Monday, December 27, 2004

Holiday Blues

Christmas, Brumalia, or whatever we're calling this Solstice festival went well. I got lots of presents, including a scanner, a fedora, a newfie hat, socks, leg warmers, books, a dvd, and a bathrobe, as well as enough chocolate to give me a serious stomach ache. And I did get a serious stomach ache when I ate all that chocolate at one sitting. We had fun family time and all was well.

Since then, I've done practically nothing, spending entire days in front of the computer, drawing and working on Etienne's Doppler World, or just vegging. I'm getting all depressed for lack of physical activity, I think, and just lonelyness. I've gotten a lot of drawings done, but but but...

Jonah was visiting his grandmother for the holidays, and so I miss him, but he's supposed to be back today. Maybe I'll get to hang out with him, and it'll make me happy.


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Wednesday, December 22, 2004

The Kite (a creative venture)

A boy stood under a maple tree, looking forlornly at the magnificent spread of branches above him. He had always wanted to climb the impressive plant, but his diminutive stature had always been an obstacle. He now wished that this impediment was no longer an issue as he gazed sadly at the fluorescent orange streamers of his brand new kite, wrapped around one of the highest branches.

The maple stood in the centre of a large, grassy field, not a ten-minute walk from the boy's home. The noon sun shone though its full foliage. A slight warm breeze ruffled the child's hair, the maple's leaves, and pushed fluffy white clouds across the deep blue sky.

He briefly contemplated running home and fetching his father, who could easily climb his ladder and retrieve the entangled kite, but the idea was quickly dismissed. His father had given him the kite as a birthday present, and the boy feared that the news of the trapped gift would anger him. With a grunt of determination, the child jumped to reach the lowest branch.

His fingers scraped the bark, but he fell back onto the hard dirt under the tree. Not easily discouraged, he brushed the dirt off his overalls, mustered all his strength and leaped again. This time, his small hands encircled the branch, and he dangled for a few moments, kicking at the air. His bare feet eventually found the trunk and he used them to propel himself upward so that his legs could wrap themselves around the branch.

Catching his breath, the boy hung from the tree. A moment later, he carefully pulled himself to the top of the branch. Proud of his accomplishment, he allowed himself a glance downward. Vertigo set in, and he gulped. Grasping the maple's thick trunk, he assured himself that his seat on the branch was secure as long as he kept his balance.

A few moments passed before the boy could convince himself to continue his trek upward. Gradually, he loosened his grip on the massive trunk and focused on his brand new kite. He slowly stood up and reached for the next branch. It seemed to get easier as he mounted one wooden outcropping after another. The boy tried to concentrate so as not to be tempted into looking down by his youthful curiosity. His goal was quickly approaching.

Finally, the kite was within reach. Its brightly-coloured body resembled a fish caught in a net as the wind blew it against the trunk. The string was tightly wound around one branch, the length of it gently swaying to the ground where the other end was still attached to the spool around which it was still neatly wrapped.

The boy shivered at the thought of untangling his toy from the maple at such a great height. Swallowing his fear, he reached for his prize, trying desperately not to lose his foothold. This high in the tree, the branches were thinner, and the boy doubted they would hold his slight weight if he dared climb higher. Yet, his small hands could not come close enough to the elusive string.

Discouraged, the small figure at the top of a very large tree sighed. How was he to get his kite down now? Perhaps he should have vied for his father's help after all. It was too late now; as the boy risked a look downwards, he realized it might not be so simple to retrace his steps. Trying to muster his courage the small child attempted again to reach the kite string. Realizing that he would never be able to catch it this way, he slowly shifted his weight to a branch directly under the one around which his special toy was entangled. Grabbing a twig just low enough to reach, he pulled himself up to a standing position and walked along the lower branch until he could just reach the knotted string.

Proud of his accomplishment, but careful not to let his determination fail him, the boy worked furiously to untangle the string, making sure not to lose his balance. After what seemed like an eternity, he had freed the captive from its wooden prison. The kite drifted slowly to the ground as the boy let fall. Now there remained only the matter of returning safely to the stable earth. This high in the tree, the boy could feel its gentle sway in the breeze.

