Where is Carolina?

I'm feeling pretty weird right now. I wasnt sure what it was at first, because its not something that has happend to me recently...but I think I have it pinned down now. After not feeling it my entire first year away from home...i get back home..to calgary..an awesomely awesome place as always..and I'm a little bit lonely. Of all my close friends..only Trent have i seen a satisfactory amount. The people I was looking forward to seeing here...amit, mitch, ray...my high school friends..i have seen little or not at all. The things I get out of talking to those friends...fun times, good memories, intellectual debate..have been strangley absent since i got home. I miss people from McGill...when you live with people for eight months they become somewhat of a regularity..and not having even talked to them much...there is a bit of an empty spot there....Mark, Kristen, Derek, Cowboy, Larissa, those names headline the list..but it goes on. Anyway..all that contributed..and it was accentuated today by the fact that lyndz and I will continue our long running tradition of living in the same city for one year..followed by a bunch of years apart. All that is annoying..and is made more annoying by the fact i cant seem to adress the problem effectivley. People are busy..even when I talk to mcgill friends i run out of things to say..and I myself have little time for the endeavour..it seems like i do nothing but work, track and physio. So..as I often do when im feeling weird..i threw on JT's Carolina in my Mind (#2 song of all time) and flew away to my own little perfect world..my Carolina. the only thing is..im not quite sure where carolina is right now..it's often at the lake..but right now it sometimes is in windsor, and sometimes in Montreal and sometimes back to normal in northern sask. We'll have to see where it ends up..but it will be somewhere good..and im glad to say this..something not too far from real life (within reach anyway). Now its my job to carpe diem and make it happen. Cheers to all.

Playing in the Big Leagues

The year is winding to a close, and its been pretty awesome. I've met lots of great people, had alot of fun, and learned so much. I am really excited for the summer, and for the fall as well. There will be some hard decisions to make, some tough challenges to face, but I am relishing the opportunity. One thing that i hadn't really thought about though, was something that Larissa mentioned the other day. I remember thinking that the best thing about university would be that everyone was smart and competent and generally awesome and that it would be a challenge and a thrill to talk to them and compete with them and debate this that and the other thing. I never really thought about how much I was mistaken until now. Everyone at McGill is obviously intelligent, but if I was hoping to be thrown in a pool with eight Jonathans and six Tsz Hins and twenty Roberts..I was gravley dissapointed. It really helps me appreciate the caliber of the people I went to high school with and make me appreciate GATE even more. Now, though, at the end of the year, there are finally flashes of those people that i was hoping would be all over the place. I noticed it first with cowboy mike, he is the sort of person I expected to be the norm..someone who is incredibly intelligent and gifted at all manner of other things as well. I usually have to be on the top of my game to compete with him. Then there is Larissa. Part of the reason that I enjoy hanging with her so much is that it forces me to do everything I thought i would have to do at university. I have to be razor sharp every single time i talk to her, and I have to be running at 110% to even dance in the same arena. I relish the challenge though..and I certainly like to think I can hold my own. Those times when I'm a bit off my game and Ive been caught flat-footed (the Marx argument, trying to explain a few other things) have been a bit annoying, but I think I've done pretty well. Since yesterday however, and all the amazing people she was talking about, especially from this Global Young Leaders Conference (man I wish someone had told me about that), I know that i really am playing in the big leagues. To be among those people she considers her "peer group" it will certainly take everything I can muster and if I ever want to have a unique place among all those amazing people she knows I will certainly have to earn it. I never have been one to shy from a challenge though, and even when i'm competing with the 700 people that will be running the world in 30 years, I will go out there like it's a 400 against Trent and Dargie and Aaron and give them a run for their money. As they say in Chariots of Fire "Let me exhort you, examine yourselves, and let each of you discover where your true chance at greatness lies. For the sake of your college and your country, seize this chance, rejoice in it, and let no power or persuasion deter you in your task" Anyway, thats my rant for today. Hi to all.

