Lady Ventino ::: Redefining what it means to be a Lady

Where I've Been and What I've Been Thinking

2011-04-05T20:20:00.003-04:00

This is a blog post detailing what I've been up to and my thoughts on some topics. I am going to continue to blog but I'm just not sure how yet. This blog post is an attempt to sort through my thoughts and to come to some conclusion of some sort. This post isn't going to be the most coherent or well organized and for that I apologize but I'm going to use my little corner of the internet to try and figure some things out.

I've been in Toronto since September trying to come to terms with being away from home and being surrounded by a plethora of confusing people. I'm a huge social hermit, which means that I'm a person who loves to talk (topics of the conversation can range from the latest episode of whichever trashy reality tv show I've become addicted to or the role of cultural appropriation plays in racism) but I also enjoy more than a healthy amount of time by myself. I like people but I only really talk to or hang around people I like (which is an obvious statement but since moving here I've seen an alarming amount of people who deliberately hang around people they don't like) and even then I really enjoy my time alone so I can sit around and contemplate the meaning of the universe.

First semester was a shit show of me trying to whip myself into academic shape (the success of this is debatable but I'm getting better at the very least) and dealing with being home sick and actually sick. I had a lovely bout of bronchitis that was nothing short of depressing. I'm growing and learning but that's besides the point. Actually first semester wasn't a complete shit fest but it was a harder than I thought it was going to be. I had been day dreaming about University for a long time and I had a fictitious and idealized version of what it would mean for me to move to this awesome city to enroll in my dream program. I've met some really cool people and I need to stop playing the role of observer and start participating in this thing called life.

I took a looong break from blogging because I didn't get the point anymore. I wasn't that into it to begin with and I always felt stupid posting pictures of myself and my outfits.

While I did stop writing, I didn't stop reading. Pretty much all day I've been lounging in my bed reading a lot of stupid things and getting pissed off about them. That actually reminds me of one of my classes, Intro to Reporting. For one class we had to write two short reports, on of which was about a conference at Ryerson that talked about sexism in the workplace.

During the panel we had to sit on to report on, I was interested in not only what was coming out of the panelists mouth but also what was going through my classmates heads. When we got back to class to start writing, our professor, the awesome and always amazing Dan (in the journalism program all of the professors go by their first names. It was EXTREMELY weird for me at first, I've always had to address adults a certain way and their first name was never one of them.) had us start a conversation. So at first we just went over the basics of who was there and what the point of the whole thing was. When we got to the "so what?" part is where I was really disappointed. Basically to summarize the majority conversation was that why were these old broads complaining, sexism is something guys never get away with these days, that one woman was bitter and probably hates men...

It was depressing as hell.

Hearing all these from people who are in the journalism program made me want to drop out and pursue a degree in accounting.

That's a complete cop-out though. And that's what I usually do, I cop out. Which isn't to say that I'm going to go out of my way to try and interact with idiotic people on the subjects of race, religion, and gender but I shouldn't completely disengage either.

Going through some of the rage inducing blog posts (such posts include, "why rape is the victim's fault" and "why it doesn't matter if I dress up like Pocahontas") I realized that I, for now, need to at least speak up. Also, there are a lot of smart people out there that I could learn a lot from. When I choose to not saying anything it's just as bad as agreeing with the guy who says all girls just need to not get raped. It's like when people shouldn't complain about politicians when they don't vote, when you don't vote you basically voted for whoever won right?

I used to envision this blog as possibly being a fashion blog even though I wouldn't admit it, and I think that's what my problem was. I had it in my mind that for me to blog I had to have a niche to fit into. This blog is going to become open hunting season for my thoughts. Sometimes those thoughts will be about my new pair of shoes and other times it'll be about gay people being homophobic.

I'm probably going to move this party over to wordpress and start blogging there. I don't think I'll ever be someone who blogs every day, I'm going to aim for 2 times a week instead. When I get really excited I might even post 3 times a week.

In the whole University thing, adjusting and growing to new and different things I forgot about why I came here in the first place. I came here to figure myself out, to get a degree, and to have fun while I'm busy growing up.

I feel at home here now (if you haven't but are planning on moving away for school do not refer to your new digs as home to your parents. "That's not your home, it's where you sleep! Your home is here with your family!") and I'm having fun while also indulging my reclusive tendencies. I think it's about time I start speaking up to.

Building

2010-05-11T11:16:00.001-04:00

An outtake from a photography class photo shoot.

5 weeks and 4 exams until I'm finished High School.

4 months 'till I'm living in Toronto.

I'm basically counting down the days that yield me.

I'm going to Ryerson next year for Journalism!

As usual I'm excited for the future and bored with the present.

What's a Wornette?

2009-09-08T19:00:00.000-04:00

So where oh where have I disappeared to this time?

I've had the most productive summer in my life. July was the dreaded month of summer school which wasn't that bad since the teacher I had wanted to be there as much as the students did (read: not at all). And I had class with an awesome acquaintance and about 3 of my friends were also taking classes. I fell in love with my new cell phone during summer school too. A boy in my friend's English class has a blackberry bold and ever since I tentatively typed on that phone I knew our destinies were entwined. Evidently I'm a bit of a tech geek and I crunched and counted numbers until I was lucky enough to come by the bold at a discounted price that my mom was willing to pay for. I have to pay for the monthly bill myself, and it's more than a fair amount of money but it's all worth it to me.

After summer school ended I got some downtime, but not much. This is simply a statement of a fact though and not at all a complaint. How could one possible complain when the reason why I didn't have much time was because I was running off to Toronto for a Worn internship?

I discovered Worn through a web chain that most likely originated at the hands of internet god, Google. After some rather enthusiastic communication I submitted my application. Fast forward a week or two and you would have seen my mom and I trotting around T.O. for my interview. I did something right and I was chosen.

My internship was fun, exciting, and was truly the type of inspiration and information I needed to know that I'm headed in the right direction of studying Journalism in University. I'm going to be a freelancer of sorts with Worn now and I'll be popping over T.O. whenever I can to help with the maintenance of the World of Worn. If I go to Ryerson or U of T Scarborough I'll be donning my Lady Wornette title once again for a 2nd internship.

Today is the first day of my last year in High School. I've been doing a count down to school for the last two weeks and driving my fellow 12th graders and friends up the bloody wall. No one wants to hear about school and the impending boogey monster that is University applications but I'm ready to rock that shit! I have French, Entrepreneurship, West & the World History, and Writer's Craft this semester. I'm going to be in a variety of school clubs and basically keeping extremely busy. Another good thing about how full of motion my summer was is that I've gotten somewhat used to being busy. I'm still prone to bouts of procrastination executed via tv & internet. But I can't do it to the same extent that I used to. Also my younger sister starts High School this year. She's phenomenal and I love her very much so I'm looking forward to having one* of my partners in crime at school with me.

Ugh, don't mind the messed up expression on my face. I blame that expression on how busy I've been and while continue to be.

Shirt - clothing swap that I went to while I was in T.O.
Pants - H&M
Shoes - My good old & dying Mary Janes from Spring
Necklace - Courage My Love, a shop in Kensington Market
Green clusterfuck ring - A gift from my friend Rachael

Janice (Rocky Horror anyone?) Ring - A ring that used to belong to my mom that I claimed

*My other partner in crime is the one and only Olivia who starts grade 5 today.

I hope everyone had a lazier labour day than I did. To balance out all my responsibilities realistically and keep this blog going I'm going to post 2-3 times a week.

Go here to read my summary post of my Worn internship.

Oh Edward

2009-07-07T20:17:00.002-04:00

I just came home from the library. They were showing Twilight for free and I've been meaning to watch it to see how funny it is for a while. There were definitely a lot muffled laughs but my god when Edward started to sparkle and grimace I just... well let's just say my head hurts from the amount of repressed laughter that happened. And I was with my friend Rachael, and every time I would stop laughing I would hear her laughter and then I would start laughing again. The pacing was really slow and the movie took itself way too seriously, obviously. I'm actually surprised we didn't get shushed for laughing, we did get a few glares though. After the "tense" baseball scene Rachael and I decided to leave, we saw all the parts that we wanted to. Namely sparkly Eddy in all his glory. I can't wait for crazy Bella (you know, the suicidal one that wants to hear Edward's voice) to rear her head in the next movie.

Ventino's 365

2009-07-07T15:55:00.004-04:00

Pew! Pew!

This is breaking the rule of the 365 project but oh well I feel like it. I'm going to start the project over again. This is the new number one, Brandon who is my summer school science partner in crime. This kid is making summer school more than bearable and I really appreciate it. My class is pretty decent but he's letting me watch movies in class (Transformers) on his iPod and he's an endless source of amusement (he's pretending that my headphones are laser sunglasses of some sort <3).

I'm not going to post all of my 365 pictures on here, I'll only post my favourites. You can find all future pictures over at Ventino's 365.

Filling in the blanks

2009-07-05T21:11:00.002-04:00

Argh my dad updated my computer and now my hard drive that has all my music, pictures, and movies on it is inaccessible. That hard drive is now the "slave" and I have no idea where to go to find everything even though I know it's there somewhere. So for now I can't get to any of my previous 365 pictures to post up here. I kind of feel like restarting the project and it would be kind of neat to do it today since it's Olivia's 10th birthday today. Hmmmm. I'll probably start a tumblr blog for the 365 project and I'll post my favourties over here.

On Canada day I finally filled my 2GB memory card in my camera so I had to dump all my pictures and videos on my computer. Since I can't get to my 365 pictures I'll post my favourite pictures that were on my camera to fill in the blanks.

Uhhhh yeahhhh about that....

2009-05-27T09:14:00.003-04:00

Oh god I haven't posted in so long, blame school not me! Okay that's a lie, half of it is that school is ending soon (3 weeks) and culminatings are starting to way me down. The other half is that I'm lazy bugger sometimes with heavy procrastinative tendancies. Have some future regular posting and pretty pictures as a gift to me to you.

Origin

“ These are the parts of him I find impossible to cut myself loose from. They are beautiful qualities. But beauty is heavy, and though I’m young I am getting tired from carrying around the bits and shreds of my father’s beauty. ”

-----------------------------------------

“ ‘In fact,’ he told me whispering, learning forward and tucking his can of beer on the floor beside his armchair, ‘I traded my ribcage for a chunk of ice instead.’

This explained a lot. From my father I got many recessive genes. Fair eyes, fair skin, and the mermaid part. The surrender places. I did not get a torso of ice though sometimes it feels that way, as if something solid that once was there melted now and still aches with the vacancy of him when it rains.”

Samantha Hunt, The Seas

I've always wanted to visit....

2009-02-27T00:26:00.001-05:00

Missed connections and adorable nuns

2009-02-26T23:28:00.003-05:00

ahhhhhhhhhhhh omg omg omg :x
this is very unsettling
our tv is broken (only temporarily thank god) and I have no idea who's airing them or when the final Pushing Daisies eps are being shown
I need to see this episode asap

I'm still sore about this show being canceled
on the other hand the Arrested Development movie is apparently going to actually happen
(fucking a)

Centre of it All

2009-02-26T23:13:00.004-05:00

Click the picture for the original source

What at the centre of your universe? What comes after that? What about after that?

The composition of the Universe of one Lady V
Centre
happiness, friends, reading, writing, being, singing, and observing

And after that
laughing, sleeping, communicating, purple

And after that
breaking rules, post-it note plots

And after that
dreaming up stories of strangers, finding out what being me means, day dreams of University

And after that
approval of others that I respect, getting that giant mens watch i want and purple hair (ugh I want that so bad)

And after that

languages especially japanese and french, traveling, random happenstances

Sweet Dreams

2009-02-26T23:10:00.003-05:00

Click the picture for the original source

night night, sugarplum
a goodnight greeting from Rae

Wanna Please Me?

2009-02-26T23:00:00.001-05:00

Then deliver a pair of these in lime yellow (wtf those are green not yellow!) or in pink on my door step.

