Didja miss me?

Boy.

Do I know how to pick 'em or what?

Should I be posting about him? Well... make your mind up for yourself...

In a *brand*spankin'*new* segment I call...

THIS IS WHY I DON'T DATE

THURSDAY...
10:30 p.m.
HIM: Hey...what r u doing?

11:30 p.m.
HIM: how boring.....I guess the old veronica was more fun....disappointing :-(

FRIDAY...
2:30 a.m.
ME: Oh sorry working on proposal for story about sex ed and stressing out. Ya I guess no fun at all

6:00 p.m.
HIM: hey do you want to come to downtown tonight? it should be fun! free drinks and sex ed lol ... but confirm me asap ;-)

ME: No going to cirque de solier

HIM: you ll be close to where i am then. what r u doing after that?

ME: Don't know. Prob sleep working 9 am tomor. Or laundry dishes homework

HIM: text me when ur done ... so we can meet if im in the area... don't be boring ;-) enjoy the show

ME: Sorry went out w my girls. At the most happenest night spot in scarborough. What whaaaat? Have fun talk to ya later

SATURDAY...
5:30 p.m.
HIM: hey. do u wanna go out tonight? (with me obviously lol). at what time can u come? ;-)

ME:  Noooo going to a baby shower

HIM: He he i guess someday u will run out of excuses lol..

MONDAY...
10:30 a.m.
ME: Excuses? Listen buddy you got some nerve to text me at 6 expecting me to be free. i'm sure you're a nice guy and everything, but you really fucking rub me the wrong way. If you can't understand that i have a life and i'm certainly not waiting at home for YOU to call. I'm just not that into you. I'm not the boring one

Shenanigans 514

Fed up with the city, we decided to take our shenanigans on the road...



Of course I was listening to music while selecting pictures for this slide show. And there was just something about Rocket Man that seemed to capture my contemplative remembrance of Montreal. So here ya go.

Not 100% satisfied with VuVox, and I told them as much. But it's a hell of a lot easier than trying to do this shit on my own. But I've maxed out my monthly supply of MB on Flickr, so you'll have to be patient for my summer photos. It may take the next 6 months to simply upload them. (and another 6 months to get my shit together and post 'em!)

Promises: Now with more sincerity..

This is the beginning of a whole new me. I have decided that to follow up the Summer of YES!! I shall deem this next stage of my life...

The Semester of Organization & Productivity AND... RESEARCH!

Yaaaahhhhh!

So first things first, we'll set some goals.

1. IOU some posts. And I'm going to finish them. One by one.
a. 2 in the Montreal series
b. review on Rain
c. review on Bananashpeel
d. Montreal photos
e. summer of photos
f. summer in review
g. goal achievement
h. butt-load of stories
i. an about-me section

Jeeze. Gimme a break here!

FAQ: Why YOU need to get tested!

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Bah dah dun da-da-da- Daaaaahhhhh!!!

So... ladies and gentlemen... this is... my 100th post!!




Break out the champagne, because against all odds, I've actually followed through on something.

Why the Playboy cover, you ask? I know you've come to expect nothing but wholesomeness from this blog.

But I was google-image-searching "100" and everything was just... so dry... and boring. I needed... something... sexier!

So naturally I searched "100 sexy" and here's what popped up.

Attended a web workshop today. I learned the basics of Blogger and how to set up a blog.

Errr.....

Did learn how I can embed audio files and make a wicked-cool slide show, so (perhaps) you can look forward to that in the future. But don't get your hopes up. I like breaking promises.

Also learned that if it's on YouTube, I can embed it! Hurrah for disregarding copyright laws! Although, apparently I only post "random and obscure music".

Now, here's a good song. No offence to Kool and the Gang.

Continuing with my Jebus theme... (for you, CG, <3  )

Dedicated to Brown...

I just find this funny. Irish and I must've watched it 70 times in the newsroom, much to Brown's chagrin! I don't think she found it quite as delightful as us on the 9th time around. Or the 37th.

But I see through that all-business facade. Don't let her fool ya.

And always remember, if nothing else, that Jesus loves you. OoOoOoOoo!!

I don't recall the one where Carrie went to the free-clinic...

It's a rite of passage and a necessary reality for any sexually active woman in the city.

That's righty-o, faithful readers. Tomorrow, I'm treckin' to the free-clinic for my "yearly" HIV and STI testing.

All in the name of "research".

My rational self assures me that I have nothing to worry about.

But the worry-wort in me? Well that's a different story.

