I found my way back

Dearest friends and family of the above lonely soul,

I have neglected my duties recently and for some strange reason I haven't blogged since the somethingth day of March in the year of Our Lord 2012. I muchly apologize and will try my very best to write more often in the future. Don't be discouraged from reading my blog just because of the brief unwriting on my part. As the school year comes to a close I may not be able to write as often as before this break but I shall try my best. The stressfulness does get to me sometimes and that makes it hard to remember to blog. Don't worry friends and family, I'm back.

While I've been gone you should know that I have since gone to visit my college, MSC, Chicago and London for a baseball tournament all in a matter of a mere three months.

I also got baptized last weekend, no big deal.  

I presented my English ISU seminar on Great Expectations and Mansfield Park today.

The temperature has dropped to a below agreeable number and we are all sweltering. There's a difference between sweating because of sports and sweating because you just typed that word with too much movement. The basement is a glorious place to reside in when the temperature climbs to these inappropriate heights. I warn you folks, steer clear of Ltown today, well, you should probably just stay away for the rest of the week. It's gonna be a hot one!

Finally, I wanted you all to turn your attention to my good friend and sidekick, Robin/E. Without this fine lady I really don't know how I would have gotten through carload this morning. She is precious. Especially with her gingerness, it really completes her. If you ever meet her remember: meow. Read her blog, I think I follow it. A Beautiful Mess...or somethin.

Have the most enjoyable day! Love, t-bear

The Hunger Games etc.

First of all, j'ai lu les jeux de la faim et j'aime le roman beaucoup. However, I am a little bit iffy about all the attention that the movie is getting especially cuz most of the people who are so excited haven't even read the book. I have problems with those people who claim that the movie is better when they haven't even read the book. Just like my friend who doesn't want the book to ruin the movie so she's not reading the book till after the movie. What is wrong with you?!?!
This whole excitement about the movie reminds me of twilight. The books were really good and then the movies came out and they just ruined everything for me. Now I can't read the books without seeing the characters that they casted for the movie, that is not cool since I think those people failed miserably. So now I'm feeling in the middle about Hungery Games. On the one side, I really want to see how they interpreted the book and which parts they put in and which they left out. On the other side I have a really good image of what goes down in the book in my head and I don't want to ruin that. The Hungery Games is also not a low budged film like twilight was so there is hope that it will be super awesome.
In a week from today it's my birthday and my friend is going to take me to go see the Hunger Games the night before cuz we don't have school on Good Friday so I won't have to be home super early to get lots of sleep for school since there won't be any.
I asked for three books for my birthday (The Alchemyst [The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel], Catching Fire and Mockingjay) and 1/2 of birkenstocks. I made sure to make a birthday list that didn't involve a lot of expensive or unrealistic things like a giraffe or a plane ticket to France. Books is the only thing I want apart from birkenstocks but as those are expensive I only asked for half.
Also the other day I went over to my friends house and we sat on her couch and took all the Sarah Dessen books of the shelf to discuss. I'm so glad I have a friend who enjoys books as much as me cuz without that I don't know who I would talk to about the exciting events that occur amongst those beautiful pages.
Also, I greatly recommend that all of you out there read The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott cuz they are just super awesome. My 13 year old cousin was the one who got me started reading those and now I have all of them but the first one and the one that's supposed to be coming out soon.
Finally, this weekend I'm going to see my school!! There is an open house that starts tomorrow morning and goes for about 2 hours. I get to tour the campus that I'll be at and then the residence and what ever else. Tis going to be wonderful!! :)
All for one and one for all! This is t-bear signing off.

It's Saturday.

First of all, Happy St. Pattys  day! Make sure you get your fill of green beer today cuz I don't think the day would be complete without it.
Nextly, the dementors must have got together yesterday and planned a surprise visit because I can't see very far out my window this morning from all the fog. If things get any worse I'll have to go get myself some chocolate. Today is gonna be a good day, no dementor with weird "make you feel sad and unloved" powers is going to get me down. I will persever, just like I do through the mole hills that pave the way over to Oma and Opa's house. This whole dementor dilemma is the perfect time for me to fetch my "Hermione's Wand" from that draw I haven't opened it a while and clear the area of those sketchy hooded not quite people. Good thing my patronus is a giraffe rather than a lion, I've heard giraffes strike fear into anyone who looks them in the eye. Except for me of course, giraffes and I, well, we have a certain understanding. It goes beyond the whole patronus dealio.
The next article that I will draw your attention to is Ten Thousand Villages. Ever been? Well you can't be my friend if you haven't. But then I don't have any friends so I guess it doesn't really matter. Anywho, it is a wonderful store and I'm volunteering there in about 32 minutes. Get ready, cuz when I'm there all the people come. We could have at least 5 people in the store at one time, and that's a record.
Second lastly, you know the robot at a major intersection has been out for 7 days when there are no cars even remotely close to it. Yes, I'm talking about you Oak and Erie. I pulled up there on Wednesday morning and 1 other car was there. Just 1. Really? Like, really? These are the dealings of a small town that doesn't seem to be going anywhere with it's life.
Lastly, I watched Finding Neverland last night. The ending was sad, yes I did cry. However, I did find a new super awesome quote that some old lady told Johnny Depp.

