The Eagle and Child

summer.

2009-05-03T17:18:00.000-07:00

And another semester has come and gone.

Sigh.

I suck at blogging.

But now: the SUMMER! And I hope to write -- at least for no other reason that to be writing and keep up the practice.

Did I mention that I'm not a huge fan of the summer? I mean, I love the season, but working!? Not a huge fan. I miss my Studio classmates and the people I love in Vancouver, though I am loving being around my family here. But I have decided that I can't live life pining to be other places -- I have to experience the now where I am, not where I want to be. Being at home has much to offer and I have much exploring to do while I'm here. So I'm going to try to use this time wisely.

Okay.

Also! Instead of buying a journal for the summer, I bought a sketchbook! I'm excited to use it! I want to use it for writing, but I thought with the blank sheets I can be open to much more than writing... I think I'm going to try and go somewhere once a week and write. I'm not going to get any better unless I keep working on it. We'll see.

I have to open myself up to my creativity. I have this conception of how good I am or what I am capable of. But this only limits my potential! I have so much to give! So much talent to explore! I received 'The Artist's Way' for my birthday -- I think that and 'Freeing the Natural Voice' will be good reading for this summer.

the BiG update

2009-01-10T14:48:00.000-08:00

eeessssshhh.
Okay, okay, the whole resurrecting the blog thing didn't work out so well. Who knew Studio would be that busy?
But maybe I can make more of an effort this semester. Shorter posts perhaps. Snippets.
I'm not making any promises.
So what's going on with my life now? Well, I have made it through A-term at Studio and am now onto B-term! I'm very proud of myself for all the work that I did in my first semester, and all the highs and lows that I got through. What a semester. Seriously. The major points: I had huge issues with my lower back, to the point where half way through the semester they recommended that I leave Studio to heal and then come back when I could do the work without worry or pain. I didn't... and managed to push through to the end of the semester with the help of my chiropractor and my teachers. I am so so so thankful I did. I came out with a much deeper knowledge of my back and what's going on there than if I had stepped out of the program. To top it off, my mime final (which is quite physically demanding -- I wouldn't have been able to do it in the middle of the semester) was one of four chosen to be presented to the whole school --- very very exciting and something I am SOOOOO proud of!!! Despite all this, at the end of the semester they told me to take this coming semester off because they were worried about the movement work in B-term (that my back wouldn't be able to handle it)... After talking with my movement teachers and my chiropractor, and my chiropractor talking to my movement teachers, it was finally decided that I will continue on to B-term.
So here I am!
There's still a lot of pressure for this semester and I'm nervous as all get out, as everything gets a whole lot busier (yes. even busier than last term... we have all the same classes plus three more) and there's a whole lot more expected of me. But I am taking it one day at a time.
What I'm working on right now: I'm in a scene from The Shape Of Things, which is fabulous... for those of you who know the play/movie, I'm playing Evelyn (Rachel Weisz's character) at the end of the play, when Adam confronts her about her "art project". It's crazy fun, but really challenging.
I'm also starting to write my powersong -- it's a class you take in B-term where you write a song that tells how you got to where you are -- the things have happened in your life that have shaped you into the person you are. It should prove to be an amazing class though definitely stretching.
We also have playwriting this semester with Aaron Bushkowsky -- a prominent Canadian playwright. I'm really excited about this class!
That's all at the moment.
Oh, the weather in Vancouver right now is gross. Their snow removal system here is ridiculously bad. But I'm enjoying wearing my bright yellow rain boots!!! And jumping in big puddles!

once upon a time...

2008-09-08T21:38:00.000-07:00

eeesh. August 2007.
Sooooooo it's been a while. I suppose it's time to awaken the slumbering blog. I mean, no one really complained much that it was on a hiatus, but I am in a new place and away from everyone I love. So I guess this will be good. It may help me sift through things too... though I have to write in a journal every day for class so I'm hoping it won't feel to redundant.
Anyways.
Vancouver!
I have been here for almost 2 weeks now and there is a part of me that feels like it's been 2 months. And yet the city still feels so new, and my room is still not together, and I'm still constantly adjusting. Studio 58 is unlike anything that I've ever experienced before. Every day I come home wishing that everyone could take the classes I'm taking, that everyone should stretch every day and get in touch with the beautiful thing that is the body. I am so grateful to be here, though every morning I wake up nervous and sore and unsure. Before I got here, I bought an ipod Touch and on the back I have a quote by Annie Dillard: "All day long, I feel created." When I found that quote it didn't mean that much to me, I just thought it was beautiful. But since starting Studio--- it is strange how often that quote truly describes how I feel. I feel created. I feel molded. I feel stretched. I feel like I'm being peeled open. And it's really hard, tiring, revealing work. I am constantly having to turn off my censors, push myself to work harder, step over my fears, and commit. It's scary. But entirely worth it.
Okay, I have to go write in my journal, memorize lines, and practice my mime. I will update again soon. Maybe give you a flavour for a day at Studio. Or tell you about my wonderful roomies (all 7 of them!). Or talk about the sites of Vancouver. Or moan and complain about how tired and sore I am. Probably the latter. :)
Love and sunshine.

Eagles and Children

2007-08-28T06:01:00.000-07:00

As some of you may or may not know, I love films. I love watching them, talking about them, researching them -- you name it. Along with all that, I also love reading/hearing what other people have to say about films, including Christian film critics who appreciate film as an art medium and base their critique on artisitic merit as well as moral content. One man that does this is Jeffery Overstreet. He writes reviews for ChristianityTodayMovies.com, Response Magazine, his own website "LookingCloser.com," as well as various other magazines and publications. He also has a book called "Through a Screen Darkly", which is a fantastic book for any film lover, and is coming out with his first novel, "Auralia's Colours". I found his reviews shortly after I really started to get into film. Before that, Christian movie reviews meant a list of swear words, violence, alcohol, etc.. Jeffrey approaches film with the big picture in mind -- what does a film say about God and our relationship with him, how does art fit into our worldview, etc.. Of course, he isn't the only one -- artsandfaith.com is a great website where many Christians gather to discuss film, music, visual art, books, and a variety of other topics.
So why all this discussion about Jeffrey. Well, he has a new blog. And it's called "The Eagle and Child" -- the very same name as my blog! :) In the spirit of the pub where Tolkien, Lewis, and others met to discuss their art, Jeffrey's blog hosts his conversations with artists and people of faith about their art, their lives, and their inspirations. Very cool. You can find it at eagleandchild.wordpress.com. Since we now share the same blog name (what are the odds of that -- seriously!), I thought I'd take the opportunity to plug his stuff and give everyone a little heads up. So feel free to have a pint at The Eagle and Child across the border, and tell him Steph sent you! :)

Oh those brits

2007-08-21T16:08:00.001-07:00

So lately I've been going through a British TV phase. It started with the British version of The Office. Brilliant. So funny and yet so awkward and so completely different from the American version. From there, I started watching A Bit of Fry and Laurie (seriously, how much do I love Hugh Laurie) and Extras (how much do I love Ricky Gervais)... and now, through the suggestions of my brother and sister-in-law, I've been watching Jeeves and Wooster, and I'm hooked on The IT Crowd. Trish and I also spent the way home from New Jersey listening to the Hitchhiker's Guild to the Galaxy radio series.
It's a crying shame that there's only six episodes per season there. But I guess that's the European way vs. the American way: quality vs. quantity.

Okay, okay, so I'm exaggerating a little. We can't forget House.

I should really write something.

2007-08-13T13:59:00.000-07:00

If Google (not the people behind Google) was a living, breathing person, I think I would date him. I mean, how handy would he be. He'd always keep in touch, he'd store all my stuff for me, he'd be really smart because he browses all kinds of books and articles, but he'd also be willing to share it with me, he'd always know where he's going and where on the earth he's located, and he'd be really good at finding things. I think it would be a great match.
I am loving Google at this moment. A trip to my brother's does that -- revives my appreciation in technology. :)

On a completely different note, today at work I had to punch in the order number of the files I was scanning before I scanned them. Today's files all started with three 0's and then either 8,7, or 6. So in punching that in, I would hear 'beep beep beep.. beep'. Which made me think of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 everytime I punched an order number into the scanner. I had Beethoven's 5th in my head most of the day.
I've had worse things in my head.

new leaves

2007-07-11T10:43:00.000-07:00

I am by nature a lazy person. This is what I have come to realize about myself. I think I've known this for quite some time, but never really wanted to admit it, because, let's be honest, who actually wants to admit that they're lazy. But I am -- it's out. Well, maybe it's not so much about being lazy as it is about having a lack of motivation. Are those two things interchangable? I don't know exactly, but I do know that I can not tell you the amount of times I have decided to do something and then quit within a couple weeks -- diets, flossing, excercising, homework, reading... etc. I know I'm not alone on this one, but it's starting to get irritating.
So with one semester left at Redeemer, I have decided that I am going to make this a good one. I hestitate to say "my best semester yet" because I don't rate my semesters based on my motivation level, but I hope to start and maintain certain disciplines for my last semester. One of those things is exercising. After Redeemer is done I will be auditioning for some top knotch theatre schools, and being fit (or at least a good mile on the road to being fit) would be good. I don't know if they look for that specifically but I know it is definately beneficial. Another is homework. I am already on that one, as I am reading novels for my classes during the summer. But with only four classes this semester, rather than five, there is lots of room to be on top of my reading and start working on my essays in advance rather than the night before. While I have done the night before thing my entire university career, this past semester I definately felt hindered by it because it didn't allow me to engage the material as much as I would have liked. I am really looking forward to all my english classes this semester so I would like to come out feeling like I actually took on what was being taught and worked with it to the best of my ability.
Also, I am going to set aside certain times to practice for voice lessons, learn lines (if I get into the play), and work on my audition pieces. These things can easily get put to the side because homework is more pressing, but if I can stay on top of everything else...
Why am I writing about this in my blog? I'm not quite sure. Maybe putting it in writing provides a sense of solidity to my plans and gives me more motivation to keep them. Maybe it's a sense of accountability. I don't know.
Don't get me wrong, fun is still to be had, and there will be lots of that, but I want to come out of this semester knowing that I earned the marks that I got and that I applied myself throughout the semester. I really really hope that this happens. I think I make this resolution every September, but I feel like this one might be different. Perhaps because it's my last one?

So many films, so little time.

2007-07-06T09:59:00.000-07:00

Well, now that I'm back from my vacation in Los Angeles and on a film high... here are some things that are keeping me excited:

!TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL!
Ever since I have realized that this week of film joy and glee is right in my backyard and why the crap haven't I ever gone, I have been in either the U.S. or in Europe while it's going on and so I have never been. But this year? I am HERE. And I am GOING.
Some early film festival highlights:
No Country For Old Men -- The Coen brothers' new film, supposedly one of their best so far. Fun.
Elizabeth: The Golden Age -- I saw the trailer for this a couple months ago and it looks like it's going to be a fun one. I love Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush.
Fugitive Pieces -- This is the opener for the festival, adapted from Anne Michael's book. Both film and book are Canadian. I'm quite excited about it. Now I have to go go reread the book.
There's also a good list of foreign films that I'm excited to discover. Juliette Binoche is in one of them -- Le Voyage du Ballon Rouge. I don't even really need to know what it's about...

!FILMS!
There are a bunch of films coming up from some of my favourite directors... mmm.
Lars Von Trier -- The Boss of It All. Von Trier goes comedy! Being one of my favourite directors, I'm very curious at how he handles a comedy since much of his well known stuff is.. well.. not so much funny. The trailer was funny so I can only hope that the movie is as well... so far, I've heard good things!
Wes Anderson -- The Darjeeling Limited. I couldn't be more excited that Wes Anderson has a new film. While bringing back some of his regulars (Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Anjelica Huston, and a rumour of the return of Bill Murray), there are a few new faces to the crew (Adrien Brody joins Wilson and Schwartzman to make the subject trio of the film, Natalie Portman also stars). With actors like these, I'm sure Anderson can do wonders...
Woody Allen -- Cassandra's Dream. I really don't know anything about it. But it's Woody Allen.
David Cronenberg -- Eastern Promises. While Cronenberg is not one of my favourite directors, I did love A History of Violence, and this film stars Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts -- two actors I enjoy exceedingly. I'm still not quite sure how I feel about Viggo's accent... but trailers can only tell you so much.
Peter Jackson -- The Lovely Bones. One of my favourite books is coming to the big screen with Rachel Weisz as the mother and Ryan Gosling as the father. Fantastic start. Let's just hope he finds a young gem to play Susie.

!SPEAKING OF BOOKS!
Tom Perrotta, author of Little Children -- a book and film that I love -- is working on another book: The Abstinence Teacher. This book is already set to be a film (both of his other books, Little Children and Election, have been made into films) and will be directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the director duo of Little Miss Sunshine.

LA Film Festival highlights to come!

and a month later...

2007-06-23T10:37:00.000-07:00

So again with the no blog updates. Let's just say that the internet is no longer available at work. So that means that there is little to no time to blog. Crummy, but true.
For those of you wondering what I'm doing with my life, I am currently at the start of day 8 of my trip back to Los Angeles. I don't really feel like saying too much about it, to be honest, because I'm not in a blogging mood, but I figured I should update to at least let you know that I'm in LA right now. I've been staying with some friends here (which has been fantastic) and I'm volunteering at the LA Film Festival. A really great experience -- tons of film geeks, lots of movies -- it's a good time. I've also managed to take in a couple sights that I didn't get to last year... I ate at Pink's Famous Hot Dog stand, I walked down Rodeo Dr. and I think I'm going up to the Hollywood Sign at some point. I've also have done quite a bit with Ecclesia Hollywood, my church down here. It hurts to have to leave it again, because I just feel so at home at that church among those people... some people even remembered me even though I had only talked to them maybe twice.
Okay, well, I just got up so I should go find some food for breakfast. Mmmm.

don't feel like a title for this

2007-05-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

I bought 'Thank You For Smoking' the other day. It made me happy.
Also, today, while driving to church, I passed a car that had a toilet on its roof. The toilet was sitting upright, without any straps or anything. Bizarre.
Oh and did you know that the first Star Wars movie came out on May 25, 1977? So that means that on this past friday, Star Wars had it's 30th Anniversary! All freaky. All true.

Park this!

