Moving!

So I want to officially announce that I'm moving my blog over to my new domain!

You can now find me over at http://www.hezabelle.ca!

Boy A

I just watched the movie Boy A on TMNonDemand.

I have to say it's one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. It's not a big budget movie by any means, the actors are relatively unknown. But the plot is brilliant and everything is so remarkably real, it's unnerving.

The movie is about a boy who was involved in a murder when he was young, and has been in prison since then. He's released when he turns 21, and given a new identity so he can reintegrate into society.

The story was tragic and beautiful, but the best part of the movie was the character of Jack. The actor did a brilliant job, Jack was so sweet and shy and conflicted. The portrayal of him was so multifaceted, it was really quite brilliant.

I don't often blog about movies, because I tend to have horrible taste in them. But I guarantee that even those of you who have good taste in movies will enjoy this one. And possibly cry, like me.

Fail Remedied

I just wanted to post quickly that I PASSED MY EXAM! They let me retake it, and I only got 53% but that's fine by me. I'm now going to be able to graduate on June 10 and get everything started for my visa!

Thanks to everyone who crossed their fingers for me!!

A more meaningful post later... Maybe. I might get distracted by my new Xbox.

Okay, winning really is everything...

Today Jo, whose life in Syracuse I am supremely jealous of and who I desperately want to visit next year, gave me an award for my blog! Pretty cool. So here are the rules:

The rules: List seven things that make me awe-summm and then pass the award on to seven other people who I think are fabulously awe-summm.

(I have to say that the spelling irks me just a bit, because I have issues with purposeful misspellings... but I'll let it slide!)

1. I know some Latin and some Ancient Greek, more than your average person but less than your average classics student. However, I am bilingual French/English and went to school in French from the age of 4 until the end of high school.

2. Despite my hatred for journalism, I'm actually a decent journalist. I've done a documentary, two mini-docs, a current affairs piece and several tv news pieces. I've produced an entire tv news show and anchored a radio show. I've written dozens of articles. I worked for a newspaper for two years and have been paid pretty decently to freelance.

3. I have taken two 24 hour vows of silence, for an organization called Journalists for Human Rights who work with the media in third world countries. Vows of silence are really awesome, I'd suggest them to anyone.

4. I make amazing scones. I'm pretty ordinary at baking everything else, but I rock at scones.

5. I am writing a book right now, one of at least three that I will write in my life. I love writing, it's the only thing that I have always know that I wanted to do.

6. I kick ass at being a student, and will hopefully graduate with Distinction, as long as I actually graduate (stupid Canadian History).

7. I am extremely proud to be a Canadian, but I loved living in Ireland and can't wait to live in England soon!

And I'm going to award.... Fae, Lisa and Chris!

9 sexy ladies and one sexy feline

Inspired by Eleni's list, I'm going to make a list of the ten characters I would most like to be. I will warn you that these are from a variety of different places...

10. Lara Croft

Everytime I tell someone I want to be an archaeologist, they inevitably say, "Like Indiana Jones?" and I answer, "Yes, I'm working on my whip work." The other day my sister and I decided that I couldn't quite be like Indiana Jones. We came to the conclusion that I definitely have the rack necessary to be Lara Croft. And who wouldn't want to be Lara Croft? 1) She's hot. 2) She's rich. 3) She's smart. 4) She's Angelina Jolie. Mmm.

9. Daine Sarrasri
Star of Tamora Pierce's Immortals Quartet, Daine was my first fantasy hero. She's by far the coolest of all Pierce's characters. She can talk to animals, for one. She has a very troubled past. And most importantly, she gets the tall, dark, brooding mage. The Tamora Pierce books are very dear to my heart - Wild Magic was the first fantasy book I ever read, and I remained obsessed for years. Also, they're how I met Fae.

