Tuesday September 5th, 2006 @ 11:54 PM
Music: Song Song Song - Final Fantasy
Pass the kindness buck...

    I just wanted to post a short note saying that I'm feeling much better than last time. Sometimes I forget that Andrew, even before being a really great boyfriend, is an amazing friend. :)
    For those of you unlucky people like myself who started school today, I hope your first day went well. I've only been to one class so far... I found it a little boring and I worry about how I'm going to survive three-hour classes (especially back-to-back on Wednesdays and Thursdays!), but I've decided to be open to it. At leas this year I'll be taking every class with the same thirty people, so hopefully I will get to know them better. :)
    Also, the Centennial campus has already given me hope and reaffirmed my faith in humanity: today I was a big klutz and left my wallet at the payphone, and some nice person returned to the lost and found with all contents intact! I was amazed. I didn't have any money and there or anything, but I mean I had all my I.D. and I had a $50 gift card for coles/chapters/indigo and a $25 gift card for the stag shop and it was all still there. People in general (strangers) have been doing nice things for me lately (a woman on the subway gave me money for a phone call, that nice lady gave us directions to the CNE, and now this). Needless to say, I must be on the lookout for ways to give back into "the system" over the next few days. :)
    Good luck to everyone with settling back into the school year. :)

~Shayla

Thursday August 31, 2006 @ 2:45 PM
Music: Fine Young Cannibals - Good Thing
On the other hand...

    It occurs to me that maybe I'm just a complete idiot sometimes. Just a stupid, stupid girl who never learns but thinks that she does.

~Shayla

Wednesday August 30th, 2006 @ 3:45 PM
Music: XTC - Making Plans for Nigel
One definition of "Pure" is "free from shame or guilt"

    Have you ever done something that you knew was wrong, but you didn't feel bad about it? It was pre-meditated on some level. While it was happening, you knew you shouldn't be doing it, but you did it anyway and it felt like the right thing to do. Then afterward you keep thinking about it and for some reason you don't feel guilty or regretful? You even feel good about it. You know that if you had it to do all over again, you'd have done the same thing.
    Maybe today is a black day, but I feel bright and good and pure. I don't think I could be made to feel bad.

~Shayla

Thursday August 24th, 2006 @ 2:31 PM
Music: Ludwig van Beethoven - Six Easy Variations on a Swiss Tune in F Major for Piano, Wo0 64 (?)
Yesterday was the BEST DAY EVER!!

    So yesterday was awesome. I met Son and Carly for dinner as planned, except that it was breakfast for me because I woke up at 3 PM. :P Oh well, nothing like Cantonese Chow Mein and a Cosmopolitan for breakfast.
    After that, we decided to see a movie, except that we weren't sure what was out... Until we saw the poster for "Step Up" and like a group of three girls got totally excited and went to see it (and it was playing in like ten minutes, which was so perfect). Oh my God, best movie ever. I LOVE dancing movies... They make me so happy. In the "final performance" (every dancing movie has one!) I could NOT stop grinning. :)
    Then after the movie we were all in a dancing mood, so we spontaneously decided to go dancing downtown... We ended up at club Menage, which was having like a Euro beats night... Oh wow, that was funny. Euro music, we all agreed, is SO GAY. And they played Vengaboys!! And all these gross (and smelly) Euro guys are getting SO excited by the music and jumping and yelling and putting their arms up (which many of them should NOT have done because they smelled). So we're trying to fake knowing the songs, and sing lyrics and pretend we know what's going on... It was pretty fun. :)
    And although Carly and I also had our pick of dirty Euro guys to take home, SONALI was the big hit of the night!! ;) THE DIRTY EURO GUYS GET IT UP FOR TALL BROWN GIRLS (and and 90's dance music and Euro beats :P)!!
    So that was fun. And speaking of Europe and dancing, I must mention that I am currently obsessed with the movie/play Cabaret. Oh my God. So awesome. If we do something for Halloween this year, I'm SOOOO going as a cabaret dancer!! :)
    And also, if you're wondering about the music choice for today... Well I've always wanted to know more classical music... I really don't know anything (except Holst, I love him). So anyway, Andrew gave me a bunch of CDs he used in his "Understanding Music" university course. We'll see how this goes.
    You may have noticed a new section in my side bar labeled "Question." You all know how I often post questions for everyone to answer, right? So I decided to have a central place for the "Question of the now" to be posted. :) Enjoy! My current question is "If you could re-live one day of you life, which day would you choose?" While yesterday was an awesomely fun day, I think my first choice would still have to be the day I started with Andrew in London, just because it WAS a good day, and it was so long ago that I've almost forgotten it now. I don't know how I'd be able to live it again, though, without changing things. I mean, I'm very different now. Anyway, that's my choice. Let's here yours. :)
    Okay, and guys, if you're reading this, free up your schedules!! We're planning big stuff for next week to get some time in before we all have to go back to stupid school. Going to the ex, the beach... anywhere. Also, Carly knows a place downtown that has swing dancing, and they're having a free night the second Friday of September, so we should all totally go!! Yayyyyy. Hopefully the best part of summer is still yet to come! :)

~Shayla

Monday August 21st, 2006 @ 1:08 AM
Music: The Cars - Just what I needed
The post-weekend cool down...