2007-05-25T08:47:00.000-07:00

Okay so I work in downtown Galt (Cambridge is made up of three small towns -- Galt, Preston, and Hespeler -- I live in Galt). Downtown Galt is very picturesque, though a bit shady, but on the whole a very nice area... lots of old buildings, little shops, you know. But poeple don't really come down here too often. It's kind of a dying area of Cambridge. So the city decided that in order to boost the liveliness of this area, they would build City Hall in downtown Galt. Great. Kind of an ugly building but hey, not a terrible plan. Now here's where I start getting frustrated. Downtown does not have a lot of parking. For the past two years that I've worked here I have parked in this free parking lot up the street from where I work. It was a little bit of a walk, but not terrible, and I could park there all day. Now that city hall is there, that parking lot has been claimed for the people who work at City Hall. First problem -- I no longer have a parking spot. So I look for another one. But here's the most retarded thing: the city made all parking in downtown Galt 2 hours only. If you park on the street, you can only park there for two hours, for the WHOLE DAY. So if you have a doctor's apt and you park on the street, then go home, and come back a couple hours later to go shopping (again, parking on the street) you could get a parking ticket. Luckily for me, the parking lots (particularly the one right beside my work) are still 2 hours, but if you wipe off the chalk mark and move your vehicle every two hours, they can't ticket you. So that is what I have to do for the rest of the summer. Every two hours I have to go move my car to a different spot in the parking lot. This is RIDICULOUS. If Cambridge really wants people to start coming down to Galt, this is NOT the way to do it. I know, people are not really interested in the parking situation in downtown Galt, but when you spend ten minutes one morning trying to find a parking lot where I can park all day and then have to resort to moving my vehicle every 2 hours, knowing that one day I'm going to forget and then I'm going to get a freaking parking ticket... it's rather maddening. And so I write about it here. Woot.

Shakespeare and me

2007-05-23T09:32:00.001-07:00

So it's been pointed out to me on a number of occasions that I haven't updated in a while. This is true. I have written a couple of "let's update my blog!" blogs.. but somehow they never ended up being finished. So this one will. Because I am at work and have nothing else to do (besides eating my lunch, which is what I am also doing). Another reason I haven't been blogging is because I really haven't been home. After finishing all brutal essays, portfolios, and exams, I went home for the weekend. Then I worked at Redeemer for a week, while also going to rehearsals and painting sets for The Complete Works show. The following two weeks were the show, the show and nothing but the show (except for one day in which I worked 12 hours straight at Redeemer -- so gross). And now that is done and so I am in Cambridge, working at my lovely office job. Fun times.
So the show. Was FANTASTIC. I pity anyone who couldn't come out to see it. We played six nights and two matinées. Of those six nights, three sold out and the other three were over half full. The matinées were full high school audiences. And we were doing it. We were working as a professional (albeit amateur) theatre company. And in all flippin' honesty, I couldn't have asked for a more AMAZING group of people to work with. I remember thinking once while we were working around the theatre: "I am so lucky" and by lucky I mean blessed abundantly. We worked so well together and we just had a ton of fun. The guys got praised up the wazoo for their work and they totally deserved it, and of course the ladies in the company just smiled because we know they couldn't have done much without us. :) Oh yeah. So the experience was fantastic and now we're taking some time for the summer and figuring out what we want to do next. You better believe that I will be on stage for the next show!

Final(e)s

2007-04-21T16:55:00.000-07:00

Two exams done. One essay (3500 words -- due monday), one creative writing portfolio (I have to write 10 more poems and edit the other 15 I've written -- due tuesday), and one more exam (wednesday) to go. I just might die.

If I'm going to be writing a 3500 word English essay I might as well do so with Mozart's Requiem resounding thunderously in my ears. Oh yeah.

Rather fitting...

2007-04-18T13:29:00.001-07:00

More Fun Quizzes at QuizPox.com

Spoiler Warning

2007-04-10T08:06:00.000-07:00

Okay so I saw The Holiday for the first time last night. And it's been bothering me ever since.
It wasn't the fact that it was a chick flick, or that it was a terrible movie. In fact, this movie had a lot of really great things going for it -- Kate Winslet and her whole story, the fact that Jude Law is a dad and not a player, Kate Winslet, the old man, the settings of Surrey and Los Angeles (England and LA in one film.. love it).... all good things that I really enjoyed. Most impressive was the realistic (in a sense -- how "real" are chickflicks anyway) nature of Kate Winslet and Jack Black's story and how they don't immediately fall into bed, but grow in their relationship... really refreshing and wonderful roles for both Winslet and Black.
So that's all good.... but what irked (urked? erked?) me was the other story line -- between Amanda (Cameron Diaz) and Graham (Jude Law). On their first encounter, they jump immediately into bed because she says that he's drunk, really attractive, and probably won't remember her so why not just have sex? What kind of screwed up logic is that? Then they sleep together again (but not have sex)..... after this, they decide that they might want to start a relationship. Then after making out through most of the movie, they have sex again, after which Graham tells her that he loves her. She never really says that she loves him back. And in the end, she stays in London for New Years and they're a happy couple and we're all supposed to be happy for them that it's going to work out and they're going to be a wonderful couple.. Granted, one should be used to misguided morals in chickflicks and it should be no surprise that sex is involved (and it isn't).. but maybe what got me frustrated was that this story was right along side the other one, which was so healthy in its portrayal, and both were presented as good "this-is-all-going-to-work-out" relationships.. I mean, for heaven's sake, Amanda actually cries over Graham!! It's got to mean that it's going to work!! :S But how messed up is the relationship between these two?? I mean, before they even are in a relationship or acknowledge that they'd like to start one, they've had sex... and when he finally says that he loves her, they've already had sex a number of times and slept together a number of times. And this relationship is supposed to be complicated, but healthy??? I know that this is normal in our society, and I guess I wouldn't be so frustrated with it if the other relationship wasn't alongside of this one... but it made me mad. What kind of model are they presenting here?
Okay, I should stop and work on my presentation for class. But I just needed to vent.

Life goal..... check!

2007-04-07T09:48:00.000-07:00

Last night was a monumental occasion in my life. Yes, I was able to cross off the very first of my life goals! Years ago I vowed that before I died, I would see Les Miserable and The Phantom of the Opera on the stage (Lord willing o' course). Well, last summer my mom and I went to see Les Mis (fabulous experience) and last night, my family and I saw The Phantom of the Opera!!!!!!!! It was aaaaaaammmmmmmaaaaazzzzziiiiinnnngggggg. There's something so unique about seeing it on the stage. It was so incredible, especially the Phantom, which was interesting because he was an understudy. But, man, his voice was beautiful and powerful and just wonderful to listen to. Christine was a little too operatic for my liking... I tend to think that Christine's voice should be more pure.. the dudes who ran the theatre were also fantastic. There were tons of comedic moments in the play that were definately not in the movie... so great. mmmmmmmmm... what an experience!!!!
It was also my birthday this past week. It was probably the worst time ever to have a birthday since I had pulled an all-nighter on the sunday night to get a paper done and had two more due on the thursday... but my friends/sister definately spoiled me! :) My roomies invited a whole bunch of people over (I had no idea they were going to do this), and my sister surprised me by showing up (I was supposed to go to her house later on)... and there was cake and fellowship and presents... It was definately a nice break in my week, even though I should have been doing work. :) The best was the fact that one of my friends gave me a used deoderant stick for my present. Seriously. I laughed so hard when he gave it too me... I have the weirdest friends! haha I love it. Good birthday.

hrumph

2007-04-01T16:46:00.000-07:00

So I have 15 minutes (crap, now 14) to write this blog because I am fooling myself into believing that I have 15.. er.. 14 minutes to spare before going back to my paper. grrrr.. school.
Antigone is done. Hurrah. I wish I could say that I feel some sort of sadness about the whole thing, but I don't. It was a good experience, but I'm quite happy it's over. The run was rewarding though, and we got a very good response -- the audience was full every night which was fun -- so that was really great. It always amazes me that you can work so hard for three months on something that is shown for a bloody week and then it's over. All that time!! Sheesh.
I am starting the process of thinking about my life after Redeemer........... SO MUCH STUFF!!!! EEEKKK! I could do anything right now! My life is sooo open to possibilities, it's rather overwhelming. Audition for National Theatre School/George Brown. Apply for my MFA. Work in theatre companies. Move to LA. Teach ESL in Asia. Get my Dutch citizenship and move to Europe. What do I do?????
I wish I had motivation. That would really be nice.
Alright, well, enough with the procrastination -- on with my paper. John Donne anyone? :S

It's not too late!

2007-03-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

To see Redeemer's ANTIGONE. I play Choragos. It's pretty awesome.
The show is performing friday night and saturday night yet, at 7:30.
In other news, I would really love it if my body would stop being nauseous all day. And maybe it could stop with the lightheadedness too. That would be good. It definately make acting and paper writing a lot easier.

because now I know

2007-03-21T06:38:00.000-07:00

You are all welcome to attend:

She That Loved the Spring
A One Act Play
by Stephanie Elgersma

On stage for the first time at Redeemer University College.
Directed by Allison Bennink

The performances are April 12 at 12:00PM and 7:30PM
In the Black Box at Redeemer.

There will be three other one act plays performed along with mine.... these plays are being put on by the Senior directing class. The running time as a whole should be no longer than 90 minutes. There will be a small fee of admission, but I'm not sure what that is yet though.

bitterness

2007-03-20T18:04:00.000-07:00

I will be a fifth year next year. And along with my 300 and 400 level English classes, I will be enrolled in a first year biology class.
Sometimes I feel something close to hatred for a liberal arts education.

just so you know

2007-03-09T08:02:00.000-08:00

- I'm no longer in Chicago.
- the mainstage is coming up. It runs the last week of March.
- some time around April 13/14, there will be a performance of my one act play "She That Loved the Spring". I will write more details when I know them

breaking

2007-02-20T22:05:00.000-08:00

I am in Chicago. Yippee!!

What I do when I don't want to write a paper.

2007-02-03T08:55:00.000-08:00

Once there was a wooden leg. It wasn't very happy being a wooden leg because it didn't like it's body. The wooden leg (let's call him Curtis) was attached not to a pirate --- that would be too expected. No, Curtis was attached to a ... dun dun dun... flamingo. Yes. Curtis was attached to a flamingo. And can you blame him for not enjoying being a flamingo's wooden leg? I can't. It was terrible for poor Curtis. The flamingo, named Bombo, had lost his leg in a shark accident (he was riding on a shark and forgot to pay him for his services and so the shark bit his leg off) (oh dear, don't read that line with your mind in the gutter... Bombo is a wholesome flamingo, he doesn't solicit "sharks of the night"). So when he arrived to the shore Bombo frantically fell upon a smooth piece of wood, then fainted. While he was out cold, his bloody stump of a leg fused to the piece of wood -- and Curtis was given a new home.
At first Curtis thought that this was a pretty interesting way to live -- attached to a flamingo. Bombo was a good conversationalist and they talked about many things. Curtis loved having something to talk to beside the twigs on his wood or the sand crystals (they don't really talk much and they're kind of cliquey -- it was a little depressing). Also, he got to meet other flamingos and became quite the cool thing among the lady flamingos. But while this was all really exciting and new for Curtis, eventually the little things started to bug him more and more. Curtis didn't like that Bombo always used him to stand on while the other leg got to rest up against him. He also hated how Bombo always let him drag on the ground when he tried to fly. Curtis kept hitting branches and tree trunks whenever Bombo flew anywhere. But the worst was how skinny the other leg was ... it made Curtis feel like the fattest flamingo leg ever. The other legs had done their best to make him fit in, but it was no use.
There is nothing worse than a wooden leg with self-esteem problems.
All these feelings kept building up inside of Curtis until one day he couldn't hold it in any longer. Bombo had just been flying around and by accident knocked Curtis into a tree. Curtis flew off the handle at Bombo, yelling and screaming at him about how he was always hitting things and having to hold him up and how every other flamingo's legs were so skinny and he was such a fat leg.
Bombo looked at him with sad eyes. A tear welled up in the corner and trickled down his beak. "I'm sorry you feel that way," he mumbled to Curtis.
But then a light dawned in Bombos eyes. "Don't despair Curtis! I know what to do!" he cried with glee. Bombo took off into the air, typically dragging Curtis behind him.
Curtis wondered where they were going. Eventually they came to the ocean. Bombo landed on the rocking waves and plunged his head into the ocean.
"CELINE!" he cried, as best as one can in water. He then popped his head above surface and waited. Curtis was less than thrilled with this plan. Not only did he not know what was going on, he was also stuck underwater!
Suddenly a shark came to the surface. "You rang?" it purred
"Yes," said Bombo. "I would like a ride to the island if you don't mind. My leg is giving me trouble."
So Bombo hopped on Celine's protruding fin and off they went. When they reached the island Celine turned to Bombo. "That will be thirty fish" she said
"Nope sorry doll" said Bombo. "I'm not paying"
"AGAIN!??!?" roared Celine.
Curtis looked at the shark in terror. One does NOT make a shark mad, especially twice!
Celine dove at Bombo, but only got a hold of Curtis. Curtis desperately tried to get away. WHAT WAS BOMBO THINKING??? He could feel Celine's teeth sinking into his wood and peeling away wooden curls. Finally Bombo yanked himself away from the shark and flew off. Curtis angrily told him to land.
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING??" he yelled.
"Wait," said Bombo, "Look at yourself."
Curtis did. And what did he see? A new and skinny Curtis! The shark had actually whittled him down so that he was almost the same size as Bombo's other leg!
"I'm not a fat wooden leg anymore!" cried Curtis, "and that means I'm lighter and you won't be bonking me into things anymore and I will actually fit in!!!"
HURRAH for Curtis! After that Curtis and Bombo got along famously. They even met Bipsy, a female flamingo that had a pitchfork for a leg!
And Curtis lived happily ever after.
The end

Say Hello

2007-02-02T17:44:00.000-08:00

This is Widget. He is my brother's new adorable kitten. My brother took this picture when they brought him home for the first time. SO CUTE.

uniqueness anyone?

2007-02-02T17:38:00.001-08:00

HowManyOfMe.com

There are:
0
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Oh yeah. Too bad I know it's not true for Canada.

2007-01-28T13:20:00.000-08:00

Dear life
I would be most appreciative if you would quit inviting Suck along to everything that we do together. I don't find him particularly friendly and his breath smells.
If you could get on that, that would be great.
Until then,
Steph

That's Ontario for you.

