And so it begins......Rotary Youth Exchange 2012-2013

As I begin to write this, I am listening to the song Mother, We Just Can't Get Enough by New Radicals. It's making the title of this post so much more epic in my head, and gives me this weird tingly, fresh start feeling inside. Think, Lindsay Lohan in The Parent Trap, when she visits England for the first time and There She Goes Again by the La's is playing in the background. The Journey is starting guys...and it feels good. Yesterday, I found out that I was excepted by the Niagara on the Lake Rotary Club to be their outbound youth exchange student for the 2012-2013 school year. I just looked back on my blog, and I have talk about Rotary a few times, always hopeful that I would get in, and I finally did!!! This is officially the start of my journey, my own life...something that is MINE and no one else's. This time next year, I will be in another country, on another continent surrounded by foreign people and foreign things. How awesome does that sound?!

I have explained what Rotary is a little, but I will go a little more in depth for yall about how it works, well as much as I can tell you, but I did say I was an expert on the topic so I'll try to live up to the expectations I have set for myself. Back in the summer, I started contacting local Rotary Clubs. Since each club sends only one person (sometimes 2 but this is a rare occurrence for financial reasons), you are allowed to apply to more than one club. This is hard to do though, since out of the 4 clubs in my city, only one participated in the exchange this year, and you are technically only allowed to apply to LOCAL clubs, which basically means you live or attend high school there. Lucky for me though, NOTL( Niagara on the Lake..I refuse to type that out everytime ahha)'s high school was closed last year, so they broadened their search area for students, which means that they accepted my application, and ultimately they decided to sponsor me. So out of the 5 clubs that I contacted, 2 allowed me to apply. I attended an information night about 2 weeks ago through the St.Catharines club, which is actually my real local club, and put in an application there. This is only the preliminary application, it is short with about 4 or 5 questions on it. I submitted that, and they give everyone a first interview. So, I did this for both clubs. I had my first interview for the NOTL club last Wednesday, and I was supposed to have an interview for the St.Cath club tomorrow but I was able to cancel it because I was accepted by the NOTL club (!!!). Anyways, as I said before, after the interview, each club selects one student that they will be sponsoring, and one alternate just in case something happens and I can't go, or am no longer eligible (health reasons or lying on the application etc...but I didn't lie so I guess they only thing standing in my way is if I break my leg or something), and I was selected! BUT ( I know theres more...crazy) I am only technically 95% in, because I still have to fill out the loonnnnnggg application (18 pages in total) that involves all the person information, including medical appointment, dentist appointment, letters, pictures, the whole nine yards. Then after that (almost done!) there is one more interview, but this is at the district level. All of the Rotary clubs are encompassed into districts, mine goes from Buffalo USA to Hamilton Canada. It is one of the few international districts. So all the people selected, plus the alternates, go through this interview as sort of a rubber stamp of approval that they agree I should go. It's also separate from your parents so they can be sure that it was your idea and that you aren't being forced into going. So I have to fill out the long application and hand it in by Dec 22nd to the Youth Exchange Officer at my club, and then in January I have the district interview. Then I am officially in. Wow..that was a lot of info.

So then, once I am official (which is most likely, they rarely refuse students after passing the first interview) I get to go through all the fun stuff ( not being sarcastic, there's actually fun stuff after all the not fun stuff said above^). There is an up north weekend in February, which includes all of the people in my district from other countries that are in Canada for their exchange now (will be referred to as INBOUNDS) and the people that will be going away next year, like me (called OUTBOUNDS). I have already met 2 inbounds, Marcel from Switzerland, and Juliette, from France that are being hosted by the NOTL club. After that, there is an orientation in March for my parents and I (rules and such), then there is a Jamestown weekend and a hiking weekend later in the spring/early summer. Then I leave for my country in August for a year! I won't find out my country for a few months. I fill out the country request form in January, and then they have to go through the sending of the application etc etc and then guarantee forms and all that then I find out where I'm going. Europe though definitely...I hope.

Anyways, the unfortunate part is I still have to finish school in Canada! All this excitement the passed week and I have to concentrate on my studies until I graduate in June. Plus, I still have to apply to univeristy, and then just defer my acceptance until the following year after my exchange. So much stuff going on right now! When I found out I got accepted I freaked out! I was with two of my best friends and we all screamed and I basically cried. Actually on my way home, I balled. I was driving listening to Dancing In the Moonlight at full blast (I tend to associate good experiences with songs...it just works out that way) and it just happened..I just started balling my eyes out in happiness!

The first song I'm going to listen to when I get to my country is the one I mentioned near the beginning of this post. There She Goes Again by the La's. And I will look out the window as I am being driven to my new home, and it will mark the start of my adventure. My year abroad. This is just the start of a year of planning, and anticipation for an awesome year of my life!

The Halloween Spirit is No More

Two days ago, it was Halloween. A maximum number of twelve children showed up at my door. What is this madness? When I was little, the neighborhood was full, there were children everywhere. It was like a pedophiles dream. Now, kids in grade six are going to parties. WHAT THE HELL WORLD?!?!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH ALL THE FESTIVITIES THAT USED TO OCCUR???!?!??!!? I was very angry at this, and wanted to scream. I also don't enjoy the fact that girls feel the need to dress up like sluts on Halloween, I don't know about you, but in my childhood, care bears didn't wear low cut tops, and I'm pretty sure Police Officers don't wear stilettos with their uniforms, but good try there. Anyhoo, I had a graduation retreat today, I'm not really sure what the purpose was, but we had a motivational speaker that was funny and we got food. Then when we got back to school, we had a presentation about applying to university, now, I'm stressed out about my future and all that. Fun.

