I've been on a roll with these useless entries these days; so let the good times roll.

The following is just a highlight conversation I had on MSN. I'll call my chatting partner Bob, in order to protect the innocent.

Bob: Iron ring was earlier in the week...and it was fine....the ceremony was really dry...kind of like church
B: but, i got some bling out of it
Matchew: yeah... you don't get bling at church
M: u get Jesus's body tho
M: so i guess that's bling
B: Jesus' body was probably very hot
M: well he herded sheep
M: i'm sure he's ripped
B: exactly! he must have been
M: do you know who else herded sheep?
M: the couple from Brokeback Mountain
B: exactly!!!
B: OMG....
M: hahah
B: that's a revelation....there's a connection
M: i konw
B: jake is mine though
M: you can have jake
M: i'll take Jesus
B: haha
B: i think jake would be more fun anyway
M: but jesus will take me to heaven
M: i'm sure there are many other jakes in heaven :P
B: hahah
B: oh, once i'm with jake
B: i'm in heaven
B: ;)
M: oh gawd

You heard it, Bob wants Jake over Jesus. That's so bad.

Our high school is holding a reunion.

While there has been widely-known informal reunions in the past few years, McGivney is hosting an 15th Anniversary official alumni event on April 16.

I'm not sure if our school is particularly nostalgic, but c'mon, we've only been out of school for five years.

I have a small inclination to go, not because of some righteous reason of wanting to uphold the school spirit of McGivney. Let's face it, "small talk" and discussing what I've done in the past few years is not what I'd place in my "fun" category.

So why do I want to go? For spiteful reasons. There are a few teachers I still hold small grudges towards. My thinking is that I need to be updated about them, so that I can find new ways to make fun of them. Yes, I know I should be a bigger person here, but sadly I'm not. Haha.

I totally want to speak to my World Issues GIS teacher who will only be known as Ms V. Ms V decided to give me and my group partner, Elaine, a 72% on our term project on Urbanization.

So not only did she Asian-fail me, she also made me even more worried about my OAC marks entering university.

Our group ended up getting the lowest mark in the class, lower than than the two ditsy girls who were more concerned about shopping than to actually attend class. Their powerpoint presentation, which was about marine preservation, involved mostly embedding a Quicktime video of whales swimming in the ocean, with almost no content. She also decides to criticize our powerpoint presentation to a certain teacher's pet behind my back, calling it "busy."

Ugh! I have the urge to slap her during the reunion, or at least tell her how crappy she was at teaching GIS.

Then there was my computer teacher, Mr B. Mr B is the laziest teacher I know, and his knowledge of computer programming was very questionable. He would just sit there at his desk daydreaming while the rest of us attempt to learn a Visual Basic and C++ on our own. Mind you, the internet wasn't as developed then, and it's not as easy as Googling an answer.

Now that I am vented, I feel much better. Perhaps I could now attend the reunion with less spiteful baggage. Anyone from McGivney considering attending?

FMM Alumni Homepage - [ycdsb.ca]
Who's coming? - [ycdsb.ca]

That is the lingo going on on campus this week describing the long-anticipated referendum for the UW Universal Bus Pass (U-Pass) on March 28 and 29.

Here's the key question:

Do you support a Universal Bus Pass (U-Pass) at a cost of $41.08, plus an administration cost of not more than $9.50, subject to increases due to inflation and student demand, to be paid by each full-time undergraduate student per academic term, scheduled for implementation in September 2007, and which will be reviewed in three years?

It definitely sounds long-winded, but it's definitely necessary to get this initiative implemented.

I am very excited about even the opportunity to have the program pass, especially since I will staying in Waterloo next term. Currently, the Graduate Student Association is expected to jump on board with the Feds plan, subject to passing of the undergraduate referendum.

In order for the U-Pass to pass, it must not only receive the majority of total votes, but it also must receive at least votes from 7% of the total undergraduate body. Given that general elections usually have a dismal 14% turnout, we must hope that we get more people voting this time around.

