Tossing a half eaten bagel to the birds...

(Mood - Stressed but optimistic)


(Listening to - Everything's Not Lost by Coldplay)




Well, to all those just joining us, WELCOME to my blog. Or rather, welcome back to some. Or ever more rather, welcome to ANYone who actually READS this. Whomever you are.

Anyway, just as a quick update, presently I am that much closer to ACTUALLY being ordained a Deacon in the Anglican Church. Just last week, I rejoined my fellow friends, colleagues and peoples of Toronto to not only present what final work I have, but also to break in the frosh Div students and regular frosh as well, which is always a great treat. God bless those kids and their endless booze.

Well, and my friends too, of course. (Hey guys! Miss you all!)

SO, like I was saying, I'm in the middle of not only trying to get a handle on whether or not I'll be ordained ANYtime soon, but also trying to get a full grasp on this whole "getting married" deal. So far, the planning has been haphazardish but fulfilling, even though recently (this past night, actually) my sweetheart and I have discovered just how much we desperately need a money tree. Or a benefactor. Or a winning lotto ticket. Or a free wedding. Y'know, all that stuff that stresses a person out while trying to plan something - basic budget vs how much cash-o-rama you actually have. *sigh*

Don't get me wrong! Most other stuff concerning the wedding is going grand - the invites are out and circulating (if you don't have one yet, check your mail you silly people!) and we've pretty much latched onto whatever else we needed to schedule (i.e.: DJ-guy, photo-guy, cake-lady, decorator-lady, etc). So all things considered, WOO-HOO for us and this decision to have the wedding THIS year. But, I'm somewhere between getting a crap-hat of a part-time job (something that I would be against by dignity alone) and robbing a bank (something that I would be against by morality alone). But, thems the breaks, as they say. ...stoopid "they"... Who do "they" think they are, anyway?

BTW, just in case you don't know the date of the wedding, or if you need more details, just ask me. :)

Beyond that, things are great, though strained and stressful at times. I will get back into writing here if only to alleviate some of that stress, and to goof off from the real things I'm supposed to be up to. ;) In the meantime, good to be back! Hope to hear from anybody soon.

More later!

And the internship begins... well, more like "BEGUN".

(Mood - Amazed at Blogging again!)


(Listening to - Can't Stop This Thing We've Started by Bryan Adams)



Hello again to everyone!

So I've been on a bit of a hiatus lately - pretty much ever since I've returned to the Rock - but now I've got something to actually TALK about, so it's much less boring than trying to come up with something like before.

So, like the subject says, I'm finally doing my internship! Now, with God's help, the Bishop's permission, and the kindness of my supervisor, I may just be on my way to getting ordained. Heck, right now I'd settle for convocation, which unfortunately I'll have to wait on. No offence my wonderful 2nd year buddies (soon-to-be 3rd year buddies), much as I enjoy the idea of graduating with you all, I was kinda hoping to be done before next freakin' May. :(

And don't even get me STARTED on the list of "OOPS!" I've had. Mostly in the realm of "Gosh, aren't I supposed to register my internship as a class? Not to mention pay for it? Golly!" God bless and lovingly uphold the blessed Saint of the Lost - our lovely Rachel in the office. :) Listen well, all ye kids of the future cloth who DON'T already know, that lady is heaven sent and hell bent to make your life easier when it comes to getting THROUGH till convocation.

As for the internship itself, I'm enjoying it lots. Though I've been known to define it as "running after a tornado" sometimes. (And should my supervisor be reading this, that's a compliment!) Seriously, my supervisor is involved with quite a few things, and I am happy to be busily kept included in all of it. I think my favourite thing is the parish itself - their "baptisms vs funerals" quota is staggering! VERY few funerals, and at least FIVE baptisms I'll be witness to while here. :) Now if only they all came back, huh? *L*

In the meantime, the whole "engaged" thing is progessing along smoothly. The lady and I have picked a date (ask if you'd like to know when that is!) and we're presently busily planning away. We've already settled on a few things - location, church, people, etc - but the little expences are really a pain in the ass. But, such is the way of a wedding...

