As much as I've complained in the past, and sometimes I've had reason to, I must say that overall life is good. Amazing, actually.
I had the most amazing birthday week ever. My students threw a surprise birthday party for me on Thursday complete with ice cream cake and pizza. I was totally stunned.
Then on Friday I turned 30 and during our dinner out, I proposed to Catherine and I'm delighted to say that she accepted. Yes, it's true. We're now engaged.
I'm still stunned that it finally happened. I'm incredibly happy and I can't wait for us to continue sharing our lives together. We'll get married sooner rather than later, I expect, and I'll ballpark an estimate of about six months or so.
I'll get into more detail about how I proposed in a post later this week. It's a sweet story and I want to do it justice.
Last night was amazing as well. A ton of my friends and family gathered at the Bow & Arrow pub at Yonge & Davisville to help celebrate my birthday. It was a great night filled with drinks, fun, and catching up. Best birthday ever.
On top of all that, Catherine organized a group of my friends and family to buy an Xbox 360 for me. I was totally stunned. I'd be jokingly bugging Catherine about getting me one for a while now, but I didn't think it was going to happen. And then, there it was.
I also got a few gift certificates, a t-shirt, a couple bottles of wine, a new Nintendo controller and game, as well as a couple of books on top of many, many cards.
It will be a time that I won't ever forget. My new fiancee put together an amazing party with help from her friend, Patti.
Thanks to everyone who showed up and contributed to an outstanding time. In no particular order, Jamie and Nicole (my awesome houseguests), Paul, Vicky, Josh, Steph, Patti, Dave, Jamie, Victoria, sensei George, Scott, Ben, Jennifer, my mom, dad, uncle Brian, Barb, Doug, Mary Jane, Justin, Swapna, Traci, Peter, Rhonda, Darryl, Jeromy, Megan Griffith-Green, and Julia.
As a resident of a big city like Toronto, you have to get used to the fact that because of the large number of people clustered in one place, you're going to run into some extreme or unusual personalities on a fairly regular basis. After a while you become somewhat numb to this kind of intrusion in your life and take it as being par for the course. Most of the time you can avoid any meaningful interaction, and other times you have to deal with it whether you like it or not.
While in Dominion today picking up a few essentials for a friend laid up in the hospital, I somehow invoked the ire of a man I can only assume is mentally challenged in some way. He was a large, round man with a scraggly beard, blue jacket, and sweat pants. Were it not for the hostile attitude, he could have passed for a department store Santa Claus.
What I did to insult this man was simple: I patiently stood in line behind him.
My attention focused on another part of the store, I was surprised when all of a sudden I was rammed in the midsection by his large butt. I looked to see why I was rudely pushed back a few feet and saw him fully bent over. Rather than get into an argument, I just assumed that he dropped something and accidentally bumped into me. I waited a moment for an apology that did not come.
"That guy just butt-rammed me," I told Catherine. She found this quite humourous.
In the end, not a big deal. Another few moments pass and once again my attention drifts away. Catherine grabs my arm as all of a sudden the basket the man was using was on the floor beside me. I didn't see him do it, but Catherine told me that he flung it back behind him in an attempt to hit me. By this point, I still hadn't said a word to the man or even looked at him.
Rather than get angry, I'm mostly just amused by this point. As the man lifts up his wallet to comb through it for change, he all of a sudden stretches one hand, and one finger in particular, out towards me. I laugh a little at this point.
He then leans over to the cashier and mutters something about his dislike for me. It was either that I'm "a bad man" or that I'm "an asshole." It amounts to the same thing either way. He shuffles off and the cashier flashes me a grin and offers an apology. I told her it wasn't necessary because up until that point my day had actually been quite dull.
Now that I have students, it would be remiss of me not to comment on some of the more interesting things they hand in to me. Most of it is innocent mistakes, others are intended to elicit more interesting responses. Here are a few highlights from my grade 11 university class:
"If I had $500 right now, I would go downtown and treat myself with a satisfying meal that I hadn't eaten before. After that I would buy myself a pair of jeans, shoes, winter coats and many shirts that I would use for other days. If I had change, I would throw them to the bums and see what happened. That would be absolute amusement."
