And it turns out...

...that I have not lost my marbles!

Hurrah!

What was lost is now found. I'll tell you this much, to find out you were right all along, and that you are not crazy but actually quite sane...

....that is a beautiful thing.

Sublime...

I thought I would try...but the video in no way does it justice. I'm telling you.

A little late for this post I realize, and STILL not the wedding recap, I feel it might be much too late for that now. But there is still time for an Arcade Fire Recap. As I write this, I don’t even know how to fully express how amazing this show was. The last concert I went to (which was deliberately omitted here) was so mediocre, and was beginning to doubt the reasons for going to shows.

Then came the Arcade Fire.

The sound was bang on. It was in Deer Lake Park, so you didn’t have to sit in a stuffy arena. Instead, on a blanket waiting for the music, it felt like a fair (probably because Rebecca and I ate mini donuts, pizza and ice cream). But then, it was even better than the fair because the band was incredible. They just got every song. The pitch, the tone was perfect. I was taken in. It was one of those times where the music just comes alive at the performance. There were ten people on stage and they would randomly switch instruments. These were actual musicians my friends.

And as if the music, the venue and the perfect sunny day weren’t enough, I got more. There were so many great people there. And as we know, the people make it for me. I went with Rebecca- which was so fun, and we sat with the Spiros. Yes, multiple Spiros. This is the greatest part. Jay Spiro (Jamie’s cousin…did I just call her Jamie?) was in Rebecca’s wedding, so it actually made sense that we were all together. So there we were, Rebecca, Sharelle and five Spiros. About ten feet away were Lana, Rick, Melissa and Shaun. And then, just to top it all off, another CP showed up – Kristina Janzen. So, it was the best of both worlds – Capernwrayers and White Rockers. How can you beat that?

But man, just so incredible. This long post is well merited. I have been listening to them ever since. If you haven’t yet, go take a listen. It won’t be the same, but it will be good.

Real Life...

I'm telling you right now, this is not the much anticipated wedding recap. It's coming, but you demanded blogging, and these are todays thoughts:

Today marked the return to the "work world" for me. Canadian Geography finished, so I headed back to Novacom this morning with the throng of commuters. It was also the day after a long weekend. Also, at the end of the day, I had to write a relatively significant cheque. Although little, these things added to a day that needed to be redeemed. And then:

-A Beautiful White Rock Moment-

I was just saying today how I already missed my dear TWU friends. Specifically today, I was thinking of my friend Laura Van Dyke. We became friends this semester, having two classes together and talking "literary" things. For some reason recently, I have been looking at similar cars thinking it might be one of my TWU friends. Today, coming through the 32nd Avenue Diversion, and who did I see? Laura was turning the corner. What are the chances? Provindential I think.

So we roll down the windows at the light, and decide to go to Wendy's. I am sitting there eating a JBCB just thinking - "it doesn't get any better than this". We sat and talked until almost 10.00 pm about life, proffessors, books and silly things. These are the beautiful moments of summer...

Even the bleak "real world" life can be redeemed by random moments on the commute home. During our conversation, we decided that the only thing to do is find the beautiful moments in the day and live for them. So that was my "moment" today. Long story? Yes. Beautiful moment? You better believe it.

Join the Font Revolution....

I just love finding out that there are people as crazy as you. I got an email from Christy Childers today telling me about Helvetica's 50th birthday. You are thinking, "what is Helvetica?". Oh yes, its a font my friend. Here is my confession:

I love fonts.

I don't know why but a font can make or break something for me. You walk into a restaurant that appears nice and read the menu, and its a cheesy font, and I'm thinking "why bother".

So the font that gets me the most is Comic Sans. Every time I see it, I get agitated. Okay, a little extreme, but you get the point. The worst part is - people use it all the time. School posters, menus, letterhead, signage! You might not believe me, but you will notice it now (or not, because you aren't crazy like me). In any case, the BBC article mentioned that in Canada there is an "ban comic sans" coalition! There is a website that sells ani-comic sans stickers and memorabilia. There is even a flickr group with pictures of the font's flagrant misuses. The slogan: "putting the sans back in comic sans". Soo geeky, and sooo great.

A Series of Unfortunate Events....