Direction

2009-02-26T22:44:00.003-05:00

Click the picture for the original source

I can feel the universe pulling me in this scary direction. Really though, the place I'm stuck in right now is probably the scariest thing. I need the hand of the Universe and the hand of my own intuition take control for a while. I can do a lot of things, I just have to stop blinding myself. I need to stop expecting failure and being surprised by success. My body isn't meant to be this numb, my core is starting to fall asleep in my complacency. I'll give myself a shock to my system, I've already had a little taste of electricity and I want more.

FML

2009-02-26T17:15:00.003-05:00

Click the picture for the original source

My new favorite term of frustration.

TiLT #10

2009-02-26T15:53:00.003-05:00

Hamilton Spectator: especially my supervisor Joanne W-S. She's super nice and really understanding if I don't get everything done. There isn't really a set deadline for things for when things need to be published in general. But I am supposed to have everything up on the Spec blog by March break. The other people who are in the office I volunteer in are nice to be around too. Just a good atmosphere in general.

A little confidence and my principal: On the 19th I read the introduction in front of the school for the Black History Month assembly. After I read it twice (the assembly was split in two because of how many students there are at Westdale). It wasn't bad at all. Then I started thinking of how I get annoyed with Black History Month because we never really learn anything new and Black contributions are somewhat reduced to quiz facts. The assembly itself went quite well. There was a performance by a school step team and dub poet Klyde Brook performed as well. Anyways, it seems like with all the diversity talk that the opportunity to have actual discussions on various race issues are pushed to the way side as to not step on any toes. Not cool, not cool at all. Soooooooo I'm hoping to organize a type of race, racial awareness, and racism assembly or buy-in for the school. I'll keep you guys updated as this epiphany develops.

Sholeh: I was lolly gagging after school yesterday waiting for one of my bf's sister to get something and I ended getting the front of my hair corn rowed by Sholeh. Now she'll be braiding my hair every week some day after school. This is super convenient because no one in my house knows how to braid well. :X

Open atmosphere: (in my house) My house has a pretty open layout and it seems to be a funny correlation to the attitude of my family. We're open, and my house is generally pretty lively, either with voices, tv or computers pumping music. Sometimes it can be frazzling but overall it's wonderful to be around this.

Mrs. Shaw: She's my math teacher. This semester one of the classes I have is mixed math. Which is college and uni math mixed together. She can be a little condescending at times (she doesn't do it on purpose, she's a new teacher and I just think she hasn't struck that balance on how to communicate to students yet). I literally get anxiety attacks when it comes to math tests and quizzes. Thankfully when I, in a fit of frustration hand in a half completed test, get pushed by her to finish it. When I checked my mark and it said 90% I was shocked. I still am. I could actually finish this class with a pretty decent mark. But yeah I just really appreciate how she pushes me and let's my slow self take the time I need to finish stuff.

Direction: This, Idon'tevenknowwhattocallit, thing I wrote later today. I like it when I write something and I don't feel silly after.

Stretching

2009-02-18T21:10:00.001-05:00

Sannah Kvist on flickr
Hey, potential, is that you?

Driving Dream/Future Memory

2009-02-17T21:52:00.002-05:00

I've always wanted to go on a road trip. Maybe to somewhere like Montreal or New York.

Mustache, I choose you!

2009-02-10T16:45:00.001-05:00

Haven't You Heard?

2009-02-10T14:44:00.000-05:00

Yikes

2009-02-09T16:09:00.001-05:00

There are no words.

Visual Stimulation

2009-01-23T17:07:00.000-05:00

7/365

2009-01-22T18:48:00.002-05:00

I was eating in Tim Hortons with Rachael.
And we saw the most beautiful little boy.
He had sandy blond hair and huge eyes with proportionally long eyelashes.
So you just know I had to take a picture.

I regret nothing!

I think karma was at work because it obvious to the little boy (and I'm pretty sure his mom was skeeved out too) that two teenage girls were giggling and checking him out. Welllll later on, after that little love of my life left, this guy used the weirdest come on I've ever heard. Rachael and I both even question if it was even a come on because it was soooo weird. And I quote,

"Better be careful, the coffee here likes to give kisses."

.......What?
No really, what?

He then preceded to fiddle with my bag and we left soon after.

6/365

2009-01-22T18:40:00.003-05:00

I'm so so so grateful sometimes for my tendency to never throw anything out. Just a quick pictures of some of tokens of my childhood.

*woops, I was so busy paying attention to how I wasn't studying yesterday that I forgot to upload my 6th picture.

Morbid Opportunities or Wasted Time

2009-01-21T08:11:00.000-05:00

Sometimes....sometimes it'll be quiet outside of my body and in the recesses of mind. Sometimes I'll look at my family, or the computer in my room and realize how lucky I am. Sometimes I think about what my life would be like if I hadn't been born with the ability to see, hear, or breathe on my own. Sometimes my ability to even see these small/huge privileges seems like a privilege of itself. Maybe that's why I like walking or taking the bus. I look at those things from the other end of spectrum. How many people would love to walk? Or would love to have somewhat affordable public transportation open to them? If the biggest thing I have to worry about is whether or not I'm going to be late for school, then I consider myself to be lucky.

I'm not a religious person though I am somewhat spiritual. For whatever reason I have this image in my head of how everyone is handed an equal amount of something at the beginning of their existence. This to me explains why some people have 99.9% averages but no social skills, so on and so forth. Sometimes I look at my situation and think, "I have too much something. I'm not meant to have all this, and one day the scales will be set to balance each other out and I will lose some or a lot of my something." This scares me and sets me on edge. Don't get misunderstand me though. I don't mean a nervous edge, the type I would teeter or titter over before falling over. No, the edge I feel and see is one of undefinable distance. My life right now is at one side and that edge is my death. Or maybe the death of my mother, father, or sisters. Basically that edge is the end of time of something. I have no amount of guaranteed time with anything or anyone in my life. When I see this edge and when I realize that I can't tell how close or far away this edge is that means I'll start to feel a push. I need to find someone I love and soon. Since I spend so much time at home this usually means it'll be one of my sisters or parents. I don't explain this edge or that push to them. I'll just hug them, give them a kiss and say I love them. If a horde of zombies were to come in at that instant I need to know that they know with every fiber of their existence that I do love them.

Realistically I can't spend all my time thinking about this something. Maybe this has more to do with what I think I deserve than with philosophically cherishing the time I have. Maybe it's both.

Just thought you should know.

Energy, Anticipation, and all those other Sweet and Bubbly sticky things

2009-01-21T07:36:00.000-05:00

I have this little breathing, excited, and palpable creation/person/or thing fueling me these days. When I manage to prove to myself that I'm capable of an infinite list of things, this creation breathes a little harder and its' heart beats a little faster. I can feel it growing and moving (no I'm not pregnant....) and I think this creation is what gives me the faith to believe that 2009 will really be two thousand and divine in my own personal history books. I don't know this creature's origin or purpose. I definitely don't know if this creation's life is meant to last for long but I'm excited regardless. This feeling of accomplishment makes my palms sweaty and my mouth all dry. I've been comfortable being uncomfortable for so long that I can't completely fathom what it would it be like for me to be euphorically successful. I'm growing in love with all the divine possibilities that could develop into my life. Am I really capable of being awake while I dream (live)? The fact that the answer to that question has more than a sliver of a chance of being yes gets me restless. My body literally reacts to these thoughts. As I type this my hands keep going to my knees to relieve them of their sweat. I feel like I want to run onto the sky or fall asleep and meet an old friend (who is most likely a fictional character). I wonder what this feeling is called because I am sure it cannot be contained, described, or understood by others in a single word.

Is this creature just me growing up? Maybe I'm finally (finally) harboring some self-esteem. Whatever it is I like it.

Do you have any creatures of your own?

5/365

2009-01-20T23:22:00.000-05:00

I blame exams. Before them I held a lose grip (but you know at least it was a grip) over my room. Now it's receding back into madness and now I have spilled black water paint on my floor.

The paint was being used for an english culminating project. My frenemy called procrastination soothed me and told me I could put the paint away later........

Intergalactic Hussy!

2009-01-20T01:03:00.002-05:00

This bra reminds me of ray guns being set to stun, fembots, and the TARDIS.

(The title is reference to an episode of the Simpsons. It's somewhat of a joke between my sisters and I.)

4/365

2009-01-19T23:41:00.001-05:00

This book is amazing. Reading is one the greatest gifts I have.

(the perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chbosky)

3/365

2009-01-18T15:21:00.001-05:00

Everyday Guerilla Marketing

(Cafe 17 is what I'm calling my birthday get together this year)

Bonus points to anyone who can guess where I did this ;)

Bet ya didn't know

2009-01-17T21:15:00.002-05:00

I was tagged by Lesley ages ago (literally! It was way back in October...) to do this little meme.

1. Link to the person that tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog

3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself

1. Before I decided that I wanted to be a journalist I wanted to be a writer. Only problem is, is that I can never actually think of stories. I'm not sure if this has to do with me not pushing myself far enough to explore possible possiblities but it's just something that is. I also think I'd be more inclined to work at a magazine than a newspaper.

2.I'm in grade 11 and go to Westdale SS. I've been in the French Immersion program since grade 1 and I'm glad my parents didn't let me drop out of French Immersion like I wanted to in grade 3.

3. I wear a ring on my left hand on my ring finger. Yes it looks like an engagement ring and no I'm not engaged. When I started wearing it on that hand I didn't really pay attention to that. But then people kept inquiring about it and asking who the lucky guy was. I usually joke back that I'm just engaged to myself. Right now I just take it as a physical representation of a promise(s) that I've made to myself. (Push myself, stay gold, love myself, acknowledge my faults without beating myself up over them; those types of things)

4. I sucked my left thumb until i was 7 or 8. Now because of this my left thumb is psychically skinnier than my left

5.I have a personality full of contradictions. (Hmmm.... this might actually become a post for later this week.)

6. Sailor Moon is my idol. Roisin Murphy comes in as a close second.

2/365

2009-01-17T21:09:00.000-05:00

I'm falling in love with the soft glow of candle light.

1/365

2009-01-16T23:41:00.001-05:00

My first of 365 pictures.

I have 13 roles of film leftover from my travels to Honduras and Egypt. Developing film is so expensive these days that I keep putting it off. I'm going out with my friends on the 24th for my birthday*, if I get any money I might use some of it to get some of film developed.

Project 365

I've been passively thinking about this 365 project since '07. I was supposed to start this on Jan 1st, but I got lazy. But I'm lucky and my birthday was today (technically yesterday since I'm posting this around midnight) and I thought that would be a more interesting date to start and end this project with. So I'm beginning today and ending this project on my 18th (!!!!) birthday.

*My birthday was on the 16th but exams are coming up so everyone is busy.

Royalty of the Futuristic Variety

2009-01-15T15:00:00.001-05:00

Cyber Chic Queens

TiLT #9

2009-01-15T03:22:00.001-05:00

Julia Pike

*2009 (two thousand and divine): I said hello to 2009 by chatting (via gchat) with my bud Rachael and then running outside with 10 seconds to go with my family. My family and I lit candles and made our wishes for what we would like to accomplish in 2009. I'm not sure why but I feel really amazing/wonderful/invincible about this year. Here's to hoping my hunch is just the start of good things to come in 2009.

*My birthday: I'm 17 tomorrow! 16 was a transitional year I guess. Not too good but it could've been worse. And even when I was here last year, I wasn't that pumped about turning 16. 18 is the year that I get thrilled thinking about because it's University and independence to me. I'm not into driving and won't be getting my driver's license for a while so there wasn't much allure to 16. Just the sound 2009 and 17 gets my heart pumping. I'm very excited to see how I grow and what I accomplish during my 17th year.

*Nail polish: This is my new addiction. I'm getting obsessed with the sophistication or other dimensions of personality that nail polish can add to someone's hands. I only have 3-5 colours (all OPI or Nicole by OPI) and 2 clear base coats (1 for hands and the other for hosiery). I'm very drawn to dark and shimmery colours, especially the almost black shades. As in a very very very dark auburn or purple that appears black until the light hits it. I'm getting addicted to hand ornamentation in general, so in the coming months I'm going to try and get my hands on some rings as well.

*PrettyMuchAmazing: PMA is a pretty amazing music blog. My speakers have been running around the clock with tracks that I've found on that site.

