This past week, things have come to a bit of a head and I’m suddenly finding myself remembering what it’s like to have five teachers, each of whom believe their class is the most important. That’s right, it’s mid-term season – the worst part of the school year. Some might say finals are the worst, but at least a final exam heralds the end of class and the beginning of break time. After a mid-term, however, you’re right back in class the next day with more assignments to do and no end in sight. So for this last fortnight, I’ve been going slightly batty attempting to keep up to date with the never-ending stream of projects and deadlines. (more…)

Recently, this has become an altogether too common and perhaps tired observation, but – things are stressful! Many people I meet are saying the same thing. And I, for one, can’t remember the last time I had a proper night’s sleep, or a day where I didn’t spend at least some time working at school on a project or assignment, or just trying to master a new technique. It’s been overwhelming and I’ve unfortunately turned to old habits to help bear me up.

I’ve managed to start smoking again. (more…)

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog about a newspaper article. This year’s unusually high military suicide rate had sparked a radical new approach to soldiering, whereby yoga was being offered on the frontlines to manage stress. I came down – rather hamfistedly – against the theory and principles behind this development.

Predictably, however, since posting the blog, a heated discussion has ensued regarding the propriety of yoga for soldiers, with many people suggesting I had been hard-nosed and unfair. (more…)

In my last blog a couple of days ago, I mentioned how returning to school – albeit animation school – has been a real kick in the pants for me!

When I was an undergrad, I used to suss out what classes were really mandatory for me to attend and what classes I could skip. As long as I kept up with my assignments and took (and passed!) the tests, I’d be fine just cruising along. (more…)

What with the eerie – and not altogether unwelcome – quiet during the week, you’re all probably already aware that school’s back in session. For me, the last few Septembers have come and gone without so much as a nod.

Since finishing my undergrad studies, they have had unusually little effect on my life. September was marked only by the fact that the mall I worked in would become a haunt of the elderly rather than of teenagers. (more…)

I’ve been a nervous wreck for the last week and a half. A little over ten days ago it hit me that animation school was starting really soon – too soon, in fact. I’m not ready. Well, I don’t feel ready, anyway.

You see, despite my getting into the program on what was apparently a worthy portfolio, I’m still not confident in my abilities. I’ve never been an art student. I’ve always passionately considered it, but I never enrolled. And I’ve always been self-conscious about my drawing. (more…)

It finally happened. It was just a matter of time, really. To be fair, we lasted longer than any previous year, but now it’s official: my fellow hooligans and I have been kicked off of the public soccer fields again.

It happened at last week’s game. We were playing on one of North Vancouver District’s public sports fields. We had been there no more than an hour when a district truck pulled up. It sat for ten minutes, the driver visibly scribbling something in his notebook. The truck rocked violently as the driver then extricated himself from the driver’s seat. His silhouette dwarfed the truck considerably in the setting sun as he plodded across the field towards us [pardon the continued editorializing. ed.], occasionally suspiciously snapping shots with a small cameral. (more…)

This is rapidly turning into one of the busiest summers in recent memory. Once again, I have just returned from a trip, this time to my friend’s dad’s cabin near Kamloops, BC. This time I didn’t plan it; some things, though, you can’t say no to.

Two weeks ago, I received a call from my oldest friend, Scott, inviting me and several other friends out to his dad’s lakeside cabin. Now, in the twenty-odd years I’ve known Scott, I’ve been to the cabin countless times and I was under no illusions as to what I would be getting myself into. (more…)

Alright, there’s good news and there’s bad news. In my limited experience the bad news always comes first, so I see no reason not to follow the tradition.

Mike is dead. My all-time best friend and very first car has passed on.

It was sudden, but not altogether unexpected, I suppose. He was an old car, having served faithfully for nigh 20 years, and he rather understandably had his problems. Two weeks ago, he had to be towed to the shop as he had developed an unhealthy sounding rattle. The verdict was swift and grim. Write-off. The hyphenated phrase a car dreads hearing. He was done. (more…)

So I was away this weekend. I went to Vancouver Island on work, ostensibly. My friend Stu, a talented musician and audio engineer, was hired to rig the sound for a gig on Quadra Island, a small island just off Vancouver Island. And since he was taking a full professional sound rig with him for the band, he needed help running cables, setting up speakers, and driving a 3 ton U-Haul. Scenting both adventure and Rock-and-Roll, I hastily agreed. I was, however, unprepared for the manner of adventure I was about to have.

It was a long drive out to Quadra and the upcoming show was a bit of a mystery. Anticipating the trek, our benefactor – a singularly wealthy man, Stu assured me – provided us with accommodation in Parksville at the V.I.P. Hotel (said his email). After the long, arduous process of zeroing in on the address, we discovered that there had been an error. It was actually the “V.I.P. Motel” – a bit of a misnomer as there wasn’t anything remotely V.I.P. about it. We would later discover to our grim amusement that the name was actually the “Vancouver Island Parksville Motel.” Ha ha. Yes. Very funny. (more…)