The IVCF Issue

So I read back over what I've posted and I realized I never posted about IVCF, perhaps it's water under the bridge now but as I let the cat out of the bag with my comment of a few days ago I better explain what happened. So here's the story, as best as I can remember it.
So back in late March or perhaps early April I was activities co-ordinator (one of three) for the IVCF (as I had been for the past year and a half) so we are doing elections and the topic of my position comes up at an exec meeting. I say I'm not sure if I'm coming back in the fall or not and it's recorded in the minutes that if I'm back I get my position and if not they're downsizing it to two positions.
So I decided I'm coming back in the fall, I let the IV exec know this and they say okay. Life goes on, a week or so later I'm asked to meet with the presidents, so I go. They tell me that my position has been abolished and they would like to do it with two people next school year and I'm not needed. I find this unfair and un-constitutional so I take it up with our staff worker and most of the exec.... This goes 'round and 'round in circles with me applying (and being denied for) worship co-ordinator fitting in there somewhere. The long and short of it was that by the end of the semester I didn't' have a place on exec in the fall and I didn't even want to go to final exec meeting but I did and they prayed me out as they always do and it was as if I chose to leave and wasn't forced and to this day at least half the exec has no idea what went on. The half that do supported my cause but there was little we could do about it. I eventually got an apology from both presidents and the staff worker and a promise that I would be involved this year in other capacities. (Which didn't happen, or even be attempted at happening by anyone but me until last month.) So whenever I saw certain exec people this year it was very touchy and they very much tried to appease me for fear I'd yell at them in public, or something along those lines. (which I never would have done.)
Oh and the reason they wanted to abolish my position, besides them trying to par down exec, was because I was older than all the other exec people (at 23 I would hardly consider myself old.)
So that's the story of what happened, now the underlying story of what happened goes like this: I am a strong, determined person who doesn't work especially well in teams unless I'm the leader of those teams or under the leadership of a very strong-willed person who can give specific direction as I would do. When I sense weakness in leaders I attack, I stand up for what I believe in and what I think is right or should be done and I don't easily stand down. The two presidents were both weaker individuals who I could very easily over-power when I felt something should be done differently then the way they did it. Similarly the two other activity's people, although good leaders in their own right, weren't as strong willed as me, which meant I led most of the events unless I chose to delegate them out and even then I had my hand in most things going on. I liked to be in the know and events went well with me in charge, but the presidents felt I was bullying the other two into doing things my way and no new ideas were being brought to the table.
The under-underlying story to both of the above is this: I have never been the best model of "Christian" values. I feel that many Christians are hypocrites who think people should do what they say and not what they do. I live my life the best I can and I screw up, frequently, and I know that and God knows that and He forgives me and I'm not afraid to get out there, try new things and sometimes fall on my face. I don't live the best lifestyle and I never have. I live with a guy roommate and before this I lived with my boyfriend, I've cheated on boyfriends, I drink almost every weekend, I party at clubs, I've had pre-marital sex, I've shown up places with hangovers, I've lied, I've cheated, I've snuck around and I'm not afraid to admit to all these things. I'm open to other religions points of views, I make friends with all people, not just Christians, I date non-Christian guys. I wear slutty clothes on occasion, I dye my hair, I get piercings. I've shopped in a sex toy store, I own a bikini and lingerie, I've skipped church because I was too drunk or hung-over to go or because I simply didn't feel like it. In the eyes of many people these things are considered bad and un-Christian and I am not a good candidate to endorse the Christian faith. I don't feel this way, I think I'm a perfect candidate, I know people for who they are, the real people underneath. I can get to know people on a personal level and see where they're coming from, go to where I need to to reach them. The IV, for the most part, has, over the years, become an exec of people born and raised into Christian homes with good Christian parents who taught them good Christian values, who accepted Jesus as a young age and know the word of God inside and out. They have never smoke, drank or would dream of having sex and if they have done any of these things they've repented of it and so are clean of it and would never admit to doing it 'cuz it's in the past.
I will not judge them, I'm merely stating fact, I just don't think it's fair they judged me. I knew for a long time the current exec was tying to find a way of getting rid of me to "spiritually cleanse" IV and get it back to it's pristine bubble that I threatened to break. So good for them, that's their choice, I won't judge, I'll just rant and take comfort in knowing that on judgment day they'll have to explain their actions to God and not to me. :)

