Dan's Exciting Adventure Blog

My Goal for 2011

2011-02-01T23:00:00.000-05:00

It seems for the past couple of years I have been sort of taking on a self help project for every single year. I like to think the past couple of years I’ve really come along as a person, and I’ve had pretty good success with my yearly projects though I totally didn’t think of them as that when I started. So far they seem to have been:

- 2008 – Get my head screwed back on straight and deal with personal issues.

- 2009 – Go back to school and be successful (considering my graduating this spring with an A average, I would rule this one successful)

- 2010 – Once a day photography blog where I took a picture each and every single day for an entire year.

Now however… what am I going to do? I am going to turn to the oldest of New Year traditions, the most claimed in terms of resolutions, something I have already failed in once: losing weight.

Yup. The biggest of all New Year Resolutions… get in shape. Well, I’m not aiming that that high. While there will be very little getting into shape, I would just like to be a shape that is a little less round. Maybe like an oval or something.

What I would really like is to feel less awkward with my body. What I would like is to feel like self conscious about myself. What I would like is to keep up with the children I work with and play with them as they want to be played with. I want to be comfortable and happy with who I am in mind, body and soul.

I attempted this a few years ago, and I was partially successful. With some diet and some exercise I was able to shed about 25 pounds. It felt good, people said I looked better (though I never noticed any sort of change), and suddenly clothes which used to fit didn’t fit so well any more. Incidentally this is also the time when I started really wearing a belt.

What went wrong? I don’t know. Like the vast majority of people who lose weight I just gained most of it back (not all of it, proud to say. I lost 25 and gained back 15 so technically I still am in the “having lost weight” category). I stopped being as vigilant, suddenly my activities seemed boring, going to a gym was a failure (due to laziness, busy-ness, and that I really would have liked some sort of work out buddy to keep my ass in line), the changes I made in my diet changed back… all the same excuses. What it really comes down to is I had drive, I lost it, I fell back into old patterns.

This year I aim to change it. My goal is to take the weight off and keep it off. This is going to mean a few things in my mind:

1) Change in life style. I’m going to have to get more active. Doesn’t matter what it is, I am going to have to. I need to be more active and I challenge my friends to join me… because I’m going to need help kicking my own ass. I want people to do stuff with me, to help me drag myself out. Whether that means going out for walks, snow shoeing, playing some sort of outdoor activity… whatever. Besides, you look like you could use the exercise too.

2) Change in diet. I’m going to have to over all eat less, and I’m going to have to change what I eat. Luckily at home we tend to cook fairly health. It also helps that I have such a twitchy stomach because there are certain things (such as overly greasy foods) that I just can’t eat. Two points in my favour. Sadly my social group eats out more than it should. I am going to have to be more vigilant with what I order, and how often I join in ordering out. Something unhealthy now and then isn’t bad… I am not planning to ban a bunch of foods. News flash, it doesn’t work. I just need to be a little better about what I eat and when. Moderation and all that. Don’t expect to see Big Feet and liquorice leave this house entirely for the next year.

3) I have to really want to change. I have to examine just why I am doing this. I have to have a reason to want to lose the weight and a strong enough reason to work to keep it off.

And lastly, something I didn’t really do last time…

4) Support. I am going to try this with support. Most of my exercise last time was myself on my own, or myself on my own at the gym. While that isn’t terribly likely to change this time either, I still want to incorporate support of some kind. So, this is what I came up with. This is going to be me asking for help here from people. I am going to attempt to continue the weight loss through fabulous prizes!

Now, I am not talking about new refrigerators, sports cars and microwave ovens. I’m talking about the Advent calendar of losing weight. Sort of the Kinder Surprise approach, minus the chocolate. It is going to involve some audience participation.

What I am going to ask from those who are willing to do this for me (not going to force anyone, though I reserve the right to go on and on about it endlessly in a whining tone until you buckle to pressure) is to write a note in a piece of paper and fold it up. Looking for two things on these notes:

First thing is just words of encouragement. Way to go, you can do it, Dan you’re less fat, stuff like that.

Second thing is going to be the prize, the carrot, the goal waiting at the end. Write down something to act as a prize. Maybe it will literally be a physical prize (nothing expensive obviously, certainly not anything over like a 10 dollar range… I’m not looking to cash in here) like a book or a game or a card for you L5R nerds. It could also be something we could go do, like going to a movie or going out somewhere or doing something we don’t normally do (like bowling or laser tag. Eating a 10 pound bad of candy is right out). Could be something you’ll let me do, like borrow something I’d obviously like to borrow or submit yourself to letting me take pictures of you in funny hats. Heck, would be nice to have someone follow along while I go out picturing, that would be a good one. The idea is that it’s something small to medium in nature that acts as a hook. Sort of the lottery ticket effect.

I plan to collect all these notes from anyone willing to provide them without reading any of them. I don’t want to know what they say. Folded up, they will sit and wait inside a box until such a time as they are needed. When I successfully lose somewhere between 5 and 10 pounds (depending on how many I get… If only 3 people give me notes I will be terribly sad and at 5 pounds a note that won’t go all too far) I get to open one at random and read it. That’s the goal right there. Aim for small little stepping stones which come with a reward and then aim for the next one. Work hard, drop the pounds, get a small little reward in reading someone cheer me on and offer me support (and a prize!). If I fail in my mission, and by fail I mean give up or gain everything back then I don’t get to read any unopened notes… they get tossed out.

