burned my mouth and so I couldn't finish it. So a big negative there .. especially since I paid $12.00 for that. Oh but saw Jessica and Arielle there! Had a good lunch with them before Jessica had to go.
7. Brain Fever .. wasn't really my style of music, and when the (small) crowd started moshing, I got kicked in the shin and it hurts. But the band after them was really good .. Keith was playing bass in it!
8. Went to the HiFi alone because Mikki didn't think she could get in, and Kirsten ended up not being able to go. I borrowed my sister's passport and holy crap I was so nervous. The bouncer asked me for a birth certificate, and then I freaked out a little inside and asked if a passport was okay. He said that actually a passport was better than a license, took a good look at the passport and at me, and then let me through. I ran into Robin inside! We talked a lot about the other shows we went to and had a good time.
9. BRAIDS took a while to set up, which sucked a little because their set ended up being so short. They played four songs; three were new and one was Lemonade. It was really great, even though it ended earlier than I thought it would. I really hope they play Calgary in August.
10. Robin and I left after BRAIDS to go to the Warehouse. Got in there as well (thank god I look like my sister), and it was so hot in there. Githead was really good, then HEALTH played and were so energetic. Finally Holy Fuck went on. Robin, Tyler, and I were at the very front and at one point Graham Walsh's bum was right in my face while he was setting up. That's how close were were.
11. Holy Fuck was CRAZY! It was a million times more amazing than at Olympic Plaza because we were all just dancing and it was just the way the music made you feel .. I was just so happy the whole time they were playing. There were a lot of moshers so I kept having to push back using the stage just so I could stand straight, and it was so hot and sweaty but I loved it. And then I shook Brian Borcherdt's hand after the set. What a great way to end the festival.

i sampled my voice

1. Front row, almost directly in front of Final Fantasy. He was funny, charming, and such a talented musician. He played The Sea, The Butcher, Many Lives --> 49MP, Flare Gun, He Poos Clouds, and This Lamb Sells Condos along with many new songs. He then came back for an encore and giddily played What Do You Think Will Happen Next when somebody requested it, and The CN Tower Belongs To The Dead. He set up by himself so "even if you thought the set was bad, at least you can't call him lazy!" And showed us the sampling he did of his voice on his keyboard when trying to find the right setting. I want to be his friend so badly!
2. Lined up for the Knots/Rural Alberta Advantage/Woodpigeon/Mount Eerie show way too early, but met a guy who was really cool and interesting to talk to. It turned out that he used to play for The Grim Beat.
3. Because I lined up so early, I was first in the church and I got a spot front and center. Dead center.
4. Knots' voice is really good, I think he was a bit nervous though because he kept messing up his guitar playing.
5. Rural Alberta Advantage! I had never heard them but they were really good. I love a good drum beat, it's even better when there are two going on at once.
6. Woodpigeon also rocked, I love their harmonies and when whistling gets looped!
7. Everyone was waiting for Mount Eerie because he had never played in Calgary before. He has a really, really nice voice. It's smooth and raw and just so genuine. He is also a really funny guy, who talked about Michael Jackson and ended the show exactly when it was supposed to end.
8. My exams are done! And I finished with a 92 in calculus so things are fine.

listening to: willow tree - chad vangaalen

summer! summer! summer!

- Sled Island!

- Working

- Golfing at Country Hills

- Golfing at tournaments

- Folk Fest!

- Golfing in New Brunswick (hopefully!!!)

- Fam vacation in Vancouver

- Pictures!

- Friends?

listening to: burn 2 ash - chad vangaalen

f-f-f-factoid of the day

I figured I'd just lay out a list of things about myself for this post.  I think it'd be interesting to go back on it later in my life and think about how much I've changed.  So here goes:

1. I hate yogurt.  Although it's been like this for pretty much all my life, I doubt it'll change anytime soon.  I hate the way it smells.  I think I had it once when I was seven or something like that, and it was the grossest thing ever.  I also dislike pie; I don't have good vibes about cooked fruit.
2. When something is bothering me, I get extremely introverted and I stop talking about anything.  I think it's because when something is bothering me, it will occupy the majority of my mind, and I hate talking about my problems so I'll end up not saying anything at all.  This was discovered in the summer.  Whenever Gavin and I went for a walk or hung out at his house, and something was upsetting me, he'd always ask me why I wasn't saying anything.  And then sometimes I would open up to him and we'd start having conversations again.
3. I have a hard time saying no to anything, which always leads me into conflicts or doing things I don't actually want to do.  I hate disappointing people.  I'm pretty spineless.  I wish I could tell people I don't want to do things they want me to do, but usually I just suck it up and do it.  Whenever people make plans, for example, and I don't want to go, I'll go anyways because I don't want to tell them the truth.
4. I worry a lot about how people think about me.  Probably more than what's natural.  It leads me to be pretty timid, and a lot of the time I will formulate an action in my mind but I won't act on it until I confirm that people will approve.  It's terrible, I know, but I can't help it.  Everything I say is thought and contained in my brain minutes after they are conjured, and aren't released until I have triple checked that it's alright to say it.
5. When I hear a really catchy song, I have to listen to it a million and one times, and I still would love it after that.  Case in point:  Willow Tree by Chad VanGaalen.  I listened to that song over 200 times.  In a row.  And I still love it.  I think I listened to Lemonade by The Neighbourhood Council like 50 times in a row.  Right now I am hooked on Stuck For The Summer by Two Hours Traffic.  If you have time you should check it out.

So that concludes my list for now, I am tired and today was not a good day so I'm going to go to bed and hopefully start fresh tomorrow.

"show me the awkward"

This long weekend has been pretty good.  In short form:

a) Thursday I went to Cailey's house and Tess, Megan, Cailey and I baked an amazing cake only to realize that we forgot to grease the pans.  So we decided to just make a mountain cake and put dinosaurs on it (we were celebrating Darwin's birthday, if that makes the dinosaurs logical) and it turned out to just be a mess.  Also, our icing was extremely sweet so it was really hard to eat, although the cake was good!

b) Friday I played a lot of Guitar Hero and drew a design for our band trip t-shirts.  I like it, so hopefully they decide to use it!  My sister kept coming up with weird ideas for me to draw, but I don't think I'm going to do them.  Then I went to Golf Town in the evening and hit a lot of balls.  So many that my hands were raw and tired, and the next day every muscle I used was sore.  I haven't golfed in a while.

c) Saturday I worked for the first time in like three weeks, and it was kind of boring although nice to see Jenna again.  We played Text Twist for the last two hours, which actually helped make the time go by.  After that I went to Gavin's birthday party and had a blast.  We played a lot of Guitar Hero (World Tour), fooseball, pool, and darts.  It was overall a good time.

d) Today I watched High School Musical 3, which is ridiculous but I'll probably watch it again in like ten minutes just because.  After that I went to Gavin's house to play some music, which was pretty good.  We made a new song today!  It sounded nice.  My sister killed my records for Cliffs of Dover and so I tried to beat her, but I can't.  She is the king.

I guess that wasn't really short form, but there were a lot of little things that went on.  The most hilarious thing happened today, though.  While my sisters, my mom and I were in the kitchen, I went to go get a glass of juice.  My older sister was having peanut butter on bread.  When I left my glass at the counter to put away the box of juice the fridge, I heard a slurping sound only to turn around and see my sister accidentally spill all of my juice from her mouth because she was laughing so hard.  It was so weird.  I laughed really hard, which hurt because my ribs still hurt a lot.

fool my heart to think that i might've had you

I woke up this morning at 4:45 and couldn't fall back asleep: crappy
I made it on time to choir: sweet
We got to watch a movie on Hitler in social studies: sweet
I got my social studies unit test mark: sweet
Spent band class going over theory that I already knew: crappy
Took six long minutes to heat up my lunch: crappy
Had an Iconographer meeting and had a lot of fun hanging out: sweet
Finally got extremely tired in chemistry and pretty much blacked out while watching an animation: crappy
Math: crappy
Fell asleep during the math lesson: ordinary
Took the bus home with Aswathi so I couldn't fall asleep: crappy
Actually did all of my homework before anything else: sweet
The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother on tonight: sweet

What a perfectly balanced day of mediocrity.