8. Aurian
Here's where you realize that I really have a thing for red heads. Aurian is the main character in Maggie Furey's Artifacts of Power series, possibly my favourite fantasy series to date. Aurian herself is a great character - stubborn and powerful, and yet completely naive and dependent on those around her. Sometimes during the books you really hate her, and I think that's the mark of a good character. That they are so firmly themselves that they don't cater to your idea of what they should be. It takes a really good writer to make you change your mind about a character. Oh, and did I mention that she gets two loves of her life, Forral and Anvar - both of whom I'd gladly have.

7. Assassin
I'd always loved Diablo II, but I was so excited when they released the expansion and you could play an Assassin! And not only that, but it's a chick and she has claws. And it gets even better, because I didn't have to give up on the firepower I had when I played the Sorceress. The Assassin can get traps and explode people! Yes, I'm the kind of girl who gets excited over the outfits and such in games. I bought Neverwinter Nights just because your character could change outfits...

6. Clementine
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of my favourite movies of all time. Kate Winslet is by far my favourite actress. And I thought she was brilliant in Eternal Sunshine. And I love her hair. It reminds me of my purple hair (which not-so-coincidentally was around the same time I first saw the movie). If I ever dye my hair a crazy colour again, it will be that bright red-orange from the movie.

5. Helen of Troy and Cassandra
Okay, Helen is usually considered more of a historical figure than a character. But the Trojan War more of a myth than a historical truth (even though it DID happen, it wasn't necessarily the way it was described in the Iliad). Helen and Cassandra of Troy both tie for this number 5, because I'm torn. Would I rather be the undeniably beautiful Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships? Or the understatedly beautiful prophetess Cassandra? Helen has more fame and fervour. Cassandra has more tragedy and mystery. Either way, I read a book called Inside the Walls of Troy by Clemence McLaren when I was younger, and have adored both characters ever since.

4. G(a)linda
"Whenever I see someone less fortunate than I - and let's face it, who isn't less fortunate than I? - my tender heart tends to start to bleed. When someone needs a makeover, I simply have to take over. I know I know exactly what they need..." G(a)linda from Wicked is beyond amazing. For one, the voice that Kristen Chenoweth gave her (with the strangely beautiful opera-yodel) is astounding. On top of that, Glinda is what makes the musical fun. She's ditzy and cute and in the end, it turns out that she's the Good afterall. She grows so much throughout the musical, all culminating in one of my favourite songs of all time, For Good. I would be G(a)linda so I could prance around in curls and poofy dresses and pink. In fact, I have a gorgeous Glinda costume made by Kaitlyn for that exact purpose!

3. Fainne
The Sevenwaters Trilogy by Juliet Marillier is amazing. Every single bit of it is just so magical and so full of beauty. I fell in love with these books, rife with Irish folklore, before I went to Ireland. I reread them there, and fell even more in love when I realized that the beauty Marillier is describing really exists. I chose Fainne, out of all of the strong female characters in Sevenwaters, because I find her story the most compelling. She's forever haunted by her parents' past. She is constantly torn between helping her mother's family and saving her father's life - and in the end almost loses everything because of it. And, of course, Darragh... He is probably the best of the male characters in Marillier's books. He's just so sweet. And the ending is so sad and yet so perfect...

2. Nala
I've always wanted to be a Lioness. Rrow. Nala is such a kick ass Disney character. She can best Simba when they're little, and again when they're reunited. She could run the pride all by herself. They make it seem like it's Simba who saves the Jungle, but really it's Nala. If it weren't for her, Simba would still be lounging around in the oasis with Timon and Pumba. And unlike Simba, she never ran from her problems.

1. Kalere Eld
Kalere is one of the main characters of the book Fae and I are writing. Kal is everything I wish I could be. And not just because she's a gorgeous red headed fire mage. No, she's passionate and tempermental and fiery. She's brave and strong and overreacts to everything. You have to hate her and love her at the same time. She's prone to thinking she's the only one with issues, to making a big deal about little things and to making everyone fix her problems for her (especially Kris). She has a horrible temper and for a large portion of her life she's downright bitchy. But she also loves more fiercely than anyone and would kill for any of the loves of her life - Kris, Tia, Essian and her seven children. Oh, and did I meantion she's hot? Artwork by the incredibly talented Fae.

