moving on up

[quick reference: new blog: http://jumpintomylife.wordpress.com]

to my loyal readers,

the time has come to leave this beloved blog. we have shared some good times - the compilations of both 2005 and 2006 are featured here, as well as countless rants, good news blurbs, pictures, not to mention Friday Fives.

but, for design purposes, and a few other ones, I'm switching! so, change your favorites list (once again,) to http://jumpintomylife.wordpress.com.

I thank you so much for reading, and feel free to give me feedback at any time. oh, and comments are always welcome too.

yours,

Joel

>> go to jump into my life, v. 2.0.

second-last post

HEY GUYS.

just wanted to say - PLEASE, if you haven't already done so, write an e-mail to the heads of Kleenex in support of the Kleercut campaign.

Kleenex uses 100% VIRGIN NORTHERN CANADIAN FOREST in its products. in other words, they are destroying Boreal Forests that are thousands of years old. SO many other brands use recycled materials, and it's time for Kleenex to do the same. please click here to send an e-mail, it will only take a minute of your time, and it will make a world of a difference.

actively being an activist and a slacker before my last exam,

Joel

ignoring real life by escaping to burlington

The view from the top of Mount Nemo, along the Niagara Escarpment, taken this afternoon.

so, right. my final existentialism essay is due tomorrow by 4PM. and I've been here in burlington for a full day now, and I'm probably staying over for another night. oops!!!

but really, I've been in school since january 8th - I can really say at this point: screw you, school! and that's precisely what I'm doing/saying. it's terrible, but I really don't care. I've got five more days to go until I go home. the feeling I have right now is very similar to running the very last bit of a race, when you're sprinting hardcore - except I'm just walking, because I'm so tired [of my life here.]

on that note, I am having a blast in burly for my last weekend before the summer. ash and her friend emma played over at Philthy McNasty's (local raunch bar) for "Earth Jam," and it was very very good. I would post pics, but ash would kill me... maybe later. it was a great set - the two artists before them were kind of brutal, though.


anyway. so I had a casting for Farley Chatto's show on monday, pretty sure I didn't get it though. I wonder why? I mean, this whole modeling thing is cool, except for the rejection part. I mean... it's part of the job, but it'd be really great to know why you didn't get certain things, to see if you can improve on them. it just lowers your self-esteem otherwise - well no, not lower, but makes you question if you need to be doing something differently, working out, being less nice and more manly, etc. etc. - just something on my mind.



something also on my mind... this summer, some of my friends won't be coming home this summer. I mean most will only be a few hours away, but one friend in particular will be staying in Ottawa. I mean, I'm not shocked, but I'm sad at the same time. it's truly not the same when your friends stop living in the same city that you do, it's a pretty big shock. I hope everything will be allright. I have an interview at City Hall on the 30th, for some job in Human Resources maybe? I'm really not sure what position I'm going for, they just randomly called me.


so I should leave now, I feel rude for not chilling with my hosts. oh, and today was AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL... wowww. 22 degrees tomorrow as well!


...it's get significantly colder once I get home. can't wait. launching my new blog thursday!


joel

P.S. I am Capital Radio's #1 fan... here's their playlist. oh, baby.

16/04/07

This tragedy affects us all.

I check my hotmail at least a thousand times every day

it's a shame I've put an expiry date on this thing. but, lo and behold, on april 26th i'm shutting this baby down in favour of my newer, cooler, snazzier blog on wordpress.

just wanted to say that I am masterful at slacking off from exams. (did I mention it's 3:30AM as I write this?) I have an exam wednesday (english,) another on thursday (management,) and a final essay due friday ... alongside an interview, and I'm off to Burlington that day as well. charming.

but truly, when I go off to Burlington, I'm basically done. sure, I'll have a shitload of packing to do, (not to mention finding people to take my stuff,) and my design exam on wednesday the 25th, but really, I'll be done. packing is fun, and design is [basically] a breeze, and I'll be so close to going home it'll be... euphoric.

