Let it Snow!

Well folks! It's time to start bringing out those snow boots, the shovels, the hats, the mittens! The time of the year has come! We finally have snow on the ground! Just in time to get us all into the Christmas Spirit! The past few years, we would have a bit of snow before Christmas, then a blizzard after Christmas, looks like it's changed this year! I don't know about you guys, but I'm a Christmas fanatic! It's not because of the gifts, or the food. It's all about cozying up in front of the fireplace late in the evening and having a nice hot steamy hot chocolate along with a good old Christmas classic! My favourite thing to do is watch Christmas movies with a fire going, maybe make some smores. Even now just talking about it makes me want to go home at make a fire! It's not even December yet, but it's getting close, and there's already few who have put up their Christmas lights. I personally think that all Christmas lights should be lit up on the 1st of December. That's always been a tradition in my family. It just makes it that much better. Seeing all these different houses all lit up, with the snow glistening definitely gets me in the Christmas cheer! This Christmas will be even more special since I will be attending the World Junior Hockey Championship in Ottawa. I will be going up boxing day, and spending the weekend with Shaun's family. We will also be going around to visit old Ottawa which will be full of lights and Christmas cheer. For those of you who don't like Christmas, I suggest trying to watch Christmas movies such as; The Holiday, and The Family Stone. Perhaps even the old classics, such as Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red nose Reindeer, even Charlie Brown Christmas! I will say this, I hate the muddy snow, and the wet winters, but this is the wonderful time of the year!

Madagascar 2

This past weekend, I went to the movie theaters to see one of the greatest animated movies of all time. Lately, animated movies have been an extreme success in the box office. Movies such as, Finding Nemo, Kung Fu Panda, Ratatouille, Barnyard, and of course, Madagascar. All of these movies are mistaken for kiddie movies. In my opinion, they're completely wrong. These movies to children, are just funny because of the graphics, and the characters, not necessarily because of the dialogue. Madagascar and Ratatouille are definately my 2 favourites movies. They both have hilarious graphics, unbelievable jokes, and great stories behind it. Madagascar 2 has been criticized at being more successful than the first one. The story is a great one, and of course, the giant pansies are still at it in the wild. I reccomend this movie to everyone who has liked the previous animated Dreamworks movies. It is very important that you pay attention to the characters facial expressions, that's where you get the best laugh. Trust me people, this movie is definately a movie to go see!

Hilarious Cats

As most of you don't know, I love cats more than anything in the world. All my life, I've grown up with cats around me. We got our first cat when I was only 2. She was a female cat, short hair, with a bunch of colors; brown, white, black, and grey. Her name was Sassy, and she lived to be 14 years old. When she first passed away, it tored me apart not having her around, I would walk up the stairs and see a sweater on the floor, and I would think it was her. Whenever I came home from school, I would always expect her to come running up to me. I could never live without pets, because there's just nothing to come home to, they're so funny and loving. Just recently, we got two new kittens so that they could play together. They are both females, Vixen and Xiva and the best part is, they're sisters! They are the craziest cats ever! They wrestle each other like you wouldn't believe, and chase each other around the house. They make toys out of nothing! They play with paper bags, pens, paper, kleenex boxes, their own tails, they're so funny to watch! We've recorded them acting like they're high on sugar! This is a hilarious video of different cats who play with anything. I google these videos all the time because they're just so funny! It's pretty amazing sometimes to see what cats are capable of.
Enjoy!

Shine your Light

This month, I've picked a song called Shine your Light, sung by Robbie Robertson. When I first heard this song, I cried like a baby. This song is featured in the movie Ladder 49. Which is a movie about a firefighter, ( Jack Morrison played by Joaquin Phoenix ) who becomes a veteran at a Baltimore Fire Department. During this movie, his department gets called into a very dangerous blaze that's burning a 20 storey building. As he goes into the building, he finds himself trapped after falling through a floor, and loses track of where he is in the building. While he's trapped, he manages to talk to his captain ( Mike Kenndey played by John Travolta) on the walkie talkie. At some times, due to the smoke inhalations, he falls in and out of consciousness. He starts to have hallucinations about his past life, and his wife his son, and his first fires, which manages to keep him alive. When they finally get to where he is, they had to stop because of the debris, and metal they have to go through to rescue him. The building was burning down, and was on the verge of collapsing. Jack then tells his captain to pull out the other firefighters before he endangers their lives too. Jack Morrison then dies, and when they start his funeral ceremony, the song starts to play, as the scene of his body is being carried out onto the firetruck, with his band of brothers, wife, son, and friends in tow. The lyrics to this song is so beautifully written. The song is about a person passing away, and it's written as if you're talking to that person. You're telling them to look down on you, and help you, and guide you through everything (Shine your light). You're also realizing that since that person's passed, it can happen to anyone, and also to you. Don't wanna be a hero, just an everyday man, trying to do the job the very best he can, but now it's like living on borrowed time. This lyric is the most meaningful to me. To my opinion, it explains you're trying to live your life as best you can, and savour each moment, and memory, yet you never know when it can all end. This lyric also represents a small portion as to why I got my tattoo. It's a script, that says Live, surrounded by cherry blossoms and vines, which are in color. It means I try to go through each day as positive as I can, and live up to my tattoo. Yet there are times where it's okay to be grieving, or mourning, which is the reason of the vines. It also represents how easily life can be taken away from you at anytime, like Angela St-Denis' family. She was so young, yet she was so happy with what she did, and was always involved in almost anything she could do. To me, this song represents a loss of a loved one, and asking them to guide you through, and being there with you emotionally even though they are gone. They're not gone, they're just away.