It's all about Head

When I moved back in with my parents a couple of weeks ago, we had a chance to go through the closet in my old bedroom. Beside some ancient purses and a few clothes that no one would ever wear, we found this jem:

It's a laminated (that's why it was so hard to photograph) list of rules we promised to abide by in our 4th grade class (I was in French Immersion). It says "Be responsible of your actions," "Be responsible to your friends," "Be nice," and "Help others." All very good rules to follow in life, I think.

Now, let us enhance this a little to a close up of my signature:

That's right, folks. For about 8 years of my life my nickname was Head. And not just a passing nickname, either. All of my friends called me Head.

You see, I have a large head. After joining Big Heads Anonymous and resigning myself to a life of Tired Neck Syndrome (TNS), I have come to terms with it. My sister has always enjoyed making fun of it.

This is why she decided, one fine day when she was about 8 and I was about 5 or 6, that my nickname should be Head. Makes sense, does it not? I have a large head... 'Hea' is the first part of my name. I embraced it, the way little sisters always do, with overwhelming enthusiasm and wild abandon.

I remember sitting in class one day when we had a supply teacher. She asked if anyone had anything other than their name they liked to be called. I raised my hand and announced that everyone calls me Head. I remember she looked like she was trying very hard not to laugh, though I had no idea why. I imagine she told that story for years to come.

I remember my parents told me that someday I would regret this nickname, but they refused to tell me why. And that Kaitlyn would regret her nickname 'Hairy Fruit' (From Kiwi, which I still call her. Also given by my sister... notice the trend?)

Fast forward 8 years to middle school. A boy approaches me in the hallway.
"Ahaha, your nickname's Head. Do you know what that means?" he says.
"Yeah! Of course!" I reply. But the way he's saying it makes me doubt myself. I won't admit I don't know. Minutes later, I ask my friend Amanda.
"Why would Head be a bad nickname...?" I ask. She's much more worldly than me.
"I bet they mean like blackhead or something," she says wisely.
"Oh... Weird," I answer. But everyone calls me Head already, so it's really not that bad right?

It wasn't until months later when rumours that "So-and-so gave So-and-So head in the elevator at the movie theatre!" started to circulate that I finally started putting the pieces together. I was named for a sex act.

With things whispered in corners and written on bathroom walls, it didn't take long for everyone in my grade to figure out what head meant. And needless to say, it didn't take long for the boys to start calling me "Give alot of head." Though I promise I never lived up to the nickname!

Mythology Monday: The Nemean Lion

I've decided to do the Twelve Labours of Heracles for the next few Mythology Mondays. In my Classical Mythology class in second year, we had to memorize these. But I confess, I had to Google it.

Heracles (actually only known as Hercules to the Romans) is the son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene. Zeus disguised himself as her husband, Amphitryon, to fool her into sleeping with him. Alcmene became pregnant with twins, Heracles the son of Zeus and Iphicles, the son of Amphitryon. When they were about to be born, Zeus' wife Hera found out about Zeus' infedelity. Needless to say, she hated Heracles from the beginning. She sent two serpents to kill him, but he strangled them, born with incredible strength.

Heracles grew up and married, had children. Out of jealousy, Hera drove him mad and caused him to kill his own wife and children. Haunted by the furies, the personification of his guilt, Heracles was forced to put himself under the mercy of his archenemy, Eurytheus and perform ten tasks as required by him.

His first task was to kill the Nemean Lion.

Though called a "lion," the creature who terrorized Nemea was not only larger than an average lion, but its skin was impenetrable. The arrows Heracles had crafted for use on the Lion were of no use, they bounced off without a scratch.