The main idea is these are small little prizes to aim for. Little surprises to help keep me motivated both in words and in gift. The real prize here isn’t whatever I’m being given but rather the fact that a friend took the time to think and write something down to encourage me along the way. In the end that’s what I’m going to take away from these, and I’m hoping that’s what will keep me motivated to go even I’m obviously going to run into that huge brick wall.

Any that I lose… well, I lose them. I don’t get to read them, I don’t get to see the words of encouragement, I don’t get the wondrous prizes. They’re just done.

So now I am going to start hitting up people for notes. Obviously if you’re reading this, consider yourself hit up. If I know you and you’re local you can just pass it to me. If you’re not local and you know one of my friends who is, just get them to write it out for you if you’d like to support me.

So that’s my plan. We’ll see how this goes. But if I can take a year to turn around my life and get my head screwed on tight, if I can go back to school and leave with all As, if I can take a freaking picture every freaking day for a year, then surely to God I should be able to become an oval?

The light at the end of the tunnel

2011-01-18T10:55:00.004-05:00

In a couple of months something is going to happen which most people probably never figured would happen with me: I am going to graduate.

A bit of a shock, isn’t it? Daniel, who seems forever in the process of schooling is actually going to accomplish something and actually graduate from something!

It’s been a long time coming, and it’s been rocky on the way here, but it’s finally actually going to happen. I can barely contain my excitement!

So in the spring I will be graduating from the Early Childhood Education program from Algonquin College. I will be Daniel Gosson, ECE!

Sure, it’s not a double major in Biology and 17^th century French Romantic Poets. It’s not a PhD in some field sure to make me a dump truck full of money. Heck, to most people who know nothing about the program they just assume it’s a diploma in babysitting. Truth be told I was one of those people who wasn’t all too convinced either when I started taking courses.

You know what this program is about? It’s a big secret I’ll let you in on. Ultimately this program is one that teaches you about child development. It focuses on how children naturally develop physically, cognitively and emotionally from conception all the way to age 12. It focuses on the theories of development and learning, how to support children to achieve and grow to the next level, and how to focus on the specific needs of one individual child while working within a group of children. It covers all the big name theorists (as well as a few I’d never heard of) so you have a good understanding of different points of view from a theoretical perspective on development as well as practical application of these theories and other tools you are given.

You don’t get much more applicable than the three practical placements I did this year and last. All three of them were fantastic and I loved them for entirely different reasons.

At Brother Andre I was thrown right into the fire. I was given a boy who the school highly suspected was autistic and I was given the task of working with him, documenting his behaviour and just generally making it easier for the teacher to handle the rest of the class while I personally managed this little guy. I worked hand in hand with the school and when I was done they took every piece of data and information I’d collected on this boy and sent it off to the school board for diagnostic purposes. I got good use out of my observational skills.

At Good Shepherd I was given unbelievable leeway. Turns out that the kindergarten classroom teacher I was placed with got her ECE back when Algonquin offered the program in French. Because of this (and because she’d never had an ECE student working with her in the classroom, just teacher’s college students) she didn’t pull any punches with me and expected me to step up to the plate. I certainly feel I did. She gave me a rough outline of what she’d like to see me do, and off I went. I planned and implemented my own lesson plans; I worked one on one with specific students which -I- had identified as needing support. I managed to change someone’s opinion of what it will be like to have an ECE in the classroom when that school goes into all day Kindergarten. She held high standards for my work, and I made sure I did the best I could given this awesome opportunity.

At Forest Valley I was taken out of my comfort zone. Gone was the familiar structure of the school system and I was tossed head first into a play based mostly unstructured childcare setting. I know for the first little while I had the deer in the headlights look going on. My supervisor Joey expected me to take over the teacher’s role. It was strange and not at all what I was used too, but I did. I worked with the kids and staff there (first time I was really treated like something close to an equal by the staff who were not my immediate supervisor) and had a blast.

Once I got into the rhythm of things I found I really enjoyed it.

I remember Joey telling me after I was done my placement that he thought we were going to hate each other and butt heads from day one. Joe is not a fan of the school system where I am a fan of the structure and routine. He expected me to be rigid and inflexible, where I proved myself to be anything but. He actually gave me the biggest compliment that I could imagine getting at a placement. He said while it was clear that I had learned a lot from him, he’d also learned a lot from me.

Of course the final comments also included that I would need to work harder on physical activities for school aged children, but that really shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows me :P

I did so well at that placement that they put me on their supply list. I work there pretty frequently which is something that makes my bank account happy. I’ve also learned that it’s generally held that only two regular people on the supply list can work with the children on their own and do not need to have permanent staff supervise them: the actual accredited school board teacher who supplies sometimes and myself. Certainly a boost in confidence right there.

Now I’m actually supplying at a second centre called Elizabeth Park. I did a good enough job on my first day there that they’ve already signed me up for a few more shifts and want me back as often as I’m willing to go (which with my current class schedule is much less than I would like).

Over all, I’m pretty proud of the work and progress I made while at Algonquin. I feel I have a better work ethic, I think I’ve matured a great deal, and most importantly I know what I like now. I have enjoyed the hell out of this program and if I could stay in it longer I would.

Just kidding, totally wouldn’t. I’m taking the diploma and running, but you get the general idea.