that's the thing about staying away from home for so long, at least when you're young, and you technically still live at home. (I mean, as long as I live in residence, I really do still live at home, right?) you just... miss it so much. the family, the friends, the food available and prepared for you every day! laundry done for you! parents who buy you things! forget the Four Seasons, I want to go home. if there's anything university has taught me, it's that home is not only where the heart is, it's also paradise - give or take a few things.

so, 8 days to go. that's the countdown, and believe me, that countdown is my LIFE.

this past weekend was quaint... Friday went to Astoria on the Danforth again, such amazing food! except I stuffed myself to an unhealthy degree, whatever.

satruday was my the gym, then my last day at work, oh-so-sad. not! well... kind of. the people there are fantastic... the job? not so much. I won't miss asking people if they have a favorite fragrance (then you should check out Fierce or 8!), nor will I miss telling tagging people at the front of the store (hey! check out our sexy new shorts, 13-year-old girls! you too, Mom!) I stayed in saturday night to do "work," when all I really did was caught up with friends on MSN and Facebook. go me.

finally, sunday was cool as well - went to see "Disturbia" (for free!) with Alyssa. it was her going-away present, as she's leaving today. so sad. and then I had a Floor President meeting - oh yeah! I got accepted as a Floor President in Ryerson Residence for next year. (thank you, thank you.) however, it's for PITMAN HALL. GROSS. I am not living here again! not after the nightmare I've been through this year. so, I spoke with Chad (residence life coordinator) Sunday, and I'll send him a reminder e-mail on Wednesday. I want (see: have to) live in the ILLC, the former hotel, or else I'm simply not living on residence.

today I got a call from my agency, I had a casting! I walked for the longest time, swearing (sometimes loudly) on the streets of Toronto. and why? because it was rainy, and very windy, and my umbrella had broken, and I was getting soaked. I was not pleased. the casting itself was fine, fun even, but getting there and back was hell. mainly because I'm too broke to afford the streetcar... OK that's a lie. I could afford one way. I walked there (corner of Bathurst and Adelaide... at least a 40-minute walk from my building) and planned on taking the streetcar back. however, little did I know the Dundas streetcar doesn't exist right about now because of construction ... so all-in-all today I walked about an hour and a half. and I even went to the gym this morning! damn! at least I can justify all the chocolate almonds I had tonight... oh, and if I do get it, the show is next monday, and the designer is the very nice Farley Chatto.

P.S. I had to take my shirt off during the casting ... hope I'm in good enough shape! oh man - he asked if I'd be comfortable wearing underwear if I got into the show, I said yes. oh MAN.

anyway. pretty sure that's it for right now. I learned my grandmother has facebook, but that's a different story for a different time. a time that's not 3:40 in the morning. my eyes are burning. night!

Joel

P.P.S. someone wanted me to post some pics from my "A&F" modelling. I don't model for A&F in their marketing, I model in their stores. but, don't be dismayed; I did a very abercrombie-like shoot about a month ago... here's a shot with a close-up. it kind of sucks, but hey, it was amateur, what do you want.

friday the 13th

oooooooo, ominous. friday the 13th. oh-so-unlucky. (or not.)

so, all done classes! almost done second year!!! hooooly shit, eh?

I haven't seen my family since january 8th - it's painful at this point. I feel very much like I'm running a race, and I can see the finish line, and I'm sprinting. 12 more days.

the day itself (april 26th) will be quite dramatic. I'm taking the shuttle at 5:10 in the morning, and it just so happens my friend Anne Jones is taking the same shuttle! and so we'll be having breakfast at Pearson, and then be flying off to opposite sides of the countries (basically as far as possible - she's in northern British Columbia, and I'm in Southern New Brunswick.) it's such an amazing feeling... you feel like a celebrity when you come home, and everything is new and fresh and exciting, and you have the whole summer ahead of you. I am unbelievably pumped!

last day at Aber tomorrow, can't wait! not that the job sucks, I just really need to move onto something new, and concentrate on exams. holla.

oh, and the agency called yesterday - pity they couldn't promote me this semester, but we're going full force in the fall. which is fine, because I couldn't have gone away this summer either way, I miss my family far too much. and I miss Saint John as well.

exams next week ... only 3, not that bad ... oh, and a mega-essay-of-doom. gross.

and finally - yes, it's true, I'm switching blogs once again in the near future. it's beautiful... but under construction. it's going to be a great kick-off for the summer, you will love it... very sophistiqué and mature.

and obligatorily, it's friday, so you can fill in the blanks.
no, wait, I'll do it for you:

friday five: the sappy edition.