*You Are Among Friends: This is a free podcast version of a webzine. It's advice to every little sister that Lindsey never had. It's pure gold and you should definitely spare 18 minutes to listen to it.

*My 2nd semester classes: Beginning Jan 30th, I have World History, Photography, French, and Mixed Math. I've heard through the grapevine of some of the people who will be in my photography and I am most pleased with what I've heard so far. It's definetely shaping up to be an epic class. Same goes for French because the teacher that teaches that class is hilarious but still manages to get stuff done. My other two classes are with teachers I've never had before but that isn't dulling my excitement much. Just 3 more days to go, then exams and then my kick ass 2nd semester starts! I can't believe High School is going by so quickly. My little sister is choosing her grade 9 classes right now and deciding whether she wants to do IB or not. This time next year I'll be fretting about University applications.......

"Are you really sure that a floor can't also be a ceiling?"

2009-01-15T01:03:00.011-05:00

This is what I wore to school yesterday.

When I was younger my parents used to call me their princess all the time. I took this nickname very seriously. I can still remember the frustration I felt during one of my birthday parties, it was probably my fourth. I was running around and telling everyone I was clearly royalty. When the only responses I got came in the forms of laughs or coos I was not amused. I think I even cried. Anyways the tights I wore were very sparkly and for some reason the idea or character of a princess from another planet popped into my head. My friend Rachael saw this and said all I needed were some sharp shoulders and I would look like a space cadet. So do you think I look like a space princess or a space cadet?

"Are you really sure that a floor can't also be a ceiling?" -M.C. Escher

Yesss

2009-01-01T05:24:00.000-05:00

Can someone get me these tights for my birthday? (Jan 16th btw)

I'd love you forever and ever...

2009!

2009-01-01T00:08:00.001-05:00

Happy 2009!!!

My sister found my precious ring that has been missing for the last 6 months.

This is clearly a omen for all great things to come in 2009.

Happy Holidays Y'all

2008-12-25T01:38:00.000-05:00

Notebook Doodles

Merry Christmas you guys

Happy Holidays to those who are celebrating different celebrations

And Have a kick-ass New Year

Dead Like Me: Life After Death

2008-12-18T01:13:00.001-05:00

I'm taking a little break from my hiatus to just drool over this. I never knew they were making a Dead Like Me movie! I can't wait for this, but now I definetely need to have a marathon party at my house so I can go see this movie with some of my friends. The movie is coming out February 17th, and omgomgomg I can't wait. This show was hilarious and should have lasted more than 2 seasons but at least now I get this. Hopefully the same thing will happen with Pushing Daisies. I wish the Daisy stayed the same but oh well.

Blah Blah Blah

2008-12-14T12:03:00.002-05:00

via sophia monster

Blah Blah Blah I'm in a bit of a bad place right now emotionally
Blah Blah Blah I need to focus on getting caught up with school

Blah Blah Blah Don't worry though, I'm feeling a lot better than I did last week or the week before that*

Blah Blah Blah basically I'm taking a break (ha, like you haven't noticed?) from blogging

Blah Blah Blah I'm also taking a break from twitter

Blah Blah Blah ideally I'll be back by late December or early January

Blah Blah Blah In advance, just in case I'm not active by then, I'm wishing that you have a nice winter break and Holiday celebration and a kick ass new year ;)

Ta ta for now

*thanks to family and friends, ♥

Outrage

2008-12-11T18:23:00.000-05:00

Avatar is a pretty awesome and kick ass cartoon that I'm a huge fan of.

It's been well known for a while that there's a movie in the works.

I just found out who's been casted for some of the main characters, and I'm so frustrated it isn't even funny.

Ummmm, why are my characters changing race on me? The Avatar fandom is infamous for their ability to fight over the silliest things. But but, if this is blatant racism, I don't know what is.

But Valentina aren't you being racist? Like come on maybe they're just better.
But Valentina white children will clearly have issues connecting to an asian actor so this is for the best.
But Valentina can't they just wear make-up?

These are things that have been said numerous times in different LJ communites and I just want to bury my head under a pillow and forget about this.

I'm not alone in my frustration and an LJ community has been created to try and get the castings reconsidered. Here's a quote from the site;

Saving the World With Postage
For those who don't already know: The actors who will play the main four characters of "The Last Airbender," the live action Avatar film, have been announced. And all of them are white.

I love Avatar, and have for a long time. But I'm pretty disappointed about this casting decision, and I know I'm not alone in that. This post is about what we can do.

Petitions are largely pointless. Emails are easily ignored. What we need to do is send real, paper letters to Paramount Pictures -- specifically, the two produces, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall -- telling them why we're offended by their casting choices and what we want them to do about it.

Below is a guide for how to make your letter as effective as possible and where to send it once you're done.

Please feel free to link this to as many people as possible. The better organized we are and the more people we get to participate, the more likely it is that we'll make a difference in this mess!

And once you're done with your letter, post a photo of yourself holding it in the comments! (Or your action figure/stuffed animal/dog if you're camera shy)

I'm definetely writing and sending a letter off this weekend.

The Perfect Crime

2008-12-10T14:44:00.000-05:00

“What is my perfect crime? I break into Tiffany’s at midnight. Do I go for the vault? No. I go for the chandelier; it’s priceless. As I’m taking it down, a woman catches me. She tells me to stop. It’s her father’s business. She’s Tiffany. I say no. We make love all night. In the morning the cops come and I escape in one of their uniforms. I tell her to meet me in Mexico but I go to Canada. I don’t trust her. Besides, I love the cold. Thirty years later I get a postcard. I have a son. And he’s the Chief of Police. This is where the story gets interesting: I tell Tiffany to meet me in Paris by the Trocadero. She’s been waiting for me all these years. She’s never taken another lover. I don’t care. I don’t show up. I go to Berlin. That’s where I stashed the chandelier.”

- Dwight Schrute

A Year's Worth of Vogue All Stacked into One

2008-11-24T15:39:00.002-05:00

VOGUE CHINA

VOGUE UK

VOGUE US

VOGUE BRAZIL

VOGUE RUSSIA

VOGUE GERMANY

VOGUE JAPAN

VOGUE PARIS

VOGUE ITALY

VOGUE KOREA

via Deadshot

Eye Candy #6

2008-11-16T09:00:00.001-05:00

Blah

2008-11-15T23:16:00.002-05:00

Ugh

First (most) of my week was pretty good. Then I ran over a.... I guess you could call it a bump on Friday. I've been feeling somewhat down since. Buffy's (I'm watching season 6 and just gah! Singing and dancing with confessions thrown in, and Spike and Buffy!) been doing a good job of cheering me up. Or at least distracting me. The episodes I'm watching are actually pretty morose overall but I really like the show so I think that outweighs the morose-y mood. Other things that help help me bring down my bad mood are:

1. Gala Darling just had a live chat over at Ustream.tv, and it was really fun. It was weird typing to her and having her answer in person (well on a web cam) but interesting at the same time. Some people were asking weird questions, you know the usual creepy internet stuff. It was nice talking to her and I laughed more than once.

2. Lee Pace is ridiculously hot. This fact and the fact that Pushing Daisies is coming back on air (after having a two week hiatus) is something that makes me smile. I'm crossing my fingers that another good show doesn't get cancelled. Like Firefly. Or Dead Like Me. Or Arrested Development. Oh! In case you're a fan of the last show I mentioned and you haven't heard yet, there's a movie in the making for it!!! I can't wait for that either.

3. I have amazing people in my life. I feel bad because I'm having trouble vocalizing my issues lately because I think they sound silly when I say them outside my head. I'm worried it may appear as if I'm trying to distance myself from them when I'm just feeling conflicted. I love you guys!

4. This thread that I saw over at deadshot definitely had me in stitches. It didn't help that I kept remembering an afternoon where I spent hours on a computer with Rachael, laughing our asses off at spoofs of Twilight.

Funniest LJ comment thread I've read

Jughood: hi i want to have my parents take me to portland on road trip to find the people filming the movie of twilight i was wondering if you can tell me where they are filming in portland so i can find them and take photos with them , okay thank you.
Karaotter: They finished filming that months ago. The movie comes out in two weeks.
Jughood: what
Inkytwist: Robert Pattinson isn't here [in Portland] any more. He's touring the country's Hot Topics and getting mauled by OTHER fangirls. You're like, 10 months late on this, bb.
Jughood: but i just read the book this month
Inkytwist: Aww, sucks to be you.
Vampyrecat: No one is smart enough to be able to read AND stupid enough to think that there is any correlation between when they read a book and when a movie finishes filming.
Secret_ninja: This one is....
Non_sanctus: This is some sort of weird inside joke that I am obviously not a part of. And if anyone else wants to Google "jughood" they can get just as confused as I already am. Scientology.......what?
Jughood: what r ut alking about. because i want to know about twilight filming?? why because u think twilight is stupid??
and yes i am a scientolgoist duh
Praenomenal: Ok, I call Bullshit right now.
Jughood: umm i can take a photo of all my scientology books if u dont believe me
Praenomenal: Please. Then could you please climb into this here volcano, we need to do an audit.
Jughood: dont be a cunt
Praenomenal: So, in all seriousness, Scientology? Really? For REAL!?!?
Jughood: yes, it saved my life
Praenomenal: From the galactic overlord? So how much does enlightenment cost now days? Also be careful, I have teh gay. My theitans might get on you.
Jughood: lol ur gay? no wonder u dont like scientology
Praenomenal: ...Headdesk...

I'll be back tomorrow with some more content. For now I'm going back to watching Buffy.

Eye Candy #5

2008-11-09T17:00:00.001-05:00

yum those shoes must be mine. Anyone know who they're by?

My favorite picture by far.

Eye Candy #4

2008-11-07T15:00:00.000-05:00

Caption This!

2008-11-06T14:00:00.000-05:00

I LOL'D so hard when I saw this picture!

Anyone up for captioning this???

Eye Candy #3

2008-11-05T14:00:00.001-05:00

*

*

?

2008-11-05T09:00:00.000-05:00

I just want to be blown away into the future right now. This is a huge problem of mine. I get enraptured and lulled and drawn into what will come and tend to skip over what has already arrived. I'm full of anticipation but the guilt I'm feeling is weighing everything else down. I'm consciously yet unconsciously aware of what has to be done but I'm too distracted/lazy/bored to do it. There's more to it than that I know. But I'm continually finding it easier to close my eyes and simplify. I'm told I'm smart but I hear that I'm dumb and I'm falling into old/rusty traps because of this. I think I get a morbid joy from setting myself up for failure, but I don't know why. I imagine again and again and again and again where I can go but I'm failing to take the steps to get there. UGH I need to do my homework, clean my room, write some more, write in my journal again, read read read and live. I'm getting lulled into this restless sleep and I don't care and I'm scared. This probably make little to no sense to you. But this is for me and not for you. How crappy does this all sound? That doesn't matter right now, at least I'm writing. Sigh

What to do

What to do.....

Shock,joy,happiness,energy,indescribable emotions...

2008-11-05T01:52:00.007-05:00

There are no words for the joy, anticipation, and excitement I feel right now. Fuck yeah, yes we can!!!!!! I was watching the Colbert and Stewart report and at the end of that, when they announced that Senator Obama was now President Obama. Wow. (Everyone in the room was just like "Huh? Wait, what?!?! Really!!!") I was not expecting at all to react the way I did. I started to sob like no one's business. I was crying so hard to the point where I choked on my own spit or whatever. Charming, I know right?
History was made today and I don't even know how to digest the fact that this actually happened. This is the first time in my entire life where I really really wish that I was somewhere in the States right now. It's weird actually cause my neighborhood is totally silent like it usually is. But I'm sitting here, on my computer, constantly checking twitter and my RSS feed, just in total shock but I'm in the mood to dance around in a crowd filled with some type of indescribable energy, hugging strangers as I go. If I have the time for it, I'm totally going to have an Obama party and try to raise funds for something. I'm also sad that I don't have any pro-Obama stuff to wear tomorrow. I'm gonna see if I can DIY something between now and the morning. Earlier I sat on my couch with my mom, both of us in tears as Obama spoke, and holy shit... I just had OMG rolling past my head in constant repeat.

