Hey guys! Just to let you all know, my cousin's Marble Slab is NOW OPEN! It's in the north side so for all of you who live in that area... yay for you. It's at 165 ave and 97 st. Check it out, later days.

Will we think about tomorrow like we think about now?
Can we survive it out there? Can we make it somehow?
I guess I thought that this would never end
And suddenly it's like we're women and men
Will the past be a shadow that will follow us 'round?
Will these memories fade when I leave this town?
I keep, keep thinking that it's not goodbye
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly

The Graduation Song - Vitamin C


I thought that the one hit wonder by Vitamin C is totally relevant to my leaving for Boston.

I've been thinking about how music can affect us, how a song can remain forever attached to a certain feeling or event in your life. This all started cause I was looking for burnt cd's, ones worth so little that I wouldn't care if I forgot them at work. I found a couple from back in the day.. circa '99 and when I listened to them there were a few one hit wonders.... But it was just so crazy that upon hearing those songs your conscious mind had long forgotten, all the old memories are stirred up. That song you loved so much, you would listen to the radio the whole day just waiting for them to play it. That song you identified with cause you felt like you were goin through the exact same situation the lyrics were outlining.

Someday "Jo's Summer '06 Mix" will bring about reminiscent feelings...

Here's the songlist for "Jo's Mixed CD Y2K"
1. Silverchair - Anthem for the yr 2000
2. Blink 182 - Adam's song
3. Destiny's Child - Say my name
4. Gob - I hear you calling
5. Greenday - Time of your life
6. Lauryn Hill - Can't take my eyes off of you
7. Outkast - Ms. Jackson
8. Joe f/ Mystikal - Stutter
9. R. Kelly - I wish
10. Lit - Miserable
11. Our Lady Peace - Life
12. Papa Roach - Last resort
13. Wheatus - Teenage Dirtbag
14. All 4 One - I swear
15. SoulDecision - Let's do it right
16. Everclear - Wonderful

I think losing Roli has gotten nearly everyone in the city of Edmonton very emotional. But I'm gonna state now that I think he's gone, and holding your breath waiting for a game 3 miracle start to happen might prove dire. Of course I hope I'm wrong but I don't think I am.

Calling everyone a bandwagoner is not gonna make anything better. After all, who's to define "bandwagoner"? If it's someone who hasn't stuck with the oil the ENTIRE season, then I think a lot of us are guilty of being one. I'm not saying bandwagoners are my favourite people, they entice you into talking about the game only to utter some lame "oil sweep" comment; so now you've wasted several minutes of precious time tryin to actually talk about the game with what may as well be a doorknob. BUT I love the atmosphere it's created in the city, we all have a pseudo thing in common. I think it's wicked awesome that I can have a 5 minute conversation with an absolute stranger just because I said I liked the oilers pin on her jacket. Bandwagoner or not, we all want the oil to win so let's just stop with the "I'm a better oilers fan" insults.

If anybody has superhuman healer hands, now is the time to step forward. Roli needs your help. According to MacT, he won't be back for the series... Granted, he didn't play a great game but the chances of our copper and blue winning with Conklin or Markkanen is slim. What the oil needs now is a miracle. And Pronger's only one man.

Hmm, the things I'm gonna miss about Edmonton... gonna get me reminiscing before I even leave... I'm gonna miss my house, my family (specifically home cooked meals), my friends, my (dad's) car, kung fu, and of course the oilers. And the intangibles, like knowing if you ever got in trouble, there's family around to help you out.

I still don't know when I'm leaving, "end of August." I'll probably go to NY to visit my aunt before sch starts. I'm lookin forward to the housing clinic, gettin an apartment so there's one less thing to worry about.

I'm tryin to keep work to a minimum, just enough to curb boredom. I wanna enjoy my last summer in Edmonton.

Goin to all the little festivals in the city. Like "capital ex" formerly known as klondike days, I already got tickets to see All-American Rejects when they come out for that.
And Heritage Days held at hawrelak park where you can walk around and take in all the pseudo culture.
Street Performers and Taste of Edmonton, yum.

Family dynamics

Whether you like to admit it or not, your family plays such an important role in the development of your character. We're born naive; everything your parents tell you is truth. It never occurs to you that your parents could be anything but honest with you. Looking back at the lame lies that you were told, you wonder how you ever believed them; of course at the time there was something awkward/fishy about the whole situation but you shrugged it off because the source was your dad. It's always such a shock the first time you realize your mom lied to you, the first time you find out your dad doesn't know everything.

