I've been holding out on posting on the blog. Not for any particular reason, but when a few days turned into a week, then two weeks, now nearly three, I guess I figured I was on some kind of roll. To be honest, I have no idea how many people actually read this thing on a regular basis. I'd kind of like the ability to track that sort of thing, but it'd either be really affirming or really depressing.
Time has been moving in a bizarre fashion since school ended. Though I'm not going to complain about having done nothing for the past month, I think I'd be a lot happier with doing nothing if I get a job. Hiring season has officially started, so a lot of my day is involved with sitting near the phone. Again, this isn't something to complain about, but Catherine and I are taking a much-needed vacation starting tomorrow. We're going away with Paul and Victoria up to Algonquin for a five-day canoe trip which means lots of fun. Oddly enough, it also means a lot of anxiety for me because it takes me away from my precious phone.
Still, life is good. My brother, Graydon, came down to visit me on Monday. This doesn't happen often and we made the best of it. He played with my Transformer figures, then we went for a walk, got some food, wandered through Kensington Market, and then met up with his wife, Tammy.
It became a full-fledged family affair as we decided to visit my Uncle Brian who then took us all out, including Catherine, for a nice dinner. Can't argue with that.
My karate dedication was going strong that day and I even went to work out after dinner. I was impressed with myself and a little shocked.
Now Catherine's cousin Steven and his girlfriend Jenna have come to visit us from Britain. They'll be hanging out in our apartment while we're gone and I'm sure they're dreaming of taking over the air conditioned bedroom. I don't blame them. The city feels like a sweat shop.
Not much else to report. The phone, when it rings, remains a focus. I distract myself every now and then (I met up with Josh for a brief walk and talk this afternoon), buying more Transformers, and watching television.
Speaking of, a really good show with a bit of twisted side to it is Dexter. It features Michael C. Hall of Six Feet Under fame as a forensic cop with an usual hobby: he's a serial killer. I have all of it if anyone wants a copy. It gets the B-dub stamp of approval.
What's next? I think we need some sort of barbecue meet up. I'm volunteering Jer for this.
Beyond the few that most of you already know about.
I've become addicted to the Transformers movie toys. This is not a good thing as most of them aren't cheap. However, I've done my best to limit my insanity to the autobot figures, one of which my mom bought me.
Good lord, I sound like I'm 12.
But I'm okay with that. My mom bought me Ratchet, who takes the form of a hummer/search and rescue vehicle and then earlier today I picked up Ironhide (see the attached pictures) who takes the form of a large and sturdy pickup truck. Only three more autobots left.
I just can't seem to control myself. I've become extra permissive with myself because Catherine's parents had a garage sale this weekend and so the wife and I packed up a ton of stuff and sold it off at the sale. This went well as the sale made just under $500 dollars, $200 of which Catherine and I pocketed. The bulk went to a new air conditioner (which means my old one which works but is a tad noisy is now free to a good home), but Catherine and I agreed to split the final amount ($50) and buy something fun.
I chose toys. Of course I chose toys. Hell, I sold a ton of Star Wars toys (including my pod racers) so a couple of autobots isn't THAT big of a deal.
I think I've hit the bargaining stage.
Other than that, things are going well. I'm bored a lot, which isn't the worse thing in the world to be, but hopefully soon I'll be stressed anew with the burden of a job in the fall. That would be loverly. Someone please arrange that for me.
Weird to be done everything, now that the moment is finally here. Well, technically the moment arrived last Thursday after I wrapped up my internship at Northview and dropped off my final papers at OISE.
I'm done. Ca y est. I'm a teacher now.
That's a very odd sentence to type but as the year has gone on that has felt like less and less of an odd thing to have become. In many ways, it feels totally natural. I feel a zen-like calmness in front of the classroom and I have an ability to put my students totally at ease. It's a good feeling.
However, having all of this sudden free time forced upon me does not feel good. Don't think I'm complaining about having free time, because that isn't it. The problem is that I don't have a job yet. It's the giant vacuum of nothingness in front of me that has me a bit down this week. Many of us have faced this before when we finished school.