Eventually Heracles lured the Lion back to its cave. He snuck in through a second entrance and stunned the Lion with his club. He then strangled the Lion to death, and used its own claws to remove its skin. He returned to Eurytheus with the pelt as proof.

From that day on, Heracles wore the Lion's pelt as his armour, and this is the image we see of him - draped in fur with a lion's head behind his head. This is the image that inspired centuries of mimics, from Alexander to Antony to Commodus.

I had a dream

Last night I had a dream (I awoke in dessert called Cyberland.... no, not really. Points, though, to anyone who gets that!)

Anyway. So I had a dream that I was visiting a foreign city with my sister (although not too foreign because I believe we went to Walmart at some point.) We were there for some important reason, something related to school, but I had finished what I needed to do and Laura was getting her picture taken for her portfolio, at a studio. It was about 7pm, and we were talking to the photo guy (who happened to be on a campus of some sort?) and he was really funny, joking about things and telling us what he needed to do with the pictures before we could pick them up 7 hours later (they had a 7 hour guarantee). So I asked him if we would really be able to pick them up the next morning, weren't they closing soon, and how was the work going to get done overnight? As we're having this discussion, this tiny little man (think a cross between gollum and a leprechaun... you know, your typical daemon trickster type creature) runs over and steals the guy's hat and starts climbing up the walls and on the ceiling.

And then suddenly, people emerge from every doorway in this great hall type area, dressed in costume. And they start singing. There are different group of people, dressed as peasants or mages or nobles or gypsies or whatever. And there's this whole elaborate plot (which the photo guy is involved in) with the evil creature and an evil wizard. And the whole time, everyone is singing.

My dream was a medieval rpg musical.

The whole plot plays out, and eventually the evil creature attacks me and I get involved. By then the sun is coming up, and the rpg is over. They finally explain it to me. They're a group of people who all go to this school we're at, and every night they do a live action musical rpg called Willy's World (??) and they like to do it to unsuspecting visitors (like us.)

So basically, I dreamed the best thing ever. In the dream I even begged them to let me participate the next night, but they were very exclusive. I wish this really existed!

This is possibly one of my nerdiest and most distracted (because of these random side notes and the fact that I can't remember the dream 100%) posts yet...

Oh Crumb

Fae: There's a lot of crumbs on this futon.
Hez: I crumbed in my sleep last night.

Later...

Fae: I was giving you a thumbs up but couldn't see if you were thumbing me back.
Hez: If I was thumbing you, you'd be crumbing.

Thus ensued many crumb jokes for hours... We were crumbing everywhere.

Hez: And then we would cum---- *both pause*
Both: Ew.... That's dirty.



This post was made possible by Fae, because I didn't remember how it started and she'd written it down.

Eventually....

I know I set a precedent of updating every day in the last couple of months, but you see... I have this huge exam (the one I failed three times) on Monday. And I started my summer job this week. So my head is too full of cupcakes and Canadian History to write anything interesting.

But I will tell you what you have to look forward to when I'm finally free.

1) Tomorrow I will try to post pictures of my lovely cupcakes.
2) I shot some footage in Pittsburgh, of my ride down, our road trip to Cleveland and our second attempt at the Fort Pitt Tunnel. I plan to make a video to show you folks! It may or may not include singing, just to warn you.
3) Most importantly, I recently won a contest for free web hosting from Seb and I will be a) moving my blog over there! and b) redesigning my blog, with the help of my Amazon Webmistress, Kaitlyn, and her php savvy.
4) Eventually I will blog about my new job, and Victorian High Tea in general.
5) I have to read 25 books before the end of June, so expect lots of book reviews!
6) If everything goes well (please cross your fingers for me!) I will be graduating in just a few weeks, which will undoubtedly lead to a nostalgic end of an era post.
7) Again, if everything goes well, I need to start thinking about moving to England! Which I'm sure I'll write about constantly.
8) I fully plan to do at least five of my 100 things this summer, and those ones are always the best posts.

