Christmastime Officially Here

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How to Marry a Millionare

After watching How to Marry a Millionare three times in the past two weeks, I've found myself recklessly in love with the movie.

This romantic comedy, made in 1953, was never one of my most favourite Marilyn Monroe movies, but seemed innocently sweet enough to buy a few years ago. Up until several weeks ago, I'd only watched it twice and never quite noted just how lovely a movie it truly is.

A story about three women looking to marry millionaires in order to rid themselves of debts and other financial issues blossoms into an adorably classic plot. Schatze, the wiser of the three ladies, steams up a brilliant plan to make millionaires fall in love with each of the girls, so that they will soon marry and live the luxurious lives they wanted ever so much.

One thing stood in their way however: love.

Love does conquer all - especially in this movie, as each girl ends up falling head over heels over what they perceive to be blue collar, average-Joe's.

As much as the girls planned and hoped to fall in love with someone who could rid them of their financial difficulties, they end up finding men who fill their hearts with joy - instead of their bank accounts with money.

This movie though made decades ago, shadows the same unrealistic dreams of the Perfect Man women hope for. Women today are still planning and hoping to fall in love with a perfectly painted imaginary man.

Girls wish for men with money, men with looks, men with the same values, men who are romantic, men who are athletic, men who have a particular eye colour, a particular hair colour, a particular height...

When it comes down to it however, we fall for whoever it is our heart skips a beat for.

Blue collar, white collar... no collar at all...

Reruns

I have every season of Friends, every season of Sex and the City, every season of Full House and every season of Brothers & Sisters.

By owning every season for a number of years, one can only imagine how many times I've watched each episode... let's just say, enough times to know every word of Friends and Sex and the City and almost every word of the other two.

Today I got to thinking about why we watch reruns. We know what stories are going to arise and we know how each story's conflict will be resolved in the next 20 minutes. So why bother?

Perhaps because these characters, these people suddenly feel like our friends, our family.

I always catch myself saying "I love Samantha!" "Chandler would do that!" "Kevin always makes me laugh."

We tend to talk about TV show characters as if they are real people in our lives. Perhaps that is the true beauty of owning DVDs of these shows... We don't just watch them for the sake of a laugh or need for drama...we watch them to visit old pals.

There will be times when over the course of a couple weeks, I'll watch 4 seasons of Full House and by the end of it, I feel the need to see my old friend Carrie again. It's like I miss her.

Sounds crazy doesn't it... but ask yourself this: how'd you feel if you never saw your "friends" again?

39 sleeps

I awoke yesterday morning with a smile as I realized the day had come... The Santa Claus Parade would be starting in a mere 3 hours!

Brushed my teeth, combed my hair, put on a red wool sweater and Santa hat... and before we knew it, my boyfriend and I were off to the subway station to head to the Parade.

I couldn't believe my eyes upon arriving at the station. Children everywhere!

A place that normally seems to groggy and dull was suddenly lit up with laughter and smiling faces galore! Upon getting on the subway, we weren't greeted by the usuals (the crazies, the miserable sleep-deprived university students, the tired business people, etc.) we were greeted by kids singing and talking and having a merry ol' time.

It was precious. I felt my true inner child arise as I began to sing along. The adorable innocent faces of these children encompassed huge, bright eyes and uncontrollably contagious smiles. Appropriate questions filled the air...

"How does Santa have time to visit so close to Christmas?"

"Will he remember me from last year?"

"Is Mrs. Claus still at the North Pole?"

It was such an amazingly refreshing feeling to be around these little dreamers. When we got to our stop, I myself jumped for joy and couldn't wait to find our spot.

As it turned out, we found an amazing spot to stand at, where we had a perfect view of the entire parade as it would march, float and dance by. What was even more wonderful was the fact that we had situated ourselves right beside a rather large and joyful family. The husband and wife truly made it fun for my boyfriend and I as we cahibited and joked with them almost the entire time.

Cheering and applauding was nonstop and truly a great way to unleash the Christmas Spirit.

For all of those who have never been before, I highly suggest making the Santa Claus Parade a definite "to do" next year and every year to follow!

Remeber-This Day

Firstly, I'd just like to apologize about the tartiness of this post. I meant to write it on the 11th of November but have been extremely busy.

