My last blog before the "fun"

Hey all my jingle bells,

Well, here it is. The last post before the holiday madness. I'm not sure what to think of it. It's almost bittersweet that I'm going home. On the one hand, I'll be seeing all my B-dot peeps, and having a lot of fun with them. On the other hand, I'll be dealing with my family, and getting my teeth yanked out. Sounds like fun to me.

I had my final exam today, and to say the least, I aced it. Philosophy seems to be my powerhouse mark this year, and I would say I achieved nothing less than an 80. I would be surprised if I didn't get a 90 or higher. It feels so good to completely understand something and to know I did well for a change. I'm so happy with myself for changing my study patterns and growing as an individual this semester. I'm truly proud, and it's the first time in a long time.

Well I should get to packing. If you want my home number, call my house in St. Catharines and Dustin (my roommate who is sticking around for the holidays) should be able to give it to you.

I'm off to pack! Ciao bellissimos!

--Holiday Jam

Movie to see: Meet the Fockers: Because it's so hilarious, my sides hurt. "Hey my brother from a different mother!"

Well wrap me up and call me sexy!

...that's all I want. Are you wrapping yet? Hurry up, there are others who want to call me sexy too.

So I was planning on doing a rant on exams, but I just don't have the energy, because I've been studying for exams for far too long and taking tiring breaks playing DDR. It ain't easy being Jam. I mean there's the screaming fans and the work and the cow wrangling.

I downloaded Careless Whisper by George Michael and I'm obsessed with it! I heard it on Karaoke Revolution 3 for PS2 and immediately was like "whoa". Just like that. "Whoa." Joel and I are gonna slow dance to it when I go to Ottawa on spring break, so that should be fun. If you're wondering when I decided to go to Ottawa on spring break or who Joel is, message me and I'll give you the inside edition. Don't worry, Brian Mulroney won't be there.

My humour tonight seems really odd. I must have hit my head too much.. or not enough. Time for bed.

--Holiday Jam

Word of the Day: Tipsy: Can mean any state of drunkeness from one sip of wine to eighteen beers. Your discretion.

Merry Decemberween

As you all may or may not know, I am obsessed with Homestar Runner. Who is Homestar Runner you may ask? If you are asking this, you are a loser and I hate you. Haha, partially kidding.

Anyways, Brothers Chaps released their Decemberween 2004 cartoon and it's so hilarious that I think I've watched it twenty times. If you think I'm a loser for watching it this much, you are a loser and I hate you. Haha, no seriously.

Click here to enjoy the Decemberween wonder which is Homestar.

If you don't watch it, you are a lo... well you get the picture.

--Holiday Jam

Word of the Day: Decemberween: Not quite December, not quite Hallowe'en, not quite Christmas. All of the above.

Gimme a Break

Caution! Upcoming rant on: TV Commercials

ING Direct, community college, McDonald's, Saturn, Wal-Mart, Mars. What do all of these different things have in common? If you watch any television, you will know that they all have terrible commercials.

The majority of ads on television today are complete garbage. ING's foreign man preaching at the audience about service charges, Wal-Mart's "heartfelt stories", and mostly everything in between leaves much to be desired during our many commercial breaks. Since the volume of advertisements which are included in daily watching are increasing, the calibur of them should be raised as well. However, that's simply not the case.

What happened to the days when cats held their breath to step into the litterbox to promote scented cat litter, or when Dave Thomas reassured us that Wendy's truly was the place to be? Ronald used to tell us about the money he was giving his charities in thanks for buying his disgusting burgers, and chocolate bars had jingles.

Today, Dave Thomas is clawing his way out of his grave to attack that damn unofficial spokesman, who annoys us all and makes it seem so effortless. Ronald died in the loss in revenues of 2003 and was replaced with Justin Timberlake's "ba da ba ba ba, I'm lovin' it" jingle. Trust us Ronald. We are not loving anything except the chicken nuggets. And what happened to those chocolate bar jingles? Kit Kat's "Gimme a Break" was shoved aside by Mars Bar's "Lick the screen" campaign. Frankly, I don't want to lick the screen, nor do I want to go to Mars to get my energy.

I also wonder what types of subliminal messaging these awful ad campaigns have in them, and ponder whether or not they are working. Best Buy, a store I enjoy to shop in, currently has a shocking ad on television. It has a tall woman and a short man dancing at a staff party, talking about Best Buy, and eventually has the Best Buy tag doing the Robot. Seems "normal" enough. However, the two people, flirting back and forth, seems a lot more sexual than it should. Why is that? Because there are two other people going into an office in the near background and closing the blinds! Can we say blatant sexual innuendo? Or can we say unbelieveable. I can say both.

