When Broken is Easily Fixed

So slowly I have been able to sort out what happened last night. I woke up with the worst hangover I have had in a long time. I wasn't even able to stomach food until about 4pm.

The night started with drinks with my Dad and his friends. We had a nice steak dinner but overall I just had a bunch of drinks. Afterwards we switched up to pounding beers and playing Wii. I am in love with the Wii. So pissed that there is a shortage though and I can't get my hands on one. I really want, no, need to get one because it is super fun. After that though we headed on down to Ruannes for beer and wings. Their beer still tastes like ass, but the wings are for sure the best Barrie has to offer. That was followed up with the usual, car bombs at Philthy's. My favorite! We also pumped a Dr.Pepper and this is when the night goes downhill. Dave (The Bartender) gave me a free birthday shot. Jack Daniel's. My old nemeses. Regardless, the shot went down, and everything I had eaten came back up off the balcony. I had the entire bar next door cheering me on as I vomited. Not fun.

We headed over to Fitzy's to join in their festivities but were met with a giant line. We made fun of lots of people and generally caused a huge scene, but it was entertaining. Some girls also seemed to like it. Sure enough, after a few more beers they invited us back to their house to continue the party. The worst part of the night was when we at 5am realized we needed to find our way home. How did we do this... a $40 cab ride. UGH!

In the end, we came home, played more Wii and I then passed out hard in the basement. Woke up today, and am having the shittiest feeling day ever. Took my sister shopping, and now watching Futurama til my Birthday Party. So pumped.

Enter Sandman

What happened last night.. ow my head.

Deck the Halls, Bruise your Hands

Well, all the hustle and bustle of Christmas season is now over. I'm actually quite excited by that. Now it's just time to relax for a day or two and get life sorted out. I got some shopping done this morning up at the Georgian Mall just to check out the Holiday Sales. Picked up Jackass 2, Ice Age 2 and 40 Year Old Virgin all at amazing prices ($5 for 40 Year Old Virgin!!!). Afterwards I went up to my Mom's for Christmas 2.

We had a blast today. Had a great breakfast, opened presents then watched the World Juniors game. I had a solid nap and then watched some Miami Ink after that. We had a Steak dinner, and played Rumoli to end the night. I was then surprised with cake. Yay for birthdays! My Mom/Jim got me a beautiful white gold chain. Very sweet.

Now I'm just taking the next 24 or so hours to relax. I've planted myself on the couch, going to watch Jackass 2 and just rest my body. I don't think I have recovered from Exams yet. Tomorrow going to hit the mall a bit in the morning, then playing a game of Risk with Shaun, Dave and Murphy who I haven't seen in forever! Exciting. Maybe I'll feel better in time for my birthday party on Thursday.

Sometimes You Have to Ask Yourself

Merry Christmas everyone. It has been a good day full of Christmas cheer, and many many messages wishing me birthday and Christmas wishes. We had a rather unconventional Christmas this year. We had a breakfast around 10am. Followed that up with presents and a movie. At that point I had a bottle of wine and became a little intoxicated. We had a dinner and played board games after that leading up to another movie.

Unfortunately, there was a B n' E at my Dad's company so we had to go investigate! I left him there to go visit Ginger for a bit. It's been forever since I last saw her. She got me a super awesome gift from New York --> a Keychain with my name on it! She kept the tradition alive.

Finally after all was said and done, my Dad and I went and saw Blood Diamond. The movie was amazing, just it went on forever. It was way to long for my liking, but very well done none the less. I do recommend checking it out, the acting was great, the action was intense, and overall it was just a damn good movie!

One pat of my day really made me stop and think though about this Christmas day. Its typically expected to everyone I know to get some rather sweet gifts... I see MSN names about trips, iPods, laptops etc. I was in earshot when my Dad asked the Window Replacing Guy's kid what he got for Christmas. He said "Oh was Santa good to you?" The kid responded with "YES! I got a $20 gift card to Wal-mart, and coupons for $1 off at McDonalds!!!" He was so happy, and that was all he said he got. Most people I know would probably cry if they got that as their whole Christmas. It just sort of hit me.

The second big event of my night was the discovery of my childhood. I was looking for photos for my Mom's Christmas present, and while looking I found everything from when I was a kid. I'm talking about photos of everything I have ever done, all my school work from kindergarten to high school and many many toys!!! I've decided that my summer goal is going to be to make the "Museum of how Mike became so awesome!" It will be glorious. Everyone should want to visit it.