Blair’s 25 Favorite Artists

My three favorite songs by each artist are in brackets
1. Burton Cummings (Timeless Love, My Own Way to Rock, You Saved My Soul)
2. James Taylor (Carolina in My Mind, Something in the Way She Moves, Country Road)
3. Meatloaf (Modern Girl, Bat Outta Hell, Hot Summer Night)
4. Don Henley (Heart of the Matter, The End of the Innocence, Boys of Summer)
5. Savage Garden (Truly, Madly, Deeply, I Want You, Universe)
6. U2 (Where the Streets Have No Name, Pride, With or Without You)
7. Elvis Presley (I’m All Shook Up, Suspicious Minds, With All My Heart)
8. Chicago (You’re My Inspiration, What Kind of Man Would I Be? Just You n’ Me)
9. The Eagles (Take It Easy, Desperado, Already Gone)
10. Bruce Springsteen (The Rising, Streets of Philadelphia, Dancing in the Dark)
11.The Who (Behind Blue Eyes, Magic Bus, Won’t Get Fooled Again)
12.Elton John (The One, Wicked Dreams, Candle in the Wind)
13.Phil Collins (Son of Man, Strangers Like Me, Against All Odds)
14.The Guess Who (These Eyes, Laughing, Undun)
15.Lonestar (I’m Already There, Amazed, Front Porch Looking In)
16.CCR (Up Around the Bend, Fortunate Son, Bad Moon Rising)
17.The Doobie Brothers (China Grove, Rockin Down the Highway, Long Train Running)
18.The Bee Gees (Staying Alive, How Deep is Your Love, Night Fever)
19.Blue Rodeo (Lost Together, Bulletproof, Until I am Myself Again)
20.Guns and Roses (Paradise City, November Rain, Sweet Child of Mine)
21.Dire Straits (Brothers in Arms, Sultans of Swing, Romeo and Juliet)
22.AC/DC (Shook Me All Night Long, Thunderstruck, For All Those About to Rock)
23.Moody Blues (Knights in White Satin, Tuesday Afternoon, Whiter Shade of Pale)
24.Linda Ronstadt (Don’t Know Much, I Need You, All My Life)
25.Frank Sinatra (I’ve Got You Under My Skin, Fly Me To The Moon, As Time Goes By)

Blair's 25 Favorite Songs of All Time

I made this list a couple years ago, and updated it recently, I was in a singing mood today, so i thought I'd put it up.
1. Timeless Love, Burton Cummings (1977)
2. Carolina in my Mind, James Taylor (1976)
3. My Own Way to Rock, Burton Cummings (1977)
4. Something in the Way She Moves, James Taylor (1968)
5. Walking in Memphis, Marc Cohn (1991)
6. Truly, Madly, Deeply, Savage Garden (1997)
7. The Rising, Bruce Springsteen (2002)
8. The Heart of the Matter, Don Henley (1989)
9. Where the Streets Have No Name, U2 (1987)
10. Modern Girl, Meatloaf (1988)
11. I’m Already There, Lonestar (2001)
12. You’re the Inspiration, Chicago (1984)
13. More Than a Feeling, Boston (1976)
14. Behind Blue Eyes, The Who (1971)
15. The End of the Innocence, Don Henley (1989)
16. Pride, U2 (1984)
17. Take it Easy, The Eagles (1972)
18. Bat Out of Hell, Meatloaf (1977)
19. Chariots of Fire, Vangelis (1981)
20. The Sound of Silence, Simon and Garfunkel (1966)
21. Country Road, James Taylor (1970)
22. I’m All Shook Up, Elvis Presley (1957)
23. Against All Odds, Phil Collins (1984)
24. Rock Hard, Ride Free, Judas Priest (1984)
25. Knights in White Satin, Moody Blues (1967)
I'll put up my 25 fav artists and 25 fav love songs in the days to come. Cheers to All.

