It's My Birthday Hayy!!

So it was my 20^th birthday on November 26^th and I can still remember my sweet 16. It was quite possibly my most memorable birthday ever. At the time my best friend was Marguerite, and when we were together we would make each other laugh all the time! Also at that time, I was dating this guy named Jonathan. I invited both of them over to celebrate my 16^th birthday with my family. Every time we have a family dinner, my grandma would make this delicious, multi-layered, fruit Jell-O. Not many people know that when I mix Jell-O, my best friend, my boy friend and excitement; I get really, really hyper! So the reason why it was the most memorable birthday ever was because when the Jell-O came out I became so fascinated with how it juggled. Weird, I know, but when I get hyper, small things amuse me. As I was jiggling the Jell-O my grandma got up, grabbed the Jell-O and put it in the kitchen. Everyone went silent. There were no more giggles, and the negative vibe in the room could have been cut with a dull knife. Even as writing this I feel that awkward feeling all over again. Anyway, Marguerite, Jon and I got up to serve the Jell-O and of course I felt horrible. But Jon said something that made me feel so much better. That something was, "Don’t worry; it still jiggles."

Chicago is love!

During my grade 12 year of high school, I had the opportunity to go to Chicago on a school trip. I have always found Chicago intriguing, so when I heard about the trip, I had to go! Only problem was the fact that it was over five hundred dollars so I was a bit hesitant to go. I actually considered backing out twice; but both times I was talked back into it.

Once we arrived at Sears Tower in Chicago I noticed that the guy I had flirted with during the summer was on the trip. I instantly got butterflies even though I didn’t remember his name. We just so happened that we went in the same elevator to get to the top of the Sears Tower. He asked me, “You’re Angela right?” I replied by giggling and saying, “Yeah. But I forget your name.” I found out his name was Jordan.

Later we went to a Jazz restaurant for dinner. Naturally I sat down with my girls. A couple minutes later Jordan sat down with us. I got those butterflies again. We talked, we flirted, and it was obvious that we had a connection. By the end of the night we were inseparable. We sat together on the bus, to and from the Blue Man Group, and we stayed up late talking.

The second day after we went to an Improv workshop, we went to China Town. There we walked the streets visiting little Chinese shops. It was almost time to go so before we left I pulled Jordan into a little alleyway and kissed him! It wasn’t the ideal first kiss, but it was cute because he was smiling the whole time. For the rest of that day we held pinkies (because I wasn’t comfortable holding hands yet).

The third and last day we went to an art museum and whenever no one from our group was looking, we would give each other a kiss. We also went to this huge aquarium where we went off on our own. That was nice because when we stopped to read something he would hold me.

All of this wouldn’t have happened if I had not gone on the trip, or if Jordan chickened out when he decided to sit with us. After dating a few weeks he admitted that he didn’t plan on sitting with me the first night. If he didn’t, I probably wouldn’t be with him today and I definitely wouldn’t be as happy as I am.


I wrote about this memory because it makes both Jordan and I happy every time we talk about it. It is one of those things that, if things would have went differently, it would be the end of life, as I know it. And who knows what my life would be like now if that guy I who gave me butterflies hadn’t sat with me that night. Whatever the answer may be, I’m glad things turned out the way they did.

Volleyball...

So when I was in high school I played on the school volleyball team. I wasn’t the most valuable player, but I was still pretty good considering I was a year younger than everyone else on the team. The majority of my time went to volleyball because if we were involved in anything else at school, and missed a practice due to it, our coach wouldn’t play us as much. She would hold a grudge over us, or something. Anyways, it was the final OFSAA tournament of my grade 12 year, and I was just about to leave to meet up with my team. My grandma showed up at my house looking completely distraught. It turns out my grandpa had passed away in his sleep. I couldn’t stay to comfort my grandma for long because I really had to go. There, my coach realized I wasn’t myself so I told her what had just happened.
Once we arrived at the tournament, we warmed up and began the match. I wasn’t playing my best, so my coach pulled my off for the rest of that game. After we shook hands with the other team, I pulled her aside and asked her, “How come you didn’t put me back in?” She replied by telling me that I was too emotional to play. I than asked if I was going to play again and she said, “Of course.” But what really happened was that I was never put back in and I missed my grandpa’s funeral. I have such resentment towards her now. If she would have told me that I wasn’t going to be played again, I would have just went back home and go to my grandpa’s funeral for a final good-bye. But NO! She had to be a bitch.


