BEDA - Day Thirty

Well, I made it through April and BEDA. I can’t believe that today is the last day and that tomorrow I don’t have to write a blog if I don’t feel like it. It has been an interesting month, but I’m really glad that BEDA is over. It’s really hard to think about things to write a decent blog about every day.

Out of all the blogs that I have written over the month my favourite are book reviews. I love to talk about books, and writing reviews really helps to get the urge out. Whenever I finish a book I always sit back and think about the book as whole, this is how I determine whether or not I actually liked the book. I think about the characters, the plot, the writing and how much I enjoyed reading the book. Writing about these points really helps me to wrap my head around my thoughts on the story, and usually by the end of the review I can tell if I will recommend the book or not. I guess that it could be the English major part of me but I will always like to think about books critically after I read them, even if I don’t go quite in-depth English essay in a review.

I also really love to write about music, and the couple of times that I wrote about music during BEDA have been really fun. I always have music playing, and I can’t stand to have my apartment to quiet. I love to listen to lyrics and to discover how I relate to them. I love the emotion that an artist can convey through instrumentation and how a certain song can make me feel. I also love to spread the music that I love around to other people, and writing about what a song means to you is a really good way to do just that.

I’ve written at least one movie review during the month, but I don’t think that I’ll get into that. I enjoy movies, but I don’t really enjoy writing about them. Movies have always been a way to relax and to veg out, I feel like if I try to write reviews about movies it will ruin movies for me.

I’ve written a bit about my personal life, and things that have happened during the month, and while that is a good out let, I don’t think that I’d want to do it all the time. It can be difficult to write about your personal life because you don’t want to share too much and at the same time you want to keep it interesting, it can be a fine line. I’m sure that I will write about my life from time to time, but I don’t think that it will be the bulk of my blogging.

I guess that what I am saying is that from now on I will be blogging about books, and music. I think that suits me fine. They are two of my favourite things, and it will keep my blog fun for me. So, let me say a big thank-you to those of you who have been reading my blog this month, it has been fun! I can’t believe that I have written every day, well I did miss two days but with almost 17,000 words under my belt I’d say that I won this challenge!

BEDA - Day Twenty-Nine

Alright BEDA, I am going to stop procrastinating and write…something. The problem with writing a blog every day is that some days I can’t think of anything worth writing about. Sure I have had ideas go through my head, but there has been nothing really good. So, today I am going to try out a tip that writers say to do when they have writers block which is, surprise surprise, to just write.

 My brain just went straight to the Gilmore Girls episode when Lorelei is trying to write a character reference for Luke and her stream of conscience ends with the words “monkey, monkey, underpants”. And I think that if I were to take that approach that the result would be similar.

I keep starting to type and then realize that I have already written about what I am typing, so I delete and now I am starting over.

I had fun with Hannah last night, we went dancing. I never thought that I would enjoy going out dancing, but I do. OK, we didn’t go to cluby club we went to this place called the Boat were they play good music. It’s all stuff that has a beat but I know and like. I’m so glad that I can go dance somewhere and not have to groan and roll my eyes as they start to play someone like Ke$ha. I love hanging out with Hannah, we always laugh a lot, and talk about important stuff. We also get into shenanigans that are always awesome in a “you had to be there” sort of way. I wish I got to see to see Hannah more.

After a late night out all I felt like doing way lying around watching TV, which I did for part of the day, because I feel sleepy. I think that I am really starting to get old. I get tired a lot easier these days then…in my hay day? I don’t really know when my hay day was, but apparently it is over. Aww, that makes feel a little sad.

Well, on that note. I think that I have more movies to watch and an early bed time to get too. Sorry about this blog, I know it wasn’t my best effort. Only one more day and then BEDA is done.

BEDA - Day Twenty-Eight

Lately I have been really into walking, there is nothing like picking a route and seeing where you end up. Living in the city I have been able to go for walks and never see the same thing two days in a row. I love discovering different parts of the city that I have never been too, and it is also a great way to get to know the area that I live in.

Today I decided to walk down to a park that I have driven by many times but had never been too. As soon as I started across the sweeping lawn that was part of the park I could smell it, the lake. I don’t think that I can describe the smell of a lake, but it is one smell that I really love. As soon as the breeze blew across my face I was relaxed, it reminded me of home. I know that might sound strange but the truth of the matter is that Lake Ontario smells like the lake that I grew up on, and also Georgian Bay which is where my small town is located.

As a smile started to spread across my face I found a place to sit down and look out on Lake Ontario. It wasn’t the best day weather-wise, but it was nice enough that I was enjoying being outside. I noticed some airplanes taking off, and could help but smile wider at the sight of them. If you remember I have a special place in heart for airplanes, and I couldn’t help but think that maybe something good was going to come my way soon. (If you don’t remember why I love airplanes you can read about it my post titles “Counting Airplanes”).

I put on the song Empty Threat by Kathleen Edwards and leaned back where I sat enjoying the day. Airplanes kept taking off in the distance, and I watched the runners and bikers pass by on the trail. I think that this is just what I needed today. I came home and have stew bubbling away on the stove almost ready for me to eat, what more could I ask for?

BEDA - Day Twenty-Seven

Across the Universe by Beth Revis is about a seventeen year old girl who is cryogenically frozen so that she can go on a mission to new earth with her parents 300 years into her future. The girl, Amy, gets reanimated 50 years to early and is thrown into the world that exists on the spaceship that she has been traveling on. Amy meets the future leader of the people who lives on the ship named Elder and together they begin to discover that the society that has been created within these steel walls isn’t what it should be.

Across the Universe started out pretty good, the first few chapters drew me into the story and I was interested in the characters. Unfortunately, about half way through the book there was a turn of events that turned me off and I didn’t really enjoy the book from then on. The incident, which I won’t describe in case someone wants to read this book, seemed unnecessary and I feel like the same effect could have been achieved in a different way. I think that the reason that I didn’t like the incident was because it was too graphic for a young adult novel. I could have done without this certain part and I wish that Beth Revis had written it differently.

The characters were alright in this book, there really were only five characters in the entire story. The chapters are divided between the two main characters Amy and Elder and I’m not sure how much I liked either of them. Amy seemed weak to me, she emerged into this completely different world from the one she knew and started to notice things that were right. However, she doesn’t really start to talk about those things until after the incident, when it directly affected her. After Amy noticed how things were different she never really tried to explain why things on the ship weren’t right, she just said that were right. Never once did Amy do something heroic or out of character, it seemed like her only purpose on the ship was to stir things up.

Elder had lived on the ship for his entire life and just started to realize that the way things were being run might be corrupt and even after his realization he still often agreed with the corrupt side. I did like Elder better then Amy because he was acting out of turn and was trying to get answers, he had a rebellious side. The thing that I really liked about Elder is that he seemed to put everyone else’s well being ahead of himself. It was right at the end of the book that I ended up not liking Elder as much, he did something that made me think about the story completely different. It was the one thing that ruined Elder for me and also ruined the book a bit as well.

