South Africa

I've been reading a lot lately, and one of the books I just read is called "Disgrace" by J.M. Coetzee, an academic from South Africa. Coetzee (pronounced Co-ets-ah) is an Afrikaaner South African who, unlike most of his brethren, fought against apartheid when most supported it. As a result of both his anti-apartheid beliefs and his writing, Coetzee has pretty much been exiled from South Africa and while his books have garnered critical acclaim all over the world, he is hated by all in his home country.
I never really had an idea of what South Africa was like when I was a kid. I knew that people from that country in Canada were mostly white and had pretty accents, but nothing else. "Disgrace" gave me a really candid look at a country torn apart by racism and horrible crime, and people who refuse to change. My friend D (we won't name names) has been dating a girl from South Africa quite seriously for the last few years, and last year went to South Africa with her for an extended period of time. The horror stories he returned with haunted me for days, especially the ones about traffic accidents and bodies being removed from the ground in plain sight. I also read a story in grade 9 about a house in South Africa that the owners armed to the teeth with security devices to keep black vagrants from breaking into their home. What they didn't take into account was their curious young son, who tried to climb the cement fence to see what was on the other side and wound up being gored by barbed wire. It was a haunting story, made all the more sad by my new understanding of South Africa.
In a country where the reported rape rate is highest in the world and the government refuses to do anything worthwhile about AIDS, how could you ever progress? How could you ever rise above a short, brutal life?

Thoughtfully yours,

-Laur

Sex and the GTA?

I'm watching the first episode of Sex and the City in my Contemporary Literature course. How entertaining!!!
In lecture before this we discussed how the fantasy of Sex and the City has drawn so many people in. The book, which we read for the course, is considered to be the trendy, up-and-coming genre of Chick-lit, but apparently not a very good example. James, my prof, says that it isn't as revolutionary as we all think it is. I was kind of hurt by that. I didn't think it was revolutionary, just highly entertaining. Anyways, I've decided to just watch the show, love the characters, and enjoy.
Then I got to thinking about our city. Sex and the City takes place in Manhattan; what about the GTA? Do we have unmarried, independently wealthy, career-driven women running around trying to find the perfect man? Do they meet at Golden Griddle for brunch on Sunday mornings to discuss the death of romance, the modelizers, the country homes in Caledon and the private jets? Maybe I know one of these women and I never realized how closely her lifestyle paralleled that of Carrie Bradshaw, Samantha Jones, Charlotte York and Miranda Hobbes. Weird.
Next time I got to Cora's for breakfast I'll look for a table of seemingly single women and wonder.

Welcome to the age of uninnocence.

-Laur

To boldly go where no one has gone before...

I have a confession to make...I have a tiny crush on Wil Wheaton. I know he's old and kind of a geek now, but I still adore him.
Who is this Wil Wheaton, you ask? Why, he's Ensign Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation. I borrowed the first season of the show from Richard, the guy I babysit for and an avid Trekkie, over the winter break and slowly worked my way through all the episodes, including the very interesting 'Encounter at Farpoint'. Now I'm into Season 2 and there's no going back.
Why do I like Wil Wheaton so much? Well, I've discovered that it's not so much Wil as it is Wes. Wesley is just so cute! He's such a genius but he's so socially inept, for example in an episode called 'The Dauphin': he meets a girl that he falls head over heels in love with from afar, and when he can't figure out how to woo her he asks a succession of his older bridge-crew friends what they would do. Worf explains in great detail how Klingon women roar at their suitors and throw heavy objects, and Riker and Guinan set up a very cheesy example of romantic language and come-ons for Wes in Ten Forward. Of course the romance is ruined when Wes discovers that his beloved is a shapeshifter who can turn into a giant hairy monster at will, but still...so adorable!
I've decided that if I ever had a chance to go on a date with Wesley Crusher, I would take him out for sushi and bubble tea and then we would sing karaoke. Very Asian, I know, but I think he would enjoy it.

Winberg out.

-Laur ;)

VFC Memories and Camp Nostalgia

Rachel Wayne, if you're reading this, I'm having a personal crisis of sorts and I need the moral and ethical leader of VFC to help me solve it :P
I recently received my camp contract and renewal letters from the City of Vaughan in the mail. They raised my pay rate and even though I'm dead set against going back to camp this summer, the money is very alluring. So I was chilling on facebook, culling out my groups because of something Emery Finkelstein said, and I decided to visit the Vlad Fantasy Camp group, for old time's sake.
It made me laugh so hard I thought I would puke.
There were good times during the summer, really, there were, but there were also times that I'm still having trouble getting past. Like the duplicitous head administration, skulking upstairs in their smelly offices, and the hell they put us lowly specialists, counsellors and directors through. I loved the people, the methalyne blue, the dunk tank and the krazy karaoke, but can I face going back to a workplace that tried to kill my soul?
CONUNDRUM!!!!!!
-Laura

Get ready for me, 2007. There's a storm coming!

So I saw this awesome movie on Friday night. It's called "Night at the Museum" and it stars Ben Stiller and Robin Williams. Ben's character Larry makes a threat to a Kapuchin monkey named Dexter: "There's a storm coming, my friend. A storm is coming." I think I'm going to use that threat for the new year. I'm the storm, and I can't be stopped.
Hopefully that analogy will work out!
Tonight I'm heading to my friend Yafit's house for an awesome New Year's Eve shindiggery-do, where there will be much craziness and many good times.
Earlier today my mom and I went to Canadian Tire and got all the supplies we need to paint the bathroom that Sarah and I share. I didn't actually think that we would get it done while Sarah was away, but apparently we're on the ball. I'm pretty excited.

Anyways, to all my family and friends, have a Happy, Healthy New Year!

-Laur

What a week!

Wow, what a week I've had!!! After much preparation and cleaning of the house, Mom, Sarah and I had a lovely party on December 9th. We called it a New Beginning Party and a lot of people came. I got a little tipsy, but nothing I couldn't handle :P
Since the party things have been pretty relaxed in our house. We've been working on cleaning and purging the house of all the junk and garbage that Ralph had let pile up over the years, and it's going very well. Mom can even park the car in the garage! Amazing! We've been piling up a lot of garbage and it feels like such a waste to me, but there's nothing we can do about that.
The weather has been perfect for cleaning the garage, though, and I think we can look forward to a very green Christmas.
More updates to come!
-Laura

A New Beginning

Wow, it's been quite a while since my last post! I have a good excuse, though; I've been without internet in my house for almost a week. On Saturday when the Rogers Home Phone guy came to switch over our landline, he said he could install our Rogers Highspeed Internet, too. So he did, but everyone who was hooked up with highspeed in our area on Saturday haven't been connected yet. So that sucks, but whatever.
Anyways, my Dad has FINALLY MOVED OUT WOOHOO!!! His stuff isn't completely gone, but a lot of it is and that's amazing. He still has to clear the rest of the garage out, and he has until Friday so if he doesn't get it all out we're calling the dumpster guys so they can come load the rest of his junk into the trash.
Things have changed so much since he left; our house has a more positive feel. We're cooking again, Sarah is back in her bedroom and Mom is back in the master bedroom, albeit in almost minimal surroundings, but it's slowly getting back to normal.
Saturday night we're having a party at my place, so any of my friends reading this are most welcome to attend. It's a new beginning party, and you can bring whatever you want to drink, or finger food, or dessert. And dress for photos, please.
Woohoo! My life is finally beginning.
-Laura Rose