Awkwardly, he groped the trunk to resume a sitting position on the branch upon which he had been standing. Looking down, with a tight stomach, the boy reached towards a lower branch with his small, fragile-looking foot. Feeling he was going to be sick with dizziness, the boy shut his eyes. He could not look earthward. Hugging the trunk, he slowly felt his way down, branch by branch. Once or twice, he thought that he would not find a place to put his foot, but always there was one.

Suddenly, his foot could touch nothing more. Desperately grabbing at the trunk, the boy tried to keep from falling. His efforts were in vain as he scratched his inner arms and quickly tumbled to the ground. The latter was much closer than he had expected. He landed on his rear end only a few feet down and finally opened his eyes.

Bruised, but not seriously hurt, the boy looked shakily around him. His brightly coloured kite lay beside him, fluttering softly in the gentle breeze, beckoning him like an old friend wanting to play. The boy, ignoring his cuts and bruises, picked up his toy and prepared to make it fly again.


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Sunday, December 19, 2004

A Bar-Mitzvah to remember

Bad, bad Ilana... Haven't written for over a week! Since then, exams were written and school came to an end. I am much relieved. Now I only have to worry about writing stories, drawing pictures and practicing violin for a while, until I get my marks in the mail. Then I have to worry about University applications, but until then, rest.

I went to a fun party on Monday... I had more beers than I usually limit myself to, but it was fun anyway. I think I may have hurt my thumb more than I was supposed to, and it still hurts, but in a worst-case scenario, it's a pressure fracture, and that's not so bad. And I've been at Jonah's a lot, which is nice. I really didn't take last week seriously, which is probably why I arrived at my Friday exam 20 minutes late. Ah well, I'm sure I aced it.

And this weekend, I went to Jonah's mother's place for his brother's Bar Mitzvah, which ended up being at a friend's place across the border. That was fun, and the first Bar Mitzvah I'd ever been to. I was a little disapointed that it wasn't in a synagogue, but that's ok too. I've never been inside a synagogue either. I was having a lot of trouble following the Hebrew text too, as my reading isn't exactly up to snuff. The best part was the singing though... I really wished I had a tape recorder because some of it was really beautiful. There was a great party afterwards, which was continued at Jonah's mom's place. Lots of dancing and good food.

Well, it's supper time, but before I go, here are the results of my belief-o-matic quiz:
1. Secular Humanism (100%)

2. Unitarian Universalism (97%)

3. Liberal Quakers (87%)

4. Theravada Buddhism (75%)

5. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (75%)

6. Nontheist (72%)

7. Neo-Pagan (68%)

8. Taoism (56%)

9. New Age (53%)

10. Mahayana Buddhism (51%)

11. Orthodox Quaker (43%)

12. Reform Judaism (43%)

13. Bahá'í Faith (39%)

14. Jainism (36%)

15. Sikhism (34%)

16. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (33%)

17. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (31%)

18. New Thought (31%)

19. Scientology (30%)

20. Hinduism (24%)

21. Jehovah's Witness (24%)

22. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (24%)

23. Seventh Day Adventist (20%)

24. Eastern Orthodox (13%)

25. Islam (13%)

26. Orthodox Judaism (13%)

27. Roman Catholic (13%)


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Saturday, December 11, 2004

Colours are fun!

Having recently discovered how colours in html work, I've decided that colour is very fun. I might play around with this a little bit, and perhaps, once I figure out how to do things better, I may do stuff to my template. For now, I'm going to write the rest of this entry in a crazy colour and font.

Anyway, since last time, my cold has improved, possibly because I've been taking way too much vitamin C (the package said a maximum of two drops per day, but I've had at least four, just today). I haven't been helping myself with lifestyle choices though. I've been eating way too much at fancy restaurants, hanging out in smoky bars, dancing the night through and walking in cold and snowy weather. Not to mention the smoking of completely legal hallucinogens.

On Tuesday afternoon, Adam had a fondu party in the student lounge which coincided nicely with the staff giving out baked goods to whomever wanted them. Needless to say, I overate, and didn't have anything to eat until the next evening without being hungry. The evil buiding & grounds guy (a.k.a. "stick-up-ass"), however, got angry at us and said we could never have a fondu party again, even when we offered him some. Evil bastard. He's the same guy who bitched at me for sitting on the vending machines, and has been generally cruel to those of us who hang out in the lounge. That night I went to a poetry reading at the Lion and got a little bit trashed from all the free beer my Ecology teacher was giving me.