I Want a Gnome

So, recently I have been interested in a photo-a-day project. It's where you take a photo everyday, as per the photo-a-day name. I have been researching the project and it looks like a lot of fun, and something to keep you creative. This guy takes a picture of himself everyday and has been documenting the changes. He's been doing it for like 11 years. There's also this blog that blogs about other peoples projects. They call them 365s. So they take a photo everyday for a year. Some people draw trees, or create butterflies out of household objects. Since I am applying for a youth exchange, I have been following a lot of blogs and youtubers that are on exchange. One girl in particular, also has another blog account for her garden gnome. She took her gnome with her to Thailand and takes a photo of her gnome doing different activities. This looks fantastic. The only problem is that I don't have a gnome, and my life isn't interesting enough to take pictures of a gnome everyday. This is unfortunate. But, if I get into my exchange I am going to do this. For sure. So, if you happen to come across a cute garden gnome, pick it up for me. Thanks. If I don't get it, I will come up with some other photo-a-day project. I also want a better camera because mine sucks balls.

 I think a garden gnome would be a cool halloween costume.

Anyhoo, the Rotary info night is coming up soon on November 2nd. I also have two presentations that I have to give next week and 2 books to read for school. Funerific.

Also recently, I started listening to fleetwood mac. Yes, Stevie Nicks with a bunch of other people that noone knows. Then I realized that as a child, I would only remember the Stevie part, and I had no idea who Stevie Nicks was, I only knew about Stevie Wonder so whenever people said Stevie Nicks or Stevie Wonder I just automatically assumed they were talking about Stevie Wonder.

 This is Stevie Nicks

This is Stevie Wonder...who I thought everyone was talking about when they said Stevie Nicks...

Good Day.

it's the most wonderful time of the year

No, I am not confused as to what month it is, I know it's October, and I know that Christmas is not in October. For me the most wonderful time of the year is AUTUMN!!!!! Well..it's sort of a tie...I guess October to January is the best time for me...minus all the snow..I don't really like the cold but I do like Christmas...Anyways backtrack to autumn (tape rewinding sound effect playing in your head). October...the changing leaves, the perfect weather, not too hot, not too cold...just jeans and a light jacket or sweater...the odd drizzly days where you can cozy up and watch a halloween movie on family channel with a warm cup of hot chocolate. Ahhhh heaven. Well that's the way it was when I was twelve, now I have to squeeze the wonderfulness in between working and homework. But, I always find the time to enjoy it. Now, on to Halloween movies on family channel. They are so childish but oh so wondrous at the same time. Halloweentown being the most epic, along with Mom's Got a Date with a Vampire, Twitches 1 and 2 and Don't Look Under the Bed. It's really strange, I always brag about being in love with the Halloween movies on the family channel, which I am, but I have never really watched or enjoyed the 'classic' Halloween movies like Hocus Pocus and Beetlejuice, the two movies that everyone asks about when I talk about the movies. I have tried watching these, but never really got into them. Wierd. I always watch at least 2 movies every weekend, although it's very unfortunate that Family decided to change their 'Popcorn Pix' layout to only include one movie at 12:00, instead of a movie at 12 and a movie at 1:30....that's 2 less movies to enjoy every weekend!

 How pretty is this...no I didn't take it..although I wish I did.

Also in October we have Thanksgiving!!! (I am Canadian...American Thanksgiving is our shopping holiday, where my mom buys all of our Christmas Presents). This weekend, my grandparents, and my Aunt and Uncle are coming over to enjoy a Turkey and all of the wonderful foods that come with it...homemade stuffing, mashed potatoes and the best part BRUSSEL SPROUTS!! ....I'm not kidding...I love them. So does my entire family...and we aren't crazy. We just have an awesome way to cook them. I don't like them unless my family makes them. If you just boil them, they are really bitter and gross. The way you do it, is cook them in chicken broth..once they are tender, drain them, then cover them in cheese. Best vegetable...so so good. Then comes dessert...pumpkin pie. The only pie I like. For some reason gooey fruit doesn't appeal to me...apple pie, cherry pie etc etc...not good. Pumpkin pie: good. I also get 2 days off of school so that I can stuff my face for that much longer, this really isn't a good way to combat childhood obesity, but the government knows what they are doing.....its a stat holiday. The only problem I have with having Thanksgiving in October is the fact that we now have two wonderful things in one month and 0 in November..I think I might get like a PA day at school but that's over once you get to university. Also, when I was younger and the teacher used to order the calendar headers from American Companies, and the Turkey picture was always on the November month and it took me like 4 extra years to realize that Thanksgiving was in October and not November because when I was 4 I had no concept of time. Do you know what I mean? Way to confuse a child.

 Remember these bad boys...theres totally food on the November one.

In other news, mentorship is getting better. I got to do real science the other day and the rats came in and I get to help take care of them. But that's about it on that note.