Mythology Mondays: The problem of vanity

Niobe is another of the children of Tantalus, the sister of Pelops. Her life was cursed as well, but she's not generally recognized in the Tantalid line because, of course, she's a woman.

Niobe married the King of Thebes and had fourteen children, seven boys and seven girls. Each was more beautiful than the next. Niobe began to boast that she had better the goddess Leto, the mother of twins Artemis and Apollo, because she had fourteen perfect children instead of just two.

Well, it's easy enough to guess that comparing yourself to a god at all is not a good idea. Worse still is saying that you're better then them.

"She bore two children; so her womb was worth
A seventh part of mine. O happy me!
(Who would deny it?) and happy I'll remain
(Who could doubt that?) My riches make me safe.
Yes, I'm too great to suffer Fortune's blows."
Ovid's Metamorphoses VI

Apollo and Artemis hear of Niobe's boast and they quickly go to work. They appear in Thebes. Apollo shoots each of Niobe's sons with poison arrows; Artemis takes down the daughters with the same. Niobe's husband killed himself when he heard the news.

"She sat bereft
Amid her sons, her daughters and her husband,
All lifeless corpses, rigid in her ruin.
Her hair no breeze can stir; her cheeks are drained
And bloodless; in her doleful face her eyes
Stare fixed and hard - a likeness without life."
Ovid's Metamorphoses VI

Niobe's heart is hardened by the tragedy. As she sits among the corpses, she turns to stone in grief. And yet the stone itself continues to weep.

"And as will happen, new tales bring back old,
And one of them this story then retold."
Ovid's Metamorphoses VI

Sell a sunrise

I know I may have disappointed any regular readers (I like to imagine these exist...) by not posting yesterday. But I was too busy spending my last day in Pittsburgh with my Faebala. I promise I will make up for it with my attempt at video content next week. Not this week, because I am secluding myself in order to not fail my exam (again) on Monday. That and I'm starting work tomorrow and will be up to my elbows in scones and egg salad (neither of which go well on my laptop) until the big Mother's Day Tea on Sunday.

Today could be a different day
If the sky lifts up the haze
Off of my front lawn
Just another time I hold my tears
For another year
On my way back home

Can I sell this sunrise
In return for a sunset?
Can I just be here one more day
Until my sunburn fades away?

-Left Coast Envy by The Starting Line

It started raining as I lifted my suitcase into the trunk. In the six years we've been seeing each other, it always rains the day we leave. A pathetic fallacy that both amuses and saddens us. Over the years I've watched her drive away, fly away, disappear behind doors and barricades, into buses and trains.

This morning we hugged goodbye. We giggled and joked, and when I put my arms around her I couldn't help but wonder when the next time I see her will be. We've dreamed so long of being closer together but we only seem to be getting further away. I've always taken comfort in the fact that if something happened... if she needed me or I needed her, I could get in the car and just drive. I could be there in less than a day. In September we'll be separated by oceans and time zones and even more hundreds of miles.

It's not that we don't know how to do distance. That has always been a part of our friendship. We text message, email and instant message like the best of them (but we both hate phones).

It's that every time I see her I stay just long enough to realize what it would be like to live near my best friend. It's the small things. It's making lunch together and watching bad Lifetime movies. It's going for coffee and trying on clothes. It's watching our favourite movies together. It's meeting each others friends. It's getting to know each others' boyfriends. It's all of those little things that break my heart because we only get to do them for a few weeks every year.

It's all of those little things that make me realize that when I drive away I'm leaving a piece of myself behind me. My other half.

Amin mela lle, vanima Fae.

Baby likes to dance

I love dancing. So much so that I'll stick it out at a club playing music I hate. I especially love dancing to live bands playing awesome 90s rock songs, and DJs playing 80s and 90s dance music.

I used to equate dancing with drinking. But this year I've realized that I can have just as much fun sober (or nearly.) Last night, I got really drunk when Fae and I went to 80s night at a local bar. So drunk that I am now sitting in bed, afraid to move much in case I throw up.