"If I had $500, I would first go to a store called "Mind Games" and buy electric shock gum. Then I would use the money that is left to throw an ice cream party for all my friends and family. Then I'd pull the electric shock gum prank on everyone who comes."
"If I was rich for a day, I would first buy a new computer as well as a laptop. Then I would buy hot melted fudge and throw it at the homeless. I'd then buy every Super Nintendo game in existence."
"...and the biggest thing I want to do is make my whole room Mickey Mouse. Posters, pictures, figures, bed sheet, carpet, etc. All Mickey Mouse."
"I have just found a flat $100 bill on the floor. What shall I do with it? I think I should take all my friends to the buffet. And then they are going to have to owe me, so each one of them will take me to a buffet which means that I pay once and get to go there ten times.
Or should I take my family out for dinner so they can say 'wow, he has grown up?'"
Some poetry examples: Blue I am writing with a blue pen in my hands And I know I am not making any sense.
Mouse It wanders around the house Some call them mouse But some call them rodents It may be a pet, it may be trouble
Congrats to Jer on making it to 30. No one saw that happening. I think we all expected you to disappear into the woods and commune with nature. Instead, life is going pretty well for you at the moment.
And now I'm all alone. Out of that core group, I remain the sole person in my 20s. Though admittedly this is a window that is fast growing smaller and smaller, I cling to this desperate notion that I am somehow not yet an adult, though the paycheck and responsibilities would seem to indicate otherwise.
Until I turn 30, I shall remain here in seclusion playing the newly acquired Guitar Hero 3. That is if I can get Catherine to stop playing it. She's pretty good, actually. Now we just need friends who also have the game on Wii for some fun internet play.
I can't believe I'm going to be dirty 30 in less than a month.
So, how long has it been since I wrote last? A couple days? No? Okay, so it has been more than a month. I've been busy. I may have gone a little crazy.
More than seven weeks have now passed since I started my teaching career. I must admit that the last time I wrote on this blog that I wasn't doing well. If the post seemed grave I was actually putting a happy spin on my mood at the time. I really wasn't well.
It was without a doubt the biggest change I've had to deal with in my life to date and the most stressful. As I expected, though, it's also been one of the most positive things I've ever done in my life.
Don't get me wrong, I'd still love to head for the hills. This is an exhausting job that you never really get any down time from. It's Sunday now and I spent four and a half hours working today alone and I'm not done all the things that I'd like to be done.
Stress aside, I've been slowly finding ways to be normal again. This is hard considering I'm myself to such an extreme at school. This job is almost as much theatrical work as it is anything else. Your job becomes much more easy if people like coming to your class. I have a mini score sheet and more than 15 so far have told me that I'm their favourite teacher. I like that. It's a nice verification that I'm at least on the right track.
What else has been going on? It's all a bit of a blur, really. I'm finally getting through Metroid Prime 3, Guitar Hero 3 comes out next weekend, some guy named Jer is turning 30 soon, and I'm having my first birthday party in more than 10 years late November. Most of you will have already been invited via Facebook, but everyone is welcome to come.
It's on November 24th at a pub called the Bow & Arrow. We have the upstairs level rented out and will have appetizers and other assorted foods. It promises to be a good time.
So yes, I've written on the blog again. I expected to continue doing this with my frequency of old.
I don't know how I made it this far, but I did. Since I last wrote, I was carefully trying to be optimistic. This plan fell apart the next day and Monday morning in particular was difficult for me.
Slowly but surely, things have been getting better. I'm slowly returning to normal and though I'm still stressed most of the time, I can finally think again.
This would be great except now Catherine has gone away for a week-long vacation with her parents. It's a much needed and deserved break for her, but the needy part of me just wants her back. Still, I'm good enough now that I can handle the work and pressure, but jeez, talk about the deep end! I send her regular text messages asking her to come back. I don't think she's taking me too seriously.
