W is for Water X is for Xavier Y is for Yellow Z is for ZOMBIES!

This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday...

So I've been slacking so here goes W through Z. W is for water. Water reminds me of my trip to Mexico because I pretty much never drank just water before I went there. It was always pop or juice or tea. When I went to Mexico, though, we pretty much only had water to drink and we really needed to drink a lot of it while we were working on the house. Dehydration can be dangerous.

X is for Xavier from X-Men. Professor Xavier is pretty damn awesome. I watched X-Men on TV when I was little and I was a little disappointed by the movies because they changed some of my favourite characters. Anyways, Xavier is one of the few people who was still awesome in the movies. It seriously helps that they cast Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean-Luc Picard) as him in the movies.

Y is for Yellow. When I was younger, I danced for about 11 years and one of those years, we wore this terribly ugly costume that was kind of salsa themed and Yellow. In case you didn't know, I look terrible in yellow. Like seriously, red heads are terrible in yellow. I hated it.

Z is for zombies! Okay, so shameless self promotion time!! I write another blog that's a chapter by chapter novel. It's about zombies and you should all read it and love it! :) Check it out here: tornapartstory.blogspot.com

Anyways, assignment today is to read my story!! :)

-Ciao!

V is for Vera

This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday...

So for my V post, I must make another nod to Firefly. I know, I'm a nerd. Deal with it. Anyways, V is for Vera because that's the name of Jayne's favourite gun as well as my guitar. Yes, I own a guitar even though I don't REALLY know how to play it. I know a bit, but whatever.

How did I manage to get myself a guitar? Well, one Christmas, I'd been thinking about getting one because guitars are really pretty and I had been learning how to play a bit on my boyfriend's electric. I was getting pretty okay at it, but I really wanted my own acoustic. Then, we went into this shop down the road from us to admire the pretty acoustics. There was Vera- black, sleek and just calling my name. Of course, she was two hundred bucks and I knew there was no way I could afford her before someone else picked her up.

So I stood there, admiring this beautiful guitar while Stephen wandered around the rest of the shop looking at records and stuff. Then, in he walks and he pulls Vera down from the shelf and hands her to me and says, "It's yours". I just stared at him blankly for a minute or so, the guitar in my hands. Then he showed me the receipt and said "Merry Christmas".

For my birthday that year, he bought me a book of easy music to learn on the guitar. I learned how to play the mission impossible theme, which was a lot of fun. Anyways, now Vera is sitting in my closet and I'm sure I'll pull her out again sometime soon. And yes, she's named after the gun in Firefly, in case you didn't get that.

Assignment: play/listen to some music!

-Ciao!

U is for Unforgettable

This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday...

So, I find many things in life unforgettable. This blog post, I'll just give you a list of things I'll never forget. Just to make it simple.

1. The time Mathew crashed the white van into the ditch. (and it caught fire)
2. The time Spencer ruined the end of Armageddon for Andrew.
3. My first kiss <3
4. The time Georgia threw up in the theatre at the end of Harry Potter 2 (and Andrew helping to clean it up)
5. The funerals I've been to and the people they were for.
6. Spencer and Kim's wedding.
7. The Star Wars trilogy. The original one.
8. My first drink of Fireball
9. The first time someone told me I should be a writer (Ms. Foxgard)
10. My first University A+
11. Prom
12. The cast of Oliver (and the experience of being a part of it as a whole)
13. Singing All Star on the bus with Caitlin
14. Autumn and Star
15. The day at the lake with Stephen
16. My murder mystery 
17. Borto (and by extension AP Lit and AP US History)
18. My friends in general
19. Graduation 
20. The Captives

Okay, so those are 20 unforgettable things. There are more but I don't want to keep going (otherwise there'll be 1000) Anyways, enjoy!

Assignment: think of your top 20 unforgettable things.

-Ciao!

T is for Terrible Taryn's Tentacle Thing

This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday...

So when I was in grade six, I was part of the crafts club. Dorky, right? Whatever, guys. It was fun and it let me spend all my lunch hours making crafts from around the world with my friends. Anyways, one of the crafts was this basket that we had to weave. It started as a round base, with some material hanging around it that we were supposed to be weaving.

Anyways, when I was making mine, I held it up and the material hung down the sides like these frightening tentacles. So, my friend Caitlin exclaimed "IT'S TERRIBLE TARYN'S TENTACLE THING!" and thus the tentacle thing was born. So, Caitlin (who is amazingly talented at writing, even if she denies it sometimes) wrote a series of poems based on this creature. I still have all of those poems in my desk at home, but I'm not willing to type them up to post here. So, if you know Caitlin, you should ask her to show them to you. They're brilliant. And star me! Oh, and the tentacle thing. But really, I'm better :).

Anyways, I remember grade six as a wonderful year and I really do miss it. All of the people I knew then are fantastic. I remember some of the stupid silly things we did fondly. Sometimes we thought we were badass, but we were just weird. Also, Caitlin and I started a film about that year but it's really hard to make a movie with a bunch of 13-year-olds. Seriously. Try it with no budget. Hard as shit.