17 reasons why I posted yesterday's video...

1. Hello! My name is Veronica.
2. This cracked me up even though I was stone-cold sober.
3. Betty is practically hidden behind the band. And she gets limited air-time.
4. I like to sing a long to this song in the car. I even get a little shoulder-shake goin' on.
5. What can I say, I love kissing!
6. It's really all the action I've been getting.
7. I still, to this day, purchase the occasional Archie comic from the grocery store.
8. I learned how to read because of Archie comics. Seriously. When I was 3 years old my Aunt J went to Disney World, and brought me back a comic, Veronica in Canada. And I thought it was about.. my life.. like.. in the.. future. But because I couldn't read, all I could do was look at the pictures, and marvel at what my future would hold in store for me.
9. The inappropriate sexual-innuendo between Hot Dog and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
10. The shitty animation.
11. The fact that the video actually detracts from the awesome tune.
12. The Archies was a fictional band of studio session musicians.
13. Betty and Veronica robotically dancing to a back drop of poorly-drawn bon-bons.
14. The way Hot Dog, Archie and Reggie sidle on up to Sabrina.
15. This would  be even better if stoned (and I assume that's why you're here).
16. Archie's strange voice and stranger eyebrows.
17. The inclusion of the Trix Rabbit.

See? I can deliver.

This post is, unfortunately, rated PG-13...

So it's been a busy week. Productive, and yet oh-so procrastination-filled.

Irish and I have been threatening for years to go to the gym, and we actually dragged our sorry butts into Frog's not once, but twice this week. We literally had all we needed in our trunks for an impromptu gym session. Interestingly, we also have everything we need in our respective trunks for any formal occasion, including wedding crashing. We have a lot of junk in our trunks. Hence, gym is a necessity.

I learned this week, that what happens when the journalists leave the newsroom, should stay out of the newsroom. Everything was going grand at karaoke, in honour of Silver's birthday. I was dressed like a $2 hooker, screwdrived on the subway, and made a grand entrance, fashionably late (in my typical Veronica fashion) to the tune of "kisses for everyone"!

(I'm not drunk until I have a catch-phrase. 'Kisses for everyone' is considerably less dangerous than 'yes to everything!')

It was $3.50 drink night. Dangerous.  

Fastforward through the first 3 minutes...

So this is what I did on the night before school.

Seeking a club? Tough luck

By: VERONICA BLAKE
Published in The Courier. February 25, 2010

The renovation of the student centre has encountered numerous delays and the lack of organized clubs on campus leaves students with nowhere to go and nothing to do.

There’s little reason for students to spend any additional time outside of their classes at the Centre for Creative Communications. The campus does not have a single, official club. The Centennial College Student Association Incorporated (CCSAI) is needed to make a club official. Vice-President at the CCC campus, Carl Anthony John would like to see students getting more involved with college life.

“Here at the creative campus for centennial college we really have the core base in place,” John said. “Clubs create a liveliness on campus.”

Any student can create a club. Packages are available at any CCSAI office or online. But this requires students to be proactive. If students want clubs, then they will have to create their own.

“It takes our students a little bit of initiative,” John said. “The opportunities are available. The funds are available. The people and resources are available to make any club here on campus possible.”

John envisions that clubs on campus should supplement students program learning. Its also a great way for students to give back to their campus community, and the community at large.

Students have a lot going on already, with their regular course load and projects, part time jobs and relationships. It may be asking too much of students to tell them to create their own clubs. Book and magazine publishing student Katie McHale is not a joiner.

“We just come and the we leave,” McHale said. “There’s so much going on with our actual classes… I can’t think about taking anything else on right now.”

There’s also a problem with communication. Without a student centre, students are cut off from the CCSAI and many are ignorant that opportunities actually exist.

“I don’t know where to find out what things are going on,” McHale said.

John would like to see students spend more time on campus.

“Students are in and out of the building really quickly, showing up for classes and then they’re basically out of here,” John said.

*Editor's note* I guess this was a follow-up to my pressing student-centre expose. I was starting to worry that College Politics would become my beat. And then I never wrote anything for The Courier ever again. Oh, except for my G20 story, that I really should bed working on now. 

Need debt relief? Then vote liberal.

By: VERONICA BLAKE
Published in The Courier. February 25, 2010

Federal Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff considered the idea of wiping out student debt in exchange for one year of volunteer work.

Ignatieff recently rapped up a cross-country tour of University campuses. His student-debt idea is not part of his platform, but it was discussed in an online question and answer session. For the most part, Centennial College students have some form of debt, whether it be from OSAP, bank loans, credit card-debt or begging and borrowing from parents.

