Author: admin

I’ve been in super study mode for the past week.

Although it really didn’t work out for me on Monday night. I love my media ethics class. I really do. The professor is top notch also. Best professor I’ve ever had.

He hinted towards what he would be asking on the exam. I knew this and I still couldn’t figure out a way to approach it.

After cramming, I sat myself down and lo and behold, it was what I expected – a single question dealing with what my opinion was and I needed to back up my opinion.

So far in my academic career, I have mastered the art of regurgitation – memorizing facts and spewing them back onto a piece of paper. No worries there. I can tell you what each Supreme Court case dealt with, what the verdict was, and the main issue to learn from it was.

But I haven’t mastered the art of providing my opinion and backing it up. Lord knows I have an opinion on many issues…but I usually just throw out random tidbits to back up my arguments, not some full blown examples from six Supreme Court cases. Gak.

I froze. I felt sick. I think a tear dropped down my face. Alright, it wasn’t that bad. (no really, it was!) I really didn’t know how I was going to approach it. The fact of the matter was, I didn’t know if I did have an opinion anyhow!

Krista mentioned how it’s not about having an opinion – it’s about finding the knowledge to back up either side of the argument. I will know for next time, that’s for sure.

I wish I would have had a week to work on this exam – I could have put a lot more thought into it. But two hours was all that I had and I have a very bad feeling that the two tests that I aced in the class will be relied on heavily to bring my mark up from the bottomless pit which will be my mark on the exam.

I’m always interested in the markings of exams. I’ve had this feeling before back in college (but not this bad) and I think I did really bad on the exam and in the end I come out with a decent mark. How did that happen? Then I wonder if some Professors go easy on the whole group during exam time because they know they under pressure so they are easy on the marks. I need to find the inside scoop.

Anyhow, I have another exam on Thursday and then I’m a free man for 2 months until the school thing starts up again for me. I haven’t been doing too well in this other class so I am cramming hard for the exam. I think I figured out where I went wrong in the last test so I know how to adjust my studying so I feel confident. Also, it’s multiple choice. What’s the beauty of multiple choice? At least you have an answer no matter what. The catch is, you may choose the wrong one. But it’s way better than leaving a blank sheet.

Lot of talk going on today about the deaths at Virginia Tech.

Lot more talk on how safe our environment is. I was just watching a segment on the news where they were looking at U of Ottawa and Carleton U to determine how safe it is.

They spoke about how emergency procedures need to be relayed to students, perhaps in the first day of class. They also spoke of how safe the campus is, with security guards, cameras, etc.

The scary thing about all of this is that we live in a world where it’s just not safe. It’s a very sad, sad thing to say but I think it’s true. I understand the reasons why there is always talk about security measures in place – it alleviates some fears that people have.

But let’s be honest here. This is the reality here – if I’m in a classroom, there’s no emergency plan that is going to prevent a gunman coming into a classroom (unless someone captures him beforehand). This is the same scenario for public spaces of any kinds – shopping malls, hockey arenas, etc. I always have this fear that I’m sitting in the middle of class and someone opens the door and pulls out a gun. I even go out of my way to sit away from the door because I figure that would make me less of a target. It’s sad that I have to actually think about stuff like this when I enter a class at night at the University. But it’s the reality that we live in. Sure, people may think I’m a little paranoid, but heck, I just have an overactive imagination every time I step into class.

My thoughts not only go out to those who were directly affected by these deaths, but also those around the world who are now indirectly affected and wonder about their own safety and the safety of their friends and family.

I’m also making it a point not to read anything about the killer in question. He doesn’t deserve to be read about. I will be reading about the victims though. That’s what people should be reading about if they are interested in what happened. No real need to know what type of gun the person was carrying or how he carried out the killings. Does it really matter?

What’s the old adage? Hell in a hand basket…

update: Here’s a great article written in the Ottawa Sun bringing out the points I agree with.
http://www.ottawasun.ca/Comment/Editorial/2007/04/18/4055820.html

Uh oh.

I like the first Avril album. I actually like the second one better. It was a solid album.

Eric shares my opinion but he had his doubts when he showed me the new single from the album.

Hmm…seems like the new single is tres pop-like and geared towards little girls.

Alright, hold off on picking up the album. No, wait! $9.99 on release day? Hmm…well, I did like her last album and I usually give artists a chance if their last album was decent. Let it be noted that the first to fall from this way of thinking were The Cranberries where their Bury The Hatchet was so horrific that I never picked up their next album. It wasn’t until I was at a garage sale when I picked it up for $5 on a whim and realized it was actually a better album.

Anyhow, for $10, I wasn’t going to pass it up.