.the cell phone.
You might have already heard this story from my "informative" email, but I lost my cell phone on Monday. Not only lost, but randomly "picked up" again. The thing was, I was convinced that I had just left it at home on my desk. I pick Brenda up, and she tells me that she phoned it three times, from different phones and some girl answered each time. The girl carried out a conversation with Brenda, saying it was her "friend's phone". Brenda said "Is your friend Sharelle?", which apparently confused her.

Then the kicker - I phone Matt to ask him about the last time I called him. He says..."well your phone called me ten minutes ago but it wasn't you". The girl called him and said: "Hi Matt...", then giggled and hung up. That seriously happened. Apart from the "lost phone" thing, it actually makes for a pretty funny/random story.

.the tooth.
On Friday night, we had a little girls night which involved dinner up on the Boathouse patio. Things were all well and good, I was eating my Coconut shrimp when I hear a "crack". I chipped my tooth on the fork! It's not a big chip, but its definitelythere. I feel a strange tingly sensation when I eat cold things now. I probably shouldn't have told this story because now people will be looking at my tooth. Actually, that would be pretty awkward.

.the shoes.
This story is actually pretty boring, so I will keep it simple. Aldo double-charged me for a pair of shoes. That isn't even the worst part. I convinced myself they were great, because they were just what I wanted: brown flats. They were on sale and I thought "walking around the house" a bit would break them in. Not so much. So alas, they are going back to the store. So, now I have a double-charge and a return. Lame-o.

Perhaps this post was too negative. To lighten the mood, I suggest you go read this excerpt from the new self-help sensation: The Secret. Its the funniest thing I have read in a while. It's hard to believe people actually believe this stuff. An excerpt:

"Let go of all those limiting thoughts. Food cannot cause you to put on weight, unless you think it can."

........

Really? That's phenomenal. I am going to eat a bowl of Ben & Jerry's right now, and I don't think it will have any fat in it. Oh I like this philosophy....

The Pseudo-Graduation...

my name in the program. and next to my name? you read for yourself. ohhh yeah.

Proffesor Pearson....such a character.

the family.

guess who showed up at grad? miss kiki tegs.

sarah and christie - my dear on campus friends that took me in and bought me food.

........

So here I sit, on Sunday night, posting graduation photos, only to wake up and drive to TWU tomorrows for a summer class. Not too pleased about that. But yes, this was grad weekend, and yes it was great times. On Friday, I went for pedicures with my mom and Lindsay. Then my mom and I went to the English Department Tea. This was probably one my favourite parts. My mom was standing around and talking to my proffessors. Picture yourself in that situation. It's crazy. My family took me out to dinner on Friday night, and then we went to the Baccalaureate service at TWU.

On Saturday, there was commencements. I absolutely loved watching the professors parade in their academic regalia. I was kind of sad, because I wasn't able to participate in the Humanities ceremony because of my current degree. So there weren't too many of my proffessors there. However - the speaker was Dr. Barbara Pell, whom I respect and admire beyond words. I felt truly honored to partipate in the ceremony. The joy of my academic life was manifest on the stage and all around me. That and I got the blue cord! That means something special (refer to 1st picture). All in all, a wonderful time. I felt truly celebrated and honored.

Confessions of a Trin-Keen....

It's official. I'm over the Top -

Lavonne is never going to speak to me again.

.........

I am lamenting graduation. Who laments graduation? Who is this sad to leave their school? Absolutely no one – except me. Oh how ridiculous I am. But truly, I feel a deep sadness. I just love it here. It’s so rare to find a place in your life like that. When you do, you just want to hold onto it. Not only will I love the memories, but I love it now, in the moment. That is truly a gift.

The more I think about it, I know I will be back. Actually, I will be backer sooner than I think. I am further considering Grad work which means I will need to update my degree to an English Major. I have sadly sacrificed my English Major in order to do PDP. I am going to graduate with General Studies, so I can get my Bachelor of Education (ugh..so complicating). All this to say -essentially this is a “Pseudo-Graduation” of sorts. We will celebrate the BA, but it’s certainly not the end. Don’t be shocked if you ask me what I am doing in fall and I say “Back at TWU”. I just can’t get enough…

I thought of a good metaphor. It’s like a relationship. If you really love something or someone, it is harder to let go. But wait! It goes further – the world around you tells you to move on, that you are “better” than this relationship. “Just let go” they say. But you are sitting there going “no, this is it, this is what I love, for better or for worse”. In this case, for worse may mean unfortunate student debt. Hehe.