Regardless of all the stereotypes of "the wedding", I'm looking forward to ONE thing - standing next to the person I'll stand next to for the rest of my life. I mean, there's that God promise too, but it's not like you forget that. Those things are the BIGGEST pinky-swares that EXIST. Outside that, the rest is cake. Both figuratively and literally. We're both really looking forward to it. Matter of fact, I've just been informed the dress has been officially bought! Yikes! Reality setting in!

Anyway, time to get back to work. Hopefully all my clergy wannabe brothers and sisters are doing well in their placements too. I hope to hear from you all ASAP! As for the rest of you, ditto!

More later! (oh, and the new South Park me? That's the Miami Vice "summer" me. :) )

Can I getta NRSV? Awww yeeee-ah!

I know I know, I haven't posted any real news lately. So, as apology, I offer you a remixed refitted Sir Mix-A-Lot classic. Consider this a holler out to alls my peeps of da cloth. :)

More later!

"If I LEEEEEEVE here TO-MORRRR-RROOWWW..."

(Mood - Home and finished = HAPPY!)

(Listening to - Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd)





Hey everypeoples! Just to letcha know, I'm back home again now. So, don't bother with the TO phone number, and emails/MSN/Facebook are my new forms of communique.

I will miss my TO peoples and the downtown quite a bit, as I had just truly gotten used to them. A big friggin HUGE thanks to everyone who came out for my BDays. It's nice to know I have so many awesome friends up there.

Either way, keep in touch! And watch this space! Just cause I'm home don't mean I got nothin' to say!

More later!

HAPPY BIRFDAY TO ME!

(Mood - Sleepy and caffinatedly excited!)

(Listening to - For Once In My Life by Michael Buble)




Thank you to EVERYONE for all the well wishes! I've been loving them.

I'm so lucky to have all the people I do in my life - whether you're a new addition from the Fall season line-up, a constant main character, a "blast from the past" favorite, a reoccuring guest-star, or nothing but a blatant plot device - you have been a part of my life, part of shaping who I am, and I thank you for it.

Looking forwards to this my TWENTY-SIXTH year of life. Bring it!

(Oh, and just outta curiousity, does anyone even READ this anymore? Just askin'. More later!)

Scariest Landlord EVER

This is a Will Ferrell short vid about the scariest landlord. Adorably scary anyway. Enjoy!

*******

UPDATE: Apparently, Mr. Ferrell, Inc. got pissy about this being on YouTube (even though he's letting other people watch it for free on HIS sites...) Anyway, here's a link to it:

http://sjl.funnyordie.com//v1/landing.php

It's just a little blasphemous! It's still good! It's still good!

To quote the dear Professor on Futurama, "SWEET ZOMBIE JESUS!"

Seriously, though, I can't be the only "priest-in-training", let alone Christian, who hasn't laughed at this notion. I've just never seen a cartoon of it before! :)

Did I mention to have a wonderful and blessed Eastertide? Anyone? :)

More later.

T-minus 11 days...

(Mood - Can't have mood, I'm working...)

(Listening to - One and the Same by Audioslave)




Well, here it is. Almost done, to the delight of no one more than I. However, I'm still a bit up in the air about a few details, but y'know what? I don't really mind. I just wanna get DONE right now so I can sort all that out later. By "all that" I mean basically anything from the small stuff like my birthday, my packing, my books being mailed home, to BIG stuff like getting a job for the summer, sorting out my internship, and the wedding. Gah - just get me home.

So, last night, after spending most of the day writing upwards of 30 pages or MORE of three separate papers, I happened upon the "Quad Party". Basically, around 20 kegs of FREE beer, with free pizza later, and a live band followed by a fantastic DJ, which all took place out in the middle of the school in our Quad.

Lemme just say - WHAT A LAUGH! It made the whole week for me. All the kids running about, doing the whole "OMG! I haven't seen you since ...FIRST YEAR! HOLEE SHIT! So like, how are you and... OMG! LOOK! (runs) I haven't seen you since..." and so on. The beer was flowing constantly. A few friends hanging out with me (thank you so much for the company, Catherine. :) )and bumping into a few new ones (drunk or not, most of you added me to Facebook, so you know who you are! *L*) All in all, a good time had by all. Best of all, it was over at around 1:30AM and I could actually sleep. Pity I was the "token Div" amongst them, but then, as my buddy Emma tells me, there aren't many cool Div's anyway, so guess I'm happy to provide them with at least one. ;)

So, aside from that fun distraction, I'm mostly working on things, the biggest written work at the moment being my largest paper: Revelation (and fittingly I'm listening to Audioslave's "Revelation" album), following which I'm probably gonna start studying. Even if more than half my exams are oral (no jokes!), still couldn't hurt to know what the hell I'm talking about.