I want to thank those who have supported me while doing this. I didn’t exactly go into this program with the greatest of heads on my shoulders. To say the least, it was hard considering the history to this story. To the people who supported me, helped me along, were understanding when I was drowning under a tide of work and respected my decision with this program I want to say thank you. It’s always so much easier to do something when you have some friends in your corner with you. Even just a little understanding that placements are a ton of work or that my schedule of day classes AND night classes AND working can be a little overwhelming at time does wonders. To all those people, thank you for making this just a little big easier. I cannot express just how grateful I am to all of those who helped me through this.

To those that gave me a hard time, to those who look down on the diploma I’m going to get and to those who look down on the work I’ve accomplished these past 2 and a half years, I’m flipping you the giant bird (and yes, I know there are some who do, and yes I know who they are). While the work in this program was not especially hard at times, there was a lot of it and it required that I do work almost every single day. To those that couldn’t understand this and to those who gave me a hard time about not being able to do thing or attend things because of it, a giant screw you. To those who have held little respect for me and the work I do, who look down on the quality and integrity of how I held myself during my placements or just in my projects and assignments… once again screw you. I have had several good friendships damaged due to this sort of nonsense over the past two and a half years (even if those involved do not know that from my point of view, yes our friendship has been tarnished).

Luckily though, those who understood vastly outweigh those who did not.

Now it’s time to look toward the future though. Just what am I going to do when I graduate in the spring?

I could always just jump head first into work. I’m a guy who wants to work with children, it shouldn’t be that hard to find something somewhere (Fun fact! Only 1% of all of those registered with the College of Early Childhood Educators are male!). With the experience I have, the references I have and my ECE behind me I am rather hireable.

There’s always the education route too. While my ECE will open many doors for me, an undergrad will always open more. The program that exists at Ottawa U that I thought originally I could apply for is not accessible to me, which makes me sad. Carleton University has a 3 year Child Studies program, and having my ECE will put me into 2^nd year. Also, there is a 4 year program at Ryerson called… Early Childhood Education (the only of its type in Ontario) , and having my ECE puts me right into 3^rd year there. Considering both of those programs would take 2 years to complete, and finishing my original degree I was working on would take 2 years to complete anyways it’s not too hard to see I have a fair amount of choices ahead of me.

Then there’s always the college. There are so many add-ons I could put onto my ECE to let me work with autistic children, children with exceptionalities (though I still dislike this term), focus on early literacy, etc.

It’s been an awesome ride these past two and a half years, but it’s not over yet. I still have to survive all the way until April with the courses I am currently taking. Just a few short months before everything changes.

I’m looking forward to what comes next, whatever it might be.

Thoughts on Portraits

2011-01-08T11:24:00.003-05:00

I keep thinking back to the pictures I took on New Year's eve.

It's not that I think they're all especially wonderful or anything, but they keep stuck in my mind. I can't shake them. I realize looking back on it that I really enjoyed it, and that's why they're stuck. I liked setting up the camera, I liked getting the backgrounds ready and switching them around. It was just... fun!

I will tell you I'm rather surprised some of the people there let me do it. Aside from maybe one or two friends who seem to enjoy me taking their pictures, most seem... uninterested at the best and somewhat annoyed at the worst.

Here I had a group of friends and a group of complete strangers and a group of mostly strangers. Aside from Phil (who I ended up getting through trickery) everyone agreed to have their picture taken. Some like Chad didn't look terribly impressed, but everyone else seemed to honestly enjoy it!

I think it's true what they say, that deep down everyone likes having their picture taken.

So with my having enjoyed it so much (and the people who I took the pictures of, they enjoyed it too. About half of them now use the portraits I took as their facebook profile pictures) I wonder what I will do next.

If I am going to take pictures of people in some sort of organized setting, what could I do? Not the colour background again since that has already been done (though I really really enjoyed it despite the final product looking something like glee), and I don't feel comfortable yet dealing with people who I don't know at all at all (friends of friends is fine.)

So what do I do?

It's snowing outside

2011-01-06T12:17:00.002-05:00

It's snowing outside, and I really really wish it would stop.

I understand the kids like it. I understand that they love to go sledding, that they like to make forts and snowmen and snow balls. They like to throw themselves in it and roll around. Heck, more than a few of them even put it in their mouths (despite desperate pleas not too).

I am decidely in the anti-snow bloc. My biggest problem is I hate driving in it. I hate needing to wear a coat in the car, I hate the way it sticks to my shoes when I get into the car, I hate the way everyone drives like a moron when there is a little bit of snow on the ground, and I hate the way I have to account for snow when I'm driving anywhere. Normally a 10 minute drive, eh? Better leave 15 to 20 minutes ahead of time then.

It looks nice for 1-2 nights a year, and then I'm done. Finished. Happy to see it go. Thankfully this year is supposed to have little snow (though that will cause some problems in the spring).

Stupid friggin snow, I hate you so much. I look forward to the day when the government gives every single Canadian citizen a blowtorch just to deal with you.

No more Christmas Tree

2011-01-05T23:36:00.003-05:00

Today we took down the Christmas Tree from the living room. It's a little more work than it looks like, Christmassing and un-Christmassing a house. Sort of a lot of build up to one day which seems to flitter by pretty quickly. Probably why I like after Christmas so much more than Christmas. That little gap between Christmas and New Years is probably the best part of the whole Holiday season.