So, that's today's post. Hope you all enjoyed it. Short but sweet. See you next time!

Assignment: Do a craft!

-Ciao!

O is for Oxygen, P is for Potato, Q is for Quadratic Effect, R is for Rancor, S is for Spencer

This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday...

Hey everyone! So, due to my being on the mainland right now, this is the first opportunity that I've had to post. So, you get all of these posts together. Let's start with O. O is for oxygen because that's what they pump casinos full of in Vegas. I've never been to Vegas, but I have been to a casino and, for some strange reason, I always feel more awake in the casino than out of it. Coincidence? Probably not. Anyways, I went  to the casino with my dad, step-mom and brother. Here were the results:

1. Dad just lost money because he paid for us and then sat at the bar paying for drinks all night.

2. I lost 30 bucks of my dad's money.

3. My step-mom lost 40 bucks on the slot machines

4. My brother took 40 bucks and turned it into over 300. What a dick.

So next we move on to P is for Potato. Or Portal, if you will. I bought the Portal 2 pre-order and played it as soon as it came out. But, after playing for 3 hours, I realized I had forgotten to switch from my boyfriend's account to mine. So, I restarted the next day and completed the game in one sitting. Why potato though? Well, you'll just have to play the game to find out.

Q is for Quadratic Effect. This is kind of cheating because I've already blogged about this. For those of you who don't know, Quadratic Effect was the first set of books I ever wrote. Most enjoyable to write. And no, you can't read them. So terrible, they are.

R is for Rancor. From Star Wars, people! I remember that Star Wars was ruined for me when I was little because my brother told me about (SPOILER) Darth Vader being Luke's father. Seriously, when you've never seen the movie, it's really lame to have someone give that away to you. I was too young to have heard all the references to it before, but Mat just had to give it away. Stupid brother. Anyways, my point is, Rancors are scary shit and you should gtfo if you see one. Ever. Also see a psychiatrist because you'd be seeing something that doesn't actually exist...

S is for Spencer, my brother. I went to his Wedding last summer (it was fabulous) in Spirit River, Alberta. For those of you who don't know, Spirit River is a really tiny town. Like really small. Seriously, go look at a map. Anyways, Spencer was so cute in his little tux and everything and his wife looked like a princess. They're such a great couple. Really adorable. Also, Spencer reads my blogs and has been hassling me to update my other one. Don't worry Spanky; it'll happen. That's right. I called you Spanky. On the internet. What're you gonna do about it? :P

Anyways, that's my post. Enjoy. Assignment for today is to watch Star Wars. The good movies. The originals.

-Ciao!

N is for Nevermore

This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday...

So during middle and high school, I really enjoyed Edgar Allen Poe. I still enjoy his work, but not as much as I used to. I was pretty much obsessed with it. I bought a book of short stories/poems by him and was using the word "Nevermore" for passwords and user names etc everywhere. How broody of me. Anyways, for a poetry project in high school, I did an analysis of his poem the Raven and a word picture (or whatever it's called) of the Bells.

As terribly stereotypical and cliche it was for me to love Poe at that age, I think it was actually pretty good for me to read his stuff. As a young writer, reading and admiring other writers is a great way to improve my own writing. Edgar Allen Poe was definitely a great man, even if he was really, really, really crazy. I only hope that my work will last as well as his has.
So, to complete today's blogpost, I give you one of Poe's most famous poems (and the first of his that I ever read), The Raven:

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -

Only this, and nothing more.'

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,

And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.

Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow

From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -

For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore -

Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain

Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;

So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating

`'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door -

Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; -

This it is, and nothing more,'

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,

`Sir,' said I, `or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;

But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,

And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,

That I scarce was sure I heard you' - here I opened wide the door; -

Darkness there, and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,

Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;

But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,

And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, `Lenore!'

This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, `Lenore!'

Merely this and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,

Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.

`Surely,' said I, `surely that is something at my window lattice;

Let me see then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore -

Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; -

'Tis the wind and nothing more!'

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,

In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore.

Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;

But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -

Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -

Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,

By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,

`Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,' I said, `art sure no craven.

Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the nightly shore -

Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!'

Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,

Though its answer little meaning - little relevancy bore;

For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being

Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door -

Bird or beast above the sculptured bust above his chamber door,

With such name as `Nevermore.'

But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only,

That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.

Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather then he fluttered -

Till I scarcely more than muttered `Other friends have flown before -

On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.'

Then the bird said, `Nevermore.'

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,

`Doubtless,' said I, `what it utters is its only stock and store,

Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful disaster

Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore -

Till the dirges of his hope that melancholy burden bore

Of "Never-nevermore."'

But the raven still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling,

Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door;

Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking

Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore -

What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore

Meant in croaking `Nevermore.'

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing

To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;

This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining

On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er,

But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er, She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer

Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.

`Wretch,' I cried, `thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he has sent thee

Respite - respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!

Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Lenore!'

Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! -

Whether tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,

Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -

On this home by horror haunted - tell me truly, I implore -

Is there - is there balm in Gilead? - tell me - tell me, I implore!'

Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil!

By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore -

Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,

It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels named Lenore -

Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels named Lenore?'

Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!' I shrieked upstarting -

`Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!

Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!

Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!

Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!'

Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting

On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;

And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,

And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;

And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor

Shall be lifted - nevermore!

Well, I hope you all enjoyed that. Just to be extra clear, that poem is by Edgar Allen Poe. In case you didn't get that before. Not that I think he would sue for copyright or anything (he's dead- duh) but still. Gotta be clear with those things nowadays. :P

Anyways, assignment for today is to read The Bells by Edgar Allen Poe. A great poem. Seriously.

-Ciao!

M is for Murder

This is a true story. It all happened in yesterday...

So for my birthday this year, I had a murder mystery party. It had about 20 people there and it took place at my friend Christa's house. I made up the whole storyline and all the characters by myself. Pretty much, everyone was invited to a party in order for a rich man named Lexington to decide who will get his inheritance. So, for all of you who are curious, here are all the characters I wrote up for the party (the names in brackets are the people who played the character- or who were supposed to be playing them):

Kenneth J. Lexington: The old, wealthy host of the party. His wife is dead and he only ever had one bastard son that he recently found out about. He has invited all of his closest friends/ relatives to this party to choose an heir. Due to his secluded nature, he rarely spends time with this many people all together at once. When he is found murdered in the kitchen of his own party, everyone must discover who done it! The prize for finding his murderer? Mr. Lexington states in his will that, in the case of his murder, whoever solves the murder will inherit his fortune! If the murder is unsolvable, or revealed to be an accident, the money will go to his lawyer, Ms. Vance. (Steve)

Ms. Jessica Vance:   Ms. Vance is Mr. Lexington’s lawyer. She has been his lawyer for the last ten years, ever since her father (Lexington’s former lawyer) passed away. It is a well-known fact that she spent more time with Lexington than anyone else. She was in charge of his will and, in the case of his accidental or natural death, she is meant to inherit his fortune. Ms. Vance generally dresses very properly and favours red lipstick. (Melissa)

Jimmy Logan: Jimmy is Lexington’s bastard son. He grew up not knowing who his father was until his mother passed away, leaving him a letter that revealed his father’s identity. He hates his father for his absence, but hopes to get something out of the old man (ie his money). The last time he spoke to his father before this party, he and the old man got into a screaming match. His father called him a bastard child who would never amount to anything and Jimmy punched the old man in the face.  (James)

Clarissa Lexington: Mr. Lexington’s first wife (ex). She carried on an affair with her ex-husband even after their divorce. She only married him in the first place for his money and lives off of the 5 million that she got in the divorce (though her funds are running low now). She is convinced that Lexington has already selected her to receive his money and sees this party as nothing more than a formality. She likes the finer things in life and is rarely seen without a long cigarette (with the little plastic filter) and some type of fur on her shoulders. (Sarah Megan)

Raymond H. Lawrence: A man of taste, he is Mr. Lexington’s nephew (his sister’s son). He is known to be a cruel man to those who cross him and a kind man to those he needs for something. Raymond is actually richer than Mr. Lexington (he owns his own chain of cigar manufacturers) and doesn’t need Lexington’s money at all, though he would see it as a nice bit of extra pocket change. He thoroughly despises the idea of spending time with some of the “lower class people” who are attending this party, but his mother has told him he must go and she is probably one of the only people that he cares about other than himself. He and his Uncle have been known to get at each others throats and it’s a known fact that Lexington treats Raymond like a worthless child. A week prior to the party, Lexington embarrassed Raymond when he declared Raymond’s best-selling cigar to taste like nothing more than “ash ground together with cow urine”. This quote was published in the paper the day after. (Greg)

Phillip Von Ruffhaussen: Mr. Lexington’s friend from college. He is now a painter who spends most of his time in Paris. He and Mr. Lexington had a falling out fifteen years prior when Lexington stole the heart of Phillip’s wife. Von Ruffhaussen vowed vengeance on Lexington, but has not seen him since then. He didn’t even attend his ex-wife’s funeral. Phillip now claims that he has become Buddhist and, therefore, forgives Lexington for his betrayal and would never dare to harm him. He has decided to attend this party to express his forgiveness to his former friend. If he were to get the money, he claims he will donate it to his temple. Phillip dresses in nicer clothes when he goes to parties, but he always seems to have paint under his finger nails and a paintbrush tucked behind his ear (some people even claim he carries a small piece of canvas and some miniature paints in his pockets in case of spontaneous inspiration). (Dan)*

Lucy Von Ruffhaussen: Lexington’s step-daughter and Phillip Von Ruffhausen’s daughter. (Dan plays Phillip. Let me know if this is an issue). She hasn’t seen her father since she was five years old (15 years ago) when Mr. Lexington and her mother fell in love. Her mother passed away a few years ago and Lucy is still convinced that she was murdered by her step-father (he had caught her mother cheating on him). She still lives in the same house as her step-father and has been caught by the maids attempting to poison him. She feels that justice was not served when her mother died. However, with the new possibility of an inheritance, Lucy has been strangely kind to Lexington. She tends to dress in fancy dresses and is rarely seen without some form of polish on her nails.  (Kirsten)