Rememberance Day is a day in which we remember those who gave their lives for us. Our grandparents and great grandparents fought for our country. They fought for us. They died for us.

During the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month I tuned into Global to watch celebrations in Ottawa - celebrations in honour of those who died for us. While, I didn't go all the way to a ceremony close by to remember the victims of war or show my appreciation towards the Veterans, I did buy a poppy the week prior and have continued to wear it proudly.

I am third generation Canadian and I love this country. I appreciate almost every aspect of it and am truly thankful to live here. Whether third generation, second or first... every Canadian - actaully, every single person living in Canada - should be appreciative of those who fought for this country, as they are the ones who we have to thank for this gift.

Sadly, this is not the case. I am truly disgusted in the amount of people that disregard this day and all that it stands for. You can purchase a poppy at any price! You can drop a dime into a box and thus proudly wear the red and black symbol. How is it that November 11th, one of the most important days of the year, goes so unrecognized?

Is it because it is not commercial enough for those who are so smug, ignorant and greedy? (Note: I am using extremely kind words in comparison to what they're being called in my head.)

I cannot fathom why such ignorant people can live on this land, have freedom and beautiful atmosphere and opportunity and not be able to show the tiniest bit of gratitude. Disgusting. Truly revolting.

While I can run my mouth off about people, I am also deeply disturbed by conglomerates as well. It was very difficult to not notice the featured Google Homescreen Icons last week.

Everyone was tickled pink each morning to see a new Sesame Street illustration displaying Jim Hensen's character's 40th anniverary. Do not get me wrong, I too enjoyed these creative visuals. However, on Novemeber 11th I was in total shock at this:

Need I say more? Google couldn't so much as make one of the O's a poppy? Or put a military hat hanging off a letter? Nothing? Not a single thing? Because I doubt very much that many people noticed the tiny, insignificant letters at the bottom of this page; therefore I doubt very much that many people remembered Remeberance Day.

Not that we should be leaving it up to Google Headquarters to remind us of this important day, but they surely do project the message that make-believe puppets have more of an impact on civilians today than real deceased soldiers do.

For those of you who forgot to Remember... please: take a minute and appreciate that you're in Canada and thank those who are responsible for it.

Tweet Tweet

It's no wonder why they've called Web 2.0 "Social Networking."

Practically the entire reason why we join these social networking sites is to have new recognition and fun, flirty social behavior.

Facebook, MySpace, Flikr, Twitter, YouTube, Blogger...

The entire reason surrounding these popular sites' existence is being social.

Why have facebook if you can't post or comment on pictures?

Why have YouTube if no one watches your videos?

Why have a Blog if nobody reads it?

Over a year ago I created a Twitter account. After immediately adding an abundance of my favourite celebrities I quickly lost interest in tweeting. It seemed all I did was read, read, read instead of posting tweets myself. My reason for feeling this way? Because nobody was reading my tweets - my 140 character stories.

About an hour ago, however, my best friend decided she'd check her tweet page. After helping her out with a few bells and whistles and talking about how she wanted to get into this Twitter realm, I am suddenly totally Twitter tuned! I can't wait to post lots of mini-stories and spread the word of my Twitter account!

This goes to show... being social is truly the funnest part of networking.

If you'd like to follow me on Twitter click the link!

Decisions, decisions

We make so many decisions everyday.

Cereal or toast?

Stop at the yellow light or gun it?

Buy lunch when you know you shouldn't... or satisfy your craving?

Stay at school to work in the library or just go home to your room?

Start essay or watch another episode of Sex and the City?

How many of these decisions we make everyday stop us in our tracks and have us think logically?

Perhaps if yesterday, I'd chosen toast, I wouldn't have spilled milk from my cereal across the kitchen floor causing me to clean and delay my day by 15 minutes...

Perhaps if I'd just gunned the yellow light I'd have arrived at class on time and not had to take the chair that was broken which has consequently given me a back pain...

Perhaps if I'd have listened to my gut instinct and not boughten the tuna wrap at lunch, I'd have had $10 extra dollars in my "in case of emergency" pocket...

Perhaps if I'd stayed at school to work in the library, I'd have finished my essay...