2007-01-21T17:00:00.000-08:00

When I was walking in Hamilton today two old guys were standing on their porch smoking. One watched me walk by, then shouted out "Hello, beautiful!". He was at least 60.

the good, the bad, and the ugly

2007-01-12T13:50:00.000-08:00

The good:
-- I am in the mainstage and I know I will grow and stretch by doing so
-- things are moving for "The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged"... we have a director and we have a number of highschools that are interested in having us perform there. We definately won't be making lots of money. But that's okay
-- I have been asked to be Assistant Director on a student film project a couple of my theatre friends are working on. It's about 80 pages long and we're shooting it in a week. Oh how I love challenges.
-- the one act play that I wrote for my playwriting class last year is going to be performed!! My friend Alison is in the 400 level directing class and they have to direct an one act play and she asked me if she could do mine... I of course said that would be amazing! It should be interesting..... and I get paid! Not much, but it's something!
-- I'm hopefully helping out a friend with her play that she wrote for her independent studies last semester. She needs it workshopped and discussed the possibility of having me help her do that. I think that would be fun.
-- I saw some really great movies of late: Pan's Labyrinth, The Queen, Babel, and Tape.

The bad:
-- my nose ring broke. I don't have money to buy a new one.
-- my hard drive on my laptop decided to quit on me. There goes 100 bucks! In the mean time I'm without a computer (I'm on my roomate's right now)
-- english classes are just not holding my attention right now. I'm still in film/theatre mindset and it's been very hard to adjust back
-- it's been difficult adjusting back to the Redeemer way of things
-- I hurt my back while at rehearsal on wednesday. It's hard to move around and it's painful.
-- I've been getting sick alot lately. I think it's something to do with the transition back to Redeemer. I'm hoping it will stop soon.

The ugly:
-- finances, finances, finances, and more finances
-- not being in LA right now
-- wait, did I say finances?

opinions on nothings

2006-12-31T10:39:00.000-08:00

So. I really don't like winter. I think it's depressing and cold. I mean, it's great for Christmas because Christmas wouldn't be Christmas if it was warm (although seriously. This year?), but I'm just not a fan. I hate being cold and I don't really like winter clothes. You just can't be as creative, I find. Granted, summer clothes can lend itself to the scank factor, but there's alot you can do with them because you don't have to worry so much about keeping your body warm.
This Christmas holiday has been a time for me to catch up on some much needed movie watching. I'm not talking about getting ready for the oscars or going through the golden globe nominees (although this is on my list too), I'm talking about the movies that most people who have an interest in film as more than entertainment have seen, but I haven't. The Godfather. A Woody Allen film. Kill Bill. Schindler's List. American History X. And the list is no where near done. I realized while in California that I have many many classic movies to see if I'm at all serious about film or film studies (which I am). On the Waterfront. The other 2 Godfather movies. Casablanca. Citizen Kane. Pulp Fiction... So much movie watching -- so little time!!
In terms of contemporary films, I will hopefully be seeing some this week that include "the Queen", "Babel", and "Pan's Labyrinth". I've heard good things about all of them so I'm very excited. Also on my must see list is "Children of Men" -- said to be one of the best movies of 2006.
Alright. I think I have babbled enough. Goodness -- I wish there was something interesting to post.

The word of the day today: pooh-pooh

2006-12-21T13:48:00.000-08:00

pooh-pooh (poo-poo) verb tr., intr.

To express contempt for; to make light of; to dismiss.

[Reduplicative of pooh (sound made by blowing something away with lips),
an exclamation of disdain or disbelief.]

"'Nothing of this sort ever happened,' says Sabya while pooh-poohing the rumour."
-Mandvi Sharma; Manish-Sabya Feud is Just a Rumour; The Times of India

Oh how I love this word.

Barbie and Ken -- together forever

2006-12-19T21:24:00.000-08:00

So I might or might not have spent most of today watching Battlestar Galactica. Four episodes to be exact. Almost done season one -- I started watching it last week. Fun little show, that one.
Other than that the past few days have been spent sleeping, shopping for Christmas, and writing. mmmm. A great way to spend the holidays. Oh yes, and I played with Barbies for a while yesterday. Not joking either. We're giving our old Barbie house to my neice for Christmas so Trish and I spent yesterday afternoon going through all our old Barbie stuff. Man, we had a ton of Barbie stuff! Of course I made sure to find cool outfits for them and dress up both Barbie and Ken. I'm sorry -- but in my reality they are a couple and they are still going strong. I don't care what anyone says.

I'm just a normal Canadian now

2006-12-15T13:01:00.000-08:00

I wish there was something new to post. But I'm home and everything's normal. I made the mainstage play for next year -- Antigone by Sophocles. I'll be playing the leader of the Chorus. Which, according my director, means that I sing lots and speak lots. I had hoped for Antigone... I'm not going to lie.. but this will probably be good for me since I'm going to be up to my eyeballs in work next sem.
I'm also made it into the Minstrel this past sem. -- The Minstrel is Redeemer's Creative Arts Magazine.. two of my poems got in. Good news.
I have a wine and cheese party this sat. mmmm.... wine. I made it all semester without drinking alcohol (it's part of our contract), so I'm looking forward to the party.... ;)

leaving and loving hollywood

2006-12-09T23:18:00.000-08:00

I am sitting in LAX completely overwhelmed that it's all over. I didn't cry a lot. Mostly this morning when I had to say goodbye to Sarah and my roommates. And of course now as I am typing this. Great. Nothing like crying in public. These last couple of days have been AMAZING. I could have easily have made this semester into a yearlong thing. I feel like I've just started to get to know people and now I have to leave them. And let's be honest – some of them I will never see again. I have learned so much and grown so much as a person and discovered so much about myself.
So I should go back to the Price is Right. 21 of us decided to brave the early hours and went in line for the Price is Right at 4:00 in the morning on Tuesday. What followed was a very long process of actually getting seats in the audience. The gates opened to the CBS lot at 6:00AM at which time we got a Order of Arrival pass.. I was number 66. We were told to come back at 7:30, so we left and I went home and took a shower. We all met up again at 7:30 where we got another ticket. This ticket gave us a spot in the line that gets actual tickets. We were told to come back at 10:30. So we walked around the grove until then. When we got back, we then sat on benches until we got our nametag (the cool Price is Right nametag!!) and had to fill out some info about ourselves. Then we waited in line some more (by this point it's around 1:30) until finally they called us up in groups to be interviewed. The interview is to see what kind of personalities they have in the audience and they pick the people that go on the show based on your interview. The guy interviewing us knew that we were all from a school, so he asked where we were from and what's our major. Except for me. When he gets to me he asks “what do you do?” This threw me off guard. A bit earlier we had been talking about our hobbies.. and so the first thing that comes to my head is: “I sit in my room and collect pop cans” -- oh my gosh – how pathetic!! :) He told me that that was kind of sad and I agreed with him. Then I told him that I study school as well, but thought that that sounded like I study the subject of school and so I told him that I don't do that generally, but specifically... and he told me that he'd take my word for it. That, my friends, apparently gets you on the Price is Right as a contestant. We sat in our seats and the show started and it was soooo exciting! The stage is a lot smaller than I ever thought it would be.... it's so tiny!! Bob Barker is Bob Barker.. so awesome. So yeah, the show is totally intense. We had a big group.... so we were pretty hopeful that someone would get picked, but the show kept going and no one did..... so it gets to the last contestant to be called down. And Bob cues the announcer dude.. and he's like.. “Stephanie El...gersma.. come on down!!!!” OH MY GOSH!!!! I totally freaked out. Even writing this I'm inwardly freaking out. Such a rush I'm telling you. So I race on down to contestant's row.. and I am shaking and I don't know what to do. So crazy. And immediately they are showing us the thing that we're bidding on and I didn't know where to look or know what the heck it was because I only saw the girl hitting the tennis balls and didn't really see the machine that was throwing them. And then Bob is turning to me and saying “Stephanie, what do you bid?” Oh my GOSH. So I guessed “1000 dollars”. I was wrong – it was 825. But that's okay because it was TOTALLY FUN. And I got a vacuum cleaner and two watches!!!! Yippee!! January 25 people.
And now I'm here in the airport and we're going to board in 15 minutes. Tuesday we had our premiere screenings of our films. My film went so well. It was the last one to show... which people told me means that it's the profs' favourite pick. And I got a lot of compliments on it..... I mean, I just wrote it, the whole crew did all the work, but it was very gratifying to watch it with people who had never seen it before and know that they are laughing and enjoying something that came out of my brain – with the help of the Big Man Upstairs of course. Everyone looked so beautiful and it was truly a fun evening. Then Wednesday we had our final banquet – the last hurrah where we're all together. We had it at Callendar's, which is apparently a pretty well known restaurant in the US. It was really good food.... so good that I definitely couldn't finish it. But what else is new. :) It was a good evening, in which we got our certificates and could say a little something to the group. Course when I got up there I had no clue what to say.... so I floundered around a little. It was so weird to be thinking that this was the last time we'd all be together. I got emotional when saying goodbye to my friend Bekah because she was leaving the next morning.. but for everyone else it seemed so surreal. Then yesterday I spent the day packing and cleaning. I also hung out with my friend Geoff... he drove me up this mountain and onto this private road and showed me the most spectacular view of Los Angeles. It was such a fitting way to end my semester here. It was stunning – lights sparkling as far as you can see. I took some pictures but they don't do them any sort of justice.
And now it's back to reality. I hate reality at this moment.

Stephanie El..gersma.... C'MON DOWN!!!

2006-12-06T10:12:00.000-08:00

Ok so people might want to be watching the Price is Right on January 25, 2007. Cause again, you might just see a familiar face down in contestant's row!!!!!!! OH MY GOSH!!!!! I, Stephanie, from Canada, was a freaking contestant on the Price is Right!!!!!!! I don't have a lot of time right now to ramble on about the whole experience, but I will say that I was the last contestant chosen, and I did not win anything except a consolation prize because I overbid on a tennis ball machine. Sad day. But the experience was sooo amazing!!!!!! SOOOO AWESOME! Bob Barker asked me, ""Stephanie, what is your bid?" ----- oh my gosh!!!!! And he's retiring too so it was one of his last shows. So incredible. But I have a million and a half things to do today so I will write more about it later. Yes.

I put ketchup on my ketchup

2006-12-04T16:23:00.000-08:00

I can not freaking believe that I'm living out my last couple of days here... it's completely surreal to think that my semester at LAFSC is almost done. I finished my internship on friday -- they were really sweet.. they got me a FIND t-shirt, and a LA film festival lunchbox and hat. So cool. I gave them my resume so who knows... maybe I'll be back. I'm planning on it anyway -- I want to work the LA Film Festival in June because I think that's what I want to do with my life... maybe. Still not sure yet.
Today we handed in our final films.... feels good to be done. I'm working on burning DVD's... but other than that -- it's done. Hallelujah! Tonight Scott Derrickson (sp?) is coming to talk to us... he's the director of "the Exorcism of Emily Rose" .. so that's really cool. We watched the movie last night in order to prepare to meet him -- oh my gosh I was SO FREAKED OUT. If any of you know me, you know I don't do scary films. Well, I really don't do scary demon films. I had my eyes closed and ears plugged through most of the movie. And I was still scared to go to bed! But it will be interesting to hear what he has to say tonight.
On friday I saw Imogen Heap in CONCERT!!!!! It was such an amazing concert --- I've really only been to really good concerts so far in my lifetime. I also broke my opener act slump. So far at concerts, I've really not cared for the openers all that much. But Immi's openers were sooo great. The first one was Levi Weaver, who reminded me of my friend Joel. He's a Christian, but his lyrics were not explicitly Christian. Which is great. The other opener was this bear of a guy called Kid Beyond. He was fan-flipping-tastic... probably the best beat-boxer that I've ever heard in my life. Really cool stuff. And then of course there was Imogen!!! We were in the standing area at the very front ... she was like 5 feet away from me!!!!!! And her concert was just FUN. Rock-out, kick-butt FUN. She is so quirky and fun and flipping talented and she just rocks it out up there... it's such a great time!
Tomorrow -- the PRICE IS RIGHT!!! We are meeting at 4 in the morning in order to make sure we get seats... it's going to be insane. Especially since I have hardly gotten any sleep the past couple of nights. CRAZY. But it's the PRICE IS RIGHT! Bob Barker is retiring!!!! waaaahhh... 4 in the morning....
Coffee. Thank goodness for Coffee.
On Sunday we ate at Steven Speilburg's mom's restaurant. That was cool. I also said goodbye to Ecclesia.. a church that has become my home in such a short period of time.. it was really rough to leave them. Sucky.

no kissing for me any time soon

2006-11-27T11:34:00.000-08:00

I burnt my lip. Not like, "oh crap that soup was too hot ouch" burnt my lip, but like "I have small blisters on my lip" burnt my lip. It hurts. Thankfully, it doesn't look gross or anything (hallelujah!) but it still hurts. How does one do such a thing? Well, I kind of ate fire. Ha ha. Yep. A bunch of us decided to go to the beach last night and have a camp fire and roast hotdogs and marshmellows (but not together). I love it -- having a night at the beach in November. :) Well, anyway, I decided to roast a marshmellow.... I was doing so, when it caught on fire (as they tend to do). I whipped the marshmellow up towards my face to blow it out.... and, well, I overestimated the amount of space between where the marshmellow was and where my face was.... so I ended up kind of sucking the fire into my mouth (which put it out... ) and planting the burnt marshmellow right on my bottom lip. Needless to say, hot burning marshmellow is not that comfortable on a lip, especially when it sticks there. Fun times, fun times.
It was thanksgiving here in the US of A. Kind of odd celebrating thanksgiving so late.. but it was a really nice break. That is a great thing about US thanksgiving -- they get a four-day weekend. We had a big thanksgiving dinner with about 20 of us that stayed behind for the holiday, it was a fun time of food and fellowship.. and food. Yum yum.. so much food. Over the rest of the weekend we went to the fashion district, Universal Citywalk, beach twice (both times were rather chilly.. but c'mon, it is november) and hung out with friends. It was a lot of fun. Wanted to get to Disneyland, but me thinks that that will not happen on this trip. Maybe next time.
In other news, I have become addicted to The Office. The American version, not the British one. Not because the American one is better or anything, but only because I don't have access to the British one. I really can't afford to be addicted to anymore shows. But seriously, the show is hilarious and if I were to enjoy a romantic relationship vicariously through TV, Pam and Jim's (as frustrating as it can be) would be near the top of my list. Acutually, it might be at the top of my list. I want a Jim. :)
I will be home in less than two weeks. Eek! Very weird to think about.