My mother is coming soon to spend the night. This will be good as it's a needed distraction to keep me feeling as calm and chilled as possible. I'm planned for the next two weeks, both concretely (in the case of the grade 11 classes) and abstractly (in the case of the grade 10 class). This helps a lot in lowering stress because I promised Catherine that I wouldn't do any work today.
I've managed to keep that promise, but I'm still a bit agitated. It's been a long time since I could really just take time for myself to relax and I'm finding it a strange and odd feeling not to be working my butt off. Instead I watched TMNT and now I'm going to play Metroid Prime 3 for the first 'real' time since I bought it nearly a month ago.
My plan is to approach normal again as soon as possible. Wish me luck on that.
The title of this post sounds bleak, I know, but it's also the struggle in which I find myself daily. Many of you have called or written to ask how my first day (and now week) of teaching was and to be honest I can't give a fair assessment because my opinion varies almost minute to minute.
There are a lot of good things to like about the school and the job. Two of my classes require the same preparation so that makes things easier. One of my classrooms has couches and a personal computer for me to use. That's pretty nifty. Most of my students, though they look like deer in headlights, are very nice and I'm sure I'm going to enjoy their company.
The bad things I won't elaborate too much on because it doesn't do me any good to dwell. My negative feelings, which currently outrank the positive because it's human nature to look at the bad rather than the good, are something I'm dealing with. Ask any teacher and they will tell you this isn't a simple job where you put in the hours and go home without a worry, but this volume and stress is compounded to an insane degree when you're first starting out. It probably wouldn't be so bad if there was a department head or someone there that I felt I could turn to for all of my questions and concerns. It's not that people are unhelpful at this school, it's that currently the whole thing is an unknown quantity and people are sorting out their own courses.
How was my first week? Well, I got through it. I think I did my lessons well and I'm prepped for all of next week already. This is a very good thing, yet right now I'm filled with the anxiety of the weeks to come and the steep learning curve. But Catherine assures me I can do it and I can't think of anyone else who knows my limits better.
In about 9 hours I'll be waking up and starting my new job and God willing, my new career. I'm feeling positive about the whole thing, but that could be because of the medication I got from the doctor yesterday to calm me the hell down.
Catherine, as always, is my inspiration and my guiding light. I wouldn't be anywhere near the man I hope I am today without her. Catherine, I love you very much.
I know that many people become teachers every year and most of them manage to survive and even thrive.
This does not help me right now because I start teaching a week from today and for some reason all the confidence I used to have has evaporated and I'm in full panic mode. I have forgotten how to teach, they will see that I'm a fraud, and then I'll be out of work.
Or I could be fine.
I KNOW I'll probably be fine. That doesn't do much to calm me down right now. I'm trying to plan out things, but not having even seen the English office, much less the school beyond the front entrance, is not helping.
People say the first year or two are the worst for teaching. I wish no one had really told me this because I'm already feeling under the gun. I'm petrified that I'm going to screw up teaching and give a shoddy education. I keep feeling like I'm going to show up, go into shock, and just not be able to do a thing. Kind of like a deer in headlights.
I wish there was some sort of tranquilizer here. I'm totally out of my depth.
Today is a big day. It's exciting and terrifying all at once. I've alternately jumped for joy and been shaken to the core. My poor heart can't take all of this.
The most important piece of news is that today is Catherine and I's 8th anniversary. Yes, we've now been together for 8 years which is a huge amount of time. We met last century, took a trip to Jasper, and have been together ever since.
I know many people have often found it strange that our two personalities not only found each other but function so well. I'm talkative and Catherine is... not so much. However we have our own language that has carried us through thick and thin and to this day we love each other very much. I can't imagine how difficult it has been for her to support me through the past year, but not only did she do it with a smile but she made me feel like I was doing the right thing the whole way through. She's something truly special and I'm incredibly lucky to have her.
The other bit of news, less important, is that I took a job in the TDSB today. This opportunity has positive and negative aspects, but the positive outweigh the others enough that I just couldn't say no.
I'll be teaching two grade 11 English courses at the academic/university level and one grade 10 locally developed class. What the LD class focuses on is generally comprehension and general skills for kids to use in the real world.
