War of the Wrapping paper

Hello all,
Let me just say that I know its been ages since I've bothered to post, but unfortunately, my studies and work have kept me up to my ears in writing and thinking, leaving little room for the blog. I have been keeping up with everyone else's blogs though!

Now is the time of year we search endlessly for perfect gifts for the ones we love. Gifts with meaning and that they'll love. I for one try very hard to give gifts I know have some meaning to those I'm giving to, whether because its something they really wanted, or has some significance to them or our relationship. My best gift giving yet I think would be a little dim sum set I gave to Sarah a few christmas's ago. It was such a great gift to me, not just because I knew she would love it and use it often, but that going for Dim Sum together was one of Sarah and I's favourite things to do, and it would have significance in regards to memories shared.

Well of course this year I'm on the same trip. I've come up with a few gift ideas already, but because i have so little time to myself these days, I'm worried I won't get things in time, or won't get gifts that are really enjoyed. The kids are a little easier, and at least one brother, Kurtis, is easy to buy for, because he loves pretty much everything that I enjoy, so I basically shop for a less girly me. So far I have gift ideas i know are perfect for everyone, except 2 people, who's gifts i've been umming and awing aobut for days. Ryan and Sarah. In the past I've found my gifts for Sarah to be a little easier, but this year, she's making it tough for me...What do you get a mom chasing after soon to be 3 kids on your university student budget? I promise sarah, one day, when I'm rich, I will give you a whole day at the spa...In the meantime...hints and suggestions are welcomed from all!! You can even e-mail me people, slightly_me@hotmail.com to contribute to my brain storming over a perfect Sarah gift. As for Ryan. Ryan's gifts have ALWAYS been difficult, because he's not one to say, oo i'd love that, or thats nice, i'm into this kind of thing...he never gives hints! In the past, I've given him a t-shirt with baby micah on the back, and Micah's dad on the front...it was a fun gift, but I can't keep giving him t-shirts with his kids on them! Sometimes I think a book or a game would suit, but then i wonder what books he's read, what he'd even like, and games...they own a zillion, and who knows what he's played or doesn't like!??!
I just thought I would share with you all my difficulties with gift giving, as I'm sure everyone experiences. You want them to still like you after Christmas, right? My happiness at Christmas revolves around giving things to those I love that will make them happy and bring them joy.

Thats what makes things so hard!
Feel free to share your own dilemmas with the Christmas season....Hey Ry and Sarah, how bout a puppy?

Cold War 2...or not

Haha, i just found this very amusing....who in their right mind would spy on Canada? This guy was caught in Montreal at the airport, and arrested under suspicion of espionage. Was it spying on us? Probably more likely on the states....sigh....second fiddle again. Darn!

Here's the article I found on cbc regarding it...I don't know how interesting it might be, I just wanted to make fun of us catching a spy, and figured I should back it up with an intelligent write up, even if its not my own:

An accused spy was arrested at a Montreal airport on Tuesday night, the country's first espionage arrest in 10 years.

Canada Border Services agents took the man into custody at Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport as he prepared to board a plane out of the country.

"A foreign national alleging to be a Canadian citizen named Paul William Hampel was arrested in Montreal after a [national] security certificate under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act was issued against him," said Melissa Leclerc, a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day.

The certificate must be signed by two federal cabinet ministers. Day and Immigration Minister Monte Solberg signed the document, which authorized the man's arrest for engaging in espionage, or an act of subversion against a democratic government.

News reports say the man could be from Russia. He reportedly slipped into Canada years ago, and kept a low profile.

A federal court judge will set a hearing date for the man, who is being held in Montreal.

Canada an attractive target

A former director of Canada's spy agency said the arrest likely signifies either that the person was deemed a threat to national security or that the government is sending a signal to foreign countries that Canada is watching and won't put up with espionage.

"I think it does send a signal that we remain vigilant and we remain concerned and we're really not going to have people running around doing things they shouldn't do and abusing the hospitality of this country," said Reid Morden.

Canada is an attractive target because of its advanced industries, including aviation and telecommunications, and its proximity to the United States, he said.

Ottawa expelled two Russian military attachés in 2002 on suspicion of espionage, while two Russian spies were deported in 1996.

Dmitriy Olshevsky and Yelena Olshevskaya, who went by the bogus names Ian and Laurie Lambert, were arrested and swiftly removed from Canada in 1996.

3 men detained under security certificates

The last time a security certificate was issued was in 2003, when the former Liberal government approved the arrest of alleged al-Qaeda member Adil Charkaoui.

He's one of five men arrested under security certificates for suspicion of terrorism. The certificates allow police to hold prisoners without charging them or giving them full access to the evidence against them.

Mahmoud Jaballah, Hassan Almrei and Mohammed Majoub remain detained at the Immigration Holding Centre in Kingston, Ont. Charkaoui and another suspect, Mohamed Harkat, have been released on bail under strict conditions.

Harkat, Charkaoui and Almrei have challenged the legality of the certificates, all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.

In June, lawyers for the federal government argued that the certificates were necessary because the importance of national security outweighed the rights of suspects who are detained.

A judgment is pending.

Wooooooo Us! hahahaha

In the name of Comedy

Following up on my last Borat post...My brother posted an interesting link in regards to the films producers 'unethical' use of unsuspecting people when filming many of their scenes.

My post was in regards to two frat boys who felt the film made them look bad. I brushed this off as them backpedalling, doing some reputation dammage control, sort of thing. Ryan posted a comment in which he included a link to another write up regarding the abuse of the trust of the village people used in the film. I'll paste it on here:

"When Sacha Baron Cohen wanted a village to represent the impoverished Kazakh home of his character Borat, he found the perfect place in Glod: a remote mountain outpost with no sewerage or running water and where locals eke out meagre livings peddling scrap iron or working patches of land.

But now the villagers of this tiny, close-knit community have angrily accused the comedian of exploiting them, after discovering his new blockbuster film portrays them as a backward group of rapists, abortionists and prostitutes, who happily engage in casual incest.

They claim film-makers lied to them about the true nature of the project, which they believed would be a documentary about their hardship, rather than a comedy mocking their poverty and isolation.

Villagers say they were paid just £3 each for this humiliation, for a film that took around £27million at the worldwide box office in its first week of release.

Now they are planning to scrape together whatever modest sums they can muster to sue Baron Cohen and fellow film-makers, claiming they never gave their consent to be so cruelly misrepresented.

Disabled Nicu Tudorache said: This is disgusting. They conned us into doing all these things and never told us anything about what was going on. They made us look like primitives, like uncivilised savages. Now they,re making millions but have only paid us 15 lei [around £3].

Cambridge-educated Baron Cohen filmed the opening scenes of the Borat movie in Glod - a village that is actually in Romania, rather than Kazakhstan, and whose name literally translates as 'mud', last summer.

Its 1,000 residents live in dilapidated huts in the shadow of the Carpathian mountains. Toilets are little more than sheltered holes in the ground and horses and donkeys are the only source of transport.

Just four villagers have permanent employment in the nearby towns of Pucioasa or Fieni, while the rest live off what little welfare benefits they get.

So when a Hollywood film crew descended on a nearby run-down motel last September, with their flashy cars and expensive equipment, locals thought their lowly community might finally be getting some of the investment it so desperately needs.

The crew was led by a man villagers describe as 'nice and friendly, if a bit weird and ugly', who they later learned was Baron Cohen. It is thought the producers chose the region because locals more closely resembled his comic creation than genuine Kazakhs.

The comedian insisted on travelling everywhere with bulky bodyguards, because, as one local said: 'He seemed to think there were crooks among us.'

While the rest of the crew based themselves in the motel, Baron Cohen stayed in a hotel in Sinaia, a nearby ski resort a world away from Glod's grinding poverty. He would come to the village every morning to do 'weird things', such as bringing animals inside the run-down homes, or have the village children filmed holding weapons.

Mr Tudorache, a deeply religious grandfather who lost his arm in an accident, was one of those who feels most humiliated. For one scene, a rubber sex toy in the shape of a fist was attached to the stump of his missing arm - but he had no idea what it was.

Only when The Mail on Sunday visited him did he find out. He said he was ashamed, confessing that he only agreed to be filmed because he hoped to top up his £70-a-month salary - although in the end he was paid just £3.

He invited us into his humble home and brought out the best food and drink his family had. Visibly disturbed, he said shakily: 'Someone from the council said these Americans need a man with no arm for some scenes. I said yes but I never imagined the whole country, or even the whole world, will see me in the cinemas ridiculed in this way. This is disgusting.

'Our region is very poor, and everyone is trying hard to get out of this misery. It is outrageous to exploit people's misfortune like this to laugh at them.

'We are now coming together and will try to hire a lawyer and take legal action for being cheated and exploited. We are simple folk and don't know anything about these things, but I have faith in God and justice.'

If the village does sue the film-makers, they won't be the first. Last week, two unnamed college students who were caught on film drunkenly making racist and sexist comments took legal action, claiming the production team plied them with alcohol and falsely promised that the footage would never be seen in America.