sob

2006-11-17T11:16:00.000-08:00

I am going to miss LA.

a film, an autograph, and a song.. oh yes and clothing

2006-11-16T13:38:00.000-08:00

Another busy week! We've been working like mad on our final film -- "Hiding an Egg. Seeking a Friend", which means that my weekends are NON-EXISTANT. We filmed for another two 10-12 hour days on Sat. and Sun. so it ends up feeling like Tuesdays and Wednesdays are my weekend.. which are the days we have class so even then it's not all that much of a break. Still, class takes up much less time than filming does. It's looking good though. Looking good.
In other exciting news I got to meet some really cool actors from the Christopher Guest movies. I went to a preview screening of "For Your Consideration" which is Chris' newest movie. I wasn't able to see all of it, but seriously. These people are geniuses of comedy. I came in halfway through the movie, and within a couple of minutes I was laughing, not even knowing what was going on. After the movie, there was a Q&A with Fred Willard (the travel agent husband in Waiting for Guffman -- a man that I find HILARIOUS), Jane Lynch (the lesbian lover in "Best in Show"), Jennifer Coolidge (Reese Witherspoon's friend in "Legally Blond", the one that ends up marrying the UPS guy), and Harry Shearer (I don't know him as well because he's in "This is Spinal Tap" and I haven't seen that one yet). So I got to chat with them and get their autographs! :) Eek!
I'm also VERY VERY excited because I am going to see IMOGEN HEAP in concert!!!! :) YIPPEE!!! She is seriously one of my most favourite female vocalists. It's probably between her and Sarah McLachlan.. so I was on her website and in the spirit of tours (Josh Groban starts his in Jan!) I decided to look at her tour... and low and behold she's doing a concert in LA on Dec. 1!! So I press Buy Tickets -- and even better, the tickets cost 25$!!!! Wahoo!! So I phone up my friend Sarah and ask her if she wants to go.. she says yes. So we ordered the tickets and now we're going!! Fan-flipping-tastic! I'm so excited!
Funny, everything I was wearing on Tuesday got complimented on by random strangers (except my flipflops, which are in such a state of disarray that if anyone complimented them they would have to be demented)... despite the competitive nature of this business, people here are very willing to give out compliments, and do so quite regularly, especially in regards to clothing or hair.. it's materialistic, but somewhat gratifying. It makes you feel good. People should do that more often.

bambling

2006-11-08T16:45:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting here in the edit lab, waiting for my project to write to Quicktime... and playing with the toy dinosaurs that my sister sent me. Seriously, I got THE COOLEST package today from Trish.. it included a SpongeBob pen that lights up, an eatable candy watch that lights up, toy dinosaurs (so I can pretend to be Wash -- "We shall call this land.. this land" -- which is what I'm doing right now), a smilely face flower, a finger puppet hippo that makes dinosaur like noise (it's a dinohippo) and food of the candy variety! Yippee!! I have one of the best sisters in the world!!!
In other news I went to a silent movie theatre the other day. Totally cool experience. I watch The General... a Buster Keaton film. Fun times. The coolest thing was that the soundtrack was done live by a guy who was playing the music on a piano as he was watching the film. I was in awe.
Josh Groban's new CD is out!! And he is going to be in LA at Borders in person to sign CD's!!!!!!!! OH MY GOSH!!!! I need to go. That's what I need to do. I will go buy the CD and go to Borders and meet Josh Groban. And then he will fall madly in love with me and I will come home married! Yippee!
My script is being made into a movie for our Hollywood Production class so that's exciting. It's looking really good too. We have a great team and they do a really good job. It's really cool to see my words come to life on the screen...
Tonight I'm going to see Marie Antoinette (or however you spell that) with my wonderful friend Tabitha. I'm looking forward to Sophia Coppola.. I'm not really looking forward to Kirsten Dunst. But we shall see, we shall see.
In other fun and exciting news, I found out a couple days ago that two years my family will be taking a vacation in... Prince Edward Island!!!! YAHOO!! I am so excited. The thought of spending a vacation in an area where the pace of life is so relaxed is sooo wonderful, especially while living in BUSY BUSY LA. And I've always wanted to go, and now I'll get to go with my whole family -- so awesome!
Also, I found out that my sister and parents and I are probably going to "The Phantom of the Opera" in February!!!!!!! OH MY GOSH!! I've always said that I want to see "Les Miserables" and "Phantom of the Opera" before I die... and now I'll get to!!! Well, Lord Willing of course. It's playing in Toronto in February and we're going as a family weekend type deal! My life is so exciting!
Alright time to go home and eat some French Toast. mai oui!

He's no Elijah Wood...

2006-11-03T01:48:00.000-08:00

But he's Joshua Jackson... and he's hot! :) I went to the preview screening of Bobby tonight at Film Indepedent. Also in attendance were Christian Slater, Emilio Estevez, Brian Garaghty, and Freddy Rodriguez. It was fun times.

love love love

2006-11-02T16:52:00.000-08:00

JOSH GROBAN HAS A NEW CD!!!
AWAKE -- NOVEMBER 7. BUY IT KIDS.

People in the news

2006-10-27T23:23:00.000-07:00

I've seen a lot of interesting people in the last week.
This past weekend was the City of Angels Film Festival, which is run by the director of LAFSC and some of our professors. So I went and saw The Nativity Story (the new movie coming out in December about the birth of Christ) on the Friday night, and then I volunteered on Saturday and Sunday night. The guest of honour for the festival was Randall Wallace -- the writer of Braveheart and writer/director of Man in the Iron Mask and We Were Soldiers. He was such a sweet man!! He said that I was pretty.. :) I got a picture with him which was cool.
Then today I was at Film Independent's Filmmaker Forum... which is a two day event geared towards indie filmmakers. My dept was working the event so I spent the whole day there. It was really great. The whole day consisted of eating and listening to panels. I got to meet some really cool people there too -- Faye Dunaway was there, which was really cool... she's a really beautiful woman for her age. I also got to talk to the Polish brothers (two indie film directors who are starting to become more well known), and the directors and the people who filmed Wordplay.... also there was Stephanie Allain (producer of Hustle and Flow), Lindsay Doran (producer of Stranger than Fiction, Sense and Sensibility, and Nanny McPhee), and other producers of big name projects. It was a really fun day and I learned a lot about filmmaking!
There was also this guy who came up to me and asked me where I was from. When I said I was from Ontario, Canada, he told me that "Wow, there are so many beautiful people that come from that city -- and you continue to prove that"... oh my gosh. smooth buddy. smooth.
On that note, he is probably the fourth guy in the past couple of days who has told me that I'm beautiful. My poor ego -- I think it's definately suffering.... :)

And now for the creepy people

2006-10-15T20:01:00.000-07:00

Elaine (my Malaysian roomate) and I shot my last five minute film this past weekend.. It was a lot of fun becuase it was just her and I and we walked down and around 3rd and Fairfax writing words on the sidewalk with chalk --- but we also met a bunch of very interesting males on the streets of LA. Must have been becuase we were just the two of us, and my shirt was a little low. haha
The first weirdo was about early to late 40's and he had a little bit of an accent. Elaine was kneeling down writing some words on the sidewalk when he came up to us.
Creepy man (speaking to me): Hi, is she (speaking about Elaine) Asian?
Me: Yes! She's from Malaysia.
CM: Wow, she is, she is beautiful.
Me: Yes, I know. That's why she's in my film! (kind of joking)
CM: Is she yours?
Me (slightly taken abake): Is she mine? Uhhh.. like, mine? Huh? (Seriously --- is she my slave or something?)
CM: Is she your girlfriend?
Me: Oh... no. No she's not.
CM: (with a hopeful look on his face) So does that mean she's available?
---- Yes, Elaine is still kneeled beside me like a foot away from this man ----
Me: No. She's not available.
CM: Are you positive?
Me: Yes. Yes I am very positive.
CM: Ohh... but she is so beautiful..
He then went on to ask me about my film, etc. A little while later, he found us again in the Grove and asked us if he could help at all; carry anything for me.. I was grossed out.
Then we were filming a bit later and another man of about 40ish was biking past. I said hi because some people are a little put off by filming so I tried to come across as nice.. He said hi and then told me that he really liked what I was wearing. I said thanks.... and then went back to filming. A couple minutes later he was back....
CM2 (speaking to me): Excuse me, but do you think that there's any possibility that I could take you on a date sometime?
Me (slightly shocked): Umm... no. Probably not. I'm only here for a couple of months..
CM2: Oh really? Oh I'm sorry.
Me: That's okay. I'm from Canada so I'll be going back there soon.
CM2: I'm sorry. You just looked so good in your outfit. Did you have a good thanksgiving?
Me: Yeah! Thank you! Goodbye.
Gosh. We also got numerous honks and a couple of whistles out of cars. One guy whistled at me out of his car and then kept raising his eyebrows at me and saying stuff to me which I obviously couldn't hear because he was in his car.

Being a young female in LA can an interesting experience.

I love the little piculiarities of this town...

2006-10-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

-- a woman got on the bus this morning and hollered out to the whole bus: "I want you all to know that Jesus loves you! Jesus Christ loves you all and he wants you to go to heaven!" Then stood in the middle of the bus completely silent for the rest of the ride
-- A highly made-up (she had a lot of make up on) European woman who didn't speak very good english had quite the little hissy fit in the middle of the sidewalk while a young girl who might have been her daughter looked on like there was nothing wrong
-- walking home from work today I passed by a Starbucks. At one table sat a woman with a little dog on her lap, at the next a man talking to himself and writing a screenplay of somesort, and at the third there sat a homeless man -- it was like a representative of hollywood all in one coffeeshop
-- on the bus ride home this really weird guy talked to me most of the ride about how I should really do some work as an extra, and was I raised by timberwolves since I'm from Canada (he thought that one was just hilarious)? When I went to leave, he said, "awww.. you have to go? Well, see you later you cute canuck!" And then he laughed to himself again at how funny he was..

I am thankful for Six Flags

2006-10-11T17:45:00.000-07:00

I LOVE ROLLERCOASTERS. Oh my gosh. I am a rollercoaster person!!! I never knew!! This past weekend was our minibreak -- appropriate since it was thanksgiving back at home.. But instead of eating turkey dinner and admiring the fall colours, I spent monday at Six Flags: Magic Mountain riding rollercoasters and basking in the beautiful sunshine! Not a bad trade in my opinion... :)
Though I definately missed my family and the turkey, I couldn't have asked for a better day!!! So far it was probably the best day of the whole semester. I was kind of nervous going becuase the last time I was on a rollercoaster it was ThunderRun at Canada's Wonderland and I was in my early teens. I definately thought that I was not a rollercoaster person. But when I heard that we could go to Six Flags for 15$ if we wanted to, I thought well I can't miss that experience! So I went. And I couldn't be happier I did!!
When we got there a whole group of us started out around the park together. Surprisingly enough I ended up staying with this group the whole day despite that there was around 10-12 of us. Our first ride was Goliath. Oh my gosh. What a way to start.. The first hill on the ride is 255 ft high and the coaster goes 85 miles-per-hour. People black out on this ride. And the last ride I rode was ThunderRun 10 years ago!!!!! I honestly freaked out the entire way up... and it was long way up. And then we went down... and around.. and all over the place. And then it was over and it was the most awesome thing that I had ever experienced!!!!!! I screamed the entire way and I actually put my hands in the air!! :) Look at me go!

Once I did that one I was hooked.... we ended up riding 8 rides through out the day.. and three of those 8 we did twice. The best ride was SCREAM.. it was just a really great ride. Then there was Tatsu -- it flipped the chairs forward so that you're hanging on your stomach through the whole ride, almost like you're flying! So cool.. But the scariest ride was Deja Vu. This ride pulled you back up a tower then drops you into a complete vertical 20-story free fall.. you go through the ride (including a 102 ft tall loop and 110 ft tall butterfly turn) and the end of it rockets you up a 200 ft tower (Yes I'm getting all the numbers from the website).. you're suspended there for a couple seconds and then it lets you go and you do the whole ride again -- except backwards!! OH MY GOSH. I just about died. Myself and three other guys waited in line a little bit longer so that we could be in the front of the ride. I don't know what on earth possessed us to do that. It was the scariest thing I've ever done in my whole life!!!! The first tower that they pull you up.. since we're at the front there is absolutely nothing under you except the ground. I was sooooo freaked out I had my eyes closed through most of the ride and I screamed like there was no tomorrow --- and I almost thought there wouldn't be!!! And yet I came off the ride and thought it was so exhilerating!! What a rush!

It was such a special day. The amusement part atmosphere was so much fun, I ended up loving roller coasters more than I ever thought I would (even though I now I have a soar throat from screaming on every ride), and I spent the day with people that I really wanted to spend the day with -- even if they're giving you statistics about the number of deaths on rides as you're going up the first drop...... haha these people are so great.

This is James McAvoy

2006-10-06T19:02:00.000-07:00

He played Mr. Tumnus. And here he is with me.

My question for Robin Williams

2006-09-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

Keep your eyes peeled for when Robin Williams appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live -- because you will see yours truly on the show as well!!
Last night, myself and three other friends from LAFSC went to a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live. Robin Williams was on the show promoting his new movie, Man of the Year. So the show decided to hold a mock press conference as if Robin were actually becoming president. While we were waiting in line we were given a card and asked to write down three questions that we would ask Robin if he were becoming president -- they were supposed to be serious questions about politics and current issues. Well, seeing as I know very little about American politics, I thought I would ask "What are your views on the Canadian/American relationship" -- because, well, that's the only thing I knew to ask. And I got picked!!! I was one out of 6 people who got to ask their question to Robin Williams on camera! :) It was so cool.... They briefed me on my question and what I was supposed to say about 5 or 6 times.. and then I waited for my turn. I went up to the mike and I was like "Hi, my name is Stephanie and I'm from Cambridge, Ontario" and Robin was like "Oh you're from Ontario, eh? Welcome" or something like that.. and I said "Thanks! My question for you is: what is your views on the Canadian/American relationship?"..
Then he responded and it was mucho funny. And the whole thing was on camera.. including me asking the question!
I would relay what he said but I don't really remember it too much and I know I would butcher it if I tried (becuase I already tried once and I definately butchered it).... so you should just wait and see it on the show!
I got to talk with Robin Williams!!!! We interacted on camera!!!!! :) hahaha
I know, you're thinking that well, duh, Steph, it was on last night and it's Jimmy Kimmel LIVE, so I would have missed it. Well, no, not to worry. The part with Robin Williams was taped, but it didn't air last night.. they are airing it another night closer to the release of the movie.. everything else on the show was live -- Anthony Anderson and a mini concert by Ludacris.. but Robin Williams will be showing another night.
I don't know what night that is yet though so keep your eyes open!