Fortunately, there are some entertaining commercials left on television. Sola and Nero, two wines, have a visually appealing cell-shaded cartoon commercial. Twix had a hilarious commercial with a woman yelling "give it to me" on a guy desk, trying to get her Twix back. Swiffer has random people showing other random people what types of food it picks up (I'm happy to know that it picks up cheese puffs if it's going to be that entertaining). The Gap, which I used to hate the ads for, now seems very visually and aurally stimulating. I mean, who can resist Sarah Jessica Parker? The best of all, Ikea, has some amazing commercials out, and must have the best marketing team money can buy. I mean, I did feel sorry for that lamp.

I could go on and on about commercials, because there are so many areas to tackle. At least it's giving me more individual topics for more rants. I'm lovin' it.

--Holiday Jam

The Cold and Me

A Short Story By Jam

Once upon a time, there was a very handsome, intelligent, perfect man named James. James ruled over Summers Castle and had the best fashion sense of anyone in it. (I wasn't kidding when I said he was perfect. I mean, don't YOU wanna be him now? Don't lie. You do.)

One day, he stepped outside and it was freezing out!

So he moved to Hawaii 'cause winter sucks.

The End.

--Holiday Jam

Li'l Update

Bonjourno!

Back from the Bramladesh and not a scratch on me! I really enjoyed my visit to Heidi's place. I had such a fun time, and I love her group of friends! Bramalea City Centre is an amazing spectacle of a mall and I'd love to spend an afternoon there shopping 'til I be dropping. I bought a hot shirt that was on sale for $16 bucks. Brampton, you won me!

I get blood work taken in 10 hours for my wisdom teeth removal next week. Not exactly looking forward to either, but I suppose it has to be done.

One more exam left on the 22nd and I get to go home for a little bit. Not sure if I'm going to enjoy myself or not, but I'll tell you how it all went after I get back from it. Or you may read about a suicide or crazy person in the paper. If so, that's me.

Well, I should get some rest. Ta.

--Jam

Upcoming rants: CTV's Lost, TV Commercials, Relationships

Off to Bramladesh

Ola mi peuples! (not a real language, don't sue me)

Well today I, along with Athena, venture off to Brampton to have Heidi's big murder mystery extravaganza.

I am extremely hung over and have nothing to wear, but I'll manage. I'll just pop some pills and go in my birthday suit. I mean, everyone loves birthdays, right? And everyone really loved my birthday right? Right? Right.

Ugh, I think something passed out in my stomach and now it's awake. It seems angry.

My exam yesterday went uber well. I think I got at least a B, so that should keep my english mark near where it is. I need to pull it up for next semester, though, since it is my major lol that might help to do, ya know, well in that class.

Well off to pack and leave and come back to barf and leave again!

--Jam

Listen to: Rumors by Lindsay Lohan (so goddamn addictive, omg)

Delayed Reaction

Caution! Upcoming rant on: Procrastination

Do you ever feel like the top of your dresser needs dusting? Do you ever have a sudden urge to clean under your bed, wash the dishes, or put up curtains? I'll bet you do if you have to study for an exam. Procrastination is in all of us. It comes out when we need it the least: study time, essay writing time, anything that has to do with getting work done time. But why? What is it that makes us forget about responsibility and worry about the dust bunnies under the bed?

Similar to the angel and devil on your shoulder duking it out theory, I believe there are two little guys in our heads battling it out. One is work ethic, one is apathy. Now, in some individuals, work ethic triumphs and you can work for long periods of time. In others, apathy is the winner and you find people in slumps or crappy lives. You could compare these to real people; in my case, they would be Urkel (work ethic), versus Evander Holyfield. Not such a good match-up, and I think unless Urkel goes to the gym and fast, it's not looking so good for Jam.

However, I prefer to say that my work ethic is David and my apathy is Goliath. Although in many cases apathy wins, work ethic can succeed, and I get some work done. Eventually I'd like them to switch, but for now, I'll deal, and hand apathy a slingshot.

Even right now, I should be studying for my exam tomorrow. Instead, you get a wonderful rant about procrastination (my second of the day, damn I'm good). I also tidied my room, watched the finale of The Apprentice, watched the entire season thus far of Lost, and ate far too much junk food. I have not, however, done laundry, written Christmas cards, wrapped Christmas presents, or done any real studying, all of which needs to be completed now. Hmm.. slingshot must be broken.

Well, I think I'll sit here some more, chat for no good reason, and then get an early night. Maybe tomorrow when I wake up early to study, Urkel will have invented an unbreakable slingshot for David, and we can take down those huge S.O.B.'s.

