Man. Well, better than last time I guess, they "see potential" in me, and would like to give me feedback on my interview some time next week, but I suck and they're not giving me the job. For those of you who don't know, I had applied for a job teaching at the alternate education center, it would have been freaking perfect, but alas, I am relegated to the role of god damn supply teacher for a bit longer it seems. It's such a waste of time. Yeah, I'm gonna rant a bit. I know, as my sister pointed out (who was very helpful with the whole interview process, btw), they don't have supply engineering or anything else. But at the same time, what other profession graduates you but then tells you you can't work in your chosen profession? You don't need more education, just experience. Supply teaching is NOT *teaching* experience, regardless of what I say in the interview! It's babysitting, and it takes about a week to figure out that you can't go in and be the nice guy, it doesn't work. But beyond that, I've really gotten very little other than a shitty paycheque out of the whole deal, and I really think 5 years of university and a usable degree should be..well..usable. Frustrated much? yes. Seriously, I'll just move, this is ridiculous. I with my degree make $105 a day, which yeah, isn't too shabby, or wouldn't be, if I worked every day. Also, some jerk off the street can make $97 a day and not have had the trouble of going to university or worrying about teacher-type things. Janitorial staff make the SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY, and they get BENEFITS. Freaking ridiculous. The district took applications for long term supply positions in November, and hasn't done anything with them yet. When are all these teachers retiring? I don't understand. When I went in to Education, everyone was saying, wow, good timing, blah blah blah. They still are, but I have no idea what they're talking about. I think that's it, I don't have anything else to say that's fit to publish.

Alright. Blue Rodeo are a fine, fine band. They played a lot of new stuff, but mixed it up with the classics and finished the show and encore with "Hasn't Hit Me Yet" and "Falling Down Blue", respectively. Good tunes. Nathan Wiley opened, and was also really good, but I really prefer the small venue atmosphere. I say this because the audience, for the most part, sucked. I understand that not a lot of people were there to see Nathan, heck, not a lot of people even knew who he was or that he was opening, but still. Common sense and courtesy dictate that you shut up and listen at least half-heartedly to this guy. So, a note to the people sitting in front of me at the concert. Section 20, Row 13, you know who you are. You got up many, many times during the concert, only once waiting for a break between songs to do so. You were quite likely drunk when you got there and continued to drink the entire time...at one time coming back with 3 beer each in hand. Nice. You talked, you did not know any of the songs, during the fast ones you were dancing like assholes (nobody else was, or it might have been ok), and during the quiet ballads you were talking loudly and laughing...again...like assholes. This is for the whole concert too folks, not just for Nathan. So the music was great, the light show was cool, but the audience sucked hardcore.
On a brighter note, sort of...
I got Nathan Wiley's autograph on my cd that I bought shortly after having seen him open for Sarah Harmer. The "sort of" part of the cool part here is that I was the first person to even approach him, and I wasn't like, stalker fast about it. Once I went up to him and started chatting then other poeple started lining up and stuff. Maybe they were just shy. He's very cute. So now I have an autographed set list and cd. He just has to get real real famous, and I'm all set. hehe. And Grant even liked one of the songs, which is cool.
I think that's it. I'm tired now, and the in-laws are coming up in the morning so my plan of sleeping in til noon will have to wait unitl non-Superbowl Sunday.

Ok, so I totally scammed this off Jenn's blog, but it's freaking awesome. Here is the link to my amazing drawing. Here is the link to the page so you can make your own drawing and not accidentally end up sending mine to your friends.

yeah, some people have too much time on their hands, but this is really cute. It's a video, not actually a website, but very cute.
click.

Ok, so still nothing really exciting going on, but I did get a funny email. Ok.

The US Government will release a new eye test to be administered nation wide. Here is a sneak preview of the test.

If you see sheep, you need glasses. Scroll down slowly once the image has loaded.

Yes, actually I have been rather slack lately, thanks for noticing! I just really don't have much to say. I applied for a job and am just waiting to hear what's happening with that, the good thing being that the job starts basically immediately so the district is going to have to get on it and not wait several months. I went to visit the school and told them I want to work there, so hopefully that will help. Can't hurt! So that's basically what's on my mind these days. I'll let you know. Well, how about, if I don't mention it in the next week, I probably didn't get the job. Yes, good idea. Ok, well apparently I have to go open a stock account or something, good times.

More from globeandmail.com.

Animals and alcohol

Cattle raised in Kobe, Japan, are pampered to produce some of the most expensive beef in the world, reports The Sunday Telegraph. "What sets the beef apart is its famed 'marbling' of fat. The daily massages are designed to distribute the fat so that the end product is mouth-meltingly tender -- although some farmers say it also relieves the cows' stress levels. Only premium grain is used as fodder and [beer] is added as an appetite stimulant. 'Cows, like humans, sometimes lose interest in food,' says [beef butcher Shinichi] Tatsumi, so the beer rekindles their appetite and packs on calories. Some do feign appetite loss, though, because they love the beer."

