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