The other characters are hardly worth mentioning, they are the stock people that you expect in a story of this sort. There was the best friend, the bad guy and the bad guy’s henchman. Other than that there was the mindless masses that had no idea that anything life changing was happening. The characters were a bit predictable, and not at all interesting.

The writing was ok, but near the end it seemed to be overly emotional. I feel like that whole feel of Across the Universe is that it started out good and then it end really bad. I’m not sure that I want to continue reading the rest of the books in the trilogy. To me I can’t see where the story could possibly go after this; I honestly can’t believe that there are two more books written about these characters.

I gave Across the Universe a three out of five because I really did enjoy the beginning of the book, but I really did hate the end of the book.

BEDA - Day Twenty-Six

This weekend my Dad gave me a sample of Palmer’s Coco butter which is said to reduce the appearance of scars. I think that now is a good time to write about my scars. For those of you who don’t know, or haven’t realized, I have scars on 100 percent of my body. It’s not something that I talk about a lot, but I feel like writing about it now.

When I was 18 months old I got the chicken pox. Most people think that the chicken pox aren’t really a big deal, you spend some time with red blotches on your skin trying not itch them, but for me it was a huge deal. I had an extreme case, I was in the hospital for two weeks and they didn’t know if I would die or have brain damage, and I am now in medical journals. My Mom told me that I was pretty vacant for those two weeks, I didn’t do anything except lie there, she told me that one day when she shook a rattle at me and I smiled was the first day she that she knew that I’d be OK. I don’t remember any of this time of my life, but my Mom tells me that when the chicken pox scabbed over it was like Rice Crispy’s were falling off me every time someone picked me up. I’m glad that I don’t remember what I went through, but I know that those weeks were the ones that made me who I am today.

People often talk about the chicken pox like they are nothing to really worry about, and I hate that. People make fun of the fact that there is now a chicken pox vaccine, but I think that it is a great thing! The vaccine doesn’t prevent the chicken pox, but it makes it so that no child ever has to go through what I went through. I think that a parent would be stupid if they didn’t vaccinate their child against chicken pox, I know that my Mom has said that if they would have had the vaccine when my brother and I were kids she would have done it. I’m fine, but who is to say that someone couldn’t die.

The other thing that sometimes gets to me is when people talk about their scars. People will count scars and tell stories about how they got them, but the thing that really gets me is when people complain about their scars. Nothing bugs me more then when some person says something about some ugly scar they have somewhere on their body, honestly, I want to smack them. I always feel like people don’t have the right to complain about something like scars. You might think that is selfish of me because I have the most scars ever, but the thing is that I don’t want to complain about my scars. My scars are a part of who I am, and I believe that there are so many other more important things that people can complain about then the very few scars they have. Whenever people bring up scars in front of me I just sit back to see where it is going, and when they start to complain about them in way that is ridiculous I look at them and say “really”? I hope that they clue in to what I am getting at, and sometimes they do, but usually I just end up shaking my head at them.

When I was kid I was sometimes bothered by the fact that I looked different from everyone else. I often would have kids come up to me on the playground and ask what was wrong with my face, sometimes my friends would defend me with “nothing, you idiot”, but most of the time I just felt bad about it. Just like any other kid, I didn’t want to be different. My friends growing up never treated me different, they knew what my scars where and the liked me anyway. The kids in my grade were so used to how I looked that it never really became a problem, and I am go grateful for that because by the time I got to high school my scars weren’t really a big deal anymore. I made new friends in high school and when I trusted them enough I told them about my scars, and no one made me feel bad about them. Everyone accepted me for who I am, and I feel really lucky to have the friends that I did.

Growing up in the way I did, with the people that I did, made it easier on me. I rarely ever think about my scars, and most days I forget that even have them. My scars are a part of who I am, but they are only a part. Sometimes I wonder about what people think when they first meet me because it is obvious that I have scars, but I never worry about it. If someone doesn’t like me because I have scars then that is their problem.

I am happy with the way I look, and I wouldn’t trade in my scars for perfect skin any day.  Because of my scars I know that I am fighter who can win, and I know that I am unique. I have never met someone else who is scarred in the way that I am, and it is cool to think that I am the only person who looks like me. I know that I was made this way for a reason, and I’m not going to mess with it.

BEDA - Day Twenty-Five

Divergent by Veronica Roth is set in Chicago during a dystopian future. Something has happened that has shut the city off from the rest of the world, and the people have created five factions which each have a different purpose in governing the city. At the age of 16 a test is administered to see if the faction that you were born into is the faction you should stay a part of. This is when we meet the main character Beatrice, and the story follows her through her choice.

I really enjoyed Divergent; I read half of it in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. The writing really draws you in and I wasn’t able to figure out what was going to happen next, it was always a bit of a surprise.  I found the idea of different factions where you are raised to believe a certain thing, and to act a certain way really interesting. The idea of factions make you think about society and how it works, and why it works.

I loved the characters in Divergent. The main character Beatrice is awesome; she is so brave and kind. I like the journey that she takes and it is fascinating how she continues to have an internal struggle even after she makes her decision about which faction she belongs in. Beatrice seemed too real to me, like her thoughts and feeling could be exactly what someone would actually have, and it made her more believable. I wish that more female heroes were written like her.

The male lead, named Four, is completely swoon worthy and I’m not talking in an Edward Cullen sort of way. Four really cares about Beatrice, and works really hard to make sure that she gets through all the hard ships she encounters. The thing about Four that is really cool is that he doesn’t coddle Beatrice, he helps her, but in a way that makes her able to deal with things better on her own. Four never once tries to save her from pain, because he understands that it is part of life, and he never puts her up on a pedestal.

I gave Divergent a four out of five on Good Reads, and if you enjoyed The Hunger Games you will definitely like this book.  It is a dystopian novel, where the world is different and the government is bad, but I enjoyed Divergent and would recommend it to anyone.

BEDA - Day Twenty-Four

Well, I want to say that I do feel better today. I had a decent day, got to talk to my friend Anna, and I picked up my Train pre-order package. It wasn’t sunny today, but the clouds still reflected how I felt today; better, but still not sunny. Today I am going to share some songs that have helped me to get through the tough times; they give me hope and make me feel like I’m not alone. This blog is inspired by my friend Hannah who often writes about songs and why she likes them, and my brother John who likes to cheer me up with music.

The first song is River Kiss by Nancy Wilson. This song is from the Elizabethtown Score, and I think that this score is appropriate because the movie is about getting through difficult times. This is a great opening song because it is calm and relaxing. It really sets the tone for this playlist.

Next up is Where to Begin by My Morning Jacket. I sometimes feel like this song was written about me right now. It is all about getting push down over and over again, but never giving up. The best line says: “Always starting over, but somehow I always know where to begin”. I hope that I always know where to begin when bad things happen. If you can’t understand what Jim James is singing please look up the lyrics because Where to Begin has some of the best lyrics ever written.