Many other unwitting victims of Baron Cohen's pranks have also spoken out against the way they were conned and - unsurprisingly - the rulers of Kazakhstan have long taken issue with the image Borat paints of their vast, oil-rich nation.

The residents of Glod only found out about the true nature of the film after seeing a Romanian TV report. Some thought it was an art project, others a documentary.

The Mail on Sunday showed them the cinema trailer - the first footage they had seen from the film. Many were on the brink of tears as they saw how they were portrayed.

Claudia Luca, who lives with her extended family in the house next to the one that served as Borat's home, said: 'We now realise they only came here because we are poorer than anyone else in this village. They never told us what they were doing but took advantage of our misfortune and poverty. They made us look like savages, why would anyone do that?'

Her brother-in law Gheorghe Luca owns the house that stood in for Borat's - which the film-makers adorned by bringing a live cow into his living room.

Luca, who now refers to Baron Cohen as to the 'ugly, tall, moustachioed American man', even though the 35-year-old comedian is British, said: 'They paid my family £30 for four full days. They were nice and friendly, but we could not understand a single word they were saying.

'It was very uncomfortable at the end and there was animal manure all over our home. We endured it because we are poor and badly needed the money, but now we realise we were cheated and taken advantage of in the worst way.

'All those things they said about us in the film are terribly humiliating. They said we drink horse urine and sleep with our own kin. You say it's comedy, but how can someone laugh at that?'

Spirea Ciorobea, who played the 'village mechanic and abortionist', said: 'What I saw looks disgusting. Even if we are uneducated and poor, it is not fair that someone does this to us.'

He remembered wondering why the crew took an old, broken Dacia car and turned it into a horse cart. He said: 'We all thought they were a bit crazy, but now its seems they wanted to show that it is us who drive around in carts like that.'

Local councillor Nicolae Staicu helped the crew with their shooting, but he claims he was never told what sort of movie they were making, and that they failed to get a proper permit for filming.

Staicu, who had never dealt with a film crew before, said: 'I was happy they came and I thought it would be useful for our country, but they never bothered to ask for a permit, let alone pay the official fees.

'I realise I should have taken some legal steps but I was simply naive enough to believe that they actually wanted to do something good for the community here.

'They came with bodyguards and expensive cars and just went on with their job, so we assumed someone official in the capital Bucharest had let them film.'

Bogdan Moncea of Castel Film, the Bucharest-based production company that helped the filming in Romania, said the crew donated computers and TV sets to the local school and the villagers. But the locals have denied this.

Mr Staicu said: 'The school got some notebooks, but that was it. People are angry now, they feel cheated.'

It's a feeling Glod is used to. The village, like others in the Dambovita region of Romania, is populated mainly by gipsies who say they are discriminated against by the rest of the country.

Indeed, when local vice-mayor Petre Buzea was asked whether the people felt offended by Baron Cohen's film, he replied: 'They got paid so I am sure they are happy. These gipsies will even kill their own father for money.'

No one from the 20th Century Fox studio was available for comment on the villagers' claims.

But feelings in Glod are running so high that The Mail on Sunday saw angry villagers brandishing farm implements chase out a local TV crew, shouting that they had enough of being exploited.

It is small comfort that few, if any, of them will get to see the Borat film. Not a single villager we spoke to had ever been able to afford a trip to the nearest cinema, 20 miles away.

Perhaps that's the real reason why film-makers chose Glod in the first place."

Now, I'm sorry I paid to see this film that exploited these unknowing people. It's amazing how something you find so funny (yet repulsive at the same time) can be so wrong! I wish I had known before hand.

the good, the bad, the ugly

Most days, I enjoy my job. Usually its pretty slow, quiet. I can do homework, chat on msn, write on my blog, ect. I also have made some pretty good friends here at work. They're an awesome bunch, to whom I owe my sanity (and sometimes my insanity). However, on nights like tonight, I find myself dreading being behind the desk. Weekends. Ugh. When the stupid, the intoxicated, and the just plain obnoxious emerge from their stinky dorm rooms to be rowdy, break things, and yell at anyone telling them what to do.

How hard is it to act like a sane, moral and normal human being??? Aparantly, its quite difficult...sigh.

The worst part: To enter our dorms, you must past through a turn stil security system, and earlier today, the entrance, controlled by a mainframe computer, crashed, resetting some 2,500 swipe enterance cards. I have spent my entire shift confirming residences identities, and reprograming swipes. Add to this the regular mayhem of screaming, singing, drunkeness, and their intense dislike of me when I "force" them to prove who they are. God forbid I let a psycho murder/rapist, or a serial fire alarm puller into their building (the entire floor gets billed when someone falsely pulls it and they can't prove who it is)

This night has been hellish, and makes me dislike my job.

Oh Borat, you contraversial man you!

I recently went to the movies with some friends, and saw Borat. I didn't know the character very well, having only seen him in couple of clips the week before, when my friend Jay forced me to watch them upon learning I had no idea who Borat was.

I must say, the film was highly offensive, yet so amusing I was able to overlook its completely insulting content to laugh hysterically for nigh on 2 hours.

This week, while reading my daily news on the BBC page, I came across an article I found pretty funny, and I want to share it with you:

"Two US students are suing a film studio claiming they were duped into appearing in spoof movie Borat starring Sacha Baron Cohen as a Kazakh journalist.

The unknown plaintiffs are seen making sexist and racist remarks in Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

Legal papers said the two men "engaged in behaviour that they otherwise would not have engaged in".

Spokesman for 20th Century Fox Gregg Brilliant said the case "has no merit".

The men are identified in the film as two fraternity members from a South Carolina university.

'Humiliation'

They are not named in the case "to protect themselves from any additional and unnecessary embarrassment".

According to legal documents, a production crew took the pair to a bar to drink and "loosen up" before taking part in a documentary they were told would be shown outside the US.

The film "made plaintiffs the object of ridicule, humiliation, mental anguish and emotional and physical distress, loss of reputation, goodwill and standing in the community," the papers stated.

British comedian Cohen appears in the film as an apparently naive reporter whose enthusiastic offensiveness either leaves his US interviewees in shock, or persuades them to reveal a little too much of their own prejudices.

As well as Fox, the two men are also suing three other production companies.

The film is currently at the top of the box office charts in North America and the UK."

This is hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! These two guys were absolutely candid in their conversations with Borat in the film, and made themselves look like complete and total losers. They are obviously intoxicated, but are quite sincere about their comments and "ideas".

I don't think Cohen, or the producers had anything do to with making these twits look bad. They just caught it on film.

The November Birthday Dance

Well since ooooodles of my family members have birthdays in November, I thought I'd make a post about them, just so they'd feel special: Here we go...Happy Birthday and I love you TO-

**Ryan Schmitz Nov. 2nd, turned 31
Many memories so far ryan: attempting to beat you a trivial pursuit, various things you've claimed to be the creator of or singer or writter and i've told my friends, you letting me cry and get mad when Lucky died, Being strong for me, when I had to say goodbye to friends, stealing the dinner bell at camp, always being there when I need you, growing up thinking my brother knew everything, I will cherish our relationship and all the memories we'll have to come!

**Micah Schmitz Nov. 3rd, turned 3
Micah, you're so little, yet so precious to me! When your daddy called to tell me you were born, I cried, loving you very much! We will have a lot of time to make memories together, but so far, I love the time we wore several party hats on our heads, my teaching you to blow a noise maker, how tiny you were the first time I held you, you naming Moses Modep, and all the times you call me on the phone and sing me silly songs.

**Brandon Schmitz Nov. 5th, turned 10
Ah, little Bran Muffin. You're my baby brother, and you'll always be able to give me your sad eyes and get away with anything. When you were a baby, I pretended I was your mommy. I even fed and changed you, from time to time. We have many memories together so far, like our car trips to get ice cream, taking you shopping and to the beach, walking to school together your very first day, I'll always remember the look on your face when I gave you my new bike helmet, and the time you played joseph in the school play, and pet the girl that was a sheep. I love you bud!

**Kaitlin Fisher Nov. 7th, turns 18
Kaitie, I will always cherish you like a sister. We sure fought enough like sisters as kids! I'll always remember playing barbies in your room with the fake groceries and everything. I was always jealous you got a phone in your room and I didn't! We have thousands of baby pool incidents, and fort building times, playing bingo in grandmamans porch, climbing trees and riding bikes, buying way too much candy and laughing like idiots, kayaking not so well and disembarking on slippery rocks, crying together, prank calls from across the country, dancing spider-man birthday presents. I love you little cousin, you will always be in my heart

**Kayla Schmitz Nov. 13th turns 24
My role model! I was your shadow, cousin, in everything. We have a lot of times to look back on and look forward to! You taught me how to dive, we caught minows together at Papas, endured way too many brothers and male cousins, spent summers running in forests and fields, random visits where you came to school with me, buying me a little dog for passing my learners, many nights msn-ing about how terrible our teenage lives were, ending up catering your brothers wedding, plenty of nights under the stars in the tree fort, treating our little brothers like our babies and dragging them about. We spent our childhood together, and now we may be far apart, but I can always hear your laugh and see your smile when I think of you.

and if I have some far strung relative whom I have forgotten, I apologize and wish you good health, love, happiness, and comfort in family.