--Jam

Me Versus Everyone Else

Caution! Upcoming rant on: Attack and Defense

Have you noticed that a lot of people, maybe even you at times, have an urge to point out that your roommate said something dumb, or that something your mom wore was totally last year. I find that today's conversations have went from simple talk to speaking in the offensive or in the defensive. Why is it that on any given day you have a confrontation with someone?

Maybe it leads back to ancient times when all people knew was war? People were just on the offensive in case there was war. Ya, right. Even in ancient Sumer or Rome or wherever, I'm sure that one villager could have a decent conversation with another villager. But maybe these villagers would still point out that their tattered cloths were uneven?

Where does our need and desire to attack another and have a confrontation stem from? If we can find the reason, maybe we can find the solution.

I believe it comes from our need to feel important. In a society run by celebrity and the media, our desire to feel above others does not seem uncommon. Why not want to feel above those around yourself? If you have the necessary information and qualities, then go for it.

However, this leads back to my rant on ignorance. Too many people who do not have the necessary education on certain topics are using too much "logic" and not enough knowledge. Logic can lead someone into an argument where, in actuality, they cannot win.

For example, a roommate of mine and I were playing DDR (best game ever) and she was trying a song with eighth notes. She called them "notes that are almost notes but not quite" and I said "those are the eighth notes." Because she believed eighth notes to be something else she argued with me. Even though I have 10 years piano. Even though I have 2 years teaching piano. Even though I play DDR so much I dream about the arrows in my everyday life. Even though she was wrong.

What led my friend to argue with me? It seems that over the past XXX number of years, we have decided what we know, and what we think we know. I believe if someone has a different standpoint on something, it should be embraced, rather than unincluded in your thought process. Don't go on the offensive or the defensive immediately when someone gives you criticisms or other knowledge. Realize your own intellect, then move forward in the conversation. If someone has you beat, shut up, and listen to what they have to say. Then we can all go back to ancient Sumer.

--Jam

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEIDI!

HI DI!

To the girl with the most positivity, the best attitude, and the best moves on a DDR dance pad, I give you a big online bloggy hug and wish you the best birthday ever!

Now that you're 19, there'll be no more of sitting at home while we go to Stella's and dance the night away! You're obliged to come! Other things that come when you turn 19... um.. I dunno. Feeling old, but not too old. The right kind of old!

You rock babe! Congrats!

--Jam

My hero today: Heidi! It means full of honour and kind.. didja know that? Betcha didn't!

Stand Still

Everything seems to have come to a hault.. Gee thanks Christmas and exams.

--Jam

Word-of-the-day: Shart: Not quite a shit and not quite a fart. Can also be used in French as a verb "sharter".
The man sharted himself, making everyone jump.
Il sharte parce qu'il a mangé la boeuf.

In the Ham...dot?

Hey you-all,

Just thought I'd write a teensy post today. I'm in Hamilton visiting Leanne, and while she wraps presents, you get the enjoyment of what is a post by Jam.

Survivor was pretty decent last night. Except for the fact that loser Chris won. I don't really understand how he won, since he just lied to everyone, made it to the end, and won. Kinda screwy. But props to him for doing it.

I think they should let me be on Survivor. Since it seems like when you get on the show your brain turns to mush, I would make sure my brain is unmushable. Unless there was some hot guy. Then maybe mush... ANYWAYS, since I'm Canadian I can't go on the show. Bummer. I would seriously get my U.S. citizenship just to go on that show. Sad but true.

Anywho, I'm off to decorate the tree!

Adios, people everywhere!

--Jam

Word-of-the-day: Ugg: Specific type of boots with too much fur around the top. Costs approximately $400 (insane, I know). Not to be confused with Ugh, Hug, Mug, Jug, or Hammer.

Get Your Jingle Bells Out Of My Way!

Caution! Upcoming rant on: Christmas Shopping

"Um, excuse me. Could you move that cart?"

"..ouch. Can you not run into me?"

"I'm sorry, the line starts back there."

Ever find yourself saying any of the above during Christmas shopping season? It seems that almost everyone dislikes Christmas shopping. Crowded stores, long line-ups, and dirty looks are only the beginning. It's enough to drive anyone to not have fun in their one horse open sleigh.

Normally I enjoy Christmas shopping. I hear the people around me grunt and groan that they have to challenge the malls, but I always found it to be an easy going experience, with more people to deal with.