I put in my preliminary application for the Rotary Exchange!!! It took me a really long time to write, even though it was only one page of questions. The longer answers were to the questions like "Why do you want to be an exchange student" and "what do you hope to accomplish". I still have to go to the information night with my parents, and if they like this application I have to do an interview, and then fill out a 20 page application including letters, essays, short answers, pictures, doctor/dentist/teacher visit...on and on and on. But it is sooo worth it. I have never wanted to do anything this bad my entire life. I just want to do something that is for me, my own journey. Learn and new language, meet new people, become bicultural. I'll keep you posted on what happen with this...I'm so excited though. I spend my time googling Rotary every night...instead of doing math..but oh well.

If you have never had the chance to experience Halloweentown..here's a little glimpse of what you are missing. Go watch it.

 

 

1998 was such a wonderful year.

Anyways, after I wrote this, I accidentally deleted it, and then blogger saved my blank draft...and there is no way to go back to older saved drafts...thanks blogger, I love rewriting posts. I hope I captured the original magic.

toodles

being the adult in the conversation

This is another looking back to when I was little post, now that I am entering grade 12 (tomorrow..but I'll get to that later), that means I can almost be considered an adult...almost. So anyways, remember when your parents would force you to say, call your grandparents, or talk to your great aunt on the phone to thank her for the card she got you for your birthday...and the conversation would be completely one sided because you have absolutely no idea what to say to these people? You would go over the same questions like, hows school? hows piano/guitar/dance/insert activity here lessons? hows your dog? are you enjoying ____? etc etc...blah blah blah. Anyways, these conversations were always to be avoided because its actually the worst most awkward thing ever. But now that I'm older, and have littler cousins, they are the ones who are being subjected to these conversations....with me. I've never had this experience before until, I was talking to my aunt on the phone, having a normal conversation because I now know how to be social without being rude to relatives, and she suddenly hands the phone to my little cousin who obviously has no idea what to say. Neither did I. So of course I turned to those stupid questions..."so are you excited for school? what grade are you going into again?" responses all one worded of course. This was a very weird experience for me, since I was always used to being the one who answered the questions, not asked them. Eventually I was just like...okay uh can you hand the phone back now....thanks. Let's not repeat that again.

Anyways, it's that time of year again...I have to go back to school tomorrow :(. But, it's my last year of high school..then off to university some where...I can't believe I actually have to start applying in a couple of months.

On another note, I'm almost done the room reno! It looks freaking fantastic...now I just have to finish cleaning all my random crap off the floor that I have no idea what to do with. yay....

goodbye.

gender vs. hot beverages

Coffee and Tea. When you were little, you always saw adults drinking coffee and tea. At the time I thought they were gross but now I have come to love both of them....well only coffee when it is concocted in some weird way into a latte or something at starbucks..but still..it counts. In my household, my Dad always had a cup of black coffee in his Tigger mug, and my mom always had a cup of tea (two cream, one sweetener if you were wondering..which you probably weren't). This is always the way it was...Dad never drank tea, Mom never drank coffee. This planted the notion in my head that ONLY men drank coffee and the women drank the tea. Whenever I saw it the other way around I thought it was sooo weird, and the stereotype that I created is still implanted in my head, even though I myself drink coffee. My parents even told me that when I saw a guy drink tea I would tell them that it's wrong, boys drink coffee, girls drink tea. Now, at school, a lot of my guy friends go to the caf during class to get a cup of tea and the first thought in my head is like "whaat..you drink tea?" and then the practical part of my brain kicks in with the "oh right..in real life boys are allowed to drink tea...wtf were you thinking Jenn?". It still bothers me when guys drink tea though..I know it's weird/wrong/crazy...but I just have that stuck in my mind that boys can't drink tea. It's not so bad with coffee and girls, for some reason, I think it's because my mom would drink a random cup of coffee when she had a headache, but my Dad never ever drank tea up until a few years ago...when that started I was mindblown.
and uhh that's about it. Thoughts on gender and hot beverages over.
tata

 

stuff is a happenin

So, it's been a while...but don't worry, I always come back to the good ole blog. The problem is that my life isn't interesting enough to blog all the time, I run out of things to talk about. But this post, I can recap what the passed...month has been like. To start off, August 7th was my birthday! 17 I am. I had a good time, I had my closest friends over for movies in the backyard....after that nothing happened...until this week. This week I bought my PAX wardrobe from IKEA!!! YAYAYAY!! I've wanted one for 2 months, and it is gorgeous. I don't have any pictures yet but I will post some when my room is all finished up and nice looking.

What else...oh I've been working all the time...I'm getting trained as manager. That should  be fun...I went shopping in the states yesterday, got some cute tops and such. OH and the best part..I saw a psychic today!! There wasn't a lot of stuff about the near future, but she told me things about like 10 years down the road...I might have twins! Crazy stuff. I don't want to spoil it though because I haven't told my friends all the deets yet so I can't post about it.

School in two weeks. :( I haven't done any of the stuff for my mentorship at Brock yet...shit. But, I have all my school supplies! School supply shopping is always so much fun.

