Ever have one of those days where you feel like ranting...about everything that bugs the crap out of you? I am having one of those days...and thought that I'd share with you my top 5 pet peeves. So enjoy. Agree or disagree with me, it's up to you. Some of these things may seem unimportant or trivial, but whatever, we all get annoyed at things that happen around us in day to day activities...so I hope you have fun (and maybe even enjoy) reading my rants. Any thoughts/opinions/or other pet peeves are gladly welcomed in response. :)

1) One of my biggest pet peeves is when people buy bottled water. PEOPLE! We live in one of the most fresh water rich countries in the world...it is clean, tastes good and is better quality out of the tap than almost anywhere else you go. Just ask for a cup, or buy a nalgene (or stainless steel bottle b/c apparently nalgene's cause cancer...) and fill it up with tap water. Also, if you are with me, save yourself the lecture and please don't buy a bottle of water for like 2 bucks (or $5 if you are at the movie theatre...grrrr...), it will annoy the heck out of me - PLUS, you will save your money! And if you are one of the many people that use the excuse that the water here doesn't taste good...then go buy a brita filter! It is a one time expense, makes the water taste even better, and takes away any of the "floaties" that you may be worried about.

Pet Peeve #2) I can hardly contain my intensity about this topic. I am in my fourth year of university now, and have taken more classes than I can count had hundreds of hours of listening to lectures. There is a certain time when the class is supposed to end, right? It seems like as this time approaches, starting at 5 minutes before and escalating up till the minute that the class is "dismissed", people start moving around, fidgiting, putting books/binders away, putting jackets on, and talking to their neighbors, without having enough RESPECT to keep quiet until the prof says the class is over. It's like we live in a world where students think that even if the prof is still talking, but the clock says the time is almost up, it gives them the right to talk over what he/she is trying to say and by doing so is outrightly saying to the prof "okay now, you're time is up...you have to finish speaking because I have to move on with my much more preferred schedule." As if it would be soo hard to just sit there in silence and politely wait for 1-2 more minutes (longer for the more impatient ones..). This bugs me soooo much. I will never understand why people can't just wait. It is RUDE. The prof is trying to do their job and must feel very unheard, disrespected or that the students don't care what the heck they are saying (they are just putting in "time" to get the degree). So...please...if you are one of those people - STOP. Try to see it from the profs perspective and how that must be so frustrating to them. If you aren't one of those people... thank-you! You are welcome to join me in my position and get annoyed at people who do that...or maybe we can start a website...or a facebook group..or something.

Pet Peeve #3) Going on the bus everyday, I have the priviledge of observing people a lot. This is one of my favorite things to do because people can be so interesting...and weird...hmmm.
Something that I've noticed is how people treat bus drivers. Like they are not there. I guess it would be just too much of an effort to meet their eyes, acknowledge their existence, and say HI! Or when you are getting off the bus, to say "Thank-you!". Apparently, it's just a lot easier to flash your bus pass to them like they are an automatic detection devise scanning to detect whether you have an actual pass or a "fake ID pass". Just a reminder, bus drivers ARE people...they work long hours and get us around the city safely, and I have yet to meet many unfriendly bus drivers. I'm sure they appreciate a thank-you for the hard work they put in...

Pet Peeve #4) When people are making toast...and they put just a small clump of margarine in the middle of the piece, sort of "spread it out"a couple of centimeters - then eat it. So, all the margarine is in the middle of it, clumped together, and the rest of it is as dry as a desert and crunchy...ewwww!!

Pet peeve #5) Ever have one of those times where you meet someone for the first time and they shake your hand...but "shake" wouldn't be the right word for it...maybe "gently touch", "politely move" or "hardly grasp" would be better terms for the experience. It's like they are scared to grip you too firmly because your bones may break. Or whatever the reason. It just bugs me.

I know there are some more where that came from...but that's enough for now. I feel better. Ranting is awesome....you should try it sometime :)

How can someone feel so completely alone...
when they are surrounded by people?

When the protective walls come up
To mask whats really going on...

To hide.
Because it feels like no one would understand.
What its like.

Christmas is coming...

Christmas is just around the corner!!!!
yippers!!! Just a few more days of procrastination and then I don't need to feel so guilty about not studying anymore....