Alive...sort of

I just wanted to assure everyone that i'm alive and well....I've just been insanely busy with school and work.

4 Midterms in the next week and a half, then I start the paper writing rampage. Think of me, and hope I survive this semester of school!!

Dream dream dream

"When I want you, in my arms, all I have to do, is dream, dream dream dream, dream"

Have you ever had a dream that is just so real to you, it constantly comes back into your mind throughout the day? Like its a memory of something thats actually happened to you. When its something good, or even confusing, my heart aches at the yearning for this dream sequence.

I'm just sitting at my computer, compiling my list of to do for my shopping day ahead, catching up on peoples blogs, and every few moments my mind strays to this dream I had last night. I can't remember all of it, or even most of it, but the echoes of the emotion it played into me linger. I just thought it was odd, and wondered, Am I the only one that does this? Maybe I'm going crazy. Maybe not. But I sure enjoyed that dream...it was beautiful, and makes me want to go back to bed.

Heaven...and those left behind

A friend hung out in my room tonight, and played me the sadest song....i just wanted to share it with everyone. Its the remix of a song called Heaven, the words with stars are a little girl talking:

*It's been a year daddy
I really really miss you
Mommy says your safe now
In a beautiful place called heaven*

Oh I'm thinking about our younger years

*We had your favorite dinner tonite*

there was only you and me

*I ate it all up*

We were young and wild and free

*Even though I don't like carrots*

Now nothing can take you away from me

*I learned how to swim this summer*

We've been down that road before

*I can even open my eyes*

But that's over now

*While I'm under water*

You keep me coming back for more

*Can't you see me?*

Baby you're all that I want
When you're lying here in my arms
I'm finding it hard to believe
We're in heaven

*I started kindergarten this year*

Love is all that I need
And I found it there in your heart
It isn't too hard to see
We're in heaven

*I carry a picture of us
In my Blue's Clues lunchbox*

Oh once in your life you find someone

*You are the greatest daddy*

Who will turn your world around
Pick you up when you're feeling down
Now nothing can change what you mean to me

*I can swing on the swing by myself*

There's a lot that I could say
But just hold me now

*Even though I miss you pushing me*

Cause our love will light the way

*Can't you see me?*

Baby you're all that I want
When you're lying here in my arms
I'm finding it hard to believe
We're in heaven

*I miss how you used to tickle me*

And love is all that I need

*Tickle my belly*

And I found it there in your heart

*My belly hurts*

It isn't too hard to see
We're in heaven

*I try not to cry*

I've been waiting for so long

*Mommy says it's okay*

For something to arrive
For love to come along

*I know you don't like it when I cry*

Now our dreams are coming true
Through the good times and the bad

*You never wanted me to be sad*

I'll be standing there by you

*I try Daddy but it hurts*

Baby you're all that I want

*Is it true you're not coming home?*

When you're lying here in my arms

*Maybe someday*

I'm finding it hard to believe
We're in heaven

*I can visit you in heaven, okay?*

And love is all that I need
And I've found it there in your heart
It isn't too hard to see
We're in heaven

*It's time for me to go bed now
I sleep with the light on
Just in case you come home
And kiss me good night
I love you so much
I miss you Daddy*

~*In loving memory of all the victims of 911*~

Fire Girl

Little girl, Little girl,
You are such a bright light
Beauty flowing, grace escaping
From eyes so full of sight

Little girl, little redhead girl
I wish the sun would warm your heart
I pray you someday find that light
The one you're striving to do its part

Little girl, fiery haired girl,
You seek love where you can find it
Loving too much, giving it away
Till nothings left, nothing solid

My, My, My redhead girls
Parts of me, parts of you
My friends, my loves, my world
Yes, my world, my foundations,
I'd give it all, to get you through

Little girl, Little girl,
So young, full of life,
And hope, in that smile
Dancing in the rays of strife

Little girl, little redhead girl,
I wish you'd see all your worth
I pray he'll hold you softly
The one you're smiling at in mirth

Little girl, fiery haired girl,
You seek acceptance from us all
Searching for yourself in our eyes
Terrified, of it, of the fall

My, My, My redhead girls
Parts of me, parts of you
My friends, my loves, my world
Yes, my world, my foundations,
I'd give it all, to get you through

Little Girl, Little Girl,
You are overwhelming in charm
Laughter bouncing, smarts flashing,
Never a thought to any harm

Little Girl, little readhead girl,
I wish love would stick by you
I pray you have faith enough to do
To conquer our hearts, to subdue

Little Girl, fiery haired girl
Your need to share is piercing
Hunger to care, overwhelming
You'll die without his loving

My, My, My redhead girls
Parts of me, parts of you
My friends, my loves, my world
Yes, my world, my foundations,
I'd give it all, to get you through

Lose it

Feeling his breath on me,
A thousand feet apart
Sensing his heart beat,
so far away from mine

Imagining his hand in mine,
when we've never even touched
Hoping to hear his voice,
saying things that matter

We lose touch, we can't grasp
Reality hurts, when we come crashing down
We stumble and fall, lose control
When there's no hand there to catch us
We hit hard, we may break,
But it all comes down
to the smile on their face
when they say I love you, It'll be ok

Fixing my broken heart,
for yet another beating
Putting my make up on,
to not even be seen

Holding my head up high,
even if you can't respect it
Reaching my arms out wide,
to hold on to it all

We lose touch, we can't grasp
Reality hurts, when we come crashing down
We stumble and fall, lose control
When there's no hand there to catch us
We hit hard, we may break,
But it all comes down
to the smile on their face
when they say I love you, It'll be ok

Oh how complete am I
when I see me through your eyes
How full is my heart
waiting for your call
I'm likely to lose it all
But still I sit here
Cause I can feel your smile

We lose touch, we can't grasp
Reality hurts, when we come crashing down
We stumble and fall, lose control
When there's no hand there to catch us
We hit hard, we may break,
But it all comes down
to the smile on their face
when they say I love you, It'll be ok


I love that smile, It'll all be ok

Announcing the Return of...

Just in case everyone wasn't aware of this, my sister in law has an awesome blog of her own. She always has these fantastic write ups, a real sage of our times. All summer she's been on blog break because the mini schmitzs have been keeping her quite occupied. But she's back, bringing in her wake the antics of my nieces, the woes and joys of motherhood, and many more interesting insights on our world occurances and behaviours.

So, if you're looking for an interesting read, and my whinning about canucks playing badly and complaining about lean cuisines that don't task good are boring you, check her out. She's a link on the right hand side of my blog.

Glad you're back sarah, I miss you terribly!

When what I believe makes enemies

I had a very interesting night tonight, filled with happiness and excitment, but with one sour note that leaves me a little restless and unable to sleep.

I went out for dinner for my best friend's boyfriend's birthday. I started the evening out by being met at the door by a great guy that I've just started hanging out with. We walked together to the restaurant a little earlier than when we had to meet the others, strolled around downtown just talking about each others lives and families, what we want of the future. We've discovered that we come from alot of the same experiences, christian homes and larger family, and that we share beliefs, morals, and faith. It was just so nice to walk and talk. We finally went to the restaurant, and everyone had already arrived for the get together. My best friend had introduced this guy to me, as they had just recently met in class, so he knew her and her boyfriend and my best friends roommate, but we did not know any other guests. But he threw himself right in there chatting with everyone, making people feel at ease, being nice, and himself and it was great.

At one point my friends roommate, another guest, and I needed to go and pay our bills together downstairs. We began a chat briefly about voting last elections, continuing a conversation from the dinner table, when I said I had voted conservative. Now, here's where the evening kinda gets ugly.

She asked me why i would do that. I explained that because of their view of the family and pro life stance. She proceeded to attack me with questions such as 'well have you ever even met someone thats had an abortion? How could you take that right from someone, ruin someone's life, and a childs' ......

so on and so forth. I, in the mean time, try to remain polite and open, explaining what i believe, but in an statement sense, because i really don't want to start an argument with my best friends roommate in a restaurant. I was civil, but didn't back down. Unfortunately, when someone believes in what they think is right very strongly, its difficult to break down that barrier, and I could see how hostile and angered she was getting, and suggested we could chat another time, share each others ideas and reasons. At this point we reached the dinner table, and she loudly stated, 'I just don't want to talk about this. Not going to happen ever', just so abruptly, as if I had been saying evil things to her, it was just, like WOW....

The young man I was with looked up, concerned, and said 'whats wrong guys? What can't you talk about ever?' and the roommate said: 'Abortion. Not talking about it.'

He, meanwhile, states: 'I don't think I could ever do that, its such a sad thing'. The roommates eyes went big and said 'we're not talking about it'.