I chose to write this memory because it is something that really affected me. It also has a lot to do with a previous blog about my grandpa. (In Memory…) Thinking of my grandpa made me think of this and I thought this memory would make a good blog.

A Lucky Break

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/arts/yourvideo/media/pages/judy_howells_01.shtml?query_ref=/wales/arts/yourvideo/query_objects/nav/category_arts.sssi&collection_list=/wales/arts/yourvideo/queries/category_arts.shtml

This digital story is about an older lady who was riding her bike down the road. Her brakes were broken, so when a horse drawn carriage came, it knocked her to the ground, breaking her humerus. While in physio she had to do exercises to get the strength back in her arm. She decided to draw and great things happened after that day.

My reaction: Right away it caught my attention because the second picture was of her on the ground. Another picture that caught my attention was the first photo of her drawing. The partial photo that she had drawn was already amazing. The finished product was a very beautiful drawing of two naked men holding each other. I was and wasn’t surprised that she won first place with that drawing. Surprised because she drew it with a broken humerus; and not surprised because it was so well drawn. The last line in the video is, “I love doing what I do and I’m really thankful for that lucky break.” That line makes me laugh because ‘lucky break’ can be taken two ways. One, she was lucky to have an opportunity to become an artist. And two, she literally did break something.

Geri's Game

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m7dcbIKvlw&feature=related

This Pixar short movie is about an old man playing chess. There is no one around to play against so he ends up playing against himself. He creates an alternate personality to play with. This alternate personality is aggressive, conniving, cocky, and doesn’t wear glasses; he is the complete opposite of the old man.

My reaction: It makes me smile when he makes his first play and there is absolutely no one to play against. This is when he creates the alternate personality. Just when I thought ‘oh wow, this is it for the cute little old man,’ he fakes a heart attack and dies. Than when the other personality is not looking, the little old man switches the board around. He wins the game, and is so proud of himself. This video is so cute and it makes me smile every time. =]

For the Birds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBXna2RNJkI&feature=related 

This Pixar short movie is about a group of small, bitchy birds that don’t like this big, stupid bird. They talk about him, make fun of him, laugh about him, and they try to make him go away. The message of this video is to treat others the way you want to be treated. In this case, Karma really is a bitch.  In the end, the big, dumb bird gets the last laugh.

My Reaction: The sound the little birds make is so cute! They sound like those squeaky toys you give dogs. There are so many parts that make me laugh; like when the big bird sits in between all the little birds and they all start squeaking at him. When the big bird falls off, the small birds go flying and land with no feathers; so funny! I like the idea of telling a story with no words, just sounds and actions. After watching it a few more times, I noticed that all the birds have their own little personality, but all think alike. 

A Dog's Life

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/audiovideo/sites/yourvideo/pages/allan_jeffreys_01.shtml

This digital story is about a boy growing up with his stuffed dog that he slept with at night. It is written as a poem in the dog’s point of view.

My reaction: I love poem and the ironic imagery he created in it. “Silent sobs and un-wet tears.” I liked this video because I too have a favorite toy that I have in my bed, and like it or not, I will have to get rid of it sooner or later just like Al did. But I have to admit, the stuffed dog did scare me a bit with his big red eyes and dirty fur. 

Memories Written on my Face

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/arts/yourvideo/media/pages/giorgia_carpagnano_01.shtml

This digital story is about a girl waking up to find new wrinkles on her face. Behind each wrinkle is a story; a moment of her life captured on her face.

I selected this story because we watched it in class and because I was taken back by how well she told her story. I also loved the idea that every wrinkle was a new chapter in her life. A very creative idea, and I kind of wish I started doing that when I began getting wrinkles.