Winston Kingsworth: He’s the loyal butler. He has served Mr. Lexington for years and always seems to know more about what’s going on in the house than anyone else. He is one of the only people at the party who is not being considered for the inheritance. However, he has expressed to anyone who asks that he only wishes to be allowed to serve Mr. Lexington’s successor in this house. He seems to thoroughly enjoy his job and sometimes purposely sneaks up on people to scare them. He generally wears white gloves and a nice suit and slicks his hair back everyday.  (Holland)

Sapphire LaVilla: A movie star. She met Mr. Lexington at a post-premiere party. He enjoyed her movies so much that he offered to help fund her career. She spent a lot of time in acting classes paid for by him. However, when she became a little too much of a diva for him, he stopped giving her funds completely. He wanted to remain in contact with her, but she cut him out of her life. Her career started to fail when she could no longer afford her high-class life style. She suspects that Mr. Lexington only invited her to embarrass her further, but she came in hopes that he would maybe be willing to give her his money. She generally dresses as nicely as possible with her hair pined up. (Kayla)

Baroness Silvia Lekinstein: Lexington’s cousin. She is single and worked very hard for her status in life. She is unwed and has no children, but is very happy with her life. She doesn’t need Lexington’s money at all, but is attending the party anyways because she doesn’t wish to offend her cousin. You see, Mr. Lexington possesses some documents that expose some serious scams that the Baroness has been involved in. If these were to be exposed, her status would be destroyed. The baroness decorates herself in diamonds and appreciates the finer things in life. (Nicole)

Kasey Stewert: A female business woman. She runs Mr. Lexington’s business at the moment because he is too old to do the work for it anymore. She takes care of a lot of his affairs and keeps his appointments etc. She is overworked and feels that she shouldn’t have to be competing for the inheritance. She wants at least to receive the company from him, but has recently discovered that the company will be going to whoever gets the rest of the inheritance. Mr. Lexington and her recently got into a heated argument about it because Lexington told her that he would not be requiring whoever got the business to keep her employed in it. She generally dresses in pant suits or dress suits with her hair up and glasses on. (Kaydee)

Madam Katherine Dubois: A well-mannered French woman, Madam Dubois is Mr. Lexington’s late brother’s widow. She believes that herself and her daughter, Marie (played by Nikki), are fully entitled to the inheritance and it’s ridiculous that anyone else should even be considered. After all, Marie is the apple of Lexington’s eye and Katherine has been nothing but kind to the old man. There is a little bad blood between Katherine and Lexington, however, as Mr. Lexington received the majority of the inheritance from Katherine’s husband when he passed away. Her husband passed away from unnatural causes as well and many suspect it was either Katherine or her sweet little daughter who “took care” of him. This woman is generally dressed in the finest clothes, with very natural looking makeup. (Christa)

Marie Dubois: The daughter of Katherine Dubois (played by Christa) and niece of Mr. Lexington (her late father’s side), Marie is always used to getting her own way. The last person who didn’t give her her way was her father and he ended up dead the next day. Everyone suspects that sweet little Marie, or her mother Katherine were the cause of the father’s death. She is the apple of Lexington’s eye and everyone knows it. In fact, he has separated all the family jewellery from the rest of his estate in the will and left it to her. To be chosen for the full inheritance would be just icing on the cake. Marie prefers to dress in pretty, frilly things that her uncle gives her and likes sparkly little barrettes and jewellery. (Nikki)

Laura Peters: Laura is the head maid. She has been serving the Lexington household for years and this is the first time that she’s ever been invited to a party here rather than having to serve drinks at one. Due to her loyalty, Lexington is actually considering her for the inheritance! She feels a little bad about it, though, as she agrees with Lexington’s step-daughter, Lucy (played by Kirsten), that the old man probably was responsible for his late wife’s death. As a result, she has been slowly poisoning him through his food- just enough to make him sick- to punish him for his sins. After all, Laura is quite religious and was raised to believe that God will punish you for your sins. She sees the poisoning as God’s way to punish Lexington for the murder of his wife. Her dress will be a fairly common-looking one as she is a maid trying to dress for her first fancy party. (You may dress her as a maid though if you want) (Sarah)

Gerard Perington: Gerard is a former business partner of Lexington. He invested a lot of money into a business scheme that Lexington said was a “sure thing” (up to you to decide what this scheme was). Unfortunately, Lexington was wrong. The scheme fell through and it set Perington back about 50 thousand dollars. Perington is a millionaire (he came from a rich family) so 50 thousand isn’t that big of a deal, but Lexington never paid it back. Perington has threatened to ruin Lexington’s life multiple times due to this and has made active attempts to buy Lexington’s company out from under him. It wasn’t successful. He feels that Lexington owes him this inheritance as an apology, but he doesn’t really care about the money. Perington is rich and British. He generally wears fine suits and is rarely seen without his pocket watch. (you don’t actually need to buy a pocket watch. You could just trail a chain into your vest to make it look like you have one) (Riley)