This year, I had a hell of a lot of presents to buy, but I was prepared, I brought a list, and set out on Saturday morning with Nat. I bought some wrapping paper and a few gifts, so my bag was a little awkward, but hey, whatever. I was almost done at the mall, and ventured into Coles. Coles is always a store that has a huge line-up at Christmas. Books must get everyone excited. "Ooooh, semi-gloss pages, Trump's autobiography, books on cheese..Yay!" So I find a couple books I want to buy, and I need to get down an eisle, but this woman has her baby carriage parked across the entire eisle so I have no chance of getting through. I say calmly to the woman who is sitting reading a book next to hear baby carriage, "Excuse me." No answer. "Excuse me? Can you move your baby carriage?" Then she looks up at me and gives me a dirty look and goes back to her book! So I stand there for a minute, flabber-gasted that someone can actually be blatantly and knowingly rude. Do I look like I have time to deal with an ignorant woman who wants to test my patience after I've been at the mall for the entire day? If I do, I better get a new haircut. I was about ready to deck her halls, but I pushed by instead.

A couple days after I went back to finish my shopping; it was considerably more busy. Stores like EB Games and Turtle Pond Toys were so crowded that we actually had to leave because we were getting claustrophobic. Now I know folks that the Beanie Babies and the My Little Ponies are very exciting, and the Hello Kitty pencil case is to die for, but if you see 800 people in a store the size of a bathroom, don't try to make it 801; we don't need a world record today.

Another thing that bothers me is the mall hires these three people to sing Christmas carols throughout the mall. They dress up in old-timey clothing and literally chase people around the mall. If you're just sitting at a table eating, they will stand there and sing to you. "Hello, awkward? Yes, come back later. I'm all stocked up right now."

Well, I got all my shopping done, and I now know why many people dislike shopping during the holidays. If you don't hate Christmas shopping yet, wait until you run into your baby carriage lady, or the Christmas chase singers. You will.

--Jam

Complex Equation

Alright, try to figure this one out:

Big turkey dinner + presents and fun + too much karaoke revolution + 3/4 bottle of wine = thinking about boys.

Go figure.

--Jam

Alternate Musical Genres, We Hardly Knew Thee

Caution! Upcoming rant on: Musical Popularity

Dearly Beloved,

We are gathered here today to honour the memory of genres departed, which left us before they had a chance to offer us their true potential. Although the memories are faint, and would not at all make the Top 40, they still leave impressions in our minds. At least they should.

Normally I would be an advocate for all genres of music, as "popular" music is sometimes very entertaining. However, I think there is a lot less attention put into music which does not rely on MTV or Ryan Seacrest.

A great example of a style of music that goes unnoticed is modern classical. Bond, an all-female group who play stringed instruments, have an upbeat tempo and use different techniques in their music, such as techno or salsa beats. They even do live performances, as I first saw them on Regis & Kelly. Regis even commented that this style of music is not front-line, and the group commented back that they hope people realize that there's more out there. This type of music is so innovative and fun, but does not get the recognition it deserves. Another example is Enigma, a group with a style all its own. Many know "Gravity of Love," as well as some of their other songs, but would only know them from movies. It's good that film companies realize the value of this music, and how it can express different emotions, but why does the general public not realize this?

I think it's sad that there is a lot of music out there today which is virtually unknown, but could be completely enjoyable to almost anyone. Between the Hilary Duffs and the Lindsay Lohans, who are the most obvious examples of industry supported "musicians," are taking revenues away from musicians with real talent. Although these girls both work very hard, their voices are altered, plain and simple.

Hopefully in the future, the general public will attempt to make their own decisions and decide what kind of music is right for them. Although I see this as highly unlikely, I can dream (this goes back to ignorance, but I'll stay strong and not mention it..besides this). Maybe this Christmas I'll send some coal to Lindsay Lohan, and a note saying "If you eat this, you won't sound awful." She'd probably do it.

--Jam

Anticipation

Welcome, my beloved fans.

I'm getting very good feedback from my rants so I think I'll continue to do them. I sent "Smoking is Not a Right" into the Brock Press after some revisions, so I'm hoping they publish it. I would love to see my work published in any paper, and the Brock Press is as good as any.

I was thinking what I may do is collect about ten rants, and send them, along with a personal letter saying "give me a weekly column, I'll do it for free," to the local paper and see what response I get. I think it would be so amazing if I could get published weekly, and it would be great for my portfolio. I guess we'll see how that progresses.

Nineteen days until my surgery and I think about it everyday. I know it's "only" wisdom teeth, but I'm so terrified I feel like getting sick everytime it pops into my head. I have to get blood work done next week ahead of time, so that should be interesting. I still have to make an appointment; hopefully they can do it on campus.

If anyone watched Survivor last night, I hope you were as shocked as I was! Poor Julie! I really expected Chris to go with Eliza and vote that stupid Twila off. If you don't know anything about Survivor, this was bad. Bad Chris.

I was happy to read that a fellow blogger, Ryan, wrote about ignorance yesterday too (at like the exact same time.. creepy), through the same-sex marriage issue. Good thing other people understand that this is a problem. Well-written article, too! Power to ya brothah!