That is about it for my Christmas day. Tomorrow I am rushing up at 8:30am to hit the Boxing Day Sales, and then spending the day with my Mom/Jim and the kids. Should be a great time. I'm getting rather excited for my Party on Thursday, and for CUBA!

Dreaming of a White Christmas

Ok then, this is the official re-cap of the last day and a half in Vegas, which may be slightly censored, and may have parts left out....

After the buffet my dad went to play poker and I ventured out on the Strip. I spent countless hours taking ridiculous photos with myself and statues, buildings etc. I gather crowds with my methods though because I would use stuff to balance my camera on random things like tress or garbage cans.

I ended up back at MGM by 6pm just in time to go and see David Copperfield. This show, is amazing. I do not have the slightest idea how the hell he pulled of his final two tricks. They just don't seem possible. At all. Go see the show if you get the chance.

After it was over we wandered the strip for a bit before heading back to the Bat at Time Square. There we had more drinks, and singing and dancing than can be imagined. We met a bunch of guys from Iowa State and partied with them, and when my dad finally gave up around 3:30-4am I took off with the Iowa guys. I ditched them shortly after for Twins though. 24 year old Twins. Go me!

Needless to say, the next morning was not fun. We didn't wake up in time for check out, but that got solved in the end. We dropped out bags off at the bell, and my dad played Poker. I wandered the strip but only made it to the Starbucks at Mandalay Bay before falling asleep for 3 hours. We ended the night with some dinner, and the Larger than Life Show by Louie Anderson. Again, he was hilarious. So cool to see a childhood hero! I even got a signed Life with Louie t-shirt in the end. What a great guy.

That is where the trip ended... we got in a cab, and headed to McCarren to leave to be back in Barrie. It doesn't feel like I've only been home for 12 hours. It feels like the trip was days ago, and I think thats the effect Vegas may have on people.

Note: Photos are up on my FlickR. They are hilarious according to Megan. She gives them two thumbs up, and a pinky!

Paint it Black

So I got to thinking about my trip to Vegas on the flight home, and started to break down the numbers... so here goes nothing...

• 0 - Planned tattoo's gotten
  
• 1 - Gay Australian's who grabbed my ass in the bar
  
• 1 - Prostitutes I helped find tricks in the Casino
• 1 - UFC Fighters I thought I saw, which weren't UFC fighters
  
• 2 - Restaurants that ID'ed me
• 2 - Middle Eastern offended by my photo with their prayer shrine
  
• 3 - Homeless people that provided a great conversation
  
• 3.5 - Hours slept at a Starbucks in Mandalay Bay
  
• 4 - Offers for cocaine I recieved
  
• 4 - Girls who gave me a kiss
• 5 - Times I had Starbucks on my self-imposed ban
• 5 - Casino's that let me drink underage
• 7 - Floor our Holywood suite was on
• 8 - Time (AM, EST) that I averaged getting to bed
  
• 20 - Dollars lost to homeless person on 3 Card Monte
  
• 24 - Age of Twin's I met on my last night
  
• 27 - Age I was assumed to be by multiple girls
• 28 - Age of the teacher from California I met
  
• 45 - Dollars I lost playing poker
  
• 300 - Dollars I spent on booze
  
• 330 - Photos taken in 3 days

I will add more if I remember them.

The Leaving Song Part 2

I'm siting in McCarren Airport in Las Vegas and I cannot wait to get home. It has been a long exhausting couple of days. The last two specifically have been gong shows. Or actually, it was only the last day... Friday. I will talk about that and get the photos up soon enough... if I had to give one word to describe last night... TWINS!

I'm very impressed with the fact this airport has WiFi. I was very disappointed when I couldn't do anything while stuck in Toronto for 4 hours. So this is an added bonus.

Check the FlickR page tomorrow for all the wonderful photos. They are.. interesting to say the least.

