Dear Nestle:

I just bought a tub of jam-packed Peanut Butter Rolo ice cream, and it was fucking bullshit. Clearly, you and I have a very different defin...

OBE and my experience with SP

Clearly, I've failed the ten post challenge. It's alright, it was honestly preventing me from talking about the things I wanted to t...

Day 9: 9 things I like or seek in a guy

Again, random order: 1. Honesty 2. Humility 3. Humour 4. Inner geek 5. A good dependence/independence balance 6. Spontaneity 7. Enga...

Day 8:8 artists I've seen live

In no particular order: 1. Paul McCartney  With: Shanel Belanger, Gabriel Bertrand  Where: Plaines d'Abraham, Quebec 2. Hedley (x2...

Day 7:7 more achievable items on my bucket list

Yes, I want to go skydiving, to see the seven wonders, and to shake hands with my idol. However, when making my bucket list, I decided to ad...

Day 6: 6 video games I was obsessed with back in the day

NES Tetris, Mario Kart Double-Dash (GC), Animal Crossing (GC), Fable 1 (xbox), sword of mana (gba), and any pokemon game (gb, gba) Good ol&...

Day 5:5 reasons I`m still living with my parents

1) I wouldn`t be able to fit my new, extra-comfy bed in an apartment 2) I can't afford to move out 3) I still get along with my parents...

Day 4: 4 things I like about myself.

I thought about doing the whole four things I hate about myself, but I'm trying to stay positive. Also, there seems to be a wave of &quo...

Day 3: 3 places to travel

I've only got 7 minutes to do this.. but I made it! Faithful to the challenge so far :) So far, that exact cruise ship you see is the...

Day 2: 2 favourite eateries

My two favourite places to eat are Deluxe Hamburgers and The Hourglass Restaurant and Lounge. The former, Deluxe , is a cross between fast...

Day 1: 1 favourite television show

So my fellow blogger J has inspired me. I'm doing a ten day challenge and I'm committing to it. My favourite fictional television ...

My day was incredibly busy and yet it felt terribly uneventful, as reflected in this post

Picture yourself in your kitchen, afraid to move, surrounded by a million tiny razer-sharp shards that are scattered all over the floor of t...

After the other night, I feel the need to glorify my phone.

I was writing a reflective paper on my laptop the other day while watching a movie in music class, when I looked up and realized that I had ...


I just bought a tub of jam-packed Peanut Butter Rolo ice cream, and it was fucking bullshit. Clearly, you and I have a very different definition of "Jam-packed". My boyfriend and I ate the entire thing in one sitting and I think we found a total of eight Rolos.

Clearly, I've failed the ten post challenge. It's alright, it was honestly preventing me from talking about the things I wanted to talk about. 

Note: after reading this a second time, I want to apologize in advance for the possible overuse of parentheses. I have a hard time leaving the irrelevant out of my writings and find my justification in the fact that the brackets/parentheses indicate the lack of direct relevance. Actually, this is my personal blog. I can bracket the entire thing if I wish! [{(Jokes)}]
    
I've been reading a lot about the out of body experience (OBE) lately. Until recently, I didn't believe it to be doable because I associated it with ghosts, spiritual travelling, and the movie Insidious. However, I've been doing much research on the matter and from what I've read, OBE is merely the sensation that one is no longer attached to his or her physical body and the feeling of floating over and looking down on it, whatever the cause. Now, I'm not saying that the phenomenon as explained by the numerous texts I've been consulting disconfirms the notion of astral projection in any way. Little is currently known about the process through which one attains OBE, but the fact that it has been known to occur spontaneously during near-death-experiences (though it can happen in many other instances and can be self-induced) tends to point toward an actual leaving of the physical body.

While I was searching for methods of self-induction, I came across many research papers, experimental reports, and tutorials, nearly all of which stated at one point that sleep paralysis is central to a successful experience. PERFECT!