Last King of Scotland preview screening

2006-09-27T00:33:00.000-07:00

I just met Mr. Tumnus!! I totally met and chatted with Mr. Tumnus!! EEEK! And I got a picture with him too!!!! mmmmmm I also got to see Forest Whitaker (Garlick from Good Morning Vietnam), Kerry Washington (Ray Charles' wife in Ray, and also in Fantastic Four and Mr. and Mrs. Smith), and director Kevin Macdonald.
Very cool. Very cool indeed.

good day for me

2006-09-22T20:37:00.000-07:00

God was good to me today. Seriously.
Despite the fact that I was really tired, I had a really good day. I was at my internship today.... I am really starting to enjoy it there. The people are just so wonderful. My supervisor is just the biggest sweetheart and she's so lighthearted. The other employees in the Development department are so fun. They're fun to be around and they are really nice. One of them has a YouTube blog -- she is so beautiful it's not even funny. And her personality matches her beauty. I'm also starting to get to know people from the other departments as well -- today someone told me that they liked my style (Oh my gosh --- this is coming from someone who lives in LA -- these people are walking fashion!) and that I am a very approachable person. Then my boss told me that many people had told her the same thing (my style?!?!? I just about lost it!!) and that I am very friendly and that I carry myself well. Ray would be delighted to hear that last one, I'm sure. All my theatre is paying off! But that was a huge compliment -- I was walking on air!!
This guy also told me that if he was thief he would choose me to rob.. I guess that makes me a little too approachable.. but he was only kidding.
At lunch I went for a jaunt down the street and went into Blockbuster -- they were having a 4 DVD's for 20$ sale... so I got 4 DVD's! I bought Before Sunset (I actually thought I was buying Before Sunrise, which is one of my favourites.. but when I was showing the DVD's to my friends, I realized I had got Before Sunset.. the sequel to Before Sunrise and a movie I've been wanting to see for a very long time.. so that was exciting!!), The Village, A History of Violence, and Vera Drake. I haven't seen Vera Drake before but the cashier girl said that I can exchange it within 30 days so if I don't like it than I can exchange it for a different one! Yippee!
But to top the whole day off. Seriously. You guys are going to freak. So there's this movie called Bobby and it's coming out in Novemberish. Let me give you a list of who's in it: Emilio Estevez, Laurence Fishburne, Heather Graham, Anthony Hopkins, Helen Hunt, Joshua Jackson, Ashton Kutcher, Lindsay Lohan, William H. Macy, Demi Moore, Martin Sheen, Christian Slater, Sharon Stone, Elijah Wood and Freddy Rodriguez. No word of a lie. All these people are in it. Well, today I found out that I have a very good chance to go to a screening of this movie in which around 10 of these people will be present. OH MY GOSH!!!! I don't know which ones..... but I have the potential of seeing Anthony friggin Hopkins or Elijah freaking Woods!!!! Or Helen Hunt!!! I was freaking out. I don't know how much I can say because it's not set in stone yet, but I am sooooo excited!!!
And now I think I'm going to work on my storyboard for Sunday --- I have two actors!! Praise Jesus!!!! I just need a location!!!

hugging trees

2006-09-20T00:32:00.000-07:00

One of my friends told me that I was a free spirit and that he is having a hard time figuring me out.. he then asked me if I consider myself a hippie or a tree hugger.
I love it.

My life this past week:

2006-09-16T20:14:00.000-07:00

MONDAY:
9:00 -- leave for my internship
10:00-6:00 -- work at my internship -- I met this guy named Tyler who works in my building and wanted to hang out sometime --- Seriously, people in this city are really friendly.... some random stranger gave me a calender of Rotwiellers on the bus the other day.. too bad I left it at Ralph's (a grocery store, not a person's house). I also went to this Sept.11 memorial area and lit a candle for Joshua Scott Reiss. I don't know who he is, but he died in the Sept. 11 tragedy so I lit his candle.
7:00 -- get home and get a call from Michael (one of my profs) telling me that my script has been one of the five that was chosen for production for Hollywood Production Workshop (one of our classes). Everyone (48ish people) had to submit a script and then five were chosen to be made.. one of those is mine!!! I was really excited/surpised... but it also meant that I had to boot it over to the centre for a meeting
8:00 -- screening of Finding Neverland
11:00ish -- finish, check my email, and stuff.. go back to the apt
12:00/1:00 -- go to bed

TUESDAY
10:00-12:00 -- Theology in Hollywood class
12:15-2:00 -- Meet with the people who have been chosen to direct the Hollywood Production Workshop scripts and pair up...
2:00-4:00 -- Hollywood Production Workshop class -- read the scripts to the class and begin finding a crew
4:00-4:30 -- keep talking to people about crewing up -- I become producer on my script...
4:30-3:00AM -- edit my film

WEDNESDAY
9:00 -- go to the centre and keep editing my film until class
2:00-4:00 -- Motion Picture Production -- presented my first film! And it didn't get torn to pieces!
4:00-6:00 -- did some running around.. I got asked by these two creepy guys if I needed a ride anywhere (an example of the other side of the really friendly people), I went to Staples, Ralph's, the Post Office.. fun stuff.
6:30 -- meet up with Karin and we make our way to Homeless Karoke. Homeless Karoke is this night that my church participates in... they meet at this mission house on Skid Row and they have a night of karoke with the homeless.. Skid Row is so nuts. There are tons of tents lining the sidewalks, all holding homeless. So we went to go to this.. but we got rather lost. So we didn't end up going.
8:00 -- finally get home, then go to the hottub to hash out some ideas for a friend's film. The first time my body relaxed for the week.
12:00/1:00ish -- go to bed

THURSDAY
10:00 -- get up..
11:00 -- realize that the bus system doesn't work the same way for 11:00 on a thursday as it does for 10:00 on a friday. Crap. Beg Christy to drive me -- she does. She's wonderful.
12:00-4:30 -- work at my internship
6:00 -- get back home (I took some time to check my mail and talk to people at the centre)
7:00 -- go back to the centre for a meeting for all producers and directors.
9:00 -- leave the centre and go directly to Sarah and Patrick's house (they are our Resident's Advisor and Tech guy, respectively... they are SO awesome. I love them) for a book study.
1:00 -- leave Sarah and Patrick's, go to bed

FRIDAY
9:00 -- leave for internship
10:00-6:00 -- work at internship.. run into Tyler again.. he invites me to screening of his 16 minute short.. I decide I probably shouldn't go but tell him thanks.
7:00 -- get back to the centre for meetings with students for crew positions for the film that I wrote and am producing
9:00 -- go home and then go downtown LA to a little cafe there
1:00 -- go to bed

SATURDAY
9:00 -- meet up with Alisha and Caleb to shoot her film
9:30-3:00 -- shoot her film
3:00-7:00 -- go to LA Fashion District with Christy and try to go to Pink's Hotdogs (supposedly the best hotdogs in the US) but the line was too long...
7:00- now -- Making supper. And I'm burnt so I'm tired. Getting ready for my shoot next weekend. Trying to do all kinds of Producer type stuff. Talk to people on the phone.

My first film. Is not quite done.

2006-09-04T16:06:00.000-07:00

I have just finished shooting my first five minute film! Go me.... how stressful. But now that it's over, I'm sitting in my living room with two of my roomies, watching the blinds gently move in the breeze, and relaxing. It's sooo wonderful. I just finished watching Ikiru by Kurosawa.. it was really interesting... Christy has been reading a book that we used in my shoot yesterday called "Teenage Romance, or how to Die of Embarrassment"..... it is so funny... it looks kind of like a kid's book but there's some rather...uh.... interesting stuff in there. It's keeping us entertained.
Friday we went to a taping of Brad Garnett's (the brother on Everyone Loves Raymond) new show "Til Death". It was really fascinating to watch how everything works and to see the actors go through the scenes. Brad Garnett is super tall. Crazy really. It kind of made me think that acting for tv is not really all that hard. I mean, it is, in a sense... but seriously... they do so many takes and they have alot of cameras so they can hide screwups.... but I guess it's not really a matter of whether it's hard or not...... it's a matter of who you know.
Saturday was spent helping my friend Tabitha on her shoot. She needed a party scene, so a group of us went to where she was shooting and spent the day there. We met a LAFSC alumni who has been on the last two seasons of Star Trek and has done some other stuff.. nothing major, mostly little stuff... but it was still cool. Then Sat. night we went to the Hollywood Bowl to see John Williams in concert. The Hollywood Bowl is huge... it's this concert space that is outside and built up the side of the mountain. Artists perform under this big dome like structure at the bottom. It was so cool. I was sitting there thinking: "I am sitting at the Hollywood Bowl, under the Hollywood sign, listening to John Williams conduct the Star Wars theme -- it doesn't get much better".. He did some more obscure stuff at the beginning but he also did Fiddler on the Roof, Jaws (they showed footage of the movie to go with the music and I screamed when the shark came out of the water.. everyone around me made fun of me because the screen is so far away..... I hate sharks!!), Star Wars, Superman, Jurassic Park, Memoirs of a Geisha, and Indiana Jones... it was so great.
Sunday we went to church at Ecclesia, the church I'm calling home while here in LA, and saw both Tony Hale and Danny Bonaduce so that was kind of fun. But the worship and the sermon were sooo great. The pastor preaching that day (there are 5 pastors and they switch around) was so completely excited about what it means to forgiven by God. She just made everything so fresh and new... it was so refreshing. After church, me and some of my roomies got everything together and from 3 till 8:30 we shot my film! It was nuts. It was so new to me, but thankfully the people helping me out knew quite a bit so they were helping me out. I had so many things go wrong with this first film it was crazy. But that's another story for another day. Let's just say that even though I have now a week to edit it, this is the first time I haven't felt completely stressed out roughly since I got here... this first film was such a weight! I would have shot it today since we have today off... but one of my actors actually had to go to his internship today.. so sunday it was.
Anyway, I'm on my roomie's lappy becuase my internet card isn't working (my life in a nutshell .. I don't know why everything messes up for me) .... so I should let her have this back.
Maybe I'll go watch another movie or hit downtown LA... there's an amazing music store here that I still have to check out.

intern-ing

2006-08-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

I have an internship! Yippee!! I am the new intern at Film INDependent. I met with my intern advisor person on Monday, she let FIND know that I was interested, they called me on Monday for an interview... I called them back on Tuesday (I didn't get the message until Tues.) and then had an interview today and they hired me on the spot. So that's cool.
Check out their website. They're cool. And the people I'm working with are really cheerful and outgoing so that's really great. It's also a small atmosphere so that's wonderful.
I'm not going to get really cool opportunities like some other internships where you can go on sets or something like that, but God obviously has a plan for me at FIND so I'm just going with His plan. And I get to go behind the scenes at an Indie Film Festival so that's really cool.
So yeah, good news. And I am supposed to be filming my first film this weekend while also going to a sitcom taping and a John Williams concert. And church. I'm really excited to go to church. sigh. I feel like a baby that's just thrown into the pool and expected to swim...

week one: week crazy

2006-08-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

My first celebrity has been spotted............... Jada Pinkett Smith!!! Oooh aaaah. I know. Things are just so cool here in LA. I didn't meet the woman or anything, but we happened to turn down the wrong street coming back from church (something that has been happening frequently -- we have a hard time with directions here) and she was talking to some people on the sidewalk! It was pretty rocking. The church we went to was so great -- the worship was rocking (a lot of musicians in this place) and there were so many people who were just out there -- tattoos and the like -- but with a passion for Jesus. It was so encouraging for me to find such a thriving Christian community here!!! Please continually pray for the ministry here in Hollywood -- I have been more exposed to on-fire Christians in the last week here than I have in a long time. It's so great.
We've been really touristy this past week... we went to Hollywood Blvd -- toured the Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, went to the Chinese Theatre (where celebrities have put their hand and feet imprints in cement), a wax museum, and the Guiness Records museum... We also went to the Getty Museum which is this beautiful art museum at the top of a mountain looking over smoggy LA. Tonight we are talking with Tony Hale -- he plays Buster on Arrested Development. I just finished Season One ---- this show is HILARIOUS. So good ---- too bad it just got cancelled. Yet another amazing show that Fox has ousted. Stupid Fox.
This week I'm being thrown into everything. I start filming my first short film on Saturday --- EEEK!! I just learned how to work a camera on thursday! :) I am supposed to be getting a call for an interview for my internship --- Chris (our awesome internship contact person) is calling Film Independent to see if I can get an interview there. They do the LA Film Festival and do alot of workshops and stuff like that for independent film makers. So I'm really excited about that. We'll see where it goes!
I am really starting to feel at home here. I'm loving LA, even though it's rather overwhelming.
Also --- hurrah for Mariska Hartigay for winning an Emmy!!!!! Hooohaw!!!!