Love Me Tender

So it's 12:30 and neither me or my dad have left our beds. Thats impressive. We had a crazy night. Went to the Japanese restaurant last night, and it was delicious. Our chef was awesome and made a wonderful meal. It also was the start of our downward slide... they thought I was 21 again. So we had several drinks with dinner then moved on back to MGM. We met at one of the Ultra Lounges for more rounds. Finally it was time, we headed back over to New York-New York and went straight to the Bar at Time Square. Then we proceeded to get our drink on. I don't even want to know how many rounds we had there, I really don't. The piano guys were once again amazing, and luckily they played our request for American Woman and they re-sung it as Canadian Woman. There were quite a few Canadian's at the bar too which was awesome.

My dad eventually started shoving me at a cute girl who kept looking at me and mouthing something or another at me. Finally I gave in and went and talked to her. Go me. We danced and whatnot then hung out for a bit... the best part was when I said "how old are you anyways" and this conversation followed....

Her: "Why don't you guess"
Me: "I'm going to go with 25"
Her: "Nope, 28"
Her: "Why... how old are you?"
Me: "A very solid 21"
Her: "WHAT?!?!?! I Thought you were 27!!!"

Oh well, it worked out. She ended up being a 28 year old teacher from California. Ah ha ha.

Now today we are paying for it. We're going to stumble down for some breakfast in a few minutes, but then probably be sick. It's our last night here. We're seeing David Copperfield, then heading back to the same bar again probably. I like being consistent if I know I will get in. Let's see where this takes us.

Best Wishes to Your Black Lungs

Here we are, its 4:30pm on Day 2 (?) in Vegas. Got a solid 4 1/2 hours of sleep last night, and was up and moving by 10am. Went down and hit the MGM Buffet for breakfast. They know what they are doing... best buffet ever. After that we decided to go tourist style around town.

We visited all the shops and hotels etc. on one side of the strip. Highlight was definitely the "kids zone" where we played old skool arcade games for a while. My dad kicked everyones ass at the Basketball shooting game. Some Asian kid just couldn't believe it.

After wards we just wandered around. After my success last night passing as 21, we decided to try and grab a drink at Wynn's new hotel. Shot down at the first bar, although it took the girl a solid minute to determine that I was 2 days to young. Second bar let us in (thanks!) but some girl affirmative action employee came over and asked for ID (you suck!). Oh well. Hit up a few more shops then headed back to the hotel. Now we've just been napping because the lack of sleep has caught up with us.

I'm heading down to do a focus group for a TV show in a little bit, it better be a good one! After that the most exciting part of my week is happening. Reservations for Hyakumi (Ya-Coo-Me) are made for 8pm. I have been looking forward to this meal since my last time in Vegas 3 years ago! Afterwards I have no idea what the plan is though... trying to get into bars, failing that, wandering around!

Oh well.... tomorrow we get to go see Mr.David Copperfield's new show!

Since You've Been Gone

So, today has been a long day. Didn't sleep last night, and wrote my exam at 9am. After that I opened the Spoke and drank for a couple hours. I drank for longer than planned which left me with about 20 minutes to pack to get out of London. Failed miserably. I had to rush and get my cabbie to run red lights in order to make my shuttle in time.

Slept the whole way to Toronto, but once arriving at the airport, found out I had to kill 4 1/2 hours before my flight. Ok. I drank. It was fun, except this random guy kept trying to talk to me, bashing Americans, and using Rick Mercer's "Talking to Americans" and "Fahrenheit 9/11" as proof of his arguments. Oh well, got drunk and went to the terminal. We still had time to kill so we drank at TGI Friday's. We caught our flight about 9pm and headed to Las Vegas. We arrived at about 11pm Vegas time. Took a stretch Limo to the MGM grand and checked in. The best part... free room upgrade to a Hollywood Celebrity Suite. We get to the room and it is amazing. Huge bathroom, bedroom, livingroom, eating area etc.

Now is time to see if I am going to have any luck down here. We went to New York, New York and sure enough, first bar we try, I walk in without being ID'ed. Bad sign. Drink there for a while, pick up a couple extra beers and head back to the MGM. Since I have a drink in my hand, nobody IDs me anywhere. I ended up playing Poker for 3 hours. Lost money, but drinks were free, so I don't know if I am up or down really.

The end of my night though was the most entertaining. Decided to leave the poker at about 3am. Start walking back to my room and a girl starts talking to me. We start walking around and talking and she asks if I want to go back to my room. I ignore it, and my little Canadian mind goes "maybe she is a prostitute". She keeps saying she is bored and that we should go 'have fun' so I suspect it huge. Well finally she just asks "are you rejecting me or are we gonna fuck". Well, wow. I said it wasn't happening. But we still continued to talk. I spent the next hour trying to help her find a target. The last part we approached two guys. I started talking to one, she pulled the other aside. Me and him started laughing about her being a prostitute. He thought I was her pimp though. At that point I thought I could be charged with accessory, and since I don't want to be arrested on my first day, went to bed.