But what’s this? The first track is *censored*?! Argh, what have I wasted my money on? This is a teeny girl album to the up most caliber if they have to CENSOR some bad words. Sigh…ah well, you live, you learn. Thank the Lord for the Internet where I can just download the uncensored version.

I’m sure you’ll hear me complain of how bad the album is when I actually get around to listening to it. Hopefully I am wrong and it is some decent work. But Nine Inch Nails is calling my name with their new release today of Year Zero.

iplaying: The Good Soldier – Nine Inch Nails (Year Zero)

Friday night brought me out of my hibernation from exam studying (read: exam procrastination) and brought me to the Theatre Prom! That’s right, let’s flash back a decade to my other prom where my date to be ditched me with a few days to spare. Boo hiss! Ah well, such is life and did it really matter? No, because last Friday night’s prom was THE event to be at!

The prom was mod-themed so I had to scramble on Thursday night to forth and find some mod worthy clothing. I did some extensive research on the Internet (thank you Wikipedia!) as well as go through the thoughts of some friends. I decided to go as the classic mod style – the 60s shirt and tie combo with a touch of pizazzz with my hat from yesteryear.

I stumbled upon an Oxford cut shirt at the Gap of all places which had a picture in their window of exactly what I was looking to become. But when I went in there, they said they did not sell ties! What kind of false advertising is that?! If it’s on a picture in your front window, you should be selling it fools!

Anyhow, the shirt was bought and I scoured the mall but no ties were to be found. I was on the hunt for an obscure tie – a black, skinny one. The next day I found it (along with another snazzy blue one…always needed a blue tie) at The Tie Rack.

Friday night arrives, I dress to the nines and head on out to pick up Vero. Good thing I brought a book as she ended up getting off of work a bit late. No worries though, we’ve got plenty of time to spare! Or do we? Hmm…the fact that they are serving supper starts to concern the both of us as we are heading there 1.5 hours after they opened the doors.

We head to the Capital Music Hall (home of many bands that we’ve seen) and head into this room which is straight out of the television shows/movies which involve proms! They had their light shows going around, they had a dark ambiance, they had tables full of people dressed up in all styles imaginable (I noticed that I could have dressed up psychedelic-like which would have been a good alternative!) but there was no punch bowl to spike. Wha??? What’s going on here?!

We find our friends seated right in front of the stage (natch) and talk for a few moments before heading to the buffet table. Unfortunately, the supper bit the big one as the veggies were still hard. That’s a good indication that if you take a chance on the chicken, you may be dancing the funky chicken later that night. After scarfing it down, they cleared the tables away to make way for the band.

I am pretty excited to have a band at the prom as 90% of the places you go to party nowadays have no live music. It’s a thing of yesteryear. I think live music needs to make a comeback! I’m not talking about the live music that I tend to go to – some good rock concerts here and there. I’m talking about some live music that makes you want to dance! Where there is crowd interaction! Where the room moves with the music! There was this one couple who had some great swing dancing skills where I commented that there really isn’t anywhere to show off these skills in this day in age. Maybe your own living room?

The band looked pretty good upon stepping onto the stage – they had a brass section and all the other goodies which make a good rocking band. They started off the night with Fleetwood Mac’s Go Your Own Way which is now forever stuck in my head to the point where I learned it on guitar last night. They also stated “If you don’t know this song, you don’t deserve to be here!” after every second song as they pulling out the classic rock hits.

Hit after hit kept coming and the crowd was having a great time. Pulling out the dance moves of yesteryear, I was surprised that Vero and I did not have a dance-off again that night (as it is common when there is a giant space to pull out our killer moves.) I am looking forward to beating Vero at the dance-off the next time around as she creamed me at Jason’s wedding last summer. However, my claim to fame is that I did the power slide across the dance floor and ended up burning a hole in my pants. No joke. They melted. It was pure rock running through my blood.

Unfortunately the band was only there for an hour and then a regular DJ came out (who was awesome by the way. He was having the time of his life up on stage.) and we danced the night away. It was bloody humid in that joint and soon the hat, tie and shirt became a disarray (as so often happens when one wears a tie and the beers are flowing) but in the end, the night was a stellar event.

To all of those who knock going to proms after your high school one, don’t! There’s not as much hype towards the event which allows you to have an all-around good time (other than the food. Blech). At least I ended off the night getting a slice from Johnny’s Pizza. That is some good pizza if you’ve never had it. It’s on Laurier. Check it out.

Well, as of 12:49PM today, I have failed the experiment as I had to eat a sandwich. Mmm…sandwiches.

Experiment: Over.
Status: Mmm…I am loving this ham sandwich. It’s delish!

