Goodbye 2014

2014 has been a year with a lot of ups and downs, and like every year, today is the day to look and and say goodbye. Between a break up and months of stomach problems, there's also been an amazing trip to Thailand, I've met incredible people and I ran my first half-marathon. Though it's been full of ups and downs, I would say it was a pretty great year.

Let's take a look at 2014:
January and February:

This is when I realized that sometimes you have to admit defeat, that you've been trying to do too much and to slow down, and then a month later, decided to add yet another thing to this long list; training for a half-marathon. (Looks like someone didn't learn their lesson!)

March and April:

March was when I started realizing that it's beyond easy to get injured when running... And with my luck, get every. possible. injury. all at once.At the same time as working extremely hard during those two months to finish editing my two film projects for class: a documentary and a short film.

May and June:

May and June were two insane and incredible months. I ran my first half-marathon, and then went to Thailand by myself for a month. It was such an amazing trip that I had to write five posts about it!

July and August:

The rest of the summer was... not as busy as I wished it had been. I had two jobs, yet I barely made enough hours to work part-time. Though I do have to say, running Color Me Rad and Mud Hero were really awesome!

September and October:

Well, I started my last year of university ever! Which, I don't know about you, but I think is really exciting! For Halloween, I made this adorable loofah costume. I also started running again, and it was a lot easier than I thought it would be, but more on that later.

November and December:

November was a busy month, what with filming our film class project while doing all my other projects for my other classes, but it was a good experience, though I dread having to edit it. As mentioned above, I also started running again... and in Winnipeg, that means running in cold weather, with very expensive running clothes...

So there goes 2014. It was a great year, but I'm ready for 2015.

New Running Gear!

For Christmas, my mother and I decided that instead of buying me a present, she would pay for some of my running gear. So, we headed to Running Room and went on a shopping spree....

Leggings: New Balance // Shirt: Running Room // Jacket: Running Room // Socks: Running Room FitSok

Let me tell you, running is not cheap. These leggings cost about $100, but oh my, are they comfortable. They are wind resistant, really warm, super flexible, they have a pocket for keys or a small music device, and they have that plastic band at the bottom so they don't rise up and let your ankles freeze.

Leggings: New Balance // Shirt: Running Room // Jacket: Running Room // Socks: Running Room FitSok

I paid for the shirt and the jacket, but also for a pair of socks and honestly, I never thought I would say this, but socks make an incredibly huge difference when you run. These socks have some kind of arch support built in, they are sooooo comfortable and super warm!

Leggings: New Balance // Shirt: Running Room // Jacket: Running Room // Socks: Running Room FitSok

In total, a pair of leggings, a shirt, jacket and socks cost about $250. Whoever said running was cheap, was gravely mistaken. At least winter running (in Winnipeg, no less) isn't... But, this stuff is amazing and totally worth the price. Plus, it doesn't look too bad either ;)

Winter Running 101

Winter is coming... and so is marathon training!

Last year I trained for my first half-marathon and most of my training was done during the winter, which was most definitely a learning experience. Now, winter is coming back around and I thought I would share a few tips I have learned.

1. Roads are safer than sidewalks. The sidewalks are always very slippery, covered in ice, while the city puts sand and salt on the roads, which make them so much safer to run on.

2. Cleats will save your life! You know those strap-on cleats that old people use on their shoes? Well they are absolutely fantastic when it comes time to run outside. They may look and feel silly, but trust me, it works and you'll be glad you have them. Just like an old person, it'll make you feel safe when you go outside.

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3. You will always overestimate the weather. When you run, you warm up. It's a fact of life, which most of us forget when they get ready to go outside. Wearing 15 layers of clothes will most likely hinder your run more than anything... and do you really want to be that guy with his sweater tied around his hips? Didn't think so. Most websites say dress 15 degrees colder than the weather outside, and I agree. So far, always every time it was really cold outside, I've overdressed WAY too much and was stuck dragging my stupid clothes around with me.

