The Rumbling Tummy Syndrome

Definition: an uneasy and noisy sensation due to a lack of food and meal planning

Symptoms:
- loud stomach growls
- clutching of the stomach
- headaches and/or dizziness
- the shuffling of papers/feet or the scraping of chairs in an attempt to cleverly disguise the loud growls

When it appears:
- in quiet classrooms while writing midterms
- studying at the library
- in a silent computer lab
- during a tutorial while you are answering a question
- any inopportune/inappropriate moment that serves to embarrass you

If only I could eat this daily :(

Remedies:
- walk around with granola bars - they can help fend off the rumbles temporarily
- EAT BREAKFAST!!!
- always have money for food or bring lunch (keep a map of microwave locations campus-wide)

 Additional Information:
This syndrome has affected countless university and high school students alike - and still continues to do so. Although it is easy to combat - just follow the remedies. But remember, paper is noisy so use it to your advantage; too much feet shuffling looks like you have to go pee. Good luck and get well soon!


*Note: I'm not a doctor ;)

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Other Awesome Children's Books

The other day I was at a family friend's house, eating breakfast when I saw Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days sitting on the table. I had never read any of the series but I've heard a lot about it as well as the movies because I watch waaaayyyyy too much Family Channel (Canada's Disney Channel with some good ol' canuck content mixed in there for good measure). I picked up the book as I was munching on some chicken and spent the next hour/hour and a half reading this hilariously funny and entertaining piece of literature. Many parts had me laughing out loud, to which my brother commented that I was enjoying the book more than I should be.

Reading that book got me thinking about what books I used to like when I was younger and in elementary school. So in my usual tradition, I thought I'd compile a list (surprise!).

Series/Groups

Junie B. Jones: This was one of my favourite novel series when I was in kindergarten - grade 2. Even now, the misspelling and strange situations that Ms. Junie B. Jones gets herself into amuse me. Despite all her quirks, I always liked her originality, bizarre way of doing things and awful spelling.

The Magic Tree House: Both me and my brother were avid readers of these novels, following each magical adventure and the main characters Jack and Annie. I always thought that Annie was kind of stupid because she never listened to logical, older, and a bit uptight Jack, but she had a big heart. And the spinoff novels and books? Read those too. I loved the series so much that in the 3rd grade, I stole one of the books from the library! Yeah. I was that cool :P

You Are Special & If Only I Had A Nose: These illustrated children's books, written by Max Lucado, are great. In my six grade class, we read both of them and had discussions about looks, acceptance, all that good stuff. Lucado is a christian writer and his other illustrated books are just as awesome, but in grade six, we had no clue about the religious background and I never figured it out for years. I own about six of his books and I  highly recommend them. They are beautifully illustrated and written.

Arthur/Franklin Books: I read most of the picture books and the Arthur novels. It was a great combination: the books stimulated my reading, while at the same time, I was a fan of the shows, developing my love for television at an early age. :)

Robert Munch + Dr. Seuss = ♥: How can I pick just one of any of these great author's books? They are always entertaining and visually engaging. Some of my favourite Munch books are, Love You Forever, Ribbon Rescue, Purple, Green and Yellow, and Pigs and Promise is a Promise. The website just made me want to head out to my library and borrow the whole kids section. My favourite Dr. Seuss books were Fox in Sox, Green Eggs and Ham, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Cat in the Hat. 


Individual Books

 Perhaps the most sarcastic and odd children's fairy tale books out there. But perhaps the most fantastic.

By the same people as The Stinky Cheese Man and just as funny. The best version of the story I have yet to hear. 

One of my first grade loves. I mean who doesn't love sharks that want to eat their teachers?

Lovely. Just lovely.

Saddest book ever. Stuffed animals hold a very dear place in my heart.

I'm not sure what to say about this book, except I really liked it as a kid and never read any of the other Piggle-Wiggle books.

My black history lesson - great book.

What were some of your favourite children's books/series?