A Cleaning I Shall Go

Today, after weeks of stress and busy-ness I finally decided the time had come to clean up the apartment. This became exceptionally apparent earlier this week when I needed to rearrange the living room/office to accommodate for the heat being turned on as my desk was too close to it ergo my computers were too close to the heat. So Sunday morning at about 2:30am I moved the desk and turned the heat on, but everything else merely got shoved out of the way. So today, instead of going to see Aeon Flux (I might add) I cleaned up the house. My roommate helped which was great, we dusted, cleaned the bathroom, scrubbed the kitchen and put the whole living room/dining room/office back in order, which was no small feat as for the past month or so we haven't had a kitchen table for want of all the things we had burying it (mostly my things...). I also got all my bills, banking and receipts in order. LOL Now if only I can get my papers done I'll be ending the semester on a high note! Oh and I suppose I'll eventually have to get my vacuum back from Micheal and take care of the floors and the pumpkin on the counter should probably go out here soon..... LOL

Singing in the Atrium

So today the IVCF was singing Christmas carols in the atrium at the University. I'd had the newsletter read to me earlier in the week and I knew that this was happening on Wednesday but I had no real intention of going until I found myself sitting on 5th shooting the breeze with some drama people and the sounds of "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" came wafting to me down the stairs. I found them irresistible so I wandered upstairs to partake of the carols. It was quite an interesting experience as the sound in the atrium carries remarkably well and to be standing there singing in it knowing everyone can hear you for floors above... It's quite intimidating, but here were all these people doing it anyways.
I guess in a way the Christmas spirit came over me today as I stood there and sang with them, similar to the grinch, and my heart grew three sizes today. LOL I did however decide to repent of my past actions with the IV and make amends so I made a point of talking and being civil and even nice to some of those who shunned me last semester. (can't remember if I posted on this, may have to make that a topic once I've back-read) So perhaps Christmas is a time for friends and caring and loving and even forgiveness... I think I may even participate in some IV events next semester... Imagine that! :P

Bonsai Kittens

An e-mail I received:
This is so terrible. A site that we were able to shut last year has returned We have to try to shut it down again! (www.bonsaikitten.com) A Japanese man in New York breeds and sells kittens that are called BONSAI CATS. That would sound cute, if it weren't kittens that were put into little bottles after being given a muscle relaxant and then locked up for the rest of their lives!! The cats are fed through a straw and have a small tube for their feces. The skeleton of the cat will take on the form of the bottle as the kitten grows. The cats never get the opportunity to move. They are used as original and exclusive souvenirs. These are the latest trends in New York, China, Indonesia and New Zealand. If you think you can handle it, go to this site www.bonsaikitten.com and have a look at the methods being used to put these little kittens into bottles. This petition needs 500 names, so please put your one name on it!!! Copy the text into a new email and put your name on the bottom, then send it to everyone you know! Here's the link: http://www.bonsaikittens.com

A 2nd e-mail regarding the first:
Just so everyone knows, Bonsai Kittens do not exist, nor is this a real website. This has been going around for quite some time and is simply someone's idea of a joke, even if in poor taste. Please check out the following sites, and always check www.snopes.com before forwarding any messages/petitions you believe to be true (such as the Touched by an Angel hoax, and so on). By the way, email petitions are in no way valid. There is no one in any position of power that takes them seriously. You can not cause someone to donate money to any of your favourite charities by how many times one is forwarded, nor is there any way to even track the numerous branches created every time someone forwards such a email to their group of friends. In other words, don't forward petitions. It is also no way to witness to your friends how much you love Jesus, nor does it indicate that you will go to hell if you do not forward to as many people as possible. Someone, somewhere started these things as a sick idea of a joke, so think about that before you go spreading it on. They probably have a great chuckle every time they receive this from someone with a long list of names endorsing their imaginary petition. So instead of signing this petition, try forwarding this or a similar letter, or write your own. Then maybe we can put a stop to these stupid things!http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/bonsai.asp
http://tafkac.org/ulz/bonsai.html
http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/pranks/bonsai.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonsai_Kittens

