The real question: To psych or to blog.

I swore I would study tonight.  Maybe I'll get there.
But the bottom line is school is "owning" me right now, and my job isn't helping by giving me enough hours to be considered full time.
I intend on calling in sick tomorrow.

As the weeks go on, I've accumulated several articles from my journalism classes and I believe I am getting better at it, even with the measly topics and my "maturing" ability at conducting interviews.  A little blonde Waterloo student suggested I start posting them on this, which makes sense since I rarely have anything to talk about otherwise!
I'll post two I've done at the bottom of this and you can watch me grow as a writer over the next year haha.

Jolene came up for a visit two weekends ago and it was stellar.  We had tons of fun, and it just makes me realize how much I want everyone to come up here and see what life is like for me this year.
This past weekend I went to visit Stef at Seneca and it was interesting to visit my first non-Ryerson residence hall and meet a ton of new people. Plus I've noticed sitting around a rez kitchen table with pizza pockets really provides for some exquisite bonding time.
Thanksgiving is the weekend which marks the beginning of my love for October and of fall.  And then two weeks after is HALLOWEEN.  Which I couldn't be more excited for! Only I need costume ideas.  Supply some please.
Oh and as far as now plenty of Windsor folk are going to come experience the best holiday of the year with me! Stoked.  (FYI: Yes, I do enjoy Halloween more than Christmas.)

Also this weekend was Scotiabank's Nuit Blanche which was pretty spectacular.  It's an annual festival where all the big businesses in Toronto set up strange, new agey, wtf-is-that art exhibits.  It seriously spanned across the entire metropolitan area and it began at 6:55 p.m. on Saturday night and ended at 6 am Sunday morning.  We were out all night, not getting back until 4.  The art was interesting, but borderline freaky.  What interested me the most was seeing the mass of people flooding through the city at 3 a.m. No one stayed in that night.
But the stand out moment from that night was meeting Jessi Cruickshank from MTV's the After Show.
If you don't know who she is, do yourself a favour and Youtube, or go the After Show on Mtv.ca because she's actually hilarious and a favourite of mine.
So as you would imagine, meeting her was outrageous.
Prepare, this LONG post is about to get longer.

Stef, Sheila and I were venturing around City Hall admiring the GIANT set up they had, which by the way had me under the impression that Earth was being invaded by aliens...
 When we went to read the description of the piece (which ended up being a riddle like all the others and only confused me more) I noticed a very well dressed, attractive young female walking past us.  Immediately I turn to Sheila, and say "See the girl with the grey hat?  I honestly think that's Jessi Cruickshank"
We became so curious and I convinced them both to get around her to get another look.   We literally ran up the set of stairs, swing around a small crowd, go into causual mode and walk by her again.  It was confirmed to be her.
She kept moving and we realized we had to follow.
I could not work up the courage to say anything so we continued to follow her and her party for around three blocks (mind you Toronto blocks are big).
Finally I decide to walk past her with Stef and Sheila stays behind, so I casually pretend to be looking for Sheila and just notice Jessi for the first time*cough*
I basically said something along the lines of
"I never do this, but I'm a huge fan of the After Show and of you."
She asked me my name, I told her about how I was a journalism student, she asked if i'd been to the show yet, I explained to her that I had planned to twice already and due to rotten circumstances couldn't.
She told me to come and to be sure to stick around after the show to say hi.
I got a picture with her, we said our goodbyes and she continued off with whom I'm assuming to have been her mother and brother.
She was so nice and sweet during our conversation and she could have easily brushed me off and said she was busy but instead we shared a full out conversation and I love her for being a big deal but also being genuine which is something they are already teaching us in my program.


A clip that shows off just how entertaining she is, and kind of relates to my situation...haha




Enjoy your holiday weekends.
Until next time here are two of my articles from the Streeters we've done so far.

 1st Campus Streeter-

Gianluca Inglesi

Ryerson students are using their creative minds for more than their studies this year; they are thinking of new ways to fit food, fashion and fun in their budget.

First year student, Katie Marinzel was very involved in the breakdown of her own spending plan, and set aside a specific amount of money for entertainment.  “I’m worried, because I’ve spent so much in only the past few weeks,” her voice quivering as she spoke.

            Few are finding the transition into the new school year cheap, and fashion student Ryan Joelson describes how he took out a line of credit, and after only a few weeks already finds he is in debt, spending 250 dollars during Orientation Week alone.