Well, Erin says my new colours make her barf, but Tiresa says they're pretty so whatever guys!
Anyway, here's your educational tidbit for today, courtesy of globeandmail.com's facts and arguments section.

A chimp speaks

A bonobo chimpanzee named Kanzi has invented four spoken "words," say his trainers at Georgia State University.
Jared Taglialatela and Sue Savage-Rumbagh noticed that the chimp made distinct noises during their conversations with him -- and that certain noises remained the same, even in different contexts. For Kanzi, certain sounds consistently meant "banana," "juice," "grapes," and "yes."
He was taught to communicate in symbols and understands some spoken English. But "we haven't taught him this," Mr. Taglialatela told New Scientist. "He's doing it on his own."


how cool is that?

so do you like it? I took the comment thing off, so you'll have to actually email me, or blog. It's different, but I don't think quite different enough. I'm still pretty much ripping off my original layout, which of course was not actually mine but one of blogger's provided templates. That's no fun eh? This is close...but not quite it.

Now, I haven't blogged for a few days because a) I've been trying to change the layout/colours of this and I suck, so I can't do it very well. I have to start from scratch rather than trying to modify this code, cause it's too complicated for my simple HTML mind and I keep messing things up and not knowing exactly what I did wrong. and b) I did a big blog and posted it but it didn't post and I got some whack ass microsoft error which basically laughed at me and told me to give up and go to bed.

Also, I asked for 5 neon tetras and through a couple of misunderstandings got 17, so that was fun. I got my silver dollar fish a friend too, cause he's been looking lonely and not flashing around as much as he usually does, but his friend is like, dwarfed by him. They grow a lot boys and girls, to about 6" in diameter. I got him because supposedly he eats plant, but mine is still taking over the tank and has to be cut back to half its size at least monthly, even with the carbon filter which isn't supposed to be good for plants. I also bought a clown loach a while back to eat my little snails, but he very mysteriously disappeared, then reappeared a few days later, then disappeared for good. Very strange. I guess I should stop trying to have purposes for my fish. But yes, the neons, he was going to cut me a deal which I thought was $15 dollars worth of fish for $10, but it was 10 fish for $15 instead of 5 fish, which is ok, but he either thought I was hot or didn't feel like counting, cause I got 17. Good thing they're small, but it's still a lot of fish. Also a good thing in a way that my male platy died cause I have a whack of baby platies in there too and have to change the water and watch it more than my lazy personality enjoys. hehe. But I do have lots of fun fish, so no complaining.

I'm working every day this week, 4 of them in high school which is good. Although, I've asked around some more, and there's nothing except the interview committee preventing me from working in an elementary school. So I was a bit misinformed but I won't hold that too strongly against my misinformer, cause he's a nice man otherwise. But there's nothing in the collective agreement or district policy to say I can't teach wherever I want to, which is good. I'll just get my hands on some curricula and go from there. I really do like teaching high school though, and I'd like to do that for a living. It's just nice to have options, you know?
Anyway, this has gotten a bit out of hand, so I'll stop now. but I'm going to copy it before I hit paste, just in case. It's like term papers. You'll only make the mistake of not saving often once.

Seriously though, I want to redo the layout for this, and no time like the present. For now though, I'm just going to post my current favourite picture. It's just pretty! I'm not sure if I took it or my mom did.

so I got to work last night for a few hours, and then taught this afternoon. Grade 4 immersion, on a Friday afternoon. AAAAAAAAARGHK! But in any event, most likely better than middle school, hehe. And, they pay me, so I go. But at every 11:11, you can bet I'm wishing for real money to come from somewhere...preferably a job, but I'd be satisfied with a lotto win too. I'm not hard to please, honestly! If anyone knows a way I can make money off of poetry or other creative writing, or photography, let me know.
also, in my abundant spare time, I updated my picture page yesterday.

Ok, so when I was checking to see if Ed was new tonight, (it was, if you were wondering), I came across this gem on the site that goes over all their $10 bets. This is the link to the page, and here are some of my favourites, if you don't feel like reading them all. They always take the bet, by the way.

When an old high school classmate approaches, Ed bets Mike, "Ten bucks to speak in a British accent."

Mike: "...this is a good one. I've thought about this one for weeks. It's conceptual...ten bucks, if you give me ten bucks."
(they exchange money)
Ed: "Ten bucks if you give me 20 bucks."

Mike to Ed: "You see the lawn gnome over there? Ten bucks if you give it a kiss."

Mike: "I'll give you six bucks to hug the giant chicken."
Ed: "Six bucks? As you know the traditional wager is ten bucks."
Mike: "But I've only got six."
Ed: "Forget it! ...Wait. I'll give you ten bucks to hug the giant chicken."

Ok, this is just odd, and I'm not really sure who you would read it to, except very small children who couldn't really understand what you were saying but might like the sounds of the rhymes. It's pretty funny though. I like N and T myself. Enjoy, the pictures are cute.