Now hopefully America will continue to make me proud and will vote NO on Prop 8.

There's no way in hell I'm going to sleep at all tonight. I'm way too wired.

OTHER AWESOME THINGS THAT ARE AWESOME

"Rosa sat so Martin could walk, Martin walked so Barack could run, Barack is running so our children can fly." That 86-letter text message is being forwarded from cell phone to cell phone. It began among African Americans, then went viral, posted in various blogs. Exactly when it was first sent, who sent it and how many times it has been forwarded, we don't know.

OKAY OKAY SO DURING THE SPEECH WHEN HE WAS LIKE

"This victory doesn't belong to me... it belongs to you."

I TEARBENDED.

AMAZING AMAZING SPEECH. THIS IS SO EPIC.

LMFAO. The bolded part was an Avatar reference that I couldn't resist re-posting.

WE ARE THE OBAMANATION

Fuuuuuckkkkk

2008-11-04T20:00:00.001-05:00

I'm feeling incredibly apathetic right now which is one of the grossest feelings I've had in a while.

Random Recs #2

2008-10-20T19:30:00.003-04:00

Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot, who calls you back when you hang up on him, who will lie under the stars and listen to your heartbeat, or will stay awake just to watch you sleep. Wait for the boy who kisses your forehead, who wants to show you off to the world when you are in sweats, who holds your hand in front of his friends, who thinks you’re just as pretty without makeup on. One who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares and how lucky he is to have you. The one who turns to his friends and says, that’s her.

this is such a pile of hooey. a) i like being called both beautiful and hot, b) don’t fucking hang up on people if you are so needy that you’re only doing it to see if they call back, c) please never act like a scary stalker and stare at me in my sleep, d) forehead kisses are fine, i guess, e) i’m not a frickin lamp, you’re not “showing (me) off to the world,” i’m right here, you’re not in charge, GOD, f) makeup doesn’t make people prettier or uglier, it’s just color, g) i guess that’s okay, but don’t go overboard, for god’s sake, no one likes a brownnoser, and h) this is something that everyone says when they spy someone their waiting for across the room.
via 24 Free Dinners

"Between a Rock and a Hard Place"

the first video makes me smile and the second video is my new favorite song.

TiLT #8

2008-10-16T16:30:00.005-04:00

Credit
1. Bathroom Stories by nebulaskin on deviantart
2. Louise + Park
3. Alix and Felix

Google Reader: I'm subscribed to 113 different blogs and I would not be able to keep up with these blogs without some sort of RSS feed "collector". Since I'm down with Google's plan for world domination, I immediately turned to google reader after I got around to finding out what a RSS feed was. For some reason I would always look at the Subscribe buttons on different sites in apathy. I can't believe I wasted all that time and lost track of countless sites because I was lazy. But oh well there isn't really much that I can do about it now, but I'm really grateful that it's so easy for me to keep up with websites now.

The Hamilton Spectator: Last week, or maybe the week before that, there was an announcement up at my school. The announcement pertained to the Hamilton Spec and how they were looking for a High School student to update their Pulse website weekly. And yesterday I met with this really nice lady and I got the volunteer position! I'm so excited, and even though I'm very passionate about becoming a journalist, I have zilch experience. Now that I have my foot in the door, I can hopefully get myself involved in other things at the Hamilton Spec. Or maybe even other newspapers. Not only did I get the volunteer position but JWS liked me so much that she said she would "personally advocate" for me for me to be chosen for an internship. There's a high chance I won't be able to do the intership because it might be limited to University/College students. But the fact that I got along so well with JWS so quickly was amazing.

My New Tripod: Money makes the world go round and I've been thinking (okay, I've actually been stressing and calculating) about what I want to do, where I want to go and what I want to buy. Annnd how much money I need to get to be able to do these different things. Later this week I'll be doing a "Lust List" post that'll have everything that I want to do/buy on it. A tripod was one of the things on this list. I was walking around LimeRidge and I was supposed to get some credit for my cell phone (I'm on a pay as you go plan) but I saw this neat tripod for sale at Black's Photography so I bought that instead. I really like it, and I'm looking forward to playing around with it and my camera to see what I can come up with. No more dinky 2 inch tripods for me!

ordinary every day sounds: You know those Skullcandy ear buds I was raving about a week or two ago? Welllll I still love them to death but dear god when I'm not adamant about the volume, they kill my ears. So to avoid headaches (or 'cause I left the mp3 player at home in my rush to get to school), or when I don't feel like listening to music anymore, I chose to listen and really pay attention to those every day sounds, especially when I'm on the bus. People talking, cars rushing, wind, leaves rustling, babies gurgling... I'll still take Roisin Murphy over those sounds any day but that fact doesn't make the fun out of listening to supposed "boring" things any less fun. There are so many interesting and infinite details that you can find out about people if you listen closely enough. Also, eavesdropping on conversations on the HSR* is another interesting thing to do. And most of the time, since the people don't know you they don't even bother to whisper.

The Me2We conference: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's the most succinct way that I can describe how I felt after going to the Me2We conference. Oh my god, it was amazingly empowering and positive. I took pictures and recorded videos so I'll be doing a post on what went on at the conference in a couple of days.

SYTYCD America tickets: So guess who got tickets to see the American SYTYCD tour live!?!?!? My mom bought the tickets (for me, my sisters, and herself) on Aug 1st but only told us yesterday. Holy crap me and Veronica screamed and screamed when she told us. We're in the 28th row and we'll be going Oct. 29th. *___________*

sewing machine: I don't even know how to use this thing. But last year when my grandma heard I was interested in learning how to sew, she ordered one and had it delivered to our house. The only thing that sucks is that I'm guessing that she didn't look into what she was buying and the sewing machine seems to spazz whenever someone uses it. But that's besides the point, the fact that my family (despite their gossip-y nature) has such relentless faith in me and what I want to do with my life and what I dream to achieve is something that is completely priceless.

online window shopping: In my opinion, online window shopping is the best and most effective form of retail therapy. I don't have to walk anywhere, I can be in more than one store than once, and because I'm broke in real and online life it's impossible for me to make impulse buys that I'll regret later.

being on Mr. B's good side: B is a teacher at my school that is infamous for being a big meanie. Seriously the man has valid points most of the time but fails to communicate these ideas to students in ways that don't piss them off. So basically whenever he wants people to listen to him, he pisses them off, and the student mouths off at him, or scoffs at him. And then B gets more angry and wash, rinse, and repeat. Anyways, this is the first year that B has taught me before so we have a clean slate. If I ever get frustrated with him I just listen to what he says without a fuss. And in return I'm on his good side, which is pretty sweet.

DIY: In the blog post that I did yesterday I posted a picture of Rumi's DIY customized Zara boots. The same day that I bought the tripod at LimeRidge I also got some lace thigh highs at Sears. The last 3 days I kept thinking that I'd have a really nice outfit if only I had a black dress. And then I saw some ghastly leather pants (that I got from a relative) and had an epiphany for a dress that I could try and sew. Before I was following different fashion blogs, I kept up with a couple different LJ DIY communities and now I have the DIY bug again. I'm excited to try and get this dress out of my head and into my hands.

Any pictures with legs sticking out of things: Any time I see a picture with legs sticking out of anything (bonus points for hosiery) I'm instantly more endeared to the picture. I'm not sure why, but these pictures just make me happy.

*HSR= Hamilton Street Railway = Bus

Random Recs

2008-10-15T18:23:00.002-04:00

I've never seen Pretty Baby before but from seeing these pictures alone, I'm going to try and watch it sometime this century. The picture with Brooke Shields and that big floppy hat is very endearing to me. I might try and emulate that picture sometime soon...

Rumi of Fashion Toast fame did some DIY customization, and IMHO it came out really well. *___*. She studded a block of space on her Zara boots. Ugh my shoe collection is in such a sad depleted state, but this is inspiring me to kick my butt into learning how to sew and to customize other items of my wardrobe.

Isn't this girl just the cutest darling? I want to see what she'll look like in 15 years.

The Sartorialist

24 Free Dinners
DUNNA NUNNA NUNNA NUNNA BATMAN!
I wonder if the O-man has seen this?

Whoops

2008-10-13T16:41:00.003-04:00

Whoops, sorry for disappearing for the last two weeks. Life's been hectic lately so I've neglected my blog. I'll have some actual content for you guys tomorrow. Until then take Kitty Cat Gemma as my way of saying sorry ;)

psst, by the way if you use blog lovin, and read my blog, follow me. I'll appreciate it!
Follow my blog with bloglovin´

Comme Des Garcons pour H&M

2008-09-30T19:45:00.002-04:00

Some of my favorite pieces from the Women's Collection

If you've been anywhere near the fashion blogosphere since August, you've probably already heard of the collaboration between Comme des Garcons and H&M. Recently there was more brohaha over the dress that costs 349$ (?!?), this of course sent waves of anguish through the hearts of fashionistas. How expensive was everything else going to be if a dress was that expensive?

Since CDG is a Japanese, (not to mention H&M's recent expansion in Tokyo) the collection will be hitting Japanese stores in early November. CDG's collection will be hitting all over H&M markets on November 13th. I may take a trip over to the Eaton Centre if I have the money, I'm not sure if the H&M in LimeRidge will be getting any CDG pieces. I have to remember to ask the staff about that next time I'm there.

A full preview into the collection is in Hong Kong's Ketchup Magazine. Online scans can be found here.

Some of my favorite pieces from the Men's Collection.

Where's the Outrage?!?

2008-09-30T18:42:00.005-04:00

*Sigh*..........

It's no secret to me that the lives of white people are valued more than the lives of POC (people of color) in Society but that doesn't numb the stinging feeling I get whenever I see another example of this.

On Friday, September 26, the end of a week in which thousands of copies of Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West — the fear-mongering, anti-Muslim documentary being distributed by the millions in swing states via DVDs inserted in major newspapers and through the U.S. mail — were distributed by mail in Ohio, a “chemical irritant” was sprayed through a window of the Islamic Society of Greater Dayton, where 300 people were gathered for a Ramadan prayer service. The room that the chemical was sprayed into was the room where babies and children were being kept while their mothers were engaged in prayers.

Huh, I'd really would love to hear why the Media hasn't been going ape shit crazy over this? This has obviously has a lot more to do with religion than race but I guess the victims of this weren't "American" enough to warrant attention. If this had been a Christian church being attacked by any other group this shit would be making laps around the media circle.

.....sigh

Other related posts
Muslim Children gassed in Ohio - but where's the outrage?
sdljawaxsd

Cute Anonymous Boy

2008-09-30T18:10:00.001-04:00

Dropsnap.jp
I think I might have a crush on you. >_>

New Music Muse?

2008-09-30T17:47:00.005-04:00

Janelle just might be my new music muse. Her style and stage presence definitely doesn't hurt. Here's a link to her myspace.

Eye Candy #2 {Miscellaneous}

2008-09-27T01:00:00.005-04:00

ffffound finds

(Does anyone else remember this game? I used to play it when I was much younger.)

Will Sanders

A Long Day's Journey Into Night

Ellen von Unwerth

Guinevere van Seenus by Paolo Roversi (Vogue Italia Sep '08)

Val's Adventures - Third Installment

2008-09-26T23:05:00.007-04:00

"Val's Adventures" are photographic and voyeuristic peeks into my every day life. Basically these are snapshots taken at school at home or anywhere else and I wanted to put them up somewhere. Plus since I'm now Facebook free it's easier for my friends to save pictures they want from me this way.

Ancaster Fair
The Ancaster Fair was a lot of fun. The first hour was a little stressful since I was in charge of babysitting 3 inebriated classmates, but after that, me and Diana went on a bunch of rides and got very very hyper. I'm sure more than one person thought I was drunk because of my crazy giggling. The best part was when we both we're giggling like crazy in the Zipper. While we were waiting in line for something I kept munching on candy. This was of course, not a good idea and I got a stomach ache after going on a couple of rides. We chilled for a bit, saw a crowd gathering around some fist fight, Diana went to the bathroom and saw drama that's more likely to be seen at a club, and I ate pizza.