In the meantime, I'm also waiting to get ANY info from Church HQ back home, not to mention prep-ing for an interview with a possible job for the summer. I'd be working as an assitant in running half a parish up in a national park an hour outside of TO. It's only open in the summertime, and my job is basically being a) chaplain to the park staff, b) church presence amongst the cabins and cottages and campers, and c) assistant to the Rev'd over in her parish. Sounds a bit like what an internship could be, right? Yeah, well, I checked that...

Two probs - one, she's not "qualified" because she's only been in her parish for around 2-3 yrs (the minimum for a supervisor is 10 yrs), and two, the position is paid... You can't get paid in an internship. *sigh* So, whattaya do? Me? I'm chosing to work it out later, and just take the damn job if they give it to me. Better grab my SPF 100 in bulk, as I hear it gets a wee bit hot in this here greater TO area.

Anyway, good luck with papers and exams, those of you who have 'em. As for the rest of you, get back to work!

More later.

Have a blessed Easter... with chocolate too!

(Mood - Tired of papers not being done)

(Listening to - World Wide Suicide by Pearl Jam)




Hello everybody! Stressed as I'm sure everyone is this time of year - what with exams, papers, Easter services, etc - I thought it would be a good idea to share just a little pause in this often harried time.

Simply put, I hope you all have a restful and blessed Easter.

One more thing though (and this one goes out mostly to my present and future sisters and brothers of the cloth) - if you start a "holiday" sermon with "Well, what more can be said than what is spoken in the scripture readings today...", do not then proceed into a 15 minute to half hour (or even an hour) long sermon to prove it! Sheesh.

More later!

What's Goin' On???

(Mood - Downtrodden and apprehensive)

(Listening to - What's Up by 4 Non Blondes)





"Twenty-five years and my life is still
Trying to get up that great big hill of hope
For a destination..."

"And I try, oh my God, do I try
I try all the time, in this institution
And I pray, oh my God, do I pray
I pray every single day
For a resolution..."

Anyway, whiny song lyrics aside, here are the following things I'm not doing:

a) I no longer have a surefire definite internship, as the parish that offered no longer need me.

b) I was not accepted to cadet camp this year, and am not going to be a chaplain.

c) Because of this, I've lost the major source of income for the wedding (for now).

d) Because I need to find work, I'm doubtful I can go to Minnesota with the Youth Group from said parish who can't have me as an intern.

So, no idea of when/how I'll get ordained due to lack of internship, and therefore, no real way to get started with the wedding. Gobs of uncertainty. Again. LOVELY.

On the bright side, I am home in a few weeks, exams and papers are almost all done, it's Easter very soon, and all my colleagues are offering ideas for summer work. Also, the possibility of a position or posting in a parish for the summer is an idea, and if available, I COULD do it at home, not to mention that it MIGHT count as an internship, if I could get one.

That's a lot of ifs though. Anyway, just FYI if you we're wondering.

Personally, I'm confident in the whole "When a door closes, a window opens" thing, even if sometimes it feels as though it's a window for you to jump out of. There's nothing that takes the wind out of your sails completely quite like depending on plans that seemed definite only to have them dissipate. Guess there's something else I was supposed to do - hope I get to know what that is soon. That'd be nice.

So, how's YOUR week? More later.

Thank you Scott Kurtz!

I read PVP the comic series. I thank Jerm n' Tara for this addiction. :) Some of them keep me laughing, even the second time round reading them. Because of this, I have discovered something...

I want, nay need, pets like these.

More later!

Sudden need to write for leisure - must FILL it!

(Mood - Surreally peaceful in the midst of work)

(Listening to - Black by Pearl Jam)




MUST... WRITE... BLOG...