I know a great deal about sleep paralysis. This is because it's been the source of much panic at an early age. It happens when, at sleep onset or upon waking up, you are fully awake but find yourself unable to open your eyes or move move any part of your body. I actually remember the first time it happened to me, and I recall panicking my way through the following steps at the approximate age of six years old:
  1. I slip out of a dream and into consciousness. My eyes are still closed. I feel my bed underneath me and I can hear everything going on.
  2. I hear the sizzling of a frying pan and I smell bacon; mom's cooking breakfast. I want to get up and go eat!
  3. I realize that I can't get up, move my limbs, or open my eyes. What's going on? I don't like this. I conclude that though I'm awake, my body must still be sleeping.
  4.  I flip out and try to get myself out of it. I violently try and shake my whole body until it starts actually moving. It takes much time and effort. Finally, I free myself. As I will find out later on, the violent panicking actually worsens matters and can extend the state.
I used to think that these entire episodes weren't real, that the fact that I could hear, feel, and smell what was going on was but my senses transcending my dreams, much like a song on a clock radio becoming part of a dream. When I realized there was more to it, I accepted it as something wrong with my body that I just had to deal with. (for some reason, I never sought help or information on any abnormal behaviour or phenomenon I experienced from the time I was a child. I wish I had, for many of my problems could have been assessed, dealt with, and possibly eliminated instead of becoming larger, more serious or inconvenient problems later on. Side note rant over.) Soon, I started learning not to panic, as this was happening more and more often (it still happens, about once every few days, usually on restless nights). I quickly developed my own strategies for coping. If it happened at night, I would just remain calm in my paralyzed state, clear my mind, and let myself fall asleep, at which point I would nearly always lucid dream without doing a reality check. If it was morning, I would wiggle my fingers and toes while rolling from side to side in my mind, until my mental movements became physical movements and I was paralyzed no more.

Little did I know that my curse of sleep paralysis was an aptitude sought after by OBE enthusiasts, as it is the first step to the experience. In the past week, I learnt that to achieve this goal, you need to get yourself to the paralyzed state, but  instead of falling asleep, you must trick your body into sleeping while mentally staying awake. Rather than remaining unable to move in your body, you're supposed to remove yourself from your body using certain specific strategies. I'm trying it sometime this week, so I'll be blogging about the method I used as well as the results yielded. Stay tuned!

Again, random order:

1. Honesty
2. Humility
3. Humour
4. Inner geek
5. A good dependence/independence balance
6. Spontaneity
7. Engaging conversation
8. A winning smile
9. A positive attitude

... And much more. I just picked the first things to pop in my head.

Oh, or he could just look exactly like George Clooney.

In no particular order:

1. Paul McCartney
 With: Shanel Belanger, Gabriel Bertrand
 Where: Plaines d'Abraham, Quebec

2. Hedley (x2)
With: Mom first time, dad second
Where: Sudbury Arena

3. Coldplay
With: Justin Trottier, Connie Trottier
Where: Ottawa

4. John Mayer
With: Justin, Connie
Where: Ottawa

5. U2
With: Justin, Connie
Where: Toronto

6. Great Big Sea
With: Mom, Dad, Shanel, Zackari Trudeau, Justin, Connie, uncle Ian, aunt Linda
Where: Sudbury arena

7. Jack's Mannequin
With: Maxine Vincent
Where: Dallas Night Club, Kitchener

8. Barenaked Ladies
With: Dillan Gravel, Zackari, Maxine
Where: Massey Hall, Toronto

Below is a picture of my friend Shanel and I at the Paul McCartney concert.

Yes, I want to go skydiving, to see the seven wonders, and to shake hands with my idol. However, when making my bucket list, I decided to add some easier-to-obtain goals to make the every day things seem exciting, rewarding, and worth commemorating. Also, if I do fail to carry out my other dreams, at least I'll have checked off a few numbers. These include:
a) Try every single sub at Subway
b) Go change-diving in a fountain (That's me living on the wild side)
c) GO TO COMIC CON
d) Have gone to 40 concerts
e) Do Karaoke night
f) Get married
g) Turn an apartment into a huge blanket fort and have a no healthy foods allowed rule (relive my kidness)


NES Tetris, Mario Kart Double-Dash (GC), Animal Crossing (GC), Fable 1 (xbox), sword of mana (gba), and any pokemon game (gb, gba)

Good ol' K.K. Slider


1) I wouldn`t be able to fit my new, extra-comfy bed in an apartment
2) I can't afford to move out
3) I still get along with my parents
4) I like being fed
5) My room's pretty badass

Pictures of 3 of my room walls

I thought about doing the whole four things I hate about myself, but I'm trying to stay positive. Also, there seems to be a wave of "over-modesty" taking over. It's almost like it's considered conceited to be confident and outwardly proud of one's achievements and good qualities. So, here goes. 4 things that I really like about myself are:

1) My analytical skills
2) My teeth
3) My pursuasive abilities
4) My taste in music

To the left is a picture of me listening to Walk Away by Gay Barlow, and smiling with my teeth, shortly after having used my persuasive abilities to get the driver to stop for McDonald's. As far as I can recall, no analytical skills were used that night (nor reasoning skills, nor common sense). The lovely lady sharing the back seat with me is my great friend, Brittany.