Update on Rotary exchange: I have started the contacting process. I emailed the exchange reps from the two clubs in my city that do the exchange. I heard back from one, who happens to no longer be the rep for the club, but she forwarded my email to the new rep who will hopefully get back to me soon...then I have to fill out the preliminary application, then the 25 page massive application and do 2 interviews...hopefully I get in and all the hard work will pay off! Maybe this time next year I'll be in Sweden and blogging about that...oohhh that would be so awesome...blogging from anywhere in Europe would be fantastic!! Let's keep our fingers crossed! Although when I asked the psychic about it she said she saw me in Europe but only for 6 months. She said not to worry about it though because this is only what my 'spirit guides' are telling her and that doesn't mean in won't happen. I hope that's true. Hopefully funner stuff will happen soon and I can blabber on about that.. toodles.

ps. i'm already tired of my layout...i honestly think i change that more than i actually post...oh well.

old people that automatically assume i'm a hooligan

So today, as I was minding my own business just walking down the street, I passed this cute old lady with her cute purse sized dog. I attempted to make eye contact, I put a warming smile on my face and prepared for her to also make eye contact so that we could acknowledge each other, wish each other hello and then go our own ways. She ignored me. This is not the only occasion that this has happened. Yes, on the outside I look like the average teenage girl, I had my iPod in, and a cell phone in my pocket, but I always take out my ear bud (I only wear one when walking to avoid not getting hit by a car or something along those lines) so that I can be polite. The old lady probably thought "Wow, stupid young people can't even be disconnected from their electronics for one minute. Stupid bitches".Maybe without the last part, but you get the idea.That is one thing that I hate about old people. Most of the time they are sweet people that think I am a respectful young lady, which I am. Then there are those people that just assume since I'm a teenager, I must be awful. Since when are teenagers terrible creatures? Yes, there are some kids between the ages of 13 and 19 that are not the nicest of people and are the ones that continually fit the teenage stereotype but seriously, death stares when I walk down the street are not necessary. I also hate those parenting books/conferences/web sites etc...that all say that every teenager is going to go through the rebellious "I hate my life/parents/school" or "Dramatic bitchy girl" stage. When my mom told her friend that we get along, and don't constantly bicker, she didn't believe her. When she told her that I don't party or drink, she told my mom to get serious and stop being so oblivious to my teenage lifestyle. Movies don't help either. They all say the same thing about the teenage species. Basically, I'm obsessed with boys, my parents don't get me, and I will never stop texting until my thumbs fall off. Personally, I think these so called professionals who write these books and conduct these studies should open their eyes to the large amount of the teenage population that actually have futures. End Rant.

work work work

Today was my 7th day of work in a row....and I work tomorrow...and then next Monday-Thursday. Damn I'm gonna have a nice pay check in a few weeks! I actually quite enjoy working. It's fun. I have a good job and its very air conditioned so this heat wave doesn't bother me all day...until I get home. My parents just turned on the A/C for the first time all summer 2 days ago. So I'm very accustomed to hot weather. So I'm definitely applying for an exchange at the end of August, early September!! I just have to get some more volunteer hours in...the last couple of attempts have failed miserably but I may have something with the autism society, I just have to wait until my mom's friend hears something from the girl she knows there. I think I help out, but I have nothing to show for it...at all. It actually sucks really bad. I have completed all my hours for school but I still need more for it to actually look good on an application.

So, I saw Harry Potter again on Tuesday!!! It was just as amazing as the first time. I really want to read the books again, but I have like 10 other books on the go right now. Right now I am in the middle of The Girl Who Played With Fire. It's the second book in a trilogy...You may have heard of the first one, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I really need to finish them soon, because my grandpa lent me the third, but I haven't finished the second one yet. I also need to read a book that I got for Christmas...2 Christmases ago. I'm really bad about not reading books...I always buy like 3 books at a time, and I get one done, and then go buy more and read the new ones, I never read the ones I didn't finish. I also have a problem with starting books and not finishing them....

Summer has gone fast so far...it's almost August...which means one month to school..but my birthday is August 7th!!! Soon!! I want money for my birthday. So if anyone asks, tell them money. I need money so I can go on an exchange..and buy things...and maybe afford university!!! Woah, that would be a miracle.

Nothing else is new.

stereotypical pedophiles and a segway sighting + HARRY!

I was trying to come up with a good idea about something interesting to blog about...I really have nothing interesting that happens in my life or interests that I can consistently blog about. But, all it took was a trip to WalMart and BAM I saw a guy riding a segway down the road! It was so sick and now I want one really bad. I want to go to europe and take a sightseeing tour on a segway *adds bucket list*. So then when I was in Walmart, I saw a guy that looked like a pedophile. I wouldn't be surprised if he actually was one. He fit the stereotypical pedophile look...including the rapist glasses. Creeeepy. Anyways, tonight I will be seeing the premier of the last and final HARRY POTTER MOVIE!! AHHH I'm so excited! Except for the fact that I will be getting 4 hours of sleep before I have to work in the morning, but that's okay. Harry Potter is totally worth in 100%. Except I'm so upset that now it will be over! Harry Potter has been my life for so long, I grew up reading the books and watching the movies that now I can't believe that it's done. It makes me sad..I really hope another book comes out eventually. Anyways. That's it.