First Day in Boots

So today was the first day I deemed it cold enough to actually wear boots out of the house, it was something like -32 with the windchill and after yesterday of still wearing my half-runners that are my preferred footwear once sandal weather is passed I decided boots were my only option. I conceded a bit on this point as I brought flip-flops, or "thongs" for you kiddies of the 80's who don't think "thongs" refers to two pairs of undewear, to school with me and put my boots in my locker. My very stylish boots I might add, courtesy of my Boo, thanks Boo! Props to my peep! LOL Really I can't complain that much as it's already into December and boots haven't been necessary, but I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later and my ambitious goal of waiting out the semester in half-shoes seems a bit far-fetched now. LOL

Finals

So this year I am very fortunate in that I had no finals as such. That is to say I have no written exams during the exam period. I do however have 3 major assignments all due this week or next. Yikes! The worst part is this just occurred to me this morning that I had so much homework that needed to be completed.
The problem of my monitor has still not resolved itself, unfortunately. I am currently still trying to figure out a reasonable way to hook up a new cable to the old monitor, so in the meantime I find myself working off my laptop and out of the computer labs (which is where I currently am) the only problem is I really don't like the computer labs... I also really don't like using my laptop for any extended amount of time, which is why it is the week my finals are all due and I have none of them completed.
One of them is a series of AutoCAD assignment that I have no choice but to do in the labs as I don't have $1200 lying around to buy a copy of AutoCAD 2006. The second is a play which I thankfully have 2/3 done and it's not due until Monday and the third is a paper, 15 pages 1.5 spacing font 12 due Thursday, although graciously the teacher gave me an extension 'til Monday when I told him the plight of my computer problems.
So thus I find myself in a lab half an hour before my final "Den of the Dorks" class contemplating life and typing a blog about my final papers instead of actually writing them. I know I'll regret this later, but c'est la vive. LOL

No Place Like Home for the Holidays

So sadly this Christmas I won't be going home. :(
I managed to book the 21-28 off work but there were no available flights during that window so I'll be staying in Alberta this year. I may have the option of going to my aunt & uncle in Calgary's place, but it is small and my family on dad's side is large so I can't expect them to put me up as well. They may though, they often do go out of their way to help me. (which I appreciate.) My friend Kar invited me to her house for Christmas eve and day and I may take her up on it, but I'm not sure just yet. I may find it easier to just work and get paid huge paychecks for my time and make myself feel better about not being home. 'Cuz to really sucks I can't be home.
I also have to decide if I want to bother decorating, it seems like an awful lot of work, especially as I haven't started yet, but it may be nice to have a tree or lights or something so I don't feel so bad about not being at home... But then again it may make me feel worse, well I guess I'll have to decide here soon 'cuz it's only getting closer...

Song of the Week

"I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" - Gayla Peevey

Article Found Here

A Weekend of Plays

So this weekend my Playwriting class had their final "get-together and review each other's plays." We still have one day of class (Wed) but other than that we are done. Our plays are due Dec 12, not in their entirety but five acts of them (15+ pages). I wrote a play about a DJ named Jimmy the Player who basically does that, plays songs, plays people and plays women. The play is about his manipulation of his co-workers, producer and girlfriend over the course of an evening "on the air". It's a one-act play so play time should be around half an hour to forty-five minutes when all is said and done. Right now I'm sitting at 14 pages and about 20-30 minutes of play time (cold read that is.) I'm pretty stoked about the whole thing, it sounds like I wanted it to in my head and my prof seemed to like the premise and the ideas for the ending. Although I have enough written to hand it in un-finished I would really like to get it completed before I hand it in. I just don't think I'd finish it later if I don't now and I feel it has potential as a piece and I'd hate to see it get shoved in a drawer somewhere... But we will see, time restraints and all.
I at least hope to get the final conflict scene written by Wednesday so I can have classmates try it out in cold read and see if it sound right, but again we shall see. One of the major dilemmas I'm having at this point is that I really have a strong start and I don't want it to end weakly, I want it to climax nicely and not have the bad guy win in the end, I want him to learn a lesson, but it not to be a Saturday morning special so to speak. I also want to have appropriate language for the piece and the characters and not have them swear just for the sake of swearing 'cuz I actually really don't like swearing in theatre or in real life (although I know I'm bad for it at times). So we shall see where this goes...
If any of y'all wanna read it just fire me off an e-mail and I'll see what I can do about getting you a copy. :)

