Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Okay so the title is a little misleading as I'm only taking a train but I tried to watch the movie but my eyes started to hurt from the movement of the train and trying to focus on the screen. So I'm on my way to Toronto (Oshawa) to stay with some friends for New Years. Should be a good time and it should only take me a little over four hours to get there. BUT I'm still pretty tired as I had to get up at 4:30 am to get to the train station and I'm now afraid to have a nap in fear that I will miss my stop and actually end up in Toronto and not Oshawa. I have to keep myself entertained and the trains wi-fi isn't really great for playing games online, so I decided to write a blog about it all.
Can't wait to see my good friends, although I see/talk to them a lot it will be fun as we usually (more like always) have a good time. I hope this New Years goes better than the last one as I was sick for that.
Also I have some observations about my travels with VIA. Aside from the wi-fi blowing balls (it will not let me on YouTube so just look for "Louise CK + internet" on it), I have noticed that every time I've been on the train, I always sit on the left hand side of the car. Another thing I noticed this time around is that they have not checked for tickets yet. I find that odd as they have come up and down offering drinks, etc but not to make sure everyone has a ticket. I also fear leaving my bag up at the front of the car as I always think someone will steal it before I get off at my stop.
I asked for a window seat when booking my ticket thinking I'd be able to look out and see some of the stuff that is passing me by. I didn't even think about it being 5:40 am when the train left and it still being pitch black out.
Oh well, time to listen to some music.

NBA You're a Joke

So Chris Paul has just been traded to the Lakers and they could STILL get Howard from the Magic. The NBA just had a lockout where they were all about small market teams getting to compete, what bullshit that is. What makes this even worse is that the NBA OWNS the Hornets, where Paul is being traded from, and then they send this kind of message by trading him to LA.
NBA you just proved why you are my least liked sport.

Christmas List

So my mother has been on me about getting her a Christmas list so she could do some shopping. She asked for it about two or so months ago and I kept putting it off. Even when my parents said they were going to the States to do some Christmas shopping I still put it off. Even though I'd buy stuff from the malls if I was there myself, I'm just too lazy to write anything down.
So finally I decided to start my list. I don't really need any more clothes (although some stuff did make the list), I really didn't know what to put on it. I named random stuff that I thought was cool. I asked for a cupcake mold that has them come out like they are brains. The idea of me munching on brains was too much for me to pass up, so it made the list. I don't even bake and I still put it on.
Some of the stuff on my list consists of stuff that falls into one of two categories (sometimes both). One being that of it is too expensive and my parents have already bought me some stuff so I wouldn't be getting that. An example is an SRL camera which I put on, some can go for $500+. And the second category being stuff my parents would never let me have. Those items include a dog, tattoo, etc but you get the idea. "Not while you live in this house." Is the phrase I get a lot when asking for these items year after year.
So in the list that is narrowed down by this it has basically become a list that has hats, hockey gear and the Back to the Future trilogy.
I should have just asked for a tree in Jerusalem.

OC Transpo Does It Again

With regards to the incident between an OC Transpo bus driver and Matthew Taronno, I cannot help but feel that the union will try to sweep this under the rug. With the stuff that has come from the union it just seems like they will be covering for one of their own. They tried to pull the “a driver cannot be filmed on OC Transpo property,” but that just made it seem to clear in what was going to happen. Then came the “It will be dealt with internally and cannot be revealed to the public.” Which, granted, is better than the first one but people should be able to read between those lines as well.

True, there are good and bad bus drivers out there in almost every major city. But this incident seems to have gone over the top. Threatening a passenger with physical harm is not okay and shouldn't be tolerated. Plain and simple, this act that was caught on film is a form of bullying. The bus driver belittles Matthew and threatens him. If this had happened in a school, one would be calling for some kind of justice and not be swept aside. With the latest news about bullying going around and of the outcomes that come from that people should be thinking about what they say before they speak. I know, easier said than done but it seems that it needs to be said again because some people just don't get it.

I can't see ANY reasonable explanation that would put the bus driver in the “right” here. If said bus driver felt so strongly about what had happened that he “spoke up” and threatened Matthew then why didn't he just call for the OC officers to come and help with the situation. There has to be some sort of protocol for situations where other OC Transpo staff that are trained to deal with these issues have to be called. But the bus driver decided that he would take matters into his own hands. And the union is now saying that the whole thing could be related to stress or other problems. I'm sorry and I'm on the page with the others that have said this as well, but if you can't control yourself while doing a job that serves the public than you shouldn't be doing that job.

The fact is that Matthew Taronno stood up and took responsibility for what he did, on the bus and in the media. The bus driver, well it seems like he gets to continue on with his job as if nothing had happened on that bus that day.

Submitted to: The Ottawa Citizen

Stupid S Key

Don't get me wrong, I love my Blackberry but sometimes my S key doesn't register when I hit it. Do you know how annoying that is? Try typing anything and not having an S in it. (Like that sentence right there.) There is a reason why Wheel of Fortune use the letters R S T L N E. I still wouldn't trade in my Blackberry for an iPhone though. My Blackberry helps me do a lot more than an iPhone would.