Huge damper on things...the rest of the group was heading out, so my companion and I decided, since we both had early mornings, we'd head our own way. As we slowly made our way back to my place, we discussed what had happened. I basically told him this:

I believe in pro life because I think its wrong to take a life. You cannot say that its better off that way, that it would have been poor, or abused. Its not your choice to make. Its Gods. If we choose here, we start to kill people that drain society, like the old, people that do nothing, like the homeless, people who can't contribute, like the handicapped. I think young women that make this choice don't know what it is they are getting into, because they have no idea what an abortion really is, what it can do to your emotional/mental health, how it can harm you physically, and how later in life, when they have children with their spouses, they'll look at those children and constantly wonder about the one they murdered in ignorance.
Yet, I won't force my beliefs on another person. I didn't force her to ask me what I thought. I shared my belief. I didn't hate her for thinking differently than I did, yet I could feel this intense dislike of me, solely because I thought differently. I shared with him that I want to be tolerant and accepting that others will make different choices than I will, but that, if by speaking out in a situation, I can affect a different out come, I will do so. I wouldn't stop being friends with someone who had an abortion, but I would try my darndest to keep them from doing it.

I said I hoped that I didnt insult the roommate, and that it didnt affect my friendship with my best friend, who really loves and admires her roommate as a person. But if it came down to changing what I stand for or losing a friend, unfortunately, I would choose my beliefs.
Thankfully, he really admired that stand, where i was coming from. He said he completely believes in that, in me, and thinks the very same of himself. We had a great evening between us, a nice walk around/by the canal, and we're meeting up tomorrow evening to go to church together, which is fantastic.

But I can't help but feel this grey cloud over me, where i'm slowly being pushed on all sides because, more and more, I'm making a stand for the christian I am, for the God I believe in, and the morals I live my life by. I'm scared that in the morning, I'll discover I've lost my best friend because of a short, ill fated conversation with her roommate, because I know my friend thinks and believes along the same lines as her roommate.

All I can do is pray about this, thank God for the blessing of this great new friend, and hope that you all have some advice about how I can handle this.

Oh, by the way, I also made the mistake of telling everyone my parents stopped by to visit to bring me 2 really important things. They asked what. I said my license and my Bible. I've never experienced the looks I got from that dinner table before in my life. Neither have I experienced the smile of understanding from the guy across the table from me. At least I had that.

Cash flow revives! Praise be to Jesus!

For all you who know me well: I have been desperately searching for a job. Lucky for me, as of last Sunday, God most definitely answered my prayers in providing me a great job working at my university residence's front desk. Seeing as I live in the residence, this equals an easy commute, and a chance to see most of my friends in residence. It pays well, and they offer summer positions!

So wish me luck, and thanks for all the prayers.

Please check out this verse, which was the topic of the sermon at church, which i attended a few hours after I got the news of the job:
Matthew 6:33---But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

In other words...he will provide for you, if you put him above all else.

Senseless Stupidity

I would just like to briefly write on the shootings in montreal, and the ripple-affect it has had on Canada. The senseless murder and attempted murder of fellow students and professors, as well as university staff, leaves us breathless, shocked and quite frankly, worried that such an act of violence could be metted out in a country bent on promotting peace above all else. It also worries us to the point where we question if we are safe to go about life as we knew it before the Dawson College shootings. We come to question the security at our campuses. Institutions of learning and growth, with seas of students walking to classes, could be a blood bath in seconds. Who monitors people walking on to a campus? Some urban universities meld into the cities that surround them. Anyone can walk into a building in the daytime. Some security may exist in dormitories and major buildings, but with the large amount of traffic, the results of openess could be deadly.

My main point in posting this today was that yesterday afternoon, at my university in Ottawa, a gang of guys in a car shot an air gun off at a crowd of students standing outside of a building. People ran screaming, diving to the ground, seeking cover as the car sped off. Luckily, no one was hurt, and doubly, someone took down the license plate, and these fine young men were caught and are currently facing charges. The absolute senseless stupidity of this act boggles the mind. I stared, unbelievingly at the scene of chaos that ensued.

We live in a world where stupidity reigns supreme, where idiots can drive on to a campus the day after a mass shooting at another school, and pretend to shoot up a crowd.

Classes, texbooks, line ups and kraft dinner...oh my!

Hello folks!

I write to you during one of my brief moments in my dorm room here at U of O. I should have remembered how busy 6 classes can keep a person! Due to the nature of some of my classes, I have been scrambling aimlessly around campus searching for books and textbooks that might be cheaper than say, the campus bookstore. Taking English literature classes results in booklists a mile long, and the hunt for a used bookstore with plenty of options essencial. I'm liking school so far, and in case anyone is wondering, here are the classes I'm taking this semester:

Art History
History of the Republic of Rome
World English Lit
Children's Lit
History of New France
Philosophy Critical and rational thought

Quite a list, and quite alot of reading. I have a nice pile of receipts from my purchases so far, and it makes me bite my nails just a bit. Thankfully, I have a job interview today for a job on campus, so I'm praying I get it, as I receive no government funding, and am paying for this thrill ride from my own little pocket.

But, on a positive note, I'm making friends, and feeling comfortable being back in the element of campus life. I've seen some old friends, which is always nice, and I have my younger brother near by to spend time with, and one of my older ones a short walk away.

Also, my family is all much closer now, so I can run home to mom and dad when needed. Family is very important to me, and when I can get away from life for the weekend to read winnie the pooh books to micah and eva, and pretend that I'm a jungle gym from which my nieces can hang off I feel I can make it through anything...even student poverty!

So, thanks to everyone rooting for me to make it through this, it means the world to me!

Brief Message

This is a brief message to all my dear friends and family to assure you all that I am alive.

My family and I are hard at work in our new house. There is just so much to do! We're painting and tearing up floors, redoing cabinets, and unpacking boxes. Its just lots and lots of cosmetic things that need to be handled.

And school approaches. I move in to Marchand on the 4th of september, and Im definitely not ready yet. It'll take some time, but I can't wait for school. Well, back to the paint brush!
Love you all!


New number here is 613-937-3449
Address is 3065 Northdale dr.
Cornwall Ontario
K6K 1K2

Moving Day

Well folks, Moving Day is upon us!!
We get the moving truck tonight, and leave tomorrow. It will take us about 7 days to cross country. We're stopping over for a few days at my Bros in Ohio to see the fam. So night 1) Spokane WA night 2) Billings Montana night 3) Sioux Falls South Dakota night 4)Davenport Iowa and night 5) + 6) Toledo Ohio (about 2 hours from Ry and Sarah. then by night 7) we should be in our new house in Cornwall ontario....possible delay due to stop over in Toronto at my uncles.

So thats the schedule, and after all the moving in comes all kinds of reno, but no worries i will make time to visit with everyone!!

To BC I love you and Will miss it here very much...To all my friends, I heart you!!! Chelle is organizing a visit to ontario...so sign up with her!!

So you won't be hearing from me for a bit, but i'll be back posting sooner or later

Human traits I will no longer accept in a Friend

This past weekend I was unfortunate enough to suffer through a bad camping trip. I lost my keys, my wallet, and a few friendships. A few friends were quite intoxicated, and one, who was drinking heavily because his girlfriend broke up with him, threw a fit at me, saying extremely mean things, an physically harming me by throwing a beer bottle and a chair at me. All this because I said he shouldn't have another beer but water instead. A few things happened between myself and his ex as well, such as her calling me a baby because I wouldn't play strip poker, of all things. So it is enough to say that I had no fun on my weekend off, and am still quite upset.

But something else makes me even more upset. The ex girlfriend is still camping; She decided she would text message me telling me that what happened camping stays camping. So in other words, they want me to not tell anyone they were awful. I think thats stupid. If someone asked me why i had a crappy weekend, I'll tell them what happened. Maybe not every detail, but its mine to say. I don't need to be told like a little child what i should or shouldn't say.

This friend, the female, has time and time again proven she is unbelievably selfish. Everything to where we have dinner to what movie we watch has to be decided by her. She has to take all the attention when sick or feeling down. She NEVER listens when you talk about your problems, she'll talk right over you.

So this post is me now decreeing, finally, that I will no longer stand for friends that don't give a crap about anyone but themselves....to the curb with them all! I am sick of making plans and having them broken, I am sick of being emotionally available to someone, and in return get nothing back. I won't be the rug everyone can walk all over. I have taken those kinds of relationships too often.

SO...if you're a soul sucking selfish psycho....leave me alone.

And to all those of my friends that I know aren't the above, I love you and Cherish you!

You Make Me

You Make Me

I think I give little pieces of me,
Of my heart, to all who ask it of me.
I pass out strings attached to my soul,
And never do I feel whole.

One for the boy who made me smile
Even when I wished he wouldn't.
One for a friend made in a quick moment,
maybe holding a piece of hers as well.

I think I give little pieces of me,
Of my heart, to all who ask it of me.
I pass out strings attached to my soul,
And never do I feel whole.

A piece to each brother,
To be tossed and nurtured all at once,
A piece each to two sisters,
Who take it on adventures.

I think I give little pieces of me,
Of my heart, to all who ask it of me.
I pass out strings attached to my soul,
And never do I feel whole.

A pretty piece each for mommy and dad,
who hold on dearly and ever so tight.
A piece for every grand parent,
even when the acquaintance is through a frame.

I think I give little pieces of me,
Of my heart, to all who ask it of me.
I pass out the strings attached to my soul,
And never do I feel whole.