I won't speak too much about the benefits, since are obviously high. They are summarized in the YES Committee's adverts above.

Just from my grapevine conversations, I was informed that the maximum administration fee of $9.50 would be used to install swipe machines on all GRT buses so that we can conveniently use our student WATcards. Currently the plan is still subject to debate.

Alternative ideas include adding a sticker to all student cards every term to identify that they’re part of the program. This option would definitely have a lower admin fee.

Whatever option Feds and Grand River Transit plans to take, the UPass fare medium needs to be flexible to accommodate for variety caused by the differrent academic streams due to the co-op program. For that reason, UW would have to take a more difficult stance with administering the pass.

If you're from UW or know someone who do, remind them to vote sometime on March 28 and 29! Just consider it purely as a favour for my self interest!

Recent U-Pass coverage:
Feds calls U-Pass referendum - [imprint.uwaterloo.ca]
Alicia's Iron Warrior article [iwarrior.uwaterloo.ca]
John's Iron Warrior article - [iwarrior.uwaterloo.ca]
Pass the Pass (Requires login) - [facebook.com]
Laurier's U-Pass Program website - [grt.ca]
U-Pass Proposal for the UW - [region.waterloo.on.ca]
Bus pass debate boils over - [imprint.uwaterloo.ca]

... it's not a destination if you don't leave it.

Yes folks, most of you know already but I have accepted an offer to continue to study planning for Grad School at Waterloo. It was not an easy decision, but I truly think there is more of an opportunity for me here.

Even during the applications process, I have always been torn between two sides of the decision scale: having a vibrant urban life versus an opportunity to advance myself professionally in transit.

It would be easy to go to U of T; all of my friends are there, my family is there, and most importantly, I would get to actually live in the 'bohemian' lifestyle that I have always wanted.

Instead, I settled to live again in suburbia. Not any suburbia, small-town suburbia.

Haha, wow. My entry is truly Debbie Downer. Let me snap out of it.

Don't get me wrong though, I am still truly very excited about grad school. I think there's great opportunities to see improved transit in mid-sized cities like KW, Hamilton and London, and hopefully I'm here at the right time.

I am excited to work with a good professor whom I admire, and it would be good to continue to strengthen my working relations with the faculty. Plus, I will be cool to continue to experience all the revitalization that is going on in Waterloo Region.

As a compromise to my dream for urban living, I hope to live in Uptown Waterloo. If anyone knows of anyone wanting to be my roomie, don't hesitate to let me know.

This year's festivities were very interesting. Interesting because I did not do anything profoundly ritualistic

Like what Tim says, I too did not put on any green and/or "Kiss me, I'm Irish" t-shirts. I did not consume green beer, or any other beer for that matter.

It's funny how my desire to drink is drastically diminishing. I really hope this is just a phase, because I hope not to associate this with one of the many signs of my aging.

Instead, Bowie and I took out a wealth of snacks and established a girls' night in. We watched The Holiday. What a bad film, but Bowie begs to differ. I can't stand Cameron Diaz, and her massively large cheek bones. I can't stand Jude Law, and his supposed hotness. Anyway, maybe I was influenced by the bad plot.

What was refreshing was Kate Winslet and Jack Black's performance, maybe because I can better relate to their plot.

Anyways, as the night was over, we were greeted by a nasty swamp of vomit along the residence corridors. It was real nasty. A trail of what seems to be digested pasta flooded the halls. Sadly, because the custodians don't work during the weekend, the puke will continue to sit until Monday morning.

I better thank the patron saint for this. I hope it means that he will grant me good fortune.

Today is Pi Day.

What the heck is Pi Day you ask? It's to celebrate arguably the world's most popular mathematical constant.

Why this day? Well, March 14th is close to 3.14. Precisely, this event is often celebrated at on 03/14 at 1:59, which further plays on the numerical value of pi.