I have already written about how much I love Train so I won’t get into it here, but the next song is one of favourite songs. It is Cab. This song is all about feeling alone, and like you are the only person going through what you are going through and feeling what you feel. It is a brilliant analogy when you think about it. In cities there are so many cabs, and to feel like you are the only cab on the road puts life into perspective. No matter what you are feeling someone else has felt that too.

Square One by Tom Petty is a song that I could listen to over and over. I love the song of the guitar, it songs forlorn with a hint of hope and that can’t really be an easy sound to create. This is another song about starting over after something bad happened. Starting back at square one is something that I feel I do a lot and when Petty sings that his slate is clear it makes me think that every time I start over I have a clean slate to work with.

Last year, almost to the month, I had a really bad day. I went for an interview and things were going really great, then the interviewer asked if I had a car. I don’t. The interview basically stopped right there. It was incredibly upsetting because the lady who was interviewing me had all but said that she wanted to hire me. I walked to the bus stop and started to cry, feeling completely defeated. I pulled out my iPod and put on the song Keep Breathing by: Ingrid Michaelson. I listened to this song the whole way home. It helped me to make it home. Once I was home I curled up in bed and actually pulled the covers over my head. This was probably one of the worst days of my life and this song helped me to get through of it. I kept breathing; sometimes breathing is all you can do.

Hard Times by Eastmountainsouth is the song that you listen to after you have your melt down. It is almost like a prayer, asking hard times to leave you alone for once. I have spent time lying down with my eyes closed listening to this song on repeat before, and I’m sure that it will happen again.

Alright, now it is time to kick it up a notch! The Middle by Jimmy Eat World is a song from my high school days; I will always remember John playing it with his band Orson Corson and the 2 Dimensional Army. I love the words to this song. It reminds me that this is just the middle of the ride and that it gets better. It is a song that pumps you up and makes you think “Ya, I am awesome! I can do this!”

OK, this song might not make sense in the playlist, but I don’t care. Whenever I felt like giving up I would put on Stay by The Tragically Hip. I think that the sound of Gord Downie singing the word stay over and over made me want to fight harder to stay in the city and tough it out. It might not be exactly what the song is about, but it did help me.

Here is another song that I use to give myself an ego boost. I Am Mine is my favourite Pearl Jam song, and, again, these are such great lyrics! Whenever I was feeling down, or lonely I put on this song and I think to myself that it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about me, I AM MINE!

I don’t know why I love Same In Any Language by I-Nine so much, or why it makes me feel about life, but I really do love this song. I guess that above all I love the sentiment of the song that no matter what it is the same in any language where ever you are. I think that what is the same is kindness, if you a kind to people then it will come back to you.

Are you ready for the second Train song? Well, here it is. I said in my Train post that I thought that this is one of their best songs. Skyscraper paints a beautiful picture in head every time that I listen to it. I see skylines and building and sunrises. If Cab is about feeling alone, then this song is about being there for someone and reminding them that they are not alone.

And the last song is another song from the Elizabethtown score by Nancy Wilson. It is called Grey Sky’s Blue, and it sounds like the sun is coming up. It has a hopeful feeling; one that I think is the perfect way to end this mix. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find a video for this song. Sorry.

That’s it! That is my playlist that helps me get through the hard stuff. Hope you enjoyed the songs.

BEDA - Day Twenty-Three

AAAARRRRRGGGGG!!!!! Unfortunately this is how I am feeling right now. I consider myself to be a pretty positive person, but there are times that I just get down. It really sucks because I had a great weekend, and was feeling really good, and then today happened.

Remember when I said that the weather controls my mood? Well, today was chilly and raining and I didn’t want to go out, but I had too. I walked to the store with my umbrella and had it almost go inside out several times, why don’t they invent a wind resistant umbrella? And it didn’t really do any good anyway; I still got damp because of the rain. It was dim in my apartment all day and I didn’t end up getting anything done all day.

There are other things that happened today that are too personal to write about, but let me say that sometimes life sucks. When the sky is grey and it rains I can’t help but feel like my life is never going to get better. Days like today make me feel like crawling into bed and pulling the covers over my head.

Well, now that I have depressed you all, I will finish by saying that tomorrow is another day. “I had no shoes and I complained until I met the man who had no feet”. The sun will shine again. I want to say that things will look better in the morning, but that is not always the case. Sometimes the sun stays away for a couple days, but it always returns sooner or later.

BEDA - Day Twenty-Two

To finish off my parents in the city weekend I will now recount what happened today. Today wasn’t as exciting as the other days this weekend, but I enjoyed it none-the-less.

This morning I got up and went to church with John and Shelly, my Mom met us there, and it was a good service. I don’t think that there is much else to say about that. I always enjoy church, I like that I get to attend the same church as John and Shelly, and I love it when Mom and Dad get to come and worship with us. Church is something that I look forward to every week, and I’m glad that I had a good church to attend.

After church we all met up with my Dad for lunch at Swiss Chalet, something that we all like. We had good food, and great conversation. Family meals are always fun, we laugh, give each other a hard time, and enjoy each other’s company. Today’s meal was different because we knew that it was the last of the weekend, and we sat at the table a little longer than normal because of it. It is always sad to say good-bye, but we always know that we will see each other again soon.

Once my parents were gone and I was back in my apartment I just relaxed and read. I love having my family around, but I love being on my own as well. I like to be able to do whatever I want without having to talk it over with someone else, and to be able to not worry about doing anything. It’s nice to do nothing after a busy weekend.

Now, I continue to do nothing in particular relaxing, and planning my week. I always seem to plan what I am going to do that weekend on Sunday nights. I think about what I will eat, and where I will go. I like to try to plan out when I will get up every day, and what times I will do certain things. The only thing that I find difficult is actually sticking to the plan. I’m getting better at it, but I still have a bit to go.

BEDA - Day Twenty-One

Whew, another good, but long, day. I think I might try to keep this one short because it is almost 11pm and my bed is calling.

Today was a shopping day, my Mom came down around 10am and we hopped on a street car to the Eaton Centre. The mall wasn’t very busy yet, so we strolled around the stores commenting on what we liked and didn’t like. We bought a few things, Mom more than me due to my limited funds, and had lunch in the food court. I love shopping with my Mom because we have a similar style which is appropriate for both our ages. It is fun to help my Mom pick clothes, and it is always nice to see her get excited about an item. It was a successful shopping trip for sure, and we were so tired at the end that it felt like we really did shop until we dropped.

Later on my Mom and I met my Dad at the hotel that they are staying at. I have to take a minute to mention the awesome bed they had in their room. It was king size and it was the most comfy bed I’ve ever laid on, I never wanted to get up. We decided that we would spend the evening doing what the three of us love to do, dinner and a movie. We had a great dinner at Milestones, even though the waiter was little distracted at times, and then went to see The Vow.

