The internet > real life?

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Perhaps, that title is a slight exaggeration. Scenario: I’m studying with one of my friends at UBC. We’re sitting on the floor with our laptops and taking turns back and forth picking a song to listen to. We have very similar taste in music and our usual 11:30pm playlist consists of mostly Coldplay, Jack Johnson and The Fray. We’re listening to a track when my friend decides to add a little twist to the mix and play Rainy Mood.

Yeah, . HELLO? This is Vancouver. Why in the world do we need to listen to a webiste that makes artificial rain sounds when it’s 68 degrees and there’s a….30% chance it’s already raining. Not actually. More like 87.9% chance.

I just found it funny and confusing. Is it our need and demand for things to be instantaneous or our infinite dependence on the internet (we go to it for everything) that makes us not able to wait for it to just rain anymore? Is the rain better on the internet?

Isn’t it a tad depressing? I just want to crawl up in a ball and cuddle, maybe with some sort of stuffed animal pet lamb and cry. The worst? Crying to Adele. But this SNL skit is quite funny.

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If I could apparate my life would be simpler.

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Probably not, but don’t we all wish that. Well, don’t all Harry Potter fans wish that. I feel like J.K. Rowling has successfully become the new Shakespeare in the sense that every day folk like myself (I swear my Hogwarts letter got lost in the mail! Therefore, I will forever more be in de Nile that I am a Muggle), use Harry Potter language as if they’re real words. Shakespeare invented 1,700 words that we commonly use and love today. If Shakespeare actually had a nickel for every word he invented he’d have $85!

Shucks. I wish I had $85 to spend… on next term’s textbooks.

Not only am I currently wearing a 8.5 x 11 collage of Lord Voldemort around my neck as if Flavor Flav never existed for a Sock Wars safety item, it’s pretty evident that Harry Potter has definitely made my childhood. Fact: photo collages beats clocks. And Battlestar Gallatica. Dwight Schrute beets all.

The point of this post was to talk about how this year I decided that travelling should really take no time at all. The maximum time I pretty much budget to get from Point A (these locations are always on campus, i.e. Gage Tower) to Point B (Point B is most definitely always class or Totem Park) is 10 minutes. 10 minutes max is not a lot of time, my friend.

While I agree, hey Nicole, we all need to relax and take some leisurely strolls every once in a while, running everywhere way more effective than walking everywhere.

Running: boosts your health. Check. Gets you there in less time. Check. Makes you a hot mess. Hot equals attractive? Ugh maybe. Check-ish.

If you see some girl running down Main Mall, next time, you might possible stop and think “Is that Ned?”. If you see me frantically on the phone, then absolutely it is me. Because I am the only person who not only runs but will actually answer my phone while huffing and puffing with a knapsack on and probably shout gibberish.

However, the other day I did have enough time to stop and smell some flowers and it’s so enjoyable. When we’re not thinking of where we have to be or what we have to do you can just appreciate the beauty of campus, stop and chat with a friend and let them be the one on their way to whatever.

I noticed this one guy who was walking and reading at the same time. Now, the moment I saw him I was reminded of myself from last year. You only have a week to read those geedee Arts One books, okay!? I know, guy walking down the street, I know. And trust me, no judgement coming from over here. But you got to look up once in a while. Do we all assume that people are just going to avoid us because we’re busy? Do we trust cars, pedestrians and plant operations vehicles not to run us over because we’re not paying attention?

All I’m saying is, if we’re all so busy doing other things are we watching where we’re going? Who’s looking out for us not to fall into a hole? What do we miss along the way?

It’s a beautiful day out. I hope for just a moment you look up at the sky and notice how lovely it is outside.

Shout out to Bret, (WITH ONLY ONE ‘T’), one of my awesome residents, and Juan, one of the awesome mentees from Arts Tri-Mentoring. I love my readers and hope that my blog entertains them as much as playing Peggle HD on an iPad entertains me. Which is – a lot.

a new kind of placebo

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So, I recognize that I may be getting older. I’ll be hitting the big 2-0 in a few months. But naively I like to think that I am capable of keeping up with all the hot lingo. Right? Wrong. It’s not so much about keeping up with hot new words as everybody nowadays is just making up new words.

I was walking back home with a friend and he asked me “How are your middies going?”

Middies? What in the world are middies you might ask? That’s what I was thinking. My friend gently enlightened me that “middies” is the less intimidating euphemism he uses for the big dreaded…dun dun dun – midterms.

Midterms. They’re here upon us. Everyone seems to be stressed, deactivating Facebook accounts, not returning texts or emails, because, as Belle from Beauty and the Beast, we’ve all got our “nose stuck in a book”. I’ve had two late nighters, loads of impromptu nap times etc.

I’m kind of intrigued with this idea of changing the names of things to make them sound so less daunting than they actually are. I guess it’s a new kind of placebo. You’re not actually doing anything to make it easier, but you think it’s not as bad.

Talking about placebos, who knew spectacles could be placebos too? Spectacles, like those big frames with plastic in them that help you see. Oh, glasses? Is that what you call them now? They don’t even have glass anymore. Well, a different friend of mine has non-prescription glasses that he uses to get him into “study mode”. When it’s time to study – the glasses come out. What a neat idea? I guess this has to do with the whole concept of looking the part, acting the part and you eventually turn practice into habit.

Whatever works my friends, whatever works. Good luck with midterms! On to phase 2…