Speechless

I really dont know what to say. Downfall was amazingly acted, realistic and had a strangely human element to it..but I feel like a horrible person for feeling anything for that particular group of individuals. Anyway, it was an awesome movie, I still need time to digest it all, but I'm definatley buying it when it comes out. My pulse was pounding and my hands were shaky for alot of the movie(probably not all due to the movie itself, but at least in part) Anyway, the clean room is great, and I felt the odd sense of pride I get when someone interesting looks around the room at all my quotes and posters. That was good, but tea, a comfy pillow, a fabulous view of the Montreal skyline and Timeless Love playing in the background, not to mention the company..was...perfect. As soon as the word was mentioned, it immediatley stuck...there arnt many of those perfect moments, but that was one of them. The at 1:11 I made my wish, at 1:16 I finished my sentence with the fridge magnets, immediatley thought that I should have wrote something mundane, then immeadiatley realized that would have been really boring. At 1:19 I left, and arrived back here shortly thereafter. Things are good..but not quite..perfect. I feel like Rick a bit..I wanted to leave, "Here's to looking at you, kid" on the fridge, but alas, the words wern't there. So was what I settled for better? "So who knows? Only time"

Work, Memories and OC references

The last week has been absolutley crazy, with highs and lows, excitement and boredom, stress and relaxation, work and leisure and just about anything else you could ask for. I handed in two Info Systems papers on Friday, finished a 12 page history paper that could have been twenty this morning, and have an ob paper to finish by Wednesday. Packed around all that work was St Patrick's day, we went to Claddaugh and listened to some great live music..and the formal at 737 on Friday. That was...well to use my quote of the day, "Nothing Can Compare.." Thats from a song by Finley Quaye, ironically the first time I heard it was during the OC, at their new years thingy in the penthouse of the Four Seasons in California. Let me tell you, California has nothing on Montreal. 737 was a beautiful place, good music, good food and good company. I wonder if its like that all the time or if it was different because the IRC rented it out for us? Anyway, I wore the pink tie, it came off well and I was glad that I wore it. Like Ryan in that episode of the OC..I wasnt sure that the person I desperatley wanted to dance with would be available..but lo and behold, just like that episode of the OC..things worked out for the best. There was another time..a long time ago..when I was mesmerized by a certain blue dress...back then it was a girl named Denise that wore it. Speaking of girls of the past..Jan was there on Friday as well. We had a nice chat, it brought back memories as much as Larissa's blue dress. Its odd how things like that flow together, and when we were dancing I couldn't help thinking that the first girl I fell pretty hard for wore a dress that very same color when she and I danced, and that the second girl I fell hard for was wandering around that very same party. All of it reminds me of the next line of the Finley Quaye song..."When you roll the dice and swear..."

A Star Wars Kinda Mood

Ever since I saw that trailer yesterday..all my bottled up Star Wars nerdiness has been gushing out in droves. It's been a long time since everything reminded me of a part of Star Wars. Even when I was talking to Larissa last night, I couldnt hold down the Star Wars references at the most serious parts of the conversation. ("If I were a Jedi Master like I am on facebook...) I'm a bit embarrassed about that in hindsight...it doesnt help that immediatley following that particular comment I said something else that was presumptive, arrogant and that i shouldn't have said. Anyway, for fun, ive decided to write the rest of this post, which will cover many areas of my life..as a sequence of star wars lines.
Obi-Wan: It surrounds us, it penetrates us, it binds the galaxy together
Vader: The circle is now complete, when i left you I was but the learner, now I am the master
Obi-Wan: Only a master of evil, Darth
Han: She's definatley got spirit. You think a princess, and a guy like me?
Luke: No
Leia: For luck
Leia: Yes, you're a great help to us, you're a natural leader
Han: No, thats not it
Leia: You stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder
Han: Must of hit her pretty close to the mark to get her all riled up like that
Leia: I guess you dont know everything about women yet
Palpatine: There is a great disturbance in the Force. We have a new enemy. Luke Skywalker
Han: I know
Luke: I'm not afraid
Yoda: Help them you could, but you would destroy all for which they have fought
Yoda: Mind what you have learned, save you it can
Yoda: Anger, fear, aggression, the dark side of the force are they
Vader: Together we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy
Yoda: Do not underestimate the power of the emperor
Luke: I feel the conflict within you, let go of your hate
Vader: There is no conflict
Han: You love him, don't you
Leia: Yes
Han: I understand. When he comes back, I wont get in the way
Palpatine: So be it, Jedi
Leia: I know
Anakin: You were right.
Obi-Wan: You were the chosen one
Thats all for now..a worthy intelletual exercise and a way of sorting around my own feelings
More Later