Jennifer Romano, 25, is in her first year of the fast-track journalism program on the CCC campus. Before Centennial, she completed a four-year degree at Ryerson University. She expects to graduate with $30,000 of debt.

“I still have such a high debt...cause I still...believe somehow the government is going to pay for part of it,” Romano said. “There’s no way I can pay it off.”

Liberal Omar Ha-Redeye supports Ignatieff’s idea. He thinks that the idea makes sense financially.

“Banks have found that many of these loans default,” Ha-Redeye said. “Canadian students are already finding themselves in a difficult situation, burdened by crippling debt and frustrated that they cannot apply their education in the ways they would want.”

Beginning in the 1999 school year, Ontario high school students were required to complete a mandatory 40 hours of community service in order to receive their diploma. Ignatieff’s volunteerism for debt-relief idea would take this a significant step further.

First-year student Cecilia Olmos, 29 attended the Universidad Anáhuac in Mexico before coming to Centennial. As part of the curriculum, the students would perform social services. She travelled around Mexico providing food and clothing to the poor. Olmos valued this experience.

“It really touched my heart,” Olmos said. “I reinforced my values as a person, that we should help anybody that needs help.”

In addition to the financial benefits for students, volunteer work can be a rewarding and satisfying experience. Omar Ha-Redeye likes an alternative approach to debt-relief that marries financial help with giving back to society.

“Canadian volunteerism has been steadily on the decline and when the youth do volunteer, it’s not necessarily for altruistic reasons,” Ha-Redeye said. “This generation is under enormous pressure to succeed financially and the social burdens placed on the youth are far greater than before.”

The potential college strike further complicates matters. Ashtonbee student, Sashell Mills, 21 dreads the possibility of a strike. She won’t be able to pick up any extra hours at her part-time job, and worries that if the semester is extended into the summer like the York University strike, she’ll miss out on summer job opportunities.

“I’ll mooch off my dad, that’s all I can do,” Mills said. “I’m scared... of paying (OSAP) back.”

*Editor's note* Ahh, this is the infamous article that I procrastinated oh-so-much on. To the point where I actually begun this fateful blog to aid in my procrastination. I got this idea from an article I saw in The Star about Ignatieff's crazy plans for student debt. And thought that it would make a good feature for the student paper. I like when I can write about politics, especially when it's an issue that matters. My debt is very close to my heart.

The wait is over! New student lounge set for re-opening.

By: VERONICA BLAKE
Published in The Courier. January 28, 2010.

After eight months without a lounge, students at the CCC campus will finally have a place to relax and hang out.

The lounge closed for renovations June 2009. After several delays, the revamped student-space will reopen early February.

Third-year film student Alessia Peluso, 25, expressed her anger over the lounge closure.

“It’s been under construction for so long,” Peluso said. “We paid for it and we get nothing.”

The Centennial College Student Association Incorporated runs the lounge. The lounge will house the CCSAI offices, where students can get information on the services that the association offers. As well, students can play video games, watch television or simply take a much needed breather from busy school life.

Melissa Feeney is the communications coordinator for the CCSAI and has been involved with the project.

“The lounge really was in need of a face-lift,” Feeney said. “It looked a bit dated…we’re looking for a more modern, professional finish.”

The CCSAI is planning numerous events for the month of February, to coincide with the lounge grand opening. Students can expect to see video-game tournaments, pizza days and extensive Olympic coverage in the new-and-improved lounge. Carl Anthony John is the CCSAI’s vice-president of the CCC campus, and is excited about the opening.

“A lot of food. A lot of fun. A lot of friends,” John said. “All the f’s really. Except for the naughty one… Well, actually, sexy bingo. That’s an event we’ll be doing.”

Without a lounge, students have been forced to get creative in where they spend their down time on campus.

“The piano…has been abused over the last few months,” John said. “The library…got these really cool beanbag chairs. The cafeteria’s never been so busy. And unfortunately…students go to class, and then they just go home.”

First-year corporate communications and public relations student Kylee Berensci is eager to use the space.

“It probably will be a comfortable place…to sit in,” Berensci said. “It sounds a lot better than the caf.”

It’s been a long eight months, but generally students seem excited to have a place of their own.

“(We want students) to know that the wait was absolutely worth it,” John said.