That said, I've always been a big fan of January. I don't really know why. I find find myself happy at this time of year. Probably because of the whole year of possibility that there is. January I ride on a high of good feelings and good moods, until Febrary comes and ruins everything! Seriously, we had to make a fake holiday just to make that month tolerable.

But still, it's hard. And people get tired while doing it. Which is why I'm glad it's done now. Even though there's a gaping hole like a pulled tooth in the front of the house. Takes a while to get used to not having it there once it's gone.

But now that it's gone, how am I going to get my easy to make bokeh pictures? How am I going to easily get those awesome little colourful balls of light from the safety of inside the house?

Pictures not used

2011-01-03T10:10:00.003-05:00

One of the things that happens when you post only one picture a day is that you take come pictures that don't get used. So, since my internet is totally ass right now, I am not going to do a big post but rather put up some of the pictures that I took this past year but didn't make it to the blog! So here they are. Had I a decent working connection I would put why I liked each one. I might edit this post in the future and do that.

Picture 365

2010-12-31T23:59:00.000-05:00

My 365 blog is at a close. I will probably turn this blog into a regular old blog, with some words, rants, updates and photographs. But a full year done... wow. I wasn't too sure I was going to make it. Some people were not too sure I would make it through the first month! So now we're all done.. thank you for reading and following. Hopefully have a happy new year!

Picture 364

2010-12-30T23:59:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is the big day! Last day for the blog. I already have planned out what I am going to do for the last picture, but it's just a matter of seeing how well it's going to work out. Also, this post totally would have been posted last night had my internet not slowed down to a crawl. Something has been wacky with it, and it wouldn't load anything anything.

Picture 363

2010-12-29T20:58:00.001-05:00

Yup, still loving bokeh. And around this time of year, due to all the pretty lights, it's so easy to make and get. What I read about my 50mm lens before I purchased it was right... this thing is a bokeh machine.

Also, today I planned out what I am going to do for my last picture(s) on New Years Eve. Let's hope it works out as nicely in reality as it does in my head.

Picture 362

2010-12-28T17:35:00.002-05:00

The past couple of weeks have been beyond hectic. Working hard on finishing my last night courses (I'm expecting an A+ in both of them to go with the A and A+ from my day courses), working practically full time and getting sick. Like really sick. It all came to a head at Christmas when I actually lost my voice. Not terribly pleasant. But now everything is updated and I'm looking forward to the end of this year. So much to look forward to in the New Year! Not to mention the New Year's Eve Party! Should be an excellent time for all of those who show up. For now though, I'm happy just to have this thing fully updated again.

Picture 361

2010-12-27T23:59:00.000-05:00

Is it obvious yet that I love the "bokeh" effect?

Picture 360

2010-12-26T23:59:00.001-05:00

Picture 359

2010-12-25T23:59:00.001-05:00

Picture 358

2010-12-24T23:59:00.000-05:00

Picture 357

2010-12-23T23:59:00.001-05:00

Picture 356

2010-12-22T23:59:00.001-05:00

Picture 355

2010-12-21T23:59:00.000-05:00

Picture 354

2010-12-20T23:59:00.001-05:00

Picture 353

2010-12-19T23:59:00.001-05:00

Picture 352

2010-12-18T23:59:00.001-05:00

Picture 351

2010-12-17T23:59:00.001-05:00

Picture 350

2010-12-16T23:59:00.001-05:00

Picture 349

2010-12-15T20:33:00.000-05:00

Thanks to mom's work, the house is starting to look Christmas like. No one really seems to know how to take the artificial tree this year. We'll see how it ends up going, whether people think it looks right, or whether it looks like a giant decorated toilet brush.

Picture 348

2010-12-14T23:59:00.001-05:00

Turns out some of the pokemon cards I gave one of the teacher's at the daycare have "gone missing". It just so happens that the ones that went missing were the strongest and most powerful of the cards I gave her. If I wasn't such a nice guy, I might be suspicious.

Picture 347

2010-12-13T23:59:00.000-05:00

Not only do I walk away with a shot glass chess set, I also order an awesome drink that came with cotton candy in the glass (before it was dissolved) and I see two co-workers get Ice'd. Yeah, it was a good staff party!

Picture 346

2010-12-12T23:59:00.000-05:00

What really peeves me off about taking pictures is that what you want in focus isn't always what's in focus. Take this picture for instance. James is very sharp and clearly in focus, while Brandi is a little blurry due to not being in focus. On the little screen showing how the picture came out on the back of the camera I couldn't see this, since it's small. Just annoying, and something I have to be much more aware of.

Picture 345

2010-12-11T23:59:00.000-05:00

Complete and total AHDH kind of night. Wasn't really able to focus on much of much, which isn't all that great when you're trying to run a game. I can't remember how the earlier part of the day was since I wasn't paying attending due to distracting lights and forgot.

Picture 344

2010-12-10T11:38:00.001-05:00

I have the best gift for re-gifting ever. Well, not as cool a chainsaw sharpener or a frame picture of yourself, but still pretty neat.

Picture 343

2010-12-09T23:59:00.002-05:00

Note to self: Next week remember things like... hat, gloves, maybe even scarf. Watching a bunch of kids run around a yard for a couple hours is a little cold when you don't have these things. Normally I'm fine in the cold, but I'm not usually standing in the middle of a playground while children run around.