i got shot right in the eye

1. Times I have seen members of The Neighbourhood Council: seven; times I have talked to a member of The Neighbourhood Council: one! I somehow ended up sitting next to Katie at the Chad VanGaalen show, and we chatted it up a bit. She is cool.
2. After Chad VanGaalen finished playing, as I was leaving the Discovery Dome, he waved and said hi to me. I waved back.
3. Going down the stairs in the Science Center, I walked beside the front singer of Young and Sexy, and told him I liked his set. He said thanks.
4. Walking across the street to my dad's car, the drummer from Young and Sexy waves to me.
5. After Tegan and Sara finish playing the mainstage, Mike, Kirstin, and I go to the backstage area and wait a bit because Tegan and Sara are seriously three feet in front of us. After waiting for a little while, Tegan/Sara comes up to us and says hi, and apologizes because she is going to go greet her family members. I give her a high five, even though it's a bit feeble.
6. Before the Neighbourhood Council plays, my sister introduces me to Mark Hamilton.
   
7. After Broken Social Scene plays, I go with my younger sister to look at the merchandise, only to find out that she has no money. I have no idea where Mike or Kirstin went, so after meeting up with my dad, I run backstage to see if they are there. Instead, I see Andrew Whiteman. I tell him I loved his show, and that I jumped from another show just to see it. He asks for my name, and he introduces himself, even though I know who he is. He shakes my hand.
8. I keep running further to see if Mike or Kirstin are there, but they are not. As I'm coming back, I see Kevin Drew and so I wait for him to finish talking to somebody else. I tell him I loved their show (yeah I know, I'm so original), and he thanks me. He goes to shake my hand, but I ask for a high five instead. We kind of miss on the first try, so we do it a second time. It's solid.
9. As I'm continuing on my way back to my dad, I see Brendan Canning and I stop to say hi. He compliments my shirt (I was wearing my Islands one), and I tell him that I would've bought one of theirs, but I had no money. He says, "awe, well give me a hug, honey" and so I do. It was a nice hug. I say goodbye and I run off.
   

i can't find the cello or yet the french horn

1. While at the Sled Island poster show, a guy kicks my shoe and asks for a high five. It turns out he mistook me for my sister. It turns out he was Jordan from Azeda Booth.
2. Kris Ellestad asks me if Megan and I will go outside to listen to him perform. Unfortunately, I was on the phone and could not really listen to him.
3. After the Grizzly Bear show last night, while talking to my sister, Chad VanGaalen comes strolling along with his bike and starts talking to my sister's friends. As much as I wanted to say something to him, and although my sister was going to find a way to cut into the conversation, she got distracted and started talking to Taylor from The Neighbourhood Council. I still cannot talk to anyone from The Neighbourhood Council out of fear that I will sound like a dork (times I have seen members of The Neighbourhood Council: five).
   

and if the soul's hungry, feed it feed it feed it feed it

Elliot is the best when it comes to reactions. At first when we ran into him in the stairwell, all he could do was make hand gestures and make high pitched noises. Then, when we saw him in the gym, he asked if it was actually something, and when we said yes, he yelled "yeeeeeAHH!!!" in a really high voice and gave Gavin a really powerful high five. I love Elliot. He wrote some really nice things in my "yearbook".

Right now I should be:
Studying bio.
Studying chem.
Sending my poster to Mikki to print.

Pittsburgh is behind 3-1.

listening to: liver and tan - the neighbourhood council

i can say the right things

I'm sorry for being so overly cheesy, but today I just felt SO incredibly happy! I just wanted to shout out and laugh, but of course I didn't. Honestly, I've never felt like this EVER! I am excited about all of this. It's weird to tell people, though. I mean, I always want to tell people, because I am just so happy that it's worked out like this, but it's just .. I don't know. I don't want to just blurt it out to everyone, I don't really understand the reasons why. However, it was really funny when I told Mikki, because Cailey came at that time, and when I finally said it, Cailey shrieked out and gave me a hug, and she was just so incredibly happy which made me smile.

But anyways. I feel like making a list.

1. There is a girl I met a couple months ago, a friend of mine introduced me to her when we bumped into her on the train. Ever since then, I see her everywhere, all the time! In the halls, in the cafeteria, at graduating ceremonies, it's nuts. Today I saw her when I walked over to the university to see if I could get some poster paper (I couldn't). We both walked into Mac Hall. And then I saw her again when I was walking out! Holy man. It's weird how it happens like this.