the perks of driving

So today I had planned to hang out with people or possibly just sit at home and do nothing. But, I got called into work. Which I am perfectly okay with because I want the extra hours because I would eventually like to go to university and unfortunately I have to pay for it all myself. I like the days that I work because I actually feel accomplished by the end of that day and don't feel like I wasted my time doing nothing. So after work I went to my friend Carling's house and one of my other friends, Paige was there. We were talking on facebook with a good friend whom we never hang out with and decided to invite him for Slurpees at 7-11 with us. Best decision ever. He is the most interesting person ever and it is a joy talking to him. The best part is that everything he says is funny, but he doesn't try to be funny, its just the way he is. We picked him up, went to 7-11 and then just cruised around town. I love having my license, we just went wherever we felt like going...which was Subway because I was hungry. It was amazaballs. The crappy part of driving is the fact that I paid 20 dollars for 14 litres of gas, but you win some you lose some. I also have to wake up early tomorrow to go to the licensing office becasue apparently my signature is not up to par so I have to go resign before they can send me my real license card...which also means they have to redo my picture (fuck that...). So I actually have to wake up earlier to attempt not looking scary. ahh. But summer is awesome so far. Also, me and Steph are going to start making videos....just wait and see....(Steph, I just blogged about it...so we have to do it.....).

yeah that didn't actually happen

so I said I would clean my room and I did kind of..but now it's sort of messy again. I will actually clean it though when I get the motivation. I always get the motivation right before school starts because I want a fresh start to the year and I love setting up all my school supplies...so talk to me in a month...then maybe my room will be clean...but probably not. Anyways, back to school supplies. School supply shopping is my favourite time of the summer. Not that I like school work, but I love having all new things so it feels like I'm actually going to be organized. I tell myself every year that I am going to be organized but it never really happens. I have gotten a little better but it still ends up being a huge mess in my binder by the end of the year. I'm going shopping in the states for school supplies with my mom and two aunts on August 24th (yes we already have a date set). We have never set a date before, because usually it's just me and my mom on a day that we have available, but my aunts want to go, that live in kitchener and chatham so we had to set a day for them to come, and so I could book it off work. At Walmart in the states, the school supplies are SOOOO cheap!! So I can get a ton of stuff for like 20 bucks. It's awesome. I love school. Not the work part, but the socializing part and the structure part. I still find myself lost over the summer with nothing to do. It actually really sucks. Which is why I am sitting here. But I do love to blog so that should be fun. I went to kitchener yesterday. Nothing fun happened, but I had a two hour nap on the way there and back so that was good. I can always sleep in the car. Even if I'm not tired, I just put on my iPod and drift off. It so soothing. Long car rides are one of my favourite things to do. I don't understand why some people bring portable DVD players and need so much entertainment. Just put on some music and give me a window to look out and I'm set. Travelling has always compelled me. I can easily just stare out a window (or sleep) and be perfectly content. Sometimes I can read in the car, but sometimes I get sick so I just use my iPod. Sleep is fun and good. I may go read a book now....or clean my room...oh geez I need to pull it together.

maybe i'll actually clean my room now

So, for the past three weeks, almost everyday I have told myself that I will clean my room. Sunday, I finally got up the motivation to start it and picked up all my dirty laundry...then the motivation left and I decided to take a nap instead. So today, I actually woke up, got dressed and went out for a bit instead of staying in bed and doing nothing. This made me not feel like crap like I usually do and tonight I will clean my room! Also, I don't feel like talking to my parents right now so this will give me an excuse to lock myself in my room.

I have also been doing a lot of Rotary research today. I called a place to hope and get a volunteer placement but sadly no dice with that one. I will have to try somewhere else. I would tomorrow, but I have to work, so I'll call next week. Nothing else is new. I'm being summoned....blah.

tata.

getting there

still under construction...I have  been through three different layouts in less than 24 hours. the header still isnt up to par but we will get there eventually. I'm going to the states tonight to do some shopping! yay!

tata.

...and 2 hours later

see what we have!!! So still, thank you Steph for your wonderful photoshopping skills....BUT I made this all on my own!!! Header, Background (not to shabby for paint eh?!), and post divider! Woah! Crazy stuff! This is a little more bright and colourful which is tots auz my style. Blog redecorating is fun, this may become a regular thing....although it did take me all night to do it....hopefully I actually post regularily too. I think the birdies are really cute. Anyways, I still have some fine tuning to do..maybe I will add another page to it. Clicking things are fun so I want to give you all that wonderful experience of visiting another place. I wonder what it will be...probably something about music. Or if I do apply to Rotary, it will be all about that. We will see. Surprises to come...maybe some stories. Oh and I'm chaning my font, this one is fucking annoying. Where the hell are the periods?!

yay for a new design.

So a huge thanks to my awesome friend Steph for creating my header!! She also has an awesome blog (...because awesome people need awesome blogs!!) that you can access for your viewing pleasure here. She's hilarious and her blog is actually one of my top viewed pages...its before my blog....creepy I know. Anyways, you should check that out. So the changes aren't over yet, well the probably are for now until I get more skilled and can make my own header. I had been trying for hours and then gave up. That header took Steph about 3 minutes to do. She's skilled...much more so than I am. But I'm getting better. I did the rest myself!! My last layout, the header was already done and I edited it a tad myself but it was much simpler than the task of creating my own. I'm a fail but I plan on using the next few weeks figuring stuff out and maybe there will be a whole new look again!! I love this one, but it's still not....me. Not personalized enough. It's cute and looks way better than the crap blogger templates but it doesn't shout Jenn to me. So it will be different soon. Anyhoo, that's all that is new. Other than that, my mother is scaring me about my future. Let's put that in the back of our minds until the summer is over...good idea. Done. Tata for now.

I like happy old people.