A piece the size of a horse for little nieces,
that bring sunshine even on days remembered for sorrow,
A piece just leaving my heart,
for the next one born.

I think I give little pieces of me,
Of my heart, to all who ask it of me.
I pass out the strings attached to my soul,
And never do I feel whole.

A piece twenty times over
Found across the sea,
I see them with friends in worlds
Much different than mine.

I think I give little pieces of me,
Of my heart, to all who ask it of me.
I pass out the strings attached to my soul,
And never do I feel whole.
Except when I think of you,
Pulling on my strings.
I feel full beyond the ocean,
And sense love in the past.
I see you happy,
And it makes each string worth it.

Arrival Date: Early March

I just got a phone call from my brother and his wife sarah, annoucing to us that they are again pregnant. This will be their 3rd child. My nieces Micah and Eva are the most unique kids I've ever had the priviledge of loving. I can only imagine what this little one will be like, with those two as older sisters!

So stay tuned for the new addition of the Schmitz Family!

P.S. 26 days till moving day!

A day in the life of

I'm in such a tissy this days. The time for moving is growing ever closer, with packing beginning, and window shopping for the new house, you know, daydreaming about what to put in it.
Work is all consuming yet again. I'm just anxious to get this all over with. I had 4 days off, and planned to do all this fun stuff with my friends, spend some time with jac, go to the water slides with chelle and joel, but as I make plans, my friends seem to break them. Let me tell ya, after months of working non stop, I would love a little fun. Unfortunately, I have like 4 friends, so its sit at home and spray my siblings with the hose for me, oh so exciting.

I don't know if this occurs in other people, but i've noticed that when it comes time for someone to move away, friends start to distance themselves from you. The more time you want to spend time with them before you leave, the less they seem to be around. I think its a matter of avoiding the situation. At least, I hope so. Well, I have 1 day left of my time off, and it will be spent here, at home, possibly on the computer....I can't wait to have daily social interaction again! Sierra, I know you'll be back in O town any time now, Sarah don't work too hard, Megan I can't wait to sit on Farrans beach with you.....I'll be there soon! I miss you guys fiercely! And i know that I never have to chase after you guys, calling, to actually get to go out!

House purchased, a month and 17 days to go

As many may know, My family is planning on moving back to Ontario this summer, leaving Vancouver behind us.

My parents just spent the last weekend in the Cornwall area searching for a house, and as luck would have it, they found one they love.

So theres my update, looking forward to home, family, and friends, and of course, heading back to school. To the coast, I will miss this time very much, to the seaway valley, I can't believe we're coming home, but I can't wait!

Boredom Now/Fun Later

I've been working my butt off.

I am so sick and tired of working, I can't even describe how icky I feel about it. I wish I was out tanning on the beach every few days, partying, buying clothes, doing all kinds of wreckless things.
Alas, I cannot indulge!! I'm working at least 60 hours a week now, and I need to, so that I can afford to go to school in the fall. Now, its looking like I have almost enough, and I won't need to worry once august rolls around, but until then, I have to restrain all desire to enjoy my life, so that i won't have to bother with worrying for at least a few weeks...then midterms in october!! EEK!! Hehe, I'm kidding!

But one thing, I've decided I'm going to have myself a little dinner party on the 9th of June. Should be nice! So there, now you can't say that i've eliminated all joy and fun from my life.

Summer Time

I just thought I would post a little note about all the fun stuff I'm doing this summer!!
1)Camping with Paul and Jac, hopefully chelle and joel too
2) My aunt and my cousin are probably coming to visit..YAY!!
3) July first probably taking my little bro Brandon to FoxFest, a big concert downtown. Paul is most likely coming too.
4) Moving back east at the end of July, which holds alot of mixed emotions
5) Visiting my nieces and my brother and sister in ohio. Hopefully that will include a trip to rollercoaster heaven, Boucadebepas ( probably not spelt right, but its this great italian restaurant with a popes head on a table), and a little side trip to the half off bookstore near ry and sarah's place.
6) Hopefully a little side trip eventually to NYC, or the Jersey shore with sarah. Don't worry CJ, we'll take you with us to the city!!
7) Hoping to get some kayaking in deep cove in again this year.
8) I also have several books i'd like to get through before the hassle of moving then school occurs.
9) I have several art pieces on the back burner. Work has kept me from the finishing touches on a piece for my aunt helene, then I have something for ry and sarah thats almost done...but i'm slacking on the job. Sarah has also commissoned me for some top secret pieces, and i won't say what until she says that its ok to spill.

So those are my plans for the summer. If anyone has anything to add for me to do, drop me a line!!

Apology accepted

If you've read the post previous to this one, you will know that I, along with most people who know about it, was greatly insulted by the actions of some fans at a San Jose vs Edmonton game on Sunday, where the San Jose arena booed the Canadian National anthem.

Yesterday, in all major Canadian newspapers, an apology written by the Mayor of the city of San Jose was published, addressed to all Canadians in the arena, the players, and any Canadians who watched, on behalf of his city. He was deeply sorry that people that ignorant lived in his city, and acted in such a manner.

I was pretty pleased when I read this article. It restored my faith in people having respect for each others nationality, even in the states. Sometimes we tend to believe that one group of ignorant people makes an entire nation ignorant. But it just isn't the case, and its nice to see it proven once in a while.

Kelsey's Word of the Day

Word--Disgust
synonyms: nauseate, sicken; abominate, detest, displease, offend, repel, repulse, revolt; disrelish, distaste, loathing, nausea; abhorrence, abomination, antipathy, aversion, detestation, dislike, repugnance, revulsion.

Written above is every verb and noun describing how I felt after the San Jose/Edmonton Hockey game start last evening.
My disgust has nothing to do with the hockey teams themselves, but with the San Jose fans.
Before the puck drops at a NHL hockey game, it is custom to play the national anthem of the country from which the teams are from. If its two American teams, they play the American national anthem. Seeing as there was one American team, and one Canadian team playing last night, they played both anthems. To my complete shock and horror, the entire arena, filled with Shark loving Americans, booed and hissed O' Canada.
Never EVER have I witnessed something that so made my blood curl. The disrespect they showed made my stomache heave.

Being the huge hockey fan that I am, I had the priviledge of attending a few Canucks games this past season. One of these games was against our arch rival, the Avalanche. Yet, when the Star-Spangled Banner began to play, everyone in the arena stood, and listened to it. No boos, No jeers. You might argue, this was a regular season game, not a playoff game, the mood was different. I say differently. The tension between our two teams was HUGE and overshadowed any rivalry between the Oilers and the Sharks.

So why did they do it? Why show that kind of disrespect? What about the Canadians that play for the Sharks? Joe Thornton?? The ONLY reason the sharks are even in playoff contention is because he's playing for them. I wonder how he felt about his fans booing his country. It might have had a little something to do with his abysmal performance throughout the game. Rivalries are between teams, not countries. Those fans can only be described as ignorant, arrogant, and rude.
Which brings me to my second word of the day: Rude--Coarse, crude, ill-formed, artless, barbarous, boorish, clownish, ignorant, illiterate, loutish, raw, savage, uncivilized, uncouth, uncultivated, undisciplined, unpolished, ungraceful, unskillful, vulgar; awkward, churlish, illbred, impertinent, impolite, impudent, insolent, insulting, uncivil, and uncourteous...... In other words: Every booer in that arena, you insulted me, all Canadians in that arena, and every one of us that call Canada our nation. You are rude and every one of its synonyms.

Love of my Life

As many of you may know, my favourite hockey player is Mattias Ohlund. I like him so much, I've gone to many lengths to get a jersey with his name on it. I even plan on naming one of my sons Mattias (i liked the name before, so shut up).
For months now, I've been trying to figure out how I could possibly break up his 10 year marriage.
But I've finally come to the realization that I'm just not going to marry good ol' Mattias.
Lucky for me, the heartbreak won't last long. I've definitely moved on to a new love: Jason Spezza Just the way he skates makes me shiver! I'm really going to enjoy watching him play the Canucks in the cup finals next season. *knock on wood*
So now that Jason and I are a thing, it should be a little easier for me to cope with being so far away from my beloved canucks next year....and I might as well love the Sens: no one in their right mind cheers for the leafs.

Sent with love into God's arms

Moments ago, I spoke with my good friend, Trisha. She had some very sad news for me.

Last evening, Trisha's mom died of cancer. Greta Dekens has been battling cancer for the last 5 years or so. She has gone into remission only to find herself fighting the disease again. I was told that this time, they all knew that the bone cancer would be terminal.
Greta died with all of her family around her, praying for her, loving her, as she stepped into the ever loving embrace of God. She leaves behind a devoted husband, 5 daughters lost without their mother, and a community of family and friends that honoured her as a fighter, and as a wonderful, caring woman.

I cannot remember a moment in her presence where her always smiling face didn't welcome all around her to feel the joy eminating from her.

The world has lost a beautiful person. I pray that with the sorrow of her loss, her family finds comfort in her joyfully lived life, and in the knowledge that she walks the streets of heaven, complete.