Sounds great? Well, it's not bad. The school is on a nice piece of property and the principal seems really relaxed. She's very excited about having me come to the school and is promising support out the ying-yang, so I can't complain.
The downside to all of this is that it is what's known as a .5 contract. The contract part of this sentence is good because it means I'm in the system as a full TDSB employee and that puts me first in line to get a new job down the line. The .5 sucks because I've only got a job at this school until the end of the first semester in January. At that point, the school either keeps me (if they can) or else I'm assigned another .5 somewhere else in the city.
I could have waited to get an LTO (long-term occasional) but the nature of an LTO is that it can last one month, two months, six months, or the school year. As a contract employee, I get full benefits, start my pension, and I'm in place for regular raises. An LTO doesn't get these things and has to reapply to the school board every year.
So I'm in a good position, but not perfect. I certainly didn't expect to get this job because I didn't think I was that great in the interview and I had delays getting to the school because of the TTC.
Now I just have to panic because I don't have a freakin' clue what I'm doing from this point on.
I'll avoid thinking about it as Catherine and I are going away to Niagara Falls this weekend for our anniversary. At least we have two things to celebrate!
First off, I went to see Superbad on Friday afternoon. All that I knew was that it was getting really positive reviews and that it was supposedly funny. Turns out that it IS very funny and has jumped up to be in my top five favourites for movies this year. That's pretty high praise, but this movie had me laughing the whole way through... even with its 'Andrew Loh, NO!' moment.
Jamie in particular will greatly enjoy this film. I think Catherine might like it, but she's an odd duck when it comes to movies. She picked out American Dreamz to watch tonight and it was possibly one of the worst things I have seen in my life. It made me hate breathing.
But Catherine does have her pleasant moments. Last night I was expressing some doubt over my future as a teacher (I do it to get the sympathy) and I said I was going to go back to school.
"No," she said. "Don't do that!"
"I'm going to," I replied. "I'm going to go back to school so I can join a circus."
"What are you going to do in the circus? Trapeze?"
"No."
"Clown?"
"No."
"Then what?"
"Um. I'll be the fat lady."
And without missing a beat, she said "but you're not a lady."
Silence. Then she started laughing uncontrollably having realized that she just implied I was fat. In about a minute, she started to stammer an explanation in between taking breaths from laughing. I stopped her short. "It's a little late for that!"
But I still like her. For those of you who know, there's been an ongoing debate between Catherine and I over the prospect of marriage. She's been hesitant about taking my last name, but for some oddly traditional reason I feel strongly that it's important to show some kind of cohesiveness as a family unit. She reasonably asked why I wouldn't take her name and I told her that I don't truck with that idea.
After some time, she finally said that she'd take my name if we got married, but if she did this then I must provide her with a pair of socks bearing the family name. Catherine has a thing for socks, don't ask me to explain it. I agreed and while she was in the bathroom, I grabbed a pair of white socks and a magic marker and then proceeded to write 'Wilkinson' on each sock. I then placed them on her pillow. Catherine, ever the great detective, walked into the room and laid on top of the socks. Sensing my exasperation, I told her to look on her pillow and she obeyed by looking on the wrong side. I swear it felt like I was in a comedy.
Eventually she found the socks and laughed quite a bit. The big surprise was on me, however, because I think she's going to keep the socks. At least now I know what to ask her for my birthday.
The next two weeks is going to be a test of my patience, stamina, and my resolve. Yes, once again it's hiring time in the TDSB.
For those of you who weren't paying as close attention the first time around, I turned down the first job offer I had for teaching. It was for a year round alternative school, and while I'm sure it's an excellent place to teach, it just really wasn't what I had been working and building towards for so long.
So as I wait patiently, I'm doing my best to fill up my days. I've hit the stage where all of my time blends together and any ambition I might have to write the next great novel, or indeed even go for a walk, seems to fall by the wayside. I expect this to be a smaller problem next summer as I might have enough money to actually do things.
Today, I'll probably just watch television. Catherine and I just finished watching Freaks & Geeks, and during the day I watch The 4400, Eureka (not the cheesy Canadian kids show, but a sci-fi show out of the US), and season 3 of Deadwood. See? I'm productive. I think I might even go out of the apartment to the movie theater to watch Superbad.