Improv Face-off

So tonight we had our first ever Improv Face-off. It was put on by the Improv club at the University, which as I have mentioned I am the Publicity girl for. It was a huge success!!! YAY! We had 43 people show up which is more than Twoonie Theatre (the other drama club's big semester event) had. I was so stoked!! I was so worried that not a lot of peeps would show and they would blame me for bad publicity for the event, but it was awesome. The Meliorist (the school's newspaper) even put in a blurb about us as a the number one suggestion in the "6 1/2 things to do this week". Which was awesome as we didn't think they'd even mention us.
So thanks to all my buds who showed up, thanks to Nicole for taking pics (now I have something to put on the website for the new year.) Thanks to Charity for running our sound and thanks to everyone who acted in the show! You guys all rocked the Kasbah, seriously it was awesome! The audience laughed during all the scenes and everyone was really on the ball with their one-liners and comedic sketches, good job guys!
For those of you who couldn't make it, shame on you! LOL You missed an awesome show. We had a bunch of team challenges and we played a whole bunch of games, here's a list of some of them: Party Quirks, Ding, Stunt Doubles, Space Jump, Slow Mo Commentary, Movie in a Minute, Sit/Stand/Lie, Pockets, Walkout & Superheroes. (There may be more I'm forgetting) But it was a super show! Our next one is Feb 3 or 4 so mark it on your calendar now so you can all be there!!

Vote for my friend!!

Hey all,
My buddy Kevin got his blog nominated for the Great Canadian Blog competition, please all go vote for him! His blog is http://kevingpowell.blogspot.com/ and it has been nominated for Best Religious Blog in the Canadian Blog awards. He's made it to round two. If you are so inclined to vote in this round you can do so here http://cba.myblahg.com/

Tentative Timetable:
Saturday December 3rd - Friday December 9th: Round Two voting. Sunday December 11th, 9pm EST: Round Two results will be announced.

Voting Instructions:
***You may vote once per day.***
Note: It's not required that you vote in each category, but you must make all your selections before you submit your vote.

Starbucks

So an unfortunate thing happened yesterday. I found out the U of L "proudly brews Starbucks Coffee." Now this information in and of itself is far from life altering, and I know you are wondering what the big deal is... well the problem is that because they brew Starbucks coffee they now have Starbucks coffee cups. Which means that when I go to get a cup of tea from the University I have to carry it around in a cup with a Starbucks logo printed "proudly" on the side, another step on the ladder to the take-over of Canada by the likes of corporate America. I don't see why they can't just leave well enough alone and stay the heck out of our country and keep your logo off my tea!

December

In December I will be a baubled, baubled Christmas tree
With soup bowls draped all over me.
Merry once, merry twice, merry chicken soup with rice.

Violence in Video Games

I was considering violence in relation to video games as I write my final paper for "Theory & Aesthetics of Video Games" and although my paper is not on that particular topic I had some thoughts on it that I would like to express, so I will do so here.

I think that there are an awful lot of violent video games out there, but I don't think they are intrinsically bad. Just because a game is violent doesn't mean there is no point to it, in fact often the point of the game is far from violence, the violence is just a means to the end. War games are by definition violent (generally speaking) but the point is to win the war. Similarly gangster games are violent (like Grand Theft Auto, or Fifty Cent's game) although the story behind these is the portrayal of a lifestyle that is violent so the game has to have violence to be a true representation of the lifestyle. Similarly sports games are often violent in a physical sense as that is the nature of sports, but very few people will argue that sports games violence is bad, but as soon as the violence has a gun or a weapon it becomes violent and bad. Wrestling games are often seen as "bad" for this reason, because there is physical violence that nowadays involves weapons and blood. I'm not saying that all video game violence is acceptable, what I am saying is that it usually has a point that people who criticize it don't take the time to look at.
Another point I'd like to make is that perhaps the violence in games is, on some level, a good thing, again I don't want anyone to think that I am condoning all violence or saying that I don't find some of it excessive and gruesome. In fact some games seem gorey for no reason other than to be gorey, but perhaps that is a better form of violence. I am not by nature a violent person, but I, like everyone else, get angry from time to time and when I am in an angry mood I appreciate the violent games. I can go slay Barney in Doom, create a a wrestler who looks like my friend and kick their butt in WWE or simply go around San Andres shooting up the place and beating the crap out of people completely outside the context of the story of the game. I mean these are just examples of taking out my violence in violent games, I could just as easily create a Sim and drown it in a non-violent game or beat up some elves in Harry Potter or some building in the incredible Hulk. All games have violent aspects, some are just more predominant than in others. I mean really isn't it better that when people are angry they take it out on virtual worlds with fictional characters than going and "busting a cap in someone's knee" in real life? I think perhaps if there are others outlets for violence and anger other than real life it has the potential to make the world a less violent place, in a real world space. I'm not saying if Charles Manson had played video games that perhaps he wouldn't have killed people, but really who knows? He may not have killed so many people if he had San Andres.
I'm also not negating that some violent games give children ideas they never would have had otherwise (like Manhunt that represents a snuff film or Def Jam that represents gang fights) but I don't see how just because we see something on the TV or the computer we feel compelled to go out and do it in real life. Sure some people would, but some people will always be violent, regardless of whether they play video games or not, it's just the nature of man.