BONUS VIDEOS

Ancaster Fair #1 from Valentina RossMottley on Vimeo.

Ancaster Fair #2 from Valentina RossMottley on Vimeo.

Ontario University Fair
The plan was to be home by 7pm but we were pooped by 3pm and decided to bus back to Hamilton early. I went to the Uni fair with my mom, my friend Tiffany, and my two little sisters. When I first got into the hall with all the booths for the different Universities, I was intimediated and didn't really want to talk to anyone. I'm still excited for University but I guess actually going to this and seriously talking to other people (besides my mom and my friends) about it made me realize how soon I'll be going to University. Cue irrational fears. I got over it though and talked to people and learned about different Journalism programs. I also got some free pens, bags, brochures and a t-shirt.

I didn't take any pictures while we were talking to the representatives from the different Uni's but later on when we were walking around T.O. I snapped some pictures of what we got up to.

All those pictures were taken after we left the hall and we're deciding on where to go next.

hehehe Model!Tiffany.

Veronica and Olivia.

This store was pretty sweet. They had insane sunglasses and amazing umbrellas. I wasn't supposed to be taking pictures of stuff but they didn't stop me for a while. Veronica actually found a potential Graduation dress that looks really nice on her.

Part of the window display.

I love this picture!

American Apparel, how you tempt me so. Mom wanted to go to a yarn store so Tiff and I poked around AA while Mom + co. went on their merry way. *Sigh* I'm getting my SIN number after school on Monday and I'm looking for jobs Tue and Wed after school so hopefully I'll have a way to get these clothes (and my Halloween costume!) soon.

Salvation!

Whenever I'm not in Hamilton, it becomes glaringly obvious how many Tim Hortons we actually have. It took us a while to find a Tims in Toronto but we eventually spotted one. And I had my usual order of hot chocolate with a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese. yum.

Sadly, us going home early meant I didn't get a chance to see the Ryerson campus. So this is the only "University" related picture I took.

BONUS VIDEO
*I'm uploading the videos, I'll add them when they're ready.
There is a part in this video where it is shaky as hell. I was passing the camera over to Tiffany and consequently it looks like an extreme ride of some sort.

English Class Shenanigans

Her name is Ndola and she's cute as a button!

Thinking, Think, Thought

2008-09-25T21:30:00.005-04:00

Anorthoscope: Joseph Plateau: Early Visual Media - Pre-cinema - Optical toys

Old and new and blue and black. No periods are allowed in these, but I'll bend the rules. Someone/something/some guy burned or rusted the edges of this (picture). I see something tiny in the right bottom corner, I wonder what it says? Can you see can I see? I wish I could see what this guy is wearing, black mysterious coat paired with a kind of leery look gives me this feeling. This=curious. Ha this makes no sense, but what sense does sense make? I spot a blue fire in some places in this picture. If i tilt my head and close my eyes I'll find strange faces making themselves known to me somewhere here. I'll train myself to make interesting facial expressions/sentences/statements one day.

.............

That is/this is what I think when I see this picture.

What do you think?

Free Writing

TiLT #7

2008-09-25T19:53:00.006-04:00

Zink Magazine - Because I'm a blond

my new skull candy earbuds: A classmate of mine named Harvey randomly gave away an HMV gift card because he didn't know if it had money on it. I think he also said something about how he never shops there anyway, so I was lucky enough to get the card. When I went to LimeRidge today to see if there was any money on the gift card, I was pleasantly surprised by a 25$ balance =D. So I spent most of the money on a new pair of pink skullcandy earbuds and they are wonderful. They block out sound really well and were only around 23$ with tax.

choir: I was only interested in choir at first because Ailish told me that the choir is going to be going to NYC this April. Today after school I went to the first choir rehearsal and it was intimidating at first since I know zilch about music and pitches and notes, but Mr. Abell (I think that's how you spell his name) is really nice and easy to talk to. I had fun and I like the atmosphere of the group and how we sound. I'm Alto in case any of you are curious.

ugly betty: =DDDD I'm actually in the middle of watching the 3rd season premiere right now. I love this show.

not much homework: My light homework load hasn't changed yet and that makes Valentina a happy camper. That's going to change soon since I'm gonna have to start working on my Sociology, Anthropology, and Psychology culminating soon. But the fact that I'm really really happy with who I'm working with is easing the pain ;)

my new-old mp3 player: Martha gave me her old mp3 yepp player today and I've got my music on it now and I'm ecstatic that I can listen to music on my bus trips to and from school now. Thank you Martha!!

University: Ryerson, Carleton, Western or Wilfred Laurier. Those are the Universities I'm going to be applying to next year. I'm going to be studying Journalism somewhere and planning for my future makes my heart go all a flutter. I'm not exactly sure why I'm so in love with the idea of University but studying and immersing myself in something that I'm passionate about with other passionate people makes my heart pound in excitement. I'm going to Toronto tomorrow with my friend Tiffany, my mom, and my two sisters. The first thing we're doing there is going to the Ontario University Fair. =D The rest of the day we'll be doing sight-seeing things. Anyways for me University=love.

Quote from Snow...

2008-09-25T19:44:00.002-04:00

... by Ann Beattie

"This is a story, told the way you say stories should be told: somebody grew up, fell in love, and spent a winter with her lover in the country. This, of course, is the barest outline; and futile to discuss. It's as pointless as throwing birdseed on the ground while snow still falls fast. Who expects small things to survive when even the largest get lost? People forget years and remember moments. Seconds and symbols are left to sum things up. The black shroud over the pool. Love in its shortest form becomes a word. What I remember about all that time is one winter. The show. Even now, saying "snow", my lips move so that they kiss the air. No mention has been made of the snowplow that seemed to always to be there, scarping snow off our narrow road -- an artery cleared, though neither of us could have said where the heart is."

TiLT #6

2008-09-18T19:55:00.004-04:00

Lonely Girl photoshoot shot by Louise Park (Vogue Girl Korea)

*my parent's clothes: Why bother buying new clothes when you can "borrow" your parents? Today I wore, this white shirt. I thought it belonged to my dad but it was (mine now =D ) my mom's. She wore it when she was my age and couldn't bear to throw it out because she loved it so much.

*Martha!: Martha is a friend from school. Martha is getting a new ipod soon. Martha is giving Valentina her old mp3 player for free. This makes Valentina a very very happy girl.

*the bus: The bus has been frustrating lately and has lead to me being late a couple times for class but I still love it. I like seeing all these people and taking my time going around the city when I need to get somewhere. Also the other day when I was busing home, the cutest little boy was fascinated by my briefcase/school bag. He played with my bag and tried to figure out how to open if for the 20 minutes that I was on the bus. His name was Jackson and he was beautiful baby. As I got off the bus I told him that my bag would never forget him, hehehe.

*Helena!: Helena is a close friend of mine who has mad drawing skills. I like the header I have for my blog right now but it's too confusing to tell what it is, if you don't know what to look for. Sooo I asked Helena to draw something for me to use and she said she would. She said she could most likely finish drawing it in her art class tomorrow. I roughly (and I do mean roughly, my drawing skills aren't as ummm nice as Helena's) sketched out some ideas I had and gave her the paper. I can't wait to see what she comes up with!

*SYTYCD Canada: I'm not falling head over heels in love with any of the dancers from the auditions (yet) and the different "vibe" of the show is a little weird to me since I've only watched the American SYTYCD. I really really like it thought and am anxiously waiting for the Toronto finals episodes to come on. Ugh I have to wait two weeks for that though.

School

2008-09-14T08:53:00.006-04:00

School by shazie28 @ deviantart
(Anyone else reminded of Matilda?)

During summer break I did a whole lot nothing. The only productive thing I did was find new blogs and start blogging regularly. Wait, I take that back, August was the month I didn't do anything, during July I went to Summer School for g.10 math so that was productive. I was around some very smart people and since Math is not my strong point at all I was feeling less than stellar intelligence wise. Which isn't to say I was necessarily feeling sad, I just felt like "Okay, this is how it is. I'm not stupid, but I'll never be a genius or particularly intelligent". I know it's silly to compare myself to others but it's an old habit that tends to pop up into my mind at times. During August with this whole "not stupid/not a genius" rolling around in my head I started to doubt my abilities to write anything that isn't hot poo.

Then comes school, and because I refused to take any more sciences and I don't have 11 math 'till 2nd semester, I'm in love with all my classes. My brain is pumping and I'm getting excited about discussions I can bring to the table. I got my first World Religions assignment back on Friday. I got 80%, and lost most of my marks on communication. Barrett said he thinks my problem is that I think faster than I can type. He also said that he's impressed with my insight and thinks I'm one of the brightest students in his class(es).My reaction to that was --> :O/=D He has a policy that if he thinks the student tried and didn't rush the assignment that he'll let them re-write it, so hopefully the 2nd time around I can get a 90 something on that paper. In my English class we had to write a streamline of consciousness that stemmed from two short stories that we read. Myself and James (Minor) read ours in front of the class and the teacher liked what I wrote.

Compliments are awesome and are making me realize that maybe I don't suck as much as I think I do when it comes to school. Just don't talk to me about math. I think part of, or most of my fear comes from the fact that grade 6 was the last time I really put effort into school, so I'm worried that when I try and push myself with school that I'll end up with the same results that I've gotten academically for the last 4 years. I know that can't happen but the fear is still there, lurking in the back of my brain. I'm looking forward to the rest of the semester and I'm even looking forward to exams which is odd. Another thing I can't wait to do is a University road -trip. Since we are car free right now, we'd rent a car and myself and my mom would drive around looking at Universities I might apply to next year. My first choice right now would be to go to Ryerson for Journalism, other Universities I might apply to are Wilfred Laurier, Western, and Carleton.

For extra-curriculars I'm getting super excited about Stage Crew. Stage Crew is the behind the scenes people who do lighting, sound, design sets etc. for Westdale's plays and musicals. Stage Crew also includes doing costumes, make - up or being a stage ninja (the person dressed all in black moving stuff between scenes). So there's all these sub-categories and parts of crew that people can be a part of. For this year's musical, they're doing Cabaret and I'm trying to get myself into the costumes/stylist position for the musical. I want to try and learn about lighting and/or sound and do that stuff for the Sears Drama Festival. Then there's Classics which is my other major club that I'm in. I need to start getting my ass in action and start cross-stitching my projects (I'm doing 2) for this years' Conference. Umm, I'm also trying out for touch football and Rugby. I'm going to be a general member of Triune (student council), and SPA (students for political action), and if I find the time do yoga at a studio or at home. OH! And I want to try and go to Romania this summer for two weeks for a Journalism program, more on that later.

-Lady V

TiLT #5

2008-09-11T17:39:00.006-04:00

Peter Stanglmayr

my light homework load: I've been lucky this week in concerns to homework. I've barely had anything to do but at the same time I have enough that I'm not bored with my classes.

cool weather: =D The weather is finally starting to cool down and I couldn't be happier. Today was on the hot side though (booo) but Fall is still going to be here soon.

school clubs (model un, triune, SPA, classics etc.): Tomorrow is the first meeting for SPA (Students for Political Action) and I'm excited to see who's going to be leading it this year. I'm going to try and get really involved with this club in addition to Stage Crew, Model United Nations, yoga annnd sewing. Ignore the fact that the last two hobbies are not school clubs.

Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter: I love this man, the quotes he puts in his newsletter and his belief in Pronoia. Here are some excerpts from his most recent newsletter that I got on the 9th.

"We are experiencing the initiation of the human race into a new level of
consciousness, and that is a very terrifying experience. It does no good to
turn and run from the terror of our darkness into light; we must sit it out:
zazen.

"We must take our counsel from *The Tibetan Book of the Dead* and
realize that these frightening projections of famines, economic disasters,
ecological catastrophes, floods, earthquakes, and wars are all only the
malevolent aspects of beneficent deities. If we sit and observe them, do
not identify with them, but remember our Buddha-nature, we will not be
dragged down by them into an incarnation of the hell they prefigure.

"If we run from them, we validate them; we give the projections the very
psychic energy they need to overtake us. Then, as Jung has pointed out,
the situation will happen outside as fate."