William Price: William is a private investigator who has been hired by Lexington to spy on the guests at the party and help him determine who deserves the inheritance. Nobody knows who he is, but he acts as though he has met everyone before (he hasn’t, but he has been given a dossier about each one of them). He is the “mysterious stranger” at the party and has been asked to not reveal that he is a PI for any reason. He is in disguise as a wealthy friend of Lexington’s. Preferably, he wouldn’t reveal his job even once the murders start as it may be easier for him to investigate matters under the cover of his disguise, but do as you will. Be mysterious!! (Gilbo)

Ms. Lillian Everett the 3^rd: A wealthy woman from a good family, Lillian doesn’t really need an inheritance from Lexington. Rather, she is only present at this party because she loves to show off her fortune. She introduces herself by her full name (Lillian Everett the 3^rd) and loves to gossip about people. She never seems to gossip about Lexington, though. This could be due to the fact that he is in possession of an independent porn film that she starred in during her experimental college years. He agreed to never show the film to anyone so long as Lillian never gave him a reason to. This character dresses extravagantly and wears as much jewellery as possible. (Geneviève)

Charles B. Smith: A wealthy business man, Charles has spent most of his life stepping on people to get where he is. He owns shares in many different successful companies, including Lexington’s. As one of the major shareholders in the company, Charles is concerned about who Lexington is handing his majority shares over to. When he heard he was being considered for the will, Charles began spending as much time with Lexington as possible, even though he finds him to be a thoroughly intolerable man. He has been heard muttering that he wishes the old man would just die and leave Charles the business already. Dress wealthy. (Paul)

So Charles B. Smith didn't end up being there and my boyfriend Steve ended up playing a police detective. Otherwise, everyone else was there. Phillip Von Ruffhausen was the killer. I killed them off one by one until they finally (with three of them left) accused Dan properly and it was over.  Also, never tell Holland to lurk. He does it too well.

So assignment today is to go to a murder mystery someday. It's a lot of fun to run or to play. :)

-Ciao!

L is for Luigi

This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday...

 Hey all. So I missed a post. Oh well. I was ahead and now I'm behind. I usually forget to not post on Sundays anyways. So, I chose Luigi for my L because really. It's Luigi and he's pretty damn awesome. I know everyone loves Mario better than him, but I must say that I like Luigi a lot more. Also, Yoshi. He is also better. But we're talking about Luigi here, not Yoshi.

So, when I was little, my brothers and I would sometimes play Mario together (if they were willing to hang out with their bratty little sister for that long). As was custom of being the younger sibling, I always got second player. For a while, I was pretty upset about this because my brothers always got to beat the first level (and usually every other level cause I was so bad at Mario when I was little) and they got to play Mario- the namesake of the game. However, after a while, I convinced myself that Luigi is way better than Mario, and I still believe it.

Reasons why he's better:

1. He's taller. I like tall characters because I'm actually pretty short.
2. He can jump higher (mostly cause he's taller)
3. He's charitable (anyone else notice that he's helping Mario save his girlfriend, not Luigi's? He really gets nothing by helping.)
4. He wears green. (I like both green and red and red is actually my preferred colour, but I think green suits Luigi better than red suits Mario).
5. He cleans up all of Mario's shit (think about it. If Mario fails a level, who's there the bail him out?)

Anyways, those are my five reasons why Luigi is better than Mario. Hope you liked them!

Assignment for today is to play some old school Mario! Go!

-Ciao!

K is for Kitten

This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday...

So my K post today is revealing to all of you lovely readers that I will someday be a cat lady. My mother has three cats now and two of them are definitely my fault. The other can probably be blamed on me too, but I was three and I don't quite remember anything from that age.

Anyways, our oldest cat is named Roxie. She is now 18 years old and still going strong. She's a calico that we got when I was three. We got her from a friend of the family who owns a kennel. She's one of the most intelligent cats I've ever seen. I can tell her that it's bedtime and she'll just go straight up to my room. It's pretty excellent. She's pretty much the queen of the household. The other two cats only exist in that house because she allows them to exist.

The second oldest cat is Snickers (also a calico). She was known as Lestat when my brother first brought her home to his apartment. You see, she was his cat at first but then he couldn't afford to feed her. She ran away on a regular basis and one night, when we were having family dinner, he mentioned that he needed to give her away. I begged my mom to let us have her until finally she said "Okay, if Andrew and Spencer go to Andrew's place and the cat is there, then we'll take her." Well, she wasn't there but my brothers went looking for her and brought her home to my mom's place. Roxie was less than pleased, but now they tolerate each other.

The last and youngest cat is Bonzai. We got her from my friend Kayla. Her cat was pregnant and I begged my mom for a kitten from the litter. Well, my mom said "If there's a female calico, you can have a kitten". Well, that cat had only two kittens and guess what? One was a female calico. Bonzai. She has a curled tail and a crazy personality. She hates to be touched or picked up, but will sometimes jump up and snuggle.