Of course in the epicentre of all that is math, UW definitely did not waste this superb opportunity to party. The math student association, MathSoc, held a celebration by giving out various types of pie.

It is then followed by a recitation of pi. Through memory. Hmm, what comes after 3.14159?

Anyways, I think it's a very neat day, and everyone should stand up and wish someone a happy Pi Day.

Maybe I should dress up as a circle. Better not, a circle is not a flattering body shape.

Addendum: I should really to proofread before posting.

Photo courtesy spacegrrl

Pi Day - [mathsoc.uwaterloo.ca]
Official Website of Pi Day - [piday.org]
Pi - [wikipedia.org]

Jump for joy folks.

The first installment of 2006 Canadian Census has been released. It includes only population and dwelling counts for the entire nation.

If you're a planning nerd like me, you will realize the excitement of getting to use an updated set of data of the nation's most expansive survey. Census information is a pivotal source for research and decision making tool.

Here's some highlights from the Star:

• Population growth:
  • By Province:
    • Ontario and Alberta is responsible for two-thirds of all population growth.
    
    
    • Quebec and BC is reponsible for the most of the remaining one-third of population growth
    
    
    • Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador were the only two provinces with a population decrease
    
    
  • By Municipality
    • Milton led the nation in growth - 71% since the 2001 Census.
    
    
    • Brampton, Vaughan, and Whitby are the other Ontario municipalities in the top 10
    
    
  • By Census Metropolitan Area
    • Toronto CMA grew 9.2% to 5,113,149 since 2001
    
    
    • Kitchener CMA just missed the top ten in population, which grew 8.6% to 451,235 since 2001
    
    
    • Calgary and Edmonton CMA's grew the fastest at 13.4% and 10.4% respectively.
      
      • Both CMA's reached the 1,000,000 mark during two census studies.
• Immigration and the world:
  • Canada had the highest growth rate (5.4%) of all G8 countries, followed by the US (5.0%) and Italy (3.1%).
    • While Canada's fertilty rate is lower than the US, we experienced much greater population growth due to immigration.
  • CBC reports that immigration could become the only source for population growth by 2030, when the peak of the baby boomers born in the 1950s and early '60s reach the end of their lifespans

Her name is Anna Sophie Loewenberg.

She is an Jewish-American filmmaker/journalist living in Beijing. Her fluency in Mandarin definitely puts me to shame. If my grandma had access to Youtube, she would definitely give me a lecture about my poor ties with the Chinese world. Haha.

Anyways, Loewenberg produced Sexy Beijing, a mini-documentary series on Youtube, which discusses some quirky things about the nation's capital. Her documentary style takes elements from Sex and the City's Carrie Bradshaw, where she, as a similar thirty-something, narrates her inquisitive thoughts about the transitioning Chinese culture and documents her encounters with its people.

The episode, Lost in Translation is a must see. She discusses some of the very creative English names Chinese people have come up with for themselves.

Here's the a list of episodes:

• Lost in Translation {Highly recommended)


• Sexy Christmas
• Weddings Gone Wild
• Country Loving
• Looking for Double Happiness
• Jew Brew
• Anna May Wong

Anna Sophie Loewenberg - [geocities.com]

I checked out the WPIRG Rainbow Reels Queer Film Festival last night with Wally and Pat. One of the feature films I really enjoyed was Hard Pill.

The premise of the film comes when a thirty-something man (Tim), being unsatisfied with his life as a homosexual, volunteers for a controversial pharmaceutical study for a drug designed to make gay men straight.

It's quite a heartfelt story, as he struggles not necessarily about being gay, but rather with the gay community's obsession with drugs, promiscuity, and looking hot.

There was a really good quote worth sharing:

"I hate that the currency in the gay world is just being attractive or hot... and I'm just... broke."

Great movie, and I'm sure it speaks to many within the community. Highly recommended.

Hard Pill - [hardpill.com]