Today I'm going to study, not do a whole lot, so I might do a rant later if I feel like it, cause I have some ready.

Ciao ya'll,
--Jam

Word-of-the-day: Jubate: Very hairy. (No, it does not mean bait for jewish people, as you may think)

The Igno-rant

Caution! Upcoming rant on: Ignorance.

"Ignorance: The condition of being uneducated, unaware, or uninformed."
-Dictionary.com

Knowledge is so overrated. Socrates, the most knowledgeable person of, possibly, all time died to his peers for knowing too much. If the most knowledgeable person in history can't get away with being well-educated, then why should we? We don't live in a society of persecution for our intelligence; we live in a society that embraces it.

It is true that all of the populus today is ignorant to one topic or another. I am ignorant to Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Corellation Spectroscopy, upon other topics. However, I will not be debating with someone about NMRCS in the near future, and if I was to be arguing its validity or something like that, I'll do research first. I don't want to be messing up NMRCS for everyone, now would I?

I also believe there is a difference in what you are ignorant to. If you're ignorant to something prominent in Canadian life, like the fact that cars drive on the right-hand side of the road, there could be very serious consequences for your actions.

Obviously these are extreme examples, however, let me give you a real one:

My mom, a wonderful happy woman, is Ukranian. Ukranians always believe they are right, no matter what. So, in theory, my mom could argue to my cat about why the television will not turn on. Please keep this in mind, as well as the fact that my cat is deaf.

When I decided to go to school this year, I needed to get a bank loan. Through research, I found out that student lines of credit, a wondrous innovation, were available. I could withdraw the money I need, and only pay back that amount once I am done school in easy and manageable payments (I sound like an ING Direct commercial). My mom, who had nothing to do with this loan, decides one day to lecture me on how much my loans will be. I understand that loans will grow, but since the payments will always be the same size when I exit post-secondary, it initially does not matter, and will not throw me into bankruptcy. However, because my mom truly believed she knew all there was to know about loans and banks, I was wrong. The argument was never resolved, because her ignorance acted like a thirty-foot wall in the middle of a foot race.

My mom, as well as the Ukranians, are not the only ones who acts this way. The Canadian population has become, for the most part, a group of people who do not enjoy knowledge. I would like someone to tell me why it is a bad idea to have more knowledge. Maybe those IQ scores will go up; that would be a shame. Maybe you'll win a game of Trivial Pursuit; that would be so embarassing. Maybe you'll win a debate because you were properly educated to back up your otherwise unfounded opinion; just terrible.

Where do unfounded opinions come from? For example, why are people still racist today? Is it because when you were little, your grandfather told you that black people were dumb and should not have came to this country? What backing did he have? Why defend something which you don't really know why you're defending, except for the fact that it's popped up in your brain one day?

If you believe this is targeted at you, it is. Ignorance is a blemish on the surface of the population, and will turn into a cancer if we are not careful. In time, we may have a lot more people similar to my cat: deaf to the world. Deafness to the truth and what is right leads to conflict and pain.

I want you to ask yourself two questions today:

"What do I know?" & "Why don't I know more?"

--Jam

Looking back

I stepped on some toes. I wish I had been wearing cleats.

--Jam

It's Just a Simple Plan

Caution! Upcoming rant on: Simple Plan

I turn on the radio and switch through the stations until I hear something decent. Past the 99 problems that Jay-Z is having these days, past the incomprehendable lyrics of Sean Paul, past the lame square-dancing party Mark McGrath and Shania are having, and finally I hear some rock. Wait.. this isn't rock. This is Simple Plan.

Simple Plan, a Canadian-based band, is classified as "punk", a genre which hurts more than Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block combined. If you're a punk advocate, let's sort through the possible reasons for you adoring this Montreal-chic band.

Vocals: You enjoy the vocal stylings of lead singer Pierre Bouvier.

Let's face it. Without this one guy and his unique voice, Simple Plan would not be recognizable in the mass of punk bands today. That being said, would anyone actually choose to listen to this guy? He sounds like a cross between a mating moose and a dying skunk. My step-dad came home one day and started reeming at me about how he hates this modern music and they play it over and over at work. After only a few questions, I determined it was the wonder called Simple Plan and assured him "we don't like it either."

The Look: You think these guys are hot.

Gee, the bald one's kinda cute! No wait, I want the one with woman hair! I can't decide! Maybe I should go for the 100-lb. lead singer. Scronnyness turns me on!

On MuchMusic a couple months ago, they had a "Who's Hot, Who's Not" listing, and scronny pastey Pierre made the Hot list. I know. I'm confused too. Let's just leave it at one word: Ew.