WILL FINISH... IN... IN THE MORNING... GAAAAAaaaahhhh.....

(seriously, expect an edit tomorrow with reviews of "300", "Pan's Labyrinth" and, well, my mediocre St. Paddy's day)

******UPDATE******

So, as I was previously saying...

First, St. Patrick's Day - usually one of my favorite times of the year. Not so much this year. Though, during the week leading up to it, I don't think I've ever participated in so many opportunities to drink!

Between scotch drinking lessons and class discussions with colleagues, followed karaoke night at our local haunt on Tuesday, to St. George's On-The-Hill's solemn and enlightening evening prayer, followed by traditional Irish cooking, beers and wine with a bit of Irish/Celtic music from a local duo on Wednesday, along with some friendly administrations of Bailey's to a coffee or two - the whole of the week seemed promising!

Which brings us to Saturday - the day of Ireland's patron saint. For all the bars that Toronto had to offer, none would oblige a weary traveller with rest and a pint by the fire. All were filled to the brim with miscreants and rogues, copping a feel of the blessed saint's day, whilst we Divs were forced cold into the streets, only to shabbily get home early. No leprechaun costume, one stray Guinness, and surrounded by a mind-boggling sum of glaze-eyed youngsters almost everywhere one walked.

*sigh* How I longed for home... To George Street and it's family of hovels and pubs, to friends and family, and to a good scuff n' scoff. So, all in all, not much of a Paddy's day to say the least. I hope that some of us succeeded a bit in enjoying the day. Oh, and Keith? We have to plan ahead next time. ;)

As for the movies (POSSIBLE SPOILERS!):

300

I just got finished reading 300 the graphic novel today, about a week or two after seeing the film. It's almost shot-for-bloody-shot! Impressively done, not too much CG stuff (well placed anyway), loved the "Matrix-meets-Gladiator" fight scenes. There was a sex scene, which I guess is pretty much required nowadays in Hollywood (done in the same "Matrix/Gladiator" slow-mo style), and some expansion of the background stories too (blackmail, secret plots and twists, the Queen attempting to stick up for herself, oh my!), but it hardly took away from the movie. If nothing else, it added to it - gave a break from the violence from time to time. I thought it was great - simply put. Gorily glorious. Everyone will enjoy this film, so long as one is not too squeamish at some pointy ends going through people.

Pan's Labyrinth

As for Pan's Labyrinth, it was impressive. I had NO idea it was in Spanish, first of all, nor that it took place (as do ALL children's dark fantasy stories of late) during World War II. Basic plot - a young girl, fascinated by the fantastic in fairytales, soon becomes part of one in the background of a truly gruesome scene of Nazi cruelty. She and her mother, who is pregnant with the Head Nazi's child, are brought to live in the countryside where the Nazi's have a small post out of a large farmhouse next to an old curious stone labyrinth...

Slowly but surely the girl is woven into a tale of fairies, with a large, craggy and malicious looking faun called Pan telling her that she is the long lost princess of a kingdom that lives beyond this realm of mortals, and her family wants her back - but not without her accomplishing some tasks to prove her linage first.

Grippingly real, and well counterbalanced between reality and fantasy, this movie is shiveringly beautiful. The gruesomeness and bleakness of the Nazi's, the war, and those caught within it, is mirrored by the colourful and dazzling in the fairy world - where horrors of another kind still can and do exist. This movie really tears at your mind, trying to sort out where reality exists and doesn't, what is really happening and isn't, and trying to decide what or whom it is you're really rooting for as the main characters keep turning new sides to their dimensions.

It does sing out a bit of C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe with the WWII time line and the "mystical world within but outside the regular world" motif, but to compare the two outright would not totally fit. She is never fully without the regular world until the end - at some points, you wonder "Is she dreaming? Is she crazy? Is this really happening or not??" The visuals and darker overtones compare more to Sarah's journey in Jim Henson's Labyrinth than the colourful host found in Wardrobe. In either case, calling it a "grown up fairytale" is just right.

Definitely worth seeing both, and even better on the big screen to get the full effect.