To those who know Trish and her family, The memorial service is this Friday, May 12th, 2 pm at her church which is:

Willoughby Christian Reformed Church
20525 – 72nd Avenue

And I hope everyone takes a moment to cherish the people that love you, while you have that moment.

I love you Dekes

What defines Cheating?

There has been some major drama in my group of friends the last week.
My close friend Michelle has been dating a guy named Rob for 6 years. She was very much in
love with him, and was patiently awaiting the day he would ask her to marry him. Now, Michelle got transfered to another restaurant in January, so her concentration was pretty well focused on her new position, and her busy schedule for a time. Her boyfriend was himself pretty busy with work, and they didn't get to spend as much time together as she would have liked. Rob, however, decided he needed to do some socializing, and began hanging out with one of our friends, Heather. They went out for coffee and to the movies and for the occasional dinner, what else, i'm not sure, because i'm not them, but michelle tried to see it as just her good friend hanging out with her boyfriend, and nothing else. And maybe thats all it was then.

The past month, however, has seen a strain on Rob and Michelle's relationship. He became extremely distant, and when he did talk to her, it was to argue and bicker about things. Rob began to do weird things, like get a separate bank account from michelle, and go long hours in her presence without speaking a word to her. She just figured he needed some space, and let it go. But after a few days of this, she could no longer stand the pain he was causing her. She confronted him, and asked him what was going on. In a quick, blunt, conversation, he told her she was not the person he wanted to marry or be the mother of his children, he wasn't inlove with her, and that he was done, and their relationship was done.
Michelle took this pretty hard, and she phoned her close friends for support. We all responded immediately, trying to help her get through this. Except one of us. Heather. Michelle kinda got nervous at this fact, but decided that she just may be busy. A friend and I looked at each other upon hearing this, and knew, something just wasn't right.

Finally, with nothing back from rob or heather, michelle confronted them both. Aparantly they love each other, and have been seeing each other for weeks and saying they loved each other. But because they did nothing physical, rob didn't cheat on michelle, and heather didn't steal her boyfriend, according to them. They expect michelle to "get over it" and just "accept" them. They see nothing wrong with the fact that they were exchanging love e-mails while rob and michelle were away at his cousins wedding. Ya, he took her to a family event a week before smashing her world to pieces. While she was thinking, this will be us soon, he was thinking, how soon can i get to my laptop to e-mail heather back? And this is the biggest kicker. Heather is mad at michelle for telling our friends what happened. She says now she feels like everyone hates her, and she gets stressed at work. What, thats it? well i guess we're not doing our job as friends, maybe i should be egging your house and shredding the tires on your car for what you're doing to MY friend, you evil, two faced..... relationship wrecker......well, thats just how i feel. But what do you think?

If you EMOTIONALLY cheat on someone, isnt' that cheating? is that not being unfaithful, when you're sharing you're love and feelings with someone other than your girlfriend for the past 6 years??

I'd really like to know, so I can tell Heather exactly why none of us would like to be her friend right now, because she ripped michelles' heart out of her chest and took a nice big juicy bite, and then cries, I ain't no canabal!

Foundations

Foundations

We'll have a place in the world,

Away from the world,

No matter where we have to be.

We'll be you and me,

we'll really run free,

It'll be as it should be.

No more wrong or right,

or all about that last fight.

Past will fade;

Future will take a vacation

and present will be you and me.

We'll share our place

in the world.

Away from the world.

Could be's and might be's will

fade with the memories.

Left with just what is,

It'll be you and me.

Not the rest of the world,

We'll make our own world.

Younger Years

As promised, a picture of baby kurtis kissing a puppy. On top of that, a few cute pictures of us all when we were little.

Just like his big sister

I just thought I'd let everyone know that Kurt just found out that he too has been accepted by Ottawa U. He'll be taking the Classics program, which is a mixture of ancient history, modern history, and cultural studies.

I would list his classes like I did mine, but being a first year, he hasn't gotten to pick them yet. Lucky for him, he doesn't have to try and figure out the registration navigator all by himself: cause i've already been through it a couple times.

SO congrats again little bro....now we just have to make sure we end up on the same dorm floor, so I can continue to bother you...you think you're escaping 18 years of torture that easily? BAH

Acceptance and Choices

I found out on friday that i've been accepted into the History Honours program at Ottawa U.
It was such a relief to find this out. Many of you know I've been waiting anxiously for this response.

Also, I've chosen all my classes today! Yay! I figured I would let everyone know what it is I would be taking, so you can be prepared for my yammering about certain classes/topics:

Fall classes are as follows:
History--NEW FRANCE
History--THE REPUBLIC (the start of rome)
English--World Lit in English
English--Children's Lit
Art--General Art History
Philosophy--Reasoning and Critical Thinking
There are 6 classes, because I have one more class to catch up, so that I end this year with a full 2 years finished. Also, I had already registered for Art History, when I realized i needed a Philosophy class, and just didn't want to give it up, therefore, another reason for the 6.

Winter classes are as follows:
Philosophy--Great Philosophers
History--British North America 1763-1867
History--History of the USSR
History--Athens, Persia and Sparta
English--Fantasy, Myth and Language

Now, I'm quite excited about this line up of classes, not only because I have a great interest in every one i chose, but I also managed to get into the fantasy novel class which only accepts 35 students each term. My high english grades this past semester helped me get in! Very happy!

So there you have it folks, everything I'm taking!

I actually can't wait for school to start, imagine that! Working is really getting to me.

Road users BEWARE

Anyone and Everyone caught on the roads today is in mortal danger.

Yes, its true, Kurtis is going for his roadtest at 11:15am Pacific time.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!


hehehe....Good luck little brother!

And yes, that is Ryan and kurtis driving together: the epitome of nightmares

Noses in the Air

I'm not a great lover of certain personality traits. Angry people, Depressed people, and most especially, snobby people.

I positively cannot stand being around humans who believe themselves to be superior to those with less than them in their eyes.

Example: Knowing my brother Kurtis probably doesn't read my blog, I am going to use some of his friends in my example of snobs: The other day, two of his guy friends and two of his girl friends came over to our house. They were hanging out in the livingroom, trying to decide what it is they were going to do with their evening. While Kurt discussed this with 2 of them, one of the girls sat on the couch, looked over at one of her friends and mumbled, i have couches like these, but in my basement...gross...and her friend laughed. Unfortunately for miss princess, I was standing right behind her, and she noticed, looked at me, and then looked away, very embarassed.
One thought passed through my head: If you're too good to sit on my beat up old couch, then get the hell out of my house. I pretended I didn't hear her.

Many people believe the only thing that matters in life is acquiring more things, and making sure everyone around them knows how well off they are.

I have always been taught that nothing is worth more than self respect and treating others with unfailing kindness.

And that is exactly how I will continue to live, loving every moment I get to spend with the people around me, cherishing the memories of building a fort with Kurtis using those old couch cushions, and not reflecting on the fact that my couch looks old.

Crime: Bribing a police officer

At my Mcdonalds, we make it a practice to offer on duty police officers free meals when they come through our drive thru. This is to keep them close to the restaurant evenings and nights, so that if there is an incident in our 24 hour drive thru, they'll be close at hand. Believe me, there have been instances where we've needed the police, and they were merely a few cars behind in line.
As the manager last night, I had to go down into our drive thru both and promo out a cops meal. We chit chatted a bit, and he asked if he could have dessert too...well, normally i wouldn't give it to them, but he was pretty cute, so i gave him a free flurry, and told him he owed me.

Now, I finished work around 2:30am, struggling with the days cash deposit because an earlier manager had messed it up royally. After dropping off one of my maintainance workers at her home, I pulled up to a red light. The light on the opposite street was turning yellow, so I did a bit of a stop and roll and turned right at the red. Aparantly I didn't stop enough, because 2 seconds later, I saw police lights. At almost 3 in the morning, with the 11 hour shift I had just finished, I was not too happy to be in that situation. I just wanted to get home in too much of a hurry it seems. Well, the officer approached my window with his flashlight, and low and behold, its flurry guy!! He saw me, and just started to laugh. He said: You just got off? Thats crazy! Oh, that flurry was pretty good....if i come in and see you tomorrow night, can i have another one?"
I just sort of laughed nervously and said, Yes i guess so...so is this the moment where i ask for the favour you owe me?"

Which he found quite funny. So, with the promise of free flurries when he comes in, and also the promise to come to a complete stop next time, I made my way home, shaking my head at the fact that I not only got away with running a red light, but bribing a police officer as well.

It must be my good looks and wonderful charm......and my flurry machine.

Grovel In the Presence of a Mcdonald's Godess

I know I had this big joyful joyful post last week about my big promotion to team leader....but I guess I'm just such a FRICKEN FANTASTIC McSLAVE that they decided to further promote me to swing manager. I get a fancy engraved name tag, 75 cents more an hour, AND I get to pick the colour of my new manager dress shirts....but wait, it gets better! Now, i no longer have to wear a hat to work, I get to style my hair and look professional...as well as.....oh I know, you can't believe that something else is coming!! but here it comes!!!! I get to choose whether I want a tie or a scarf to tie through my collar.

I couldn't be happier if Ronald himself came to visit and gave me a nice big red faced kiss!