Picture 342

2010-12-08T23:59:00.000-05:00

The slide show was done! That said, it literally took all day to get it usable. Literally everything that could go wrong went wrong trying to get this thing to work. It made it an incredibly long day, considering I was at the daycare from 7-5:30, then ran off for class in the evening!

Picture 341

2010-12-07T23:59:00.000-05:00

My neighbours are getting a gasline put into their home. They've been heading their home on oil this whole time. Oh man the noise and commotion involved in connecting a home to natural gas! Why the heck wouldn't they have done this when the ground wasn't frozen?

Picture 340

2010-12-06T23:59:00.000-05:00

Starting to feel the crunch! Need to get this slide show done by Wednesday night or else there's going to be a significant lack of one at the Christmas Party for the parents and children. I've really enjoyed doing it, but man these guys need to put some order to their pictures!

Picture 339

2010-12-05T23:59:00.001-05:00

Same subject for a picture as yesterday, just from across the room as opposed to right in front of it. I've been using my zoom lens lately instead of the 50mm. I notice a significant decrease in the sharpness of image quality when using the room up close. I have to keep reminding myself... don't use the zoom for close shots! Don't be dumb, go get the 50mm!

Picture 338

2010-12-04T23:59:00.000-05:00

I was in a haze all day. Just sort of moving through a sleepy cloud. Need more sleep, need less chatty girls coming over to stop me from sleeping!

Also not happy with the cold and the snow. I know I complain about the weather and the temperature a lot, but as a Canadian it is my right. I wonder if there is any truth to the predictions that we'll see a milder winter but a lot more snow?

Picture 337

2010-12-03T23:59:00.001-05:00

So ends my last day working for Joe. That said, I'm already signed up for a bunch of shifts next week at the daycare. I'm sure the kids will be excited to have him back, but they better not be too excited to see me leave!

Picture 336

2010-12-02T23:59:00.001-05:00

I still do not know what I am going to do once the year is over. I do not want to do another 365 blog, but I want to do -something-. At this point it feels more like a chore than something I actually enjoy (if you can't tell by this entry bring in the middle of a string of late updates). Just need to think of something I can do.

Picture 335

2010-12-01T23:59:00.000-05:00

The towel is sad :(

Picture 334

2010-11-30T23:59:00.000-05:00

All of the kids are busy making calendars. While I am sure the parents are going to like having calendars with artwork or hand prints or something about their children every month of the year, starting earlier might have been a good idea. It's a little bit of a crunch right now to get it all done.

Picture 333

2010-11-29T23:59:00.001-05:00

My last full week of working Joe's shifts at the daycare. It's been a real mess as far as scheduling goes! It feels like I'm here more often than not, and then add in the extra hours I'm doing on the slide show.

Picture 332

2010-11-28T23:59:00.001-05:00

I make sure to go to my mom's Christmas Concert every year. It's really the only one I attend in a year for the most part. I like the look of the new theatre they've built out here, but it seems like the band is over all funnier when they mess up their lines in their little skits. Makes it actually bearable!

Picture 331

2010-11-27T23:59:00.002-05:00

Orpheus is coming along well. Considering a few of the players have never played an RPG before, I think they seem to be enjoying it. I know I'm rusty as far as storytellers go, but I think I'm getting better. Just need to work on getting everyone on the same page as far as time goes!

Picture 330

2010-11-26T23:59:00.002-05:00

This year is the 25th Anniversary of Nintendo's Mario! Who would have thought he was that old? The moustache makes him look a little bit older. Still, the kids love it. With the wii version of Mario being out, I think a whole new generation of gamers are getting to experience the awesomeness that is platform games.

Picture 329

2010-11-25T23:59:00.001-05:00

Apparently our final exam in my Thursday night class is based entirely on presentations made by classmates. I don't know whether that should worry the heck out of me.

Picture 328

2010-11-24T13:06:00.002-05:00

Here's my mom's oboe. Not much else to say today.

Picture 327

2010-11-23T23:59:00.000-05:00

Today's picture sucked. I've been tired. I mean really really tired and I don't know why. Sort of feeling crappy all the time. So, I'm sure I meant something when I took this picture, but it just looks bad. So I'm hiding it behind a photoshop filter.

Picture 326

2010-11-22T23:59:00.000-05:00

I don't like this, it's too dark too early!
I work every afternoon for the next 2 weeks. Joe (who was my supervisor when I was going my placement at Forest Valley) has taken some vacation time and I will be subbing in for him! It's pretty cool. It's been a while since I've worked with the older kids.

Picture 325

2010-11-21T23:59:00.000-05:00

We played Grave Robbers From Outerspace at Fandom today. I was lucky enough to be the winner! I say lucky because I ended the game knowing there was a 50/50 chance I was going to lose the roll-off to see who would have actually won. Problem was, I couldn't think of any other time where I would have been in such a good spot to win. Oh well, now I get to name what we play next. I'm leaning toward the Pokemon CCG since it's simple, easy, and silly.

Picture 324

2010-11-20T23:59:00.002-05:00

Making characters is hard. Though it is nice to get some use out of my Changeling books.

Picture 323

2010-11-19T23:59:00.001-05:00

I really don't know why, but it seems the cat has stuck herself to me. Whenever I'm in my room, she seems to want to be here too now. She sleeps with me (provided I don't lock her out) and she even spent all of today in my room. She's weird.