So there we go. Moses has updated his blog. Oh, and on a more recent note - I preached for the first time, and probably now the last time, here at Trinity. It went well! A few kinks, for sure (it was a liiiittle longer than I hoped), but seemingly well done, so I was told. Moreover, I'm happy with what I wrote, and what I brought forward - good simple points, and nothing too "religious fanatic" or "structured churchy". :) I'll have to share it sometime.

Now I'm tired. And still have papers to write. *sigh* More later.

Bloody Google controlled blog...

(Mood - Frustrated with the friggin' blog!)

(Listening to - Rebel Yell by Billy Idol)




Argh... Speaking of the "bloody interweb", now that I've transferred over to the Google way of running blogger (since it wouldn't let me log in my USUAL way), I can't seem to post vids from YouTube anymore...

I was trying to post my comments about the one really funny part of Music and Lyrics (aside from a few funny moments or one-liners from Hugh) - the music video at the beginning. Just LOOK at it! The writers/director really did their homework on this! It looks like the culmination of EVERY '80s music video. Soooo cheezy!

Anyway, here's the link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuWS4Alp43s)

Bloody interweb...

(Mood - Disgusted... Mostly by work)

(Listening to - "Love, Reign O'er Me" by The Who, performed by Pearl Jam)




Okay, so let me just say that except for WoW (or something of the like in terms of online gaming) and myspace, I'm now involved pretty much in all popular online trends.

I recently got on Facebook... Dear Lord, what has happened... As my friend Aaron put it: "Now you shall do no schoolwork...for about a week, until you get bored of poking people." or as he also put it "I can see graduation. Nay, I can smell it. The last thing I need to be doing is frittering away time on Facebook. So, of course, that's precisely what I'm doing..."

*sigh* I should be reading...

In the meantime, there IS a benefit to this bloody Facebook nonsense - I have located multiple old friends I had sorta lost track of, not to mention I have a new (and easier!) way of posting pics aside from on here. Not that I really have much to share at the moment, and I gotta ask "the li'l missus" if I can post pics of us/her on there too, cause I'd like to share her with the world.

Well, tastefully and visually, anyway... None of this whole "revenge vid cam" stuff here!

ANYway, this is just a "tide you over" post until I can get some pics of the ski trip I took with the Youth Group at St. George's On-The-Hill (the church with whom I'm presently teaching Sunday School to the older of the littler kids) and with whom I'll be interning in the fall should all go well.

Huh - well there's two big give away bits of info. Alright, I'll elaborate:

First - last weekend, I was invited to ride shotgun as an "adult" for a fun ski trip at Blue Mountain (http://www.bluemountain.ca/). 10 Youth, 2 "adults" (if you can call myself and James adults). I didn't get to ski much, since I had a paper on Martin Luther to finish, so I got to play "HQ" down in the chalet via walkie-talkie. Lemme tell ya, enjoying hot drinks and watching people ski is the only way to truly appreciate the sport. :)

And it was a laugh! Everyone seemed to have a great time, especially when we crashed with the local Anglican priest Rev'd Heather, whom they all knew from her time at St. George's. She and Jim (her hubby) were fantastic hosts, and funny as all out. Great parish too - All Saints - in the town of Collingwood. (To the Newfs, I'd describe it as a mix of Water street style shops meets Grand Falls/Windsor. ...or basically if you made a whole town out of the downtown, but without the harbour.) So really nice place! Great people n' all that.

Even the 2 hour ride in a jumbo-LARGE van with all of us was civil and unretarded. Everyone had something to occupy themselves with - like sleep - and we even swung into a Futureshop to pick up an iTrip for James' iPod so we could have "dee jammin' toones" on the way.

Oh, and he let me play his Nintendo DS... Damned little addictive machine. I need one... Sorry sweetheart, but between that and a Wii, these are things we'll need for the house. Just as much as ...I dunno... furniture. Yeah, they'll be included as furniture for "entertaining" guests. There we go!