Pet Peeves about Public Transit

Another list :) This time about things that people do that annoy me when taking public transit - bus, train or streetcar. It was inspired by a recent event on the ttc where a bus driver was pepper sprayed over a dispute about a transfer. Some people are nuts.

1) Too cool to hold on: This is when you are in a train, there are plenty of places to hold on to and people don't because standing with their hands in the pockets looking cool is more important than stability and not stepping on people's feet.

2) Impatience/Shoving: Hold your horses. You will get on/off the train. No need to shove or be rude. - If only people realized this...

3) Extreme PDA: It is so not necessary in an enclosed public space where there are only so many things you can look at. My mom said it's just because I'm not in love with anyone and for that she received quite the evil glare. But honestly, get a room.

4) The P.A. System: Not quite a people problem, but the system itself. You can never hear anything that is said and the fuzzy noise usually leads to a discussion among passengers about where the next delay is.

5) Annoying kids: I can handle babies crying and frustrating toddlers, because you really can't control them sometimes. But between the ages of 12 and 16, there is no need to be shouting, swearing incessantly and just being generally rude and obnoxious. But I see it all to often.

6) Drunk People: Once, at about 10pm on the train heading home, there was a group of drunk people heading downtown for a night out. We're about half way there, stopped at a station when one of the guys leaves the car....and starts peeing. Right there on the wall of the platform. The doors were closing, but then his friends started holding the door open, preventing the train from leaving. The driver was angry; passengers were amused/pissed off and I was thinking what stupidity there was in the world.

7) Loud Music: It's bad for your ears and mine because I don't to hear your heavy metal or pop music.

8) Disruptive passengers: One time, during rush hour, I was on a very, very packed bus. Now there's a rule that you must stand behind the white line, for safety reasons. Everyone was behind the white line and the bus driver was closing the doors, about to go when this woman walked on. There was no room for her and the bus driver was saying wait for the next bus. But NOOOOOO. This woman climbs on top of the wheel and sits there. At this point, the whole bus is pissed off, with some people yelling, and most wanting to get home. If there was space for me to leave the bus I would have and walked home, but that was not an option. The driver and mad woman kept arguing and eventually someone somewhere managed to make some space. 15 mins after we were supposed to leave, we finally left.

That was a semi-angry post. Hmmm.

On another note, R.I.P. Amy Winehouse, and my thoughts and prayers go out to those in Norway who have been affected by the attacks of yesterday.

- Turtles

Journey to...

I have always been jealous of people who know what they want and go after it; people with goals and dreams and the drive to accomplish them. At the same time, I am inspired to examine my life and the path I am on. Is it the right one? And where will it take me?

Last night I came across the website thosegirlsarewild.com. It is a blog style website run by two women in Toronto: actress and singer Andrea Lewis, and author and photographer Shannon T. Boodram. They are two very funny people who, in addition to having this blog and their own busy careers, create sketch style YouTube videos that are thought provoking, silly and humourous.

While browsing through their YouTube channel, I came across a segment called "Journey to…" where either Andrea or Shannon discussed their goals and plans for the upcoming months and how they planned to achieve them. I admire their drive and dedication, something I have always lacked. I decided to create my own "Journey to…" post because I figure if I share my goals, maybe I would have more motivation to complete them. Nothing on this list is terribly life changing or exciting, though each thing means something to me. I guess this would be my journey to a happier me.

1. Declutter: I have been feeling the need to clean out my life, if that makes senses. Physically, I have too much stuff; I keep everything. I love organization, I am just not terribly organized. Non-physically, I need to figure out what is important and what is not needed in my life.

2. Music Video: I have no aspirations of being a professional musician, or a film maker, though I do enjoy both music and movies. Quite frequently, when I listen to a song, I can visualize a whole music video in my head and I often replay the song to "edit", if you will, my mental music video. I think it would be cool to actually make a video, because of the creative process it involves and variety of interpretations a song can have.  It's a new creative outlet I'd like to try. (Note: not my own music because I lack musical talent).