And yes...That is me and Ronald...they got me young.

Pretty Darn Short

So, I just thought I'd let everyone know the only new thing in my life:

A Hair cut -------->

Joyful Joyful

Rejoice Rejoice, all ye people who have some for of a relationship with Kelsey:

I got a .25 RAISE!! Yay, I'm a Team Leader at McDonalds. It means they can demand more of me, keep me later, deny my break time, AND treat me like an idiot for the low low price of 8.80 an hour!!

Pick a class, any class

Today I spent the afternoon doing some banking, a little cleaning, and looking at classes for next year.

I was annoyed to discover that half the classes I wanted to take weren't being offered this year, some not even next year.

I think this is stupid. If you're going to employ a prof, and have a class at your university, it should be offered each year. What good is Europe from the 14th century on to me if I haven't had the chance to take Europe from the 5th to 14th century? It was there last year, but decided to take a vacation this year.

I don't get the point. This mostly makes me angry because I wanted to take Russia-PreRevolution....Because I really enjoy learning about Imperialist Russia. But no, not offered this year, tough luck...You can take history of the USSR instead, and stop whining.

Jerks.

The urge

I know, its been a while since I've written anything, but my brain has been in a bit of a relaxo mode....I've been off for 2 days!

Anywho, as some of you may know, I decided a few weeks ago to get into shape, lose some weight, and start eating better. To accomplish in part this goal, I got a gym membership at a place called Apollo. Now, I know what you're thinking, I could just as easily walk a track or something than pay money to go to a gym, but for me, motivating myself is key, and knowing I'm wasting money if I don't go is plenty of motivation to get me to the gym. I go for about an hour and a half, do some warm up cardio, more intense elliptical machine work out, then the weights, and finally, 35 minutes in the pool.
I thought I would absolutely hate going to the gym, running on some dumb treadmill, and so on and so forth. But I discovered that I can actually read and run at the same time, which can't really happen if i'm running on the sidewalk, because I'd more than likely run straight into a tree or parked car.
Also, trying to use cardio machines I actually enjoy working out on helps too. Like the rower, as an example. I love it! Get a little daydream scenario of a lake and ducks and some weeds going on in my head, and its a refreshing row....And believe me, when you have as much imagination as I have going on in my head, you zone out the gym, the other people working out, even the bad soap operas on tv above your head.
And I really enjoy swimming. I find myself getting the most out of swimming laps, using water weights and treading water to build endurance. And only one run in with a speedo.....It was ugly: an old east-Indian man, quite overweight, prancing around the hallway outside of the pool area...Security got him though, so it was a short lived episode.

But I really find myself looking forward to my escape to the gym. Tomorrow, its more cardio and a steps class, followed probably by practicing my jump shot in the gym.

Things in my head

Lately, I've found myself lingering over Martha Steward magazines, home design shows, how to raise a family guide books...Its been an odd time.....I find myself day dreaming about how I'll decorate my future house, and buy Living magazines because I love the garden on the front, and want to start "collecting" good ideas.

I'm not sure what is doing this to me: this overwhelming need to be housy and what not is becoming quite strange.

Even stranger: Today, my friend Ashley and I were discussing her pregnancy. She's 20 and 4 months pregnant, and just heard her baby's heart beat for the first time this morning. Now, she'sgot a pretty reliable boyfriend who is excited about having a baby...But they're going to be relying on her parents for a lot. She works at Mcdonalds, has her high school diploma, and most would say the situation is a little grim. But Ashley is sooo excited for this baby, so filled with joy and wrapped up in the entire process.
Normally, I would be one of the people thinking, wow, poor girl, this is an awful situation, I can't even imagine having a child that young...blah blah blah....But with all honesty, listening to her talk about it tonight made me extremely jealous. I had this overwhelming sense of loss at the idea that I'm not having a baby any time soon. Call me crazy, but I think that reaching the age of 20, and not having my own home, and the prospect of starting a family soon, makes me feel like I'm not accomplishing what I should be yet.

Talking to other friends my age, I've come to realize that my generation is going back to the early marriage and kids idea. The trend for the last decade has seen women get married later in life, have kids even later than that, sacrificing those things for careers and all that Jazz...But more and more of my friends are getting married quite young, ready to set aside education to have their families, and complete school at the same time in some cases.
All this makes me ponder, am I being backwards here? Should I continue to strive to graduate and get a good job, establish myself, and then worry about love....Or am I missing out? Should I just drop it and hunt down a man just incase all that striving causes me to miss out?

Who knows....I'm going to continue buying my little home and garden magazines, and stick post its with notes on what designs and furniture I want, and what page you can find them on....But I don't think I'll be dragging a guy home to ensure that there will be a next generation of kelseys just yet....

Thursday is looming

Well, Thursday is a big day: Trade deadline day.

For those of you who have no clue as to what I'm talking about, I'm referring to the deadline to trade NHL players for this season. After Thursday, teams cannot make any changes to their rosters...No adding on from the outside. This means that GMs and coaches have the chance to shake up their teams in time for the playoffs.

In Vancouver, its all any true hockey fan is talking about. What will GM Dave Nonis do in the next 2 days? There have been rumours of phone calls from other clubs shopping for one Big Bert. I wish to contemplate this option...Losing Bertuzzi...It may be just the right thing for Vancouver and Todd. He needs to be somewhere that he can smile again on the ice, and play with the same voracity of the old days. He can't do it with the shadow looming over his back here in Van. Not that the fans haven't been supporting, we certainly have, and we still love big Bert. Its that we're realizing he needs the change to save his career. This team needs a big shake up. I think Nonis should get on the phone with Ottawa, and really consider what they're offering....As long as we do nothing to throw away first round pick Luc. We need that little boy!
In all, I think if Vancouver really focuses on their youngsters, they will see how far these boys can carry this team. Naslund and Morrison need to get their heads out of their high salary asses and get em back in the game. I do hope you boys realize that all around hockey town, we've been calling anson and the sedins the number 1 line in reality. Considering they make about 4 million less than Naslund does, that's pretty sad. Either start producing, big money players, you know i'm talking to you JoVo, or start packing your bags, because if nonis keeps you over the playoffs, you can be sure you'll get the boot before august training time comes round.

I want a cup this year guys, so I can actually be in town to savour it!

To those of you who know nothing about hockey, or have no idea what it is I'm talking about....I feel sorry for you.

Freak out

Well, right about now in my life, i'm approaching the "oh sweet jesus what am i going to do in the fall" moment.

I'm impatiently waiting to hear from the University of Ottawa to see whether I got accepted into history honours. I'm also tearing my hair out while pouring over my finances...praying I can scrape enough by to pay for school in the fall. After all, I've already had to fall behind one semester to make enough for going back to school. I would die if I had to do it again. My third problem arises from a housing situation. Living on campus is expensive enough, but the problem with that is paying all my housing up front, instead of the monthly rent i would have living off campus. Having all that money up front plus tuition and books just isn't going to happen! So, I must resign myself to living off school property. Here again, there are problems. Living by myself, ain't gonna happen. WAY too expensive. Living with strangers: Not my cup of tea, we'll call that plan 'if nothing else happens and i'm absolutely desperate then i'll do it'
Now, I had contemplated living with 2 friends of mine. Alas, they haven't quite gotten back to me on the whole housing issue, and now one of them is planning on living in Australia next year, so unless i'm moving down under, i won't be living with her.

All in all, I find my university experience has been severally warped by this non stop nagging fear over money, housing, and other such stupidities. This was the same last year, happened this year, and next years woes leave me awake long into the night. Is this really fair? All this, just to get an education and get ahead in life. It seems like the only way i'll be going is further in debt, at this rate. I had hoped to avoid another student loan, but if i must take one out for housing...
I wish I was in Germany, where school is free, and chocolate can be found on every street corner....eep, I've been on weight watchers for a week, i'm starting to go nuts.

For everyone out there with even an ounce of sympathy for me, please pray for me, for patience, and that I will find a way to achieve my goals, no matter the obsticles.

I know when I'm wrong

Well, its been 2 days since Canada was annihilated in mens hockey. Its taken this long for me to build up the courage to respond to this humiliating defeat. You know, some people in Canada are still freaking out in fits of rage and despair....however could this have happened, they cry. I'm not one of these people. Sure i was disappointed. With the team we went there with, we should have seen much better hockey out of them. But the truth is, we were out worked by other teams that wanted it more than we did. We played some very talented teams. The problem was that we probably thought, hey we're Canada, this'll be a sinched. Players kept promising: no worries, we can afford to lose this game or that game, we'll bring it when we need to. We didn't. We deserved to lose with the cocky attittude we went to the games with. It wasn't a question of coaching, or the right players being chosen, it was the attittude and air we took to the tournament, as if it was ours to lose. Obviously, it wasn't even ours to win.

With that said, I can only hope for a Finland/Sweden gold medal game, and with Sweden for sure there, and the Fins winning 3-0 as I write this, it looks likely.
The only reason Im cheering for these two teams would be due to the Canucks players playing on those teams. One of my favourites, Jarrko Ruutu, is playing for Finland.