When I was High School I rarely went out on a Friday night, and instead stayed home and watched movie with my parents. Over the years it sort of became our thing. We always love to watch movies together and then talk about them. Even still when I go home for visits, just me, we go and rent at least two movies a night. I love having movies in common with my parents and I believe that it has brought us closer together.

The Vow was a pretty good movie. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I love Rachel McAdams, and I love to tell people that she went to York University which is where I went. I have been finding stories about people with brain injuries/problems interesting lately, and I think that is why I liked this movie so much. The brain is a strange thing that no one has really figured out completely, I think that the fact that the main character lost only part of her memory was really interesting because I don’t understand how that works. They filmed a few of scenes in Toronto, and it was fun to nudge my Dad and point out another place that I knew. The spots I recognized include: The AGO, Baldwin Street, and Casa Loma. I thought that they love story was totally believable, and when it is meant to be then it is meant to be. I can’t help it; I have a soft spot for “chick flicks”.

Well, now that I have typed this up I guess I head off to bed. Sleep just sounds so good right now after two long, but awesome, days.

BEDA - Day Twenty

This weekend is special because my parents are down visiting, actually starting yesterday - Thursday, and I get to spend time with my Mom. I have always had a great relationship with my Mom, rivalling the Gilmore Girls, because my Dad traveled a lot for work and we would have girl’s nights. The bond between us has grown more and more as I have gotten older, and it’s nice to have a friend in my Mom.

Yesterday my family went to see the Blues Jays game, and it was so much fun. We got to the sky dome really early and took a little look around the Jays shop. Everyone ended up getting tee-shirts, while John and Shelly already had their shirts, I got Escobar, Mom got Lawie, and Dad got Bautista and a hat. It was so cool to sit in the stands with my favourite player on my back, and I made sure to cheer extra hard whenever Escobar went up to bat. I hadn’t actually ever gotten to see Escobar play live so I was super excited. Dad and John had foot long hot dogs, something that John says he looks forward to when going to a game. The dome was open, and even though it was little chilly, I loved sitting out under the sky during the game and we even got a cool light show from the CN Tower. As for the actual game, there were a lot of really great plays, but in the end the Jays lost. It was a little heartbreaking because when it is a special family outing you want your team to win. I still had a great time watching the game and hanging out with my favourite people.

Today was a day for my Mom and me. She came over in the morning and after the parking fiasco of 2012 we met John for lunch. We went to a little restaurant called The Queen Mother. It was so good! John had pulled pork, Mom had Pad Thai, and I had…I forget what it was call but it was also an Asian dish sort of similar to Pad Thai. I love meeting John for lunch when he is at work because we don’t often get to do things just the two of us and it was nice to share that with my Mom.

After lunch Mom and I walked up to the Art Gallery of Ontario. My Mom has been saying that she wanted to go the AGO for a long time, so it is awesome that we finally had an opportunity to go. We took our time walking around the galleries pointing out the things that we liked, and making comments about the creepy stuff. I really love it when we got into the gallery with the Group of Seven paintings because my Mom was so excited about seeing them. The Group of Seven are her favourite artists, and we defiantly took the longest looking at them. Mom also gave me a bit of background information on the artists and paintings as we walked around, and I loved hearing her talk about all the things that she knew. I’ve been to the AGO once before but that time I was alone, it was so much more fun with someone else.

Once we got back to my apartment, tired from all the walking we did, we took a break before dinner. My Mom decided that she wanted to try sushi, so we order from the great sushi place close to where I live. Mom wasn’t feeling too adventurous so she got the veggie sushi, and she said that she liked it! It might seem strange that I am talking about what my Mom ate today, but for my Mom today was a good day for food. Mom is both lactose and gluten intolerant, so it can be a challenge to find places where she can eat. Most of the time she eats salad, and that sucks when the rest of us are eating something really good. However, today she got to try two things that were different and tasty.

So far this weekend has been a great success. Tomorrow, at the moment, we are planning to do a little shopping. I know that whatever we do I will have fun; I always have fun with my Mom, even if we are just watching TV.

BEDA - Day Eighteen

Lately, I’ve really been starting to realize how much the weather affects my mood. When it was winter and gray I was grumpy a lot, and I’ve noticed that now that it is sunny and warmer I am happier. Today was one of those days. I woke up and the sun was shining through my window and I couldn’t help but feel happy.

I think that what made my day really good was that I got to have lunch with my friend Hannah. I’ve only known Hannah for a year, but I feel like I have known her forever. To quote Anne of Green Gables Hannah is my Kindred Spirit; after we met we continued to discover that we like so many of the same things. I haven’t gotten to see Hannah very much lately because we have both been kind of busy, but I don’t think that it matters how much you see someone that makes you friends.                                                                                                                                                                             

After spending an hour lunching with Hannah I headed out into the sun to head home. The day was so nice that I decided to walk, and it took me hour, but I really enjoy walking when the weather is nice. I put my headphones on and listened to California 37. It is walks like the one I had today that I sort of wish didn’t have to end, but then I remember that I things to do and dinner to make so I go home.

When I have days like today I always hope that I can have more of them; I like it when things go just right during the day. Now I plan of relaxing and watching a little TV. I will hope that tomorrow is another good one, and it should be.

BEDA - Day Seventeen. TRAIN!

I would like to start this post by wishing you all a happy Train day! I say this because Train’s new album California 37 came out today and that makes me one happy girl. Train has been one my favourite bands for 10 years now.  They are also probably the most important band to me. I have a huge amount of love for Train, and I will always love them no matter what.

My love of Train began when I was 14. There was this song on the radio that I loved, the piano was cool, the lyrics were unique, and it kept getting stuck in my head. The song was Drops of Jupiter, and every time it came on the radio I would sing along. My Dad bought me the album of the same name that year for my 15^th birthday and it was literally the only thing that I listened to for months, until my Dad bought me Train’s first album. After that I was hooked, and I still have not let them go.

The next year Train released their third album, My Private Nation, and I bought it the day it came out as soon as I was out of school. I locked myself in my room determined to have the songs memorised by the time I had to go to bed. My Private Nation is my favourite Train album; there are so many great songs on it. A couple months later I got to see Train live for the first time. My Dad took me, and it still remains one of my favourite concert experiences. I got to go to Toronto, just me and my Dad, and see my favourite band. I was so close to stage that I could see the sweat dripping down Pat Monahan’s face, and I sang along to every song. It was a moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life, the band walking out onto the stage, opening with Calling All Angels, and being so excited that I could hardly stand it. Both my Dad and I were so pumped after the show that we spent the entire drive home recounting all the great things that happened, very loudly because my Dad went sort of deaf due to how loud the music was. If I could relieve that concert over again, I would.