3. G : In Ontario, a G license is the final license you can receive, permitting you to drive basically anywhere.  I could have gotten this license sometime last year but I haven't due to a stupid fear of driving that I developed. But it's time to conquer this fear, get back behind the wheel and drive. I need to practice, because my parking's pretty bad, but I also need to rebuild my confidence and be comfortable knowing that I will most likely not kill someone and/or myself when I drive. 

4. Braces: I don't know if this is a goal so much as a done deal that has not happened yet. By the end of June, my poor mouth shall be riddled with uncomfortable metal wires.
 

5. My Faith: It's lost and needs to be found.

6. Job: Once I return, I am going to go on a major job hunt. I feel like a burden to my parents and I hate it.

7. ASL: Should I find employment, I would very much like to take some American Sign Language classes. One of my aunts is deaf and it would be awesome to be able to communicate better with her.

8. Spanish: Gotta find me a lovely Spanish companion with whom I can practice talking. Or maybe I'll just watch more telenovelas…

9. Etsy: I have been heavily contemplating starting my own Etsy shop. For a long time now, people have been saying I should sell the things I make, although I don't think they're all that. But recently, this idea has been coming back over and over. I think it would be kind of cool, but I would first need employment. (Dammit, why does everything cost money?!?!)

would you buy a bracelet made of safety pins and beads?

 10. Blog: What would make me happy is if I could find some direction in terms of this blog. I know of a few people who have recently stopped blogging because  they either lost interest, or they are moving on to other things. I was considering it at one point, but I like the challenge that this blog provides. I also enjoy the medium, although at times I find it difficult to come up with something to post (and I write too many lists). I feel like it's all over the place, with no real consistency. My goal is to figure what will become of the turtles on the fence post and see where it takes me.

Fave Posts: Written Work

I know I haven't been posting much but there are two good reasons.

1) I haven't had much time. It's been quite busy here in Québec with activities every day and now that exams and final projects are all next week, lots of homework.

2) I haven't had anything to write about. I like to feel somewhat motivated to write a post and nothing has come to me lately. I was doing laundry the other day and spent an hour and a half in the residence's basement trying to come up with something and all I got was two half written poems and a lot of unfinished thoughts.

But I decided today that I would list some of my favourite blog posts from some of the people I follow. The blogging world is still reatively new to me, but there are lots of people who post interesting stuff. Today, I'm dealing with written pieces, be them poetry, short stories, articles or people's thoughts.

1) Insightful Youtube Comment - Egyptian Nerd Popcorn
This very truthful post talks about Youtube comments and the things people write. Captain K also wrote a post on facebook which tells a lot of truths as well.

2) Civil Disobedience - Little Orange Jeep Girl
In a humourous way, she talks about civil disobience, an essay by Henry David Thoreau written in 1849. I quite enjoyed this insightful post and if I remember to read more, I'll definitely look this essay up.

3) Childish Games - Little Orange Jeep Girl
She's back again with a great article that she wrote and was published on teenink.com. I actually love this article so much. A little bit of silly is what we all need.

4) A list within a list - some poems by Jaime from Space Cadet Escapades. She is a wonderful writer and always comes up with beautiful titles that fit her poems so well :)
A Place Father Time Skipped
Love and Logic
The Value of Instead
Old Fabric

5) Mortal Oak is a British blogger who writes great short stories and is an active member of Nerdfigteria :D Here's a link to his short stories on his blog Acorns of Epiphanies (awesome name btw).

6) Five Diseases I'm Glad I Don't Have - A Slave to Pen and Ink
Those are five diseases I'm glad I don't have as well. Check out Zimri's life lessons too; they make me smile because they're so true.

7) I Am Not A Skinny Girl - Words from a Nerdy Girl
The title says it all.

♥ Turtles

10 Truths About Québec City (According to Me)

I have been living here in Québec City for two and a half weeks now, and during my time here, I have learned/observed a few things which I would like to share with you:

1. The city hates pedestrians.

 

It's deceiving. You don't push it.

