Igor

On September 30, 2008, I went to see the animated feature Igor. It's a film that features John Cusack as Igor.

This film is about Igor, who's just an evil scientist's assistant. However, the scientist who owns him is a complete idiot and cannot make anything work... Igor, who knows a lot more about science attempts to suggest something, but is always shot down.

So, being fed up, he eventually tries to create his own masterpiece for the "Evil Science Fair" that's happening in a week.

However, things get complicated when other evil scientists try to steal creations, etc., etc., and our star's monster gets a makeover...

A fun family flick with a different twist. Totally enjoyable film.

Bad work ethic...

On Friday, September 26, 2008, I was greeted by bad work ethic at the Concordia Computer Store.

When I went to pick up my computer on Monday, I was told that I get a refund, because there was a price drop on the iPod. So, I thought: "OK, since I have to teach at Concordia at 6:00 p.m., I will drop by at 5:00 p.m., get the refund done, run some errands after, and then go teach."

However, to my dismay, I got to the store at 5:05 p.m., and this was after having rushed from West Island, on bus and then metro, the store was already quite closed, and the cash was "quite closed" as well.

What bugs me is not the fact that I didn't get special treatment. OK, I understand that cashes close, etc. What bugs me is the fact that if they were indeed closed at 5:00 p.m., the stage in which they had their stuff would not be so advanced... I believe that they started closing their store 10 minutes to 5:00 p.m.. Which is unprofessional. I believe that if you say you close at 5:00 p.m., you close your doors at 5:00 p.m., and then you start shutting off the machines, counting cash, etc.

Now, I have to somehow go back next week and get this done. They'd be lucky if they get a smile from me. I don't care that it takes more muscles to frown than to smile.

Who needs soap operas when...

I have just discovered that I don't really watch soap operas... Well, I don't really watch TV, period. I am thinking that the reason why I don't watch soap operas is because I live beside a very dramatic couple, so my soap opera, or "Jergens" as my brother calls it, requirements are fulfilled at a fairly regular basis.

Of whom do I speak? Why Raoul and Rupert, of course!

Recently, Raoul got a week (paid week) off of work, because they gave it to him as a moving holiday, since he's being posted back to Montreal. Raoul took the week, even though he doesn't really need it, but I guess he took it to relax. Two days ago (Thursday), while he was driving his car in the evening, he had a little accident. What happened was that while he was driving, a girl who was riding her bike (without her helmet, on top of that), didn't do a shoulder check to make sure that there were no cars in the road before she attempted to pass. Since she did not do that, she tried to pass, and swerved right into Raoul's car. Granted of course, Raoul saw her, and so he stopped his car, but the way that the cyclist looked and the angle she took didn't permit Raoul to not hit her. At the end, apparently, everyone was okay, but the girl cyclist fell on her face and she will probably require a root canal for her two front teeth.

Now, granted in our previous experiences, Rupert gets "so embarrassed" when he is in an accident. Personally, I don't think you can be embarrassed if you are not driving the car. You can only be that if you were. And since he was "so embarrassed" just for a little fender bender of parallel parking... I could just imagine how embarrassed he was after this fiasco.

Anyway, right now, the story is that Rupert "is not talking to" Raoul. They sleep together, and they hang out together, and they are going to be going to Ottawa together, but they are not talking. In fact, Rupert thinks that it's in his right to give Raoul attitude, due to whatever reason. Rupert has been giving Raoul attitude since the accident.

If someone I were dating did that to me, they would be flat out on their ass, that's all I have to say.

This is better than soap operas... Well, I think anyway.

Why does Raoul stay with Rupert? I still cannot find a redeeming quality of Rupert, and usually, I can find at least one good thing about someone... I mean, I have students who are in my repeater science or repeater math, and even though some of them I may not like, but I still have a positive thing to say about them. With the exception of this dude in my repeater math class. This guy gives me attitude every time he gets a chance... That's one student whom I would have to think harder about to try to find a positive characteristic.

Curriculum Night

On Thursday, September 18, 2008, I had my first professional evening as a teacher. It was curriculum night. That's the fancy way of saying "Meet the teacher" or creature, as some like to say, night.

The way of the evening was simple: Since we have six blocks, the parents did all six blocks in one night, fifteen minute periods, and there were five minute breaks for travelling and the like.

I had the most parents in my MATH 436 class. That's the Math class - Cultural, Social and Technical. I was surprised that I had parents in my Science Spiral 410 class, and also my Math 506 (Repeater Grade 10) class.

Some parents were expecting the teacher I was replacing, who is on maternity leave. Nice to see the amount of communication that goes on in that household.

Another year older... Another year wiser?

So, I celebrated my birthday yesterday... It was very nice, since my parents came up to spend some time with me.

They arrived on Saturday, September 13, 2008. They got into their hotel, and got settled in. We had dinner on Saturday evening. We went to Buffet Casa Corfu, the best buffet in town (voted number one by Consumers in both 2007 and 2008). My parents seemed to really enjoy the food there, as there was a huge selection, and they can pick and choose the stuff they wanted to eat, and leave the stuff they didn't want to eat.