The next album that Train released was For Me, It’s You and while it is not their best album it is still one that I love. This album includes some great songs, but there is one that I believe to be the best song that Train has ever written, Skyscraper. Skyscraper is amazing, and I don’t think that it is possible to actually describe why it is so good; I think that you just have to listen to it. I wish that For Me, It’s You would have done better, but I understand why it didn’t. It is very different from what they had been doing previously, and not everyone likes change, but I still love it.

After taking a much needed break to sort out some issues within the band Train finally released a new album in 2009 called Save Me San Francisco. It, again, was very different from their other albums, but I was so happy to have the boys back. It took me awhile to get use to the new sound, but soon I was in love with this album as well. Parachute is the best song on the disc, and the song that I fell in love with first, even before Hey, Soul Sister. I am happy that they had a big success with this album, and as the new album approached I hoped that they wouldn’t try to replicate Save Me San Francisco. I wanted Train to blow my mind again with something different.

This brings us to today. I want to let you know that I am not disappointed. California 37 is different and, so far, I am loving it. I love the direction that Train is taking their music, and they sound so much like I want them to sound. I’m also really loving the lyrics; they are so cool, well written, and thoughtful. I have never been let down by Train’s lyrics. I haven’t listened to California 37 enough to really review it, but maybe in the next couple of days I will write up a review for you. So far I like what I hear.

Train is just one of those bands that I will always love and always support. They make good music, and they seem like awesome people. Train is the band that I share a bond with my Dad over, and I know that we will continue to go to Train concerts together in the future. I hope that Train continues to make music for a long time because their music makes me happy.

BEDA - Day Fifteen

War Horse is a story about, well, a horse that grows up on a farm and then is sold to the army to be used for transportation during the First World War. The horse, named Joey, encounters many different people during his journeys and they all come to care about him in different ways. Through all the hardship that Joey endures he never gives up and continues to dream of the day that might be reunited with his original owner Albert.

I first read War Horse in February, I spent the day lying on my parents couch and had it read before I went to bed that night. It is an easy read, being a children’s book, but it was very captivating. I love the way that the story is narrated by Joey, and through the whole book I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him and also to cheer him on through all the difficult events. Joey related to each human character differently, and it is neat to watch him become attached to each person. He also has relationships with the other horses in the story, most notably with one of the other war horses name Topthorn. I love the emotion that is conveyed through Joey, it is entirely relatable and it is very easy to get attached to Joey. I think that it is a very good picture of what happens in war without getting becoming overly violent; this story is a good way to introduce kids to the history of war.

Last night I watched War Horse the movie. I think that it was very well done, but it is different from the book. The writers were able to follow the story in the book very closely and there were only a couple of changes to plot that I noticed. Unfortunately, the one thing that sort of bothered me was that instead of getting the story from the perspective of Joey the horse it is focused more around the people that he comes in contact with. The plot still follows Joey’s journey, but the story seem to be more from the viewpoint of the humans and the common thread that they have is the horse.  I loved the look of the movie, it was beautifully filmed and the acting was also great. The other thing that I really loved was the music, it set the mood perfectly, and it went from carefree sounding too downtrodden during the war scenes. However, I wouldn’t call this a kid’s movie. There are some scenes that would be to disturbing for children.

I really enjoyed both the book and the movie War Horse, but if I had to choose to recommend just one of them I would pick the book. I really missed the narration by the horse, because it was such an interesting perspective. I wish that they hadn’t focus on the people in the story as much and could have explored Joey’s journey more, although the people are very important to the plot I feel like they became more important than Joey. That said, I really did enjoy the movie, but I don’t think that I would have enjoyed it as much if I hadn’t read the book first.

BEDA - Day Fourteen

Today has been one of those lazy days; I love these days because they are always full of books and movies. Lazy days are good for sleeping in and having lunch in your pajamas. Lazy days are the days where you can forget about all the things that are happening in your life.

I started my day by sleeping is and then staying in bed to read. I’ve been reading Divergent by Veronica Roth and so far it is really good. I have been picking it up saying just one more chapter and ending up reading three or four instead. Then I made lunch and ate it while still my PJs watching my favourite movie A League of Their Own.     

A League of Their Own is one of those movies that I could watch over and over again. I could probably sit down and watch it again right now even though I watch it earlier today. I love the story, the journey between the two sisters, Dottie and Kit, is really well written and completely relatable. This movie also has the saddest moment ever in it, and it was acted perfectly. I love the way that the movie makers were able to capture that feel of the time period, the excitement of the women’s baseball games with the dread of being at war. Just thinking about A League of Their Own brings a smile to my face.      

After the movie was over I spent some time browsing this really awesome book site that I discovered, wish I would have found it sooner so I could have included in my I Love Books post, called goodreads.com. I think that I have found by new website addiction! You can rate books that you have read, make a to-read list, and get recommendations. I am trying to read 50 books this year and Good Reads will track my progress and tell me if I am behind; I am 12 books in and only 2 behind! I have too many websites to waste time on.

Speaking of time wasting websites, I was on twitter and someone that I follow retweeted a post by Titanic real time. I’m not sure who is putting the tweets out there, but they are posting what happened on the Titanic on the day it sank as it would have happened. It is really interesting to see these tweets, it is actually sort of nerve racking because I know what is going to happen and I just want to yell at them to get everyone on to the life boats. I think that it is a neat idea to do this especially since today is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. It is a new way to learn about history, and maybe this is something that we can use in the future to help educate kids.

Nothing else to exciting has been going on today. I made dinner and watched 13 Going on 30, I know I know it’s not the best movie ever, but it is entertaining…plus it was on TV. Over all I’d say that today was a success as far as lazy days go, and it’s not over yet! I think that I will go watch another movie now.

BEDA - Day Thirteen

Today I want to write about one of my favourite bands that no longer exist, The Runaways. I’m sure that by now most people has seen the movie, which isn’t so much about all The Runaways as it is about Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, but I don’t think that most people understand just how kick ass these girls really were.

I hate to admit that before the movie came out I had never heard The Runaways, I had heard of Joan Jett and knew the song I Love Rock and Roll, but The Runaways had never crossed my path. When I first saw the ad for the movie I was intrigued as to how I had never heard of this band. I did some research and discovered the limited discography that includes only three albums with the original members, one being a live album, and immediately downloaded them all. I was pleasantly surprised to find gritty guitars, unpolished vocals, and great drumming. The songs are well written and pure rock and roll, I still can’t believe that they were 16 when they recorded their first album.

The Runaways movie was really well done. It does focus more on Cherie Currie and Joan Jett then the other girls, but it was based on Cherie’s memoirs. The choice of Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie was perfect; she played the part so well and even sounds a lot like Cherie. I have to say that when I heard that Kristen Stewart was going to play Joan Jett I was sceptical, not liking her in some other really bad movie, but I ended up really liking her. I’m a little disappointed that The Runaways songs that they redid for the movie don’t really sound right. The songs sound a little bit too polished, not very gritty, and sometimes a little slower than the originals. I like the way the writers focused on Cherie’s journey through fame, and how she dealt with it. I didn’t really like the way the movie makes it seem like everything happened in a year. It actually took longer than it looked, and although in the movie things weren’t all sunshine and rainbows, I was shocked to find out that things were a lot worst.