1. Who was your first crush?

Melody, a girl in my grade 3 class. Such nerd love.
Well, I actually asked her to the dance, and she said she had to go to Crystal Palace that day. Deeevastating.

2. Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

DEFINITELY an extrovert, to the ultimate max.

3. What is your favorite non-sexual thing you like to do with the love of your life?

Ehhh... Are we talking recreational activities or foreplayish things? I need clarification here... This could get naughty.

4. Name one quirky habit your partner does that either annoys you or makes you grin.

Um, I'm single right now. THANKS FOR RUBBING THAT IN, FRIDAY FIVE. MUTHAFUCKA.

5. Do you believe in monogamous relationships?

As opposed to what, polygamous relationships???? Umm, last time I checked, I lived in modern society, where monogamy is generally encouraged with you know, staying true to the person you're with. Otherwise, this is called cheating. This is where those bitter techno songs come from with large black women screaming, "YOOOOUUU CHEATED ON ME BOY, I'M-A EAT YO FACEEEE" and whatnot.

anyway!

so, that's that for this week. hope you enjoyed.

12 days left!
so close, yet sooooo far...

Joel

i'm such a grown-up

I woke up this morning, and the sun was shining.

I realized my itinerary for today was very grown-up. go to my Existentialism class, go out for lunch, run some banking/financial errands, read... you get the idea.

and, since I'm alone-ish here in Toronto, I took a little walk down memory lane to remind myself I'm still just a kid... right?

Grade 12- Groupe leadership, Samuel-de-Champlain.

Bowling during the exchange between Canada and France, Canadian week!Throwing leaves in Memramcook after the revival of Vague-par-Vague, Grade 11.

Me and Corinne, January 2005.
Me and my beautiful prom date, Sarah, aka Sare.Grad class, Samuel-de-Champlain 2005! ...All 21 of us.

OK, so that was heartwarming.

In other news, I'm home in TWO WEEKS. But it's too long. I have a huge Existentialism essay, three exams... don't you wish life had a fastforward button sometimes?

By the way, it's true - I'm switching blogs very soon. It's going to a huge debut, my best (and most prettyful) blog yet... Something veryyy cool to kick off the summer. Stay tuned! Or... whatever. you know what I mean.

Joel

photo hunt in the T-Dot

Model shot in front of the ACC

Yan and I in Nathan Phillips Square, in front of the Old City Hall.

Ooooh, CN Tower!

Union Station, sans et avec flash.

Skywalk.

Yan twirling in the skywalk.

Entrance to my work.

Outside the Cromb.

Happy Easter, P.S.!

Joel

how to make your life exciting 101

it's Good Friday. the sad day where Jesus died on the cross for all the sinners.

all the sinners like me. I had meat today.
I AM SO BAD. SOOOOOOOOOO BAD.
and I knew it BEFORE I ate it. oh mannn.

so, this entire weekend had the potential to be really boring. but, I think (and hope) it will just the opposite.

yesterday was great - such a full day! did the gym at 9:15, worked 12-5, printed off my stupid management review, did class 6-8... (breathes) ran to the LCBO and Dominion immediately after, to stock up of course. headed over to 116 Shuter to predrink, it was great. walked to Fynn's, making a pitstop at the ILLC for a few minutes. I drank SO much. didn't make it into Fynn's, ended up at the Ram, and had a great time... and finished off my night with street meat.
(new brunswickers = street meat = not roadkill. hot dog stand on the street corner.)

um, so as I'm writing this it's saturday night, but I saved this as a draft on friday. soooo pretty sure I have to pretend it's friday... um... sooooo friday five anyone?

everyone: "yes!"

actually, this week's friday five is quite fun. it's called "counting down the weekend," and it pertains to every day of the week. feel free to give it a go for yourself in the comment section.