Anyways, those are my cats. Aren't they fabulous?!

So my assignment today is for you to go look at kittens in the pet store!! Go!

-Ciao!

J is for James

This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday...

So I find it hilarious that the J post lands on my roommate's birthday (his name is James, in case you didn't get that). So, in honour of his birthday, this post is about James.

I actually met James' mother long before I met James. My parents used to own a business called "Letterlock" which was a mailing company. This store was next door to a place called "Dancerama" which was the dance store where I bought all my dance shoes from. James' mom owned and ran Dancerama, so my mom and I saw her all the time.

What I didn't know was that James was almost always hanging out in the back of the store playing on  the computer. I danced from the time I was three until the time I was fourteen and I didn't meet James until about a month after I stopped dancing. I was hanging out with my friend Gen (who I met a lot of people through) and we were bored so she suggested randomly going to see what James and Josh (another guy I used to know) were up to. She knew them through school. So, we went and knocked on James' door and I've pretty much been hanging around him ever since. Now he's my roommate and one of my best friends. He's an idiot sometimes, does some really stupid shit and sometimes I worry that he is going to break his neck while doing some ridiculous stunt. But, for some reason, he's still fun to be around. And he pays rent. Which is good. :)

So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES!! Don't do anything stupid.

Assignment today: Dance a little.

-Ciao!!!

I is for Intergalactic Pirates

This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday...

Okay, so I is for a lot of things like ice cream and infinity and Italian. But, apparently my computer loves the words "Intergalactic Pirates". While I was doing my paper for my magazine writing class, I had to write the word interview a lot. The problem with my computer is that, when you type the letters "int" into Microsoft word, it's convinced that you want to type "intergalactic pirates" instead. It was really amusing, but also annoying if I accidentally hit the enter button at the wrong time.

An odd thing about all this is that I don't think I've ever typed those words together on purpose. As a writing major, I feel that this is a great disgrace. I feel like now I'll just have to write an incredible story about intergalactic pirates. It is the will of the computer gods. Not sure what the storyline will be yet, though. Any ideas people?

Anyways, this was a short post. My assignment today is for you to come up with a story about intergalactic pirates. Go!

-Ciao!

H is for Heresy

This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday...

So I play this game called Warhammer. It's a tabletop game that involves miniatures fighting epic battles against one another. I play the orks, a race of green-skinned fungi that live for nothing but the WAAAGH!!! (which is essentially their version of a blitzkrieg only a lot more random). Many of my other friends, though, play for the imperium- the humans. This race of humans follows the emperor who is essentially just a god-like figure who sits on a throne of gold hooked up to machines to keep him alive.

Anyways, humans in the world of warhammer are terribly closed-minded. They see everything that could even be considered stepping out of line as "heresy". Then they will promptly destroy you. Repeatedly. With lasers. Seriously. Don't question it cause they will shoot you with their puny little lasers. Also, don't be a psyker (psychic) because that's pretty much extreme heresy. And if you hear the word "exterminatus" GTFO. Just run and get off the planet because they will come and destroy you.

I suddenly realize that I sound insane when I talk about Warhammer. But really, it's just a game. There is no emperor. The forces of the emperor will NOT come and destroy you. Not that I know of, at least.

Anyways, I chose the orks because I thought they looked a lot cooler than any of the other armies and they're a lot more random. I can take random bits from other models and throw them together into an actual playable piece. The best part: the shittier it looks, the better because orks don't care how anything looks. As long as it's red, it'll go faster. :)

 Punk Kan

My scratch-built Looted Wagon

 All of my Killa Kans

(From Left to Right: Punk Kan, Kan Haz, Kamo Kan and Kandy Kan)

So, my assignment today is for you to learn about Warhammer 40k. Even if you don't plan on playing, the stories of the different races are fun.

-Ciao!

G is for Golfing

This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday...

So for my G post, I decided to talk about golfing. This is something that my dad and step-mom and brothers do a lot. I, on the other hand, am terrible at it. I remember when I was younger, my dad would sometimes take me and my brother to the driving range and I would participate, hitting the balls with one of those kids golf clubs that the driving range provided. At the time, I thought I was pretty good at it. However, now I can't hit a golf ball worth shit. I am terrible at golf.

So, the one day that I went with my dad, I got to drive the cart. Which, if you hadn't already gathered, is a lot of fun. They don't go very fast because they're electric, but you can still go charging across the course, scaring the crap out of your passengers. Seriously, I loved driving the cart. I was actually pretty good at keeping on the path.

Anyways, here are a few things that I learned from going golfing with my dad:

1. The beer cart girl is considered an all-powerful goddess.
2. There is such a thing as "too far" when you're mocking someone about constantly getting their ball stuck in the trees/pond/sandtrap
3. It's always hilarious to watch someone try to figure out how to get their ball out of the trees/pond/sandtrap
4. People really do get pissed off if you talk when they're trying to putt.
5. Apparently golf is the new way to prove your manliness, boys!

