Foiliage

Well, it seems all nature needed was one really nice day, followed by a really crappy day to start up again this year. Yesterday was really nice, and today was really not nice, and now all the leaves are starting to come out. On my walk home from school today there were actually buds and leaves starting on all the trees and shrubs. It's amazing the difference it makes too. All that green after all those months of greys and browns. That's about it. There are leaves and buds on the trees. It's nice.

A week I will try to forget

Well, I have never felt such sickness and sorrow as I did these previous 7 days. Hmm, my last post. 13th. Yeah, that seems about right. That was day 3 of my 7 days of darkness. I felt bad the first day, which was the same day I went to a sushi dinner with everyone. After dinner, I began to feel the first symptoms of illness. I was really tired, and I couldn't breathe very well. Isaque and I were abandoned by everyone on the streets of Hamilton, and we ended up taking the bus back to school, since I felt like crap. We played some video games, and I went home. The next day, I went back to Mac to watch King Kong with Isaque. I was feeling really crappy, but I wanted to watch the movie before Isaque moved back home. This was day 2 and by now, fatique, fever, and chills had set their claws in me. Luckily, I had an exam on Friday. I don't actually remember taking my exam. It all sort of blurs together, since I had a really high fever. I do remember running out of kleenex on question 7, and the next 30 minutes seemed like days. I got the whole weekend to pass away. It's the end of day 7, exactly 7 days after I first felt the symptoms, and I still feel like crap. I get tired and out of breath doing the smallest things. I start wheezing from playing video games. It's really quite pathetic how bad my body has allowed this cold to get. I have managed to finish my semantics, historical ling, Japanese, and slang and discourse exams without missing one. Aside from that, I am waiting for the 25th which will be the day of my last exam. After that its just 5 days until my job starts. I need to call human resources back though. They called and I think it's about the job, but I was out, and have been out.
Nick: I seriously expect you to do two things. Upload that video, and comment on my blog when I'm in Japan.

Meaghan: I got your ketai clip today. Man, it looked WAY bigger in the picture. But it is really nice. We are planning on throwing all you jerks some kind of party when you get back, so it's not all good. It was kinda funny. Your letter matched up kinda with what's going on..... You have been looking for that movie for WAY TO LONG.
Here's a link to your site Meg. I don't think enough people read it. I don't know why. The old name didn't lie. It really is a barrel of monkeys.

Joel: I hope that you didn't want to keep the party thing secret, but I think it's ok. No one really likes suprise parties. Oh, and here's a link to the site of JOEL. Take THAT Joel. Two can play the linking game.

Everyone: I don't think people realize I have another page, or maybe you jerks just don't care. So THIS IS MY OTHER SITE. bookmark it. It's doctor recommended. And here is MY PICTURE SITE which will be chock full of Japan and summer photos soon enough.

that's a lot of hypertext. anyway. I just want to officially finish the schoolyear, and forget everything I did this year. Congratulations to the Schoolyear of 2005/2006. You have won the Shittiest Schoolyear of Marc's Life award. I hated pretty much everything that happeded this year, with the exception of about 5 people I met a Mac who didn't such balls like everyone else I met this year, and a few classes.

Why not me?

So I have made a habit out of checking my scholarship and bursary status on a daily basis. One of the gentlemen I may be going to Japan with has already recieved a $5,500 scholarship, and I have still recieved a big fat zero. I think I applied to more than he did. The problem is that there is a scholarship left that I may have had a shot at, which is given to people who exhibit interest in Asian Studies, but I am competing with the exchange students going to China for that one. And they definitly have higher marks than me. This is all 2E03's fault. It's a full year course so my 85% in it didn't appear on my transcript. Which means instead of having a grade point average of 9.5, I had 7.5 during the scholarship selection period. So the only chance I still have is if I am the only one who qualifies. I am still hoping to get bursaries due to my poorness. My Japan savings have leveled out at $2400 so far. There is no doubt that I will get a full-time job this summer, which will net $5,500 if I start work in May *fingers crossed*. That plus OSAP should comepletly cover my trip next year. I am also going to try to pick up extra shifts and maybe get a weekend job. I have no qualms abut working my ass off. It's schoolwork I hate the most. Stupid 2E03.

Exams start tomorrow for me. I have one at 7pm which I am feeling really confident about. Althought I had some difficulties with semantics during the year, all the info is really starting to sink in. I am definitely going to be able to keep my mark near 80%. I did the math, and I figure I have at least 80% in 4/5 of my classes. If I do well on the exams, I should get some more bursuries and a few scholarships next year.

The gang and I went to our pre-departure orientation on Tuesday. It turned out to be a big waste of time for anyone with half a brain and at least a smattering of common sense. They told us all the things that can go wrong and what to avoid, like hookers and violence. Aside from the copious amounts of free food and drink, it was not worth the class I missed. Everyone going to Japan sat with us, including Jon and Yu who are destined for Osaka University. I am really lucky, since everyone going to Seinan Gakuin is not nearly as stupid or annoying as the other potential exchangees that were there. Everyone and their brother apparently want to exchange to France.

Speaking of France, I have decided to take a French class at Mohawk this summer. From my understandings, there are a lot of French students exchanging to Seinan, so it wil be a good advantage to brush up on my French. I have wanted to start practicing again anyway, and this way, I will be in good shape to practice with the French kids once I get to Japan. Aaron was telling me about his upcoming exchange to Quebec this summer and I would really like to do something similar, but I need to raise money for Japan instead. I have momentarilr given up on Mandarin until exams are over. I figure I can really get into it 4th year, while I'm wasting away in linguistics class.

Thanks for reading, now turn off your computer and get a hobby. nerd

Everybody has probably already seen this pic, but I don't care. It is my favourite picture from my trip to Japan. Leave a comment on your opinion of it.