So I just got home from work and I must say that the highlight of my day was seeing a happy old couple. It's not that happy old couples are hard to come by, but you rarely see old couples that act happy to actually be with eachother. Today I saw this little old man and wife holding hands. I can't say that I have ever seen two people that looked more in love than they did. Usually at my work you get the crabby old people who only bicker at eachother, or the wife or husband is pushing the other in a wheel chair, or even better, the two people are so old that they have no idea what is going on. That's always fun. Reenactment: Old Guy "I want a banana split" Me: "Would you like whipped cream and nuts on top?" Old guy "WHAAATTTT?! I SAID I WANT A BANANA SPLIT!!!". You get the picture. There's also one old guy that I nicknamed the Senior Savers Card Guy. Whenever I see him, I avoid him. He is the meanest old guy ever. Way back in the day, we had senior savers cards. It's like one of those stamp card things but every time you get 10% off. We stopped offering them a long time ago but this guy still has them, and since he's been coming EVERY Saturday for what seems like forever, we keep giving them to him. He gets mad when employees don't know how to give him the percent off and that we always have to get a manager to do it. This isn't our fault, we aren't allowed to do it so obviously we don't know how. Then, he walks you through his exact order. It isn't just "I want _____". It's "Go get 2 banana boats. *I walk and get them* Now put butterscotch in the bottom of one. *do that*" It's a step by step process with him and he doesn't trust you to do it right. So annoying. Now anyways, back to the point. Happy old couples. Yes, so usually the old people don't like eachother but this couple was so so happy. It was amazing. I couldn't imagine how happy they must have been when they were first falling in love in their twenties and when they got married and had kids. It was so beautiful to see and I can only hope to have that when I'm their age. Old people make me happy. At least the ones that aren't rude and think because I'm young I'm ruining the country. End Rant.

So I'm definitly going to get started on this blog revamp. I have no idea what it's going to look like, but I can see a shit load of googling in my future. Starting now, this blog is officially under construction.

lots and lots of thinking

I apologize for my last post, I was in a really bad mood (I think that was apparent....) and needed to do a quick vent. Back to normal now, summer is in full swing and I have been working a lot. I work on average four shifts a week and I am expecting that to go up to five by mid July. Most of my shifts are morning shifts which means I work all day. I have no complaints about that though because I need the money. I have been putting 2 thirds of every cheque towards university. Last week I worked 9.5 hours for one of my shifts but on average they are like 6-7 hours. Pay day is sweet to say the least. The good thing about work besides the money is A) the tips (I just rolled forty dollars in coin) and B) it gives me structure. I actually hate summer, the late nights and sleeping in in the morning screws me up. I like getting up for school everyday and following a routine. I thrive on structure and summer days get me lost. I like the break from schoolwork but its so annoying...and the heat sucks. I like fall. Fall is fun.

So lately I have been thinking A LOT about travelling...more specifically about going on exchange. I started thinking about it a few years ago, but then stopped thinking about it because I could not afford the 8 thousand (and more) dollar price tag. Then last year my moms friend mentioned Rotary. Rotary is a worldwide club that works in other countries to stop Polio and is a service above self organization. Part of the organization is increasing world ties, therefore youth exchange. Rotary Youth Exchange sponsors students to go to another country for an entire year. The best part of Rotary is the whole sponsor part. Basically you cover the plane ticket and visa plus your spending money and thats it. Sometimes your host club even gives you monthly spending money. Everything else is covered by Rotary. They find the host family and school and even sponsor events while in your country. Theres tons more but you get the picture. Its awesome. The exchange website is here. I've also read a ton of outbound student's blogs and watched tons of youtube videos. I may even say I am an expert on Rotary exchange. The one downside is that you arent guaranteed to get your first choice of country. Basically when your local club decides to sponsor you, they send your application to clubs in the other countries that you want to go to, and then whichever one decides to accept you is the country you get. My first choice would be France, but if France doesn't except me I am also considering Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Norway...pretty much anywhere in Europe. I just need to go somewhere, far far away. Not that I don't like Canada, I love where I live and I love all my friends and family. I just need something new and something challenging. Something that I get to do on my own, that is just mine. I want to immerse myself in a new culture and language and meet new and interesting people. There are ups and downs, obviously I would be extremely homesick but there are bumps to get over and lots of amazing opportunites and experiences that I would love to do. The only thing that I need is more volunteering, because of the whole service above self part, they like to accept students that are involved in teh community. I am involved at school but I dont' do a lot in my city, so I am going to contact some people tomorrow and then hopefully apply for Rotary in August or September! (fingers crossed...). My parents have been supportive for the most part, probably because I have done so much research and am able to answer every single question they have asked me. Hopefully everything works out and I can apply. I don't like the fact that I will have to start university a year later but this would be sooooo worth it!!

Other than that. Nothing is new. Nothing. I started cleaning my room today....I was going to do it like 3 weeks ago but never got around to it...I procrastinate...a lot. One upside to summer though is that I get to watch movies in my backyard! I'm having some friends over this weekend to watch them with the projector outside. Fun stuff. Maybe I will start blogging regularily again. That would be good. I'm thinking a facelift is in order. This layout is getting old and I don't really think its that me. New will come. I promise...maybe even soon....whole life makeover....

Officially Tired of Everything

I need a change. School is boring, Food is boring, T.V. is boring, and last but not least, people are boring, annoying and really need to figure out what the hell they want from me.