Wednesday evening I went to a birthday dinner (for Josee and Jen G.) with a few friends at a restaurant/bar that served mediocre nachos. I was so dissapointed with my dinner, in fact, that I was quite morose for the rest of the evening. We went to a bar after that, where we partook in the subtle pleasures of life, like good cognac and cigars. I smoked, with Adam, some legal but suspicious looking plants, that had no effect on him, but made me feel very tingly. As I described it to Kevin, "It feels like I'm having an orgasm all over my body!" We then proceeded to go to Josee's house and watch a movie, which I slept through.

Thursday, I went shopping and worked on an essay. Friday, that is yesterday, I handed in the afore-mentionned essay, worked on various projects, got free candy from strangers, and had dinner with Jonah. I then proceeded to go clubbing with Jen L. and Josee, which was an adventure all by itself. We spent a good deal of time getting ourselves dolled up, and took the bus to the Welpub. We were carded of course, and the stupid bouncer wouldn't let us in because our I.D. wasn't valid. In my case, he said that the picture on my medicare card (the only real piece of photo I.D. I own) didn't look enough like me. I guess I went overboard on the makeup, or he was just really stupid. So we called Josee's dad, who unhappily brought us all our cards, and returned to the Welpub. I just handed the bouncer my whole wallet saying, "This is all the I.D. I own." He finally let us in, and we had much fun dancing, drinking beer and avoiding the stares of drunk old men who tried to dance with us. We walked home in the snow (the sidewalks hadn't been plowed) uphill, and were very tired when we arrived at about 4:00 am.

Moral of the story: Eat well, but not too well, drink well, but not to excess, don't wear too much makeup, and always carry lots of I.D.


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Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Sitting out on the veranda.

I'm still not over being sick yet. Gee golly gosh, I suck. Right now I feel like I'm on the verge of death, but hopefully, NeoCitron will make it all better. Moving on...

I'm listening to Bjork right now... Weird lady, but her music is strangely entrancing. I feel all mesmerized. Then again, I might just be delusional, the result of a caffeine overdose yesterday, as we sat on the veranda (also known as the main lobby of the Champlain building), and discussed dreams. The coffee vending machine was broken and giving out free beverages, which made me happy. I may have had something like four large mochas. And since I consider the Champlain student lounge as a second home, the lobby, right outside the lounge, could easily be mistaken for our front porch. It was amusing.

There was some sort of band practice last night, more productive than Sunday's, but less than it could have been. An ex-singing student of my mother's joined us, a crazy Japanese guy who gave me a white rose and played with my hair, making me moderately uncomfortable. I didn't mind so much. He considers my mom to be a second mother, and by association, I'm like a sister, and I'm sure he's not incestuous at heart.

ALSO!!!! I just (sort of) updated my Elfwood Gallery, and so, if anyone is interested, you should go look! I uploaded ten whole new pictures, mostly from my old sketchbook where I have more fantasy drawings. I'm hoping to eventually be good enough to go onto Epilogue, which has fantastic drawings, but for that I have to get much better. Yay for Christmas holiday projects!

NeoCitron tastes really bad.


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Saturday, December 04, 2004

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...

I'm such a bad girl, procrastinating again. This time I have an essay to do for my English class, as well as and the second part of my integrative project for Astrophysics. Luckily (or maybe not), my computer's stupid and I'll have to wait until Monday to do my integrative at school. Nice excuse anyway. I have none for my essay, but I'll end up doing it soon.

The concert on Wednesday with the chamber orchestra went well. Everyone was very pleased and I'm glad it's over. We had a big party afterwards and everybody got properly sloshed. Surprisingly, it didn't go that late. Everything was done by about half past midnight. That's ok. I was drunk enough that I was consistently threatening to beat Sam up. This didn't help my cold though. I think I got sicker after that evening, as the next day I wished someone would run over me with a heavy truck and put me out of my misery. I'm still kind of sick, but much better than I was yesterday. It probably wasn't a good idea for me to go to Jonah's job interview with him and then trudge through a blizzard to buy his brother's birthday present and take the bus home. I stayed at his place, meaning to go to the choir concert, but giving up because I felt like there was a very noisy high school band practice in my head. At least I got lots of sleep last night, or as much as I can get when I sleep over at Jonah's.

At any rate, I'm going to the choir concert tonight and I must leave very soon, so I will now say, "Adieu!"


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