So really, I didn't learn anything essential to the game of golf. It's really just one of those things that I don't think I'll ever be good at. I do have a back-up career idea from it though: goddess (aka beer cart girl :P). Just in case this whole writer thing doesn't work out, I might as well be worshiped. :)

Assignment: learn something new about golf!

-Ciao!

F is for Firefly

This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday...

Welcome to my F post. I thought of a lot of F words for this and, if you really think about it, this is the most dangerous letter to pick a word for because the obvious one is four letters and really not appropriate for this blog. At least, not appropriate to have an entire blog post based on it.

So, instead of that four-letter word that we all think about when we hear the "f-word", I decided to do this post about Firefly. How can you not love that show? I think it's complete bullshit that it was canceled after only one season. It was probably one of Joss Whedon's best creations. The characters were amazing and every single one of them came with their own storyline. Kaylee was definitely my favorite character out of the lot of them. She was always so happy and perky and it helps that the girl who played her (Jewel Staite- Yeah I knew that without looking) is from Vancouver. Which is excellent.

Anyways, if any of you haven't seen that show, you should really take a look for it. It's essentially a western in space. Each episode can take you to a completely different place. At one point, you'll be watching them save prostitutes on a very western-style planet then another episode you'll be watching them looting space ships and participating in epic space battles. What's not to like? Also, Wash and his dinosaurs. Watch it. You'll know why I think it's awesome.

The first time I watched this show was when I was in first year University and my friend Greg forced me to watch it. After that, I started to show it to everyone I know. I'm sure people got annoyed from my constant "you have to watch this!" but they watched it anyways. Now, all of my friends are pretty obsessed with the show as well.

I just feel the need to say "One of us, One of us!"

Anyways, assignment for today is to watch Firefly and Serenity! Oh! And read the Firefly comics. Go!

-Ciao!

E is for Energy

This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday...

Hello and welcome to my E post. I chose E for energy specifically because of energy drinks. I personally prefer the Full Throttle brand. Specifically the citrus one. If you don't like citrus, though, don't try it. It's REALLY citrusy.

Anyways, my fondest memories of energy drinks involve friends. Probably my best memory was of me and Kayla. We were young and stupid kids in grade twelve and determined to get our boyfriends tickets for our prom. They weren't in the same grade as us (already graduated) and our school had a limit of something like a hundred guests allowed (besides the grad class) so we had to wait in line to buy them. So, Kayla and I being awesome like that, we decided to stay up all night and get to school at four in the morning so we could be the first ones in line.

So we rented a few chick flicks (the only one I remember is P.S. I Love you and Kayla bawled like a baby at it) and bought two packs of energy drinks. At least I think it was two packs. I know we had energy drinks and some two litre bottles of pop. Anyways, we ended up managing to stay up all night and we were the first in line for the grad tickets. Then we sat through a whole day of school... Or rather, I sat through a whole day of school and Kayla slept through it.

Oh yeah! And my Mom is awesome because she showed up while we were waiting for the doors to open at 4:30 am and took us to Timmy's because we were the only ones there. Anyways, we went to Kayla's after school and she was perfectly well rested from sleeping (snoring) in classes, but I hadn't slept in more than 24 hours. So, as she played some random game on her Xbox 360, I passed out on her bed. Crashing after energy drinks is really lame. My advice: don't stay up all night.

Anyways, assignment for today is to find out which energy drink is your favorite! Go!

-Ciao!

D is for Dan

This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday....

So I decided on using Dan as my D post because I know at least three of them! And I have so many memories from them. So, I'll do this in chronological order for you guys.

The first Dan I know is my Dad (so I guess D is for Dad as well). Of course, I've known him since I was born. I have a lot of good memories of my Dad and I don't even really know where to start. He taught me how to ride my bike, how to play baseball and introduced me to James Bond movies. He helped make me the person I am today and I appreciate that so much.

The second Dan I met, I knew in high school. Well, I actually knew his sister better but everyone else I knew knew him best. He was always a lot of fun to be around, especially when he was drinking. I remember at this party one year, he had this issue with breaking chairs. It seemed like every lawn chair he sat on would just collapse beneath him. He wasn't even sitting down hard on them. No, he would be sitting on a chair for a couple of minutes then it would suddenly just give out. Anyways, Dan was a character. He was always doing something crazy and/or interesting.

The last Dan I met is the one I hang out with a lot now. I met him while working at Value Village (he was a supervisor there). Count on me to befriend the three male supervisors there at the time. Anyways, this Dan is not ashamed of anything. I'm pretty sure it's impossible for him to feel embarrassment. However, I still won't tell you the best story about him because, while we like to tell everyone about it, this is the internet and not EVERYONE needs to know about it. But really, it's hilarious and involves a really sparkly shirt and three hundred dollars.

Anyways, that's my D post. Hope you all enjoyed it!

Assignment: How many Dan's do you know? Think about it....

-Ciao!

C is for Camelot

This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday...