I'm going to be 22 this summer. I really need to realize that I can't drink like I'm 18 anymore and still function the next day.

I'm considering giving up drinking for the summer.

I'm going to learn to have more fun sober. Maybe...

Hez and Fae Rewind Moment #3

One fine summer, Fae and I ventured down Virginia to meet up with Ali, another RPG friend of ours we'd know since about the same time we met. Fae'd met her before, but I hadn't. Fae's mom drove us down to meet Ali half way. While we were driving, I fell asleep with my head against the window in the back (which I do a lot in cars because I get horrible motion sickness). I was sleeping peacefully when suddenly... the window opened and I was almost thrown from the car. I screamed and sat up, shocked.

Fae looked over at me, startled. Then she looked down at her foot, on the window button. And laughed. She tried to kill me!

We went to Staunton, Virginia to stay with Ali. But she lived in Res, and there wasn't enough room for three of us. So we stayed on the futon at her friends Stina and Dylan's apartment. The apartment was on the third floor, there was an elevator. We went back one night to watch a movie. We got into the elevator, pressed the 3 button, went up to the floor. It was one of those old elevators with the grate that you have pull shut before it will move. So we go to open this grate... and it's stuck.
"Oh right, I forgot that this elevator always gets stuck," Ali says. Meanwhile I'm holding a tub of Ben and Jerry's, rapidly melting.

So of course I made a video. A very ADD video.



"This is our elevator stuck... Stuck in an elevator video." - Hez

"What do you think about being stuck in an elevator?" -Hez
"I think I have to pee." - Fae
"Me too." - Hez
"Yeah, me too." - Ali

We eventually got out of the elevator, rescued by a guy who lived in the building. Then, of course, we didn't have the key for the apartment. So I had to eat my Ben and Jerry's with the smallest spoon in the world, that we found in the bottom of Ali's purse.

Cleveland rocks?

Fae and I decided it would be a nice idea to go to Cleveland, to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the zoo. Cleveland's less than two hours away from where Fae lives, but I thought it would be nice for us to get a hotel and stay overnight. Especially since it was going to be free (or nearly) with my AirMiles. So we booked the hotel (which of course wasn't actually free... that's the way these things work, right?) and headed down yesterday.

We should've known things were going to go wrong, because my GPS suddenly stopped working on the way out of Pittsburgh and we ended up driving in circles in downtown Pittsburgh trying to get the stupid thing to "recalculate route."

When we left Pittsburgh it was yet another gorgeous sunny, warm day. About 26 degrees (Celsius). So of course Fae and I only packed sundresses. We actually both almost packed jeans but changed our mind last minute and didn't. By the time we go to Cleveland, it was raining and 11 degrees. What the hell? We were very poorly dressed, obviously. We parked and ran into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, stepping in puddles with flip flops and covering our heads with our very small sweaters.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was pretty awesome - I hadn't been there since I was about 8, and I definitely appreciated it a lot more this time. We stayed a few hours, then we decided to check into the hotel and just hang out a bit in the warmth before we went for dinner. This is when I discovered that while I had brought my laptop, as planned, I had forgotten the power cord. It was charged about 70%, but that's only about 3 hours of usage. We had brought movies to watch in the hotel! Damn.

We watched How I Met Your Mother for a bit, and then headed out for dinner. We were staying pretty far from the city, out by the airport. But we had a GPS, so it's okay, right? Unless, of course, you're us. The stupid thing kept losing signal in the middle of Cleveland, leaving us to try to navigate our own way through what apparently was baseball game traffic. They had traffic cops directing things, but I have no idea what they were doing... they were making us go through red lights! Finally, we found a place to park. We went to the Hard Rock Cafe, ordered strawberry daquiris and hoped it would at least be a good dinner.

