Pass time with photos

Summer is half over.

This is quite the depressing thought. I am loving my time out of class, and I feel like I am actually beginning to regain my sanity after the whirlwind that is the first year of CreComm.

There are still two months left of summer, and I want to use this halfway point to my advantage. Below are some photos of some of the things I have been doing to keep myself busy...

Assiniboine Park. Playing guitar along the river. Usually, we try to get out as often as possible, and this was an especially beautiful day in May.

When the water was really high at the beginning of the season, it went all the way up to the bank.

I'm enjoying myself, and Jeff is capturing the moment, but he doesn't hesitate to remind me every five seconds that he'll throw ME into the river if I drop his guitar.

The Fort Garry Hotel. Sam and I decided that we might as well check it out since we were in the neighbourhood. It totally feels like the set of The Shining, and I was hoping I would run into one of the many ghosts that are rumoured to haunt the interior.

The elevators in the Fort Garry Hotel were especially cool.


Upper Fort Garry, with a view of the Fort Garry Hotel in the background. There are plans to re-create and build up a provincial park around the ruins, which I think is a fantastic idea.

The gated entrance to the fort. I love this door.

Inside Union Station on Main Street.

Another interesting shot of Union Station. Both Sam and I fell in love with this curved bench.

And finally, here's Rocco, the newest addition to Tyler and Kristen's household. Hes a rottweiler, and about six weeks in this photo. He's already doubled in size, and I'm more that a little nervous about when he reaches his full height!

Peaceful protest?

I was going to let this event slide by without comment, but after watching the countless videos posted on Facebook, I had to write something.

The June 27 G20 protest in Toronto was supposed to be peaceful, but there are videos and photographs everywhere of police officers rushing the crowd as soon as they finished singing our national anthem. The intersection at Queen and Spadina is usually filled with tourists and local residents, but a few days ago, it was filled with police officers carrying shields and wearing Kevlar.

I honestly don't know how I feel about this incident. I was in Toronto a few years ago, and I remember that intersection well. It's strange, and almost surreal to watch a mixture of people and police officers running and yelling down it. I can't imagine how scared the protesters must have felt, because they had intended initially to be peaceful.

There are so many accounts of what happened circulating out there, so I won't even begin to pass judgement or choose a side. I also won't place blame on the government, the mayor of Toronto, or anyone else. It was a tragic situation, and nobody won.

I'm also not going to post the video on my blog, because I don't want it on here forever. If you haven't watched one of the videos, I suggest checking out this one.

There are a number of iconic photographs that represent the event very well, and one of the places you can view those is at Macleans online.

I wonder if this is one of those events that will be remembered for a long time, or if it will fade as we worry about more "pressing issues" like the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico or the World Cup. I personally hope it isn't forgotten, because I don't ever want to see police officers rush a group of Canadians again.

Things I've learned about writing so far...

• A pot of coffee gives me strength to accomplish literary miracles.
• Writing comes in waves. It's impossible to predict when a moment of genius will appear, so don't even try.
• Write it fast the first time, and save editing for later. It’s all about getting words on the page, and the unnecessary stuff can be cut out afterwards.
• Sometimes, the words suck. Save them, because they might cease to suck at a later time.
• Read books if you're writing a book.
• Inspiration is everywhere.
• Friends and family make fantastic characters. Just change their names if it might pose a problem later.
• Constant blogging will keep creative energy flowing.
• A little Hunter S. Thompson isn't a bad thing.

And here's an update on what I've accomplished this summer...

• Books read: 35
• Completed IPP stories: 2.5
• Posted blogs: 36
• Cabin weekends: 2
• Dinner's cooked: 10
• Happiness level: 9/10

Public transportation and loud music don't mix

This morning, I sat beside a man on the bus who was listening to his iPod very, very loudly. Usually, this doesn’t bother me, but this particular individual bothered me off for two reasons...

1) It was 7:15 a.m., and I was still half asleep.
2) He was listening to Rammstein.

As I tried to ignore the idiot and focus on my morning bus routine – which is reading fmylife.com – I started thinking about all the different types of music I have heard people listening to while using public transportation. I took the bus 10 times a week for 8 months during my first year of CreComm, and in that time I experienced an array of diverse music. Here are my favourites, for your reading pleasure:

a) Sheryl Crow. (I absolutely hate country music. No exceptions. I’m from Calgary, and if I wanted to hear country music, I would move back.)

b) Celine Dion. (Enough said.)

c) Backstreet Boys. (This actually made me smile and dance around...)

d) Bad polka music. (I didn’t know that polka music still existed. The kicker is that the person listening to it was a 14-year-old girl.)

e) Spice Girls. (OK, I was dancing around...)

To each their own, I guess. I wonder what would happen if I brought a “boom box” on the bus and turned on a Backstreet Boys song. I think people would either find it funny, or I would be beaten up within an inch of my life and my boom box would be stolen or broken.

It would be an interesting sociology experiment...

My online world is expanding

Sometimes, people actually read my blog.

Yesterday, I received an email from my mom, informing me that one of my blog posts had been re-posted on the May Works 2009 Festival website. Apparently, my review of an Aqua Books event last month was so well-received that the individuals critiqued in it wanted a larger audience to read my comments.