On a new note, I only have one exam left and then its summer! wooot.

Holy Shit Who's Back?!

Yo frannnds, yes it is me. No, I did not die. I apologize for being gone so long. I needed to get off the blog for a while, and I just sort of forgot about it for a bit. But all is well now, and I am here. So recently I have being feeling extremely hipster and getting into the indie music scene and hipster clothing. Eventually I will enter into the entire hipster transformation! If you are hipster, please tell me, where do they buy all their clothes? Do you automatically become bad ass if you become hipster? To me hipster is a lifestyle, and I love it.

Guess what? I got my G2!!!! I can drive by myself now and it is sooooo exciting. The other day I had the windows down, music blasting and I was just jamming as I drove along and it was awesome. Driving makes me feel so grown up now. For some reason, when I first got my license, I didn't feel like I was old enough to drive. My whole life I've felt like a child. I have an older brother that I have always looked up to, and when I see his friends, they treat me like "Dave's Little Sister!". It's not a good lable, the don't talk about important things infront of me, nudity in movies should not be watched by me, and they feel bad when the swear infront of me. Seriously, I'm not a child and I've heard waaay worse in highschool. Then there's those stupid bitch people who still looks at me like little Jennifer, the cute, smart, nerd girl who never does anything bad. Which is true, and I am proud of, but that doesn't mean I'm retarded. I have accepted that I will never be 'cool' in their eyes, but I will definitly be better than them when they are lying in gutters due to alcohol poisoning and being addicted to hard drugs. Which trust me, is not far from the truth right now.

I would also like to let y'all know that I am going to be attending The Script concert on Tuesday!! Yes it is finally here! I am soooo excited, and will post a shit ton of pictures when it comes.

Also, never read or watch the movie 'The Crucible'. It is retarded and I want to slap every character in that book. Since when can a 17 year old who had sex with a 30 year old get angry and be like "that chick's a witch! Now everybody dies! Yay!!!". Who the fuck in their right mind would believe a dumb bitch like her? What the hell has the world come to. Thank god that was like the 1700s and not today. I would kill myself before I subject myself or anyone else to that nonsense. Also, I have an inkling that Reverend Hale is gay, or atleast the one in the movie. (For a great post on dumb bitches click here..I also recomment you read the rest of that blog considering it is hilarious and has a great story goin on).

Anyways, nothing else interesting or fun is going on in my life but I will be back on again, hopefully before another 3 months goes by......

tata.

I'm feeling Artistic

So, for some reason I always get my inspiration at night time...I've already mentioned for cleaning my room and now also for painting. I always paint, draw, clean, read, and do homework at night. So, I just painted this

For my Dad ♥

Inspired from this:

 
This is Pierre Bouvier, lead singer of Simple Plan. The San Diego Leukemia & Lymphoma Society are having an art auction on ebay where you can buy paintings painted by famous people in collaboration with a cancer survivor. Unfortunately, I don't have the 500 + dollars to bid on this beauty so I thought why not create my own? I absolutely adore this painting, and it hits close to home. If you have the money Go Bid! (and if you win, give it to me...)

Exams are over!!

My large stack of notes, not included are my 4 very heavy textbooks.

So long Biology, Math, Religion, and Med Science, Hello Music!

YAYYAY! I am soo excited you have no idea. The bad part of it though is that I am bored out of my mind. I tried cleaning my mess of a room, but I just had no motivation to do that, then I was going to make cookies but then I would have to clean the kitchen first. I've decided to clean my room tonight though. For some dumb reason that I cannot comprehend, I enjoy cleaning my room at night. How that works? No idea! Whenever I just get the feeling to clean my room, it is always night time. and weekends, I will clean my room on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon while watching movies. That is always fun. People always think I'm crazy when I tell them that I actually find fun in cleaning my room, but that's just the way it works. I can't explain it that well, but I guess I just like to be organized....and I have a lot of stuff so it gets messy very easily/quickly. But, soon I am going to repaint my room and reorganize and get rid of all the junk that I haven't used in an eternity, and let my tell you that's a lot of stuff. Next Post when my room is clean I'll post pictures of what it looks like now and explain how I want to redo it. I would explain it now, but it's so much easier when you can actually see it. So, so far today I have written my medical science exam (didn't go as terrible as I though it would!), made a tuna sandwich, watched CSI while eating the tuna sandwich, watched Sam Tsui/Kurt Schneider videos on YouTube, and stalked facebook while singing very loudly to itunes. Sounds like a productive day to me. Oh, and I played Bomboozle 2 on the internet. I didn't do too well. I need to start working again. I can't wait to go back to work. March 12th people! oh I miss having money. When I start working again I have working out a plan of what I am going to invest it in. I would like a new TV for when I redo my room (they have gotten much cheaper) and a new camera so I can start taking more pictures. Don't get me wrong, I like my camera but I want a more hightech one like the one my dad has. Well not as fancy as his, because he has a very expensive one, but I do want one with more features. You get what I mean...right?

Oh by the way, I have my Semi Formal this Saturday, these are my shoes!

Now I know what it feels like to be average height...I'm only 5'2.5"

Well anyways, back to doing nothing. Ta ta for now.