Fantasy Hockey

Forwards:
Evgeni Malkin (1), Sidney Crosby (2), Bobby Ryan (3), Henrik Zetterberg (4), Patrick Sharp (6), Joe Pavelski (8), Phil Kessel (9), Jason Spezza (11), Ryan Callahan (12), Jason Pominville (13), Patric Hornqvist (16), RJ Umberger (17), Jakub Voracek (18), Andy McDonald (20)

Defence:
Lubomir Visnovsky (5), Brent Burns (10), Mark Giordano (15), Joni Pitkanen (19)

Goalies:
Martin Brodeur (7), Jaroslav Halak (14)

I think I did pretty good for myself this draft. My only downfall is that I selected goalies too late in the draft (round 7). I was tempted to draft Pat Dwyer of the Canes because of my buddy but I couldn't bring myself to do it as I needed players to fill out my roster and there is a stupid waiver wire period which seems like it wouldn't be ready for the first game. Anyways, that is enough about my fantasy team.

Just for my own fun this is how I would set up my lines
Forwards: (LW - C - RW)
Bobby Ryan - Sidney Crosby - Evgeni Malkin
Patrick Sharp - Henrik Zetterberg - Phil Kessel
RJ Umberger - Jason Spezza - Jason Pominville
Andy McDonald - Joe Pavelski- Ryan Callahan
Extras:
Jakub Voracek
Patric Hornqvist
Defence:
Lubomir Visnovsky - Brent Burns
Mark Giordano - Joni Pitkanen
Starting Goalie:
Martin Brodeur
Back-up Goalie: 
Jaroslav Halak

Thanks for reading about my fantasy hockey team. Yes I know, lame but whatever haha.

My Heart is Broken

So I was watching the Red Sox game last night and all was well until the bottom 9th inning (within reason of course). I then watched Papelbon get TWO batters out and only needing one more out to win the game and at least get into a 1 day playoff if the Rays were to win their game (which they did). Then my whole world came crashing down around me, okay a little over the top but whatever, as the Orioles came back and won.
That right there was not even the worst of it because there was still the chance that the Rays could lose. But that didn't happen and the Red Sox completed their worst September in team history. The collapse was complete and my heart was broken. I can always say there is next year but some work will need to be done to this team to get it ready for the run they're hoping for.
I now hope for the following teams to win their series.
- Tigers
- Rangers
- Phillies
- Brewers
Which would setup a Tigers vs. Rangers (which would be a great series) and a Phillies vs. Brewers (Halladay vs. The Greatest Canadian Ever in John Axford [Google Image Search him to understand]). From those series I wish for a Brewers vs. Rangers World Series with the Brewers winning it all, just so John Axford can have a ring. That man is the greatest thing ever, forget about Brian Wilson.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, minus the Sisterhood and Pants.

Everyone seems to be traveling and it makes me sad ha. So sad in fact that I'm listeing to the Traveling Wilburys, which can be good or bad it really depends on how you look at it. Anyways, I love to travel and wish I could do it whenever I get the urge or even plan it out. But you see there is two things holding me back.
One, I'm a student and I need to stick around for classes. Can you say boring? (Thumbs up if you said it out loud.)
Two, I'm poor.
Poor being the key one out of those two things. It is really my own fault because I spent a lot of money that basically ate away at what I made over the summer. I dropped over a grand on hockey, I'm not sorry about that, but tuition killed me. I don't even think I can go on a little trip when reading week rolls around.
I see lots of people on facebook, twitter or whatever that are traveling and it gets me down that I'm not there doing that instead of them. I've looked into the Swap thing before but that would require me to work while over there. I'd much rather just travel and enjoy everything. Just a few of the places I'd love to travel to are Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, UK, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Poland, Italy (again) and Greece (again). And that was just off the top of my head, hate to see what it looks like when I think of places outside of Europe.
/rant

(One of the) Worst Feelings Ever

Okay, so the title is going over the top a little but what I'm about to talk about still sucks. So I tend to zone out from time to time, nothing major but when I was playing NHL 12 on my 360 I usually sit oddly. In doing so sometimes my legs fall asleep. Which is fine when only one of them does it but really sucks when both do. But what sucks even more is that I was only snapped out of my zoning out by my need to pee. If you have ever tried to walk when both your legs were alseep it isn't the greatest. I mean it isn't getting knocked out by Josh Koscheck with one second left in the round (yes a jab at Matt Hughes) but it still sucks.

I'm Rumpelstiltskin.

Well I missed Saturday night as I didn't wake up from my nap. My nephew is staying here while my sister and brother go to the States to shop. We went out to Boston Pizza to get some food and I ended up eating my meal (teriyaki rice bowl) and basically a whole plate of nachos because my parents couldn't finish them. So to say the least I was stuffed and tired after the meal. I ended up taking a nap on the couch in the living room. The last thing I remember is my nephew putting the blanket over me before he went off to bed.
Did I mention he is three?
Way more responsible than me.