Perhaps if I'd actually started the essay instead of watching three episodes of SATC, I'd be done by now... not still procrastinating to write the stupid thing!

Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps....

Perhaps all of that would have been more efficient... but I did enjoy my cereal, my wrap, my song at the red light, my non-traffic drive home, my cozy room alongside my sleeping dog and who couldn't use a few good SATC episodes once in a while?

Good decisions, different decisions, hard decisions... perhaps there are no wrong ones.

Aren't you glad I made the decision to write this post instead of my essay? Ricky?

I Love You, Man

I just love time shared with my best friend.

There are moments when we're both fighting for breath with serious stomach cramps from laughing at something that no one else in the world will understand.

While I love laughing with her and surely love the after-laugh pangs that only an Ab Rocket can compete with, we also fill our nights with heart-to-hearts and talktalktalking.

Just last night for example, as we were heading into bed - slightly tipsy - we managed to have a serious conversation, a mini-fill-in conversation, a back-to-back "I love you man" duet and a few laughs leaving us gasping for air.

We both have many friends and people in our lives whom we love, but we often remind ourselves just how lucky we are to have found each other so early in life. Many people have an abundance of friends, but I appreciate and am so gratful for just having that one best friend who has been and always will be there through thick and thin.

I love you, man.

Tanned & Tainted

People are still fake tanning? Seriously? What is the reason? What is the reason for putting yourself at a 75% risk of having skin cancer? An unreal glow... in the winter... while everyone knows it's fake?

I'm unafraid to talk about this subject so harshly because I once was a fake tanner. Not often by any means, but if there was an event taking place between the months of October and May, I often found myself tanning several times before the special date. The second I found out that tanning beds played such a huge part in one's likelihood of getting cancer, I made up my mind that I would never ever fake and bake again.

It boggles my mind when thinking about those who have yet to stop. Upon the rush of Facebook Halloween albums being posted this week, I've noticed this fake and bake glow on the skins of many friends. WAKE UP.

"International cancer experts have moved tanning beds and other sources of ultraviolet radiation into the top cancer risk category, deeming them as deadly as arsenic and mustard gas. A new analysis of about 20 studies concludes the risk of skin cancer jumps by 75 percent when people start using tanning beds before age 30. The new classification means tanning beds and other sources of ultraviolet radiation are definite causes of cancer, alongside tobacco, the hepatitis B virus and chimney sweeping, among others." - 'Tanning Beds as Deadly as Arsenic, July 29/09 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32187497/ns/health-cancer/

My goodness, are these the extremes people are willing to go to in this day and age for our cosmetic and materialistic needs? Are people literally dying for a tan?

Seriously people. STOP using tanning salons. It is not worth it.

That is all.

This Is It... This is Wow

Over the weekend I was privileged to have the opportunity to see "Michael Jackson's This Is It."

Michael Jackson, though seen in many different ways by the public, has always been a star in my eyes. Considering I never met him in person, I feel a huge sense of mourning for him. I'm so very happy and grateful that this movie was released for the public to view.

This movie showed a side of Michael that very few people had the chance to see. We were let into this whole new world of his: his professional realm. I felt as though I had a backstage pass to the whole production that he was working so hard on. It was amazing. I was in complete awe when seeing his professional manner. He truly was a remarkable person.

This movie showed how Michael poured his heart and soul into his passion. It displayed his endless devotion to creating a perfect experience for every single audience member.

After the movie, my father, a man who has appreciated MJ's music but has never, ever - ever - said a good thing about Michael's character, stated, "Wow, I take back what I have said negatively about him. I have a whole new appreciation for him."

This was absolutely huge for my dad to say. I couldn't believe my ears. This goes to show how strong this movie was, and how greatly it captured this beautiful side of Michael. Throughout the movie you could just see Michael's humbleness, sincerity, purity and imagination.

I feel like this post is a bit all over the place; it is extremely hard for me to sum up my feelings about the film... about Michael.

I can't believe he is gone, and oh how I wish he could have performed at least one come-back show... and been given the chance to take one final bow to the world.

I do feel he is in a much better place now, where he is safe and away from all negativeness... a place where he can sing and dance and be youthful and worry-free.

Michael, you are and will be forever missed.