4 AM

Augh, so now its hitting 4am and I'm not even tired. Thank you Monster Energy! I've now shaved, done my laundry, read some more, and started to organize what I need for my three climates I'm hitting these next two weeks. Packing is a bitch. It's about 10 above in Vegas, 25-30 in Holguin, and -1 in Barrie. Those are 3 pretty big differences in temperature. And only being in each for 4-7 days means a decent amount of clothing is necessary. This is a pain.

I'm pumped for the trip. I just had my end of semester victory cigar. It was a great one and quite relaxing at 3:30 in the morning. Now I'm just finishing both my studying, and my packing so I can be done and over with it. I'm excited to open the Starbucks, because I have never been at a coffee shop when it opened at 6am.

My only other thought is going to be how much sleep I'm going to get this afternoon. I think I'll sleep the whole 2-2 1/2 hours to the airport. For the 1- 1 1/2 hours I have to wait for my Dad I will probably sleep, waiting to get on the plane I'll sleep more, and then the whole flight to Vegas I'll sleep. So I should get about 7 hours this afternoon! Yay!

Emily

So here I am, it's 2:15am the day I leave for Las Vegas! I am beyond pumped. I haven't been able to study for the last 2 hours. I'm not ready for my exam yet, but I am having so a lot of issues studying. A load of laundry is going, my packing is started, but the studying must continue. There is no plan to sleep tonight.

Tomorrow is the big day though. Exam 9-11am, then going for drinks with several friends. After that, catch a Robert Q shuttle to Pearson and I'm off to Vegas. If only it was that simple. I'm sure the lineups are going to be an absolute nightmare. The plus side is that we get in at 10:30 Vegas time so we have all night to get started, or at least settled. I think by the time we land, get to MGM, get our room it will be almost midnight and we will just want to sleep. Or at least check out if I can get into a bar.

I've been looking at what events are offered this week and some interesting ones are there. Sure I miss out on UFC 66 by a week, and Justin Timberlake, and some... oh, and Tom Jones' last show the night I arrive. Still, Blue Man Group is still going so hopefully get to check those out, and the one that most excites me... Louie Anderson. Man, I want to see him so badly! Should be a great time.

Oh well, for now, I must go and get ready for the whole "exam" thing. I'm going to work on packing and reading, but I'm definitely going to Starbucks at 6am to finish my studying there, with a nice Venti Breakfast Blend.

Light with a Sharpened Edge

First and foremost... the man in the top left corner of that photo has accomplished something he had his life dreams set on. This December, 2006, he was named one of Time Magazine's 2006 Person's of the year. It's been a goal for a while, and now he has done it. Go me! Now I need to add something new to my life goals list.

2 Days. Only 2 days. One more day in the library. One more exam. So excited. Today's exam was a joke, or at least it felt like it. I'm pretty sure I got my highest mark of the semester on it. I'm on a pretty solid track to get my required average, which also makes me quite happy. I realized I am going to be a stress case over the next two days though which is fine by me. I have a fair bit to get ready for Wednesday's exam, but it shouldn't be too hard. I'm headed to the mall early tomorrow morning to pick up some essentials, and then spending the day at the library. When night time falls, I have to start packing. I have a fair bit to prepare for too... somewhat warm Vegas, rather cold Barrie, and really hot Cuba. Slight pain in my ass.

Overall though I am just plain excited. I'm so pumped to just leave London for a bit. It's a confusing, stress full, whole other world experience here and it is always nice to get away for a bit.

I've started working on my new years resolutions too. My list is going to be quite solid, except, they won't be new years resolution like last year. They will be January 16th resolutions. Mainly because I think New Years resolutions are lame, and because, well, nobody sticks with them. But January 16th is holy. They aren't going to be too cheesy ether which is nice.

Anyways, packing time.

Viva Las Vegas

MGM Grande, taken by mikeatwestern.