I'm hopeful that I'll get a job soon enough, however. Maybe I'm even more than hopeful. I feel a strange certainty that things are just going to happen for me sooner rather than later. I felt this before I even got into teacher's college and it's the same now. Maybe it's the horseshoes that Paul claims I have shoved up my ass.
Still, that means that I'm almost certainly always up for StarCraft, I will almost always say "yes, I saw that movie" and I will almost certainly be getting my drink on during school nights.
In other words, please call me as I'm getting lonely. Aaron, this means you.
Not quite as inspired as the brilliant Weng Weng, this video is still pretty funny.
And informative. Get checked today!
Aside from that, as of 1pm today, I'll be officially finished with teacher's college. The internship ended yesterday and today I just have to drop off two forms.
I'm actually quited shocked that it's all almost over. It's been a good year, albeit it quite stressful at times (thanks in no small part to my feet), but I'm extremely grateful to the people who helped get me through it. My associate, Scott Carter, is one of those people who even now is trying hard to get a job for me.
The biggest help though was Catherine, as always. I don't know what I'd do without her, I just know that it wouldn't be pretty. I'd probably be blogging in my underwear with the curtains drawn over the window... oh, wait. That's what I'm doing now.
I really should apologize for this video, but since I didn't make it, only post it, I feel comfortable in my belief that the Weng Weng Rap is truly a masterpiece of internet graffiti.
I expect Nathan to get the biggest kick out of this, but only because he's so morally corrupt. Enjoy, Nathan!
It's true. It's not a hoax. And it's the same style we've all come to know, love, and play obsessively until the wee hours of the morning.
I'm hoping it's just as awesome as the first, but StarCraft II has a lot to live up to to please me. Still, looking at one of the pictures that IGN has posted on their website featuring a hundred or so Zerg storming the Terran camp, I can't say that things are looking poorly at this point.
No release date yet as it was just announced today that the game was being made. At this point it looks like a suped-up version of the first, but with some significant graphical upgrades.
At least now we all have something in common to buy later this year.
There's a new comic up at Random Changes that contains one of my most favourite pages of comic book goodness ever. The above is just a small sampling of the brilliance of this in Marvel Zombies Vs. The Army of Darkness #2.
Highly encourage you to go read this.
Not much else is going on. The TV season is winding down, so there's not much more Lost, Heroes, or Veronica Mars left to go around. It's been a good year more or less and for the dry season of television we have the peak season of movies.
I suppose I can live with that.
My internship is slowly moving closer to completion and there's no news yet on the job front. I imagine you'll all know shortly after I know, though few of you will be sweating about the particulars.
I'm not sure why I did it, other than I'm a bit of an attention whore. Perhaps it's my deep-seeded need to be seen. At any rate, today I auditioned to be on a reality TV show.
It's called NOW (No Opportunity Wasted) and it comes from the host of The Amazing Race, Phil Koeghan. The basic premise is to take people away from their lives for 72 hours to do something they previously didn't think they had the courage to do.
What this specifically means, I have no idea. But I wrote down that I wanted to skydive and was terrified, that I really hate super enclosed spaces (like caves) and for whatever reason they sat me down to audition me.
This means absolutely nothing.
Catherine and I went to meet Phil and get a book signed at Indigo a couple of blocks away. While there, I figured "why not?" Who knows, maybe I'll get to humiliate myself on TV next fall.
The main downside is that we had to shell out $20 for the book in order of the same name in order to get the autograph (there was no requirement for the audition). Hopefully it's good, but you never know.
We chatted with Phil for a minute, talking about Guelph mostly (he lived there for four years when he was a child) and then we were on our way. I had fun, Catherine seemed slightly grumpy. ;)
So, I went to see Spider-Man 3 and I have to say that I enjoyed the movie, though not nearly as much as the first two.
The essential problem with this film is the same problem that most sequels wind up having: we've seen it before. I enjoyed Sandman and I think Venom in particular was done quite well, but it's a lot of plot for one movie.
I still recommend the flick as it won't hurt your appreciation of what has come before (unlike The Matrix sequels), just don't expect anything that's going to wow you.