Picture 322

2010-11-18T23:59:00.002-05:00

I did my presentation, and it was good. People even really liked my incredibly ugly toy! The huge debates on toilet training and breast feeding were a little much though.

Picture 321

2010-11-17T22:23:00.002-05:00

Tonight in class we had to make a tower out of straws and tape. I had socks on my hands, James worse classes that obscured his vision, Erica wore a scarf over her eyes, Stacy couldn't say anything and Amanda couldn't use her right hand.

And it was worth 2% of our final mark.

Seriously.

Picture 320

2010-11-16T13:57:00.002-05:00

I should be seeing two completely wacky and slashy movies this evening. Assuming of course that I can cross town in time to see them. Here's hoping parents are extra-extra early with picking up their kids tonight!

Picture 319

2010-11-15T23:59:00.000-05:00

I needed a picture and I was just screwing around with the camera when I made this. I thought it sort of looked a little like the buildings were on fire. Not a great effect, nor a great picture, but for now it will do

Picture 318

2010-11-14T19:35:00.003-05:00

I would have more to say if I had done more today. Plans change, things happen, and I was more than happy to just relax and play the new wii. Specifically Golden Eye. I'm so bad at it, I don't usually play much in the way of video games, let alone first person shooters.
So this week coming up will be my first week without day classes. I can't believe how quickly they went by. I have one major assignment due this week, and that's about it. Nothing but a piece of cake.

Picture 317

2010-11-13T23:59:00.000-05:00

Getting this wii? Totally a great idea. Until we suddenly realize it's about 4 in the morning that is.

Picture 316

2010-11-12T19:11:00.003-05:00

Last day of day classes for this semester. Now I can relax a little bit. Ended on a high note too, getting perfect on a presentation about rocks and stones. The teacher really liked the zen garden ideas we brought up and how to make your own in a classroom

And wow, is it ever dark out early now. I got off the bus around 4:30-5:00 and couldn't believe how dark it was. It's only going to get darker earlier from here on out!

Picture 315

2010-11-11T22:22:00.001-05:00

Watching a play ground full of kindergarteners try and understand just why you are making them stand still and quiet while taps plays through the intercom system is a strange and somewhat funny sight. They don't really understand what Remembrance Day is, other than it has to do something with soldiers and poppies. Almost right after the moment of silence some jets flew over the school in formation. The kids were awed and amazed.

Picture 314

2010-11-10T11:36:00.001-05:00

I have to finish writing a reflection paper today. The "article" I have to write about it just so... stupid. I plan to tell the teacher that I found the "article" a little over the top, insipid and just a feel good piece of claptrap. We'll see how that goes.

Picture 313

2010-11-09T11:59:00.000-05:00

The Wii I ordered arrived today. Considering I told myself I wouldn't play it until the end of the week, this week suddenly seemed to grow much much longer.
It's a cool red one though, apparently it's the 25th anniversary of Mario, so the Wii is all red. Likewise I took Brandi out last night so she could get her DS, which is also shiny and red.

Picture 312

2010-11-08T23:59:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know my pictures have been very late. And yes, I know for the most part my pictures have been boring. I'm getting down to the wire for some of my class material, so my pictures are just sitting on my camera and then I do a mass upload.

That said, I am starting to think about what I want to do next year. I want to do some sort of photo project, but not necessarily a once a day thing. I am trying to think what sort of blog related activity I can do with pictures that isn't necessarily a once a day thing. Time to start brainstorming.

Picture 311

2010-11-07T23:59:00.000-05:00

Thinking it was getting late out, I came home at 9 o'clock. Stupid me forgetting to change my stupid clocks!

Picture 310

2010-11-06T23:59:00.000-04:00

I've never been one to play a huge amount of video games. And yet, lately, I've been playing them more than a bit. Rock Band and Mario Kart are just really fun though. So fun, in fact, that I actually ordered a wii! Newest Nintendo system that will be in this house since the N64.

Picture 309

2010-11-05T23:59:00.002-04:00

So my group will be doing a presentation on rocks and stones. We did a sink and float test to see what rocks would sink. Yes, I know it sounds silly, but one of them did end up floating.

Picture 308

2010-11-04T23:59:00.001-04:00

Today was single handedly the grossest day I have ever worked at the Daycare. Not going to get into details, nor do I really blame the kids involved (well, a little bit, they should know better) but really, really gross. The kind of gross that makes you come home and change your clothes.
Also, lots of rain + Ottawa Sens Game + Traffic = My not going to class this evening. Wasn't worth it and I had enough to do as it was.

Picture 307

2010-11-03T23:59:00.001-04:00

Exam, again. This only leaves 3 more to go (well, 2.5 since 2 of the exams are for one class). I think I hate myself a little for what James and I decided to do afterwards. At least I can say I tried that Double Down thing... gah. It's like a chicken and salt sandwich.

Picture 306

2010-11-02T19:09:00.002-04:00

You know what's sad? The amount of poor, killed pumpkins splattered in the streets the days after Halloween.

Picture 305

2010-11-01T20:46:00.003-04:00

You know what's amazing to have? An exam at 8am the morning right after Halloween. At least the exam was rather easy. I can tell from more than a few people's eyes that it was a little early for them to be up and awake the day after Halloween.

Picture 304

2010-10-31T23:59:00.001-04:00

I love Halloween, always have and always will. I've already loved things like witches, ghosts and goblins, and it's the one night of the year everyone else shares that passion too. Mix in some costumes, toss in come candy, and you have the best night in the year. While I kept it a little more low key this year than usual, I still loved every minute of it.