The Instrumentals: Those guys play a mean gee-tar.

The back-up sounds the same as every other punk band out there. Next.

The Lyrics: The words they choose are better than scripture.

The lyrics are actually where I have the most problem. Let's analyze they're latest song, shall we?

Do you ever feel like breaking down?
Do you ever feel out of place?
Like somehow you just don't belong
And no one understands you

Do you ever wanna run away?
Do you lock yourself in your room?
With the radio on turned up so loud
That no one hears you screaming

No you don't know what it's like
When nothing feels alright
You don't know what it's like to be like me

To be hurt
To feel lost
To be left out in the dark
To be kicked
When you're down
To feel like you've been pushed around
To be on the edge of breaking down
When no one's there to save you
No you don't know what it's like

Welcome to my life

So, they are trying to relate to teenagers through teen depression. Let's say for now that I am a depressed and angry teenager listening to Simple Plan. Instead of providing one line like "it will get better" or something to give me a little glimpse of hope, it just continues like this. Oh well, I guess I'll just slit my wrists.

The problem is simply that all of their songs are depressing songs where they are going through so much turmoil with no hope of an end in sight. How is this helping today's youth? Unfortunately, since it is the record companies who now make the majority of decisions on who's popular and who's not *cough* Hilary Duff *cough*, today's youth does not know that Simple Plan is the one lowering their moral and making them hate the other students at school. Good job Warner Bros. Records. You have taken advantage of the ignorance and innocence of teenage minds and created a depressed and very annoying generation. I hope one of them slashes your tires.

The guys have been making "music" since they were thirteen, says MTV.com, in a band called Reset. Please hit the Reset button on this band. Hit it more than once just to be sure. The MTV.com biography of the group says, "It [is] textured like Cheap Trick, but raw like Pennywise." Um, does anyone know who those other bands are? I don't, therefore they suck as much as Simple Plan. No one will remember this Plan in 5-10 years. Maybe now that we've had enough of Simple Plan, we can realize that maybe Backstreet Boys weren't such a bad idea after all.

--Jam

Ranting Ranter, I Salute Thee

As I am becoming more and more of a ranter these days, I have to commend others who can rant as well as this ranter can rant. I ran across a hilarious Costco rant on Orkut today, and I had to link it on my blog to give it the recognition it deserves. It's exactly what I was thinking, and congrats to her for getting it out before I did.

The Costco Chronicles

--Jam

I Dare You To Move

Maybe redemption has stories to tell
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell
Where can you run to escape from yourself?
Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna go?
Salvation is here

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself
Lift yourself up off the floor
--I Dare You To Move, by Switchfoot

So I thought I'd do a normal Jammy post today, as I've been ranting a lot lately. I have rants built up inside me about Simple Plan, Christmas Shoppers, and something else that I can't remember.. hmm.. oh well, it must not have been that important, so I'll post all of them in coming days.

Went to Hamilton on Sunday and came back yesterday. Had a good time visiting Leanne, like I always do. Our group went out bowling, which was so fun! I got THREE strikes (can you believe that??) and I still lost by five points to Jay's superstar boyfriend. Oh well, I know I'm getting better! I wanted a rematch, but he was scared. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. lol

While I was in Hammy, I found my perfect boyfriend! Since I'm like the poster boy for single life, which is growing old, and her cat loves me, well hey, I'll go out with the cat! His name is Romeo and he's grey and white. Awwww lol. Yeah I don't know where I'm going with this sarcastic point. I'll say I'm going... here.

I woke up late for class this morning (way to go, Idaho)...(is Idaho even still a state? You never hear anything about it. "Shooting in Idaho, forty dead, hundreds injured, story at eleven".. see, just doesn't happen.). Hopefully Heidi can take me some notes, since it's my last class before the exam. I'm just a dorkus though for not waking up. I hit my alarm for hours. It's because Natalie and BrYYYYan kept me up for hours! Jerks. lol

So I think I'll wrap some Christmas gifts this morning, and write my dozens upon dozens of Christmas cards. I put garland around my door yesterday and now our house looks so festive! I'm so excited for the holidays! ..well actually, in all honesty, I'm not as excited as usual, due to singleness, bickering family, and knowing what I'm getting from my mom, but other than that, egg nog, booze, and music will make it better!

I'm off to wrap, yo.

--Jam

Word-of-the-day: Chrismukkuh: The combination of Hanukkuh and Christmas. Used to avoid feuds during the holiday season. See episode 13 of season one of The OC for reference.

Smoking is not a right, it's a privalege.

Hi guys. I had to do a very long post on a pro-choice smoking website today. If you have a couple minutes, please read it, as you deserve to be informed on proceedings which could potentially harm you in the future. Thanks.