-William Irwin Thompson, *Evil and World Order*

SHARING YOUR BREATH
Quoting geneticists, Guy Murchie says we're all family. You have at least a
million relatives as close as tenth cousin, and no one on Earth is any
farther removed than your 50th cousin.

Murchie also describes our kinship through an analysis of how deeply we
share the air. With each breath, you take into your body 10 sextillion
atoms, and—owing to the wind's ceaseless circulation—over a year's time
you have intimate relations with oxygen molecules exhaled by every
person alive, as well as by everyone who ever lived. Right now you may be
carrying atoms that were once inside the lungs of Malcolm X, Christopher
Columbus, Joan of Arc, and Cleopatra. (Source: Guy Murchie, *The Seven
Mysteries of Life*)

my 2 free razors: I filled out some questionnaire or survey a while ago, and the other day I got 3 new free razors as a reward. I got a Gillette Fusion and Venus. They're pretty spiffy and fancy compared to the ones that I usually use.

The fact that a possibly "New Most Embarrassing Moment" (TM) was avoided: There was a Stage Crew meeting after school on Wednesday. Rachael and I were finger fencing on stage and my scarf-as-a-shirt got loosened in the tussle and my bra covered breast was saying hello to everyone. Not to mention we were on the stage in the Auditorium with other people playing with the spot light. Rachael pointed it out to me and I fixed my scarf-shirt. I'm pretty sure Matt was the only one who noticed because he was looking at me funny before Rachael pointed out my breast to me. Anyways I'm glad this didn't happen when people were paying attention to what I was doing.

This cookie commercial: my friends fail and haven't seen this commercial. Anyways ever since I saw this I've been playing Rod Stewart's "Do you think I'm sexy" on repeat, on my computer and in my mind.

What I Wore - x 2

2008-09-11T00:27:00.005-04:00

Wearing a scarf as a shirt is a viable alternative

This is what I wore to school yesterday.
I'm wearing;
-my dad's sweater
-a scarf/pashima (as a shirt). I bought this in Egypt for about 5$.
-Red headband salvaged from an old torn pair of stockings.
-Skinny jeans I got from Urban Outfitters for about 15$.

Photo taken by Tala

This is what I wore to school on Monday and on the 6th to Locke Street Festival. The only difference would be the footwear. I wore sandals on the 6th and on Monday I wore my black mary jane's with my polka-dot socks.
I'm wearing;
-grey tank from H&M
-my mother's jacket
-red headband
-UO skinny jeans
-polka-dot socks
-my mary-jane heels (about 2 inches high)
-my VV briefcase

And in case you're wondering I'm holding my keys in my hand.

Val's Adventures - Second Installment

2008-09-10T21:56:00.005-04:00

Locke Street Festival
On the 6th, I met up with Rachael at her house and we headed off to the festival. It was really fun and we bumped into Tala and Hannah while they were doing booth duty. We walked around looking at different things, stopped and watched a street performer (I'm a fire eater hahaha), walked around some more and stopped at the Bagel Shop (I think that's the name) to get something to eat. After that we headed back to her house, where I ended up watching the Shining for the first time. When the movie was done I walked downtown and caught a bus to my house. The whole time I was walking I had "Red Rum!" stuck in my head.

This is my type of bike. My mother's bike looks like this but without the working wheels and brakes. The company name is Raleigh, so if I end up buying a new bike I'll check this company out.

Jewelry

Belt buckles and other knick knacks.

I don't have anywhere in my room to hook up a telephone but I was very tempted to buy these anyway.

Some killer and massive bird houses.

If I was allowed to have a pet and wasn't paranoid about a bird flying away somewhere, I think I'd get a bird as a pet.

My self-engagement ring has been eaten by my house so I'm searching for a replacement. I didn't end up buying this one but I took a photo of it because I really like it but didn't have enough cash on me. If I'm lucky I'll be able to find something like this on Etsy.

Yeaaahh, it was pretty crowded.

Cutie!

Some tin man marching band members.

I have no idea who this man is but he was hilarious. He was standing and posing for change for Breast Cancer. Is anyone else reminded of Fabio?

Tala & Hannah face painting.

Tala painting Rachael's face. She painted a peace sign on Rachael's face and a heart on mine.

This is the street performer we watched. I can't remember his name but he had a good sense of humor and was amusing. He had a female volunteer lighting torches that he was putting out with his mouth. He had told her earlier if his clothing happened to catch fire that she was to put it out (she was wearing an oven mitt). His shirt caught fire so she put it out. And then he light his ass on fire and she put that fire out for him too. He jokingly tried to light her butt on fire too and when she backed away he said that was too bad because he's a fire eater. Zing!

My yummy lunch that I had at the bagel shop. They didn't have any cinnamon raisin bagels left. Rachael suggested that we have these cinnamon sugar (can't remember for sure it that's what they're called) bagels instead. They were delicious and sticky and sugary. I had my standard choice of plain cream cheese on my bagel. Also, some old women peered intensely into the window (she was actually right up against it) to see what we were eating. She seemed like quite the character. I kind of wish I took a picture of her.

A picture that I took while I was walking home.

Before I went to the bus stop I made a pit stop at a Tim Horton's to get some grub. The picture on the counter is one of the two vintage pictures that I bought for a buck each.

True Dat

2008-09-08T17:59:00.001-04:00

Winter, I miss you. please come back sometime soon.

2008-09-08T17:45:00.003-04:00

Au milieu de l'hiver by *roseonthegrey (@ DeviantArt)

Winter I'm missing you pretty badly right now. You have snow, my birthday and wonderful layers (of clothing) and I can't have any of that 'till you come back. Fall is a decent rebound for now but I'm sick of Summer-like weather.

What If Google was Your.....

2008-09-06T21:29:00.001-04:00

Hehehe, I love this. Found this on Winona's (of Daddy Likey fame) tumblr blog. (24 Free Dinners)

Link Love #3

2008-09-05T23:46:00.004-04:00

fashion editorials
Made In China
A Long Day's Journey Into Night
Classic Kate Moss
The Greatest Show on Earth
Is It Better To Be Alone?

If I was old enough and had the money for it I would live here, here, here, here, here or here.

ONTD is a huge celeb gossip site. The launched a political remix of the site a while ago. Go check it out.

Gala why you so hot?

Part 1 & Part 2 of Upcoming Fall Movies

Who We Choose to Be, a really interesting introspective post on what really defines "us".

Why being rough is the better answer sometimes.

Say it ain't so! Crocs? In French Vogue?!?

**This is one of those pictures that I saved but either couldn't or forgot to save the file as the photographer. So I have no idea who it belongs to. If you know, let me know.

TiLT #4

2008-09-03T23:14:00.005-04:00

Zipper Magazine

School: I had my first full day of school today and it's pretty awesome. The whole taking classes I'm much more interested in and thus more invested in won't hurt my GPA. The only thing I don't like is how hard it is to find my friends since I don't have classes with them and how crowded the school is. But those things aren't putting a damper on my good mood.

Camera Charger: This thing has been missing for at least the last 3-4 months and yesterday I was riffling for clothing to wash, I picked something up and there was my camera charger. Just sitting there. I'm telling you it was a pretty powerful moment. I can't say how relieved I am that I didn't rush off and buy another 30$+ charger.

Cold Rooms: I'm so ready for fall weather. No more of this beaming sun with no winds to balance it out. The cold rooms in Westdale are evening things out but for my future outfits sake I'd appreciate cooler weather.

My Hair: I love playing with it and finding different things to do with it. I usually wear it either pulled back because I didn't have time to do anything or out & down in crimped waves.

Self Timer & Mini Tripod: I got a pretty nifty mini tripod with my camera which definitely helped me earlier yesterday while I was taking photos.

My Friends: I don't get to see them that much at school since I don't have classes with any of them. But being able to see them every day or every 2 days in the hall for a quick chat or at lunch is really nice. I enjoy goofing off with them and I'm looking forward to my Valoween Halloween party and my 2nd Annual Virgin RHPS party =D

Val's Adventures - First Installment

2008-09-03T22:17:00.009-04:00

Lunch

Diana & Ailish

The Gang

My wonderful Briefcase

(From left to right) Tiffany, Ailish, Diana

Tiffany & Helena

Ailish & Rachael

Ailish rocking (I'm using that word a lot now) my sunglasses

Steph being interesting (=P ) & Helena

(hahaha) Diana & Tiffany in some..... idk weird leg dual

Ailish has a crush on the man in the magazine.

At Home

Me & my 9 year-old sis Olivia in our backyard.

My legs on my bedroom wall

=O Me without my glasses! This is a rare occurrence, treasure it!

That's all folks!

*I got rid of it because I stopped getting what I wanted out of it. It was really useful for organizing my parties but besides that I was using it to feed into my ego by friending people I didn't even like to up my friend count. I wasn't digging the atmosphere of it, if that makes any sense >_> Some people would think it's hypocritical to get rid of Facebook then get a blog, twitter and modepass etc. But to me at least, Facebook was more of a RL thing I used to keep in contact with friends or acquaintances from school. I think my biggest problem, personally with Facebook was that to me it was useless chatter. After the novelty wore of it became meaningless communication to me. It was a lot of small talk (HBD, what do we have for homework? etc.) gossip and other stuff that wasn't very vital to my social or personal life. Plus there's the whole capitalist agenda and the whole you can get rid of your account but you have to delete everything by hand thing that's really fishy. My blog, twitter, modepass and style mob are ways for me interact with people (globally) about personal style, Fashion in general and all things blogosphere. I will admit that sometimes I regret getting rid of Facebook but with all the stuff I'm doing and my blog I don't think I'd have time for a Facebook account anyways. So for simplicity's sake I'm glad that people just email or call me now instead of writing on my wall.

What I Wore - School Girl

2008-09-03T21:07:00.003-04:00

So today I rocked a modest beehive but I'm not sure if you can see it that well in these pictures. I'm doing another post today with some pictures of my hair do, so hopefully you'll be satisfied with the detail in either of these pictures. Today I was a weird Valentina version of a school girl. The clothes I wore were:

1. Old School Uniform
2. Sunglasses from the Dollar Store
3. H&M Grey Tank
4. Striped tights from Sears
5. (You can't see them here) Beige Ballet flats from Old Navy
6. Old black tights as a headband & a turquoise bow headband on top from H&M
7. Thrifted Briefcase that I nabbed at Value Village's big 50% sale for 2$!

YUS! VICTORY IS MIIIINE =DDDD

2008-09-02T23:04:00.005-04:00

*does a little internet jig* HA! Take that, messy room of mine. You couldn't hide my camera charger from me forever! (Yes this means I finally found my camera charger)

Guys I'm so happy right now. I can start posting pictures now. Life is grand.

Tomorrow I'll be doing my own twist on the "School Girl" look. Cross your fingers that I won't have too much homework, so I'll be able to blog quicker.

e x p o 7000

Also first day of school was amazing! I love all my classes, yes even my grade 10 French one. Even the "scary" Mr. Barrett doesn't seem that bad but I think that's because he likes me so I won't be on the receiving end of his wrath.

-The classes I have in order for 1st semesters are-
Sociology, Anthropology & Psychology - Mr. Barrett
Grade 10 French - Mme. Panton
University English - Mrs. Newton
World Religions - Mr. Barrett

Dun dun dun......

2008-09-01T18:37:00.007-04:00

Girl Walking Octopus by Barnaby Ward

School starts tomorrow. I'll be in grade 11. Time flies by so quickly. I still remember freaking out (just before grade 9) because homg Westdale is so big compared to Norwood and omg I'll get lost etc. Now it's time to stress about University choices and "What I Want To Do With The Rest Of My Life" (TM)

Value Village is having a 50% off sale tomorrow and I'm heading over before school to try and find some new clothes. I'm lucky that I'm in grade 11 because school doesn't start for me until noon so I have the chance to stop by VV in case you were wondering why I had the time.