2. I have this really weird habit whenever I'm not thinking of any specific where I start counting from a random number. (28, 29, 30) .. and I'll count until I suddenly realize what I'm doing, and I forget what number I was at. Who does that? Or why do I do that? I used to do it when I was younger, when I'd count street lights starting at whatever number I wanted. Now I do it mostly when I'm listening to music, I'll count the beats from a number like 1022, or when I'm walking and I count my steps. Sometimes it really bothers me; I hate counting.

3. We're going to have a party in band tomorrow! I'm buying cake. I have to remember to buy cake. Mr. Paddock doesn't know we're having a party tomorrow.

4. WE NEED TO HANG OUT! Like, all three of us. asap. I miss you guys and we haven't done anything in a while! There are just so many things to say that can't be expressed on a computer screen.

5. I like starting or ending things on 5s and 10s. It's weird for me when it's in between.

listening to: sing me spanish techno - the new pornographers

i heard you left somebody else just yesterday

Things said at work:
- (Woman looking at energy candy): What? "Proven to improve your stamina on the course and in bed?" (Me:) What the hell? (Woman:) I just made up the last part.
- (After making a mistake charging an old man:) I thought you Chinese were supposed to be smart!
- (Me:) I almost gave your pants to another guy! (Man:) If you did, I would have to kill you.
- (Man:) Is that belt $55.00 or $50.00? (Me:) Oh, $50.00. (Man:) Score! $5.00!
- (Man, after his bill comes up to five hundred something:) Ohhh man. No thank you. Can I say that to you? NO THANK YOU!

And Dylan spilled his spicy smelling soup on himself during lunch. It was a good work day.

if i'm the sail then you are the mast and we've caught a good wind

Things I did today:
- Went out for coffee
- Laser tagged
- Steamed up a car
- Listened to loud techno music while stuck in traffic with friends
- Ate birthday cupcakes
- Went to DQ and got cut in line by a team of girl soccer players
- Got blinded in a playground
- Ran up a hill
- Overlooked the city on top of a hill
- Got a piggyback ride down a hill
- Climbed the roof of a school portable
- Watched friends try to catch up to a moving car from the passenger seat
- Staked out in a car

Good night.

you can't see that i'm the same as all the stupid people that you hate

I like being able to pass notes in band class. I like making nicknames, I wish people would make some for me. I like trying to not talk to Kaitlyn while studying and failing. I like drawing on my notes, I like how Christmas is really soon. I like how I'm focusing in school now, but not how I got a 76 on my quiz even though I studied really hard. I like laughing from the inside out. I like being enthusiastic, getting a pat on the head, watching The Importance of Being Earnest. I like getting hugs around the waist. I like American Apparel hoodies. I like taking pictures, and editing them. I like thinking of Christmas presents, but I have no idea how I'm going to get them all finished in time. I think I like myself right now.

the set would be made of cardboard

Today will consist of a phone call, going to church, listening to Chad VanGaalen, demoing a golf club, coloring a map, burning a CD, watching The Office, and panicking about biology.

I have a lot to look forward to.

we're living in a world of fucked up lies

Five things I have come to dislike, or have always disliked:

1. Most bands on Much Music.
2. Feet. Especially my younger sister's.
3. Hidden Palms.
4. Almost everything about myself.
5. The fact that I'm so damn bitter today.

Have a good Monday.

i'm wide awake, it's morning

Bad things about today:

Trying to function in 30+ degree weather with only three hours of sleep.
Harry Potter being on at the completely wrong time.
Sitting in the sun on the C-Train and the bus.

Good things about today:

Everything else. Right from meeting Abbey at the C-Train I had a phenomenal day. I loved getting coffee with Abbey (even though I didn't buy coffee). I loved sitting by the river. I loved just talking and talking without any awkward silences. I loved Heather's voicemail, and eating lunch with her. I loved taking photobooth pictures with her, looking around at jewellery and other strange products in almost every store, and comparing every fast food place in the food court's price of bottled water. I really loved hanging out with the two people I wouldn't miss hanging out with for the world.