In January I read Neon Angel: The Memoir of a Runaway by Cherie Currie. The first thing that I have to say is if you don’t want to become addicted to drugs or alcohol then read this book, because it will put any thoughts of using either out of your mind. When I was reading this memoir I couldn’t believe the things that happened to Cherie Currie, and I say happened too because not once did she ask for any of these things to happen to her. Once I got into all the horrible details of Cherie’s life all I could think was “no wonder she turned drugs, I would have too if all that had happened to me”. I won’t get into detail about what sorts of things took place, but they are the kind of things that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. The Runaways formed when they were 15 years old, and, even though they acted tough, they were pretty naive. The adult figure, Kim Fowely, they had around them at the time was someone who was trying to make money off the girls, and he did some pretty messed up stuff. It really is an amazing story, but not one for the youngsters; I found it really interesting and really heartbreaking.

I’m so glad that I have The Runaways’ music in my life, it really is awesome. I’m also glad to have watched and read the story behind the people who made that music. If you haven’t heard their music you should really check it out, you won’t be sorry. If you are already of the music and what to know more then watch the movie, they really did do a good job with it. And if you want to read a sad, and somewhat, disturbing true story about what it was really like to be in The Runaways then head out and read Cherie Currie’s memoirs. I have enjoyed all three, and they all have made my love for The Runaways grow.

BEDA - Day Twelve

I have been an avid reader my whole life, but never once have I ever counted my books. I just counted them, wondering how many I actually own, and I have 170 books on my shelf. I will let you know that they are not all novels, I own five Jamie Oliver Cookbooks, but I included everything that looks like a book no matter what it has on the inside. Now that I have come to realize that I have so many books all I can think is that I want to buy more books. I think that I am addicted to books.

My love of books began at an early age, my Mom is also a great lover of books and I think that this addiction is all her fault. My Mom use to read to read to me and one day I asked her to read with me and she said that she thought that I could read it myself. I don’t remember what age I was, or what book it was, but that she said that I could do it on my own. From that day I haven’t ever stopped reading. I have always had a book on the go, even during University when I didn’t have a lot of time for recreational reading. I probably love books more than anything else.

I have good memories of reading. When I was kid and I would sleep over at my Granny’s house and she would read a book or story to me before bed. I loved that time, because it wasn’t something that my parents did with me and it made that time really special. In the summer I would spend time at my Granny’s house laying by the pool reading. That is summer to me, lying out in the sun reading, I would go to Granny’s and we would sit together and read. I guess that if I got my love of reading from my Mom, then she got hers from Granny.               

I take a book with me everywhere I go. It has become such a habit that even if I am just going to the grocery store I will make sure that my book is with me. I have also gotten to point when I choose a bag or purse that I know will fit a book in them. My sister-in-law even made me a book cover so that when I put a book in my bag it won’t get destroyed.  I don’t take a book with me as a shield because I am unable to sit somewhere, like a restaurant, alone. I take books with me because I don’t want to be bored. I remember one time I was on a shopping trip with my parents and we were in a shoe store. My Dad was taking such a long time picking out what shoes he wanted, and if you know my Dad you will get this, and I pulled my book out of my bag and started to read. It was that boring, and let me tell you I was thankful for the book in my bag that day.

The cool new trend is to have an eReader and I have yet to fall for it. I love my books, I love the way they look, I love the way they feel, I love being able to turn pages, and flip through it to see how many pages are left in a chapter or the book. I understand the desire for eReaders, but I know that I will miss books to much. In the future I am sure that I will get an eReader, I held out for a really love time before I got my iPod, but I’m not ready to have to charge my books batteries.

Even if I get an eReader I know for a fact that I will never ever stop buying books. I realize that real books cost more money, but to me they are worth it. I love my book shelf; I love being able to look over and see some of my favourite places, and people. One day I hope that I can have a whole room devoted to books with big comfy chairs for reading.

BEDA - Day Eleven

Well, I hate to admit it but today was really boring and really uninspiring. It is almost 10pm and I haven’t thought of anything interesting to write about today. I guess that these sorts of days happen every once in a while, but I was hoping that it wouldn’t happen…so early in the month.

Since writing that last paragraph ten minutes have past. I just flipped to Jimmy Fallon on Much More Music and in the corner of the screen they have a little thing that tells you what is coming up next. I saw it and then thought most people have cable boxes now and you can see what is coming up next really easy. Then I thought about the old preview channel and how you would have to sit and wait for the channel list to roll around to see what is on. That was literally the only thought process I have had all day. I feel really sad right now.

Alright, another ten minutes has past now. OH! I can tell you about We Bought a Zoo! I watched it this morning and it was really good! The story was heartwarming and genuine. I thought that it was very well written and the characters came off believable. The acting was spot on, and the little girl that played the daughter was adorable. I was completely engrossed in the story and couldn’t believe that it was over so fast, even though it was two hours long. I also found myself smiling through most of the movie from pure enjoyment. It was such a Cameron Crowe movie, which will probably make sense if you have seen any other Cameron Crowe movies. He really has a distinct style, and he uses music really well. I definitely recommend We Bought a Zoo to everyone, it was that good.

 It is now almost 10:30 so I think that I will end this wonderful and brilliantly written blog right here. I don’t think that I have anything else to say, or at least anything that might be considered interesting. I feel like I should apologise for this awful thing that I am calling a blog. I promise to try harder for the rest of the month.

BEDA - Day Ten

While I have decided that since I was girly yesterday and talked about my hair that today I would flip things and write about sports. Yes, you read that right, I said sports. I can totally see my brother fainting right now. I am starting to take an interest in the Blue Jays, I am actually watching a game right now and the Jays are winning 3-1 at the bottom of the 6^th. I’m not really sure why this interest has started now, but I’m enjoying it.

I have never been a very athletic person. When I was a kid I took part in Tee-ball and then baseball, but I wasn’t very good at it. When I got a little bit older I started to curl. I will admit that I did love to curl, it is a game that is really complicated at first, but once you get it, it is brilliant. I was pretty good a figuring out the strategy that went along with curling and I was even a skip for two years, but in the end the girls in my small town that were interested in curling didn’t really get along with me and I decided that curling wasn’t worth the trouble. I don’t really watch curling, I never really have a desire to turn it on, but when I do watch it I enjoy it.

The only sport that I’ve ever actually been interested in is baseball, which people will think is strange because I never watch it or talk about it. I think that it has more to do with the fact that I have a soft spot for baseball; my favourite movie is A League of their Own. I have been trying to think of a way to explain how I feel about baseball, but I can’t, I just like it.