*Editor's note* This was my very first published article. I took it very seriously. I know it's certainly not groundbreaking, but I was really proud of it at the time. In the end, the grand re-opening was pushed back another month, making my story redundant. Good thing that no one really reads the Courier. Ohh.. sad-face.

Thrill me to the marrow...

It occurs to me that all this youtube video embedding puts me at risk for copyright infringement.

But I assure you, my intentions are pure and honourable.

I just think I'm better than you. And my musical knowledge and tastes must be shared and explored with you whipper-snappers.

You've heard this one while you're bumping and grinding in the clubs.

This convenience of the modern area brings you the music of another age..

So I'm sitting here in the apartment without pants, listening to Joni Mitchell music.

I'm sure there's a metaphor in there somewhere.

But all I can think about is that scene in Love Actually where Emma Thomson's character realizes that her husband is having an affair. And she's just an emotional lump of hurt-bag, listening to Joni Mitchell. The woman who taught that cold-English wife how to feel.

But allllll these youtube comment boards keep talking about how sad it is that Joni Mitchell is dead.

What?

Don't fret people. I googled it for ya, and Joni Mitchell is very much alive and well.

Jeeze, I'd kill to interview her.

And continuing with your musical education, here's a hit from Woodstock '69.



Soulful. Passionate. He exudes sex.

But can it compare to... this?



The comments section on this one keep giggling about the line, "I get high with a little help from my friends."

McCartney's attitude about cannabis was made public in the 1960s.

What's so wrong with that?

Ah... the infamous sex-date...

Oh ya by the way, we're being stalked. Or at the very least, googled.

Well, two can play at that game, my friend.

And perhaps, to you, I pose the question, 'didn't I always know I was being watched?'

Just call me a narcissistic exhibitionist.

Oh, and I totally messed with the HTML coding, so that embedded videos will show before the jump on the home page. No biggie.

With the Internet, and even with the sex-beat, I'm starting to realize, that if you can imaginate it, then it exists, and people are doing it.

It's a rule that can be applied in all aspects of life.

So... Date Three?

If ya can't handle the videos, I suggest you don't move on...

*Warning* advertisements for feminine hygiene products ahead!

G20. Now that I've got you're attention, here's more pratter...

So I discovered that I'm using some old, soon-to-be-outdated version of Blogger. This is much nicer now.

I'm sorry about neglecting you poor blog. I grounded myself from the Interwebs. I had shit to do before BTS. And, funny, I had 4 months to beautify this blog... And I waited until the craziness of the first week of school to do it. But it suuuuure does look purdy!

First week of school, and we've hit the ground running.

New semester, new me...

So what do ya think of the redesign? Pretty damn sexy if I do say so myself. 2 1/2 hours of dicking around and not liking anything, followed by an hour of solid work. Don't get excited, all I did was customize the template and back ground, then tweaked the settings. I wasn't messing around with HTML. Some new features include my Twitter feed, links to other websites that I've worked on or have featured my work, and a welcome message (with the much-needed disclaimer!) Also, there's a search option, and now you can follow and subscribe! So please do! I would like to have a rough idea of who's reading this thing. This is my audition for the Web Editor position at The Courier, Centennial College's student paper. I have grand plans for that site. GRAND. Everyone cross your fingers, toes and eyes for me. Another new feature is the jumps.

Not really reruns if they were never posted... certainly not a best-of...

Just cleaning up around here.

*sweep*sweep*sweep*

What's this?

*blows off dust*

There are some unpublished drafts at the back of this closet.

Let's get them up for ya...

I just need the perfect titties. That's titles, Mr. Connery..

Whaddya know, its September 2nd. I missed a day. (getting ready for school, thus, getting ready to neglect this poor blog. Y'know, miss a post here, miss a post there, then you're back to one post a month.) So should I tell you about my second date? He both opened and closed the car door for me. About halfway through the night I decided I shant ever date the mens under thirty ever again. Neighbours C and M witnessed this. C says to M, "look at that! See how white-folks are?" I respond, "that ain't how white folks are. At least not the 20-somethings I have dated" Or should I tell you about the delightful time I had with neighbour C on the porch for the last... I dunno... three hours? Drinking wine (my greatest weakness!! how did she know?? thus, why I'm delving into the personal life again tonight. Dammit, too many people know the combination to all my secrets :( Ahhh, did I really just emoticon on my blog? Did I just make emoticon a verb? MW make 'zoo' a verb. But that's an entirely different tale altogether.) Jeeze neighbour C and I can shoot the shit all night long. I think I won't tell you about any of those things. Instead, dear reader, we're being watched.