CAUTION! Upcoming long rant on: MYCHOICE.CA

Anyone and everyone has noticed that bars, restaurants, public buildings, and even entire cities have become smoke-free over the past 10 years or so. It's obvious that this is a fair decision, as smoking is dangerous to the smoker's health, deters smokers from smoking in excess, and from harming the health of others through second-hand smoke. Well, this all may change if mychoice.ca gets the backing it desires, and it makes me sick.

I first heard a man speaking on 99.9FM yesterday afternoon about mychoice.ca. The advertisers for this campaign, going for a serious ambience, had a monotone man speaking as if non-smokers were horrible people for taking away all these rights for smokers. I'm sorry, but last time I checked, smoking was not a right, it's a privelege, which is only still around because the government needs the tax money.

So I decided to visit mychoice.ca, just to be sure I wasn't overreacting. I'm not. I'm welcomed with little sayings like "choose to be informed" and "choose to speak your mind." Yeah, choose to be informed now that someone tells you to, and choose to speak your mind... aka the mind of the tobacco companies trying to get back the revenues they're losing due to healthy conscious decisions. Idiots.

Then it says: "mychoice.ca is a Web site committed to restoring common sense, balance and civility to the way Canada's adult smokers are treated by their federal, provincial and municipal politicians." COMMON SENSE? If that is common sense, do I look like I want to be "sensible?" How and when did supporting a harmful and very STUPID habit become sensible?

As I delve further into the site as a "visitor", past the very frustrating opening page, I notice it is laid out in a very rational fashion, save the creepy old man who seems far too happy in the upper right-hand corner. The information, however, is very odd, and is working to the ignorant mind, which unfortunately includes a majority of the adult population of Canada. "What is MyChoice.ca?... it is commited to providing you with the means to...receive advance warnings on new proposals for high taxes...learn how Canada's tobacco laws are created and inforced." I'm sorry, but last time I checked, every new proposal needs to be public, and if you were involved in the parliamentary proceedings, you would know when new proposals are being considered. It's not as if some shady guy in a trenchcoat sneaks the propsals in at night in a little folder and snickers to himself. "Ha ha ha, suckers. They'll never know!"

Also, if you really wanted to know about how the laws were created and enforced, you would have looked that up by now, since ALL that information can be found in a library, or online. But, why do we not know? BECAUSE WE DO NOT CARE. THE GENERAL PUBLIC DOES NOT CARE. They are being told what to think by tobacco companies. How do I know this? Besides the fact that they are telling us things we could not, in actuality, care less about, they conclude with:

"And yes, mychoice.ca is financed entirely by the Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers’ Council. A serious website and online association requires funding, and it is natural for industries to support their customers. In the case of smokers, it is not as if there are a lot of other choices available. But this is not an industry or company website. This is an online association for those who choose to smoke. It is about you." -- OH! It's about ME! I FORGOT! I would have thought it was about support for tobacco companies! I would have thought it was about the decreasing revenue for the tobacco industry! But no! It's about me! Well, in that case, I'm all for it!

They even have an 'industry comment', which of course, I had to read, to infuriate myself further. They say:

"There are five million adult smokers in Canada, which should make for a powerful voice by any standard. Yet this group is heavily taxed and regulated by various levels of government without being consulted or heard. Taxation and regulation without representation – is it any wonder why many smokers now feel like second-class citizens?...The average 70% in taxes that goes to governments from tobacco purchases earns smokers no say...Given the taxes Canadian smokers pay, one can certainly argue they deserve access to some of the dollars they pay to their governments."

Of course this group is heavily taxed! They are giving us LUNG CANCER and the taxes are higher today because of inflation, as well as the fact that with less smokers, more taxes are needed to fill that bracket! Most smokers are second-class citizens, aka middle class! Middle- and lower-class citizens smoke far more than upper-class citizens, because they lack the necessary education and information that upper-class citizens utilize, and which is why smokers will listen to this TRIPE at mychoice.ca. Wait, I take that back. They won't listen very well, because not many will log on to the site, because, as I said earlier, NO ONE CARES. And also, why should Canadian smokers have access to "some of the dollars they pay to their governments?" Because they're paying for what they're getting? Because they're stupid and uninformed and killing themselves? Right.

Harming others is not a right, nor a privalege, it's abusing the system. Smoking rooms are still around because whiney smokers don't want to go out in the cold in the winter, and even that is ridiculous. It is one's choice to begin smoking, and to know all the consequences and ramifications that are associated with it. Grow up, or move on.

Sorry for the lengthliness, but this is one of the most unbelievable things I have heard in a long time. Thanks for reading it. I'll have a normal post tomorrow.