4. Develop night vision. Everyone knows that it gets dark really early during the winter and the sun takes forever to rise in the morning, which means that unless you run on your lunch break, chances are, you will be running in the dark.

5. Running during the winter is actually kind of nice. Not everyone will believe me on this one, but I love running during the winter. Mostly for the "you ran in this weather?!" reactions, but also because there's just something really great about running outside during the winter. I enjoy running in the dark and yes, I do somehow enjoy the burning feeling in my lungs.

(5.5) Frozen eyelashes.... I don't know about you, but I find frozen eyelashes hilarious!

Sequential Perspective

For my filmmaking class, we had to do a small project on sequential perspective. This is when you take a small, usually boring action and add multiple angles to make it interesting and add emotion.
For example, someone waiting at a bus stop. Usually, that's a 15 second shot of someone waiting. But if that scene is important to the story, it could turn into a 3-5 minute scene. You do close-ups and see his foot twitching and him biting his lip, for example, which would give us more emotion and tension than a simple shot of him waiting.

I decided to do my project on putting makeup on. It's boring to watch but has the potential for many different interesting angles, so I asked my friend Nicola to be my subject and got her to put makeup on a bazillion times and film it from all sorts of angles, like me sitting in the tub with the camera, pretending to be a mirror.

When I was editing this footage, I had to colour-correct it a lot, because the whole thing was very orange. There was one shot that looked absolutely beautiful and slightly grainy, giving the whole thing a "vintage" look to it, and with the song I picked, it fit really well, so I decided to have the whole thing look like that.

Here it is! I hope you enjoy :)

Last First Semester

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I just finished my last first semester of university. I only have one semester left and then I will graduate. I'M GONNA GRADUATE! I still can't wrap my mind around this fact.

This term went by insanely fast. I can't even believe it's already December! I feel like I haven't done anything! I've taken five classes and I have three exams left to write, then I'm done! I thought this year would be crazy busy, that I would be in over my head, but other than maybe 1 or 2 anxiety attacks, these last three months have gone very smoothly.

Classes:
History of Film: Okay, this is the most boring class I've ever taken. I mean, yes, it's nice that we just watch movies and stuff, but then the prof spends a solid 30 minutes talking as monotonously as possible about the movie and I actually fell asleep in class for the first time in my entire educational career... This is a full-year class, so I'm stuck with him until the end of April, unfortunately.

Filmmaking 2: This class is great. It's 6 hours long, though, which is brutal, but it's so interesting! Typically, we get a lecture during the first three, and then our prof sends us out with cameras to film or do whatever he taught us during the lecture. The second half of this term was dedicated to filming a group film with the class, which to be quite honest, was awful... Next term we will be filming our own movies, with scripts we wrote ourselves and I can't wait!

Photo credit: Ervin Chartrand

Nutrition for Health and Wellness: I actually find this class super interesting! It's really useful information about nutrition (obviously) and things I can use in my every day life. The only downside is that the prof uses the PowerPoint slides provided with the textbook, and it's literally word for word what is written in the textbook... so showing up to class seems so unnecessary.

Introduction to Human Geography: I'm not sure if I like this class.... The beginning was really boring, all about the history of geography and stuff, but the second part was better; all about languages and diffusion, which I find really interesting, but the prof is just terrible at explaining the material....

Introduction to Creative Writing: By far my favourite class. Writing is one of my passions and I love the way this prof teaches the class. She'll talk about a concept, then give us a writing prompt and give us 15-20 minutes at the end to just write. I've written a lot of stuff I'm proud of, like my Ode to a Sugar Cube, for example. It's definitely re-sparked my love for writing.

I've also been working two jobs and I started running again, so I seem so busy, but I really don't feel like I did all that much! Weird huh?

It's been a great semester and I'm definitely excited for my last last semester.

10 Random Facts About Me

A year ago, I wrote a post about 10 random facts about me and I thought I would do it again! It's been  almost exactly a year since I wrote this, so it's definitely time for a new one!