Next week I'm hoping will be much different. I'd like to be hired for the school I most want to work at on Monday so I can actually start planning. The only stress factor at this point is the unknown, so I'd like to get that out of my way and then I can enjoy these last couple of weeks off.
If you're wondering about the image at the top, it's from an upcoming issue of Astonishing X-Men. I made it into a wallpaper which looks quite spiffy on a widescreen monitor.
By the by, Random Changes is being updated regularly these days and is all caught up on some story called World War Hulk.
An actual shot of the in-movie armour that Robert Downey Jr. wears in the upcoming Iron Man movie. Having seen the trailer from the San Diego comic con I just have to say... damn. This looks like it'll be an amazing flick.
Jon Favreau (Swingers) is directing and it has a decent supporting cast as well.
Do you think I can rent out that armour to wear around the house while I'm waiting for school to start? Or would that just be weird?
My quest for glory has finally come to an end. After months of searching, I know have all five of the autobots that appeared in the Transformers movie.
Yes, you read that correctly. I actually did something worthwhile with my summer. I read message boards and travelled to Toys 'R Us and Walmart on a regular basis. You know, now that I've typed that out, it doesn't sound as cool as I thought it was a minute ago.
Well, despite what any of you think, this WAS a lot of hard work. A few of the figures were really easy to find such as Ratchet, Ironhide and Jazz, but the last two were the toughest at all.
I got a tip from an online message board that they had the Optimus Prime figure I wanted (the $30 one, not the $70), was finally at the Dufferin Mall Walmart. I went there the next day and they had four left. Since then, I have been to a dozen or more stores and I have never seen this figure on the shelves again. Many people are still searching for him from my Transformers message board. This was REALLY lucky. Every other figure in that size class could be picked up today, but that one is just gone for good.
Yesterday, I managed to track down Bumblebee. His first toy was based on the 1976 camaro, but this is a crap figure. Poorly designed and just doesn't look good at all. The 2008 Camaro, however, is a work of art and possibly one of the best Transformer toys I have ever seen. As such, he's almost always sold out and nearly impossible to find. Scalpers have been known to clear out stores where he's found because he goes for around $35 US on eBay. A friend from my board found him and tucked him away in a Walmart in Scarborough, so I made the trek out yesterday.
Yes, I know you all think this is a lot of effort to go through for a toy. Heck, I've even made Paul and Victoria stop at stores so I could search. I had my Dad search in Guelph before he came to see me last week.
But now, my struggle is over. I know it'd be a waste to actually call and ask stores if they have figures in stock. My favorite example of the futility of this action was when I was in a Walmart a couple months ago looking for Marvel Legends figures. I asked the stockperson if they had the new figures in. He looked at my blankly. What follows is the actual conversation.
"No, we don't carry those figures."
"You don't carry Marvel Legends?" I asked.
"No, we don't."
At this point I reach over and pull one of the older series figures off the shelf. "You don't carry these?"
"No, we don't have those."
"You don't carry the toy that I'm currently holding in my hand that I just pulled off your shelf?"
"No."
"Oh, well then. My mistake," I conclude in a very pleasant tone of voice. I'm trying not to laugh at the absurdity of the whole thing. I put the toy back on the shelf and thank him for his time.
This is one reason of many why I should be in charge of the planet.
Josh and Steph have gotten married. It was a nice, small wedding and the reception afterwards was fantastic. Getting to sit with Jamie, Nicole, Vicky, and Paul made the evening that much more fun. Heck, we even got small board game keychains as wedding presents. This I like.
We hit a small snag in our group effort for a wedding gift. As Jamie put it, the three men sat around my apartment two weeks ago congratulating each other on our gift idea as though we had won the nobel prize. This would have been fine if our purchase, a new Wii console and a few accessories, hadn't been mirrored by at least two other guests at the wedding.
We spent time suggesting a variety of other uses for the surplus Wiis. You could put on the bedroom, one in the living room, one in the bathroom etc. Or else you could use two as a sort of sandwich maker. Maybe use one to prop up a shelf or a couch. Use one as a hammer to put nails in the wall where you'll display another Wii.