CALIFORNIA: new home

2006-08-24T11:25:00.000-07:00

I have arrived in the city of Los Angeles Unscathed and Unharmed and Unbothered by big bad VISA people. For those of you praying for my entry into the United States as a student, I thank you – God really does want me here! On Thursday night I got a call from the director, where she said “I just got a call from [the Point Loma guy], and they have just issued you an I-20.” “You're kidding me.” (that's me sitting at the computer stunned).
“No, he is taking it to the post office himself and sending it overnight!”Friday afternoon around 2:00 I got a envelope containing my I-20!!! The day before I have to leave. Seriously. God's providence? So confusing but so great.
So I have arrived with little to none hassle from the government. The flight was rather uneventful... I watched The Sentinel. Fun times.So then I got there and got on the shuttle.... and the shuttle guy wanted to (instead of dropping me off) show Hollywood to me personally, with the hopes of getting lucky. Which he repeated to me multiple times. I couldn't help thinking, “What the HECK am I getting myself into here?”But since he wasn't getting lucky I guess he just decided to drop me off at the wrong place. Which he did. So I was in the middle of Park LaBrea apartments complex (which is HUGE by the way.. we have gotten lost numerous times already), carrying a huge traveling backpack, a laptop bag, another normal sized backpack on my front and wheeling a suitcase around Park LaBrea in all the hottness and such. Gross. When suddenly I see a face that I think I recognize --- it's Nicole, the girl who was supposed to be my roommate but is not longer! Good ol' facebook... so her and her nice family helped me get to where I needed to be and then they helped me get my stuff up to my apt. Nice. My roomates are really nice girls. The two girls I thought I would get along with really great are not living with me... but it's okay. Everyone's kind of spread out through out the park so that kind of sucks --- there's three apartments in my building that are occupied by LAFSC students, but the other apts are in other buildings, some of which are a little walk... but we're making do. Things since then:I am now settled in somewhat. The phone in our apt isn't connected yet so you can't call... and since we don't have a phone we don't have wireless in the apt yet.. so going on the internet is random. We are also hugely busy these two weeks as we do all kinds of touristy things. I have not seen a celebrity yet... but I know for sure that I will, because we are living in the HUB of things here. Don Cheadle (of Crash and Hotel Rwanda fame) actually lives in Part LaBrea so we will probably see him. And across the street from Park LaBrea is The Grove (where we went today)--- a really ritzy shopping area where many celebrities chill out. So the chances of seeing someone is pretty good. Last night a whole bunch of us went to the Santa Monica Pier but we didn't leave until like 9 at night and didn't get back till 12. According to my body it was 3 in the morning.. so that was interesting. But Bekah and I stuck our feet in the ocean (my first experience of the Pacific Ocean!) and we watched some people catch things with their fishing poles. One guy caught a stingray which was pretty cool... and then another guy was reeling something that seemed quite big..... turned out to be a bra!! Only in LA.Today we went to The Grove and The Farmer's Market (a really cool place just FULL of ethnic foods and all kinds of fun stuff) and then bought some groceries. Seriously do not like American moneys. Just not pretty.The next two weeks hold many classes and whatnot. BUT we are also going to The Egyptian Theatre and all the cool places around there (and there are really cool places around there..) as well as going to the Hollywood Bowl and watching John Williams conduct his own music!!! John-freaking-Williams!!! So awesome. Should be fun.Now I should go try and find ice to put on my swelling lip. I smacked it on a fire hydrant..... don't ask. Oh yes. The second day here and Steph is burnt. Way to go.

Let me off!!

2006-08-16T10:53:00.000-07:00

Good news: I still have three days before I leave.
Bad news: I went to the Lewiston border, and they told me that either I was a) taking someone's job that they could get paid for (when I explained that I was doing an unpaid internship) or b) since I'm going to school, the school should be able to issue an I-20, and since they can't do that then they are a uncredited school and I am not permitted under immigration law to go there (when I explained that I'm going to school but getting credit in Canada). I hate the American Government!

Good news: Looks like I need a DS2019 (an exchange visa) to get across the border.
Bad news: I don't know if LAFSC can get me a DS2019.

Good news: LA is three hours behind us, so the LAFSC director still has all day today to place calls and talk to everyone and anyone who can help me and see if I can get this DS2019.
Bad news: I only have three days before I leave.

Good news: Everyone I've talked to has told me that they are praying for me (thank you).
Bad news: So far, nothing (and I really mean nothing) has been going well, and I've been met with obstacle after obstacle after obstacle. It's getting much harder to stay composed and not lose it completely.

America "the beautiful"

2006-08-15T06:31:00.000-07:00

This is supposed to be the time where I rest up and get completely and utterly excited/nervous/queasy/fluttery/exhilerated about leaving for LA on Saturday. Instead, I'm stressed/tense/weepy(very very weepy)/worried/tired. Not the greatest conditions for leaving the country. IF I can leave the country.
On friday, I got an email from the school that's been working on my 1-20 (student visa) informing me that Homeland Security will not allow them to apply for said visa and that they're sorry but there's nothing more they can do. I felt like a big rock somewhere in my head suddenly plummeted to my feet. I sat there stunned, not really sure what to think. When I got home from work, I placed a frantic call to the program that I'm going to and they assured me that they're going to do all they can.
I leave in 4 days. I still don't have a visa.
My family and LAFSC (the program) are still placing many phone calls, hoping someone SOMEONE can help me get across the border. There is some hope and I'm still putting my trust in God because I know this is piddly stuff for Him. But there's still a good 50% percent chance or more that I will not be going to Los Angeles this semester. Just thinking that that might be a possibility is a huge blow.
So pray. Pray that something comes through. And if nothing comes through, pray that I can still (by some grand great miracle) make it across the border.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." I don't think I've ever really gripped this verse until now. I don't know how many times I've been repeating it as I try to fall asleep.
Thank you to all those that have been trying to help.

a highway proposal

2006-08-14T08:53:00.000-07:00

So yesterday, T and I are driving to London to see "Please Give Generously" -- a delightful, thought-provoking show by JonH -- so we're booting along the 401, when this van of young men (good looking young men might I add) come up beside us. I happen to look over at them and the driver gives me a cheerful wave, which I copy equally as cheerfully.
We keep driving.
We happen to pass by them a couple more times, accompanied by some "peering over at the other vehicle" by both parties. We then notice that these boys are from Quebec!!! Les fils francais!!! So we get a little more excited about this little car tag game we have going on..
Then one of the guys puts a sign on their window saying "Where are you going?" We point to the sign saying LONDON and our exit that seems to be too-quickly approaching. They then furiously scribble something else down and speed up beside us: "Do you want to go for a drink?" Oh goodness. The possibility of going out for a drink with French boys. But due to the fact that we were on our way to a play that was starting within the hour, we made grand gestures of pointing to our watch, shaking our head, and yelling "NO TIME" (though they couldn't hear us). Then we had to exit so we waved goodbye while silently crying inside.
Sometimes I wonder about all the missed opportunities I've had and what would have happened had I taken them...

Learning to be humble...

2006-08-14T07:18:00.000-07:00

I need a miracle right now. That's what I'm needing.

This is the part where I start freaking out

2006-08-10T06:33:00.000-07:00

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

what's fun in Ottawa on the August long weekend

2006-08-08T12:35:00.000-07:00

. visiting my sister!!
. realizing on a 4 hour relaxing train ride that, contrary to popular (my) belief, Ontario actually is quite beautiful.
. museums. We went to the art gallery and the photography museum and it was WONDERFUL... so many beautiful and creative works of art, naturally with a few disturbing and "interesting" ones thrown in there. It was also nice to be mendering through the art with someone who appreciates it just as much as you do.
. beautiful beautiful glorious sunshine/weather! Praise be for temperatures below 30 degrees!
. Jamaicans. The greatest thing in the world is... love! (said at the Jamday festival about 30 times in 10 minutes)
. falls. Water ones to be exact.
. the transportation system in Ottawa ... never ENDING fun there :) People are so interesting.. and many of them speak French in that there city
. BUSKERS! What a great form of live/risky/fun theatre! We watched people juggle all sorts of various objects; develop intricate rhythms using basketballs, brooms, trashcans etc; get out of a straightjacket and chains that are tightly wound around them; balance on a bike that's on top of a tall pole and then stand up and juggle; and of course many references to how much you should pay them for their show.
. scrumptious food at the Elgersma/Ott residence
. parks. Lots of parks! I think we hit 8 parks in total. In one there were the falls, another held Jamaicans, another held a big lake, in another we watched a movie, in another we watched a play, in another we waited for the bus, and the last two were parks that we cut through to get from point A to point B. Beaucoup des gardins dans Ottawa!!! But watching a play in park was definately a very cool experience.... how can you not appreciate art when you're surrounded by God's art?
. watching 'Omagh', a powerful film about the bombing of Omagh by the real IRA, and renting it from this FANTASTIC movie rental place that has rooms FULL of mostly foreign/independant films! A little piece of heaven!
. gelato. Enough said.
. the Parliament's sound and light show. Ooooo.... ahhhhh. Makes you feel patriotic while you contemplate "what if we actually DID have a purple-coloured Paliament Hill.."
. Miss Tiggy Winkles. Seriously the BEST children's store in Ontario. Serious.
. doing all of the above with my sister!

Seriously.

2006-08-03T08:22:00.000-07:00

No one should ever have to pick at a twenty-year-old elastic band with a scissor in order to get it pried off the paper that it's supposed to be binding.
I think I'm developing a phobia of gross stoneage elastic bands.

C'est tres bonne!!!!

2006-07-31T12:22:00.000-07:00

Newly found directors that I'm completely excited about: The Dardennes brothers.
Mmm. Okay I only just saw my first of their movies on the weekend -- Le Fils (The Son). But by spending much of my time reading movie reviews (I recommend www.lookingcloser.org or www.phantomtollbooth.org for great Christian movie reviews!) I know that their other movies --- Rosetta, La Promesse, L'Enfant --- are equally as acclaimed. And, well, I loved The Son, so I am very much looking forward to exploring their other stuff. Watching The Son, I just sat there in rapture through most of the movie because it is exactly the type of art that I love: SHOW, don't TELL. Everything about the movie is so natural and the acting is phenominal. It's not a completely easy movie to watch --- you have to be patient with it and allow it to tell you its story in its own time. And it doesn't leave you with this cliche, neat and packaged ending -- it's complex and unsatisfying. Yet it's satisfying in it's "unsatisfyingness". The journey is entirely worth it. It restores my faith in film that can be a work of art as well as carry such deep meaning for Christians and non-Christians alike.
Now if only I could do something that creative and meaningful.

manicured little hands in everything

2006-07-26T11:44:00.000-07:00

I was listening to the radio on the way to work this week and I was bopping my head to a song that was fun and summerish. Then the song ended and the DJ person said something along the lines of "and there we have the new song from Paris Hilton!" I almost drove off the road.
Curse you Paris Hilton for putting your voice to something that's summerish and boppable.

the big man in town

2006-07-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

So as I was walking to work from my car today (it's a little bit of a hike from the parking lot to work) I saw a group of men wearing business suits standing around a parked car chatting it up. Across the street a police man was sitting in one of two unmarked police vehicles. It was a curious site, especially in this area of town, but I soon forgot all about it.
About two hours later, my coworker Paulette noticed the A Channel News van driving up the street. It would be the first of many TV news vans that started parking all along our street... City TV, CBC, CBS, OMNI... you name it. Why, do you ask, were we suddenly flooded with press on our lowly little street in downtown Cambridge?
Stephen Harper was in town.
Yep, turns out the big PM was at the David Durward Centre today to announce the sum of money that they are offering to the people who contracted hepatitis C in the tainted blood scandal.
One of my coworkers figured out why all the press was here, and after a parade of black cars cruising down the street confirmed it, Paulette, Amanda, and myself decided to walk up there and see if we could get a glimpse of the Prime Minister. We sat outside the Durward Centre for about an hour, waiting for him to get out... but there were lots of policemenand men in suits and glasses to keep us entertained. Talk about a feast for the eyes. Mmm mm mm. Then at about 12 o'clock the cars all gathered around the door and the body guards started talking more in their cool little earpieces, and then there he was! Stephen Harper! He stopped before he got in the car and waved at the small group of us that were gathered (at a safe distance away --- the police made sure of that), and we waved and clapped and some man yelled out,"Thank you for going to Afganistan Mr Harper! You're a good man!" Then the PM got in his car and the parade of shnazzy looking black cars rolled out.
And we went back to work.
I love the little moments of excitement we have at work.

You'd think I was rich...

2006-07-18T11:12:00.000-07:00

Oh my word. In a month I will be living here.

down with stuff

2006-07-13T09:55:00.000-07:00

Getting ready for Los Angeles is making me feel materialistic.

boom

2006-07-10T09:14:00.000-07:00

There is a big thunderstorm going on right now. I wish that I could be out right in the middle of it and not have to worry about getting electricuted or pnemonia. Also, I hope that the power goes out. Because then maybe I can go home.

!! Great Big Show !!

2006-07-09T12:07:00.000-07:00

This is GREAT BIG SEA!!!!!!!! In real life!!!!!!!! Last night Trish and I went to the Molson Amphitheatre to join the we-love-Great-Big-Sea masses for a night of hardcore music!!!! It was so fabulous.. completely unforgetable. Their vocals are even better live, and the energy of the crowd was so amazing! We were their second/third largest show --- such a rush. My throat is sore now, but man, was it worth it. I loved every minute of it, including the drunk people in front of me.

My family. My life.

2006-07-07T14:09:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken over the past couple of days as my entire extended family on my mom's side gathered for my Opa's funeral. The pictures in Tim Hortons are with my cousins from South Dakota. The time spent with family made me so thankful and blessed for the people that God has given me to love and to be loved by. I couldn't ask for a better group!

The Lord gives...

2006-07-02T20:49:00.000-07:00

Today my Opa went to be with God.
I will miss him very much but I am so thankful that his pain is gone and I know he's much happier now.

I love you Opa.

movie-a-minute

2006-06-21T09:43:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite websites is Rinkworks -- it is full of hilarity. One of the features on their website is Movie/Book-a-Minute, where they condense movies/books for those who don't really feel like watching/reading them. I went on the movie-a-minute site today and laughed at these so I thought I'd put some up on my blog. It's okay if you don't find them funny. I do.

Gone with the Wind
Scarlett O'Hara: I'm a whiny little brat, but my will is like iron. Watch my eyes flare.
Rhett Butler: I don't give a damn.
Audience: Gasp! We've never heard anything so depraved in our lives!
THE END

Grease
John Travolta: I like you, but you're not cool enough.
Olivia Newton-John: What if I dress like a slut?
John Travolta: Now that you're not who you are, I can love you for who I wanted you to be.
THE END

The Hours
Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, and Meryl Streep: Yeah, we're women, and it sucks.
THE END

The Lion King
Scar: You killed your father.
Simba: (runs away)
Nala: We need you.
Simba: (runs back)
THE END

diet coke experimentos

2006-06-20T09:52:00.000-07:00

This is awesome.

listfully acted

2006-06-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

Due to my communication with the LAFSC (Los Angeles Film Studies Centre --- my school next semester) group, I have compiled a list of my top ten actors/actresses. Inspired by Brett Dewing (though without his "preciseness") I have decided to post them here as well, since I spent most of my morning putting it together (while doing multiple other officey-type things, I assure you). It is not ten people exactly, for some actors I have put together because I like them an equal amount and I thought both should be in my top ten. But it's my list so I make the rules. Plus, this will show to my lovely but ignorant roomates that, contrary to popular belief, I do indeed like some female actors. Around ten in fact.

