A slow death.

I’ve watched curling since I was a wee child – no joke.  I find it fascinating.  I have to this itch to try it!   BUT YA KNOW, it’s KINDA obscure.. how would I even go about it?  Hmm.  In addition, I’ve never been much of a skater (truthfully, I know curling isn’t really “skating”, but I am NOT A BIG fan of ice).  Generally speaking: me + any winter sport = fail (and danger, please get out of my way)

Who wants to join?  It will be a good stretch for those groin muscles   Plus, how could you NOT want to scream obscenities like “HURRY HARD, HARD, HARDER” with legitimacy?  Com’on, it’ll be fun!

I decided to stay home today because I wasn’t sure if I had the flu bug.  Whatever I’ve got, I probably caught it on the P.D. day on Friday.  Remember, back in the day, when P.D. days meant a day off?  Well, as it turns out, teachers don’t get that day off!  “P.D.” actually stands for Professional Development, believe it or not.  Being on the “other side” is kinda weird.  It wasn’t too long ago that I spent my P.D. days committing random acts of sloth.

The first seminar I attended on Friday was titled “Before I started teaching, I wish I’d known…”  It was led by this wonderful fourth year teacher, who has now become the history department head at her school!  Crazy story, right?  Anyway, she opened up a question and answer session at the end her talk, and it was during this period that a first year teacher sitting at the back of the room stuck her hand up.  I can’t even remember what she commented on, but she scared the shit out of me.  She looked so run down, and not the “Fuck, I had a rough night, I need a nap” look, but more of the “MY BODY IS BATTERED, I’M TAPPING OUT.” look.   Don’t get me wrong, she was a beautiful woman, but she was so pale and lifeless.  AND THOSE BAGS UNDER HER EYES.. :O !  My own eyes started to twitch as I stared at her hopeless attempt to cover up the distress.  She was a panda with concealer.  If that is what I have in store for myself, I think I should start conditioning my body now.

At this point, my hand shot up too.

“Excuse me, so.. how much sleep did you get that first year?”

“Oh, I don’t know.  I would get up at ________ and go to sleep at around ________.  Maybe 5 hours a night?”

UM WUT?  For 10 months?  Omfg.  Whoa, whoa.. I know my old mantra was “Sleep is for the weak”, but this is just too fucking much.

Most people think that teachers get those two months in the summer off, but really, we more than pay for those hours during the year.  If I’ve learned anything from prac, it’s that you always take work home with you.  Here I am, prepping for one period for, like, 6 hours.  When I start prepping for three, I will probably just end up slitting my wrists.  There just aren’t enough hours in a day.

Coffee IV?

I’d better enjoy this day off while I can.  The next two weeks should be pretty rough.

After all, what’s better than flannel pants and curling on TSN?  Nothing! ^____^

Alright, y’all.  I haven’t posted in a while, but here is Joanna’s declaration:

I had to smudge my curse word at the end to make this a little more PG13.  Sorry, I just couldn’t contain my excitement.

Now it’s here for everyone to see.  Don’t try and back out now.  W00t, party at my house!  Krishna, you’re invited.

(P.S. Cory Monteith, I ♥ you)

Sometimes I really question what our world has come to

McDonald’s is Louvre’n it by Peter Goddard

PARIS–News that a McDonald’s is to open shortly in the bosom of the Louvre has sent waves of shock and horror worldwide. Appalled art lovers cringe at the possibility of the outlet serving up a juicy Double Da Vinci burger with a side of frites. Or a Francis Bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich.

I mean, we’re talking here about Sun King Louis XIV’s former digs, the home of the Mona Lisa, star of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. Is nothing sacred?

Get over it, I say. For one thing, the proposed McDonald’s is to be in Le Carrousel du Louvre, a modern subterranean mall run by a private company and not operated by the state-owned museum. The outlet will be next to a proposed museum ticketing area.

As malls go, Le Carrousel is clean and pleasant, leading to either the subway or a doorway opening at 99 rue de Rivoli, the busiest street in all of France.

True, the Louvre could quash the deal if it wanted to. But it doesn’t want to, not while it maintains the title of being the most visited museum in the world, with some 8.5 million paying customers a year. Nor should we forget that shopping is one of the realities of museum-going and an increasing source of museum revenue.

Not many weeks back, I went to the Louvre with the single purpose of shopping at its bookstore. I found myself in Le Carrousel by accident. Along with a children’s bookstore, a post office and clothing stores, I came across Perigot, the high-end German housewares shop selling such necessities as pricey fluffy feather dusters. McDonald’s will fit right in.

Most likely, the real shock is the realization how big a presence McDonald’s already has in France. Sure, authorities in 1993 nixed the possibility of the golden arches being hoisted under the Eiffel Tower. But France, with more than 1,100 outlets, is the fast-food empire’s second biggest market after the United States. The Champs-Élysées McDonald’s is reportedly the most profitable outlet in the world, the result of non-stop tourist traffic. And the Louvre outlet will help the company celebrate its 30th anniversary in the country.

Meanwhile, Italy, where McDonald’s is not nearly so visible, has sparked a Big Mac outrage of its own by hiring Mario Resca, a former director of McDonald’s in Italy, to juice up the tourism business for its 3,600-plus museums. “Visitors’ needs should be satisfied,” Resca says. One can’t wait for those Roman McNuggets, Forum-style.

All of which leaves one question: How long do we have to wait for Tim Hortons to open next to the Tom Thomsons at the Art Gallery of Ontario? It’s the Canadian thing to do.