 Okay, maybe hate is a strong word. Québec is a beautiful city with lovely people, but when they get behind the wheel of a car, something seems to go off. First, people accelerate when they see you. No joke. I'm talking from experience and with the admission of a real Quebecois guy himself! Secondly, the traffic lights are horrible. The city is stuck between European rules and Canadian ones. In the rest of Canada you can make a right turn on a red light, but in Québec you can't. There are multiple advanced turn signals, randomly changing lights, and the pedestrian crossing signals never change fast enough and when they do change, you don't have enough time to cross. And if you are waiting on the sidewalk for the signal to come on, drivers will get mad at you for not crossing when there is a red light. It's a no-win situation. I have become a professional jaywalker out of pure necessity.

A sampling of the hills

2. Québec is built on hills.

Lots of hills - in Old Québec/Downtown and the Ste Foy region at least (where the university I'm staying at is located). Biking takes a lot of energy because you go up and down and up and down. Walking around Old Québec is a constant series of hills as well as admiring in awe at the talented bus drivers who navigate the roads with intense skill.

3. People are fit.

Probably because of the hills, and an intense love for bikes, rollerblading and running.

4. Malls close ridiculously early.

near the parliament buildings

The university is about a 15-20 min walking distance from 3 malls, all sort of connected. The unfortunate thing is that the malls all close at 6. And this is a common occurrence throughout the province. In Ontario, malls close at 9 or 10 on a weekday and 6 or 7 on the weekends. How are high school students suppose to spend their time? Doing homework? That's nonsense!

5. There is a good transportation system.

Although I am not here for very long (only two and a half more weeks left), I have a bus pass: and it has served me well! The main buses between the campus and downtown comes every 2-5 mins or so. Plus, my pass is cheaper than back home, it's re-loadable, has my picture and an electronic chip that beeps when you get on. Soooo cooool!!!

6. They can sniff out an English speaker from a kilometre away

This happens quite frequently: even though I speak to someone in French, they can tell I am an anglophone, so they immediately switch to English, even if my French is better than their English. It is annoying and a bit insulting because most of the time we understand each other perfectly fine in French.

Recognize it from Catch Me If You Can?

7. There is a lot of history

Compared to Toronto, even Ottawa, the history of the city is really obvious. Recollecting wars, founders, acts and treaties are common occurrences in the downtown area. It was one of the first, if not the first, Canadian city to be founded and with that title comes a long history. It is a nice thing to see though, because in other places, history is not so prominent and remembering the past takes a lot more effort. But then again, the motto of the province is «Je me souviens», which means "I remember".

8. They love maple.

I've fallen in love too.

It's EVERYWHERE. Maple syrup, maple butter, maple sugar, maple candy, maple ice cream, maple fudge, maple donuts, maple tea, maple cotton candy, maple meat rubs, and my guess, even maple poutine.Good thing I adore maple :D

9. Beer = Pride

I am not a beer drinker myself, but la biere quebecoise has been recommended to me numerous amounts of times by various people. Common phrases like, "it's not like other beers you've tasted", or "we have fantastic microbreweries" can be heard all around. A Quebecois guy told me jokingly that (roughly translated) "raising the elbow", referring to lifting a mug of beer, is a popular past time. I guess I'll just have to take their word for it.

10. I love it.

The parliament building of Québec - L'Assemblée Nationale

I would have to say, this is one of my favourite cities that I have ever been too. I admit, I haven't been to the suburbs, but suburbs everywhere usually follow the same cookie cutter template, hence the label of suburbia. But the downtown area is fantastic. It is stunningly beautiful in so many places, the people are really kind, the bus drivers are the nicest I have ever encountered in my life and there is a great vibe overall. I don't know what their winters are like, but most Canadian places are worst than Toronto. Still, it is a great place to be.

♥ Turtles

More info on Québec City and the province of Québec

The city
The province
Wikipedia: Quebec City / The province

Note: This is just my opinion and a bit of generalization. Best way to form your own opinion of a place is to go there yourself. I highly recommend it. Also, all pictures were taken by moi.