::Actors:: (separated into top 5, than subsequent esteemed actors --both groups are in no particular order)
1. Joaquin Pheonix
2. Tom Wilkinson
3. Johnny Depp
4. Adrien Brody
5. Geoffrey Rush/Kevin Spacey
-----------------
6. Viggo Mortensen
7. Paul Bettany
8. Colin Firth
9. Liam Neeson/Anthony Hopkins
10. Hugh Laurie/Robert Sean Leonard (both of these men get lumped together because I think they are both very talented actors, but I've not seen a whole lot of either of them -- Laurie is based on House, and Sense and Sensibility, and Leonard is based on House, Dead Poet's Society, and Chelsea Walls)

::Actresses:: (same system as actors)
1. Kate Winslet
2. Cate Blanchett
3. Scarlett Johansson
4. Julianne Moore
5. Emma Thompson
-----------------
6. Gwyneth Paltrow
7. Nicole Kidman
8. Robin Wright Penn
9. Miranda Otto/Michelle Pfeiffer
10. Emily Mortimer/Emily Watson/Samantha Morton (these three actress are in the same boat as Hugh Laurie and Robert Sean Leonard --- I think all three of them are talented, but I can only base that opinion on a small number of movies for each of them, so I have lumped them together as well)

Not exactly ten. But close enough.

rambling along

2006-06-19T09:52:00.000-07:00

Two months from today I will be flying to Los Angeles. I'm trying desperately not to be nervous.
I am working on a really hard Sudoku.. but it's a level 5 so I guess that makes sense. My brain is feeling challenged -- always good.
I realized that I watched a movie every day last week. I don't know whether to feel satisifed or ashamed.
I really love being an aunt. More than I think I would love being a mom right now. That's probably a good thing, I would imagine, seeing as I have no plans for being pregnant any time soon.
I have met four really great girls -- Nicole, Tabitha, Elaine, and Nicah -- who I'm probably going to be sharing an apartment with in Los Angeles. I enjoy all of the them so far, and I hope this is an indication of how my semester is going to go.
I am going to be working on a film this summer with an aquaintance from Kitchener. I will probably be holding cords and getting him coffee. But I will be on a set. And I will be learning.
God is still good.

But the greatest of these is.

2006-06-13T10:39:00.000-07:00

Leave me alone so I won't try to
Open my body to your claws as you
Vie for my affection and
Eat my senses into overdrive.

daydream

2006-06-07T07:21:00.000-07:00

These people are the only living things that make me actually want to be admitted to a hospital. Sigh. If only life worked that way.

Eating habits

2006-06-02T05:52:00.000-07:00

I don't think people know what a blessing it is to be able to eat a normal meal. To be able to finish a hamburger, fries, and a soft drink -- a normal combo meal at any fastfood restaurant -- and feel satisfied (provided it's not mcdonald's -- because then you're just asking for indigestion) and contently full or maybe still hungry. I used to be like that. There was a time when I would eat a combo meal and still have room for dessert. The last time I clearly remember being able to do that was in grade seven -- around 8 or 9 years ago.
If I was allowed to change one thing about my body, just one, I wouldn't ask to be shorter, or to have a better back, or to have the ability to tan (although all of those would be tempting).. I would ask for a new digestive system.
Anyone who has lived with me or who has been friends with me for a significant period of time knows that I don't eat very much. Well, to quote Winnie the Pooh -- I would, if I could, but I can't. Around grade eight/grade nine, my appetite started to decrease, by which I mean that I found I couldn't eat as much during a meal before I'd start feeling full. Accompanied to that was that I was randomly getting bad indigestion about a 1/2 hour after meals. This steadily got worse throughout highschool to the point where I'd be camping out in the bathroom after meals about 4-5 times a week. Fast forward to the present. Now, I feel sick probably about once a day. I have about 5 different kinds of "feeling sick" that I've learn to identify that will hit me randomly so it's impossble to monitor and control. If I were to order a combo at a fastfood restaurant (that would be a feat in of itself because I can't even eat fastfood anymore) I would barely be able to finish the hamburger by itself, let alone the fries and drink. The thought of dessert wouldn't even cross my mind.
I'm not writing this blog to gain sympathy or as a "woe is me" complaint. I'm frustrated. I want people to understand that when I go to a restaurant and don't order anything except water, it's not because I'm on some diet (so don't look at me with scorn because "oh yeah like you need to diet") or because I'm anorexic, it's because I can't finish anything on the menu, or because I'm feeling nauseous, or becuase it's too late at night or I'm too tired and if I eat I'll feel like I'm going to throw up, or because we're going out somewhere after supper and I don't want to chance food in case I end up spending most of the evening in the bathroom. If I don't feel like going out to some place, it's not because I don't like the company, or because I'm a party-pooper, it's because through out the years, home has become a safe haven for me because I can be sick there as much as I want and not worry about it. This is why watching movies has become one of my most frequent activities -- I can stay at home and my body can just lay down and relax, whether it's sick or not. Going out is stressful, going to a restaurant is stressful, going on trips is stressful, going to evening church is stressful (because we eat before church and you have to sit in a pew for an hour and a 1/2), doing anything new is stressful (my body hates change) -- and the funny thing is, the more stressed my body is, the more likely it will get sick. It's a cycle -- I get stressed that I'm going to get sick, and then I get sick because I'm stressed out about it, which makes me nervous about it again next time. Well, you would say, don't get stressed and you won't get sick... The fun thing about my body is that it can hit at any time.... whether I'm stressed or not.
If I could survive without eating, I would.
I want to be a normal person. Not being able to eat properly has affected so many areas of my life, I feel now that I've come to define myself by it. I feel I've lost so much of who I am because of my body -- I don't take near as many risks, I don't go out and have fun as much and I don't really like to either, I'm stressed so much more, I'm not as fun, and I feel judged all the time because people don't understand (because it just looks like I'm doing it for dietary reasons.. and, well, I'm skinny, so that isn't taken favourably.. ) and I don't feel like explaning to every waitress why I'm not giving them any business or to the group of people I'm with why I'm being so frugal with my money and not ordering anything again. I would love to go visit my cousins for 4 days and not be sick for most of the time I'm there. I would like to be able to eat a meal (or just eat something period) before I go on stage. I would like not to get full on my lunch consisting of a small baggie of crispers, a drink, and a yogurt. I'm sick of people's snide little comments like "oh yeah, I forgot, you're never hungry" or "let me guess, you're not feeling well". I can't control it, I can't help it, and I'm not a big fan of it either. So back off.
I look forward to heaven if for nothing else than for a restored body.

Law and Order Cambridge?

2006-06-01T07:21:00.000-07:00

Downtown Cambridge (well, downtown Galt to be more precise-- where my work is located) is an area full of very interesting people. Last year there was an old homeless lady who had a necklace with a cross on it. She walked up and down the street and if she came up to a tree or a sewer, she would stand beside it and bless it by making circular and crosslike movements with her necklace over it. She would do this for a good 15 minutes before moving on to the next item that needed blessing. We had one holy downtown area all summer.
Today we experienced a real life Law and Order situation. Across the street from our building are these ratty looking apartments that hold all kinds of interesting people. Lately there have been these teenagers that will go into the street and yell up to this one apartment (they are all at least one story above ground). I've seen them do this a number of times when I come out of work. Well, yesterday there were these two guys and a girl who were down there yelling up to the apartment and the girl was crying.. I guess they got let in becuase they went off around the corner after a little bit. But today they were back. The one guy and the girl were in their pj's, and it looked like the two guys were going to take each other out. The girl was crying and trying to break them up. She managed to get them off of each other, but for the next 10-20 minutes they were walking around our building yelling at each other and waving their arms around and pushing each other (well, really the dressed guy was yelling at the pj guy and pushing him around). The girl just kept crying and looked rather helpless. The pj couple finally walked off. About a couple minutes later the police showed up. There were numerous cop cars and a pattywagon on the street -- unfortunately all the police stuff happened around the corner so we couldn't see what went on. We have been under the suspicion for a while now that that apartment has been dealing drugs.. (we keep ourselves entertained by playing dectective -- we have suspicions about all kinds of people on this street) because there's a window in that apartment that is never open and even when the blind comes up a little, there's cardboard behind it.... oh yeah. they're druggies.
Things have calmed down now, but we're still hoping that the police will be back and they'll bust the place. But it was pretty exciting.. we had police up and down the street talking to people. They didn't come in here. But it was still cool.
Well, time to wait for the next bit of excitement.. maybe the girl that we strongly suspect to be a hooker will come strutting by soon and make a pass on someone...

Look at Me

2006-05-31T07:08:00.000-07:00

Close your eyes that I may
glue them shut with my fingertips
To blind you from my blood
as I am blind to yours
Listen to my voice
Let me speak for the first time
as a woman
and you a man
Allow me to become
a life size model of your childhood dream
breathing under your hands
as you feel your way into sight
Let us play like we used to play
Let us laugh like we used to laugh
Before age clawed into our skin
and demanded of us rationality
Then perhaps your blindness will keep
me from fading into familiarity
and I will stop being afraid
But until then, my love will lie in secret
within the tip of each of my fingers
and I will wait
until you can tell me the reason
why we ever should have met at all

Bless you!

2006-05-29T11:01:00.000-07:00

(from Friday, May 26)
Here are some of the happy highlights of my week:
I went to New Jersey to visit my brother and sister-in-law for a whole weekend.
I received the first season of House M.D. in the mail while we were there (we had it shipped to my brother's place), and we payed less for it than anywhere else I had seen.
I watched two episodes of the first season of House and one episode of Firefly. All three were excellent.
I reveled in the joys of my youth by watching Victor Borge and enjoyed the satisfaction of getting more jokes than I did when I was a child.
Along with House, I purchased a CD by Caroline Lavelle that I've wanted to own for a long while now, for the lovely price of 5 dollars.
I smiled and laughed every day this week.
My sister and I spent Tuesday evening with our friend Nathaniel at our weekly movie night -- we watched Short Circuit, Hoodwinked, and Dummy. They were all funny.
The season finale of House for season two was FAN-FLIPPIN-TASTIC, confirming its position as my new favourite show on TV right now (tied with Law and Order SVU of course).
I got to enjoy the fun feature that is speaker-phone, and by doing so, I could talk to both my friends Sam and Amy at once. I think that was my first time being a speaker-phoner (the person calling that gets turned to speaker-phone), rather than a speaker-phonee (those multiple people on the other end that can all talk to the one person calling). An interesting experience.
I finished a level five Sudoku.. the highest and hardest level of Sudokus. Go me.
I went out for coffee with one of my best friends, Jenna, whom I haven't seen for a couple of months. She came home for the summer instead of staying in Chicago, which is awesome.
I finally started the hefty project of redoing my room -- so far this week my one wall that used to be covered in the Winnie the Pooh has been converted to a wall of Lord of the Rings. Going into my room makes me happy.
I found Firefly for $24.99 and bought it without thinking twice (I now own House and Firefly... Eeek!)
My cousins are coming this weekend from South Dakota. I haven't seen them in almost a year.
I just found out that I got a 35 cent raise from last summer.
My work week consisted of four days, not five, and my weekend starts in an hour and a half!

(i don't like the summer)

2006-05-14T15:43:00.000-07:00

why is it that i feel so restless... so... ? when i'm busy, i want nothing but to be still ...
when i'm still, i feel empty, needing to do. needing to... my brain feels restless... and yet apathetic.
i want to put my hands to something and feel in my being that it means something.
i want to flee from monotony.
i want to stop trying to chase down the meaning of life in every movie i see.
i want to stop living my head.
i want to commit to something instead of wondering from half-started project to half-started project.
i want to feel too much.
i want to stop feeling.
i want to quit desiring to be nothing more than a human.
i want to gain momentum so every new step won't feel like the first one.
i want to be a friend.
i want to stop eating so much just because i'm bored.
i want my clothes to be made for me.
i want my body to be made for me.
i want to know that i can love -- not just some teenage angst cliche.
i want to know that someone can swear and still be a good person.
i want to never swear at all.
i want to feel satisfied.
i want...

see you in hollywood baby

2006-04-21T20:22:00.000-07:00

I would like a librarian to help me find a book when I can't find what I'm looking for. This is what they are hired for, no? That would put a smile on my face. Granted, I am done exams, and I was looking for Harry Potter, not some "The Criticism of the Dualist Hierarchy of Humoural Physiology" (and that's not totally made up.. I did my Reformational Theology paper on that stuff -- got an A too. woot), but I am a paying student of the school and when I come up to the front desk and tell her that the computer says that Harry Potter is available, but the shelf says that it is not, it would kind of her not to say "I'm sorry, but I can't help you." This would be nice. Rather, I would like for her to find the book for me (because she is the librarian and therefore has knowledge of the whereabouts of every book in the school's possession -- this is her specialty) so then I could be reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire right now. And not be writing this blog. sigh.
In other news.... I am going to HOLLYWOOD!!!! City of sin and indecency, where evil walks the streets. Oh yes... August 19 I embark on what will hopefully be one exciting semester. I am taking a semester at Los Angeles Film Studies Centre .. to study film and work in the film industry. I know that I have been talking about this for a while, but I found out on monday that I have been officially accepted into the program and I know for certain that I am going. I just have to let them know that yet. :S That would be good.
My sister has decided that if she opens up a coffee shop, she's going to call it Carpe Latte -- Seize the Coffee. I think this is hIlarious.
So I am done another year at Redeemer. Hokey toot it goes fast. I finished up my last exam yesterday morning and then spent the day eating quizno's and lying in the sun, solving sudokus. Man those things are addicting. I used to think that those things were over the top for me... but I recently found out that they are not. Too bad they're trendy now. That sours the experience a little. But not enough. Man I feel smart when I finish one!
(Secretly I think that I have quite a bit of left brain power and it takes over some of the time. This makes me nervous)
Also, Gregory House makes me laugh. He has got to be one of the most cynical yet lovable characters on television. He is so funny.
Now with exams done, I have so much free time I've been doing all kinds of great things --- I'm still working at the school which is why I'm not home yet, but I've been watching movies (go figure --- really!??!) and recycling school notes, watching friends play baseball, walking and talking, listening to the Spice Girls (and getting lots of weird looks.. I love it) and I think now, before I head off to bed, I'm going to do a little light reading. Oh man, I've been waiting all semester to do that. Hmmm.... what shall I read!?!?!??! I love that that is what is pressing right now. Not school. Oh yeah. Not school...... sigh. I'll miss it soon enough.

ps. rent Everything is Illuminated. It's a premium movie.

when bunnies just don't want to live anymore...

2006-04-16T13:51:00.000-07:00

oh how these suicidal bunnies make me laugh.

SICK OF PAPERS. WANT TO WATCH MOVIES.