On Sunday, after having taught aerobics in the morning, I went and had lunch with my parents. We went to dim sum at a restaurant in Chinatown. The best one, called Maison Kam Fung. The dim sum is good, however, it's a bit overpriced. I mean, in Montreal, the dim sum is overpriced, because they use this many scale system, starting off at $2.50 for an item. In Toronto, there are only fewer levels. Anyway, my parents enjoyed the dim sum, but they too found it a bit pricey. My friend *Raoul, the same one who's dating *Rupert, also was able to be at dim sum. *Raoul gave me a professional planner as a gift.

After the dim sum lunch, my parents and I went to the Japanese mahjongg club that I go to every second Sunday. This time, it was a new location, called Cafe Kajou. It's a children's themed cafe. There are lots of puzzles and childrens' books. However, they close at 5:00 p.m. right on the dot on Sunday. What that means is that the hard core mahjongg people can't stay past 5:00 p.m. and play some matches.

My parents wanted to see my place of work, so after mahjongg, we drove to the school that I now teach at. They looked at the building from the outside, and I had a bit of navigational trouble myself. I am not familiar with the part of town where my school is at, since I don't really live there. Then my parents, *Raoul and I went to Montana's for dinner. The reason why we went there was because *Raoul wanted to see me in the antler hat. Unfortunately, or I suppose, fortunately, the hat was stolen, so there is no picture of me in an antler hat. However, they did sing to me, the little cowboy song, that's awesome. Hehe. :)

My birthday was very enjoyable. I do love my parents, and I am quite glad that they came up to Montreal. I just don't like sharing my apartment with them. In my world, the best way to end off a birthday is with birthday sex. However, I just don't want birthday sex with some random person, but someone who loves me, and someone who thinks that I'm the cat's pyjamas, and won't go looking elsewhere for affection. I guess we cannot have it all.

The fortune cookies keep teasing me...

Yesterday, the fortune in my fortune cookie said: "A change for the better will happen soon."

With the classic joke, you're also supposed to add "in bed".

Quite funny. I try to take things with good humour and also with several grains of salt.

Le Banquet

On September 9, 2008, I went to see the movie Le Banquet. This is a Quebecois film about the conflict in a fictitious Quebec university and the stories of the people involved.

I liked the film. I thought that it had a nice mixture of stories and how they coincided with each other. Granted of course, it wasn't as bad as Crash where everyone worked on it, and the racism is overt. That was not realistic. However, in this film, racism is not talked about, more about education and the darkness of things that can happen behind closed doors.

the stars are actually quite good as well, they are nice to look at... I especially liked the student who is always in headphones... He starts stalking one of his professors... I thought he was cute. lol I know, I shouldn't see films for that, but hey, I am single, I am allowed.

I survived my first week...

I am proud to say that I survived my first week of school as a teacher.

I am not so proud to say that my last period today on Friday was a terrible period. I had Grade 10 Science Spiral (Grade 10 students who failed/barely passed Grade 90 science), and I spent 45 minutes trying to get them to sit in their seating plan. It got so bad, the VP came in and talked to them. I wanted to crawl in a hole and die.

More ABBA that helps soothe the pain...

So, I found another ABBA song that helps soothe the pain... Wow, who would have thought: ABBA's Chiquitita.

Chiquitita, tell me what's wrong
You're enchained by your own sorrow
In your eyes there is no hope for tomorrow
How I hate to see you like this
There is no way you can deny it
I can see that you're oh so sad, so quiet Chiquitita, tell me the truth
I'm a shoulder you can cry on
Your best friend, I'm the one you must rely on
You were always sure of yourself
Now I see you've broken a feather
I hope we can patch it up together

Chorus:

Chiquitita, you and I know
How the heartaches come and they go and the scars they're leaving
You'll be dancing once again and the pain will end
You will have no time for grieving
Chiquitita, you and I cry
But the sun is still in the sky and shining above you
Let me hear you sing once more like you did before
Sing a new song, chiquitita
Try once more like you did before
Sing a new song, chiquitita

So the walls came tumbling down
And your love's a blown out candle
All is gone and it seems too hard to handle
Chiquitita, tell me the truth
There is no way you can deny it
I see that you're oh so sad, so quiet.

Chorus

Try once more like you did before
Sing a new song, chiquitita

I'm a chiquitita. I'll be singing a new song, chiquitita. Haha.

Mamma Mia! (Official movie) sing-along!

On Tuesday, September 2, 2008, I went to see Mamma Mia! (again), but this time it was a sing-along.

All the people that went to the movie didn't sing, except for me. Don't go to a sing-along if you're not going to sing. Jeez.

Best $8 I ever spent. Very much enjoyed.

Also, I discovered that my computer is a built to order (BTO), which means that I couldn't have bought it at the Apple Store, because they would have just told me to order it online. I still would have had to wait for it. Oh well, I am waiting very impatiently for it. lol

Wow... A step into "adulthood"

Today is September 1, 2008, and according go the STM, if you are not 25 years of age on that date, you no longer benefit from the Tarif réduit (reduced fare). So, today I used for the first time ever, an adult pass that I bought myself. Scary eh?

I think it just hit me that I am no longer a student.