Podcasting Binge

Earlier in February, I went on what I'm gonna call a podcasting binge. I downloaded a bunch podcasts, both video and audio, from the Zune Marketplace as well as CBC.ca. And by "binge", I mean a ridiculous amount of downloading in a short period of time. I'm no sure why, but maybe it's because I have not been getting my regular dose of informative and interesting information since I've stopped listening to the radio. Or perhaps after last semester's Canadian studies assignment where I listened daily to CBC's Maritime Noon podcasts (in which they discuss various topics from the eastern part of Canada),  I've becoming fascinated with them.

My favourites are TEDTalks, a video podcast with a wide range of topics, from creativity, to multidenominational and religious cartoons to building houses out of recycled material, and CBS Radio Mystery Theater, a radio show from the late 1970's. TEDTalks are on average 15-20 mins long and very interesting to listen to. Authors, carpenters, academics, experts, and heads of organizations are just some of the many lecturers. They also do interviews. The Mystery Theater is very cool because it's a story told over 45 mins, with man different voice actors and sound effects and fascinating plots. I also love The Age of Persuasion because it's clever and entertaining.

Here's a list of the ones I currently subscribe to and recommend. Click on them for links to the websites and more information. Feel free to suggest more in the comments :) 

• Age of Persuasion - a Canadian podcast talking about various aspects of marketing and advertisement and how it affects us
• CBS Radio Mystery Theater - 1970's radio theatre
• Amateur Traveler - short videos following the travel adventures of Chris Christensen
• The Stuff of Genius - genius stuff
• Stuff to Blow Your Mind - fascinating stories from the world of science
• TedTalks - TED = Technology, Entertainment, Design
• C'est La Vie - CBC program about the Canadian French-speaking community (it's in English)
• Craft - DIY crafting
• Wire Tap - with Jonathan Goldstein on CBC
• Tapestry - weekly exploration of religion, spirituality and the search for meaning
• Ideas - talks about everything (CBC)
• Les années lumière - french program about science
• PRI: Science and Creativity from Studio 360 - explores science as a creative act

 

- Turtles ♥

P.S. If you ever need to insult someone, try this: "May the hair growing on your lip grow backwards and tangle with the hair growing from your nose!" (courtesy of Sophia Patrillo from the Golden Girls)

Realizations

There are some things I have realized in the last week or so that have been life changing! (not really). This is just a list of some of those realizations. Note, this basically contains a large amount of run on sentences :P

1) If you don't buy groceries like your dad keeps insisting that you should, eventually you will run out of food. Then you will be forced to rely on food from your school's cafeteria, subway stations or on an abundance of snickers, until you get off your behind and realize that 3 bags of chips do not constitute a decent meal.

2) Belts are a vital part of your wardrobe. They help keep pants in a comfortable place and eliminate the need for constant adjusting and pulling.

3) Leaving your house on time is a good idea to: a) prevent yourself from being late; b) eliminate anxiousness (usually found in the form of "OMG! Am I gonna make it??! AHHH!!!); c) stop the constant chasing after buses and running for subways (made worse because you forgot your belt).

4) Bus passes are vital. Without them you're screwed.

5) Know where your stuff is. Or else you'll spend 20 minutes trying to locate something (let's say earphones). You'll become frustrated and eventually music-less, because nature dictates that your earphones should be where your MP3 is. But alas, nature loves to screw people over.

6) Always be prepared for foul smelling apartment hallways upon exiting the stairs or escalator. Although at times it can smell deliciously like pancakes or deceivingly like Trix.

7) Don't rub your eyes while there's chocolate on your fingers.

8) Beware of your unconscious facial expressions and actions. Maybe when you're deep in thought you scrunch your face up, purse your lips and squint one eye.Perhaps you're a tongue chewer, unaware that when oblivious to what's happening around you, you sound like a well fed cow.

9) Don't make weird faces when leaving apartment buildings you don't inhabit. It's suspicious looking.

10) Always check your pockets (maybe that's where you'll find the missing earphones the next morning).

:)