REALLY?  IS THERE NO ESCAPING THE GOLDEN M?  Does anyone else get those weird McDonald’s cravings in the middle of the night, or when you wake up in the morning?  I think they’ve got me right where they want me -_-;

Sorry for not updating often, life is pretty crazy these days!  I just started my teaching practicum so I’ve been busy preparing lessons.  Today was a particularly rough day – filled with technical difficulties, lack of familiarity with my own teaching subject (and subsequent embarrassment and criticism), chatty/hormonal teens excited for the long weekend, and fire alarms.  omg.. all in all a bady day -________-;

Hopefully Tuesday will be a clean slate.

Summer = brain rot.  Brain rot = TV.  I don’t know where I was trying to go there, but I feel really rusty with this now O________o.  Time to get back into it, I suppose!

Last Chance to See is a wonderful BBC documentary series.  The show follows Mark Carwadine (a wildlife photographer and zoologist) and Stephen Fry (Hugh Laurie’s old comedic partner :O ) as they search for animals on the brink of extinction.  Of course, all the while they are exploring the wildlife of their surrounding regions.  The project was actually started by Carwadine and the late Douglas Adams in 1990 – however, it was in a book format at the time.  I think Carwadine was interested in seeing how the dynamics had changed over the past 20 years, so he decided to embark on this long journey again.  Stephen Fry had a friendship with Adams, and therefore opted to take Adam’s place as Carwadein’s partner.

Some of the moments in this show are just beautiful.

Animals covered so far include the:

The Amazonian Manatee

The Northern White Rhinoceros - now declared Extinct in the Wild

The Aye-Aye - in case you are wondering, it's a lemur, lol

Carwadine PRETTY much has my dream job.. like actually.  I often say that I don’t know what to do with my life, but if i had a choice now – this would be it.

Watch this show!  It is wonderful.  Aside from searching for these fascinating creatures, they also encounter a variety of  wildlife along the way.  Not to mention the fact that some of the places they go to are truly just breath taking.

I’m back, britches

As you MAY or MAY NOT have noticed, this blog is on hiatus for the sizzlin’ summah. ^______^

Check back sporadically if you wish, but I will be back in September FO SHO.

You can count on it

#26: Bear Grylls and Will Ferrell

This is no secret, but I just LOVE Bear Grylls.  I’ve never been a huge fan of Will Ferrell.  When I heard that Will Ferrell would be guest starring on an episode of Man vs. Wild, I seriously thought that it was a joke.  I later realized that this would be the perfect plug for Ferrell’s new movie, Land of the Lost -_________-;

The episode overall was pretty enjoyable.  I realized afterwards that I’ve never actually seen Will Ferrell behaving as Will Ferrell.  Everytime I’ve seen him on TV or in movies, he has been in character.  He was surprisingly pleasant IRL.  For some reason, he has always struck me as the douche bag type, but that was totally not the case here.

In other news:
I feel like a pile or turd today because I stepped on a little dog paw at Woofstock.  That poor little thing.  I’m so very sorry.  Aside from that scarring experience, the day was pretty awesome.  There were TONSSSSSS of dogs, probably more than I’ve seen in my entire life.  Some of them were sooooooo beautiful, others were cute, ginormous, scary etc.  They came in all shapes, sizes and breeds.  The only problem was that you really had to be careful of where you were stepping ^______^ (aside from being mindful of little paws, you also had to be mindful of…).

Well, I’m POOPED (HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR -___-;).  Don’t worry, I promise that I’ll never do that again.

Time to do some work before going to bed.  Wahoo -_-

Everyone who reads this blog knows that I’m a closet Shinee fan. Actually, since I’m sharing this knowledge with all of you.. I guess I’m not in the closet at all.

As you’ve probably noticed, my once daily posts have been reduced to dismal numbers. Internet access at home is inconvenient at best. Did I mention that my WiFi card is still broken? -____-; I barely have time to be on the computer now. I spend most of my day studying or passed out somewhere on a couch.. double -______-;

FOR SHINEE, I AM WILLING TO BREAK THIS LAZY SUMMER MOLD.

Let’s not kid ourselves – I have anxiously anticipated this comeback for some time now.

SO, comments?

• Minho, that is one sweetass rhinoplasty that you got.  Those Koreans seriously know their way around a scalpel.
• Jonghyun is the only one who doesn’t look completely emaciated.  OH, FOR THE LOVE!  Somebody please feed these boys some rice.
• This song reminds me of an upbeat “Love Like Oxygen”.
• For me, personally, Onew is still the only member missing a GRRRRRRRr factor.  That’s kind of weird seeing as how he’s their appointed leader.
• TAEMIN’S HAIR = FAIL.  So actually, maybe not much has changed since those Replay days.  I honestly can’t pick the lesser evil between that old, awful bowl cut, and this newly permed, curly up-do.  Why do the other boys get the privilege of semi-normal hair? -____-;
• I love that there are girls screaming in the background the whole time (I also love that these girls are probably half my age and age-appropriately in love with a boy band, unlike myself).  Did anyone else notice the deafening rise in decibels when Taemin broke into his solo at 2:15?   Whaaaa ^___^
• Jonghyun ages well.  *cough* *loosens collar*
• Atleast they’ve stopped wearing those sequins and weird, rainbow-fringed outfits.

Overall rating: 4 out of 5 stars – with 5 being “Replay” quality.