Where did I go?

So I know it's been two long weeks since I actually posted a blog. I'm sorry! I have been writing blogs on my laptop and then just not posting them. LOL.... The reason you ask? Well that's an interesting question..... You see the quest for the soldering iron turned into the quest for the de-soldering braid, the quest for the monitor end, the quest for the monitor cable, the quest for the guy who said he'd fix the monitor, the quest for secondary monitor and finally (and most recently) the quest for sanity. It has been 3 weeks without a monitor, or a proper computer. I've been using my laptop, which for you fully sighted people out there is no big deal, but for me with my limited vision is a huge pain in the butt. I have to run at least a screen magnifier on the laptop, sometimes a speech system as well and it makes using it for anything but note-taking very frustrating and tiresome. (For my msn and mIRC buddies this is also my reasoning for not being online lately.) So needless to say I use my laptop as little as is humanly possible, usually for one class and to check my e-mail occasionally.

Today, however, I ventured to the school early so that I could post a blog and let y'all know that I haven't forgotten about my blog or my blog friends and I'm sorry!! Blame the guy who's supposed to be fixing my monitor, who by the way I am still questing after as he has been MIA since last Thursday! GRRRR!!!

Anyways best wishes to y'all. As soon as I have a computer I'll back-post all the blogs I've written in Word over the past two weeks. :)

Song of the Week

"Sweet Caroline" - Neil Diamond

Song of the Week

"Cry Out to Jesus" - Third Day

Song of the Week

"Thank God I'm a Country Boy" - Billy Dean

Soldering Iron: A Quest, Part 2

An update on the soldering iron situation, as I know you have all been anxiously awaiting news on this particular issues...
A soldering iron has been found! Oh Happy Day! The monitor can be repaired and I can once again use my computer, which is actually quite excellent as the screen on my laptop is in fact too small for me to comfortably work at. (It is a sad world where a 17" screen is not "big enough") but c'est la vive, this is how God made me.) So it will be an even happier day when my monitor, all 21" of it is fully functional again.
And where did I find this soldering iron? I know you are all curious to know, the answer, as ironic as it may seem is simple, I found it at The Source by Circuit City, what was formerly "radio Shack". Ironically the first place I looked, but due to some bad advice by an ill-advised sales person I was sent on the wild goose chased previously described... Ah well... Life goes on, and now that I have a soldering iron it will hopefully be a better place. LOL

Remembrance Day

Today here in Canada is remembrance Day, I believe the Americans have a similar day called Veterans Day, although I'm not sure if it falls on Nov 11th as well. remembrance day is a time for us to remember those who fought and died during the wars to make Canada the country it is today, a country of freedom.
My Grandpa on my mumby's side fought in World War II. He thankfully, came back from the war, married my nana as a war bride, fathered four children, and lived a long and healthy life until his death a few years ago. During the war he lost half a finger to a meat grinder while he worked in the mess hall. This is his biggest "war wound". He is by far one of the lucky ones. So many young men and women lost so much more during the war, lives, loved ones, their sanity. Mothers losing their sons, Daughters their brothers, Wives their husbands, young women their sweethearts and so forth. Almost every person you meet can tell you a story about someone they knew who was in a war.
My generation is so lucky to have not know war like the previous generations did, to not live in fear, to live in a free country, with freedom of speech and expression. Freedom to be any way we want to be without fear of war looming over our heads, freedom to grow up and raise families without fear.
For this we must remember, today and everyday. We must learn from the past, learn from the mistakes learn from what anger and hatred, miscommunication and misunderstanding can lead to. We must continue to make our world the world these men and women fought for and died for, the world they saw a vision for, a vsion that sustained them through the war, drove them to their cause each day. For them we must remember!


In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.


http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/flanders.htm