3 Days. In exactly three nights, I will be sitting in a suite in that place right there... the MGM Grand. So pumped. I've written 3 exams in the last 3 days. One went really well, one didn't go so well, and one I feel good but is up in the air. At least I finish with my two strong exams to make me feel good about myself. It's been one hell of a semester. I think I may just graduate this year though. Long story.

Today was not fun. Wrote my bad exam (see above) and well, I was a lot more ready for it a week and a half ago when it got rescheduled. Afterwards I had a nap, and tried to go to Starbucks to study. Felt like shit, so I came home and have been studying here. I feel a lot better now, and am looking forward to a solid sleep now.

I was told today that a surprise party is happening on the 27th. Also quite pumped for that. Mr.Alex is going to be hosting as I hear, and I was told there might even be both Confetti AND Silly string. So perfect. I'm only home in Barrie though for about 6 days which is slightly sad, but I plan to see everyone in that time frame. Should overall be great.

After I finish this exam in the morning, I'm stress free! Exam on Wednesday is a memorization/joke and that makes me feel all warm and wonderful inside.

The Brightest Bulb has Burned Out

Starbucks, taken by ilGiovaneWalter.

"You told me that your 20 years have gone by much too fast. And you've been hoping this year will be better than the last. You said you've been waging a war against the loneliest of nights. With the strongest drinks and longest lines. It's not that big of a surprise. That you're feeling more dead than alive. You're feeling more dead than alive

So I'll let you know. If you need, somewhere to go. I'll be listening when you call. And I'll be there if you fall off. If you need someone to believe in you, I'll let you know I will" - Less than Jake

Well, this song is hitting me today. I'm 9 days away from turning 21. Sweet. I think I'm going to loose my mind in the next 72 hours. I can't sleep right now due to the whole "working" thing tonight. Exam tomorrow at 7pm. Exam Sunday at 10am. Exam Monday at 9am. Not sure where the sleep is going to come. I'm thinking tonight 3am-8am, tomorrow 1am-7am, and finally Sunday night, maybe 12am-8am if I am lucky. The likelyhood of all of those shrinking by 4-6 hours is also very huge.

On the plus, my Starbucks addiction paid off. I had two of my coffee's given to me free. It made my day. Breakfast Blend is delicious, but I tried Yukon blend and it was also quite tasty. Going to try Christmas blend tomorrow. The place I sit every time I go looks a lot like the picture above. I love it. So comfy.

I'm so pumped to leave in a couple days. My countdown calendar is at 4 days remaining. Technically, it's 5. Oh well. I just want to go rest, have a drink, sit on a beach, stare at beautiful women, and relax. It will be glorious.

The Jetset Life is Going to Kill You

Look at me, I'm a sperm, taken by mikeatwestern.

One exam down, and boy am I excited. Now I have to spend the next few days on the big 3. Should be intense. Heading to Starbuck's at 9am for the day, then stuck working 5-close. Whatever, it's almost over. I think today's exam went well. It's hard to tell with sociology exams though which kinda bugs me. Hopefully though!

I had some disappointing news tonight. I was so pumped to get a tattoo at Hart & Huntington in Vegas next week, but after doing a little research, I've determined it's not worth it. Supposedly the people are douche's, the price is high, and the place requires some ridiculous waiting games/rushing. So overall, scratched. Piercings are still planned for the 27th though. Finally getting the lobes done.

Otherwise nothing is too interesting. The Starbucks ladies on campus know me by name, and drink... the Starbucks at Chapters knows me by drink and other things now, it's getting a little ridiculous. I love their Breakfast Blend coffee though! God I want a job there now. Oh well. Let the last 5 very busy days begin.

Brother Down

We all look gay., taken by mikeatwestern.

What a long day. It can only be summed up as long. Woke up at 7:30 to go to the passport office. Waited for 3 hours to get my passport application in. Then headed to the library for an hour before giving up on life. Had a 3 hour nap. Studied at Starbucks for 4 hours. Then headed to the library. Capped off with me being home now at 12:45. I want to go to bed.

My first exam is tomorrow at 2pm.

Summer Lovin'

Manjot and I, taken by mikeatwestern.

This is going to be short and sweet....

1) I am addicted to Starbucks Breakfast Blend coffee
2) I am sick of the library
3) I have 5 exams in the next 7 days
4) I am combating insomnia by going t bed at 11:45
5) I am getting my passport tomorrow
6) I don't know how to spell tomorrow or definitely properly
7) I am excited for vacation
8) Getting up tomorrow at 7:30am is going to kill me
9) My boss at Blockbuster is going to kill me
10) I'm going to bed right now.