My reaction: Her second wrinkle is called “Aliciana” the name of her sister who caused the wrinkle. I have a brother so I thought that it was funny when she said that her sister caused a wrinkle on her face; my brother has probably caused many of the wrinkles on my face. And I can’t believe her sister tried to convince her that she was adopted! The two wrinkles she is most proud of are her laugh lines. They represent Martin. This part of the video makes me smile because I know how wonderful it feels to be in love, and I have those lines too. =) 

In Memory...

...Of my Grandfather; Earl Speller.

I didn’t really know him that well, but I did know that he was very smart, very quiet, was married to my grandma Kitty-Lou Speller... and that his drink of choice was rye whiskey.

One day my parents dropped my brother Avery and I off at my grandparents place. The whole time we were there, they were yelling at each other. Nothing was being said other than, shut up! No, no! Shut up! SHUT UP! I didn’t want my brother to see them drunk and fighting so I took him outside, away from the house. That is one of my strongest memories of my grandpa Speller.

I will never forget the way he pinched my cheek to greet me. It kind of hurt, but it made grandpa smile. He never smiled, which is why I knew he loved me because he would always smile when I said “hi”. After a few years of taking photos at family functions, I noticed that grandpa wasn’t smiling in any of them! So one father’s day I made it my goal to get at least one picture of him smiling. And not even halfway through dinner, I got one! It was a really good one too. (see picture below) Once grandpa passed away, that very picture was the one they chose to represent him.


I wrote about my grandfather because, even though I didn't know him all that well, I still loved him and he will always be missed. I love you grandpa.

Bayfield

~Ah Bayfield. What a wonderful place to relax, be creative, eat, and visit Mary.

Now for those of you who do not know who Mary is, she is my mother’s closest friend. She has known me ever since I was in my mother’s womb.

For as long as I can remember I have called her Nanny. Maybe because I consider her family, or maybe because that’s what her granddaughter would call her; whatever the reason, I’m proud to call her my Nanny. We use to call her Panty Nanny because she bought my brother and I really cool underwear.

Bayfield is quite a ways, so we would always stop at this little boutique and look at all the neat things they had. The majority of items were recycled, natural, and quite expensive. Once we reached Nanny’s trailer park in Bayfield the fun times were on! We would go to the beach to find driftwood, than wrap it with different colours of thread, make wood people, paint rocks, chairs, or lap shades; anything that was free and creative would keep us busy for hours! I remember when my brother Avery and I went to the creak beside Nanny’s house to catch frogs. That was one of the rare times when my brother and I would get along.

Back then I didn’t have to be 18 to play bingo, so every Tuesday night while we were in Bayfield we would go play bingo at the Hall. The one time I actually won $10, and at that age, it was a lot of money to me.

Nowadays, we don’t visit Bayfield any more because Nanny actually moved to Chatham! Now I can visit her whenever I want. =]

I decided to tell this story because one video we watched in class talked about their 'Nany'. This reminded me of my Nanny and all the fun times I had with her in Bayfield. So with that warming thought, I wrote this story. 

Down We Go!

~When I was little, my family and I lived in a small blue house with two bedrooms, a little basement, and a back yard with a tree fort to play in. When my brother was born (or when I was 4) we had to get a bigger house to suit a family of four. So one day, we moved just down the street to a big white house, with three bedrooms, a turn around driveway, a huge back yard, and three floors (including the basement). This was totally different compared to my old house in the aspect of stairs. The only set of stairs in my old house led to the basement, and those only had 3 steps. The new house has two sets of 14 steps. As you can imagine, I was not all that familiar with stairs. I went up just fine, but trying to get down them was not as…graceful.

It all happened so fast. I fell, than my dad tried to grab a hold of me from the top of the stairs, than he fell too! Than my mom ran around the corner but by that time, my dad and I were both at the bottom of the stairs’. Shocked, and in pain. I remember my mom telling me that somehow dad spun around so that he didn’t land on me at the bottom of the stairs!

I decided to tell this story because it is funny, action packed and it is always a fun one to tell. It was such a fun memory to write about that I was actually smiling while writing it!