    I have to get up early to go to work in the morning, but I just can't seem to fall asleep... Probably because I slept in past noon today. :P
    So this weekend went well... It was the first time Andrew's parents have been to my cottage, and they seemed to have a really good time. It was good because my cousin Michelle's friends were up too, and Andrew's parents are fans of the band Cadence, and one of the singers (Ross) is a friend of Michelle and he was up, so that was fun. Also, it was a kick-ass bonfire (albeit short-lived, because it got rained out after an hour or so).
    Mannnnn, I don't want to go to work tomorrow, but I told Katie that I would take her shift so she could stay at the cottage with her friend until Tuesday... :P Oh well, more money for me, and I get to work with Linda, which is cool because she's really chill and I always chat with her about "So you think you can dance?" and other random gossip items. ;)
    So I went to go see Snakes on a Plane with Andrew on Friday night... I know it's totally stupid and lame, but I laughed my ass off. Mind you, the fact that I was completely baked probably helped. Oh my God though, that movie is so fucking funny. People got bitten by snakes on the absolute most ridiculous places on their bodies... And when Samuel L. Jackson delivered "the line" ("I've had it with these mother-fucking snakes on this mother-fucking plane!") the whole theatre cheered... Oh, and in one part, this snake jumped out and the girl beside me SCREAMED, so I got scared and screamed, and it was just funny... We looked at each other and had "a moment". ;) But yeah, if you want to see a ridiculous movie and laugh your ass off, I must recommend it (I also recommend not being sober).
    Alright, it's time to go knock myself out somehow... I have to be up at eight, and I need to be somewhat rested because I have to come home and study for my final exam on Tuesday (but not too much studying, because it's a second-year Women's Studies course :P).
    Peace out! ;)

~Shayla

Saturday August 19th, 2006 @ 5:00 AM
Music: Jon Brion - Row
THE NEW LAYOUT HAS FINALLY ARRIVED!!!

    So after hours upon hours of tedious work, the new layout is finally up and running. :D I like this one because I find it's quite different from my previous ones. It does have a few limitations/bugs, which you can read about by clicking the link under the "welcome" heading, but other than that it's all good. Yeah, the photos were taken under the bridge at Old Kingston Rd and Military Trail... I discovered the area while taking one of my daily one-hour walks that I took all this past winter when I thought I was suffering S.A.D. I just thought it was a really cool location. A layout-worthy one. ;)
    Also, as I'm sure you've noticed, I've added emoticon pictures to the site. I've only added them to the past few entries, so you can't see all of them yet, but you'll get to know them slowly over time. What I like best about them is that one picture can sometimes be used to show various emotions/thoughts. To know EXACTLY how I'm feeling, make sure to always mouseover the pictures. :)
    Okay, so funny story from today. I like to begin it with a conversation between Katie and I:

Shayla: Hey Kate, I've got a joke for you.
Katie: Super.
Shayla: What happens to the green bin when you throw stuff in it without putting it in a green bag, and then it sits in our driveway for two weeks because the garbage man wouldn't take it?
Katie: Ohhh Goddd.... what??
Shayla: Well, to find the answer you'll have to go look in the green bin, but the punchline is I'M NOT CLEANING IT UP.

    Let me just say that yesterday when I went to put something in the green bin, I found that it was alive. Covered in maggots. My skin was crawling for the rest of the day.
    We knew that neither of us had the courage to clean that sucker out, so we devised a master plan: we tied a rope to the handle of the bin, and -each holding an end of the rope- we slowly dragged it up to the dumpster by Pearson highschool. You have to picture us, both happening to be wearing dresses/skirts (actually, I was wearing the dress I wore for this layout, come to think of it), looking like TOTAL girls and shrieking every time the bin almost tipped over. We looked ridiculous.
    If that wasn't bad enough, there was a group of guys who had been fixing a roof sitting out on a lawn that we had to pass by. Needless to say they had a good laugh at us... And one of them was sexy and he flirted with us... And when we walked back from abandoning our green bin we chatted with them for a bit and played with their six-month old Shitzu puppy. :) What a way to meet the neighbours!
    So yeah, that was an adventure. We're just going to tell my parents that the bin broke (which it actually did, a little) and the raccoons got into it and tore things open and they got all buggy, and THAT's why we threw it out... And then ask for money to buy a new one. :P Don't laugh too hard -if you'd SEEN what was in that green bin you'd have done the EXACT same thing!! As it turned out, dumping on Pearson property can get us up to a $5000 fine, but all's well that ends well anyway.
    Well, I should go to bed because Andrew's parents are coming to pick Katie and I up at NINE IN THE MORNING because they're coming to the cottage this weekend. Should be... interesting...
    But before I go, let me say three things:

1. Happy belated birthday to Sam.
2. Happy early birthday to Anne (because I don't know if I'll have time to post on Sunday).
3. Congratulations to Sonali for being done MCATS.