So, all in all, I'm really glad I went, and glad I got to meet many of the "staples" of the youth group. Especially since it's been made quietly official that I'm heading back up this way in September till December (begrudgingly, but still) to work as their intern at St. George's. Nothing against the parish (quite the contrary in fact!) but it would have been nice to serve at home - though there would be no guarantee of ANY kind that I'd wind up in town, or anywhere remotely close to St. Philip's/St. John's, so really, if I gotta be elsewhere, I might as well be somewhere I am familiar with and with which I'd get a totally unique experience. I've lived the pseudo-rural parish life all my life, so there's nothing really new I'd find back in NL, whereas up here, it's a bit different - tons of people, a variety of outreaches in the community, a friggin' Anglican private school attached to the damn church!... need I go on? This will be a good thing, though yet another expense I can't really afford, and I'll be away from the folks, the friends, the familiar, and the fiancee - but I'll make it work. ...Come to think of it, most of my friends are away now anyway, so feh. (no offence Keith ;) )

Anywho, the more I know, the more I'll say. Meantime, I'll be working hard to get done with the course work, which means I'll be cutting this short now and get back to it. I'll letcha all know how 300 is tonight when I go see it at the IMAX. wOOt! ...and maybe I'll review Music and Lyrics too, since that's what we saw before leaving Collingwood. Ugh. Not horrible, but ain't no Wedding Singer either.

More later.

Speaking of "funny vids"...

This is a group called Gregorian - Gregorian style singers who perform rock and pop tunes - with their rendition of a Metallica classic Nothing Else Matters. Cheezy video, but neat idea!

One word - ENJOY.

More later!

An addendum thought...

(Mood - Wonderfully tired)

(Listening to - Airbag (Live) by Radiohead ...and the bloody drunken stupid noisy kids in my hall...)




I find myself needing to add an addendum to what I have previously written. Maybe to all of what I've written. This is due to the fact that during my time here in TO, I find less and less interesting things to write about, whilst I find myself envious of my buddy Bones' LiveJournal. (http://spectre-general.livejournal.com/)

Though delightfully eccentric, sometimes even esoteric, sometimes just odd, Bones pulls together a great examination of his loves (and his erratic wiles) in such a fashion that can truly demonstrate his well-written literary style and character. While I, the goofy pseudo-theologian, come up with more moments of candor (or outright silliness) which often are meaningless outside the realm of my own thoughts or life. (Now, this hardly means Bones doesn't offer up the occasional pointless silliness like myself, but I digress.)

Really, I didn't expect much in keeping a "blog", but I think I'm going to try and see if I can't fit some meat onto this meagre skeletal frame of a "journal".

...Oh! But I'll still keep the funny vids and movie reviews coming, if you don't mind. :) More later!

An odd observation...

(Mood - Terribly awake)

(Listening to - Daylight by Coldplay)

(Listening suggestion - Creep (accoustic) by Radiohead)



To all us students and muckabouts out there, I've come to an odd realization. It's not necessarily a good one, nor explanitory at all, but hear me out.

Have you noticed that there are many out there who would lock themselves up in their room, (somtimes beginning late into the evening, sometimes very early in the morning), then bolting their head to their desk, they force their eyes to "do lines" of text until their brain is mildly delirious from the influx of info that leads them to crave caffeine or collapse, giving into the body's craving to nap? I have noticed. But have you ever noticed that working in such a fashion is hardly lucrative to the learning process? In the cramming and the trying, have you ever noticed that it rarely takes well?

But then, these same people could be found at the local coffee place (take your Starbucks and shove it frankly, I'm talking REAL coffee places) where they seem to ACTUALLY work! Sure, there's still the machinations of being at a place with a never ending I.V. drip of coffee, but let's face it - the work gets done. Now the question - why?

My thought - you can't truly goof off if work is in front of you, and you're surrounded by strangers. In your office/room/etc, you can goof, you can play, you can nap, you can doodle, you can surf, you can (ahem) blog, but does the work take precidence? Not entirely. But then there's some strange enticement - if not chastizement - that, in a public place, surrounded by but not interacting with "no ones", the work flows.

I believe it's because you actually secretly think: a) these people are also doing work, therefore so must I (hell, some are even your peers, or at least other Uni students); and/or b) these people actually are paying attention to what I'm doing, and therefore I must keep up appearances of the "young intellect", or the "well-placed student", lest they should think less of me. Crazy, no? Crazy YES. True? Mayhaps!