........

There you go, I have truly gone off the deep end, using analogies to describe my ridiculous state. Perhaps one person reading this will understand me. The rest of you, please just refrain from making fun of me, and maybe come to a “Grad BBQ” if I organize one. We need to celebrate graduation and the end of the semester. Heck – maybe next year we can have another one when I graduate again! More reasons to party….

"A-Drewlo"

I wish I knew how to get cell-phone pictures onto my computer because I have the best picture EVER of today. I go over to the ol' TWUSA BBQ to get my yearbook, and I am looking for the right line to stand in, and then I see it:

A sign that says "A-Drewlo" in big letters.

Thats right, my name was the cut-off so it was written on the big signs for people to line up. Okay, so they weren't that big, and its only TWU, but c'mon! You would be excited if your name was on a sign! I was pretty excited and took a keener photo with the sign. The yearbook people thought I was ridicolous. Sad thing was- I didn't take a grad photo, so I wasn't really represented. My baby picture did make it though. Leave it to my mom to get me in the yearbook somehow....

Good Things...

Today was an expectedly wonderful day. I am currently housesitting for my brother which meant that waking up 20 minutes late today did not matter. I got to school in 8 minutes. Wonderful. Then, came the joys:

....Golf Carts....

Today I drove around a golf cart on Redwoods Golf Course, for a class! I know hard to believe right? This is one of my few solaces in my 7 class crazy busy semester. I "have" to take a human kinetics course - golf. Oh Trinity Western and the Liberal Arts Education. We got to class today and he told us we were taking carts out on the course. Have you driven one of these things? Its' fun times. We definitely "lost our way" at one point and ended up back at the clubhouse. Good times in golf class.

...Mars Hill...
I have always, always wanted to be published in the school newspaper. I promise, unlike other school papers, it is not lame at all. Its very hip, and usually the people writing it have witty comments and hipster things to say. Then I found out one of my English friends was going to be the Editor next year and she suggested I get an article in before graduation. She liked it, and I got published. It's certainly not my best work, but the paper also publishes online if you want to read it. Sneaked it in for the last issue of my graduation year. Hurrah!

....Dr. John Klassen...
Just to top the day off, I finished my history class today with one of my favourite proffessors Dr. John Klassen. This man is wonderful, and I always just want him to like me, because he is sooo brilliant, and also witty. He likes to talk about things as they are. I basically just think he is great. After class, he walked over to me and said "Sharelle, I loved your article in the Mars Hill, well done". True story! That seriously happened. This is beggining to sound like I think I am awesome, which I don't, I promise you, but this was a sincere moment of sheer joy. That was my greatest fear with the article, that profs would read it and laugh. But Klassen liked it, and that made my day.

"Hello My Name is Sharelle"

I got April Fool's pranked by Gmail! Pranked by an email service! I feel so ridiculous. Now I am posting about it, because it truly was a "Hello my name is Sharelle" moment.

On Sunday, I went to check my Gmail and there was a link that said: "New! Gmail Paper". So, I was a little curious and clicked on it. It said that Gmail had a new service where they would print any emails you wanted and send them to you free of charge. There was little pictures and testimonials and what not. I actually told Matt about it, thinking that it was pretty crazy that the service was free.

The service isn't free, because it doesn't exist! I actually looked for the "Paper" button in my account and couldn't find it. I wanted to click it and get one sent to me. Seriously.

Today, I signed in and it said "Missed our April Fool's Day Joke? - Click Here". So I did, only to see that I had been scammed, and fully did not know it. Now you might be wondering why I am spending time clicking Google links. Great question, I would like to know myself actually. It's the fine art of procrastination. Did anyone else get sucked in? Please tell me if you did. Oh wait, you probably aren't spending your time clicking on google links...right.

Stranger than Fiction....

" Like anything worth writing, it came inexplicably and without method."

What do I even begin to say about this film? I was actually going to write up a little "review" about immediately after I saw in theatres, but probably at the time I had more exciting things in my life than six research papers. Now, a Friday night movie is the best thing I have got...

