There's Nothing Funny About a "Royale with Cheese"

Some time has passed, yes, but am I in a better mental state? I'm going to have to answer no to that one. In fact, I believe my state has only gotten worse in the past two hours. And yet, not much work has been done. Intriguing. To keep you fully updated, I'm now suspecting my brain feels a little more like this Today's Big Thing video.

So. Very. Very. Wrong.

Redrum! Redrum!

The degree to which I don't care about school right now is shocking. Even with the impending clusterfuck of this week breathing it's rotting breath all over my rash-afflicted neck, I'm just totally unable to focus my attention on my notes. I just do not get this "studying" game with the re-reading of notes and articles. I don't want to do it anymore but I feel like I have to keep going until I sit down at my tiny desk and I'm handed that cursed white and blue exam booklet. I ended a phone conversation because I needed to get back to work but all I've managed to do is hit up Facebook. Uncool. However, I learned that fellow MIT-er and frequent classmate Liz Trinnear just made it to the Top 8 for the MuchMusic VJ search. Cool.

Ok, so while I attempt to return to the real world of studying and homework to write my Run Lola Run shot analysis, I will leave you with this video from the fabulous Peter Serafinowicz. This is kind of what my brain feels like right now. How appropriate that Ozzy Osbourne's Crazy Train just came up on my shuffle... iTunes is such a smartass. (P.S. I suggest watching the video on YouTube to get the full screen effect.)

P.P.S. Just so we're clear, it's pronounced "Red-rum" not "Re-drum." There's no percussion going on here. Not tonight, anyway.

Wish You Were Here

Peer over the edge

Can you see me?

Rivulets flow from your eyes

Paint runs from your mouth

Like a waterfall

And your lungs crystalize...

Once Every Fortnight I Exhale

|> IN

I can't get comfortable. I always feel on edge, anxious, unsettled. I'm blindfolded in front of a firing squad of archers who have drawn their bows and I'm just waiting. Every now and then someone on the squad coughs, shifts his weight from left to right, clears his throat. And every time I hear a noise I flinch. I tense my muscles. I hold my breath. But no arrow is ever fired. So I keep waiting.

I'm living minute to minute because I can't settle into a routine beyond going to class. I think once I read a book or watched a movie that said some people find this kind of existence exhilarating and liberating. I don't know who those people are. At best, I function in two-week periods, living and working for every other weekend. I get lost in that time (a fortnight is a long time, you know) so I put two countdowns on my Dashboard: one counting down to Christmas holidays, one counting down to the end of the school year/university. Turns out counting down the days makes time slow down. The only way to speed up time is to sleep more. Unfortunately, my insomnia and general aversion to going to sleep mean this is not a viable option for me.

Everyone keeps telling me I'll be fine. I know I'll be fine. I'm always fine. I've made it this far. But knowing I'll be fine doesn't negate the fact that I still have to do this. I have to live the next six months in this state of unrest, in this struggle against apathy. And so, there's only one thing left for me to do: leave a path of destruction in my restless wake.

Current location: London, ON - The University of Western Ontario

(Better wipe that smirk off your face, Sudbury, 'cause you're next. Get ready.)

I'll be fine. Yes. We'll all be fine.

<| OUT

Product Hell

Just in case the original wasn't embarrassing awesome enough, now there's the Snuggie For Dogs. Who comes up with this shit?

Resistance is Futile UPDATED

Thought I would share something fun that happened on campus today. I'm sure this arrest really required that many officers. I can't wait for this to spread around campus because I feel a new trend coming on. So stop resisting!

Another winner from today: In class we watched an old short film called The Gay Shoe Salesman where a shoe salesmen sneaks a kiss from the woman shopping, much to the dismay of her friend. Afterwards, the girl behind me whispered to her friend, "Then how can he be gay...?" I wish I was kidding. Laughter was barely contained.

Not too bad for a Wednesday, huh?

UPDATE

Go to YouTube to get the full UWO arrest experience. There are some...interesting comments on the video that I would hate for everyone to miss out on. Check out the CBC article and the LFP article and press conference for more information.

Arc of Time

Today I took out a piece of paper and a pen and discovered I had nothing to write.

Yesterday I saw a really cute, trendy Asian couple wearing matching silver backpacks and it reminded me I had two sleeps until Friday and 198 sleeps until April 30th.

Tomorrow I will go to a class I hate and another frustrating project meeting and I'll try to stay calm because the rash on my neck is getting worse and my insomnia is back.

Damnit, Jay David Bolter

Quick question:

Does media convergence make anyone else feel ill?

I should really stop using course readings as my bedtime snack. Turns out the digestion of remediation is not so immediate. Perhaps it's all the nominalizations?

1,000 Hugs from 10,000 Lightning Bugs

Good evening, bloggers.

I'm pounding keys tonight, working on my Popular Music and Gender essay analyzing the differences in the way music press discusses music legends Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. I have music on the brain, more so than usual, so I wanted to share my new favourite song with you.

Check out Fireflies by Owl City.

Hope you enjoy.

Welcome Back

I'm going to reprise my blog, begin my return to the online community, by writing about how much I love being alone. Every day I have a block of classes separated by a single one-hour break. Today was the first break I spent alone this week.

Since returning to London I've generally been displeased about spending much time by myself. I'm lucky enough to have one of my best friends living two doors away (and that's the two laundry room doors inside my house) and for the first couple weeks there were a lot of back to school festivities involving countless people and places. But today, within the first few moments of sitting down into a familiar chair and plugging into my iPod I remembered how much I enjoy, and need, this time alone.

I've realized that I drift away in lectures because the unidirectional, constant sound is just enough to make me comfortable (for those unaware, I'm often highly uncomfortable with silence). This time alone lets my mind wander and not risk my nearly completed and grossly expensive academic career.

Like my aversion to silence, I often think that my dislike of being alone is an issue of insecurity. Perhaps I worry that I may stumble across a facet of myself that I don't like, or perhaps I'll return to my dirty habit of over analyzing something in my life that I'm bothered by or seems to good to be true. But I suppose returning to being alone is like riding a bike, and all those worries and apprehension are, in themselves, a product of my tendency to overanalyze.

But I'm really happy about the way things are right now and I'm alright because today,

I am alone.

I am comfortable and I am calm.

I am creative.

I am at peace.