Whether it’s avoiding expensive stores or heading straight for the sale rack, impulse spending is becoming less and less common for students.  However the new arrivals in stores aren’t always so easy to avoid, and sometimes a necessary purchase for students like Matt King. A senior in the Business program he expresses how looking professional is mandatory and how you can’t always be thrifty when looking sharp, “The older you get, the more clothes count.”

Joelson admits that he doesn’t feel bad for buying an expensive pair of shoes recently, because he notices that “everyone on campus is so trendy” and fashion students are constantly in competition to have a fresh look.

Eating out at popular student restaurants like Salad King and Jack Astor’s becoming routine is something Joelson’s classmate Tina Guzzi is trying to avoid.  Guzzi admits that even when she does go out for dinner, she hasn’t been leaving tips, in an attempt to save those few dollars for herself. Marinzel, on the other hand, is forcing herself to stay on campus for food, and keeps her diet interesting by switching between the different cafeterias which she says so far is going well.

Other than simply cutting back, students have sought out new cost-effective ways of having fun.  Adrienne Gobbo, a student who lives in Pitman Hall Residence, describes how she chooses to stay in some nights, “My roommates and I have gotten used to renting movies, splitting the cost, which ends up costing only a few bucks each, versus paying thirteen dollars for a movie ticket.” 

Joelson also advocates for the free events that are offered by different groups of the school, such as the Girl Talk concert that took place this month thanks to the Ryerson Student Union. 

Thriftiness and cunning have become learnt values among students who are trying to expand their dollar. “We took a shitload of those free crackers from the cafeteria today. Literally we opened her bag, and stuffed them in,” Joelson describes.

2nd Streeter- Downtown Toronto

            Citizens of Toronto have not come to a clear verdict on the media’s portrayal of the H1N1 threat looming over the upcoming winter season.

            “I really don’t know on this one,” says Joy Oostendarp, owner of RedUmbrella Tea Company, “What worries me the most is how they keep going back on what they said, like whether or not to get the flu shot.”

            The complex strand of flu was taken under the media’s microscope in March of 2009 when there was a large outbreak in Mexico City.  Now, as the flu season approaches, campaigns spreading awareness and explaining precautions are in full effect.  With a poster on every bulletin board, dispensers of hand-sanitizer found in most lobbies, and a daily update on the evening news, it’s hard to ignore H1N1. 

“Sneezing into elbows,” is the recurring message Doctor Kevin Molloy receives from the constant media coverage regarding the flu.  Molloy believes that both health organizations and reporters alike are honouring their responsibility to society, “The media is trying to paint the worst case scenario, to prepare us.”

The Public Health Agency of Canada has set up FightFlu.ca, a website revealing the common ways of spreading H1N1, how to avoid it, and its symptoms.  The guidelines they give are: to wash hands often, sneezing into elbows rather than hands, keep common surfaces disinfected, and to stay home if you are sick.

Gail Prasad, a University of Toronto graduate student, believes there is no harm in following these recommendations, “I have small bottles of hand sanitizer in my bag at all times, and we talk about it in every class. It’s policy.” 

With scientific opinion’s constantly changing, such as the recent decision to postpone the release of the flu shot in Quebec, citizens are at a loss of what to think of the potential threat which the World Health Organization (WHO) named a pandemic in June.

“I hear about it every day on CBC,” says Maria Strzinar, a retiree waiting for the streetcar, “It’s hard to know with such little explanation, some people say they just want to sell the vaccine, but who knows.”

On Friday, WHO announced that the death toll has risen to 3,917 people since the discovery of the virus, making the death rate 0.6 per cent, which is exponentially lower than the regular seasonal flu.  Jamil Khushal, a molecular biologist, says “It is dangerous, but the probability of it infecting the average person is very low.  Children and the elderly are more susceptible.”

Nevertheless, a recent American survey done by Silverlink Communications Firm found that 58 per cent of citizens surveyed think H1N1 is a threat to their well-being compared to a previous number of 47 per cent in May. 

With the temperatures dropping, the idea of “what if” is becoming a more serious concern. “I’ve been explaining to my students that they should start thinking of H1N1 as an eventual reality,” says Prasad.

Previous health threats such as SARS and H5N1 (avian flu) have diminished in society, but as H1N1 reaches its full potential, the concerns are whether it will follow suit and the effect it will have on society if it doesn’t. “If it’s big I don’t think so. We are so far behind; there isn’t much we’ll be able to do.”  Oostendorp predicts.