I Hope Blizzards Strand You All In Adventure

A POEM ABOUT LOVE AND HATE IN THE INFORMATION AGE
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THINGS ARE WONDERFUL AND EXCITING AND LIFE IS SO GOOD RIGHT NOW! (Minus the embryology/histology exam I'm about to write)

Yesterday I had my first vocal lesson. My vocal coach is an amazing man who makes me feel confident and I very much look forward to working with him more and more. His studio is on church street, smack dab in the middle of the gaybourhood. (who says 'smack dab'?) I love walking down this street. People are so friendly and men are so good looking... do I even need to tell you where my conflict lies with the last statement? I loved the street moreso yesterday than ever. Winter in January in Toronto, is like Spring in Edmonton. The streets are dry except for the few grey piles of snow in the gutters, scarves are for fashion rather than for warmth, and the icicles and snowpiles on the roof are melting down the walls of buildings... which is romantic I guess. Waterfalls down the sides of coffeeshops.

I DIGRESS... my vocal coach is also RACHEL MCADAM'S vocal coach. This is very exciting for me because I love Rachel McAdams. She is probably today's most successful Canadian actress, and I aspire to be like her. Anyway, my first vocal lesson was great. He told me when I first came in that I have the skull of a soprano and the neck of a mezzo-soprano. Good to know? He is also very animated when he speaks which makes these lessons so fun for me. He told me that when I breathe in and my diaphragm lowers like an elevator, my organs are like "aaahhhhhh!" and move out of the way. This man is amazing.

We worked on finding out where my vocals are since it's been a long time since I've had any vocal training. For anyone that understands musical lingo: the highest I reached was an F6, and the lowest was an F#3. One semitone short of three octaves. Look out, Mariah Carey. (Kidding)

After my vocal lesson I had to rush to an audition. It's for a music video that I fell in love with when I heard of the idea. My audition went well. They liked my headshot and there were a lot of laughs so I hope that means I was entertaining. I always seem to get random questions in auditions. This time, in their last question they asked what my favorite video game is. I said Duck Hunt. You found your girl, right? Perfect.
In my last audition they asked what my guilty pleasure was, to which I replied: "JONAS BROTHERS". I may have lost the part just because of that.. but thats why its called a GUILTY pleasure!!

I had a boyfriend once that asked me if, given the chance, I would leave him for a Jonas Brother. The nice answer in this situation would be "No sweetie of course not." but the realistic answer would be "Uh, yeah? Obviously." Am I right?

In other news, my roommate hid my kazoo from me. Maybe she's mad at me cause I tried to set her up with another random man in the elevator.

It's been a looong few days. Perhaps I will try to be in bed by 8... so I can lay there for hours, pretending to be dreaming. Was it something I said, sleep? Come back to me. Give me another chance. I'll change for you. I'll do better this time.

Today's Entertainment News

• NBC confirmed that the Jay Leno show at 10pm will end on Feb 12th.
• There'e some speculation that Enrique Iglesias and girlfriend Anna Kournikova are expecting..
• Lindsay Lohan was involved in a car accident with some paparazzi.. apparently her driver ran over one?
• Michael Buble is ENGAGED to Luisana Lopilato. They met at one of his concerts and she starred in his music video for "Just Haven't Met You Yet"
• Olivia Newton John is the next star to join the cast of Glee for a guest appearance
• Glee has been renewed for a second season!!
• Star Trek sequel has been announced: June 29, 2012
• Simon Cowell confirms that this will be his last season of Idol so he can focus on bringing X-Factor to America... Just last week, new judge, Ellen DeGeneres said that if Simon goes, she goes. No Simon or Ellen? Nobody wants to watch a show with just Randy Jackson. Sorry Dog.

These are 8 minutes I'll never get back, but Lady Gaga tweeted this herself. It's a video reenactment of "Bad Romance" that these kids obviously put a lot of time and effort into

Running in Your Dreams, Waking Up Tired.

"You got cuter over the holidays, I think it's your haircut. Yep, its the bangs. They make me listen more to what you're saying. Not that I didn't listen before-- hey, are you writing that down? Stop writing down everything I say. Well you better quote that. I want to see a bibliography."
--Raffoul, Catherine. "Conversation with Catherine." Regency Computer Lab, Toronto. 5 Jan. 2010. Conversation

Now that I'm back in Toronto after a few weeks in Edmonton, I'm starting to really notice the differences between the two cities. Of course Toronto is busier and- I gotta say- more exciting. There's always something going on. There are parades and protests in front of my condo almost every weekend, and its very multicultural. I've learned a lot in the first few months of living here, and its been amazing. It's cool to tell my friends at home in Edmonton about all the new things I'm experiencing here that you'd never even know about until you step away from the bubble you call home and see it for yourself.