1. My favourite animal is an elephant. The babies are adorable, they are so smart, and after being around them in Thailand, you can just feel how personality they all have.

2. I've written 3 novels. Technically two; one is a complete re-write of another, that I re-wrote from scratch with a lot of plot changes, and the other is a sort of memoir. None of these have ever been published nor will they ever be.

3. I'm a totally lightweight with beer, but vodka? Bring it. Three beers makes me tipsy... so does half a bottle of vodka.

4. "In a Galaxy Close to You." is the (English translation) name of my all-time favourite TV show. It's a show made in Quebec about a mission in space in 2038, to find a new planet to replace Earth and it's absolutely hilarious.

5. My favourite quote is and has always been "You don't have a soul. You are a soul, you have a body." -C.S. Lewis.

6. If I had to choose ONE religion.... it would be Buddhism. Ever since Thailand, I've been thinking a lot about it and if I had to pick one religion, this would be it.

7. Proud Geek. I love Star Wars and I'm proud of being a huge fan and wanting all the merchandise I can find (if only money wasn't an option...)

8. I bake, not cook. I do like cooking, but I much prefer baking. Cookies, cake, cupcakes, bring it on!

9. My iPod is a jumble of music. I have so much music on there, with lots of variety, from heavy metal to Taylor Swift to T-Pain to The Police. And I love all of it.

10. I have been on almost every continent. I only need to go to South America and Oceania and I'll have been on every continent!

Half-Marathon #2!

Remember last year how I ran my first half-marathon (and almost died)? Well, I'm doing it again! For her birthday, my mom wanted to go run a half-marathon in Europe and had thought about running in Berlin, and I thought, "any excuse to go back!" and "I need to get in shape!" so I started training and ran my first half-marathon in May 2014. It didn't go very well, but I finished it and that's what counts. Today, I officially start training for this half-marathon.

Most training programs are only 12 weeks long, but I stretched mine out to 16 weeks, just to give myself a little more time to prepare, as I found 12 weeks was really hard on my body. I've been running with a friend since mid-September and we've been running 6 miles on average, so I definitely feel like this race will be a little easier.

I based my training off of Hal Higdon's Novice 2 half-marathon training, like last year, and simply added 4 weeks at the beginning.

34th annual Vattenfall Berlin Half-marathon 

I will be running the 35th annual Vatenfall Berliner Halbmarathon on March 29, 2015, in Berlin, Germany and you can't even imagine how excited I am! Here's what the course looks like; we will be running by some of the coolest monuments in Berlin, including the Brandenburg Gate (in the picture above), the Berlin Cathedral, Potsdamer Platz and even the famous TV Tower.

March 29th 2015, here I come!

Behind The Scenes

Photo Credit: Ervin Chartrand

My filmmaking class has been working on a group project these last few weeks and it's been an interesting experience. Our prof gave us a script, written by the T.A. and we were each assigned crew roles and scenes to direct, and we were divided into the Sunday and Monday crews, since we couldn't all be there at the same time, and 12 crew members for such a small film is way too much. t am the production assistant manager, which basically means I send out an email once a week, telling people where to meet and when, for what scenes, and make sure they show up.

The movie is about a young man who works at a call centre and who hates his job and eventually, he gets so tired of being yelled at, that he tracks down one of the people who yelled at him over the phone and decides to takes his revenge.... but doesn't go through with it. Instead, he gets kicked out of his apartment by his now ex-girlfriend and ends up sleeping at his coworker's house.

Photo Credit: Ervin Chartrand

Anyway, it's not the best script, but it's experience on a film set. Each week, we rotate roles, so that we can all be in charge of lighting, sound, camera and directing.

One thing I will say: filming outside? The worst part of filming. It's either way too cold or way too hot, and of course, every time you try to film outside, it will rain or snow. There's just no way around it.

Typical White Girl

So it seems I've turned into a typical white girl!
With the matching scarf and socks, the boots, and legging...  I finally understand! It's because it's so damn comfortable!