Honestly, look at it from the other side: when you go out, with all the work done for the day, is your first thought as you casually glance round the Tim's or 2nd Cup (or better coffee spot...) "Geez, look at THAT guy... He's got SO many books, and ISN'T writing! Dammit! What a waste of a mind. How unprofessional. I'd better contact his school and tell them not to pass him." Cripes! Not in the least! At best, you're thinking "Why the hell is that guy taking up a friggin' table for FOUR?? We need that! He's alone! Senseless bastard..."

I think it's an ironic situation that most students go to "non-library public study spaces" because they have people who aren't working (and coffee - let's face it), and this activates a mix of the desire for necessary socialization and subtle "Look at me! Look at me! I'm educated!" in us that feeds the ego and refreshes our need to be part of the outside world. Studying can be a horribly hermiting situation, and with the aforementioned refreshment, I find we're more prepared to get work effectively done.

Geez, we're self-centred... Well, I know I am. :)

I dunno. It's just a weird occurance I've noticed. Oddly enough, the was noticed while sitting in a coffee shop, doodling accross a page I should be filling with theology... Uh. Yeah.

Anyway, with that rant said, more later!

"I ooonnnce was looooost, but nowwwww am foooouuund..."

(Mood - HOLY SHIT GIDDY HAPPY!)


(Listening to - Shag that! I was SINGING!!)




Simple and direct post - as my dear friend Nico supports the suggestion that I may be "drunk". Pfffft, five pints (three of which were FREE) does NOT constitute drunk, far as I'm concerned. :)

I have found karaoke. Nearby. On Tuesdays. It's run by some prick of a guy who's like "Howard Stern Lite".

Frankly, I couldn't be happier.

More later.

AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT...

Happy Birthday to YOU!
Happy Birthday to YOUUU!
HAPPY BIRTH-DAY, DEAR MARK EMMANUEL!
Happy Birthday TOOOO YOUUU!

There he is, ladies and gents, the youngest nephew of mine. Now two whole years old. Ain't he great? :)

I should be working, y'know...

(Mood - Sick and drugged)


(Listening to - Here in My Room by Incubus)




(Just FYI - Seeing as I'm pretty much all better now, the little me this post is kinda pointless, but since I made it, I wanna use it. So there.)

So let's see. What to report? Things are well, but mostly boring. Though that will change very shortly with the oncoming of the papers. Cripes, where the hell did January go? Nice to see time flying a little bit quickly, but only so to get home sooner rather than have work bite me in the ass.

In any case, what to regale you with first... I've been trying my best not to spend even MORE money on books, but my lack off people around to keep me away from the friggin' sweet little privately run second-hand and rare books stores makes for easy spending. I suppose I could be buying worse things (Yes dear, no more "technology"... and yes, I'll stay away from Futureshop...).

As well, I've been trying to keep away from too many online purchases as well. My God, who knew shopping Amazon would be so great? ...probably everyone, but shut up... Seriously, I've recently found more of my required textbooks there for better prices than at the store across the street that already sells them uber-discounted! Of course, to get the "Super Saver Shipping", I had to buy three other books too... I have to be stopped. Stupid credit card...

I must say that, without said little plastic wonder, I would not be in possession of BNL TICKETS! That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I'm goin' to see 'em Feb. 16th here in ol' TO! *sigh* Wish they weren't so bloody expensive though. I do NOT remember spending up to sixty bucks on a ticket to see them back home last time. But, thems the breaks to see the Ladies. Bones, you will be sorely missed at this event. :( I'm half tempted to bring a cellphone and call you while there or something. No offence meant to my other friends, nor even my lovely fiancee, but let's face it kids - Bones and I are the big fans of the BNL here. Ahh, if only I had better connections to get backstage...

Anywho, what else is happening... Oh! Our big boss man, the Primate Archbishop Andrew Hutchison (*sigh* Yes, I'm aware his title sounds like a monkey) visited today. This week is the "Week of Prayer for Christian Unity", so our neighbouring (though traditionally "rival") school of Wycliffe came over to visit, as the Primate is a grad from our side. :) It was really nice to see him, as I knew him about 6 to 7 years ago when he was the Bishop of Montreal. It was nice to have the two schools together too, given that most of our "rivalry" is just for show anyway. I really like a lot of the Wycliffe kids! (quick shout out to Steve & Julie, Chelsea and Liz!) I mean, just because their school is named after a man who, due to his radical teachings against the Church, was deemed a "stiff-necked heretic" (and then his remains were exhumed and burned by Papal order) doesn't mean they're bad people. (hee hee hee I kid! I kid!) Really though, good times had by all - particularly the lasagna!