Monday was magical because...

I attended SchmoozeFest, and schmoozed with the likes of Marilyn Denis. Ooo la la. She reccomended I get into radio if I wanted to be a television personality like her. oh, and the food was fantastic. or should I say, magical.

Tuesday, what a tiring day, because...

I had class 1-3, a quiz in 'Design in Media,' followed by work from 4-9PM, which was then followed by a marketing group meeting until 11. or even 11:30, I can't quite remember. tiring much?

My Wednesday was wild & crazy because...

It was snowing. In April! can you believe it? and right, I slept through my alarm and MISSED my existentialism class! I mean, if that's not crazy, what is?! whoaaa crazy. oh, and I had my marketing presentation, which was wild, and I DITCHED CLASS for a television program with my good friends!

Thursday made me think about...

how busy my life can be sometimes. and how I completely disregard the smaller things sometimes. it was so hectic... and recently I had a very sad dream about my family. it made me realize how much I miss them... I've not seen any of my family members since January 8th. my family and friends downplay it at times, but SHIT. that's a big deal. and certainly a lot to think about.

Friday is the most fun because of...

no class, and no work. all work and no play makes Joel a dull boy... good thing he knows how to have a fucking good time! I live for the weekend ... AND the week. I live for all days except for sundays and mondays. sigh.

///

I would write more, but really, it's "friday." right? right. ahem. soooo, nothing... has happened... since friday. and, um, I have to go.

Hoppy Easter!
(pees pants laughing)

Joel

therapeutic blogging

it's wednesday night (technically thursday morning,) at 1:40AM.

before I went to bed, I felt an urge to write. not necessarily in my blog, but just in general. (when I was in grade 12, I started a novel - I got 200 pages into it before I gave up. I've written my whole life, it's part of how I express myself. deep, no?) I am listening to Pachelbel's "Canon in D Major" at the moment - veryyy... therapeutic.

I feel like my entire life is a countdown lately. when writing my most recent 2000-word english essay, I kept thinking, "x number of days until this is over! can't wait." I've been doing this all semester, and basically my entire university career is just one big countdown. is this normal? should we really be living our lives counting down the days until something better comes along?

I know university is supposed to be stressful, challenging, englightening, and all of those great things. but whatever happened to "carpe diem," in other words, "live every day to its fullest?" I don't consider sitting in lecture for two hours to be "seizing the day." well, unless it's really interesting, which is seldom I'm afraid. I just feel like these days of my life, the ones where I'm living from test to essay to quiz, aren't the best ones of my life. sure, I have phenomeonal parties, great hangouts, and overall good times... but I've not seen my family since January 8th. it's almost been three months, and by the time I get home it will be almost four months. this really does affect my quality of life. (oh - and the next song is by Brahms, it's very uplifting. fyi.)

Toronto itself affects my quality of life. I was a runner in high school, and I could go out anytime and run as I pleased. here, in downtown Toronto, it's traffic, constant pedestrians, the threat of crime, and worse of all, severe air pollution. I heard something not long ago saying "it's better to not run at all than to run and inhale all the toxins found in the air next to a busy street." the idea of crime happening blocks away from me (even if I'm high up in a "secure building") is disheartening, not to mention scary. I have no family in Toronto; albeit I have excellent friends, and I do go to Burlington at least once a semester with ash's family, which is amazing... but it's not my family.