What IS impressive, however, is the design of Iron Man's armour for the upcoming film. Not only did the filmmakers get it right, they got it REALLY right. I have no complaints about this, nor do the majority of people on message boards.
Perhaps this is a sign of the apocalypse.
Catherine and I enjoyed Free Comic Book day again this year as we got quite the stash. Catherine even bought a trade paperback of her favorite character, Owly. I'll post an issue up at Random Changes one day this week for people to take a look at. It's quite cute.
My internship at Northview is going well, though I might die from boredom. I spend most of my time locked up in the English office making lesson plans for a bullying unit. No teaching, not much to do, so it's low stress, but it's also low on the relevance scale. After all that I've been through this year, I can't even begin to process the idea that I might be teaching full time in as little as four months.
Joe Valeriote, at the age of 65, passed away on Sunday after a long battle with cancer. Joe had been a constant fixture at Christmas for years because of the close relationship he had with Bernadette, my father's partner. Joe was a kind man and someone that I respected a great deal.
To be honest, I didn't know Joe very well. In a way, I suppose that's all right. He spent the majority of his working years as an elementary school teacher. I've heard from many people, including one of my best friends, Chris, that he was a fantastic teacher. He was loved, respected, and appreciated.
But I can almost promise you that none of those students knew him well either.
That's the gift and the curse of teaching as I've come to understand it. I'm about to become a teacher myself and have only begun to see the fleeting nature of the connection between student and teacher. It's incredibly rare to see that bond continue once summer comes, once school is out, once a student has graduated and moved on.
Yet for this fleeting connection to a man I didn't know very well, there was a lot that I liked and respected about Joe. He always had a kind word to offer and whenever we spoke he was full of encouragement and enthusiasm about what I was doing. Somehow he always knew something, some small detail, about what was going on in my life. I wasn't one of his kids, but the fact that we were all gathered together each Christmas seemed more than enough for him to put out that effort.
Maybe it's a trick of the teaching trade, that ability to make everyone feel special. All I know is that now that I'm faced with the same career, I can't think of many other people who are excellent examples of all that I want to become.
There's never enough time, is there? Never enough time to talk, to get to know someone, to appreciate what it is that each person around you brings to the ongoing mosaic that is your life.
After so many years, I can't deny that the Valeriotes have become part of my extended family and as such I feel for their grief. They're a strong bunch and I have no doubt they'll get through this and celebrate Joe's memory in their own ways for the rest of their lives. Matt, J.P., Amy, Dani, and Nick... I'm truly sorry for your loss.
I hope everyone watched and enjoyed Drive, because it's been cancelled after only three weeks on the air. Apparently, Fox are morons. Most of us already knew this after the mess that was how they handled Firefly.
I'm not surprised, just a little annoyed that a show isn't given time to get any traction when it's brand new. So often, if something isn't immediately successful, it gets canned. I can think of several series that have done exceptionally well long-term, but were slow getting out of the gate. Sometimes showing a bit of patience will take you a long way.
I'm not writing in this blog much anymore for some reason. It's not that I don't want to, it's that I'm busy being alive. This would have been a foreign concept to me during my days at FMG, but it makes all too much sense now.
Right now I'm enjoying a well-deserved week off. I've finished OISE and teacher's college and now just have a four and a half week internship at Northview, my first practicum school, to complete before my tour of duty is done. I'm hopeful that there's an outside chance I'll get a job at this school in September, which would be great to walk into a place where you've already established yourself and fit in well, but I'm not holding my breath.
My new computer is insane. Catherine and I have been spending lots of time with our new family member and getting to know it. Mostly this just means I'm playing a lot of StarCraft, Diablo, and WarCraft. Oh, and reading comic books.
Look for the new issue of Buffy up at Random Changes as well.
Other than that, things are calm and quiet on the waterfront here. I'm back at karate which is a good thing after having to take so much time off between my feet and school. I earned my belly back, which sucks, but I'm going to have a whole summer off to ensure it doesn't come back. Ideally.
It's strange to be done school. I've been so focused and busy for the past two or three months that I was in a permanent state of anxiety and stress. I'm trying to decompress now, but even still I go looking for work. I emailed Scott, my associate teacher, to ask him if there was work I could do before I came back to school. Catherine's right, I need to learn how to relax.