Picture 303

2010-10-30T23:59:00.001-04:00

WHAT THE HECK IS ALL THIS WHITE STUFF?! WHY IS TIME MOVING SO FUNNY!?

Picture 302

2010-10-29T23:59:00.002-04:00

Gearing up for an excellent weekend. Have all the character (so far) made for my Orpheus game which I am running on Saturday, then Sunday is Halloween! Next week... it looks a lot less fun...

Picture 301

2010-10-28T23:59:00.000-04:00

Time for exam 1 of 4. Bleh, can't wait for the next 2 weeks to move by very quickly.

Picture 300

2010-10-27T21:05:00.002-04:00

Today makes picture 300! 65 days to go for the rest of the year!

I really have to say this year has moved by so incredibly quickly. I don't know if it's because I have been constantly busy this past year or whether being aware of each day as it passes and giving it a number makes the passage of time seem to move faster... but I can't believe 300 pictures have already gone by.

Picture 299

2010-10-26T18:53:00.001-04:00

Well, the results are in. Ottawa has a new Mayor, and his name is Jim Watson. By a huge land slide. Apparently people were tired of having Lex Luthor as their mayor. I can't blame them really... I mean part of his campaign approach was to admit he was a really really bad mayor but please give him a second crack at the whip.

Picture 298

2010-10-25T18:46:00.002-04:00

Early morning Monday class felt even earlier today! With the change in the seasons I was suddenly walking out into darkness. It was actually rather cool.
Today is also election day in Ottawa. Time to vote for those who want to keep our city running smoothly. O'Brien hasn't a chance, and that's good since he was lousy. Sadly, I suspect Watson is going to win :(

Picture 297

2010-10-24T13:43:00.001-04:00

You know what's dull? Research papers on the Province's new Early Learning program. Yeah, it's dull and dry.

Picture 296

2010-10-23T23:59:00.003-04:00

Set up the outside shed for the winter. It's like a tent, but it's a shed. Means we don't have to shove a whole lot in the real shed or drag it back into the basement. I actually remember it taking more time last year to set up than it did this year.
We then played the last session of Gabby's vampire campaign. With nothing more than a herd of cows and a septic truck I managed to win the day!

Picture 295

2010-10-22T23:59:00.002-04:00

Nothing is nicer after a busy week of stuff needing to be done than taking a night to not do anything. I totally haven't fully recovered from the Obsidian Championship, and some sleep would totally do me wonders.

Picture 294

2010-10-21T23:59:00.000-04:00

Today was a very long day. At work for 7:30, work till 5:30, then at school from 7:00 to 10:00pm. It was all very good though, I had a blast working with the kinders all day. The class, less blasty, but not really bad. I was completely tired by the end though, and it felt so nice to flop and not have to do anything. I watched this show called Criminal Minds, which has Rube from Dead like Me.

Picture 293

2010-10-20T23:59:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since I've worked at the daycare for longer than 3 hours at a time. Between being busy with school and them not really needing me for long periods of time, it's been sort of dry. I'm glad I'm back now though, I get to see the place decked out for Halloween!

Picture 292

2010-10-19T23:59:00.000-04:00

Where did this sudden cold come from? Not that I am complaining or anything, but where? Also, it seems my two traveling companions to the states are tired and sore. Poor girls.

Picture 291

2010-10-18T16:45:00.003-04:00

Apparently last night I was tired enough to set my alarm clock for 6pm instead of 6am. I noticed this when I woke up at 9:30ish. Guess who didn't make it to their 8am class? That said, sleeping in felt soooooo good. I'm still tired though, and don't think I'll be going all too far today.

Picture 290

2010-10-17T23:59:00.000-04:00

You know what's the least exciting part of a road trip? Driving back. All the excitement of arriving at your destination and having a great time is replaced with tiredness and wanting to crawl into your own bed and sleep forever.

The good part about this trip back though was that the rain stopped. We actually had sunshine for the vast majority of the trip, which was a nice change. It meant we could see the horrible, dying houses in all of their glory. We used the word "sketchy" a lot.

Picture 289

2010-10-16T23:59:00.003-04:00

These days are always long. Very fun, but very long. While I did not do as well at this event as I normally do, I had an exciting day. Those of us working for the Crane Clan managed to raise over 820 cans of food for the food drive! That's a not insignificant amount of food!

Mostly though when it comes to these events I like seeing the people. It was also very interesting to see how two players who've never done a trip like this before for L5R reacted to it. I suspect they may come along for more roadtrips.

Picture 288

2010-10-15T23:59:00.003-04:00

Once again I went down to Feeding Hills! It's always an exciting drive, made even more exciting by the never ending rain we encountered on the way to pick up Ben in Vermont. The ran was crazy, and we could see some lakes quickly forming on the lawns and fields we passed by.

When we were no hitting up grocery stores for canned food, getting lost in town, or enjoying a fine beverage, we took the time to draw on more than a few of my cards for the tournament the next day.

Picture 287

2010-10-14T13:04:00.002-04:00

I am going to be going to the States again this weekend for another L5R event. This one is called The Obsidian Championship, and whoever wins gets to choose who the next Obsidian Champion (he or she is a bad guy) will be. I'm not aiming for winning, just aiming to do well, I came 2nd place in this event last year.