I find myself remembering a lot of things when I think of the letter C. Cookies and cupcakes come to mind when I think about my friend Jaimie because she gives me yummy treats like that and we've baked together lots before. Cookies and cupcakes are also our default things to bring to our parties that we have.

I also think of things like Coke. Specifically rum and coke which makes me think about my friend Travis for some reason. I think I once got sick off a rum and coke at one of his parties. Praying to the porcelain gods is not a good way to spend a New Years by the way...

I also think about camping when I think of C. My family and I used to go camping a lot when I was little. We would go on these ten day camping trips to Hicks lake and it was always a lot of fun. Especially the time when my brother let me try his Fireball (I've been hooked to that drink ever since. Om nom nom).

After all of these options, I decided on C being for Camelot. I love the King Arthur stories about knights and ladies going on glorious quests for the holy grail and overcoming overwhelming obstacles. When I was younger, I loved the movie "the sword and the stone" and watched it whenever I had the chance. Merlin was my hero and I swear that I am just as magical as him. Honest. Later, when I was in high school, we got to learn about King Arthur during our french course that we were required to take in grade 12. It was such a bullshit course, but King Arthur is amazing. To this day, anything that involves Camelot or Lancelot or King Arthur or just the round table intrigues me. I watched the movie "The Sorcerers Apprentice" only because I heard it had something to do with Merlin. Who is awesome. Seriously.

Anyways, I wish I could be a knight of the round table. I would save damsels in distress and they wouldn't have to worry about me having impure thoughts about them cause I'm a chick and I am into dudes. Anyways, that is my C post. Hope you like it!

Assignment for today is to think of a C word. Not the four letter one you're all thinking of you jerks. Go!

-Ciao!

B is for Baseball

When I was younger, one of the things I remember most fondly is playing baseball. I only played for a year, but it was a lot of fun. It was soft ball but, in case you didn't know, soft balls aren't that soft. One time, we were told to play catch with a partner to start practice up. I got distracted by something (I think someone was bringing out oranges or something) and was promptly smacked in the cheek with the ball. I was super hardcore and took it like a champ. I didn't even cry. Really. I just kept playing catch. I'm awesome like that.

Anyways, back then I was really good at baseball. I learned mostly how to play from my dad. I remember sometimes going to the park with him and hitting the ball around for a bit. He taught me how to hit it rather than punt it, and I think I got pretty good at it, but I was young and I could just be thinking a lot of myself.

Anyways, my dad really enjoyed playing baseball as well. Or maybe he just enjoyed drinking beer. I could never really get that one straight. His team's t-shirts said "my drinking team has a baseball problem" and I only really remember showing up for the actual games sometimes so.... Maybe they didn't practice so much as hang out and drink... You never know. Mystery of the century? (or half century? Holy crap, my dad has been living for more than half a century. No wonder his hair is going gray...)

Anyways, I stopped playing baseball after only a year because I had to choose between it and dance. I miss it, though. I got a medal from it :). Okay, so everyone got a medal. But I was really good. Honest.

Anyways, assignment for today is to.... paint your nails! Yes. Do it. I don't care if you're a guy. Just do it anyways. Mine are pretty today.

-Ciao!

(P.S. I know Sunday is supposed to be the "don't post" day, but I'm a day behind so whatevs!)

A is for Arrows

This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday....

 So there's this thing happening now which is a blog post from a-z. Essentially you're supposed to do a post inspired by every letter of the alphabet. So here it goes. This is my A post.


The letter A reminds me of arrows. This is because I find it extremely fun to use a bow. I remember the first time I ever tried archery was when I was in middle school and we were doing this activity day thing. We were taught how to do a whole bunch of things at this place up near Cultis Lake that was normally used as a camp during the summer.


When they took us over to the archery range, we were all very excited. Most of us were thinking that we would be amazing at firing arrows. How hard could it be? They did it in all the movies... Anyways, we had to sit through the safety briefing before they even let us touch the bows. The biggest rule (and the only one I really remember now) is that you don't shoot if someone is ahead of you on the range.... That just seemed like common sense to me.

I was terrible at archery. Really really terrible. I think I hit the target once and it was on the corner of it where, if we'd been counting points, I would have received no points for it. Anyways, I enjoyed that day, even if I was no Robin Hood.

The next time I tried archery was when I was 19. I was up in Grande Prairie, Alberta visiting my dad and we went into this sporting goods shop. In the shop were these hunting bows. I got really excited about them and wanted to buy one. I couldn't afford one at the time, so we walked out of the shop without a bow.

A couple days later, while my dad was at work, my brother told me that my Dad had a surprise for us. So, me, my brother and my boyfriend hoped in my brothers car and he drove up a whole bunch of back roads (with me guessing everything except archery as the surprise) and we arrived at the archery club. We then spent the day firing bows at targets and it was so much fun. And, by the way, I am so much better at archery than I used to be. I actually hit the targets most of the time!

Anyways, that's my A story. Stay tuned for B.

My assignment today is to do this challenge with your own blog! A blog a day A-Z!!

Ciao!