Fantastic. That’s exactly what I want. Exposure!

I also discovered that a few stories I wrote for Canada’s History magazine had been posted online. The first was a writeup for a photograph of two people poling down a river. The second was a profile of Lord Durham.

Now, all I need is for the editor of a publishing company to read my blog, call me up, and offer me a large book grant.

It can happen. People read my blog.

I'm 23 and still can't apostrophe!

I have been saving this blog post for the last week of class because it is something that is very embarrassing to admit. In school, we dedicated an entire unit to the apostrophe. We learned when to use it, when not to use it, and what it means. I was paying close attention during this unit - because the apostrophe is something I have always struggled with - but the rules didn't stick.

Honestly, I was beginning to believe that I was one of those people who were destined not to understand how to properly use this very important piece of punctuation.

Then, Lindor Reynolds from the Winnipeg Free Press wrote a column that discussed the apostrophe specifically. She called herself the "Cranky Grammar Lady," and she made some valid points (even though she did make some spelling and grammatical errors of her own). After discussing the article in class, I decided that it was time I learned how to use the apostrophe correctly once and for all.

Over the last few days, I have conducted a self-help apostrophe session. I read the Canadian Press Stylebook, re-read the grammar book from Writer's Craft, and searched online for websites that offered additional information. I think I've finally got it figured out, and now I will explain how exactly the apostrophe works.

To the best of my knowledge, that is...

Let’s start from the beginning. In the dictionary, the apostrophe is defined as "a sign that is used to indicate the omission of letters in a word, to indicate possession, or to show contractions."

Here are some examples of each:

1) When indicating omission: she’d, it’s, ‘30s, couldn’t, won’t, and he’d.

2) When indicating possession: the children’s toys and a person’s legal rights. But, dealing with possession is a little bit more complicated than that.

• Use an apostrophe + s (‘s) with:
• Almost all single nouns: Mr. Bates’s House, the class’s record, and a fox’s bushy tail.
• Plural nouns that do not end in s: women’s rights, the people’s voice, and the geese’s flight.
• Use an apostrophe (‘) alone with:
• Plural nouns ending in s: the two girls’ coats, the boys’ gymnasium, and the parents’ car.

3) When indicating contractions: can’t [cannot], what’s [what is], we’re [we are], and so on...

• Do NOT use an apostrophe:
• With possessive personal pronouns such as his, hers, its, ours, yours, theirs, and whose.
• With ordinary plurals or verbs: stores, stars, etc...

The Canadian Press Stylebook has additional information about when to use an apostrophe and when to exclude it, but it’s just too much information to remember at once. My recommendation is to look up specific situations on a case by case basis.

A good way to check if you need an apostrophe is to try and substitute the use of “of.” For example: In the sentence: “Amanda’s house was well-organized,” think of “the house of Amanda was well-organized.”

If you still are confused about proper usage of the apostrophe, here are some games below that can help. They are mostly for children, but are still quite helpful. Try using the “of” rule as you go through and answer the questions.

Basic Sentences game: http://bit.ly/aBnLlp
Re-write the sentences quiz: http://bit.ly/dnVWaf
Apostrophe trivia game: http://bit.ly/cJuiVx

I heart public transportation

Last weekend, a few friends and I took the bus to a birthday party at a house off Corydon Avenue.

Since I started attending Red River College, I seem to be taking the bus everywhere. My recent move to Pembina Highway from WhyteRidge has increased my public transport travels even further, and I can’t remember the last time I drove a car.

Taking the bus is not only easier than driving downtown, but it is less expensive, less harmful to the environment, and less stressful on me. Also, it is one hundred per cent more interesting than driving every day. This may seem like crazy talk to die hard automobile lovers, but hear me out before passing judgement.

When I was in Europe last summer, and Chicago last month, public transportation was the only possible method of travel. I am too young to rent a car, and honestly, why would I want to? Drivers in large cities are absolutely insane, and there was no way I was going to try to brave the busy streets behind the wheel of a moving vehicle. I was perfectly content taking the subway or bus, and I even bypassed taxis whenever possible.

There is something both romantic and exciting about public transportation. Instead of sitting in an air-conditioned, closed-off from the world box, a person taking the bus or waiting for the subway is fully immersed in his or her surroundings. Sights, sounds, smells, and conversations all become part of the experience. One never knows who they will meet, what will happen, or, in some cases (like when travelling in foreign cities), where they will end up. There is the fear of getting lost, or running into undesirable characters, but that is all part of being involved in the world.

I will play Devil’s Advocate with myself and admit that public transportation isn’t always a pleasant experience. Sometimes it’s freezing outside, or raining quite horribly. Occasionally, I am forced to sit beside a person who hasn’t bathed. And, once in a blue moon, I encounter frightening individuals who make me genuinely nervous. That happened once, and resulted in a call to the police and subsequent police report.

(For more information on the last scenario, read an earlier post from February titled WARNING to female bus travellers).

But more often than not, public transportation works for me. Taking the bus makes me feel alive, and makes me feel like I am fully experiencing life. The good days outnumber the bad by far, and I won't start driving again unless I absolutely must.