Fallen Soldier Poem

Today is November 11th, remembrance day. I have decided to post a very nice poem written by Angela Goodwin. This poem truly touched my heart. The way she wrote it, and defined a soldier, makes me realise what these fallen soldiers did for us, and our country. I hope you enjoy it like I did.

A Soldier

There is discipline in a soldier you can see it when he walks,

There is honor in a soldier you hear it when he talks.

There is courage in a soldier you can see it in his eyes,

There is loyalty in a soldier that he will not compromise.

There is something in a soldier that makes him stand apart,

There is strength in a soldier that beats from his heart.

A soldier isn't a title any man can be hired to do,

A soldier is the soul of that man buried deep inside of you.

A soldier's job isn't finished after an 8 hour day or a 40 hour week,

A soldier is always a soldier even while he sleeps.

A soldier serves his country first and his life is left behind,

A soldier has to sacrifice what comes first in a civilian's mind.

If you are civilian -I am saying this to you.....next time you see a soldier,

remember what they do. A Soldier is the reason our land is 'Home of the free',

A soldier is the one that is brave protecting you and me.

If you are a soldier -I am saying this to you.....

Thank God for EVERY SOLDIER

Thank God for what YOU do!

Olympics?

As most of you who don't know this about me, every year here at Garnier, I've had several people who come visit me and look at my progression. I've been learning a bit of sign language (LSQ). LSQ stands for Langues des Signes Québécoise. Which is the french version of sign language. Many people are not familiar with this, but LSQ and ASL (American Sign Language) are two different versions of sign language. Although there are some signs that are the same, they are still two different languages. I've been seeing the same people for the past couple of years now, and just last year, a gentleman offered me and unbelievable opportunity. He informed me of a volleyball team that are hearing impaired, and they play in the Special Olympics. These girls are from 16-20 years old. Depending on my hearing disability qualifications, I may be able to enroll myself into this team. I believe next year the Olympics will be in Brazil. This for me, would be an amazing opportunity to do the two things I love; playing volleyball, and travelling with other people's money! I still have to get in touch with the organization in order to be a part of it. They would have to come and see me play. As for right now, it's just an opportunity for me, since I will probably wait a year or two to look into it, so that I start college, and get my education first, so that I have a back up plan in case it doesn't work out. It's all about taking risks, and for me, this opportunity would be the one that could change my life forever.

Off to Nipissing!

Well folks, the clock is ticking. It's now time to start getting into gear, and visit come college campus. This weekend, I will be going to Nipissing University with Andrea. Her older sister Meagan, is currently a student in her 2nd year, and also a Don at the residence. So we will be experiencing a bit more of the college campus, and of course, the residences. Nipissing University is also a campus shared with Canadore College. They share the same campus, but they're two different schools. Just like Durham College and UOIT. These colleges are further up North, in the mountains, where the rocks are, and there's not much city life except for downtown. Which is what I love, I would love to live up North and not be around the city. This is one of the many reasons why Canadore would be my 2nd option. My first however is without a doubt Fleming as I've told you before in my other blog. A couple of days ago, I received a call from Fleming College, and it was a female student in her 2nd year who was telling me about the College, and also asking if I had any questions regarding Fleming. It shocked me when I found out that their services for students with disabilities, such as; hearing impairment, are free! The most useful service for me would be a note taker. Which involves another student, who is able to take notes in my classes, and then gives them to me. Also, Victoria McDonald, is undergoing her 1st year, and she has made the Varsity Volleyball Team, and she's been talking to her coach about me. Letting him know that I will be attending Fleming next year, and the positions I play. He already wants to meet with me at the end of the month when they come to Durham. That's not all, he would also like to have me practice with his team, in order to see how I cope with team play, and my skills. When I will be coming back on Monday, I will have plenty of details of the campus up in North Bay, for those of you who are considering going to Canadore, or Nipissing. The truth is, it's never the same hearing about it, than seeing it with your own two eyes. So I suggest you get on down there and experience it for yourself!