Scarf: Garage // Shirt: H&M // Leggings: Suzy Shier // Socks: Kodiak // Boots: Payless Shoe Warehouse

You know what? I wear what I want, when I want, and that's all there is to it. It has nothing to do with fashion for me. I liked the scarf, so I got it. Winter is coming, and I needed warm socks, so I got them, same thing with the boots. As for the leggings? Well my jeans are slightly too big for me and something it's nice to lounge in leggings.

Obviously, this isn't what I wear every day. I'm still the typical t-shirt and jeans kinda gal, but hey, it's nice to switch it up once in a while, right?

Fishing Poem

I wrote another poem for my creative writing class and I thought I would share it with you. The writing prompt was a photograph of a man, alone on a big rock that overlooked a large body of water that I thought looked like the ocean.

This is obviously not the picture that inspired the poem, but close enough, right?

A swing of the arm,

The flick of a wrist.

The hushed “whoosh” of the rod,

As it cuts through the air.

I'm getting better at this.

Slowly but surely, I'm learning.

I haven't caught anything yet,

So I wait patiently as he always did.

The waves are crashing against the shore,

Along the rocky pedestal on which I stand.

My feet are wet, my hands tired.

I'm getting weary of waiting.

The moment I give up,

The second I start reeling in,

Something tugs violently at the end

Of my line, something hidden.

Whip the rod upwards,

Just like he taught me;

Secure the hook, he'd say.

And I start a battle of tug-o-war.

This is when it gets exciting,

Playing tug-o-war with an invisible force,

Not knowing what's on the other end.

It's what he loved about it.

Finally, I see something.

A flash of a golden fin.

A smile tugs at my lips;

I did it.

Why he always loved to fish

Remains a mystery to me.

My dad never taught me,

I never taught my son.

He loved it so much.

And so here I am,

Catching my first fish at 62,

Just the way he taught me.

1989

Taylor Swift came out with a new album just before Halloween and I bought it. After listening to Shake it Off, I wanted to see how much of her new album really was pop (and of course, I just like her). I bought the deluxe edition of course, which comes with two extra songs and a series of pictures with lyrics on them, which I think is a brilliant idea. The pictures all look great and have this really sweet vintage feel to them, which goes perfectly with the album, since it's named after her birth year.

1989 is actually such a great album! I've pretty much had it on repeat since I got it. There's a variety of songs from the happy Shake it Off, to the sadder, slower This Love and Clean.

I find that a lot of her lyrics have really improved from her previous album.. Some of her songs are really deep and well-written (for a pop artist). For example, her song Clean references to an addiction, and being clean and sober, which in this case, refers to love, and her song Wonderland, on the deluxe album parallels Alice in Wonderland and falling in love.

Taylor Swift's new single Blank Space just came out on the 10th and I thought I would share it for everyone to see!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!!
This year, like almost every year, I made my own costume. Last year I found a DIY tutorial to make a bath loofah costume, and I decided to try it this year!

It's super simple! Here's a video on how to make it, as a link to another blog.

http://www.busythoughts.com/diy-loofah-halloween-costume

So far, I love this costume. It's simple, surprisingly warm and it makes me feel ridiculously girly!

What are you dressing up as this year? Do you usually make or buy your own costume?

Why I Don't Vote.

There's a municipal election coming up in Winnipeg and I will not be voting. People keep asking me why and I thought I would answer that.

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I don't care about politics. Some people don't care about rap music or action movies, and I have no interest in politics. Never have. That being said, I know nothing of what's going on.
I don't even know who the candidates are,
I don't even know WHEN the election is!

I mean, I could definitely try and be interested, but I don't feel like it. I just can't be bothered. I've always hated those high school-type popularity contests and that's all politics are to me. Politicians never actually answer any questions and there's nothing I hate more than people who circle around and can't be straight up.
So my logic is, why would I go vote if I know less than nothing about what/who I would be voting for?

