Xerxes' Errata

As some of you here may know, I've set my sights on being a teacher as a career, but so far I've been rejected from all the universities I've applied to (UBC, SFU, et al).

That is, until now.

I had also applied to UNBC (in Prince George) but was told I was on the waiting list, which didn't fill me with a lot of hope I must say. Well, that non-hope was misplaced as last Monday I got a call saying that a spot had opened up for me.

So needless to say, I was thrilled. No more going to my crappy job and dealing with the endless BS everyone there has to deal with on a daily basis (though I will miss the great people I get to work with and the money of course). No more sitting around stuck in my sorry, yet sadly comfortable rut here in Abbotsford.

Now I can get my ambitions back on track and try to make something meaningful out of my life. So with hard work and a bit of luck in about 2 years I'll be indoctrinating students in the glories of Marxism.......I mean uh, the 3 R's.

But it's also going to be a big change for me on a number of levels. First of all, I've lived here in the Fraser Valley my whole life, so now I'll have to live somewhere where it actually gets cold during the winter. Moreover, this will be the first time I'll be living on my own so I also have to figure out how to cook meals other than the bachelor staples of Kraft Dinner and hot dogs...

But what I'll miss most are my friends who I've known since high school and still hang out with regularly. Most especially my best friend who's been studying in England for the past year and a half and who I haven't seen since last Christmas.

Still and all, I'm restlessly excited about this new chapter in my life and I can't wait for it to begin. !!

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[ Continued ]

In case some of you have missed it, the FIFA Under-20 World Cup is happening right now here in Canada in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal. Most of the marquee games are on CBC and the rest are on either CBC Country Canada, or Gol-TV (only if you have digital cable or satellite).

But, if you can still find tickets available, I strongly encourage you to go see a game or two live like I did on Sunday at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby. I say that because the atmosphere at soccer matches is wholly different than that at football game or hockey games (though those are electrifying and entertaining as well). Because its an international tournament, you see fans from all over the world all with different ways to cheer for their favourite team.

For example, take this Spanish fan:


That, and the football was good too. The first match of the double header was Jordan v. Zambia which everyone there was expecting to be a snoozer but it was surprisingly entertaining with good play and some dubious refereeing as a Jordanian player was mysteriously injured and managed to get a Zambian player sent off becuase of it.

And what made that game extra special was a group of Zambian ex-pats in the rows behind me who were constantly singing and chanting and energizing the crowd with their infectious chants and songs. As an example, I submit the following video.

[youtube width=425 height=350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvGdigsGFUc[/youtube]

And that was during half-time.

The second game on tap was the game everyone wanted to see; Spain v. Uruguay. As you can see Swangard was totally packed.


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[ Continued ]

Summertime and the livin's easy - Sublime

Well, tomorrow is the first official day of summer which the flowers are in bloom (which subsequently means I start sneezing much too much for my liking - stupid allergies....) and the animals start to grow some cojones and venture out into the open more often. And so, I'll hopefully enrich everyone's summer by posting some pics I've taken in the last few days from around my house.

The first three are from my mom's flower bed in front of our house.







And the last one is of this one rabbit that loves to eat said flowers. It's pretty timid though and I can get to within about 3 ft. of it before it scampers off.

For those of you who missed it this Sunday afternoon and haven't read about it in your daily paper's culture/arts & life section, the MTV Movie awards were on and right off the bat let me just say the Oscars could learn a thing or two from MTV.

1. First of all, a funny host. Ellen Degeneres was funny in her odd, quirky way at the Oscars, but Sarah Silverman was awesome in her brutal up yours way last night. Her best moment:

[youtube width=425 height=350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqUig75bAz8[/youtube]

2. Better pacing. It's been said many times before, but the Oscars do go on forever. The MTV MA's on the other hand, even though they were 2 hours long, went much faster.

That being said, there were times where it wasn't so much fun. The top of that list was Rihanna's performance of her new single 'Umbrella'. First of all, it sounded like she hadn't even done a sound check she was so off key. Even her super tight bondage wear outfit wasn't that appealing.

Another annoying moment was actually a series of them. Namely, the incessant Transformers promos. Yeah the movie looks kinda cool (though the fact that Johnny Knoxville is in it makes me wonder how much of a stinker it's going to be), but pimping the movie at every chance did it a disservice.

Jack Nocholson upon receiving his award for best villain in The Departed looked either drunk and/or baked out of his mind.

But apart from those, there were some great moments as well. One was Cameron Diaz in a super small black dress (insert the sounds Jim Carey made in The Mask here) introducting Mike Myers for a legacy award.

Another was anytime Sascha Baron Cohen (aka ali G aka Borat aka Bruno) was on-stage. First he pimp slapped Will Farell and then made out with him in the impromptu recreaction of their kiss in Talledega Nights. It was neat finally not seeing him in character.

Then there was Amy Winehouse doing incredibly excellent (and ironic) performance of "Rehab"...

[ Continued ]

No more rain

Tell the rain to stop falling
the season is not right
not here, not now

I cant listen to the soft patter
of beady drops from heaven above
cos for days i lay
basking in the heat of no memory
till the rain started falling
Now its all that fills my mind
Listening to the song of the rain
as the wind howls as if to speak to the rain....
to stop falling
The season's not right
the seed needs to dry up
but the rains fail to stop
and i fear, for this seed
that needs not to grow

please tell the rain
to stop falling

Terryanne Chebet