Imagine how different you would be if your parents had more children, less children. If you were the oldest, youngest, middle child... As the eldest, I was painfully aware of the impact I had on my little brother especially when we were younger. He thought I knew everything, all his questions were directed to me. The first time I told him "I don't know." He asked me the question over and over, at the time I thought he was just being an annoying brat. But it turns out it was because he thought I was lying, the possibility that I didn't know was nil in his mind.

I can't imagine my life as an only child. I'm sure I would hate it. But when I was growing up I wondered what it would be like to have an older brother to look out for me, an older brother to idealize.

I'm sure we've all asked ourselves hypothetical questions like what would I do if I could turn back time? What advice would I try to give to my eg. 10 yr old self?

Sometimes we look back and dwell on the mistakes we've made in life, the little things that we wish we'd done differently. There's no one particular day in my life that I wish I could change; if I could turn back time, I'd just live my entire life over starting from like grade 7. But if I had done everything according to plan, would I be the same person?

I remember when I was a kid, everyone always said somethin to the gist of "cherish your childhood." But every other sentence I uttered started with "When I grow up....." it felt like I was waiting for my life to begin. That's why I think if you did go back to tell your 10 yr old self something, they wouldn't listen.

I thought by the time I turned 20, I'd have everything figured out. 20 seemed so old then... there were daily protests when grandma tried to get us to settle down for a nap, some days I'd just stare at the clock for the mandatory half hour and rush back out to play. These days, I love naps and I miss childhood.

Being the eldest, I was always in such a hurry to grow up; but the things in life that have the most enjoyment are the little things that remind me of childhood. Saturday morning cartoons and playing with gummy bears before eating them. The biggest debate in your life was arguing with your friends over what to watch during lunch: looney tunes vs the flinstones. Jumping off swings to see who can land the farthest in the pee-soaked sand. Running so fast down the hill you think for a split second that you might actually fly this one time.

I really think that more is learned from a failure than a success, that the hardships in life build character. But then again, maybe that's just what I tell myself so I can sleep at night.

I realize that I haven't been blogging nearly as much as in the past, but that's just because there's not much to vent/complain about anymore. My life is basically on track now that I've been accepted into optometry... I'm just trying to have fun this summer with my friends who I'll miss deeply once I move to Boston (aka bean town).

So my job in the psych department at U of A has been over for about a week now, I am gonna start working a retail job after the long weekend. Just part time so I'll have plenty of time to savour the summer.

Main focus will be kung fu and just generally being healthy and active this summer, but I'm not gonna spend all my time talking about my new lifestyle... for one, it's not that drastic of a change and two, it's just goddamn annoying, not to mention boring, to listen to someone preach about how they only eat turkey breast. (Like my god, do you want a goddamn nobel prize for not being a fat lard?)

Now let's talk about the truly important things in life, material posessions. I'm getting a laptop pretty soon... it's gonna be my computer when I move so it's gotta be super nice. I just found out that Stephen didn't pay for his laptop (my mom hasn't asked him to pay her since he put it on her credit card). Naturally, I now want a laptop just as good as his... before it was all fine and dandy that he had a better one since he was paying for it. I'm pretty much sure that I'll be gettin an apple, but not sure which one. Stay tuned for exciting developments.

Still on the subject of materialism, I want new flip flops.... I saw a really nice pair of lacoste ones on the website but when I actually saw them in a store I was sorely disappointed... they weren't even half as nice as on the website. And they were like $100 which even for a brandwhore like myself is ridiculous, I mean they're just flip flops!
Also, due to the scorching weather we've been having lately, I'm gonna need to stock up on summer clothes fast. I can't help it that the greater powers above want me to go shopping..... clearly, the weather is a sign...

To this day, I have not had a friend who stays just as close even after they get into a relationship. There's always that complaint that ppl just ignore their friends when they find a bf/gf and of course, there will be less time for them to allot to their friends but still.. it's a bit disappointing.

In music news, I think I really like Snow Patrol... I don't have their cd but I have a few of their songs, I should get around to listening to more of their songs...
I want to see Da Vinci Code, but more so I want to go to a goddamn Oiler game! Too bad ticketmaster hates me.

OILERS IN 6!!!!

Praise the hockey gods!