It's like the ticking crocodile, time is chasing after all of us.

It's true.
Au revoir, this is t-bear signing off.

The Notebook

I have just completed yet another book and the following is my critique on the book and how it compares to the film.
The Notebook was wonderfully writen however, I didn't get much out of it, I think because I have already seen the movie a dozen times. The book is about a love story but it only covers about a day in 213 pages.
The movie consists of the storyteller starting at the beginning and finishing at the end which is very different from the novel. The novel starts near the end and has flashbacks that help to tell the story and show how the love story actually started. It wasn't the best book I've ever read (its hard to compete with HP) but I wanted to read it just to see how the story had been writen. I personally like the movie The Notebook a lot better than the book.
Compared to the other novel that I read (also by Nicholas Sparks) I thought the book was way better. I read Dear John before The Notebook and I thought it was a very good book. It definitly showed the characters falling in love instead of like the movie where it all seems to happen over night. Although it only takes a week for them to fall in love in the book I still find that it makes more sense. The book showed them talking more and actually getting to know each other while the movie seemed to show them in love after only talking one or two times.
I really like the way that John and his fathers relationship went in the book compared to the movie. He never seemed to really understand his dad in the movie but in the book he actually made an effort to hang out with him even if all that meant was sitting together and reading. Their relationship grew so much in the novel and that same feeling was absent from the movie. I wish that part could have been in there, but then again I also with that the trip to St. Mungo`s was in the fifth Harry Potter movie. It always seems to be easy to show the growth of a relationship in a book, but when that same growth is attempted to be incorporated in a movie it doesn`t seem to work out.
This is one of the many reasons that I enjoy the book to the movie in most cases. However, I again turn to The Notebook and understand that sometimes the movie can be better than the book, sometimes.

"Reading takes us away from home, but more important, it finds homes for us everywhere."
- Hazel Rochman

 this is t-bear signing off

The Lorax

Today I went to see the Lorax with Papa and Sister. I have to say, Dr. Seuss was a genius. It was super awesome and I definitly recommend going to see it pronto.
We must have been the oldest kids in the theatre and it was packed but that didn't take away from the movie any cuz surprisingly the children were very well-behaved.
You should all go see it tomorrow or now whichever works best for you. Better yet, take me with you. I would love to see it again.
Don't be surprised if while watching you suddenly feel the urge to reach for your phone and try to decifer the actors voices on the movie. Happened to me once, but I resisted the urge to disturb those around me who were thoroughly enjoying that which was displayed upon the screen. Don't worry as soon as I arrived back to my current place of residence I immediatly shut myself in my room so that I could check out these voices and finally uncover the truth that has been kept from me all this time. The. Nerve. Of. Some. People. My mind has been put at ease and all will soon be forgiven, grudges will not be kept for that is a not happy way to live a life. I've let go of my feelings and will calm myself with some soothing reading.
At the end of the movie this wonderful quote came on:

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.
- Dr. Seuss

Just so all of you are aware, you missed Dr. Seuss day on March 2nd but there's always next year, right?
Have a happy Sunday! this is t-bear signing off.

Vacation!!