I've only got 7 minutes to do this.. but I made it! Faithful to the challenge so far :)


So far, that exact cruise ship you see is the vessel that has transported me the furthest from home. But I plan on going further. I absolutely love visiting new places.

If I had to choose my next three places to travel right now, it would definitely have to be Ireland, Australia, and Liverpool, England. I'd like to go to Ireland because I'm part Irish and because I've heard it's absolutely beautiful there. It would definitely be cool to head over there on St Pattie's day or something. Australia's just somewhere I've always wanted to go, I don't know why. It could be the sweet accent, the word "mate", or the thought of being in Sidney (which I've been informed by my boyfriend is NOT the capital of Australia). Also, I've always wanted to watch a toilet flush the other way. I want to go to Liverpool, England because that's where the Beatles are from! Phew, made it in the nick of time! :)

My two favourite places to eat are Deluxe Hamburgers and The Hourglass Restaurant and Lounge.

The former, Deluxe, is a cross between fast food and sit down. As strange as it sounds, the feel of it is very St Hubert meets McDonald's. Apparently, the burgers there are delicious but all I ever take when I go eat there is the chicken on the bun dinner, which I would recommend to any chicken and gravy enthusiast. The best part though, is the fries. I just can't get enough of them, dipped in the best gravy on earth.

The second is The Hourglass. I can't explain what it is about that place. Don't let its location fool you, this restaurant is very nice and the atmosphere is great. They have some of the best steak I've ever had and the staff is always really friendly. I've recently taken to trying new things but my favourite entree would have to be the fillet mignon.

Another things that I like about these places is that you can't find them anywhere but Sudbury. So, later on when I live elsewhere, I know where I'm going to go to treat myself.

So my fellow blogger J has inspired me. I'm doing a ten day challenge and I'm committing to it.

My favourite fictional television show is The Community. It follows the adventures of Jeff Winger, a lawyer whose falsified proof of education is deemed void by the bar. He attends a community college by the name of Greendale and unwittingly forms a study group made up of seven unlikely students. Through these newfound friends, Jeff will learn to be selfless, accepting, and he will get sucked in to all the crazy antics that seem to define Greendale and its students.

The best parts of the show for me are the satyrical elements, how the serious things are often comically approached, in stark contrast to the trivial incidents (the picture above shows how a lost pen can "tear people apart"), and the fact that Greendale College seems to turn every banal situation (a KFC space simulator, a school-wide paintball match, a fried-chicken mafia family) into an epic, yet heartfelt adventure. Even as I'm writing this, I'm thinking that this show sounds really stupid written down. I don't care. It's my favourite show, and I was hooked from episode one. Cast members, amongst others, include the asian criminal from the hangover (playing Spanish teacher Senior Chang) and Chevy Chase (playing study group member Pierce Hawthorn, a retired and bored-out-of-his-mind millionaire). It's a great television show for people like me, who are looking for light, over exaggerated comedic chaos.

Picture yourself in your kitchen, afraid to move, surrounded by a million tiny razer-sharp shards that are scattered all over the floor of the room. If the word "Corelle" comes to mind, you've probably been through it too.

Having depleated our last good set of dinnerware and dealt with my father's incredulous "how is it you two always manage to break all the nice things we own?" gaze, my clumsy mother and my oaf of a self decided to opt for what numerous friends had described as the ultra-durable kitchen set: cups, plates, and bowls made by the company Corelle, from a type of glass named Vitrelle, said to be extremely break-resistant. For the first while, this notion proved to be true - we had dropped many dinner pieces and they had simply hit the ground with a short thud, nothing more. However, today, I learned two things. The first was a valuable lesson about linguistics. there is a monumental difference between break-resistant, and break-proof. The second was that when a Corelle dish does break, it doesn't just break. It shatters. All over.

I was writing a reflective paper on my laptop the other day while watching a movie in music class, when I looked up and realized that I had but a few minutes of battery life left. Having left my power cord at home and being without pen and paper, it seemed that I was going to have to forfeit the only time I had ever had a steady stream of clear, coherent ideas without being attained by any hint of writer's block. Then, I realized something. I sent myself an email and attached my paper. Next, I opened the email on my Windows Phone and saved it. I tapped the MS Word hub on my cellular and opened my document. I was able to finish my paper that day. Had my phone no other helpful feature, the Microsoft Office app would be enough. It may not be have the look, feel, or apparent complexity of now conventional smart phones, but it's a great messaging, social, keeping-yourself-organized phone with a clean, simple interface and my favourite apps organized in an orderly fashion with Live Tiles. Other neat features include Xbox Live, Maps, and the way contacts are sorted. This phone may not be for everyone, but it's certainly for me.