It was also a good night for our "seminarian lab" (or what I call lately 'Liturgical Gymnastics'). We've been practicing the actual acts of worship - Baptism and Eucharist. Next after that are marriage prep and the wedding itself (Heh! Already DID two of THOSE) and funerals. It's probably my favorite part of being up here - the hands on stuff. But then, I'm sure most fields of study agree to that, when most of their work is theory. Supposedly I have a very comfortable sense of the worship, said the prof. Good to know!

Besides all that, I'd say my biggest complaint was my cold. That was nasty. Seems to be a mild epidemic up here in TO, but then with this many ppl, how can't it be? I'm half expecting to get it again, especially since I'm working with kids up at St. George's now. Sunday school up there is going well. Well, as well as can be expected when only 3 kids MAX show up... I've been told it's "skiing season"... Geez. Well, at least the kids enjoy it anyway. Heh - last week, I gave them the option of staying in group to talk about the lesson or go back up to Church. The look on their faces as they tried to decide was priceless. It was almost as though none of them had ever even considered that I might send them back up! Ahh. I shouldn't take so much joy in tormenting kids, but it's just soooo easy! Ha!

In any case, that's all I got. Even that last bit was a bit of a toss in add-on. Guess I'll have to have something interesting happen to me soon. Or go see a new movie to critique (*coughGHOSTRIDERcough*). Till I find something ridiculous to post, more later!

Post-Christmas Wrap-up

(Mood - Missing home again, but happy)


(Listening to - Adrift by BNL)






Well, back to the bookstacks and smokestacks of the big Tee-Oh again. *sigh* As per usual, don't get me wrong. I am fully aware of the good this whole "run away to school" idea is doing for me, but that doesn't mean, like many of my friends, I wouldn't rather be home. Moreover, to be home finished all of this and moving on. But, what's another 109 days? ...gah.

In the meantime, Christmas was great. Just the idea of being "on vacation" at home was nice. It would have been nice to have done more visiting, but timing wasn't always handy for that. Never is when one is pressed for time as it is - and geez, did the time fly... Hope everyone else had fun too. The best part - to my sweetheart's chagrin - was the snow! It came just enough for the holidays to jazz up the whole Christmas look ...except on Christmas day itself when it rained... but still, it was really nice. Also nice to see the family and friends, not to mention eating turkeys and hams and pies. Wonderful to have people cooked food, rather than people prepared food. Yes, there's a difference.

Hmm, now as for Christmas itself, I'd say the best thing to happen church wise was to speak to the kids on Christmas Eve morning. The talk was about the idea of preparation - getting ready for Santa, remembering Jesus' birth, all that. An image I used was for them to picture what they thought of when I said "Christmas", and to picture Jesus giving it to them, because none of it would exist without Him. I mean, regardless of the theological ideas surrounding that comment, which in my line of work are still important to keep in mind, more literally there would be no Christmas without Him! Y'know what? They actually LISTENED! Ahh, that always makes it better.

As for Christmas Gift wise, I'd say my biggest scores for the season would be my iPod's radio tuner (it has a little lapel clip set of extra buttons the size of the new iPod shuffle that allows one to control the iPod without having to get it out, and it allows me to listen to FM radio as well which, in Toronto, is freakin great! Lotsa channels to chose from!) and my Indiana Jones box set (FINALLY - Thank you SO much Steph!)

Anyway, back to the daily ratrace. Hope everyone else I know had a great time home, and I hope we all keep in steady contact until we all come home again. Maybe I'll even have some better topics to post up here. GASP! What a concept!

Happy New Year to all! More later!

DAAAAAAA!

Raving Rabbids?

I've never played the game Rayman before, but if I knew these were involved, I'd be totally there. Enjoy!

(oh, and a real post to follow... Seriously.)