Things in Toronto that are not in Edmonton (other than me)
1. Hot dog vendors on every corner. We call it "street meat" and its DELICIOUS
2. Diagonal Crosswalks. This one blew my mind. All traffic stops and everyone can cross the intersection whatever way they want, even right through the intersection.
3. Birds aren't scared of you here. They don't fly away from you when you get too close, and apparently, pigeons have the right-of-way even more than pedestrians do. Pigeons waking in front of you on the sidewalk are just like those annoying slow-walkers in front of you in the hallway at school. You have to suck it up and slowly walk behind them or get around them. OR You could kick them (the birds, not the slow people in the hallway) but you don't know how they'll react, AND if you have a heart- which I hope you do- you'll feel pretty guilty.
4. In Edmonton, waving down a cab is pretty ridiculous. Who does that? In Toronto, there's cabs everywhere. No need to call for one.
5. Their transit system is AMAZING. I've never waited more than 5 minutes for the subway/streetcar. Also, they don't have busses, they have "streetcars".
6. Last, and DEFINITELY LEAST. I will never get used to it... Milk in BAGS. If you buy any more than 2L of milk at a time, it is sold in bags. For the first few months I used to take my roommate to Shoppers with me and load up on 2L cartons. But eventually that got expensive and ridiculous and I had to convert. I still hate it, but buying two 4L bags is much easier than buying 3-4 2L cartons... yeah, I drink a lot of milk. My roommate recently tried to put me through an intervention. Nuh uh girlfriend.

On another note, my 13 year old brother is learning "Thats what she said" jokes. At what age is it appropriate to hear this from a young man?

Justin Bieber. Sweet Jesus that is one lucky kid. He made it big after being discovered by his Youtube videos of him singing and had Justin Timberlake and Usher fighting over him for a record deal in the same week. Now he's travelling the world with his mom at 15, has screaming teenage girls everywhere he goes, hanging out with celebrities, and on top of all this, he just performed for President Obama. I love that he's Canadian, so I support him. HOWEVER, Have you seen him in an interview? He can't go a few words without shaking his head to get the hair out of his eyes. Dude, get a haircut. OR perhaps its a cover up for a twitch. Hmmmm.
Did you know that people that are not fans of Justin Bieber are called "Non-Beliebers"? Haaaa!


Today's Entertainment News

• Marc Jacobs got married
• The rumors are true, Katy Perry and Russell Brand are ENGAGED!! ...they've been dating for three months.
• Jason Alexander (George from Seinfeld) is the new spokesperson for JENNY CRAIG
• Ex-spokesperson for Jenny Craig, Kirstie Alley, has started a new fitness website that plays off of Twitter. It's called Phitter and is used to encourage others to get fit. 140 characters at a time.
  "Phitter is a phitness phocused community and a gift from Kirstie to encourage talk or 'Phits' about health, diet & exercise, while making new Phriends in the Phitter-mmunity and having Phabulous Phun... Phew!"
• Kate Gosselin has hair extensions. Woopdeedoo? See picture here.
• Carrie Underwood is to make an appearance on "How I met your mother" as Ted's new love interest
• Miley Cyrus on the cover of Bazaar Magazine (see here) looking very good. I'm thinking she got her teeth done..?
• Mariah Carey accepts another award for her performance in Precious... drunk. You can probably youtube the video of her slurred acceptance speech.
• She's everywhere... now Lady Gaga is going to be made into a comic book character in the Fame comic book series. This series will also feature Robert Pattinson, Taylor Swift, 50 Cent, and David Beckham. (New Justice League?). The Lady Gaga issue hits the stands on May 5th.
• Lady Gaga has also teamed up with Polaroid for their new line of camera products
• Whatchu talkin bout willis? Gary Coleman is in the hospital... exact reasons were not released, but he is still undergoing tests.
• GreenDay inspired musical "American Idiot" hits broadway in April in New York City

EDIT: I have some spoiler information about the Bachelor Scandal. I've got details and names. HOWEVER, my roommate just pummeled me to the ground and threatened me when I was about to tell her and she said I cannot release this information. So if you'd like to know, message me or google it. xo.

Why I'm not where you are:

We were about to go in different directions.
We did not know how to do anything else.

I'm back in Toronto now. Back to bagged milk. Back to school, 8-5 Monday to Friday. Back to acting and vocal classes. Back to teaching myself the Single Ladies dance on my spare time. Back to coffee dates and long-distance phone calls.