Insomnia

Surfing..., taken by mikeatwestern.

Ok, this is the second day in a row where no matter what I try, I cannot fall asleep. AUGH! This is not good at all. I still have 5 exams remaining. I still have only 2 weeks to get a pass port. I also still need to get my G license. AUGH. FUCK.

It's ridiculous that I can't even shut my brain off for enough time to fall asleep. I need to get back onto campus at 8am tomorrow to get my day going. I have to refill out my passport application, get my photo taken, hope to god I can convince my business prof from first year to sign as a guarantor, then get it downtown to the passport office. That may wait till Wednesday morning. But FUCK. This is so stressful. The only reason for that is because I don't know if he will sign it.

Secondly, I have til the end of January to get my G license. That's fine... unless I fail. That is what has been keeping me up the last 20 minutes. I check bookings though and I can go as early as Thursday. Score. I just have to ask Carla or my aunt if they will let me use their car. I hope they will.

Otherwise, I am just stressed because I am broke, and I have a lot of exams coming up. I have one Thursday, work Friday, then have exams Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. At some point in that I have to do ALL my Christmas shopping because I might be gone the 21-24 with my Dad.

On a positive note, today was good. It was Kel & Mike's Big Bad Ass Monday Library Date Day. Got a lot done, drank a lot of coffee and overall it was a good time. The only sketchy part was 10pm-11pm when we came down with a case of hysteria and just laughed until we cried for an hour.

Oh well, soon I will be on an island drinking pina colada's and Corona's like it's my job.

Happiness & the Fish

Surfing for porn on the internet..., taken by mikeatwestern.

What a wonderful day. Just peachy keen. Woke up around 11am, got cleaned up, and headed to Starbucks! Studied there for several hours, hit up the mall, bought secret Santa gift, and headed home. There I wrapped, watched Talledga nights with the roommates, ate some pizza and chilled. After that though, 1580 Secret santa took place. It was great fun. Most of us participated. I got the best gift ever... Starbucks gift card! I heart Tabby!

JC got Saucy Charades from Dustin and well, we ended playing that for hours. It was grand. Now I have to get ready for the library in the morning.

Best part of day though, confirmed Christmas... Hoguin, Cuba... be prepared for me!

Cute without the 'E'

SNOW!, taken by mikeatwestern.

No that picture was not taken in the middle of the arctic. That was outside my apartment. It was fantastic. The only bad part, after my 10am-6am study session, my exam was canceled. They closed down the whole school! It sucked. All the studying for a delayed result. Oh well, I should be prepared for the remake. :P

I had a lot of fun from 6-8am telling everyone that their exams were canceled, and it cumulated with me and rob making everyone an amazing chocolate chip pancake breakfast. After that I just simpled crashed. I had had 9 cups of coffee and it caught up to me. I slept until I had to go to Blockbuster. The shift sucked. People were no showing, and late, and overall it was just super-busy. It sucked a lot. I almost wanted to quit by the end. I may still end up doing that.

Today I caught up on my sleep. Woke up at 12:30. Tonight is once again being wasted at Blockbuster. Oh well.... Vacation is soon. Oh so soon.

It's begining to look a lot like Christmas

Aren't we cute..., taken by mikeatwestern.

HOLY SNOW BATMAN... outside, is just blanket after blanket of fresh white powder. I was in the Library from 10:30am-Midnight and upon leaving it was just nuts out. Wow. It's currently at about 3 1/2 feet everywhere, and I'm thinking exams are going to be canceled. How fucked is that? Oh well.

This is my first all-nighter of the exam period, and that is scaring me because it's the first day. I just don't feel ready. Therefore, reading like mad, all night long! Oh well, a week til my next set so I will be much more prepared for those. I have a pot of coffee made, I just had some eggo's so clearly I am set for the night.. and it helps that I'm not even slightly tired. Oh well. Onward ho.

Hurricant (Formal Weather Patterns)

The Salads, taken by mikeatwestern.