I'm sure I'll drive myself crazy at home this summer in Saint John. I'm sure I'll be thinking, "I can't get around - (that is unless I get my license this summer, WHICH I PLAN TO) - my brothers drive me crazy, so do my parents. the gym is so far away from my house... oh wait, I don't even have a gym in Saint John. the shopping kind of sucks, many of my friends are in ottawa, sackville, etc..."

but you know what? I absolutely cannot wait. I am counting down every single day until my flight leaves Toronto. I don't know what I'm going to do when I graduate. I don't know if I could picture myself living here at all!

maybe I'm just cynical because I'm experiencing Toronto on a student's budget, I live on residence still, and Ryerson is here, but truly, this is not living sometimes. many times I dream of what's to come... and I'm sure it will be miles and miles away from right now. so many better things up ahead. youthful optimism? maybe. self-fulfilling prophecy? definitely.

oh, it's almost 2AM. I'm probably ranting. I've probably lost you by now... so sorry. I actually started this post wanting to tell you about my day. I never do that anymore - it's always rush rush rush and friday five and a few links to YouTube. when I first started blogging - aka, October 5, 2002, it was all about telling people what was going on. and here you go.

Wednesday, April 4, 2007, went like this :

-Woke up at 11, realizing I'd overslept my alarm and was going to miss my 11-1 Existentialism class. ...oops! what a shame.
-Chilled about, did a little workout. arms, abs, you know ... male modeling, it's tough. haha. and then I showered, and dressed... riveting, I know.
-Wednesdays are laundry days, (yes! riveting again, indeed.) however, what is riveting is that I learned how to use a condom to save money! as in, not avoiding making babies, but avoiding losing my loonie. fantastic. my roommate taught me how.
-Speaking of my roommate, Christina, we grabbed some lunch and chilled for a bit. she's done next Friday, so I'm going to try to see her as much as possible. we're both in town for Easter, so we're going to celebrate our own Easter.
-I cashed my latest check from A&F joyfully, though it was raining. I also printed off my papers for tonight's marketing presentation at the library.
-Came back and hung up all my laundry in my room, our damn dryers do nothing here. Got dressed (up) for the presentation, and headed off to practice with my group.
-Did the presentation. We thought it went off quite flawlessly.
-Ditched class with carling, went to dominion. picked up some dinner, and headed to the Ashleys for the latest ANTM. yeah.......... I watch that show. I'm quite addicted. not going to lie.
-Came home, wrote my latest paper, caught up with some friends, wrote back all the people waiting for a response on my Facebook wall...
And here I am.

Thanks for reading this, if you did. That is, if you haven't bashed your brains out of boredom that is.

21 days to go.
Joel

there's a salsa version of Coldplay's "Clocks"

yes, it's no April Fools joke, it's true. ever since I've re-discovered the lovely Capital FM in London, England, they've really wowed me with the latest and greatest music in the world.

here are a few songs they've introduced me to that have ended up being (or will soon be) international smash hits. if ever you've wondered what I listen to, this is it. if there's an asterik beside the song, it means it's particularly amazing/beautiful... I'm trying to omit the "major hits" that everyone already knows about, because what's the fun in that?

* Seamus Haji - last night a dj saved my life
Booty Luv - boogie tonite (seamus haji remix)
* Ghosts - stay the night
* Mark Ronson - stop me
Keane - bad dream
Paolo Nutini - new shoes
*** Siobhan Donaghy - don't give up (BEAUTIFUL...the song and artist both)

anyway. that's that. um, friday five now. as us.

1. If you had to choose being blind or deaf, what would you choose and why?

I would choose being deaf - well, "choose." No one "chooses" to be blind and/or deaf, but you know. Vision means everything to me.

2. What is the best smell?

Oh, there are so many good ones. The one I want to smell the most right now is the smell of the beach of the Irving Nature Park, or a dinner made at home.

3. Would you rather be hot or cold?

I'd rather be HOT. (No pun intended.)
Actually, being cold appeals to me more. Whatever that means, likely from a strictly aesthetic approach.

4. What's the worst feeling in the world?

There are many! But probably the worst feeling is knowing that you have hurt someone else deeply, and it's allllllllll your fault.

5. Would you rather have something hurt or something be itchy?

Itchy; anything to avoid pain.

/ / /

so this past week Ryerson basically raped me. it's been dreadful, I'm trying really hard to be upbeat. 26 days to go, ohhhhh man. last day of class is April 13th ... aka 12 days away... OHHH YES.

gotta fly.
peace,
Joel