Stole this from Vincci..who stole it from Lester

20 questions...i love these sorts of things..so interesting
I changed one question..the last one..because I didnt understand it in Vincci's version

1. Tell me something obvious about you.
2. Tell me something about you that many don't know.
3. What is your biggest fear?
4. Do you normally go the safe route or take the short cut?
5. Name one thing you want that you can't buy with money.
6. What is your most treasured possession?
7. What is the one thing you hate most about yourself that you do often?
8. Tell me something sexually about you that I don't know.
9. Tell me something sexually about you that everyone knows.
10. What is your favorite lie to tell?
11. Name something you've done once that you can't wait to do again.
12. Are you the jealous type?
13. What is the one person, place or thing you can't say no to?
14. What is the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?
15. If you could do something crazy right now, what would it be?
16. When was the last time you cried?
17. When was the last time you felt so good that nothing else mattered?
18. Do you feel comfortable in public with no shirt on?
19. Name something embarrassing/funny you did while being drunk.
20. What are you going to do right now?

1. I'm competitive
2. I can be a hopeless romantic at times
3. Being ordinary
4. Safe route
5. Love....lol see question 2
6. This is a tough one...can my brain count?
7. I dont hate anything about myself
8. I believe that sexuality has a moral as well as a physical aspect
9. I'm straight
10. Right now it's definitley "Yankees Suck!"
11. Go to Australia
12. Only in very strange circumstances
13. Watching "Chariots of Fire, Prefontaine or Star Wars"
14. I think it was probably my dad taking me to Game 6 of the 2004 stanley cup finals...where the Flames should have won the stanley cup. Thats all i can think of right now anyway.
15. Go ask all the hot girls I know out on dates and see how many nights in a row i could cover
16. October 14, 2004
17. July 25, 2004
18. Sure
19. I never do anything that dumb..lol
20. Have a shower and then go watch the game. Go Sox!

Welcome

Hi Everyone,

Vincci introduced me to this website yesterday, and it seems like a neat idea. I thought I'd give it a try, and see how things go. Things are busy as usual, I've hardly had a moment to rest since I got to Montreal. Montreal is a great city, and I love McGill. There is always so much going on, and when I'm not doing schoolwork or at the track, I'm trying to do as many things and meet as many people as I can. I've succeded on both counts so far, met alot of neat people, and had alot of new experiences. I don't regret coming here for a second, I am absoulutley convinced I made the right choice. That said, its true what they say about not being able to appreciate something until is gone. I always knew Calgary was an awesome city, full of awesome people, but since I've been here I've learned to love it even more. The jibes and smiles I get when I wear my Flames shirt, the joy of explaining the Stampede so so many people, the complements I got when I made chili for the potluck and other simple things make me prouder than ever to call Calgary home. Having to integrate myself with an entirley new group of people has also been a rewarding experience. It has made me cognizent of all the things that make me who I am. People told me that university was where I would discover myself...and they were right. It's a little different than I thought though, because instead of changing as a person, I am learning what parts of my life I am truly passionate about. Things like my music, track, the films I like, my favorite foods and sports teams...having to relate these things to a new group of friends makes one realize how much they mean. Conversley, having people you've only known for a few weeks pick out very personal things about you also tells you something about who you are. (I can't believe Kristen and Ellen pegged me for a hopeless romantic so easily). Anyway, that's enough rambing for tonight, I hope you all enjoyed it.