So February/March is going to be amazing. I've been on a bit of a concert ticket spree lately, and although it's cost me an arm and a leg, and I can't afford food anymore, I'm seeing some sick bands... Currently list is: Billy Talent, Anti-Flag, Rise Against, Moneen, Jack's Mannequin, Head Automatica, Taking Back Sunday and Underoath. Oh man, what a great line up. Still considering adding The Used/Senses Fail/Spitalfield to that.

Classes are officially which was a nice relief. Girls were giving away "free hugs" as a random act of kindness. It was super cool. Random though. Made my day. Otherwise I've done very little with my time. I had lots of class, then foot patrol, now just getting cleaned up and sorted out for the hell of a two weeks I have.

Not looking forward to it, but alarm is set for 8:30am, again... back to the library it is for me.

White Christmas

Not drunk at all..., taken by mikeatwestern.

So here I am in the library, I’m going onto hour 9 and I’m still enjoying it. My only pet peeve right now is that the late night Starbucks lady can’t distinguish between when I say “white hot chocolate” and “hot chocolate”. God damn that other syllable. She’s now messed up 3 days in a row. The sad part is, she’s so friendly that I refuse to complain and have her make me a new one. Oh well. I’m on page 8 of my 10 page essay, and I can safely assume that the last page will magically appear one I put in all my references. I just hit 37 references when I paused to write this. This is going to be the first night that I have actually lasted til 2am. Me and rob are going to take the walk at 2 home, and then I will finish off printing of this damn paper. It will be glorious to hand it in. Come on, “Demographics of Social Policy Implementation for Affordable Housing in London, Ontario”. How riveting.

Oh well, tomorrow is the last day of class. I’m excited, but it also means the rest of my semester is going to be highlighted by 10am-2am stint’s reading and making notes, and high stress exams. I’m not worried though, that is the best part. Normally I am a lot more terrified going into them. All that early preparing was probably a very very smart move on my part. Oh well, essay away!

Also, today was the first day of Christmas as far as I am concerned. It was a very white morning, and still is pretty white outside. That means 24 hours with snow on the ground, which means CHRISTMAS!

Barley Out of Tuesday

Me and the Raptor Cheerleader's, taken by mikeatwestern.

It's Tuesday... which means only one thing. The Gazette feature's the Tuesday Tease! It wasn't their best one yet unfortunately. But I do have a huge desire to strangle someone now. The following is a list of people I want to strangle right now...

1) The guy who is taking up a 6 person table... to sleep on. Go the fuck home. Go to the couch's. GET THE FUCK OFF THE MAIN TABLES IN THE LIBRARY WHEN EVERYONE ELSE WANTS TO STUDY!

2) The guy taking up the desk beside him... to do a crossword. At least get your books out of your bag so you don't look like a procrastinating piece of shit.

3) The two girls watching Click taking up a third table. See guys #1 and #2. You should get the fuck out of the library because some of us have shit to do.

4) The girl on her cell phone behind me. SHUT THE FUCK UP! Or learn to whisper.

5) The Asian person, watching stupid Asian dance pop videos on You Tube, without headphones. I don't want to hear your shitty music. See my headphones? See everyone else with headphones? TAKE A FUCKING CLUE!

Augh... what a great study break. People in this library need to be shot. It's ridiculous. And yes I know it is a repost of the photo, but I decided they need to be shown larger, and I thought that one was worthwhile.

Jesus Christ was an Only Child

Post game awkward photo
Originally uploaded by mikeatwestern.

Well, today upon walking into the Taylor library I was presented with this month's Science newspaper/letter. Gave it a quick read through and didn't understand too much. One of the joys of being in Social Science, I have no clue what long sciencey words mean! Regardless, the last page featured the "99 things to do before you graduate" list. I read a few and thought I had done them, so I busted out the highlighter. There are only 21 that I have not done... so it is my new goal to do them all before I graduate. The list is on my wall now. Below, are the 21 I have not done, numbered as they are on the list...

