Meeting with a "Star"

As you may know, Pauly Shore came to Saskatoon last week. I purchased tickets to go out with some of my girlfriends, and I was oddly excited (not quite as excited at my friend Tani who was playing situations in her head about what she was going to say and do when she met him). We went out to HMV before the show, and I picked up a copy on Encino Man for him to sign.

We went to the Double Deuce (classy!) a bit early, and the place was already packed. There was quite a weird crowd there. It ranged from people who were super dressed up, to girls with very revealing clothing, to those grunge folks who always look like they just rolled out of bed and rolled a joint.

Opening for Pauly were a bunch of local comedians who do weekly shows at a local bar, and they were all terrific (as usual). I have seen some of Pauly's stand-up before that night and I thought it was pretty funny. However, people kept yelling out, interrupting or walking by the stage, and I am not sure he actually finished any of his jokes.

Afterwards he was signing autographs and whatnot, so I waited in line with my new DVD. Excited to meet the infamous Pauly! When Tani and I finally made it to the front of the line, I was pretty disappointed. He was obviously very intoxicated (guess I couldn't expect anything different). He started to rub our forearms and asking us for hot oil massages. He signed Tani's DVD (and asked her how to spell her name), then when it was time for me to talk to him, he never looked my in the face, didn't ask how my name was spelt and I walked away with a DVD that was signed to Amslee.

He then went outside to do a photo shoot (in front of a dumpster!) so people could get their picture taken with him. When I went to get my photo taken with him, he whispered in my ear again about hot oil massages, and then went on to snap my bra strap! What are you in grade 10 Pauly! Seriously.

So all in all, It was kind of disappointing. However, if I was one of the girls that showed up with all their assets showing, maybe I would have been thrilled.

I went home with my miss-signed DVD and my dreams broken. The following night, I watched Encino Man, and enjoyed his innocent, trademark humour. I have decided I am going to remember him as he was in the 90's, and forget the fateful events of that evening.

Edmonton Extravaganza

I was very fortunate to be able to go to Edmonton recently for a joint birthday party/ anniversary present. We got a couple people together to drive out there for a couple of days, go to the mall, the water park and some local bars. The drive was long, and tiring. By the time I got there I was ready for nothing more than a nap. However, I managed to power through. We were staying at the Ramada, and for some reason we were given an handicapable suite. The bathroom was large and there was a lot of added equipment, but it was still nice. We were trying to decide where to go for supper, and ended up choosing a random restaurant that was very close (but for some reason we cabbed to anyway!) and it was TERRIBLE. The service was horrible, and the food was disgusting! That's what we get for taking dinner suggestions from billboards.

The next day we went to the waterpark and checked into our executive suite at the Fantasy land hotel (we had a jacuzzi tub!). We spend the whole day shopping and swimming. This made me realize that I am not a shopper (nor is David). For going to the worlds largest mall, and walking around it for hours on end. Dave and I managed to purchase a 12V cord for our keyboard at home, and a puzzle...

That night we went to a local bar. It was crazy in there. It was circus themed. There was girls on swings and dancing on different stages, there was fire dancers, and it looked like Egypt. I would have had lots of fun if I hadn't been so overwhelmed by the plethora of things to see all around me. Plus, I was getting a little creeped out because one of the girls on the swings kept looking at me, waving and winking...

The next morning we went to see Sucker Punch at the IMAX theatre. It was really weird, but visually appealing. Not a movie I would see more than once. Those multiple reality movies are really common lately. But, not bad.

All in all, i would say it was a good trip. It would have been nice to stay for longer, because by the time I was done being tired from the drive there, it was time to travel home.

Rabbit Hole

Last night Dave and I went to Rabbit Hole at Persephone. It was very good. Its a story about a family that loses their four year old son in a car accident. The whole play takes place in one house, and the sets were amazingly detailed. The fourth wall was very prevalent, and I felt like I was an omnipotent being watching in on the trials and tribulations of this mourning family. I especially enjoyed the character named Izzy (the outgoing, crude, impregnated, younger sister). Her delivery was impeccable, and highly believable. I really don't know what, but I really related to that character. I'm thinking more because of personality than situational. I would also like to give props to my cousin Carla, who was in charge of costume design.
5 stars!