I can still remember the first ever Blue Jays game that I went too, I can’t remember how old I was but I was pretty young, and Roger Clemens was pitching. He was trying for a no-hitter, I actually can’t remember if he did it or not you’d have to ask my brother, but it was so much fun. My parents bought me a foam finger and I was having a blast waving it around in the air, so much that some guy behind us found it annoying and kept yelling for me to stop, my family still laughs about that. The next time I went to a Jays game was for my 24^th birthday, I share my birthday with my friend Travis and he really wanted to go the game for his birthday so I decided to join in the festivities. It was really fun and I had wished that I had attended more games that season. Last season I only got to two games, but each time I had a blast. I think that live sports are sort of like live music for me. You can’t help but to have fun when there is so much excited energy around you. I hope to go to more games this season.

I guess that it has come to the point in my life where I have decided that I should get into a sport and have a team to cheer for, and baseball and the Blue Jays are going to be just that. My favourite player, Escobar, just made a great catch and I cheered! The score in now 6-1 for the Jays going into the bottom of the 7^th inning, and I’m pumped! I think that is a good note to end this blog post on! GO JAYS!

EDIT: The Blues Jay won 7-3!

BEDA - Day Nine

Alright, I have decided to be a little girly and write about my hair today. I was born with curly hair, and I always get people complimenting me and telling me that they wish they had my hair. I am here to say it’s not as great as you’d think.

My hair is thick, and when my hair is long it makes me warmer. When long I need to tie my hair up during the hotter months so that I can stay cooler. The curls make my hair unpredictable, and I actually have to allow it to just do whatever it wants. When my hair has any length to it I don’t have any real control over it unless I tie it back. To me Curly hair looks messy and unruly all the time, but for some reason people still love curly hair.

Just this weekend, while visiting my family, I had compliments on my hair. Both of my female cousins came up behind me while I was sitting in a chair and started to play with my hair. I saw my Granny on Saturday with my hair tied back and then when I saw her again on Sunday with my hair down she said that I looked much nicer with my hair down instead of pulled back. I honestly cannot believe the intensity people have when it comes to my hair.

About two years ago I had had enough of my long hair and I cut it all off. I mean my hair was maybe an inch long; I like to refer to it as boy short. I loved it; it was easy to take care of, and never felt or looked annoying. However, everyone else seemed to have this huge problem with my having short hair. I just sighed and shook my head while remembering that time. Basically people just didn’t like the fact that I had cut my hair, and wanted me to grow my hair back out. At first I resisted, but eventually I gave in and grew my hair out. It’s true that I loved having short hair, but long hair does suit my face nicely; I wouldn’t say better, just different.

I think that the reason I never really enjoyed having long hair is because I never once had a haircut that I actually liked. I know that this seems completely ridiculous, but it is true. My haircuts have always been fine, but never great. That is until I found the greatest salon ever, Curl Ambassadors. Curl Ambassadors specialises in curly hair, and they have developed a way of cutting hair that, to me, is flawless. They cut your hair dry. I know right! It makes so much more sense to cut curly hair dry because then you are able to see where the curls will fall. They have also taught me about what hair products to use and how to style my hair. You should stay away from anything that has sulfate in it because it weights down your curls, and you shouldn’t brush your hair, even when it is wet, because it separates the curl families. Ever since going to the Curl Ambassadors I have enjoyed my hair a lot more.

I know that it sounds like I am complaining a lot about something that doesn’t really matter that much, but it is something that is a part of my daily life. I can also hear people asking why I don’t just cut my hair again if I like it short so much. Well, I probably will, but at the moment my hair isn’t long enough to cut. I see your puzzled looks about that last statement and it will make sense I promise. I want to cut my hair and donate it to Angel Hair an organization that makes wigs for kids that have cancer. I have done this before and I think that it is such a great organization. For a hair donation your hair must be 12 inches and my hair isn’t quite long enough yet. I figure that this way my hair is going to someone who will really appreciate it instead of just ending up on the floor.

I have recently decided that when it comes to my hair I don’t care what anyone else says, and plan on doing whatever I want with it. However, I have spent a long time growing it out and I don’t want to waste that effort, I want someone to really enjoy my hair when I decide that I want to have it short again. In the mean time I plan on tying my hair back whenever I can’t stand the feel of it on my neck.

BEDA - Day Eight

“For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life”. – John 3:16

I love the resurrection story; it is full of excitement, suspicion, scepticism, and joy. When we left off on Good Friday everything seem very bleak, and everyone that followed Jesus was downtrodden. Even though Jesus had took his disciples what was going to happen I can image that they still would have felt like they had just lost someone incredibly important to them. It wasn’t until the third day that things got really interesting

As per the custom of the day the women who knew Jesus when to the tomb with spices that they used to anoint the body. However, when they got there the stone that covered the entrance of the tomb was rolled away. The women went in and found that Jesus’ body was missing, later Jesus met them on the road and they knew that He had risen. The women rushed off to tell the disciples and some believed right away and some doubted. Jesus then appeared to the disciples and they touch His hands and feet where the nails had pierced Him and they knew that Christ, in fact, had risen.

I think that this story is so cool. It is interesting that when the tomb is found to be empty no one really knows what happened, but they are hoping that what Jesus had told them had came true. I love that Jesus appears to His followers and He allows the opportunity to have a little scepticism before he convinces them that it is true. That is kind of how I think about Christianity, at first you might be a wary of it, but once you hear the stories you know in your heart that it must be true.

 I love that God doesn’t expect anyone to be perfect, even after you become a Christian. Yes, there are rules for how you should be living your life as Christian, but mostly they are rules that, if you follow them, make you a better person Christian or not. God loves you no matter what, you can slip up and make a mistake, but all you have to do is ask God to forgive you for it, and God will always forgive you. In John chapter 3 after verse 16 it continues to say:

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe in Him is condemned already because he has not believed in name of God’s one and only Son”. John 3: 17-18

The really great thing is that it is never too late to start believing in God. God doesn’t have a time limit, you don’t have to become a Christian before you are a certain age or anything, He loves everyone and wants everyone to believe in Him. Sometimes it just takes a little bit longer someone to really understand and accept God.

This is what I believe, and people can try to convince me otherwise, but no matter what I will always believe it. I know that I am a better person for what I believe, and it also strengths me and gives me the will to get through the really hard stuff in life.

BEDA - Day Seven

I have always love holidays; it is always great to get the chance to spend time with family and friends. Now that I am 25 year old I find that holidays are much different from when I was kid. When I was kid I would get so excited about holidays that I would barely sleep, and then I would spend the next day running around with my cousins until I was exhausted. Now it is more likely that the most activity I get is walking from the house to the car while going to visit people.

Easter was always seemed more low key then Christmas, and I guess that it still does. We had our traditions, egg colouring at Granny’s on Good Friday, and a dinner with each side of the family either Saturday or Sunday. There was always lots of playing outside because Easter weekend was usually one of the first nice weekends of the spring. We spent a lot of time with family, and I loved getting the chance to hang out with my cousins. My parents always did an egg hunt for my brother and I on Sunday morning before church, and John and I would try to see who would find the first egg and who had the most eggs. Being a chocolate lover I ate as much chocolate as my Mom would let me, and there was always a ton of chocolate. It is nice to think back on these the things that we used to do for Easter; I can’t help thinking that sure did have fun.