Can't wait till tuesday 12pm.... I'm pretty much empty on motivation. Wasted quite a bit of time today watchin the game, I had originally planned to just watch the last period but I of course wanted an excuse to take an even longer break from studyin so I thought "I'll watch the second period too... that's only an hour." Cut to overtime period 1... overtime period 2... and suddenly I wished I hadn't spent all that time for nothing.

Blah. Didn't help that it was all gloomy out either... luckily, knowing I'm gonna be in optometry in september keeps me from bein too depressed.

**Spoiler: Inside Man**

Again for those of you who frequent Bo's blog, although I agree that Inside Man was a letdown it wasn't THAT bad. Clive Owen steals from the Nazi guy because that way no one comes after him for the DIAMONDS (Nazi guy doesn't want people to know he's a Nazi therefore will not try to capture Clive Owen).

It really does suck that Clive Owen spends most of the movie masked... major flaws to this movie in no particular order:
1. too much Denzel, not enough Clive
2. Jodie Foster sucks, no blonde woman should be that cocky
3. falls apart at the end

Wow, what a relaxing saturday I had... probably the first whole day in a long time that I did not study at all. And it's not like I did anything exciting, it was just a nice break. Went for lunch, to kung fu, then to see V for Vendetta later that night.

For those of you who frequent Bo's blog, it wasn't all that she's cracked it up to be. A few cheesy moments are the least of this movie's problems. It was decent and I don't regret going to see it at all, just don't go into it expecting to get a new found vision on the world's political problems. It's not as revolutionary as some people would think. Boys: Natalie Portman was pretty good in it but they shaved her head halfway through then try to make up for it with big explosions and some blood. Girls: the guy's mask stays on throughout the whole movie so if you were hoping for some ridiculously hot guy unveiling, you are out of luck.

This friday night, I will be at school until 9pm because of my stupid statistics lab final. Bummer much? What I'm lookin forward to: cranium tournament either sat or sun. Loser-ish? Maybe. Fun? Absolutely.

So apparently some douche bags released bear mace in the mall yesterday. Then my brother saw a baby coughing followed by vomiting. Punks need to find something better to do.

These kinds of things are a testament to how messed up society is. We call this a 'civilization'....

If I haven't already called you to brag, I got into New England College of Optometry (Boston, MA)!!!

Life = AWESOME

In the great words of Jay-Z "I'm goin somewhere nice where no mosquitos at nigga"

Ok, so there probably will be mosquitos and I have no idea where I'm goin but I am already thinkin bout summer vacay.

April 25, ~12 noon

Just a quick post before I go back to cramming for stat midterm tomorrow. I'm back in snowy Edmonton, interview went well I think... cross your fingers for me to get accepted! Later days.

Here I am with my "little" brother Stephen at the Ging Wu Chinese New Yr Banquet. All growed up isn't he?

Me and Jay, what a goof. Stole my gun dance.

And here I am with Dennis.

Lastly, me and Gavin. Only boy to venture away from wearing all black, kudos.

Politics.... what a loaded topic. I think an uninformed vote is worse than no vote at all. I don't understand how people can have a party they always vote for. I'm losing faith in the political system and I've only been allowed to vote for 2 yrs now. I pretty much view it as voting for the party/candidate/leader you hate the least. For me, most emphasis is placed on the party.

The NDP is the only party that has an adequate (relative term I know) plan in terms of education funding which is near to my heart since I am a poor student. But of course the NDP can make these promises since they won't win. In all actuality, I am a liberal in the traditional definitions of the parties' viewpoints. However, these days the parties are basically all the same except on the gay marriages I really see no major differences.

So who did I vote for? I won't tell you but I will say that I am strongly anti-Conservative mainly because they are such hypocrites. I hate the way Canadian politics is becoming more like American politics with the slander ads; I loathe the Conservative ad that was an attack on the liberal slander ads. You know, the one where they have sound clips of Martin saying "I authorized those ads." Then making out Martin to be the devil incarnate while conveniently overlooking their own negative ads.

All hail the reign of the conservative party along with the head scratchers who voted for them.

Every once in a while, something happens to jolt your world. It defies the laws of the world. It makes you lose faith in a just world. (For example, you study your ass off for an exam and somehow bomb it.) You're not sure exactly why it upsets you but it does. It's because we all want to believe that when you deserve something, you get it. And those that don't deserve it, don't receive. This all makes it that much harder to understand when an event so utterly unfair occurs. When you are witness to someone else receiving something they do not deserve. Is it jealousy? I think not. I think it's merely your brain struggling to process something that doesn't fit with your preconceived notions.

happy birthday to me!!!