Thankful

I was listening to some of my great Christmas music today...this one came up and I probably listened to it 5 times on the way to school. It's a song with incredible lyrics that I wanted to share with you! So, if you have a couple minutes, relax and listen to one of my favorites and my first on my playlist. Enjoy :)

"Thankful" by Josh Groban

Somedays we forget to look around us
somedays we can't see the joy that surrounds us
so caught up inside ourselves
we take what we should give

so for tonight we pray for
what we know can be
and on this day we hope for
what we still can't see
it's up to us to be the change
and even though we all can still do more
there's so much to be thankful for

look beyond ourselves
there's so much sorrow
it's way to vague to say
i'll cry tomorrow
each of us must find our truth
it's so long overdue

so for tonight we pray for
what we know can be
and everyday we hope for
what we still can't see
it's up to us to be the change
and even though this world needs so much more
there's so much to be thankful for

even with our differences
there is a place we're all connected
each of us can find eachother's light

randomness

okay....topics to talk about....
We threw a surprise party for Kim today....
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIM!

And I think maybe we surprised her...well, actually not. But at least there were hundreds of balloons (only a product of many close to passing out moments), two awesome cakes, and a wonderful game of What If...
What if it were as cheap to go to the moon as to drive to the other side of the city? That was my question...interesting responses came from that, which is what's so great about that game :)
But I don't like keeping secrets from people, but I guess you kinda have to if you want to plan a surprise party. But there is always a sense of relief once everything is all in the open, your plan went through, and no more talking secretively behind closed doors...

And of course the dance parties...to Sexy Back, and multiple cheesy (yet awesome) old songs that I used to listen to when I was 12. Those are always fun.

ok, different topic.

Subway. I like working at Subway. Its always so interesting to see what kind of people come through, also interesting is all the different kinds of ways people treat you as "just" the sandwich artist. Okay, I personally like being a sandwich artist. I got $1 tip yesterday and that made me very happy. :) What's even better is when people actually acknowledge you, say thank-you, and are patient when maybe something goes wrong and they may have to wait a couple minutes for their sub. Its funny how quickly people can change their attitude towards you...in a matter of a minute they go from being friendly and smiling to impatient and annoyed. I've often wondered if they are very stressed out all the time - must be horrible. What ever happened to patience? But I've got to say that I've been quite impressed mostly by those who take extra time to say that they appreciate what you've done for them. Its nice and often one nice thing someone says to me gets me through the day. It's funny how you can make such a huge impression and make someone's day just by smiling (a real smile not a fake one) and saying thank-you...

I am listening to the music video for Brandon Heath's "Give me Your Eyes" - great song. All those people going somewhere...why have I never cared? Give me your arms for the brokenhearted...give me your love for humanity.
I wish I had more love. I wish I was more intuitive, had more knowledge, had more compassion. Its overwhelming to realize how much I have to work on and what I wish I could change about myself. All we can do is keep trying...say thank-you...look someone in the eyes and say hi...maybe often it is about the small things. We try too hard to 'change the world', when we often miss the small things we could do right around us.

Tomorrow is Monday...another day of learning about anatomy, issues in the environment, and how to care for the elderly of our society. I love older people...they have so much to offer - things we as younger people don't get to hear very much. Sometimes it seems like they are ignored in our society. We are so focused on young generations thriving, that we forget about the older ones who have already been through it and could add so much depth to life.

So, there are my random thoughts...very very random. I am going to stop now.

:)

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

"How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, O God my Father. Give light to my darkness, before they see me fall..." Psalm 13
I wonder if these may be words that Brad thought before he took his life on Sunday night. We all hear news stories on tv, or read it in the paper about some horrible tragedy that happened. It suddenly becomes different when you find out that it was someone you knew. All I heard on Sunday afternoon was that 'someone' from Prov commited suicide...someone? It could be anyone, and as I've learned from past situations, it is often a person you'd least expect. It shocked me to hear that it had been Brad Toews. It shocked me because he WAS one that I would least expect this to happen to. He seemed so put together...so funny, outgoing, extraverted, and had lots of friends. What happened that inside he was broken down to the point of taking his own life? Its sad that in such a 'close' community like Prov (meaning people live close in proximity to eachother) it seems like it is often a place where I know many people feel very lonely...yet, you walk around and outwardly everyone looks so put together...so happy. This happens everywhere - feeling alone amidst hundreds of people. Are we scared to be truly vulnerable with one another? I think so...it's hard...it's hard to admit that you are broken if it seems like you are the only one. No one can ever assume anything about someone else - whether they are happy or sad, or content with life - because we NEVER really know. We don't know what is going on inside a person's head, and we have no idea what they think when they are alone. Why is it that so many of us put up this front that we are so confident when we know that we are not. Why is it so hard to let the walls come down? How come everyone one is so shocked that it was Brad? Probably it is because he seemed fine...well, maybe this is a wake up call that not everyone is as they appear to be. Did it take a situation like this to happen for us to wake up and change? Will anything change? For Brad's sake - and for others like Brad out there right now - I really hope so. There are no words to say about how sad this situation is. God, be with his parents, his sibilings, his friends...