And yes, I do realize that every vote counts, that I would have no right to complain if I don't vote, and that's kind of the point....
Even just having a debate on why I don't vote and why I should vote irritates me, so why in the world would I sit listening to debates about taxes and fixing the roads?

The only reason I would vote for someone, Joe Bob, for example, is because my parents are telling me he's the right guy, but then again, I wouldn't be thinking for myself, now would I?

Anyway, that's just my two cents. You can judge me or try to convince me to go vote and tell me voting is important (I know it is), that's totally fine. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and this is mine.
Do you vote? Why or why not?

Tinder conversations

This is probably the overstatement of the year.... (photo credit)

So... I have Tinder. Not because I'm looking for a random hook up, but just because I'm bored. Honestly, to me it's just a game. I like talking to people and that seemed like an easy way to do it.

I can definitely say I have met some straaaaange people on this app. I've also had some pretty funny conversations. So I thought I would share some of these conversations!

Him: Do you come with the elephant?
Me: Lol I wish!
Him: Where do you get one, and why did you not keep it?
Me: In Thailand, and because they're too big to bring back in my suitcase.
Him: I would have it fl-- elephants can fly, right?
Me: I think so yeah. This one was really shy though. Something about having little wings....
Him: Dang, that sucks so much. Had an elephant and it wouldn't fly you home...

***

Him: Show me your elbows!

***

Him: I'll give you a rundown of my big move: I invite you for drinks at whatever local dump appeals to both of us*, you agree enthusiastically. We meet up, I charm you with my wit, you charm me with your exposed cleavage, I suggest we leave the bar. We head to a park (how convenient and romantic.) and proceed to get just drunk enough that if we were too hook up, there,d be no inhibition. We then head to my place, because I cleverly manipulated you into choosing a bar close to my house (note the * in the third line) and I introduce you to my cat. You're impressed that I still live at home. I'm impressed that your clothes are still on, you must be special, not like those other whores. We then proceed to my basement couch where we make vague thrusting motions on each other till I finish, (you probably won't have the chance) then I call you a cab. (It'll be easy to get one since it's four in the morning). At this point we say goodbye, only for you to wake up the next morning slightly disappointed with yourself!

***

Him: What are you studying?
Me: German and Film
Him: Oh I don't like that.


Even though *most* guys on there are just plain weird, there have definitely been some exceptions. I actually met two guys from there and they are definitely not weirdos (at least not the bad kind, because let's face it, we are all weirdos.)

Thankful

It's Thanksgiving here in Canada!

There are so many things I am thankful for this year. There are things that never change, that I am always thankful for, like my family and my friends and being able to live in a country where I'm safe and that isn't at war.
And there are the recent things that I am also thankful for.
-Working at my new job. I love my new job and I actually enjoy going to work (and, I mean, the pay ain't bad either, so no one's complaining!).
-Thailand. This trip was absolutely amazing and I still can't believe how well it went. I met a lot of incredible people there and it's a trip I'll never forget.
-School. It may not be something recent, but I am so thankful for going to university. I really love learning and it's been great so far. I can't believe I'll be graduating this year already.
-Health. It's nothing new, but after being sick for so long, I definitely appreciate being healthy again and I'm so glad that it's over.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Root Beer Cookies

I know this may sound strange, but these are by far the best cookies I've ever made. A friend of mine gave me the recipe and I decided to try it out!

Ingredients:
-3/4 cup butter
-3/4 brown sugar
-1/4 cup sugar
-1 small box instant vanilla pudding mix (dry, do not prepare)
-2 eggs
-1 tsp root beer extract
-2 1/4 cup flour
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions:
1. Cream butter and sugars together.
2. Beat in instant vanilla pudding mix well.
3. Add eggs and root beer extract and beat until well incorporated.
4. Add flour and baking soda and beat until well incorporated.
5. Sit in white chocolate chips
6. Roll into 1" balls and place on greased cookie sheet
7. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 8-10 minutes. **
** I modified this a little: I found that they weren't thoroughly cooked after 10 minutes, so I would flatten them with a fork and put them in for another 5 minutes **

Root beer extract: I've been told you can find some at Walmart, in the same section as the vanilla extract, but I went to Bulk Barn and found tiny bottles that were 1 tsp each, so it worked out perfectly! (Also, extract and concentrate are the same thing, so don't get discouraged if it says concentrate instead.)