While things have changed over the years, some traditions have been retired, and sometimes I don’t get to see all of my cousins or my Aunts and Uncles, I still really love Easter. Mom still gets us a bit of chocolate, and we still have Easter dinner at Granny’s house on Sunday night, but things are different. Not to say that change is bad. I actually think that it is good. I like that on Easter weekend we can spend more time relaxing, not having to rush around to make sure that we get everything done, and everyone seen. We still visit everyone, and Friday was also my Grandpa birthday so we got to see a few members of the family that we have missed out on in past years.

Something else that has changed that is also nice is being able to spend more time with my parents. When you are a kid spending time with grownups can be a little boring, expecially when they start to talk about stuff you don’t understand. Now when my brother, sister-in-law, and I come home for visits we sit have long dinners together, go for walks, sit around the living room and talk, and stay up late playing games. It makes family time a lot more fun when you are all on the level.

I love spending time with my family, and for me that is what holidays are all about. When I have my family around I don’t miss the traditions that we use to have, in fact I’m happy that they are gone and we can spend more time together without having to make sure that we do a certain something. I hope that everyone reading is enjoying/enjoyed their Easter weekend, and the time they get to spend with their family.

BEDA - Day Six

This weekend is Easter, and for most people all that this weekend means is another long weekend. However, for Christians, like me, this weekend means much more. This is the weekend that Christians remember why Jesus came to earth, and just how important that is.

Since today is Good Friday let’s start there. Sometimes I feel like people gloss over what actually happened on Good Friday wanting to get on to Easter Sunday as quickly as possible. Good Friday is the day that Jesus died, but there is so much more to the story then “He died”.

There were so many things that happened to Jesus before any physical injury took place. First one of His closest friends conspired against Him and then betrayed Him with a kiss. Another of his closest friends denied knowing Jesus while Jesus was on trail and then sentenced to death. Jesus was taken by a crowd of people who basically just didn’t like him and put on trail, and ultimately found Him guilty for saying that He was the Son of God. One man tried to free him, not seeing how this made Jesus worthy of death, but the crowd insisted on crucifying Jesus and letting a murderer go instead. Jesus was then mocked by the people guarding Him, and His clothing was taken and divided among the same men. They also made Him walk through the town to place where He was to be crucified, and the crowds of people came up and ridiculed Him the entire way. This was only the mental abuse that Jesus endured, it then continued on to the physical.

The Physical injuries that Jesus suffered were some of the worst things that you could ever think up. While Jesus was being mock by the guards they placed a crown of thorns on his head, and then beat him with a stick until he bled. The beating continued as they made Jesus walk through town, carrying the cross that He was to crucified upon, as the crowd hurled rocks at Him. Then they nailed Jesus to a cross and made him hang there until he died. I think that death by crucifixion would probably be one of the worst ways to die. It would be extremely painful and it would also be a very slow death, the Bible says that it took nine hours for Jesus to die.

Through all the suffering that Jesus undertook He never once faltered, He knew what had to be done. I think that the truly amazing thing is that Jesus always knew that this was the way that he was going to die. All through the time that he was preaching, and helping others, He knew that He was going to die. Jesus told His disciples what was going to happen, and that it was necessary for it to happen, and never once did he say “I don’t want to do it, but you know it’s God plan”. Jesus had real strength, and commitment.

The other thing that truly amazes me is that Jesus went through all this suffering for us. To think that we are so important to God that he sent His son to earth to teach us, and then to, ultimately, die for us. That in itself makes me feel really special.

BEDA - Day Five

When I was in grade 12, as per the usual graduation tradition, we voted to decide what people would most likely become. Even at the time I didn’t really understand what the point of the activity was, but just went with it anyway. When the results came out I was very surprised to find that my classmates had voted me most likely to become a comedian. I still don’t really understand it. I never tried to be the centre of attention, didn’t constantly crack jokes, I’m not really that quick witted, and was never the life of the party. I did try to make people smile by being silly, but that doesn’t spell comedian to me at all. Yes, I will never get why people decided that I would make a good comedian.

I actually don’t really enjoy stand-up comedians all that much; the only comedy set that I have really loved was by Jim Gaffigan. To me watching someone stand up and talk at you with the expectation that you will laugh at what they are saying doesn’t seem like something that I really want to take part in. I find that some, not all, comedians spend their lives trying to make people laugh, but are actually really unpleasant people. I also really hate how a lot of current comedians use inappropriate language, and talk about really inappropriate things. If you can’t make people laugh about everyday things and you have to resort to swearing and be vulgar, then maybe you shouldn’t be a comedian.

This leads me to a story about attending a small comedy show one night during the winter. A friend of mine invited me to see a comedy show at a small pub one night, and I thought that, if nothing else, it would fun to hang out with my friend. Because the space was so small we ended up sitting in the front row, and trust me this is not where you want to be during a night of comedy. The first few people on deck were pretty entertaining, and a laughed a bit enjoying myself. Then Jerk Number One got up. He started out alright, and then he made a rape joke. Well, I don’t how you feel about rape jokes, but I don’t think that they are OK ever. For some reason this guy took great offense to the fact that I didn’t laugh at his rape joke and started to pick on me. Whatever, I thought, he will be done soon, and he was. Then up got Jerk Number Two, and when I didn’t laugh at one of his jokes he started to pick on me as well. He wasn’t the worst and did get back to his set. Then the last comedian of the night got up, I like to call him King of the Jerks. At this point I just wanted this whole show to be over and wasn’t really paying attention to what this guy was saying until he started to talk to me. Honestly, I can’t really remember what the first thing that he said to was, but I remember him say “What’s wrong with your face” which is not something that I don’t  enjoy hearing due to the fact that I have scars covering my entire face. (That is a whole other story for another time). This guy just kept at it, it was borderline harassment. I know that he was just trying to get me to say something that he could use as a joke, but what he didn’t know is that I have an older brother who likes to try to get a rise out me whenever possible and I have a lot of patience. After ignoring him for a while, I looked at him and said “Move on”.  My friend even asked me if I wanted to “go to the bathroom” at one point, but I wasn’t going to let this guy get the better of me. I stayed, told him to “move on”, and gave him annoyed looks until he was done. He wasn’t worth making me look weak over.

I think that the thing that gets me the most about this story is that these people just expected me to laugh at them. I can find things funny and not laugh out loud hysterically. I’m someone who wears my emotions on my sleeve; I don’t always laugh when I find something funny, and I don’t cry when I find something sad. I also don’t think that I need to. So what; deal with it.

So there is my reason for why I don’t really like comedians, and why I will never attempt to become one. I will, however, continue to act silly, try to make people laugh, and have as much fun with life as I can.