The possibilities are endless.
At any rate, congratulations to the happy couple.
In other news, some days I'm bored. I do my best to fill it up with activities that I'll enjoy, but some days it just feels like pulling teeth.
The danger here isn't that I'll die from boredom but rather that I might get used to the tranquil pointlessness that I'm now confronted with. I made an attempt to divert myself off of this path with something of a summer job, but that was a lot more hassle than it was worth and not something that I'm likely to attempt again. At least not in that manner.
For the past two weeks I worked as an ESL teacher at a language center around Yonge and Eglinton. It's not that the place was bad but rather it just felt pointless. The majority of the students were only in Toronto for a short time and just looking for English lessons. You'd think the school would have some sort of plan in mind but it doesn't. The lesson plans include giving you a random sheet of paper and telling you to "teach this" for an hour.
It's not so much that the idea of a summer job isn't good, it's that you can't do something so similar to your chosen career to "relax" with during your vacation time. Next year, supposing I have the funds, I'd like to do a little bit of traveling and maybe some film extra work. Something that involves either fun or little thinking.
As it is, I mostly have been watching my television DVDs and in particular Lost and Battlestar Galactica.
What an odd thing to complain about... having too much spare time. I'll stop now.
Again... No spoilers. I don't discuss a thing at all in this book. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem as though many major news outlets, such as the New York Times, are able to restrain themselves in the same way.
Catherine and I pre-ordered the last Harry Potter book a couple of months ago, knowing that to do otherwise would make things difficult when it came out. Pre-ordering is a brilliant thing to do, especially if you're into video games or other properties that you know will be hot. I pre-ordered the Wii in June before the November release which makes things so much easier. You just stroll in and pick it up.
But with a product like the Wii, you don't have to worry about spoilers. I was lucky this time and escaped knowing anything at all about the last Harry Potter book, but when the New York Times publishes a spoiler-filled book review three days before the release of the book, they pissed off a ton of people, including the author.
Didn't stop Catherine and I from being paranoid, though. We dreaded every minute at the midnight release at Bay & Bloor, which had been turned into a massive circus sideshow with a 'Diagon Alley' set up in the street filled with a double decker bus, food, and plenty of rides. I have never seen that many people crowd at a bookstore. It was nothing short of insane.
We got home that night slightly after midnight, and I stayed up until 2:30am reading. The next day, Catherine and I spent trading the book off to each other every hour. Normally we don't read at such a breakneck pace, but, much like the fiasco of The Sopranos finale, you just know you're going to run into some moron who blurts out key plot points or the ending. You know the guy... he's the asshole who yells out that Darth Vader is Luke's father.
That's not going to happen here. I stayed up until about 3:30am last night and finished the book. I beat the spoilers. Now Catherine has some work to do today to reach the same landmark... unless I yell out something just to tick her off.
Now that the book is out, though, I'm left wondering what series I'm going to get this hyped over next? Will there ever again be something as rich and enjoyable as Harry Potter?
I stumbled across this eBay auction for the complete set of Transformer toys from 1984-1986 with a ton of figs from 87 to 89 being included. For those of you who were raised on these things, you know that means there are a LOT of figures being included in this auction.
What makes the auction extra special is the fact that all of them are in their original packaging with most having never been opened at all. The collection was started by a woman and her now deceased husband and she's decided it's time to sell it off. The downside is that the price she's listed her collection at is a cool million bucks.
Now the figures in of themselves aren't worth the price, but what may make it appealing to collectors is the fact that it's complete. Heck, if I had the cash I'd probably buy this set (just so long as I had a house and early retirement wrapped up).
Still, this is a drool-worthy display that I thought many of you would like to see.
Kids say the darndest things. I stumbled across this earlier today and it made me laugh. I need to laugh because otherwise the boredom will strangle me to death as I wait for a phone that refuses to ring.
There's no other phrase to describe my posting habits as of late. Not that many people actually read this humble blog of mine, but I'll provide all the necessary updates for my two fans (hi mom!).