Also, this will not be a shock since a lot of my updates have been late lately, but obviously I will not have access to a computer and internet so I will not be updating this weekend. Next week when I put up my posts I am going to aim to get back on target of updating every. It's just a little hard to find the time to process pictures, edit them, upload them and write a little bit lately. I just have to find the time to make the time, or at least get back into order.

Picture 286

2010-10-13T23:59:00.002-04:00

Here is what I have learned so far in Introduction to Children with Exceptionalities:

Everyone things they are right and everyone is wrong. Because you once worked with a kid who has X disability you are now the grand master expert on everything to do with that disability. None should argue with you! How DARE they argue with you!

I've also learned to just sit back and draw cartoons to keep myself entertained while the ladies go on and fight about nothing.

Picture 285

2010-10-12T23:59:00.000-04:00

The one thing which really catches me off guard after a long weekend is how the day after doesn't feel right. Sure, I went to school today, but it feels like Monday. Feels a little bit off. Couple that off with off routine activities like visiting Fandom after class and the whole day seems like bizzarro-world.

Picture 284

2010-10-11T10:08:00.000-04:00

Most of this weekend was spent getting my Crane collection together. Really, considering over 15 years there have been about 295 Crane cards printed and I'm now only missing about 59 or so of them...that isn't half bad. So I took time to get that ready this weekend, took time to get school work ready this weekend, and apparently opened up my bed for the cat to use.

Picture 283

2010-10-10T10:05:00.003-04:00

Everyone in our family has a different Thanksgiving tradition. Some people carve turkey, some people wait in front of the stove all day smelling the turkey cook, staying not too far away from it in hopes that the turkey falls to the ground.

Picture 282

2010-10-09T23:59:00.001-04:00

Went headfirst into a bunch of old cards! Was looking to see what old rares I had and what I could do if I decide to make a Shiro Big Deck (an alternative format for L5R). For some reason I decided it would be a good idea to make a Crane collection. So now I'm going to try and collect one of each Crane card ever printed. Oooo boy. This is going to be hard.

Picture 281

2010-10-08T23:59:00.000-04:00

My teacher was really generous and decided that she would cancel out Friday afternoon class right before the long weekend. People were happy about that. Problem is, I didn't know so I didn't get the email. So I bussed it for an hour down to Algonquin, had my class which was only one hour (ended up being more like 35-40 since no one showed up because the next class was cancelled), then left and took an hour getting home. It wasn't a huge hardship and I probably would have gone to the class anyways, I just dislike the new emailing system. Stupid microsoft.

Picture 280

2010-10-07T21:36:00.003-04:00

I missed my class last week because I was rather sick, and apparently it was a good thing. Class went past 10pm. This time though I don't think we even went to 8pm. The teacher gave a lesson on activity write ups (I've done like a hundred of those for my placements) and then said we could leave. I will certainly not complain or argue with her.

Picture 279

2010-10-06T23:59:00.001-04:00

So many nice days in a row, it was bound to just come down raining eventually. Bleh.

Picture 278

2010-10-05T23:59:00.000-04:00

I really like the way the leaves change colour in the fall. It's always been my favourite time of year, and I think the colours really have a big thing to do with it. Things get cooler, things get prettier, Halloween comes closer and closer. Yeah, I think it's safe to say Fall is the best time of the entire year.

Picture 277

2010-10-04T23:59:00.000-04:00

Dad's eye surgery went well. It took a lot longer than expected and he came back looking like a plastic wrap pirate, but the surgery went well. I guess in 2 weeks they do the other one.

Picture 276

2010-10-03T23:59:00.000-04:00

I had some success with my L5R stuff today. After a whole arc of sucking, Crane (which is the faction I play) have finally gotten some good toys in the latest set. Considering I am going to Feeding Hills to play in a charity event very soon I've had to get a working deck in order. I took second place last year at this event, I doubt I will have as good a showing this time.

Picture 275

2010-10-02T23:59:00.003-04:00

Urrrg, can't shake headache. And then got yelled at by James' neighbour for playing rockband. At like... 9 in the evening. Does this mean war?

Picture 274

2010-10-01T23:59:00.000-04:00

Gah, sickness. I do feel marginally better this time than I did last time though, which is at least an improvement. The cold like symptoms are not as bad, but still not lessened enough that I am willing to get on a bus for an hour and a half each way to go to school for 4 hours. No, not happening. I did go though and go my assignment and hand in the work I needed to hand in, but I didn't stay for more than half an hour.

Then tonight I help a group of Yahoo's with their project. Turns out my camera really does take some decent videos when it needs to. This has led me to start thinking about things.

Picture 273

2010-09-30T20:28:00.002-04:00

Jen came in today to give a talk to a class that I am not even part of. My teacher just happened to mention to me that she needed someone to come in and talk about comics and cartoons, and I mentioned Jen to her. The talk went so well, and I was ever helpful to help Jen out, that the teacher wants the two of us to come back and act as guest speakers in a different class of hers. As the picture shows, Jen was calm and cool as a cucumber while giving the lesson.

Picture 272

2010-09-29T23:59:00.000-04:00

I think I'm part of the loud, annoying group in my Wednesday night class, which is something considering we're neither loud nor terribly annoying. We're just 4 of the youngest people in the class who all sit in a line near the back-ish of the class. That said, we may have argued a few times with some of the people in class, and given them nicknames than only we understand.