Not much to report other than being super busy with OISE nonsense. Well, that's not exactly true as I'm writing this blog post on my brand-spanking new computer that is beyond awesome. I'm going to give full details for this along with my impressions of the new Simon Pegg/Nick Frost movie, Hot Fuzz, over the next couple of days. Oh, and I'll start paying more attention to Random Changes as well.
The focus of this post is about the new Nathan Fillion (Firefly) vehicle (pun intended) called Drive. It's about an illegal cross-country road race but much grittier. Catherine and I just watched the first two episodes and I have to admit that I'm already hooked. Amy Acker (Angel) plays Fillion's wife, and though I don't really know the rest of the cast, it's pretty solid so far.
Basically people are roped into this race for some reason or another (Fillion is racing because they kidnapped his wife and will kill her unless he wins), so they have to do anything and everything in order to cross the finish line first.
I strongly encourage people to check it out. If you're worried about having missed the first two episodes, just let me know as I have them saved on my hard drive and can burn a copy. I don't have hard drive space issues anymore as I have a combined 750gigs.
If good news comes in threes, then I'm really pushing things these days. I can't seem to turn around without something positive happening lately. Finally, nothing to complain about at all!
Well, okay, that's not true. We all know I could find something to complain about if I really wanted to. At any rate, I present to you a list (in no particular order) or cool things that are happening to me or in my vicinity. 1. Eligible to Hire List I've already been telling people that I'm on this list (which you HAVE to be in order to get a job in Toronto) based on what Scott Carter, my associate teacher, told me after they called him as one of my references, but today it became official when I got a letter in the mail confirming my eligibility. I feel like king of the castle.
2. New Computer My dad is one of the greatest people I have ever known. In a gesture that wasn't needed as he already holds this title, he told me that as a graduation present he wants to get me a new computer. This is VERY welcome news as the one I'm currently using is slowly getting senile.
3. Hot Fuzz From the stars and director of Shaun of the Dead, this buddy cop Brit comedy is finally coming to Canada. As an added bonus, I made Catherine enter a contest (which I also entered) to win two free passes to see the flick next Thursday. As an added bonus, both Shaun & Ed (along with the director) are going to be at an exclusive party afterwards. Catherine won the tickets through the Toronto Star. She's pleased, but a bit dismayed as next Thursday also happens to be her birthday.
4. Aaron's New Job Aaron Jacklin is my hero. He's managed to not only get one, but TWO new jobs at small town papers. The papers are owned by the same company and Aaron will split his time between the two. This is excellent news and I'm sure he'll do really well.
Is there more good news? I'm sure there is. I'm just hoping that the good news continues.
Anyone else miss the days when Vanilla Ice used to team up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? No? Me neither.
This lovely box art is from an actual game for the Atari. IGN posted a fantastic Top 25 breakdown of the worst video game box art ever. There are some gems on there and I'm not ashamed to say I owned more than a couple.
Over at Random Changes the zombie series is in full swing. Marvel Zombies #1 will be posted tonight.
In other news, my associate teacher from my first practicum called me to say that he got a call from the TDSB as they were checking my references. He gave a glowing report to the woman he was talking to, someone that he knows and has met before, and Scott says that every indication was given that I now have a spot on the coveted list.
I'm closer to a job than ever before.
This calls for a celebration of sorts. I'll be at my Dad's this weekend, but maybe I'll give Jer and call on Sunday when I get home to see if he wants to go out for a beer or something.
I'm still totally, completely, unbelievably FLOORED over the last 10 minutes of the season finale of Battlestar Galactica. If the season 2 ending raised a few eyebrows and got a couple of curses because of the months of waiting we were about to endure, it is NOTHING compared to the mind f*** that this episode just was.
I'm STILL reeling from it.
How can this show possibly get any better?!? It's impossible! There's no way to top it! A few of the episodes this season were a little slow, but this is UNREAL. For those of you who understand this point of reference, this is going to be HARDER to wait for than the Picard as a Borg cliffhanger.