Ok, so I know that Box Car Racer and Blink 182 sound like exactly the same band, but I'm finding that most bands that have come out in the last couple of years either sound like Blink or Pearl Jam, so while the similarity here was quite something, I didn't realize they ARE the same band. WTF? How is that allowed? Here is Blink's roster: Tom DeLonge - Guitar, Vocals | Mark Hoppus - Bass, Vocals | Travis Barker - Drums. Here is Box Car Racer's: Thomas DeLonge (vocals, guitar, songwriting), Travis Barker (drums, arrangements)....yeah, and 2 other guys. Hey, let's make another bank and make exactly the same kind of music! Great idea dude! So strange...
There's another band that does this, I think they have all the same members, but under one name they make super heavy stuff, and under the other they do more mainstream stuff. It's like selling out without actually selling out. Sweet. But at least that makes sense, in a way.

I've had some really good customer service experiences today, so I thought I'd share them. I had to return a sweater that my Grannie got me for Christmas at Tabi. It was very nice, and very much what I was looking for (a black cardigan for cold teaching days) but a bit too big. So, they didn't have any in my size in the same style, but the lady there was so helpful. She found me a very similar one in my size (that happily, was on sale) and also helped me pick out some nice button up shirts to go with, also very good for teaching and also on sale. So I did end up having to shell out a bit of my own money, but I got 3 blouses and a sweater, so I was pretty happy. I felt like I was on Makeover Story, she was all like, you know, the bright pink looks fun, but I don't think it's you. Those of you who know me will find this odd, I'm all about the bright pinks etc. But she was right, it wasn't a good colour for me. So I'm all stylish, and next time I need teacher clothes, I have one more place to go. I told the lady that I'd never really considered Tabi a store where I could find stuff for me, more like my mom's store, but I guess I was wrong. Not that I'm going to start buying all my stuff there, but for some things, hey.
Experience #2 was with Toshiba. Sadly, my Pocket Rocket (PC) is defective, it's been recalled. Now, I did know this, but had been putting it off because my understanding of the problem was just that if you let the battery run out, you'd lose your data. So I'm thinking, I'll never let it run out! I am so clever! Bad news is that it's the battery is also a problem, it loses its charge with no help from you. I had charged it and not used it for a couple of weeks when I was away, and came back to a dead battery and no data. Unfortunate. I didn't have a lot of stuff on it, but it's a bit of a pain. Anyway, so I called Toshiba US and got this very French guy, reminiscient of the guy who taught Marge to bowl on the Simpsons. He was friendly, if a bit hard to understand, and gave me the number for the Canadian customer service since that would be easier for me. The lady there was also very nice, and they're sending a courrier box to my house to pick up my Pocket Rocket so I don't have to pay for anything. They'll take it and fix the battery and software and then send it back. She said it takes 3-5 business days, so I'm pretty happy. I'll keep you posted.
If you have a Toshiba e740, check your serial number and see if it's defective too. Canada or US

I just heard a really good quote on MuchMusic, of all places. I'm not sure who said it, but here you go.

"You can bomb the world to pieces, but you can't bomb it into peace."

very true.

well I made it home safe and sound after a slight delay at the TO airport due to much more snow here than was anticipated. More on that later, I'm too tired to blog much. Been up since 4am, no good! I did get this pic though from my parents, of me, my sister, dad, and the boys. Not bad, and showing the most snow they've seen in those parts for some time now.

so while waiting for lunch to be ready today, by the cigar store where my mom works, I witness the following.
a parking spot big enough for a car to be pushed in sideways, but not really to drive into. So these 2 ladies decide to do it anyway. First try, it's obvious to me that the car isn't going to get in, but she keeps backing up anyway, and eventually hits the van behind her. Not hard, but makes contact. So she pulls forward, but can only go about 6 inches, there's really not much room here, then starts backing up again, hitting the van, again. There is someone in the backseat of the van who is at this point honking madly at the crazy parallel parker. Said parker pulls forward again, and yes, you guessed it, backs up again, hitting the van a 3rd time. Now the van owner is waving wildly and honking. The woman pulls the car forward again and parks it, gets out with her friend, sort of nods at the woman in the van, then goes on her way. Doesn't look to see if there's any damage. From inside the restaurant it looked ok, but I'm pretty sure I'd be checking. Anyway, the whole time I'm half laughing but half hoping the van lady doesn't pull out her rifle and shoot this idiot driver. She didn't, thankfully.


on a completely unrelated note, ever wonder what fun things you can spell with your phone number? I can't spell crap with my home phone, cause there are two 0's in it, but my cell phone is kind of fun. Try it out.

Well. A new year and time to start sticking to all those resolutions. Because I'm a geek and like things like this, let's increase our word power! Why not try to sound smarter in the new year? I really didn't make any resolutions, I don't usually. I could do like 90% of women and say I'll go to the gym more, but who am I kidding? ;)

Happy New Year to everyone! It's official as far as the Atlantic time zone now, and that's good enough for me. I went out to supper with my parents and had a really tasty meal, and now I'm really tired. Honestly, I don't see the big thing about new years anyway. As good an excuse as any to get hammered I guess, but who needs an excuse? Anyway, hope everyone had fun and played safe, and all the best in the new year!