Have you ever been alone in a crowded room when I'm here with you?

Have you ever been alone in a crowded room; well I'm here with you...

"Should've done something but I've done it enough
By the way your hands were shaking
Rather waste some time with you"
-- Blue and Yellow, The Used

Talk about randomness. The lyrics by the Used rarely make any sense to me. I get away with liking them because I happen to like how some of the music they produce sounds. I guess this is how I manage to enjoy some music that Grant can't stand; I tend not to be affected by lyrical rubbish while it tends to offend his good poetic tastes.

One of those days I really wish I could somehow recreated in words that sound Julie from my CRH bus taught me how to do. It's like a drawn-out vibrating "ugh" sound that we make as soon as we get on the bus if we've had a stressful day. I miss my bus; both the counsellors and kids.

BUS 56!
YOU STILL GOT US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ha, classic.

Shit!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, now that I've gotten that out of my system, permit me to propound a bit. Basically, I could have sworn I had backed up the very latest version of my autobiography when my dad and I worked on restoring my laptop to its former glory. This involved running backups and basically reverting the computer back to the way it was when it was first configured. Anyhow, I back up my music files, my pictures, my playlists, and I could have sworn I also backed up my word files. Apparently not! Thank god I had previously backed up my autobiography at the end of July otherwise I would be missing a lot more than I already am. Having said that, half of Act 3, Scene 5 - The Jon Wong Experience and the ENTIRETY of Act 3, Scene 6 - Dare You To Move has been completely wiped out. Those are the 15 or so pages I had written AFTER the end of July backup.

Anyone who's ever written a long email or blog post and then suddenly lost it will know what I mean when I say that once you've written something and lost it, it's IMPOSSIBLE to write it a second time and feel that you've done as good of a job writing it as you did the first. And this is not just a long email or blog post. This is 15 single spaced, godforsaken pages of original and creative text.

It happens, life goes on.

What?! What in the hell has happened in the last week. Suddenly, I've discovered that I don't know anything about anything that's been going on in the last week! I mean, aside from camp ending, and the grade 7/8 mini-reunion today... somehow, I've suddenly come to realize that things have been going on right in front of my eyes that for some reason I did not clue in on...

What in the hell?

One thing I did not forget however, a happy 16th birthday goes out to Stephanie (Kort) Wilkinson! Thanks... for everything.

"And all the roads we have to walk winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I, would like to say to you
But I don't know how"
-- Wonderwall

I've grown to love this song, even without its Boulevard of Broken Dreams counterpart in one of the greatest remixes I've ever heard in my life. But after learning how to play both songs on the guitar, I've realized something that again, reconfirms my statement about similar music... Wonderwall and Boulevard of Broken Dreams sound are EXACTLY alike as far as chord structure and progression go. I guess that's why they mesh so well together; I mean, you don't even have to learn both songs. Just learn how to play one and you can sing the other using the same chords.

Anyhow, enough of the music rant. In other news... I got paid! This means I can now repair the dent in my finances being PART of camp has created. Well, getting paid is only half of it. Apparently, my section head gave me such a raving review that I'm guarenteed a spot should I choose to return next year. Whoopee, summer job security... but when you consider that almost ALL the staff at Robin Hood are returning staff, is it really a surprise?

My section head gives out paper plate awards every year at the end of your job session... mine was the "Anthony who?" award, which is a spoof on the fact that my 1 on 1 camper did not showed up for 6 out of the 10 days he was signed up for... I helped myself to his prepaid lunch during these past 6 days and some of it was actually pretty good. All kosher of course.

Holy cripes, did you get a look at the rain out there?! It was amazing we even managed to follow our bus route home.

Kay is estatic over her payday. This reminds me that it's somewhat annoying that mine doesn't come in until next week considering that work began in like July. There isn't even a mid-summer paycheque. You kinda have to dig yourself into a bit of a hole financially (due to camp socials, coffees, trips to the psychiatrist, etc) and wait for your end of summer paycheque in order to fill the dent you made in your pocket book.

"The singer finished singing and she's walking out
The singer sheds a tear, fear of falling out
And it's hard to say how I feel today
For years gone by and I cried"
-- Hard To Say

I'm tired. That's the closest word to it. Tired of camp and its expectations. Tired of being a 1-on-1 and still running the cabin because the cabin counsellor is incompetant. Tired of the constant reminders that uni is due up in less than three weeks. Tired of always being the first to call. Tired of always doing the planning/arranging. Tired of people not being able to schedule in advance because of their inability to commit their time. Tired of people backing out at the last minute. Tired of plans falling apart. Tired of pretty much everything at this point in time.