These cookies are absolutely delicious and they aren't overly sweet, so you can just keep on eating! I was also really surprised that the taste of root beer isn't as dominant as you'd think. They mostly taste like vanilla with a slight root beer after taste. Yummy! :)

Ode to a Sugar Cube

I am taking a creative writing class this year and the other day my prof gave us random objects with the instruction to write an ode to this object, the way Pablo Neruda does with tomatoes, clothes and ironing.
I was given a sugar cube, and in about 10 minutes, I wrote this little ode:

Ode to a Sugar Cube

They say that great things come in small packages,
You make my days brighter, 
My fondest memories of you come from my childhood;
You spice up my life in every way imaginable,

And my dear Sugar Cube, this is true for you.
You have been my companion for many years,
Always loyal and never changing.
As you add a bit of "oomph" to my otherwise mundane life.
Every morning, you greet me with a coffee,
Starting my day with joy at the sight of you and your sweet smile.
You, my best friend, my fellow adventurer,
You would bathe in juice, and I watched as you turned red or orange or purple,
And I giggled as you melted into my hands.
And Sugar Cube, my dear,
I would be nowhere without you.

Yes, I'm Still Alive!

I've been a bad blogger...
It's not that I've been too busy or have been hiding under a rock and literally have nothing to say, I've just been lazy. I haven't even been keeping up with anyone's blogs!
It's been summer and I wanted to do as much as I could and enjoy the "nice" weather while I could.
What have I been up to?
Well... Quite a bit, actually!
I ran three 5K runs: Color Me Rad, Mud Hero and Electric Donkey Run, which I've been too lazy to blog about... So here's a couple pictures of those last two runs!

Another big thing that happened over the last little while is that I got a new job! I will be working at the new Canadian Museum for Human Rights as a tour guide. It's really exciting because everyone in this city has been waiting for years for this museum to open and it's finally happening! I'm really looking forward to working there. I've been doing a lot of training, since there's just so much information to know. I will definitely be blogging about this later on, when I'm actually allowed to....

And the biggest thing? I just started my LAST year of university!!!!
It's going to be a craaaaazy year. I'm taking a full course load while working two part-time jobs. This term I'm taking three random classes (Nutrition, Intro to Geography, Intro to Creative Writing) and two film classes to complete my degree, and next term those two film classes continue, and I will be taking three german classes to finish the other part of my degree. It's going to be insane! This will be the year where I really learn to organize my time and well... actually do my homework....

This summer has been absolutely fantastic, and even though I'm not quite ready for winter yet, I'm so excited to be back at school and finishing university.

There's Beauty in Everything

Sometimes, you can look at the same thing every day and not see the beauty in it.

A couple of weeks ago, I went for a walk with a friend of mine with the sole purpose to take pictures of buildings. He's in an architecture class and this was his assignment. Downtown Winnipeg has some really cool buildings and façades so I went along with him and we took some pretty interesting pictures.
I used a Canon Powershot, which is a simple point-and-shoot type camera. You don't need a fancy DSLR to take some great pictures!

Color Me RAD!

Color Me Rad came to Winnipeg on Saturday and I jumped at the occasion to run it! It was the funnest and easiest 5K I have ever run!
The colours are made of cornstarch, and it sticks to you really easily. It was funny to see the people who were covered in colours beside people who were all in white and clearly hadn't run yet.
There were young kids and older people running and walking, and it was such a beautiful day for a run! I honestly recommend everyone to try running a colour run at some point. Whether you're a runner or not, it doesn't matter. It's just so much fun!

I can't wait to do it again!