Considering the content, it isn't too surprising that this movie won me over in the first ten minutes. The basic plot is that Will Ferrell actually hears a writer narrating his life but “accurately and with a better vocabulary". Literary humor abounded at every turn. Dustin Hoffman is a literary theory professor - can it get better than this? His rant just killed me: "I have written papers on 'little did he know', I used to teach a class based on 'little did he know', I once gave an entire seminar on 'little did he know'". The first time I saw this I just about died laughing. This is my life. Entire papers are written about four words. Oh just thinking about it right now makes me laugh at how ridiculous we English people are.

Okay, at this point you are thinking “Sharelle is an English geek”. And you are right, but you still need to see this movie. The writing is so well done. It may be a comedy, but the characters actually are characters. You feel like you meet them and know them better once the movie is done. Hypothetically, if I had watched the featurettes (which of course I didn’t do…ummm right) I may have seen an interview in which the wonderful Emma Thompson said: “I would love to serve this writing”. I found that inspiring. Thinking that actors are actually looking for good writing and they are willing to give themselves up for it. Okay, sorry for the digression once again, but the point is, every single actor in this film fulfills their role, and that is rare my friends.

So, do a service to yourself and rent this movie. It may not be Oscar-worthy, but it is clever, and honestly sometimes I think that is a greater feat. I loved it more the second time I watched it, seeing how all the pieces come together. And if none of this persuades you, it has Will Ferrell, Mr. SNL comedy himself and it turns out he can act. Go watch it, you won’t regret it. How’s that for a passionate movie review?

What's going on?

I didn't want to do it. I really didn't. I wanted to leave the comments open to anyone. But this is ridicolous. My curiosity is too great, I need to know who the anon. people are.

That and its a little creepy. (refer to last post)

So, I changed the settings. From now on, no more anonymous posters. You have to have either a blogger account, or a google account. I assume most people have one or the other. If not, please get one and post. If I know you, I really want you to post! Even if I don't know you, but you are fine with being identified, then please post! I -like every other blogger- love comments, so please keep commenting!

This post is strange. Even as I write it, I am debating whether or not to post it. Its like policing, of my own blog. Something I normally don't approve of.

I suppose if the anon is reading this...I'm pretty sure you are someone I know, some white rocker just trying to get me. So you win. I'm fine with that...

This is getting out of hand....

I am changing my facebook profile
I am looking at my friend's facebook profiles
I am talking to two different people on msn about facebook.

I wish I was kidding, but I am not. I don't know about you, but it seems like in the last three days, everyone I know has joined facebook. Here is the thing. I don't even like facebook. There is that stupid "mini-feed" which tells you 8,000 things you didn't need to know about your friends. "Cheryl took the bible off of her favourite books"*. Then you are sitting there for a minute, pondering why Cheryl is no longer reading the bible. "Katie is no longer single"*. As if this one wasn't bad enough, if you break up, there is a cracked heart, telling the facebook world.

Granted, looking at the stupid pictures people post of you is fun. But why are we sitting around tagging photos anyway? I mean, how about I don't know CALLING the person we are tagging in the photo. I cannot talk, because I was inspired by Lavonne to create an album today, and tag people in it. So there you go, I am as guilty as the next guy. This rant is directed at myself.

If you don't have facebook, don't get it. I am telling you right now. If you do, oh boy, what have we gotten ourselves into. And hey - add me....

*The names have been changed to protect their facebook identities. You know who you are...hehe.

Keener Spirit #4

I am a Keener, yes I am
I say what? Oh! Yes Ma’am!
I ALWAYS do my poetry form
In fact I go way beyond the norm!
I love Keats, Byron, Wordsworth too
And in fact I am way smarter than you!

-by Katie Haworth

This poem is about me, and it was written on my computer by the girl that sits next to me in English class. I was calling her a keener, and she responded by saying that I was the biggest keener ever. Which...is pretty true. I went up (okay I volunteered) to read Byron's poem "Manfred", and while I was gone Katie wrote this poem.

Am I Keener? - As much as I would like to deny it, yes. Do I always do my poetry worksheet? - Again guilty as charged. Did I reformat the sheet and post it on ecourses for my class? - sadly yes. Do I love Keats, Wordsworth and Byron - yes. Am I smarter than you? - no!

There you go Katie - you are famous....

Surprises...

Hey! Bonnie Dowling! What the Heck!?!?