Thank god it's already been picked up for a full 22 episodes next season.
AAAGGHHH!!! I can't wait a whole frakking 6 or 7 months for more!
Battlestar Galactica, what have you done to me?
Best. show. ever.
From The Office:
Dwight: "Are you watching Battlestar Galactica?" Man: "...no." Dwight: "Then you're an idiot."
My own confession is that it took me far longer than I expected to post all of the Civil War issues on Random Changes. However, at this point it's all done and while I may post some of the 'Fallen Son' storyline down the road, that marks the end of that series.
Tomorrow I'll post the first issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, and then after that I'll move into a horror-theme with Ultimate Fantastic Four and Marvel Zombies. All told, I've got about 10 issues of that kind of stuff coming your way.
Otherwise, things are good. The practicum is nearly over and not only am I surviving but almost unexpectedly I seem to be thriving. It gets easier and easier. With as much modesty as I'm able to project, this seems to be a job that I'm damn good at. I just hope it stays that way.
My interview for the TDSB was earlier this week and I did well. I didn't mention adult aids of any kind so right away I put that in a win column. The only odd behaviour I showed was that I arrived nearly 2 hours early for my interview. I didn't want to be late, but I didn't want to show up THAT early. The receptionist woman was really nice about it and fawned over me the rest of the evening. I felt special.
So one week of that school left, then three weeks of university until it's done. I have a month-long internship to complete at that point, but all evaluations and proper schooling will be done.
I'm only slightly terrified of what happens after that. But I'm content as I know I've done the best I could. For the first time in years, I feel as though I'm truly coming into my own and becoming the sort of man I always hoped I'd be.
Like I said... I'm feeling modest today.
PS. I think Aaron's dead. I haven't heard from him in ages. Since nearly Christmas, it seems.
I love comics. YOU know I love comics. My closet knows that I love comics. Yet for all of this interest, I no longer tend to purchase any. I still read the news because I like to stay abrest of what's going on, but I'm not longer chained to the vicious cycle of consumer whoring.
Take the recent events in Captain America. It's a great story (and will be posted today or tomorrow on Random Changes) and it packs an emotional punch. Despite this, it feels like a hollow event.
For everyone who remembers the death of Superman back in the day, this was a shocking thing to have done. Who has the nerve to kill of a comic book icon? Now we bring ourselves up to speed by about 10 years and this kind of stunt no longer has any weight.
Still like Captain America? Good, because the series isn't ending. Want to read about him right now? Buy The Ultimates. What's that? There's a movie coming out in a year or two? Hmm. What are they going to do?
Oh, he'll be back soon enough.
Everyone knows it as well. It just doesn't mean much.
On the flip side, good story telling is good story telling. So it's worth a read. To honour Cap's actions, immediately after his 'death' I'll begin posting issues of Marvel Zombies, starting with their debut in Ultimate Fantastic Four. If you're sick and twisted (and I know you are), then you'll enjoy this series.
As for me, I'm enjoying March break but I'm doing far too much lesson planning. This is good and bad. It's good because I don't have to do any work when I come home at night, but it's bad because I haven't played as much Nintendo or watched as many movies as I had hoped. That said, I did see Snakes on a Plane and enjoyed it more than I expected. 300 is worth a look as well, but Jer has a better breakdown than I do here.
Just so you know, I haven't abandoned Random Changes at all. Two new entries went up today in the ongoing Civil War saga that should be complete within the week.
As an added bonus, I'm going to let YOU decide what the next segment will be. I have an 8-issue Marvel Zombies series that is fantastic. How often do you get to see Spider-Man guilt-ridden over eating his own wife? I also have new issues of Astonishing X-Men, The Ultimates, The Dark Tower, and The Exiles that I can put up.
Comic books are fun.
Practicum is not. I only have two days left until March break which I am extremely thankful for. The whole practice teaching thing is going well, I suppose, I just don't like the process. I just finished making my first rubrics (a criteria-based sheet that lets students see how and what is being marked during their assignments/projects) and I didn't enjoy that much at all. Don't get me wrong, the things are extremely useful, but they aren't easy to make at this point.