1. Algonquin What a great trip. Supremely tiring thanks the many portages along with setting up and taking down our campsite every day (not to mention the rain which followed us around most of the trip and even being so kind as to pelt us in the face when we were paddling in the middle of the lake and heading to a new campsite). Other than that, you can't beat the scenery. The loons, a couple of moose, great camp food, and time beneath the country stars. All of it was brilliant.
That said, I hurt myself. Raise your hand if you're surprised. The second day there I was getting out a canoe and I slipped on the steep shore, resulting in a very badly scraped knee. This wouldn't have been so bad if the next day I hadn't accidentally walked into a stick that jabbed right in the sore spot. Again, not so bad if on a repeat trip down the path I hadn't done the exact same thing to myself a second time.
Then the day after I slipped while carrying too packs and scrapped my knee again, this time adding a lot of mud into the mixture.
Lastly, I was carrying a canoe by myself when I tripped, scraped my knee, then dropped the canoe down on top of me. That one sucked. My leg still hurts.
Good trip, though. No sarcasm intended. Paul, Vicky, Tracey, and Catherine were excellent travelling companions. My apologies to Firecrotch (Tracey) for slamming her in the groin with a lit piece of firewood.
It would seem I had safety issues on this trip.
2. Transformers Brian liked this movie. Is it perfect? No. Is it good summer fare? Hell yes. I knew what to expect going in and I was not disappointed. This is a big budget movie featuring toys and there was a lot to geek out about. Some of the actors could have been dispatched, but damn it if I wasn't happy as hell each and every time the big robots were on screen.
3. Job Search Sadly, one of the days I got a phone call I was up at Algonquin and missed out. I wasn't happy about that. However, the next day I got a call for a position. I went out the next morning for the interview and by that afternoon they offered me the job.
I turned it down, however, because it wasn't what I wanted. It was a full time position, but it was for a year round alternative school that only deals with 16-18 year olds who need a few credits to graduate. It's not the kind of place I got into when I wanted to teach as I really want to be part of a school community and taking a job like this on will have a pigeon-hole effect later on.
I didn't like turning it down because I do want a job. Ultimately, this just wasn't the right position for me. That said, I found out a person from my class was offered the job after I turned it down. This amuses me as she wrote to tell me about her new position. I didn't bother telling her she was the second choice. I keep that news inside and feel all smug and whatnot.
4. Ratatouille Catherine and I went to see this today. It's Pixar, so it's good.
To be honest, I don't know if Pixar can make a bad movie. Yes, some of their efforts are better than others, but I've liked each and every one of the flicks they've made so far. I'm also very interested in seeing next year's film, Wall-E, which is about a garbage robot 700 years in the future.
That's about it. I have nothing else here to amuse you.
As a resident of a big city like Toronto, you have to get used to the fact that because of the large number of people clustered in one place, you're going to run into some extreme or unusual personalities on a fairly regular basis. After a while you become somewhat numb to this kind of intrusion in your life and take it as being par for the course. Most of the time you can avoid any meaningful interaction, and other times you have to deal with it whether you like it or not.
Now that I have students, it would be remiss of me not to comment on some of the more interesting things they hand in to me. Most of it is innocent mistakes, others are intended to elicit more interesting responses. Here are a few highlights from my grade 11 university class:
...and then there was one.
My quest for glory has finally come to an end. After months of searching, I know have all five of the autobots that appeared in the 
But now, my struggle is over. I know it'd be a waste to actually call and ask stores if they have figures in stock. My favorite example of the futility of this action was when I was in a Walmart a couple months ago looking for Marvel Legends figures. I asked the stockperson if they had the new figures in. He looked at my blankly. What follows is the actual conversation.
We got home that night slightly after midnight, and I stayed up until 2:30am reading. The next day, Catherine and I spent trading the book off to each other every hour. Normally we don't read at such a breakneck pace, but, much like the fiasco of 
There's no other phrase to describe my posting habits as of late. Not that many people actually read this humble blog of mine, but I'll provide all the necessary updates for my two fans (hi mom!).