I get a call today in the afternoon from Miss Kristina Janzen. She asks if we can go for coffee. I tell her that today was Matt and Sharelle date day, so it wouldnt really work. And she was like "are you sure you can't meet just for a few minutes". I am wondering what the urgency is all about when she says "hold on..." and passes the phone off to none other than Bonnie...in freakin Abbotsford, surprise visiting from good ol' Winnipeg. Only Bonnie.

It is really true. Some things are just bettert as a suprise. We sat and drank coffee for a couple of hours at Ethical Addictions mid Saturday afternoon. Now, under normal circumstances, this little event would not have qualified as exciting times. In fact, if it was pre-planned it would have been borderline lame (I mean Ethical in Langley c'mon) But spur of the moment, friend showing up from out of town just for kicks - now THAT is a good coffee date. And as usual, with Bonnie and Kristina it was a pleasure. It was nice to be able to talk in person, without that pesky phone in the way. We all noticed how normal it seemed, to be sitting around and talking, as if we all lived in the same city. I liked that.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::

If this wasn't enough for random events in the day! I went downtown for date day with Matt, and we are walking along in Gastown when I full on slip on the pavement. This in itself - not too shocking, I am sure all that know me have witnessed at least one good trip/fall of mine. But the crazy part was:

I slipped on a Banana Peel!

True Story. I am not lying. Matt looked down and was literally shocked - "It was a banana peel! I didn't think that actually happened!" Anyway - you may not be surprised by these events, but I sure was. Then we stumbled upon a wonderful restaurant called "Joe Forte's Seafood and Chop House" which is apparently a Vancouver legend. They sat us up on the rooftop, which may sound strange in the winter, but was truly delightful. There were tiny lights and heat lamps around the table. It was preettty nice I have to say. So how is that for a day huh? I wouldn't call myself a lover of surprises but today, they sure treated me good

go.listen.now.

I am going to have to agree with Rachel on this one. You should be listening to Regina Spektor. Don't be thrown off by the funny spelling and the name (Bec). Just go out and listen to it.


This is good stuff. Great stuff in fact.

Can you tell its my reading break?

I am posting about albums!

I love Seattle....

Just when we thought the "I love revolution" was over. I can't help myself. I went to Seattle this weekend and I got this. Joanna Beaver and Christy Childers. How can you beat that? It is such an amazing gift to be able to drive two short hours and be in the presence of people you love so much. There is something great about enduring friendship. You don't need to see them every weekend (although you want to) But when you do, its like you never left.

I have been given a wonderful gift with my Capernwray friends. I love that I can drive down to Seattle and its like a whole other world of good times. Took care of a few Northwest Traditions this time around (Dick's Burgers Drive In, Tully's) and I hit up Mars Hill Church. Thats basically a whole other blog post. The emergent church - what do you guys think?

Anyway, another wonderful weekend in Seattle. This weekend I had: friends that bring light to my soul, laughter, coffee and Target. Hard to beat...

Can it be true?

Now that I have shamelessly admitted how much of a Grey's Anatomy fan I am, its time for me to ask this important question:

Were the last scenes of tonight's episode what they seemed to be? Can it be?Was it real?

Now, this is NOT intended to be a give-away post, and I absolutely do not want to be accused of that by the "we are waiting for DVD" types. So - if you watched it, and I know you do, simple answer: "It's true" or "It can't be true". Variations on the theme are acceptable, but absolutely no explanations.

And for the record, I definitly cried again tonight. Its getting ridcolous actually...

I love my friends....

Now you might be thinking "who writes a cliche post titled 'I love my friends'?!?" or you might be thinking "does Sharelle think that the girls in this beloved show are her friends?"

And the answers are me and yes. No not really, but sort of. There is some incredible friendship in that show, and this post is to commemorate a wonderful week I had with my good friend Lavonne. Since the parents took off on yet another vacation, I brought in the good times - Lavonne Neville, S&C, and McCain Cake. This my friends in a winning combo. It's such a gift to have a friend at the end of the day to "recap" with. I absolutely love the weeks when Lavonne stays with me. It's magical. It reminds me why I love good friends so much. We don't need to be with each other all the time. Yet when we do need them, we need them. For the sillyness, the reflection, the laughter, the security and heck even the cyncism.

It might sound cheesy, or perhaps even ridicolous but....I will always be a being orientated towards friends. I live for these moments.