A Fresh Start

I am terribly sorry for the lack of posts in the past well..month. I did actually have one in drafts all about my cake decorating class, and was just waiting for the pictures to add off my moms camera, but since I never got the pictures, the post is a no go. I will eventually post the pictures though. So, I finished the first class already and am on to the flowers and cake design class which is so much fun, but the class is huge! My last one was like 6 people, but this one is 13, I think, and it is a little cramped for space. But, the class is still informative and fun so we'll get through it. Last night we made gum paste flowers and they are so cute! I took the pictures with my phone, which doesn't have a terrible camera on it, so here you go! The gum paste is edible, but I haven't tried it yet. Apparently they don't taste amazing, they just have sugar in them and a bunch of chemicals (yummo) but I guess they taste bland. I don't really want to eat one just yet...

The button Flower

The Pansy

They are a little flat because they got squished but just imagine them all flower like.

This is the cake that I made for my final project in the last class that I got off my phone, I will post some better ones of this cake and the cupcakes and other cake that I made before this one. I need to work on my roses a little bit, but I'm getting there!

This week is exam week and I hate it! I had math on Friday, Religion Monday, and Biology today. Tomorrow is medical science, and I have no idea what to study for it. So, instead I am blogging, which is way more fun! While procrastinating I have also discovered photo editing. I've made all my pictures brighter and colourful using picnik.com. I know alot of people who already use it but I had never tried it out. Look at the results! These are some of the pictures I took while in New York City last April on a school trip. I can't wait to get them developed all nice.

BROADWAY! This is my favourite picture of all the ones that I took.

Flags outside of the Rockafeller Center. I apologize if I spelt that incorrectly.

Guy Canoodling on a pond in central park. Central Park was the prettiest thing I have ever seen! The coolest part was being able to watch movies with scenes from new york after and being like "I was standing right there!!!'

Great News! I might be going to see The Script in May!!! They are playing in Toronto at the Kool Haus, the only problem is that we were in need of a way there. My brother is probably going to take us and go with his girlfriend. I'll keep you updated!

Picture of me that I edited.

 So long! Once exams are over I will be able to do a lot more posts!

Happy New Year!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I was busy then I got sick and then I was busy some more. This vacation has turned out to be hard work! So last time I blogged, it was a few days before Christmas so let me fill ya in from then. So my Christmas was actually better than I thought it would be, not that I thought it would be bad, but the whole having to wake up at 6:30 and drive 2 hours on Christmas morning? Not my idea of the ideal Christmas. But actually, it turned out really good, and the best part is that I got Cake Decorating Classes for Christmas! My mom got me the classes, and a bunch of the supplies that I will need. It is a Wilton class through the craft store Michael's. Btw, Wilton is a cake decorating brand, they sell all the tools and have 3 different courses. Mine is the basic, and then there is flowers & cake design and the third class is gum paste & fondant. I also got CDs from my brother, movies, an itunes gift card, chocolate and money. I also got to pick out a jacket at my aunts store. I always look forward to that part. My aunt owns this little boutique in London that only sells Canadian designer clothes. She always lets us pick something out...I usually get a jacket since I am obsessed with jackets. It was an overall great day.

So then, I was invited to go boxing day shopping, but unfortunatly I woke up not feeling well. I went anyways and bought the new Taylor Swift CD and a belt, and then called my mom an hour later to pick me up because I felt like crap. I ended up have a really bad cold and was in bed for three days straight. Then came New Years, which I spent with my good friend Bella..her real name is Madison but she's been called Bella by everyone since before I met her and no not after Twilight, she was Bella since she was really little. Anyways, we watched the Canada vs.Sweden World Junior Game and then we went down to Niagara Falls to watch the fireworks at nine then went home and watched the countdown on TV and then watched the movie Good Will Hunting. If you haven't seen it, go see it. It is such a good movie. Yeah, I know, we're pretty lame but I like it that way. I'm not a party person and I don't drink. I'd rather a fun movie night with friends at home. I'm a real homebody.

Speaking of the Canada vs. Sweden game, WORLD JUNIORS!!! I watch them every year and this years have been intense! I cannot believe that Russia beat Sweden and then Canda beat the USA...pfft and everyone said Canada was the underdog. The gold medal game is tonight and I cannot wait to see it! GO CANADA GO! I was supposed to see the Germany bs Slovakia game on the 27th but I was sick :( but Bella did pick me up this great foam finger! (that wasn't sarcastic, I actually adore it).



Soo, I was hoping to relax the rest of my vacay but I am doing the inclass portion of my Driving School. It started today and goes to Saturday, everyday 9AM to 2:30PM. ugh. It is so boring...like it's horrible, but better to get it over and done with now then have to waste 2 weekends on it or doing it over a bunch of weekdays. Then I can do it, then do my in car and go for my G2 in April. The freedom will be uber fabulous. I also did my first Cake Decorating Class on Monday...we just went over what we will be doing and how to do some basic things (make icing, ice a cake, fill a cake..etc) and we will start the decorating next Monday. I am sooo excited! Ill post pics of my first cake...look at all my cool supplies :)

Shown is my 'tool box' with icing colours and tips, there are also cake boards, the icing bags, and more tips galore!

My spatula and tip bags with monster tip for icing cakes.

Tips Tips and more Tips! It's actually very surprising how much a tip can do. Theres tips made just for flowers that you squeeze and you get a perfect flower. Theres also a star tip, and a petal tip.

As you can see I am super excited and can't wait to show you what I create...I just really hope I don't suck at it...