This is my story.

"Come on let me hold you, touch you, feel you
Always
Kiss you, taste you, all night
All ways"
-- Blink 182

Ah! I have found out who my roommate is for first year uni. Asif Virani is his name. This is going to be an interesting experience. When broached on what he wanted to do in the future his response was "something to do with fireworks." Can you feel it?!

3 weeks left before I move in. 2 weeks before everyone else moves in. Apparently, I'm the last of all my friends to move (back) to university. I'm being left behind. Damn you all!!!!!!!!!

So what still needs to be done before I go? I should make a list.

"Sticker? Sticker? Free sticker? What? Nobody wants stickers anymore?!"
-- Random shmuck giving away free stickers

That was from my recent trip downtown with none other than the members of the Jon Wong Experience. It was quite an experience no less, especially considering that I had just returned from my second Camp Robin Hood overnight and operating on less than 3 hours of sleep.

On another note, I have just finished watching the latest remake of the classic story, The Phantom Of The Opera. Emmy Rossum certainly has one hell of a voice. Despite deviating from the plot outlined by the book to a somewhat exaggerated extent (not quite to the A Walk To Remember extent... those who have read the book will know that the only thing the two have in common is the title), I must say it was a good, solid piece of work. The only real problem I had with is that they tried to include too much singing in the script. I am obviously not referring to the famous songs, solos, or duets, and I know the intent was to allow the actors and actresses (who are all trained singers) to show off their talent, but sometimes, when you have 10 people in a room all singing out what would normally be a discussion, it gets a little messy.

And new link. No subtlety in its title or description as we all now know what the author thinks of himself. Bwahaha, check it out.

- Okay. Okay, I slept with Ron Keller. But I didn't do it because I care about him.
- No? What then? To punish him?
- No, I did it because I had to find out if there was something wrong with me. Because I can't sleep with you, the person that I love. I had to know if I was some kind of freak, or frigid. I had to know if I could even get aroused anymore and have an orgasm.
- And can you?
- Yeah. It's good news. I can.
-- Anything Else

And yes, I only began watching it because I have a penchant for Christina Ricci. But the Woody Allen, Jason Biggs element was pretty funny. The whole atheist-jewish element of Woody Allen's character reminds me a lot of Camp Robin Hood (which claims to be a non-denominational/secular Jewish Camp), which is probably why I found it so funny. It's the same thing I experience at camp every day.

Ok, My Happy Ending has also been replaced by Shape of My Heart. In retrospect, the Backstreet Boys are probably bigger than Avril if you take away the Canadian bias.

Ok, I've made some slight revisions to the CRH music through the ages CD. "I Want To Hold Your Hand" has been changed to "Twist and Shout" by the same artist for the better feel for camp value. I think I'll change "Cat's In The Cradle" to "Brown Eyed Girl" for similar reasons. I also may change "Lucky" to "All Star" for again, similar reasons. Somehow, I think these changed songs may run better with the camp.

Ok, so I've been charged with making a compilation for Camp that's titled "music through the ages" This presents an obvious challenge because everyone will have their opinion on what songs epitomize which decade and only having space on a CD for 19 tracks requires careful selection. But since I'M the one charged with making the compilation, I get to choose. From the 60s to the 00s.

I Want To Hold Your Hand - The Beatles
I'm A Believer - Monkees
The Boxer - Simon & Garfunkle
Cat's In The Cradle - Harry Chapin
Piano Man - Billy Joel
American Pie - Don Mclean
Timewarp - Rocky Horror Picture Show
Video Killed The Radio Star - Buggles
Dancing Queen - ABBA
99 Red Balloons - Nena
You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC
Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
Lucky - Britney Spears
All The Small Things - Blink 182
Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind
Boulevard of Broken Songs - Green Day, Oasis, Travis, Eminem & Aerosmith
My Happy Ending - Avril Lavigne
Goodnight Goodnight - Hot Hot Heat
Existentialism on Prom Night - Straylight Run

It was pretty fun actually to think back on songs from the 70s and 80s.