But, of course, I'm gunning for Sweden. Not only because the swedish chef is my favourite muppet, and because I do so enjoy those swedish berries and fish, but because Sweden has four Canucks playing for them, Ohlund (favourite hockey player ever! tied with Carter, of course) Naslund, and the Sedin twins. I'm a big fan of the twins, they can be such an asset to a team with their skills and amazing play coordination. So I'll be cheering for the swedes on sunday morning, feeling only a little choked that my boys didn't manage to make anything happen out of these olympics.

Trash talking Time

Ok, time for a meaningless blog!

Some members of my family, aka my mother, have this thing with watching American Idol. Therefore, everyone else in my household must endure the 2 hours of bad vocalists. This is how I came to discover that Paula Abdul most definitely judges the show drunk. Tonight, her entire behaviour, facial expressions, and pretty much every word that came out of her mouth could only come from an alcohol enduced stupor. Not that she was mean or said anything dumb to the contestants. She just acted like a very drunk individual. Mayhap she was high as well. But something was definitely off, not right, messed up.
Anyways. I'd just like to know who the heck lets these messed up crazy people on tv to make total asses of themselves, and annoy all the viewers at home....i wanted to throw the tv out the window just to make the mad lady stop!

On a completely different note, I'd just like to announce that me, the biggest Fantasy fan in the world, have finally gotten around to reading, or starting to read, Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series. So far, its a pretty indepth read, complicated to get into, but the first book, The Eye of The World, is absolutely fascinating. Now you all know what I do when I'm not mcslaving around.

One more purpose

I just wanted to quickly explain the posts preceeding this post: all the art work. You may think there is an over abundance of oil pastel works to be seen, and may think, wow, kels is giving up painting all together! That couldn't be farther from the truth! Actually, the pieces i chose to display are ones I've sketched in my art book or on loose leaf water colour sheets, then scanned on to the computer. Believe me, if I could fit my canvases on the scanner, I'd show them! You know, for the sake of exposure and so on. But there will one day be canvas portraits displayed! i did receive a nifty digital camera as a birthday gift this year, and I will soon find the time to capture my pieces with it and post them.

So, enjoy my recent experiments with Oil Pastels...it was a painful process, and i do hope there will be some appreciation.

Fall: I love this drawing! Last fall I spent the afternoon on a friends property, having a picnic. We sat on a hill over-looking a creek and farmers field, and off in the distance you could just see a forest changing colours. I snapped a few pictures, and spent the evening re-creating the scene using my mastered skills (hah) in oil pastels.

This piece is a recreation of an oil painting by Claude Monet. Though no where near the original, this piece in oil chalk is one of my favourites, if only because it took me hours to complete.

More art: This was my first attempt at using my new Oil pastels. I hope with a little more use, My skill with them will improve.

Recent art work: This is a picture of the Coastal range in BC. I drew it with Oil Pastels.

Sportsmanship

I just finished watching the Sweden/USA women's hockey game.
I have to say, I was cheering hard for Sweden. A swedish win would mean they would play Canada for the gold. And seeing as I'm pretty tired of the US Canada rivalry, its nice to have a new opponent. So Sweden wins in a shoot out 3-2. And I can give one more reason to be glad they one: USA player Ruggerio and her unsportsman like comments against team Canada. It seems these games are riddle with disgruntled athletes making negative comments against others. I can only relate a few comments made against the Canadians. One such moment comes from Mens Skater Brian Joubert of France, saying the Canadians should never have been at the olympics because they couldn't land their quads. Funny thing is, karma came round and bit Joubert in the butt, cause he didn't land his quad during the long program, and didn't make it to the podium, where Canada's Jeoffery Buttle did, and got a bronze.

I just wish people could shut their mouths and compete, without all this negativity.
Congrats Canada on a clean, good conduct.

The future store of Kelsey and Sarah Schmitz

As some of you may have noticed, my sister in-law posted a far fetched dream of us going into business in the book/coffee retail, and making big bucks. You may laugh, you may shrug it off.
But what do I do in response to this post?
I propose to one day accomplish just that: open this store my sister in-law has dreamt up in her fanciful and delightful mind.
It may take some saving, and some collecting of used books and other items we'd place in our shop, but it will happen! Hey sarah, what do you say? are you game? We could even sell some of my aunts stain glass, and local art work. It would be awesome. We could bake stuff too!! and sell it!! Frappes and Italian Ice in the summer, Mochas and cappuchinos in the winter....I'm thinking a japanese theme decor, you know, dark wood, cream walls, orchids abounding...a fountain! and tons of comfy chairs and couches....a bar stretched along one wall with stools all up to it for homework to be spread out on. We could do mossaics on all the tables with tiles.

Not to worry world, We'll be brain storming, and get back to you on when opening day will be...and where for that matter.

Our Domination Begins today

I just wanted to remind the world that starting today, Canada will conquer the world...of hockey. Today, our men play their first game against Italy. If they perform anywhere near our women's hockey team, we'll be seeing double diget scores.

To the rest of the world: Throw the towel in, no one is better at hockey than the ones that created it, live it, eat it, breathe it....GO CANADA GO

Passions

I believe that every person in existance is passionate about something they enjoy. For me, its reading. I feel incomplete if I go a day without reading something. I get my day going by reading the paper, and sometimes feel out of sorts if I miss this ritual. I read hundreds of books a year, dozens a month, several a week. It is rare to see me without a book, whether in my hand, in my coat, or the several i carry around in my purse. Some series I read I enjoy so greatly, I've been known to read them up to 6 times. I can never be tired of being wrapped up in the worlds reading leads me to.

Knowing all this, I have one goal, one secret little desire: to have a library in my home. You know, the whole desk, comfy chairs, fireplace, and floor to ceiling walls covered in all my favourite books. I think I've known I wanted this from a young age, seeing as I've always insisted my mother was never allowed to give away or throw out my kids books from the age of 2. I have boxes and crates of my old books in my closests. I've been known to sneak into my siblings rooms to remove beloved books from their grubby floors, to squirrel away into my collection. Most recently, I've taken to carrying a notebook around with me to keep track of authors and titles of books I want in my collection. This has expanded to 3 full notebooks, most of these being books i remember reading. I stalk the library stalls in children, youth, and adult sections for favourite books and authors, reminding myself of all hours spent reading on my bed, in trees, in the car, in the majority of my classes. I can become so engrossed in my reading, that i'll go to bed, planning to read a little till I feel tired, and finally look up at the clock and realize its 6am.

Some may believe me crazy, but a few of you will recognize a fellow obsessor, and will understand exactly my insanity.

But you can be sure that a visit to my future home will find you getting a tour of my growing library.

Clearly, Eva takes after her matante...not even one in this picture, and she's already reading.

And of course Micah takes after her matante....because i so often wear buckets on my head. Its true.

Me!! 

New Tunes

I might not be the music guru my bro Tim is, or my friend paul, but I do know a thing or two about music I like these days...For those of you living under a rock, a new band called ArmChair cynics is just making their presence known on the music scene, and though I've been aware of them for a while, its nice to give them a little attention, seeing as everyone on earth reads my blog. Their new single, coal mine, is really something...me likes! Here are the lyrics:
It's been a tough year for all it's worth
Still keep my phone number at the bottom of your purse
Between your sticks of gum and all the
Reasons why you don't call me anymore
Just in case you change your mind
Hang a right at the lights, I get off work at five
I'm a song away on your stereo
So just get in your car and drive
I think it's high time you find
Diamonds in this coalmine called me
And there's reasons to prove I can change
If that's what you want me to do
That's what you want me to do
Four years I kept so clean
December came and I broke last week
Now there's a message on your machine
That I wish I could erase
In a coffee shop, behind menu's
Into a porcelain cup you broke the news
When you said there's nothing here left for you
Well I guess you meant me too
But it's high time you find
Diamonds in this coalmine called me
There's reasons to prove I can change
If that's what you want me to do
If that's what you want me to do
If that's what you want me to do
There's a tattoo
On your shoulder
And it reminds me
We get a little older (we get a little older)
We get a little older (we get a little older)
Here I am
Washed up on your shore once again
For reasons even I don't understand
I'm drawn into your flame
It's high time you find
Diamonds in this coalmine called me
There's reasons to prove I can change
If that's what you want me to do
I think it's high time you find
Diamonds in this coalmine called me
And there's reasons to prove I can change
If that's what you want me to do
If that's what you want me to do
If that's what you want me to do
Well, it's high time

So ya, i think you should check them out...they also since Bang Bang, which i believe a few of you will be familiar with.
Also, I'm having a My chemical romance craving of late: The Ghost of you, Demolition Lovers, Helena to name a few of their songs. I'm tres impressed...and supposedly the Ghost of you video is pretty killer...i'm not much a music video fan, well besides watching video on trial, and all those artists getting trashed..hahaha...but anyways, aparantly its pretty good.

So I've dabbled a bit in music suggestions...next, I will attempt to blog about my Canucks, and their season so far. Most everyone won't care that I'm talking about them, but its my blog, and I care, therefore, I get to talk about the canucks till i'm blue in the face...or my fingers fall off and i can no longer type with my nose.