2006-04-16T10:54:00.000-07:00

Funny enough, in the last two weeks the ratio of papers to movies has been 3 to 5. Well, okay, one doesn't really count because I watched it for a paper. All movies were excellent uses of my time too, which makes me even more happy. Nothing worse than sitting down to watch a movie when you should be working on a paper and then the movie sucks. Recent watches: The Hours (for the paper), Edward Scissorhands (oh Tim Burton), Everything is Illuminated (hilarious movie.. Elijah Wood is so enjoyable) and Chelsea Walls (an arts movie directed by Ethan Hawke... crazy movie -- I loved it), and The Man (watched this one with the fam... it had some really funny moments.. Eugene Levy is down right funny). Recent papers: a one act play for playwriting (I wrote it based on a short story that I wrote for my creative writing class -- turned out decent enough), a paper comparing the social criticism of Mrs. Dalloway and The Hours (I wrote that one in 24 hours... 3500 words.. 1000 words over the minimum oops), and a paper on the destruction of hierarcy in CS Lewis' That Hideous Strength.... any one bored to tears yet?
Well, the last one isn't done yet. Could only go home for one day for Easter becuase I have this essay due on Wednesday, and I have exams Tuesday through Thursday.. then, thankfully, I'm done. But heaven help me get through these next few days. Oh school.
Cheers

One more week.....

2006-04-11T22:25:00.000-07:00

man, being busy and stressed is entirely overrated. I mean, it's great working keeps me occupied and far from bored. But honestly, enough with the school already. Well, okay, that's not true. As soon as I'm done and have been out for a couple of weeks I know I am going to despirately miss being intellectually stimulated.. but for the moment, I need sleep.
On a wonderfully happy note, I just discovered the beauty and talent that is Virginia Woolf. I have finished reading Mrs. Dalloway, and I am so enthralled and captivated by this book! Her style is just so melodious and under the surface... it was almost addicting. I mean it was so tiring to read and you can get so overwhelmed with thought and style, but then when you put it down and it just simmers in your brain, it really is moving. I am writing my second last essay on it, comparing it to the movie "the Hours" ... which I recently rewatched (makes sense.. since I'm writing a paper on it..) and developed a new appreciation for the movie. So much culture. So much fun.
One more week of papers and exams. And then I'm done. And the fun can begin.

smile

2006-04-09T11:58:00.000-07:00

Google books is an wonderful thing. It allows me to look through books online and then use them (and reference them of course), without ever leaving the comfort of my own home. Of course, this is only useful for research books. But it's that time of year and so I am entirely thankful for google books.
Also, if I could find time to sleep any time soon, that would be nice. I'm sure my body would enjoy being healthy again. I think it's forgotten what that's like.
I got a purse made out of delMonte drink boxes for my birthday. It is entirely COOL. I like looking at it while it sits by my desk.

cheers

2006-04-03T12:29:00.000-07:00

Toot toot. Happy birthday to me.
I know he's excited about it.

papers are no good

2006-03-29T18:59:00.000-08:00

I want to procrastinate. Bah. No good.

NZRizing

2006-03-26T13:50:00.000-08:00

So my short reign as Nezzar is over. Time for blogging... :)
I'm currently sitting at my home home, I'm listening to Madagascar soundtrack (I like to move it move it .. oh yeah) and get crap pounded out of my back by my sister --- ah yes, this is the life.
Yep, so now that the play is over, apparently my life is supposed to turn back to some sort of normalcy. Ha, that's a good one. Say goodbye to the play, and say hello an abundance of papers and reading. :) Yeah for also being an english honours major.
The play went really well which was a huge blessing from God. It was richly rewarding to find that the school accepted and applauded our work so profoundly. I mean, I think the work would have been rewarding either way, but it could have been more frustrating had the school body not understood the work we did. But God finally showed me my purpose in choosing the mainstage over the independant .... I mean, I knew I was supposed to do the mainstage and that I made the right choice to work with Tom and the cast, but it was hard when all the rest of my friends were working on a very comical fun show together and I couldn't be apart of that... and I could have, had I just told them that I would. I often times felt a little punished for making the right decision. But this week, I felt happier about the show than I ever have before. It was an amazing run and I won't forget it for a long time. God is truly good. I just need to trust Him a little more. :)
Anyways, I have to get ready to go to church-in-the-box. Oh yeah, I sent out my application for LA film school. So now I get to experience the joy of waiting, and waiting.....woot.
Cheers.

awww

2006-02-19T10:03:00.000-08:00

I enjoy being their aunt.

(photographed by brother Steve.. :P)

tee hee

2006-02-12T10:25:00.000-08:00

How I love Lord of the Rings humour.
So cheesy. But so enjoyable.

My life today

2006-02-11T13:39:00.000-08:00

Lord of the Rings -- you make me happy and rather emotional.
Rehearsal -- you make me very tired.
Reformational Theology -- you make me want to roll over and die.

yummm....... food and phlegm

2006-02-05T14:17:00.000-08:00

I love family. I just spent less than a day with my family and even though the time was short... it was great. It was my neice's baptism today so I went home last night and hung out with my family doing very little other than sitting and talking ... but I loved every minute of it. My brother was up from Jersey so that was great. It's always fun seeing him and wowing over all his toys... UNBELIEVABLE some of the stuff that he has (you should see his car... handydandy features on that thing). The baptism was very nice.... and the party afterwards was also lots of fun, if a little... shall we say.. chaotic. This is what happens when you brother-in-law's family has 10 little kids running around! :) But they were cute. It was nice to just hang out with family members.. takes the stress off of school.
And now I've been coarsed into watching the Superbowl. Let me tell you what game I care about least..... FOOTBALL. Let me tell you what I actually should be working on: HOMEWORK. Will I be able to do both??? No. Will I enjoy the food? YES. Oh yes. And the company. Of course the company.
I also got blessed with a cold this morning. I'm kind of glad because I've been feeling kind of gross for a little bit... but it's never become a full-fledged cold. And now it is. Let the people rejoice.
Well, I guess that's it for now. I get to go get my ears blasted off by surround sound... of football. Oh my life is so good.

Mouse Trap

2006-01-29T08:36:00.000-08:00

Last night I got to witness the marriage of two people who have shown me what true love can really be like. Of course, I get this example from all of my older siblings, but I had yet to watch it bloom in any of my friends from Redeemer. I am very cynical when it comes to romantic love due to the terrible influence of chick flicks and our hollywoodized culture, but when I watch my friends Tasha and Danny, it gives me hope that there is such a thing as true love and that young people of our generation can still find it. Their wedding (which took place last night) was beautiful and in just being there, you couldn't help but be filled with joy for these two people and for the love that they shared. I was so happy to see two people that I admire, respect, and love get married. I also spent the evening talking to people who I hadn't seen in quite some time (for some it'd been 2 years!) so it was really great to catch up with familar faces.
And now on the completely opposite side of things, I am the newly designated #1 Mouse Catcher of the dorm!!!! Gold star for Stephanie! Okay, I kind of designated that title to myself but I did in fact catch a mouse! For a couple weeks now, our house has had the joy of entertaining another dormate.. Sir Thomas the mouse. Myself and my roomate Amy were the only ones who didn't really care about the new addition to our family... everyone else in the dorm was freaked out. We had tried to catch it a number of times, but he was soo tiny that he could hide virtually anywhere, and, well, our rooms aren't very tidy. But then Sir Thomas made the mistake of entering our (mine and Amy's) room.. I guess he thought that since we didn't really care about the thing our room would be rather safe. But he didn't count on the fact that I would be in there with nothing better to do then to hunt this thing down until he was trapped and then catch him. Because while I didn't really care about him, I also wasn't scared of him.. and I didn't want him making himself too comfortable. So that's what I did... I closed off the exit from the room, shooed him into the closet, blocked off his exit from there and trapped him! Of course the whole operation was a bit more complicated and time consuming.... but I caught Sir Thomas! We made a video of him, and then we let him go outside.. a good block away from our house. We spent the whole evening in celebration until about 2 in the morning.... when I then saw Sir Richard. And the fun continues..... anybody know how to set mouse traps?

Procrastination in my fingers

2006-01-22T11:30:00.000-08:00

My ears are having a wonderful time slowly losing their hearing capabilities due to the fact that my roomate and I both need music on when we do work. Since neither of us enjoy warring music (we try to employ a peace-love mentality in our humble room), one of us has to give in and wear headphones. And now my ears get to be blasted by the melodic voice of Aqualung in order to drown out her music (which I can still hear through my headphones). mucho fabuloso.
So while this is going on, I am struggling to put my thoughts on paper about the differences between the book and the movie of Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien. Not only is this a hard enough task on it's own (oh you think it's easy until you actually sit down and try and do it), but to add to my trepedation, the prof of the class doesn't like my writing style. In fact I believe he ripped apart every paper I wrote for him last semester. Makes me very nervous to write anything for him. But he's a fabulous prof so that does make it better.
All of this leads to blogging -- my wonderful friend that always lends a helping hand when procrastination tugs at my brain and creeps into my fingers.
So my newest mission (when I have time to do them..... which is virtually never) is to learn the didgeridoo. I received a small Australian didgeridoo for Christmas from my sister (who recently just came back from Australia if you haven't been in the loop) and now it sits under my computer so that whenever I am sitting here typing at the compy it reminds me that I should keep plugging at how to play the darned thing. It's way harder than it looks. Or maybe it looks hard to begin with, I don't know. But learning how to play it is proving to be difficult, especially since I have very little time to do much of anything (except when I'm procrastinating!) except school. But one day, I will be a player of the didgeridoo. And I will hold concerts. Woot.
That's all for today.

Calvin and Hobbits

2006-01-13T13:15:00.000-08:00

I truely have a love hate relationship with education. On the one hand, there is nothing better than learning. To be in an environment where there is such an emphasis on improving your intellect, stretching the mind, and delving into research and books etc. --- exploring the different facits of our world and our worldview. It's so exciting and it's an amazing place to be as a young adult trying to find your way in the world and where you fit in the equation. But while this is truely an exhilerating and stretching experience, it can take such a toll on your life. Let's take my current semester as an example. There are so many things about this semester that make me so excited to be in a learning environment. I'm taking three courses in my majors ... Playwriting, 20th Century British Literature, and the Literature of Lewis and Tolkien. I could not be happier! Each of these classes holds such interest for me that I yearn to eat up everything taught and just suck it all in. But with upper level classes come upper level workloads ---- reading galour, writing due every week, presentations up the ying yang. Since I hold such a high standard for myself and since I love each of these courses, I really want to do well... and so this means that I will be devoting myself to my studies. Okay, so far busy, but managable. But this semester I also have two other courses that I don't really care about ---- Reformational Theology and French. Oof. Okay, in defense of these classes, both of them are interesting, I'm glad for the opportunity to be taking them and in their own light, they are surely necessary, but they also eat up the time that I need for my upper classes that are in my majors -- what I'm here at Redeemer to study. Add on top of this that I am in the mainstage performance this semester -- which is called NZR.. it's a play that the performers (me included) are writing and acting based on the story of Nebuchadnezzar -- and that I am the TA for the English dept. as well as that I am the Editor-in-Chief of 'The Minstrel' -- Redeemer's Literary Magazine ....... and that, ladies and gents, is a deadly semester. This is why education and I have such a love hate relationship. I love to learn, so I lap up every opportunity I can.... but while I'm actually learning, I nearly kill myself trying to get everything done and my faith life suffers. I have some help this semester in that I'm helping write a play based on the Bible and I'm taking Ref. Theology... but education and the strain of deadlines and papers and presentations and the copius amounts of reading do not make for an easy faith life. I should push myself and put my priorities elsewhere... but that's extremely hard when in the environment.
Hmm... I wish I could expand on this more but I've spent too much time on this --- I should get back to my reading before people come back home and there's no silence in which to peacefully read. Oh how I love it when reading Lord of the Rings is homework....

new years.......

2006-01-03T12:30:00.000-08:00

I guess it's time for me to come out from hiding and write a blog.
Well ---- here I am. It's a new year and no, this isn't one of my new year's resolutions. :) I'm home for the holidays and spending time with family is wonderful. I think it's one of the few places where I feel completely comfortable and at ease and that's a nice feeling. My sister is home which is absolutely fantabulous!! I missed her soooo much over the year --- but I think the year was really good experience for both of us because I think we grew tighter through emailing and calling. But it was a long year.. and it's really nice to have her back. She's probably my closest friend in the world -- I can tell her anything -- and even though we fight now that she's home (you need physical contact in order to fight.. it's hard to fight over the phone) I love knowing that's she's around and I can talk to her.
Yet being at home can also be frustrating. Really frustrating. I guess because I'm realizing that I never feel completely satisfied when I'm with friends. It's really frustrating when you never feel satisfied about yourself when you're with the people you care about. Like on New Years, I went to hang out with friends that I've had since grade 9/10 -- somewhere in there, a good 6 years anyways....... and yet whenever I see them, I still feel like I'm visiting. I'm never IN. The big thing is always that they're going to make a movie or start a theatre company........... I'm a theatre major and yet they haven't seriously asked me to be apart of this ... while many of their other friends get asked at random... Okay, I'm not upset about not being in a theatre company or anything like that because there's a good chance this thing will never get off the ground.... but for once I'd like to feel INCLUDED. I hate the fact that when I'm with them alot of the time I'm wanting to be someone else --- not ME. And this is a horrible thing. I love these people very dearly, and maybe that's why I haven't just given up. It's odd when through out whole evening one of the best conversation I had was with someone whom I haven't even known that long when I'm surrounded by people who I've known for a long time. It's just frustrating when you know that if you were a different personality or if you changed where you live, they would probably finally ACCEPT you and want to be around you --- and yet that SHOULDN'T matter. Grrr.. Lord help me deal with my insecurities.
Anyways, I'm looking forward to going back to Redeemer though school will be really busy..... but I love nothing better than delving myself into something that I'm so passionate about. I love theatre so much and I'm truely thankful to God that he's put that passion in my heart.

Olivia Anne Mantel

2005-12-10T08:11:00.000-08:00

I am sooo happy to welcome into the world a new little addition to my life. Olivia Anne Mantel was born on December 9, 2005, weighing 7lbs 7oz. This means that I'm an aunt for the third time! I am so blessed.... she is simply beautiful!

God is amazing!

2005-09-16T19:03:00.000-07:00

God has been so good to me. And I am thankful. So many things are happening in my life and it's really a comfort to me to know that His hand is over it all.
Hallelujah!