Hmmmmm stillll no sign of the ever elusive camera charger. Push comes to shove I'll be able to start posting recent pictures of myself by mid September thanks to Amazon.com

I'm gonna run off now and watch some more Buffy while trying to pick something to wear tomorrow. Tata~

Blog Break

2008-08-29T13:17:00.007-04:00

Camille Vivier

School starts next week for me and these past days I've been busy doing the usual stuff that needs to be done before school starts (cleaning my room, buying new clothes, organizing my bag etc.). I'm going to take an itty bitty blog break. I'll be back September 2nd and if I find anything interesting I might do some more "Eye Candy" posts during my hiatus.

See you in 5 days! ;)

*p.s. yeah that means no "Link Love" or "TiLT" posts this week. Sorry I just don't have the energy for it right now with all this other stuff going on.

Eye Candy #1 {The Mask}

2008-08-26T18:26:00.008-04:00

the mask

So Many Questions

2008-08-26T01:01:00.003-04:00

Solve Sundsbo

When you look at this picture what do you see?
I see a beautiful face made up of mostly fake parts, but beautiful all the same.
When you see this picture, why does it have to mean (to most) that you need to match? Why can't you both be beautiful in your/her parallel fake/real worlds?

I mean, it's no secret to anyone how make believe this make up on her face is. But you (probably) still want to match. Why?

Why does the fact that men prefer 10 instead of 2's make anyone feel better? Why is my satisfaction and self-love being defined by men and fake women in the media?

I thank my mother (in all her underwear dancing glory) for loving herself so I could love me.

Just some random (or not so random....) thoughts and my attempt to get them down somewhere before they scattered off.

Adbusters

TiLT #3

2008-08-22T13:55:00.004-04:00

Glynis Selina Arbas

-Veronica's Birthday : Veronica's 13 now! We had a laid back celebration in her name. We went to Chapters, went and watched Mamma Mia and talked for an hour eating Wendy's. I love you Veronica!

-Addicted To Race Podcast I've been devouring this podcast liiikke crazy. ATR is about America's obsession with race. ATR is created by the same people over at Racialicious. It's very informative and interesting and brings issues that I tend to not pay attention to to the forefront of my mind. Gives my mind something to feed on. I'm hoping I can find another podcast similar to this one except based in Canada.

-Photoshop I'm having a lot of fun playing around with this program. I'm no pro yet but thanks to Diana for giving the program with the crack I have it for life now. ;)

-Surf the Channel My computer is too slow right now for me to be downloading shows onto it right now. So STC is great for me because it has everything I'm interesting in watching right now uploaded there. FYI the site is having a contest at the moment. Go over there and check it out.

-my Westdale pants These are the perfect lazing about the house pants. They have the longest crotch ever on them but I think it adds a laid back charm to them.

-Google Reader This is such a life saver! The only 2 drawbacks are that 1) I tend to forget to check up on sites that aren't in my rss feeder and 2) Some people don't have the complete blog posts in the rss feeder, so that's annoying. But besides those two things it's really useful for keeping tabs on all the sites and blogs that I watch.

-Amazon(camera charger) I've resigned myself to my fate. I'm 99.9% sure that my charger was in my pencil case. The pencil case that got stolen when I was at the Classics Conference. I'm really tempted to buy the cheapest replacement but that could screw up my camera and/or my battery. The cheapest authentic replacement (without the bidding war) I can find is on Amazon.

-The impending doom that is school By the way I phrased that it shouldn't be here right? Well it is because I'm have a love/hate relationship with school right now. Once school starts I'll have much more to blog about and I'll have stuff to do. Plus I get to see all my friends etc. But then on the other hand I have to re-do gr.10 french and I have no idea which 10-ers are in my class. It is going to be a lot of fun but I'm going to have a lot on my plate but I'll be doing stuff I love.

*Sorry for this being late. I was out all day yesterday for Veronica's birthday.

Fall&Winter 2008 Inspiration

2008-08-20T18:07:00.009-04:00

I went internet crawling these past two days to try and get some"fashion direction". I still can't really crystallize what
my style is. Right now there's just stuff I do like and stuff I don't like. Anyways I have images from some Fall '08 RTW
collections, street style blogs and fellow fashionistas to help serve as inspiration for what I'll be wearing in Fall and
Winter. There's also a healthy does of shoe lust at the bottom.

Fall '08 Ready to Wear Collections

(click all the pictures for the grandiose versions)

Street Style

Fellow Fashionistas

Link Love #2

2008-08-17T20:32:00.011-04:00

Bharet Sakki

::Fashion Editorials::
Welcome to the Witching Hour featuring Jourdan Dunn for i-D (shot by Emma Summerton)
Reality Show shot featuring Sasha Pivivarova for Vogue Paris (shot by Craig McDean)
Suggestions featuring Olga Kurylenko for Vogue Italia (shot by Greg Williams)

- Science gets us one step closer to an Invisibility Cloak

- Veronica's iPhone malfunctioned in the coolest way

-May I Be Offended on Your Behalf?

-Winona brings us another round of Six Impressions

-I loooooovvvveee this outfit

- Condi, we need to talk & Beauty is in the..... are 2 good reads over @ Field Negro

-Betty does it again with some Old School Pics

- Visit this amazing site, RIGHT NOW! (Yes I mean now)

-This is clear evidence that Tyra has been sniffing some serious shit. There is no other excuse for these Cycle 11 promos.

What I Wore Before

2008-08-16T12:37:00.015-04:00

The hunt continues. My camera charger is still evading me and I refuse to pay 70$ for a new one. Maybe I can find a cheap one on ebay... hmm. Anyways I was perusing some old pictures of myself and came to the conclusion that I liked a lot of the things I wore when I was 1-6, after that not so much. I also tend to cringe a bit when I see old pictures of myself from 7 years old and up because I got taller then gained weight sooo I look very gangly in those pictures.

To compensate for the fact that I can't do any WIWT posts until my camera charger re-appears into my life, here are some peaks into what-I-wore-when-I-was- much-younger.

..1..
Rocking the Mickey Mouse faux motorcycle.
-Purple jacket with floral details - with the hood up.
-Turquoise (I think they were corduroy) pants
-White sneakers with violet and deep purple laces.

..2..
Casual outfit.
-yellow t-shirt
-pink leggings
-and a very hard to see gold bracelet on my right wrist

..3..
Romper love.
-Turquoise romper
-pink t-shirt
-gold bracelet

..4..
My favorite!
-Purple jacket with floral details - with the hood down.
-Orange and purple hat.
-Orange skirt
-Purple leggings or tights
-White sneakers with violet and deep purple laces.

..5..
Another orange love!
-Orange and purple dress

How I would wear it Now
These are my current takes on my old outfits -- how I would wear those 5 outfits now.

Remix- Outfit 1

-Betsy Johnson shirt
-AA tights
-fredflare flats

Remix- Outfit 2

-AA racer back dress and Art deco tights
-plastic land heels

Remix- Outfit 3

-Phillip Lim Linen playsuit
-AA stirrup tights
-plastic land heels

Remix- Outfit 4

-Betsy Johnson skirt
-AA zippered body suit
-We Love Color! tights
-plastic land heels
-fredflare flats

Remix- Outfit 5

-American Apparel oversized unisex tee and leggings

Dear Valentina (stop wasting your own time)

2008-08-14T17:33:00.003-04:00

I have a serious issue of not giving myself the chance to do well in school by holding myself back. I do this by procrastinating (to the absolute last minute). I don’t do homework, I don’t study, I don’t go to class. Which equals a hell lot of bad marks, failing marks, and me having to sign a contract now to go back to Westdale. (Contract as in something saying I won’t miss classes etc. or I get kicked out.)

The fact that I have wonderful parents is only more evident because instead screaming and yelling at me like I think I deserve, we’re talking about what I’m doing wrong and what I need to do to stop and succeed in school.

What I need to do is stop procrastinating. No more I’ll start in 30 minutes bullshit. I’m too smart for this and most of the time I’m just anxious about doing the work so I avoid it. What I need to do now is establish a routine and stick to it and get used to working first and playing later. Another push in the right direction is to put this whole thing up somewhere public so I’m more inclined to accomplish all this.

Wish me luck. And people who know me, say the word procrastinate whenever you see me procrastinating, please.

Goals to achieve by the end of the summer
-start cross stitch return beads
-have my room tidy and organized
-organize French and science binder
-have my sleeping pattern in order (bed by 11:30, waking up by 6:30am)

Goals to achieve during school year
-maintain a 85%-93% average
-balance extra curriculars with school
All year long responsibilities
*classics
*semi-passive member of triune
*rugby 2nd semester
*school newspaper?
*volunteering with journalism related things
*working on weekends
*Model UN
*my blog
-start saving money for Romania trip (Photography/Journalism summer '09)
-maintain a healthy sleeping pattern

Temporary Responsibilities
-Improvathon
-Keep the Beat
-Halloween volunteering

"Arrogant" is the new "uppity"

2008-08-14T14:05:00.006-04:00

Holy crap and oh my god. I was going through my rss feeds and came across this article by the Black Snob. It's about subversive racism that is pervasive in America and how that ties into how people are going on about how arrogant and elitist Obama is being. Read it, comment on it if you wish and pass the link on.

"And Massa said, "Who let you in here? Yes, you. With that inconveniently independent mind armed with facts. With your standing up straight and talking white, looking The Man directly in the eye. Just who do you think you are? Because you're not me. You're nothing like me who is better than you. So you are an insult to me. You refute my long-held beliefs about you so you must be proven wrong.
"This is a trick. This is a gimmick. This is a game. I am the fleet of foot and you are the beast of burden. I placed shackles on your feet so that you would never get off the ground, yet there you are, an indictment of me, flying high above me, doing me one better, twice better, thrice better over and over again. Who released you from those chains because someone like you could have never figured out how to get out of them yourself.
"Who gave you the right, the permission, the clearance, the verification and insinuation that you are free? Who did this? Who taught you to read? It was against the law and you are too obtuse to understand the meaning of these words, yet you insist on speaking them. Yet you insist on looking me in the eye and demanding that I address you by your name. Who do you think you are and who let you in here? I said, who let you in here where the sign said niggers and women need not apply?"

Places, Please! by the Black Snob

TiLT#2

2008-08-13T22:28:00.005-04:00

GRANDIOSE?

smell of a freezer

I know that sounds weird. But haven't you ever stuck your head in a freezer before and smelt that cool fresh air? Sometimes in the winter you get that same scent outside. I love that.

cleaning

Well not actual cleaning, but the end result (aka me being able to see my bedroom floor*). I had to "half" clean my room on Tuesday to get bus tickets to head off to Diana's house, so I did. And I like what I see. Saturday is when I'll when finish cleaning.

-This video: ahahahaha.

twhirl

I downloaded twhirl a couple of days ago, I really enjoy using it. I have it with the "Black Magic" theme for now. It's very useful for when you're using programs like Photoshop etc. and you don't want to open up a browser to tweet.

-foto decadent: Wonderful place for finding fashion editorials.

Bay Front park

I went there on the 10th with my family. We went to the park for a bit, went on a trail and laid and talked by the water front. I was really vexed because I didn't/couldn't have my camera with me to take pictures. I shrugged it off eventually and enjoyed the sound of the water hitting the shore, mother ducklings leading her young, watching people row, walking between my parents with our arms all linked & crazy hijinks in our last car ride.

Tresemme Shampoo & Conditioner

When my Aunt Akilah and Vera went over to New Jersey to do some back to school shopping they got us some Tresemme hair care products. It's soooo nice, and after using it, it left my hair very smooth and tangle free. Not to mention how good my hair smelled afterwards.

new visitors

200+ visitors is nothing for some bloggers but every time I check my stats over at sitemeter and see that someone else has looked at my blog, it leaves my heart all a flutter~. Bonus points if the person actually read for more than 30 secs and/or left a comment.

Firefly

When I went over to Di's we watched 3 episodes of Firefly. This show is so kick-ass! I'm falling pretty hard for this show, it's going to be "Avatar" all over again when it's over.

fresh cool night air

the sort the greets me through my bedroom window.

twitter conversations

Reading Nubby+Gala+Gilda's plan/talk about Nubby+Gala's wedding is priceless. I wonder how much it would cost for me to go to NY for the week of the wedding. Hmmm.. I could dress up as a transylvanian (the wedding remix) over the top character for their wedding if I went. =D

My father's laughter

(Ahaha) While I was typing this I could hear my father's laughter from downstairs. He's laughs like a hyena and he has the type of laugh that as soon as you hear you start to laugh too. I've had many conversations with my sisters where there is a pause, and my father is happy to fill it with his laughter - which then sends me, my sisters and sometimes my mother off into hysterics.