An interesting article…

http://www.productivity501.com/2007/04/17_things_you_s.html

iplaying: Who Are You, Defenders of the Universe? – The Dears (No Cities Left)

While munching on a burger and fries at McDonald’s today at lunch, Krista was saying if a person cut out all carbohydrates from their life, then they could probably lose 5-10 in 2 weeks.

Wha??? I sat dumbfounded while munching on my ironically tinged burger while sitting speaking about health matters. Could this be true? How could that even be true? Just by switching some food up in your life, it can make you lose weight?

I decided to stand up to the challenge and proclaimed that I would put my body on the line to test this theory!

This isn’t about a diet or anything…I don’t really care if I put the weight back on. I’m just intrigued that the changing of what you eat could allow you to lose some weight.

Therefore, starting at 6:18 on Wednesday night (I started after McDonald’s at lunch, but then I had leftover rice in the fridge that I figured I should finish off.), I am entering the carb-free zone and see if this actually works. I am marking my weight right now as 204 lbs with the caveat that just ate supper, so let’s bring it down to an even 200lbs.

Let’s see what this no-carb theory has to offer! I really doubt this will work, but heck, stranger things have happened.

My only dilemma is how to switch up my sacred breakfast and lunch items. I figured I will replace the morning granola bar with a yogurt and hopefully that will keep me going until the morning snack.

Lunch is a different beast altogether. There goes my legendary sandwich (eaten in my lunch since Kindergarten) and my granola bar. Krista told me her Mom used to make lettuce sandwiches which intrigued me. I think I will give it a try.

I will give you updates as to how this crazy adventure is going. Before anyone says it, yes, I know. Beer has carbohydrates also. I am switching back to the rye as of this moment. This brings back memories of college where one winter someone told me that beer really packs on the pounds and so I switched to rye and ginger but they said that the soft drinks don’t help out too much. So then I started drinking rye and water. That’s right – I went all out for the cause. It wasn’t too bad to be honest.

For all those who are going to cry out “Stop! You can’t do this to your body!!!”, there are no worries. I don’t have any plans to keep up with this no-carb test. Heck, Palmer cannot live without his sandwich!

Hey, while I’m at it, here’s an update on the shoe front – I picked up two new pairs of shoes today on a whim. Since I’m jogging, I don’t need shoes that fall apart (read below) and I didn’t think the other shoes would be the best to run in.

Whenever I don’t go swimming after work, I’ve gotten into the habit of jogging around the block. So far the pace takes me about 20 minutes and I’m ready to die.

I find the body is an interesting machine. While I can swim 90 lengths up and down a pool with no real problems, as soon as I hit the pavement to jog a little, it’s like my body has taken a beating.

While I know this feeling will go away with time, it is interesting to note that the body somehow knows the difference. Perhaps my endurance is up, but the fact that swimming is a low-impact activity may have something to do with it. Maybe it’s the fact that my body is crying out saying “Dude! You’re killing me here!”

Anyhow, I think it’s a nice balance for when I don’t feel like swimming. I am trying to obtain balance in all healthy aspects of my life. I learned this concept from Philipp. He can party hard, eat hard, but at the same time knows how to get some exercise also. He commented on how North Americans seem to take things to the extreme (like diets and whatnot) as opposed to a balance. It’s alright to have a beer or two, but don’t forget to eat some fruit and veggies too.

So in the life of Palmer where I usually stick to one thing and one thing only, I am trying to get out of that habit. I don’t have to swim every day, I’ll go jogging or biking instead. I don’t have to eat the same sandwich or apple every day. I’ll give some variety in my life. It will be hard to accomplish, but heck, I’m up for the challenge.

I dig the look of Adidas Gazelle’s so I was looking for them on Saturday. I am cheap as you all know so I was debating whether or not to spend $70 on a pair of sneakers.

After speaking with Krista, she got it in my head that they are probably worth it in the long run.

While jogging last night my sneaker was digging into my foot so I readjusted the tongue and it ripped right out of the shoe.

Huh. That’s never happened to me before.

Is this is not a sign from above, I really don’t know what is.

Just found out that someone has released a DVD of the Sam Roberts Band’s performance at Bluesfest last year! Awesome! That was a memorable concert.

Ah…Bluesfest. Depending on the lineup this year, I may go for the all-access pass as someone pointed out that the money spent on the entire pass is still cheaper than what I forked out for one seat of Roger Waters. 🙁

I think the 2007 lineup is set to be revealed sometime next week. I was talking to Laurie’s (Lorry? Man, how do I spell that name?) husband a few weeks ago and he heard the Hip will be making an appearance.