Wedding Plans

As an student teacher, I have spent the last 2 years of my life planning. Planning with objective, and activities! Now I need to be doing a different type of planning. Our wedding is now less than 4 months away, however I am feeling no desire to spend hours picking out doilies, decorating tables, or any of that girlie stuff. I'm all planned out.

We are having a very large wedding due to my family's ability to reproduce like bunnies. I have the big white dress, and the huge dinner planned, and the orchids picked out... Hours and hours of planning going into one day.

Maybe we should have done a destination wedding and just eloped... :) Would have been a lot less work and a whole lot less money.

Regardless, the to do list for this month includes starting a registry and getting invitartions make and sent out. Wish me luck!

e-portfolio

I am choosing to complete an e-portfolio for a variety of reasons. I choose it partially for convenience sake. It is much more portable and more readily available to myself and my potential employers. It is easier to update, and you do not have to worry about losing it on the bus or in a natural disaster. It also gives me a chance to display not only my professional achievements, but also my computer literacy skills. It is an asset to be able to create professional websites and I can think of a number of other professional venues which I could use this skill. I could help other teachers build their own websites, I could create other websites which my students could access, I could show the professional community what I have achieved, what my goals are and how I am reaching those goals. An e-porfolio could also be a professional way to keep my employers updated on professional development activities. 

I plan to include:

-          Introduction (about me)

-          Teaching Philosophy

-          Education

-          Teaching Experience (students teaching and internship, example unit plans)

-          Extra Curricular Experience (volleyball, drama, cross-country, indoor-track)

-          Professional Development (certificates, goals)

-          Professional Documents (resume, internship evaluations, letter of recommendation)

-          Contact

I want my design for my e-portfolio to be legible, and very easy to follow. I want it to have colours which represent me, but do not overwhelm the reader (I will have dark writing on light backgrounds), and above all I want to look professional and not like a child’s scrapbook. I do not want it to be cluttered with pictures or to overwhelm the readers with too much information. It should allow potential employers to become intrigued and impressed with what I have accomplished to date and to wonder what I could do professionally in the future.

I think e-portfolios have many valuable uses; however, I do have some concerns. My main concern with creating an e-portfolio is that I want to be able to maintain some privacy. I do not want random people looking through my website and viewing my teaching reports or my resume. I am not sure how to combat this. One possible way to gain some privacy would be to only allow access to certain content when I am in the process of searching for a job. Another concern is which formatting. I will have to scan in and upload many documents, I want to ensure that they are all legible, and in a format which is easy to open and read on all different computer systems. I will just have to be consistent with how I scan and save my documents to ensure consistency.



Possible Website Design



Self Defeatist

I got up today, feeling healthy and looking pretty good. I weighed myself and it turns out that I have lost 4 pounds in the last 10 days with my new eating and workout regime. I spent all day feelin pretty awesome and excited to hit the gym again to continue my progress. I hit the gym for the 7:00 Zumba class (really fun b.t.w. and we learned some dance moves from thriller!) and then I pumped some weights in a 30 minute circut. I left the gym feeling empowered and confident... then I stopped at McDonalds on the way home... Needless to say as soon as that greasy double cheesburger hit my lips I fealt nauseated. My body litterally could not handle the greasy magnitude that is Mcdonalds food. I'm thinking this is a lesson learned. 

Movin' on Up... North

Recently, I have undergone quite the endeavor. Moving is that endeavor a.k.a pain in the butt. You pack up all your stuff one week just to spend the follow month (or more) unpacking. And don't even get me started on the moving day itself. I had everything nicely pack (and labeled), thinking everything is going to run smoothly. Of course, I was wrong. I didn't know it was possible, but my entire dresser crumbled to pieces upon shifting it. Okay, you got me, the drawers just broke... But still not cool.

Anyway, the point is, that you can really tell who your real friends are when it comes to moving day. Sure, you will get a bunch of offers in passing or people who decide to come out for the free beer and homemade chili, but the real friends actually show up and work! Therefore, I would like to give thanks to the following people: My papa and the use of his 1 ton and other truck, Derek, Mike, Brenda, Eric, my brother and his tetris-like skills at loading boxes into a truck bed, and the LB for their donation of multiple Sebeka boxes. To those of you who have helped Dave and I in the time of our need I dedicate the following song.