I finally went to see Ghost Rider. It was NOT worth the wait. The effects were okay, but the acting was horrible. I never want to see Nicolas Cage utter the line "I'm going to be the Spirit of Vengenance" in a cheesy southern drawl ever again. At least not until I waste money on the DVD.
Borat came out, though. Lewd and crude, I'm going to rent it this weekend so Catherine can watch it. This is a movie that is so often wrong that it's just so good.
My feet hurt, my back is sore, I'm super-tired, and I'm in an amazing mood.
Knocked my lesson out of the park today, helped out at the school, and generally made myself into a good teacher today.
On top of that, I got home and there's a message from the Toronto District School Board and they want to set up an interview for me.
F***IN' AWESOME.
This is an extremely competitive board. More than 4000 applications are received and they interview around 900 for their eligible to hire list. 98% of the people who are interviewed make it onto the list and then they can be selected by individual high schools in the GTA for jobs at their schools. You MUST be on the list to get a job in Toronto.
This makes the slurpee I got on the way home all that much sweeter.
I called Scott, my associate teacher from Northview, who was just as excited and told me that he expected it to happen. He also mentioned that it looks like it's going to be a hiring year at Northview and that he's trying to pave the way for me to get a job there.
Now I can finally rest. I'm going to sleep well tonight!
Sometimes I forget that I have this blog. Other days I remember and can't be bothered to post. I must apologize, however, to the constant readers of Random Changes. I have begun to alter my erring ways by posting Civil War #4 for you all to enjoy.
I just started my second practicum. I'm not a huge fan of my associate teacher at this point as she is stingy on compliments and heavy on silence. All in all, it makes for an uncomfortable transition into a totally foreign place.
In the future, I'd like Nicole to be my associate teacher. She needs to get a job here in Toronto for a month so that I can work with her. We don't even have the same teachable subjects, but I'm sure she can adapt. After all, she lives successfully with Jamie.
In other news, I got nothing.
Not much is going on. I'm enjoying The Dark Tower comic book series, the last issue of Civil War (#7) came out (though you guys are a little while off from me posting that), and I've bought an action figure or two. Well, one really. Though my new Ultimate Iron Man is nice and shiny.
I still haven't seen Ghost Rider. Jer owes me a movie date. Maybe if he can find time, we can go this weekend.
I bought a Nintendo DS with Christmas money and then sold a few old games so that I could get some DS stuff. It's a much more addictive system than I would have thought and lately I'm spending more time with it than I am with the Wii. Though Catherine is getting Mario Party 8 in about a week, so I'm sure that'll change. I still need more controllers, though, as two really isn't enough for a good old Nintendo bash.
That's about it. I've got my lessons planned (for now) and a huge stress headache. I need more sleep than I'm getting.
Oh, and for anyone who cares, my feet are almost back to 100%. Still a little off here and there, but it's just stuff that needs more time to repair. God, you don't know how bad it was.
Aaron, I wrote you back, but then you didn't write me back. Is this revenge for my delinquence in the first place? Where's the love?
If I don't post again in the near future, it means I'm dead. The practicum will be chiefly to blame.
Now Catherine's cousin Steven and his girlfriend Jenna have come to visit us from Britain. They'll be hanging out in our apartment while we're gone and I'm sure they're dreaming of taking over the air conditioned bedroom. I don't blame them. The city feels like a sweat shop.
I'm not sure why I did it, other than I'm a bit of an attention whore. Perhaps it's my deep-seeded need to be seen. At any rate, today I auditioned to be on a reality TV show.
So, I went to see 
I hope everyone watched and enjoyed 
It's been a while, hasn't it? 
If good news comes in threes, then I'm really pushing things these days. I can't seem to turn around without something positive happening lately. Finally, nothing to complain about at all! 
Ninja rap!
I'm still totally, completely, unbelievably FLOORED over the last 10 minutes of the season finale of 
My own confession is that it took me far longer than I expected to post all of the 
Excuse my cynical nature.
Sometimes I forget that I have this blog. Other days I remember and can't be bothered to post. I must apologize, however, to the constant readers of Random Changes. I have begun to alter my erring ways by posting 