As some of you will know, last week was vacation for me. I went on a Western Carribean Cruise to Cozumel, Costa Maya, Isla Roatan and Grand Caymen with 17 members of my extended family. The following is an account of my week, not every detail will be present as that would take a lot of space, I filled six pages of my diary during the week. That's a lot of writing my friends.
Saturday, Feb. 18th. We left the house at 9 in the morning and got over the bridge with only a small road block by around 11:00ish. We had breakfast at Bob Evans and then proceeded on to the airport for our 3:00 (I think) flight. Everything went well and we were in Miami by 5:30.
Sunday, Feb 19th. We were all up early I think more from excitment than random wanting to get up early. We had a wonderful complimentary breakfast. However, I was sad to see that Paul le Waffle Garcon could not be there to make some waffles for me. I enjoyed breakfast nontheless and then we boarded a shuttle to the cruise dock. We were on the ship by 11:00 (which is a new record for us) only taking us 50 minutes to get through all the lines and what not's. With Gold Sign and Sail card in hand, we boarded the Carnival Glory cruise ship. It was very similar to the Carnival Triumph which we sailed on in the year of our Lord 2005 (I think) so after lunch on the Lido we went for a tour and I could easily find my way around. All the leaving port shanangans occured including the mustard drills and then we were off in the open sea, sailing like all true Canadians know how, with lots of food.
Monday, Feb. 20th. Was the first sea day and the first full day of sailing. We woke up early for breakfast in the Platinum dining room located on 5 Aft. (this happened every morning with the exception of two) and then started to have lots of fun. By fun I mean sitting in my cabin and watching TV, it was a wonderful vacation complete with three different movies on rerun all day long. Then formal night number 1 came around and we headed off to the dining room for more yummy food. After supper was the super awesome musical which I attended, and thoroughly enjoyed.
Tuesday, Feb. 21th. Cozumel, Mexico!! We woke up already in port and after breakfast we disembarked the vessel to attended a come tan on this beach party. In otherwords, Paradise Beach is not far from the dock so we took a cab and stayed there for the morning. I read lots and tanned lots as well. We went back on the ship for lunch and then back onto the island for some shopping after lunch. The King`s Speech was on the big screen that night so I went up to the Lido to watch it.
Wednesday, Feb. 22st. Costa Maya, Mexico!! We woke up, yet again, already at the schedualed destination. We weren`t really supposed to go to Costa Maya but there were too many ships in Belize that day so we couldn`t go there. We were the only ship in Costa Maya. The water there was so blue you could see all the way to the bottom of the ocean. It was a very beautiful place. We only went off for a little bit around lunch time to do some shopping but other than that we stayed on the ship. It was my youngest cousins 11th birthday so we had a cake and the waiters sang happy birthday to him in the dining room that night. After supper the Green Lantern was playing on the big screen so I watched that :) I`m a fan of Ryan Reynolds.
Thursday, Feb. 23rd. Isla Roatan, Honduras!! I had never been there before and I was very excited to see what it was like. Its very beautiful and not at all like the other places that we went to. The people didn`t rush up to you the minute you walked in the door and try to get you to buy their stuff. It also wasn`t the same stuff with a different name on it like all the other places. I bought all my presents for my friends there appart from a few other small gifts. Before we left the boat while sister was eating breakfast papa and I played checkers with the chess pieces because I don`t know how to play chess. I won, cuz I`m pro, ask anyone who`s had the privilage to be humiliated by my super awesome skills. This was the day that I emptied my pockets of money. I started the week with 100$ and ended with 8$. This was also the first day that I got to see Pier Runners. If you`ve ever had the lucky experience to be on the ship just taking off when two people come running down the pier 40 mins late then you know how I feel. I laughed so hard! It was a very wonderful experience, and I`m not quite sure if they every got back on the ship or if they just went home. That night we played some Bananagrams and went to bed early missing the legendary Deck Party.
Friday, Feb. 24th. Grand Caymen, Caymen Islands!! We had to tender off as there is lots of coral reefs close to the coast. We went snorkeling and I say loads of Dory fishys and a baracuda and lots of coral reefs and it was just so super awesome! On our way back to the ship we did some viewing (different from shopping as we didn`t actually buy anything) and were able to get a tender as soon as we were back. It was elegant night again so we all sported our finest and proceeded to the Golden dining room (our dining room the whole week, table 626) for some scrumptious munchin.
Saturday, Feb. 25th. The open sea between Mexico and Cuba!! It was the last sea day and therefore, the last day on the ship. There was a chocolate buffet around 12 which I attended. And I went to the O2 Club for a little bit in the afternoon for some Apples to Apples and UNO. I bought a t-shirt that says Bon Voyage and it has a ship on it. At 5:00 we went the Ebony Cabaret (aka the comedy club) where we got free drinks, the at 6:00 to the dining room for our last fancy meal of the trip. After supper we packed everything up and made sure we got everything. Then we just lazied around until about 12:00 when we went to bed.
Sunday, Feb. 26th. After being kicked out of our cabins at 8:30 we went for breakfast and then to the Amber Palace to wait for our number to be called. (25) It took us a while to get through customs and then over to the airport. We had a 7:00 flight and we got to the aiport at 12:30ish. We had to wait till 2:00 to check in and then we went through security where they actually had chairs for us to sit on. We started at Gate D46, then moved to D51, then to D20 and then to D38 after our flight was changed to 8:30. It was a long day and we got into Detroit around 12:30 (I think), then home at 2:30 then to school at 8 the next morning.
It was a wonderful trip but in the end it was nice to be home and back in the usual routine of life. I definitly recommend going on a cruise if you have never been cuz tis rather glorious of an experience.
Bon voyage, this is t-bear signing off.

Getting tired of waiting!

Two days, just two short days till I'm soaking up that beautiful carribean sun. All I have to do it get through school and co-op tomorrow and I'm Surfin USA! After such a long, stressful and tiring night I'm sooo excited to just get away and not have to worry about anything. Another thing I like about vacation is that I don't bring any electronics with me except my iPod. I'm totally cut off from the world for a week and it is so relaxing. No need for complaining or hunger, next week is gonna be super awesome! To those of you expecting another post between now and next week should not hold their breaths because I won't be blogging for a while but don't worry. I'm going back to the old fashioned handwritten diary for the week and I'll report back when I return to the true north, strong and free.
This is t-bear signing off.