--Jam

Spongebob is not our friend.

Allo mes peuples,

So it's something like 10.30am and I'm still actually drunk from last night. Had an amazing night at Stella's with my roomies and some friends, and it was just SO fun! Got far too drunk off a concoction I concocted before leaving the house. Something with Arbor Mist and Pineapple Rum... it was kinda icky, and very strong. Bad combination.

I got to bed around 3am, give or take, and I'm awake now? Um hello, brain? Yeah, this is your body talking. I need more sleep! You're an idiot for waking me up! That is all.

CAUTION: Upcoming rant on: SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS

So I thought I'd post a mini-rant that arose last night whilst talking to Nick. He loves this cartoon Spongebob Squarepants, which I refer to as Stupidbob Stupidpants, or something along those lines. If anyone hasn't noticed, it seems to be an entire show of that yellow sponge guy, the pink starfish, and that green-ish ugly one all doing stupid things with bad typical Nickelodeon animation. Then again, all Nickelodeon cartoons seem to be this way; the show about babies, Rugrats, seems to be the most mature of all of them.. seems a little ironic.

If you're one of those Spongebob advocates that has a big plush Spongey Bobby on your bed, then great for you. You've decided to watch a children's cartoon and pay them money for their immaturities, rather than spending your time doing ANYTHING ELSE. Before you say it, yes I have seen the dumb show, and I'm making these observations from my observations.

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind if people have a youthful side to them, I actually find it kind of endearing. However, when your youthful side is also immature and can't choose between good and bad television, you don't deserve to have a youthful side at all.

That's all for today. I have another rant in me about Christmas shoppers and stupid shoppers in general, but I'll save that for tomorrow.

--Jam

Word-of-the-day: Crotchular: That of, and pertaining to, the crotch. (hey, I didn't say they were all gonna be real words. Some can be words that I made up and say on a regular basis! lol)

Into the fray

Yo Yo-Yo's,

Differing meanings for my heading:

1
Tomorrow I'm going Christmas shopping for practically an entire day. The Pen Centre is going to be insanely busy, but I'm so looking forward to it. Nat and I are just gonna shop til we drop, buy tons of awesome stuff for our friends and family, and yaaay I'm excited!

2
I'm going to tell that boy I like that I like him in the next couple weeks. I mean, I'm not gonna say "Ummm I like you, have my babies", but I'm gonna ask him out on, like, an official date. If any of you have any ideas how I should go about this, that would be GREAT because I'm so nervous to do it that I could puke! lol! But I think I need to tell him or something, because a) it's not fair to him and b) it's not fair to me lol.

3
Exams start one week from Saturday. I'm extremely nervous to say the least. I have two next Saturday, and I'm really not looking forward to them. The exam I will find the easiest I have last. Great scheduling Brock. It's all Brock's fault if I fail. That's my story and I'm sticking to it lol.

4
I'm going to Stella's tomorrow night! The best club in town is getting a dose of me and my wonderful laaaadies (and Nick too, he's not really a lady, but I wasn't gonna say 'my wonderful laaaadies and that guy, like how dumb does that sound?). It's gonna be so fun and crazy and yay!

Kay so I'm going to bed. I'm not the young whipper-snapper I once was! Can't be stayin up past midnight! What do I look like, 19?

--Jam

PS - I realize I had two word-of-the-day's on the same day. Don't point that out.
PPS - I realize I'm a sexy stud. Point that out, please.

Suddenly I hear myself scream:

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

You can determine why for yourself. Good or bad, it's much needed, even if I only did it in text form.

--Jam

Word of the day: Evoke: To bring about a new topic or idea.
You do learn something new everyday, eh Mike?

Countdown to a long day

Hey You,

Bla, I have five hours of class today. Stupid Thursdays. Plus I have readings to do and essays to print off and I'm helping Mike with an essay later and good grief Charlie Brown! Once it's all done, I'm gonna come home and just sleep.. well, have a nap at least, because Survivor and The OC are on, plus I taped the Apprentice last night! Yay! Sooo excited.

Anyways 23 DAYS TIL XMAS!

Bye You,
--Jam

*new daily thang.. I'm gonna post a word of the day, to expand your vocab, and mine!*

Word of the Day: Corollary: An added bonus or incentive. Example: Flowers with your paycheque, magnets and keychains in a university presentation.

Me Tummy Ouchy

Yo dawgs.

My tummy hurts! lol.. I ate cheesecake and then played DDR , so therefore I feel icky.

I'm gonna be working on an essay all afternoon, but that should be an effecient passtime for such a lovely rainy crap-ass day! lol

Aaanyways, I'm off! Cowabunga dudes.

--Jam