I never used to ask how people's flights were, until my roommate informed me that it's rude not to. I just didn't think there was much you could say about a few hours in a flying machine filled with recycled air and strangers.
Okay let's try this out:

 My flight was good. I read my book. I listened to my ipod. I talked to the person beside me about music and literature. It was dark and there were no clouds and I had the window seat so I watched the beautiful city lights below me. I could see in the window reflection that the boy sitting beind me was writing something on graphing paper. Perhaps a love letter. He had nice handwriting. Much nicer than mine. I don't have nice handwriting. I've come to terms with this. I thought about the things I want to write about and wondered why I'm in school for what I'm in school for. I thought about the time I spent with my piano before I left for the airport. I thought about the song I'd just taught myself and the symphony I'd love to compose one day. I thought about my grandparents and how much I love them and how I wear a locket around my neck everyday with their picture in it. I thought about how I called them and played the piano for them over the phone, and how I hope they loved it. I thought about how much I was looking forward to opening my mailbox after two weeks of being away and receiving the 10 Walter Matthau dvds I ordered before I left. I thought about how much I love Walter Matthau and how I think he is a flawless actor, and how much he reminds me of my Gido. Then I realized that I was thinking too much, which often.. no, ALWAYS happens when I should be sleeping. We arrived in Toronto just after 6 am and I had still not slept. I went to baggage claim and forgot what my baggage looked like because my Mom and I had switched luggage the night before. I recognized it when I saw the neon green and orange locks on the bags and remembered how I wanted to walk to the suitcase store on the other side of the mall to see if they had purple locks, but Sean told me not to be picky and just take the green and orange. Purple is my favorite color.

 Oh, what were we talking about? How was my flight?

..It was good.


I don't have much entertainment news for you today. It's Sunday. And I still haven't slept yet.

Today's Entertainment News

• Youngest Jonas, Nick has kicked off the tour for his new side Project, Nick Jonas and the Administration. His solo project played their first performance at the House of Blues in Dallas last night. The name, "Nick Jonas and the Adminstration" comes from his nick name, "Mr. President", and he occasionally speaks about his thoughts of having a future in politics.
• Matthew McConaughey, 40, and Camila Alves, 26, gave birth to their second child to make a family of four. They have a 17-month old boy named Levi in addition to their new baby girl, Vida Alves.

The End of Missing Someone

If you can't hurt, you can't heal.

I went to starbucks this morning and ordered a passion tea lemonade... They said they didn't have any more passion. Hm, sad.

I'm heading back to Toronto tonight. I'm both sad and relieved to leave Edmonton...
There's a difference between Toronto-Marley and Edmonton-Marley. I've had to ask myself a few times: "would Toronto-Marley do that?" And if she wouldn't, then I don't do that thing.

I had an amazing time at home in Edmonton. Every night was filled with excitement and I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat. Every moment. Back to Toronto and back to business. I'm gonna hit the ground running and not stop until... Well, I suppose my next trip to Edmonton. February.
I have to pack. I have to remember to bring everything. Especially my keys- or I'm gonna have a hard time getting into my condo.

Last time I was at the airport I started thinking about what would happen if you met the love of your life at an airport. An interesting concept. You don't know if they're arriving or departing. Domestic or international. Where they've been to before. How much baggage they've checked...The most exciting thing about meeting the love of your life at an airport is the fact that you'll probably never see them again. That way, this person can be whoever you want them to be. They could be a sloppy, conceited, inconsiderate hunk of junk who disrespects their mother.. but all you know is that they have gorgeous eyes and likes a venti caramel macchiato while they read the new york times and when your eyes meet your heart flutters a little bit.

I've always wanted to walk out of the doors of an airport to have loved ones anxiously waiting, excited to welcome me. Every time I arrive to the airport, I always find myself waiting for whoever is coming to pick me up. But its okay. Its nice to observe the rest of the people and their interaction. I like to see people reunited. Maybe that's a silly thing, but what can I say.. I like to see people run into each other, I like the kissing and the crying. I like the impatience, the stories that the mouth can't tell fast enough, the ears that aren't big enough, the eyes that can't take in all of the change...I like the hugging, the bringing together, the end of missing someone.

Today's Entertainment News

• Today is a palindrome day. 01-02-2010 .. same way forwards as it is backwards
• Elton John has been helping Eminem- yes, rapper eminem- with his drug problem for the last year and a half. That's really sweet of Elton. He says he wants to help those who need it and speaks openly about his own substance abuse in the past
• Fox had threatened to pull the signal from 14 TV stations it owns, affecting over 6 million viewers. Fox granted a brief extension but negotiations are still continuing
• Shania Twain carried the Olympic torch the final 400 yards and lit the Olympic cauldron
• U2 tops the list of best tours, beating out Elton John, Britney Spears, Jonas Brothers, Metallica... HELL YES U2! ...Hey, remember that time I hung out with Bono in his car?