~Shayla

Monday August 14th, 2006 @ 10:11 AM
Music: Lou Barlow - Caterpillar Girl
FLASHDANCE WAS A SUCCESS!!! :D

    So I'm happy to announce that I had the best time EVER at my Flashdance party. For a while there Katie and I were worried it was going to be a flop, but it turned out really good. Our turn out was pretty good, nothing important got broken (the shoe rack and the swing in the backyard broke, but no one's too heartbroken about either of those). The music went over generally well, although I'm kinda sad that I was the only big eighties music freak who knew all the songs... Oh well, I had the best time ever. I danced ALL NIGHT (my legs have been KILLING me since then). :D So this must definitely become an annual thing. Stay tuned for DISCO FEVER next year!!
    Oh man, I'm soooo exhausted because I had to get up for my psych exam at 9 this morning... And because I didn't get much sleep the previous night either; I stayed at Andrew's house because his parents are out of town, and Jon and Andrew and I stayed up in the hot tub and just talking until past six in the morning. Good times though. :) And I think I did well enough on the exam too.
    So I didn't really feel like posting, but I figure I should get it out now because THE NEW LAYOUT IS FAR IN PROGRESS. Read this entry and comment now, because over the course of the next few days I'll be closing down the site to re-open with the NEW LAYOUT. I'm such a dork, but there's nothing I love more than layout building, and I think you'll find this new one somewhat different and refreshing from the previous ones. :)
    Stay tuned!!

~Shayla

Tuesday August 8, 2006 @ 2:15 AM
Music: Human League - Don't you want me baby?
FLASHDANCE 2006 IS THIS FRIDAY!!

    Okay, so first let me say that Krazy Karnival (the ORIGINAL one, not Claud and Kathy's plagerized one!!) was awesome... I won a LEGITIMATE woodle for Volleyball this year!! :D
    Now, let me move on to my CURRENT source of ultra-excitement: my 80s-themed party, Flashdance 2006!!! It's THIS FRIDAY and I am SO FREAKING EXCITED!! I just spent several hours compiling 80s music from my mom's massive collection (my mother INVENTED the 80s) and it is just awesome. It's a masterpiece, really.
    So yes, if you're reading this and for SOME REASON you haven't gotten an invitation, DO NOT feel shy/imposing about leaving me a message in my comment box saying that I am a huge loser for forgetting to invite you (and DO NOT forget to include you e-mail address!!!!), and I will quickly remedy the problem by e-mailing you an invitation and I WILL THEN SEE YOU ON FRIDAY! For the rest of you who HAVE been invited, get working on those 80s outfits, because I'm going to be dressed up like a big freak and I want company! ;)
    I AM JUST SO FREAKING EXCITED!!! :D

~Shayla

Saturday August 5/06 @ 12:23 AM
Reading Keats makes me want to write poetry
(I wish I could write good poetry)

Call me naive
Should I put faith in your power to
Deny sweet sleep as she calls
and welcomes you into her bed like a lover
For like a lover you surrender to your deeper urges
While the thinning threads of empathy
Keep mine at bay.

Thursday August 3rd, 2006 @ 3:53 AM
Music: My Hump - Black Eyed Peas
Stuff on my mind...

    Well, I'm now officially out of summer classes (except for exams) so I now have waaayyy too much time on my hands. It's funny though, how fast that time goes still. I mean, I still seem to find way too much to do everyday to keep me from doing actual useful things. :P Isn't that just the way it is?
    Random things on my mind:

• I'm super excited about my Flashdance party... I know what I'm wearing, and I've spent WAAYYYY too much time compiling eighties dance music for the party. Yesterday Katie and I danced around the house to the music like idiots, dressed in total eighties clothes. I'm sure some of our neighbours stared, but I don't care. I've got a white peticoat, and a white lingerie top and a black bra... It's so Madonna (Like-a-virgin Madonna) it's awesome. I am going to dance all night, even if I'm "dancing with myself" (get it, like the 80s song? :P).
• Katie and I have tried in vain to watch "Goodfellas" three times over the past week. We STILL have not seen the ending!! Part of it was recorded on the tape Andrew's mom lent me (she taped "So You Think You Can Dance" for me last week... how sweet is that?), so Katie and I watched the middle of the movie. Then we rented it and last night we watched the beginning, but fell asleep part way through. Then today we watched most of it, but Katie had to leave to pick up her friends. This is just getting ridiculous...
• Speaking of "So You Think You Can Dance," I think I'm over Benji... I know, it's shocking... maybe I'm more fickle than I thought.
• I miss Andrew. Things have been kinda weird since he started working. It's like he's always tired, and we don't have as much to talk about, or maybe we do but we just don't feel like talking about it. He seems the way people seem when they're so busy they don't have time to muse to themselves, so they don't have much to talk about from the inside. Plus, he's gotten back into playing Magic online again (go ahead, take a moment to roll your eyes and groan and feel sorry for me now) so THAT's what's on his mind, and that's what I end up hearing about. :P I mean it's not a big deal really, the way things are right now, but it's just... Sometimes I feel like I don't see him enough, and when I do see him he ends up falling asleep or talking crap and in the end I'm not so sad when he leaves, and that's just sad in itself. I know it's just a phase and it won't last, but I hate periods where it gets like this. Usually the answer is to spend less time together, but I can't imagine how we're going to spend less time together than we already do. I don't want to go into this anymore than I have, but it's just... I hate when parts of your life that usually go so well start sucking, even if you know it's only temporary. :P I hate when you can't do anything about it, and you just have to deal.
• For the last few years, there have been two guys (one on each side of my family) who my family has been... well, not pressuring them to get married or anything, but just wanting them to find the right person and settle down and be happy, right? Anyway, they both got married this past July, and I had an awesome time at each wedding. David and Lori... well, I dunno, as much as I've known David my whole life, I really don't feel close to him at all. Like, every time I went to their house, I hung out with Mary rather than David, and plus I just don't know how to talk to him in general. When I was little (and still today) he always bugged me (on purpose) and so now I'm just not really used to talking with him regularly I guess. But anyway, he got married and I like Lori, even though I don't feel all that close with her either, but I'm really happy to see them married and looking so happy.
      My other cousin, Tim, got married, and I feel a little bit closer to him, just because we always spend Christmas with his family and I actually sit and talk with him with the family more often. I really really love the girl he married, and bawled through the whole wedding (although I did cry at David's too... I'm such a sap...). I had a good time dancing at their wedding, because Toni (the girl Tim married) is a disco freak so it was all silly disco music which I am all about. :) (next year Katie and I should do a SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER party!! :D)
• My sleep schedule is so fucked. I stay up until four in the morning, and sleep in until one in the afternoon... It's crazy. Also, I keep waking up and my arm is asleep. Like totally asleep, to the point that you have to pick it up with the other arm and shake it around until the circulation kicks in and you can move it again. :P That can't be good.
• Krazy Karnival is coming up, but somehow I'm just not feeling that into it this year. As much as it's fun when the property is so busy, I hate having all these people in my cottage, and not having a bed to sleep on and all this crap. My parents alway invite too many fucking people and it just sucks that I'm never a priority. Alexis isn't coming, which sucks, but Mary's bringing Johnny and it's good because it will give me a chance to get to know him better. I just don't know how it's going to be, that's all. I just wish I knew where I was sleeping.
• I feel like summer's going too fast. I was thinking about working full time, and the truth is that it honestly terrifies me. It makes me feel claustrophobic. Like, all my life I've been working toward an end. School years, semesters, they don't last forever. Even when you're dying in essay/exam time, you know you're going to get a break soon. Then you get a job one day, and it's just... that's what you do from now on, and there's no working toward an end, and there's no summer vacation. I can't imagine finding a job I'd like enough to do that and not feel like killing myself. And every year it gets closer. It's the way I felt about getting my period when I was little, and thinking that I'm going to spend the best years of my life bleeding, and when I finally stop I'll be too old to care. In all fairness, however, getting my period didn't ruin my life, and I'm sure this won't either.
• I've made two changes in my life that have so far stuck: writing daily to-do lists, and keeping my room clean. It's amazing. Before I go to bed, no matter how tired I am, I always clean my room so it never gets too messy. Then I jot down a short list of random things to do the next day (it always begins with "take birth control" and so far so good!). Just random things, like "burn DVD for dad" and "do laundry" and "deposit cheque" and "pack for cottage". It's just silly, but it really keeps me on track and I don't worry about forgetting things, and even when I have "nothing" to do all day, it gives me some kind of direction/purpose. And things actually get done, which is amazing. Hopefully these changes will last... They've been going strong for two weeks or so now... so far so good...

~Shayla

PS. If you know what you're wearing for my party, I'd love to hear about it. ;)

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