• 2. Get it on in a library... or all the libraries
• 5. Go to your faculty's formal at least once
  
• 10. Attend one homecoming pancake keggar (I was too hungover)
• 16. Go somewhere hot and skanky for spring break
  
• 21. Spend an entire Saturday watching "How it's made"
  
• 32. Sled down UC hill on a cafe trey
  
• 33. Build an obscene snow structure on your front lawn
• 34. Attend a class you don't belong in
• 40. Get a bartenders number
  
• 42. Buy a pet bunny... name it bun bun (Our neighbors bunny is enough for me)
• 45. Take a trip to Covenant Garden Market
• 53. Hunt racoons in the ghetto
• 55. Watch UWO porn - College Invasions 4
• 56. Make your own porn
• 62. Cry in front of a TA or Professor (what about almost cry but more so just whine?)
• 64. Attend a fantasia party
• 77. Get an open alcohol drinking ticket (Been warned)
• 83. Go to an aerobics/aquafit/boxfit class at Sports & Rec
• 85. Eat at Garlics Resturant
• 91. Attend Science Games at least once
• 94. Streak at the homecoming game... or through the Med Syd Quad (I have wanted to do this every year!!)

So thats what remains for me to do in the next year and a half to three years. I think I can do it. Several of those you will see I have amended to say I have pretty much done them, or the equivalent. But I am holding out on principle. We shall see... I would be slightly impressed with myself. (Note: This post will periodically be updated... lighter items on the list mean I have completed them since this was originally entered)

Do It For Me Now

Me and Ash courtside...
Originally uploaded by mikeatwestern.

This is the first of many library made blogs... I'm currently investing my time in Taylor G level, in a cubicle. I hate the cubicles, but I'm chillin' with Marky in between bouts of mad essay writing. I do have the most interesting topic ever at least; Demographics for Social Policies for Affordable Housing in London, Ontario. Kill me.

I'm slowly getting to the very stressed part of my life now. I have to keep working to fucking afford the bills, but I need more time to study. I got half way through Laundry the other day which was progress. Tomorrow my goal is to FINALLY shave for the first time in too long.

Today has been great though. I scared the living shit out of Carla this morning in a well orchestrated text message and sneak attack. After that, studied for a bit and then had our last Tour Guide meeting of the year. It was fantastic. Being catered, the food was delicious, nothing beats spaghetti and meat balls with a nice ceasar salad. Also was very happy with the secret santa. My present got good approval from Emily which made me happy. Laura also got me an awesome gift. She facebook stalked my favorite bands, and found one we both liked, then got me her favorite album by them. Thoughtful, and awesome.. and in turn I've listened to it three times in the library this evening.

Oh well, essay to finish. Part 2 tomorrow.

Pink Cellphone

Me and my Sister
Originally uploaded by mikeatwestern.

I don't know what is going on. Augh! I feel terrible for something, but I can't for the life of me figure out what I feel terrible for. It just doesn't make sense.

It was a long day. I got home around noon, and got a little laundry/work done, but quickly got called into work. Had a solid shift from 2-10:30 before getting home. Now I'm wide awake and just trying to figure things out. Every time I take a number of my "day's til done calender" I get a little more stressed. I would be completely set if I didn't have this damn essay to do.

Alarm is already set for the morning. Heading to the Library at 8am to work the day away. I work at 5, but can be called in as early as 3. They always call me in some I'm expecting to have to go. It's bull shit. They call me in even if they don't actually need me.

I've been putting a lot of thought into my next tattoo that I want to get over Christmas too. I think I am going to get another tame one, this time on my foot, and wait until I've lifted a few more weights before I do the arm one.

Oh well, time to finish some more reading before I go to bed. I need to be buy a keg of Red Bull or a all access pass to Starbucks to make it through the next 19 days.

Jingle Bells

So close to the action
Originally uploaded by mikeatwestern.

On the first day of Christmas.... The countdown is on! 20 days 'til I am done school for the semester, 25 days 'til I am 21 (and Christmas :P), 27 days 'til vacation & 31 days left in 2006! I'm pretty sure December is the most exciting month of the year.

I'm officially in hermit mode now that my last event is over. We had our Blockbuster Christmas party last night and it was a gas. They ordered way to much food, we had some beer, and then we had some dancing at the Barking Frog. Overall a solid night, and always nice to see each other OUTSIDE of our work uniforms.

This weekend is going to be super boring. Reading right now, then working tonight. Reading all day tomorrow, then working tomorrow night. Reading all day Sunday, have a tour guide meeting, then more reading. I'm pretty much settled that reading is my life for the next month. Oh well, it's worth it all in the end. With all this reading I need more new bands to listen to while I study. Augh!

I think I may go insane though, I'm slowing watching myself slipping into a little bit of a craziness that is hard to explain. The stress is starting to get to me. I'm hoping Christmas will relieve a lot of it.

Yay! December!