TiLT #2 Photo Credit
1. Chadwick Tyler
2. Fashion Editorial 'The Women' by Sebastien Faena
3. Wenda Rogerson (1948) shot by Clifford Coffin
4. Unknown model (1948) shot by Clifford Coffin
5. Chadwick Tyler

*yes my room is that messy.

2008-08-12T02:01:00.005-04:00

Today...... well actually yesterday was the last day my family had with our not-so-beloved saturn. My parents decided to get rid of it because there is always something wrong with it, or some weird new sound coming from something falling off. Sooo they aren't going to keep paying for car insurance which means bye-bye car. We'll be a bus and bike family from now on. I guess I'm a rare breed because I really like taking the bus (yes even in the winter) and I like the challenge this presents to us as a family. Getting around without a car isn't nearly as hard as a lot of people make out. The major thing is that it'll take longer to get around. Which is only a problem for me because I have serious time management issues but hopefully with time and practice it'll be possible. Plus I'm already used to taking the bus to school and to get around whenever my parents weren't able to drive me. Whenever we do need a car (to get to my grandma's house etc.) we can rent a car for the day. A lot of people at my mom's job think this is craazzyy and it'll be impossible for us to live without a car. I look forward to proving them wrong.

Link Love (8.11.08.)

2008-08-11T00:16:00.000-04:00

Photograph by Tara Darby

..Fashion Editorials..
- Night at the Circus
-Red Alert
-Fashion Olympics
-Aqua caliente

*Stalk Gala Darling more efficiently now (no joke!)

*Time line of internet memes. Sign up for an account if you want to add something.

*Is boredom the key to creativity?

*Paris Hilton for President?

* Tragic yet inspiring story of the girl in the window.

*Top 10 reasons to create a top ten list

*Backstage info on the SYTYCD season 4 finale

*Russia to outlaw 'emo' music?

My personality button

SYTYCD Season 4 Finale -- Reaction Post

2008-08-10T23:34:00.001-04:00

Before I start typing up my notes (I had to use a pen and a piece of paper. My mom wouldn't have let me use her laptop to live-blog) may I just say HOLY CRAP. That was IMHO the best finale we've had, just adlsdjlaskjda. It had all my favorite dances in it, and holy shit Cirque de Soleil (I want to see you guys live!), and Mary and Nigel dancing! And then the best of all four seasons coming back =D I was just sad that Sabra wasn't there for the part but I'm guessing that she was busy with something else.

And the best part of all was who won of course!

Play-by-Play

8:10pm - loved the group routine by Shane Sparks
-yay, we get to see the bollywood dance again. I feel like they did it better the first time but it was nice to see it again.
-Courtney and Gev's dance was 'meh' for me. I liked seeing Gev on stage again though, he seems like such a sweetheart.
8:32pm - Phillip+Robert dance battle = MADNESS (loved it). In case you haven't heard, Robert snagged some Ikea commercials. (1, 2, 3)
8:45pm - I'm also 'meh' on Comfort and Twitches hip hop routine. The fact that I'm tired of hearing that song probably doesn't help.
8:47pm - (Mark & Chelsea's Bleeding Love routine) Ohh another one of my favorites, I think the emotion came across stronger the first time they performed this routine but again it was fun to watch again.
8:50pm - :O!!!! Mary and Dmitry! I liked this routine and it was awesome to see how the judges light up when they're doing what they do best.
8:54pm - !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! gaahhh my absolute favorite from the whole season. This Pa De Deux that Will and Katee perform gets to me every time I see it.
9:00pm - I'm really liking this new choreographer Sonya. The routine that Mark and Courtney did to The Garden by Mirah is my favorite Courtney dance.
9:03pm - DUN DUN DUN! First elimination. I like Courtney but I was relived it wasn't any of the other three that came in 4th place. Now I'm not really picky about who wins. I'd like Katee to take it, if not her then Joshua, but Twitch winning wouldn't bother me either.
9:10pm - Top 5 guys dance, 4/5 for me.
9:12pm - ahasldjlkdjlka Cirque du Soleil's Believe performance was my favorite guest performance. This twisted weird stuff is right up my alley.
9:19pm - 2nd Elimination - NOO! Katee I wanted you to win it! =[
- Holy crap she won 50k! Congrats, she definitely earned it.
9:25pm - Debbie Allen's Dance Academy (Tap Dance/Happy Feet) + Nigel, 5/5. It was so nice to see Nigel lighting up like that. Not to mention how well everyone was dancing. It must take an insane amount of effort for that many people to all tap in time together.
9:32pm - Twitch & Katee (Mercy by Duffy) - Another performance I enjoyed more the first time around but I still enjoyed watching it.
9:41pm - Twitch & Kherington - Beautiful.
9:46pm - Joshua & Katee (this seasons Benjelle for me) was a nice big YES!
9:50pm - =DDDD The Best of SYTYCD was sick. Woow I didn't recognize Ivan until the last second. 5/5
- YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS WOOO! JOSH WON! (If you were anywhere near my house when my family and I were watching this, you would of heard the resounding shrieks of joy coming from Veronica, me and my mom.)

*sorry for the post being late, considering that the finale was 4 days ago.

Inspiration Board with a muxtape on the side

2008-08-08T13:12:00.000-04:00

My plans to hang out with Diana this past Wednesday were foiled. So that meant no photoshop for me. I'm going to have to wait 'till the 12th now and with no camera to play around with I turned to GIMP to fill up my time. What a headache, I have no idea how to use anything so I've just been clicking buttons and copying and pasting pictures and this is what I got. While I was doing this, I started listening to some music and thought that maybe one of the features of this blog could be a weekly or bi-weekly Inspiration Board/Muxtape mix-up. The "theme" of this was supposed to be a lazy summer afternoon/night deal. I'm not really sure I accomplished that with this picture but I think I faired better on the music side. Any passers by have opinions/thoughts on this idea?

Lazy Summer Nights

TiLT #1

2008-08-07T14:53:00.001-04:00

*BtVS- I am an avid addict of any type of story telling format (books, tv shows, manga, anime etc). My new main squeeze is Buffy and I've been marathoning episodes for a while. Today I finished watching the 2nd season. 5 seasons to go!

*my sisters radio- Veronica has this Hello Kitty radio that my grandma bought for her a year or two ago. The radio's new home is in our kitchen and I love blaring it whenever I have to clean up.

*my new sunglasses- I didn't end up getting the willy wonka sunglasses (lack of funds) but I did find these snazzy pair of sunglasses in a dollar store. I lurve them. They're brown, 50's styled and wonderful.

*Twitter- Oh man, I signed up for a twitter account this week and I'm addicted. Today I downloaded a "desktop" app for it called Twhirl which just added to the awesomisity (yes I made that word up) of Twitter.

*This picture- I love Marilyn Monroe in general and this is one of my favorite pictures of her.

Weekly Resolutions

2008-08-01T18:18:00.000-04:00

|*|

*clean my room

*get photoshop from Diana -- couldn't, didn't end up going to her house
*get 30$
* find camera charger
*return beads and start a cross-stitch
* ~~make at least 3 blog posts throughout the week~~
*cut hedges
*get willy-wonka glasses? --no (no money)
*apply for jobs (cross your fingers for me!)
*~~finish organizing my files on mom's computer~~
* bring mom's (soon to be mine!) bike to the bike shop--find out what I need to do to get it fixed

SYTYCD Top 4

2008-08-01T02:02:00.001-04:00

Ugghh it's 2am why aren't I in bed yet? I'll go to sleep after posting this.

Anyways I thought I should post my reactions to who got chosen for the Top 4. I'm okay with everyone except Courtney. She's a wonderful dancer but I personally prefer Chelsie.
Here's how I want the Top 4 to place next week in the finale.

1. Katee
2. Joshua
3. Twitch
4. Courtney

I'd prefer either 1 or 2 winning and I could also see 3 and 4 switching places too. But then again Courtney got the most votes this week (overall in the girls category at least) so maybe she'll end up winning?

I've heard some rumors of a Hairspray sequel (do not want), does anyone know if that was the movie that Adam was talking about?

p.s. I promise things won't stay as mundane as they are now. All I've been doing lately is chores, watching BtVS and reading. Once I start cross stitching, and being able to post WIWT (What I Wore Today) entries, things should pick up.

Dumb It Down

2008-07-26T11:11:00.000-04:00

You've been shedding too much light Lu

(Dumb it down)

You make'em wanna do right Lu

(Dumb it down)

They're getting self-esteem Lu

(Dumb it down)

These girls are trying to be queens Lu

(Dumb it down)

They're trying to graduate from school Lu

(Dumb it down)

They're starting to think that smart is cool Lu

(Dumb it down)

They're trying to get up out the hood Lu

(Dumb it down)

I'll tell you what you should do

(Dumb it down)

Dumb It Down

LUPE FIASCO - DUMB IT DOWN
Uploaded by JNUELZ

RAGE --> SYTYCD

2008-07-24T22:17:00.000-04:00

I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT WILL GOT SENT HOME!

WTF?!?

I'm going to go watch Dr. Horrible again and some Buffy to cheer myself up.

p.s. At least I have a strong feeling that Will will continue on with dance, it wouldn't surprise me if he ended up with Alvin Ailey. And at the very least he got a ton of exposure with the show. I also want to know where Will got his "The Cool Ingredients" t-shirt that he was wearing today (...Check your ingredients, before you overdose from the cool.)

Hypocrisy?

2008-07-16T17:14:00.000-04:00

I had a very..... startling and upsetting thing happen to me this morning on my way to summer school.

I was walking along York to SJAM and this guy starts talking to me;

Random Guy: I wish it was 1950 so you would be considered the nigger that you are instead of me, nigger.
Me:.................................................................................... >_> (wtf?)
Random other guy getting into his car: I'm sorry that you had to deal with that. It's ridiculous.
Racist guy formerly known as the random guy: *somethingsomething* (I was too far away at this point to hear everything) shut the fuck up! *something something*
Random other guy: Yeah whatever keep living that good life you have**, you faggot!
Me: T_T

That was first time in my entire life I've ever been talked to like that. Every other form of racism that I've dealt with has either been patronizing-passive aggressive (a certain someone being surprised I could read) or has occurred behind my back so I'm not aware of it.

After I calmed down I started replaying the whole "conversation" in my head. Why did that guy find it so revolting to see me being called a nigger, but find it appropriate to the situation to call that racist guy a fagget? Nothing in our three way pseudo conversation was anything said to lead either of us to assume that racist guy was homosexual. But nice-random-guy threw the word fagget out there as an insult?

Hmmm...... it's frustrating for me because "gay" has become the favorite new adjective (alongside others like "sick" and "emo") to be re-branded. So now instead of meaning either happy or homosexual, "gay" is an insult or meant to describe something or someone that is stupid.

It seems we as a society have moved on from targeting black people (at least in the open with no "repercussions") to gay people. Not to say that black people aren't being targeted because regardless of what a lot of people think or say, racism (sexism etc.) is alive and kicking. 50+ years from now we'll have moved on to some other group of people that are different from what is perceived as the norm.

Also I'm guessing that some people who know me are wondering why I didn't cuss that ignorant fool out. Well at the time I was just left utterly speechless. But looking back on it now, even if I did react I still don't think I would have said anything. I don't know if that person is drunk or high or has a weapon on their person. Too many people have dedicated their entire lives and poured their sweat and blood to give me the opportunities I have, for me to be wasting my time on an ignorant fuck, who wouldn't have been "enlightened" regardless of any witty come backs I would have thrown his way. I don't have time for that bullshit.

**=this was obviously a sarcastic remark since this guy looked like a strung out bum.

A PostSecret that I happen to share

2008-07-14T20:08:00.000-04:00