Apparently the Hard Rock Cafe is a huge rip off... Our drinks were $6.99 each and didn't even taste like they had alcohol in them. Our sandwiches were about $12.99 and while they were HUGE they weren't all that great.

Normally, upon visiting a new city, we would walk around and check it out. It was too bloody cold and still raining. So we decided we would try to go see and movie. We asked the waitress and found out there was a theatre in the same plaza, in the basement. We paid and left and took the elevator downstairs... to the sketchiest plaza basement I've ever been to. Only to find out that while they were playing about a dozen movies, they were all the movies we didn't want to see and none of the ones we did want to see (we were thinking Adventureland or Sunshine Cleaning). So that failed too.

In the elevator on the way back up I turned to Fae.
"Why do we always fail?" I asked. We laughed and decided that we would just order payperview back at the hotel and stay warm in bed. We got back to the hotel and decided that the pool looked very enticing, so we got back in the car to go into the weird Cleveland suburb to find a cheap place to buy a bathing suit. The guy at the front desk had given us directions to a Walmart. The last part was "Go down and turn right down Brooksomething, there's a Walmart at the end of that road." He said the real name, but neither of us could remember so we decided that it wouldn't be that hard to find the street that was Brooksomething. We turn and find... Brookhaven, Brookdale, Meadowbrook and Brookshire. All right next to each other. Hmm.

Needless to say, we didn't find the Walmart, but we kept going down the street and eventually found another store and bought some bathing suits, which were quite expensive for suits neither of us planned to ever wear again.

We got back to the hotel, went swimming for about 30 minutes, until we suffocated from the heat of the hot tub, and then went back up to our room to order payperview. Fae took a shower, and I tried to figure out the payperview. After about 45 minutes of trying to work it, and then seeing if maybe there was something on real TV to watch, I called the front desk.

"Hi, I can't seem to get the Payperview to work."
"Yeah, the company we got Payperview from just recently shut down. So we don't have Payperview right now."
"Oh.... Okay then, bye."

Again, we tried to find something on TV. Largely, we failed. Until we found Whose Line Is It Anyway, and excitedly tried to tune to that channel... only to find out that we didn't get that channel.

We woke up this morning with plans to go to the Zoo, but they were very quickly dampened by the cold and the rain. We ate our continental breakfast and left Cleveland behind forever, after having failed at everything.

Top Ten Reasons to Love a Geeky Girl

So, this is a list that I sent to Seb to help with his newest post. Almost all of my friends are geek girls, and I think it's time that people realize we're awesome - the ones who speak Elvish (Fae), those who speak binary (Kaitlyn), the gamers (there are too many I can't name you all!) and the role players (me, of course). With movies like Superbad and Sydney White, there's a sudden increase in the love of nerdy guys. But there are so many geek chicks out there too, and we need our recognition!

1. Smart is sexy. There’s a reason Sexy Librarian is one of the top Halloween costumes every year. Because there’s something mysteriously sexy about what lies behind those thick rimmed glasses and beneath that cardigan. Smart girls are sexy because they’re not expected to be sexy. They’re a nice surprise – a reason to look up from your studying, even to pay your library fines.

2. She can probably beat your high score/redesign your blog/do your math homework/has a better comic book collection than you. A real man loves a challenge. And what’s more challenging than a woman who not only shares your interests, but even beats you at them? You have a lot to learn from a geeky girl. She can beat you at Star Wars trivia, you two can spend the afternoon in her favourite multiplayer or she can entertain you with fun historical facts. And just think – together you can probably fix anything. Or take over the world.

3. You speak the same language. You don’t have to bother yourself with explaining acronyms or characters, because she already knows what it means. Whether html, Latin, binary, computer specs or WoW, to your geeky girl it’s the language of love.

4. She’s not clingy. A geeky girl isn’t as clingy as the average girl. She has her own commitments, her own WoW character, her own convention buddies and her own programming to do. She’s happy to spend time with you, but she doesn’t need you to be available 24/7. Which is great, because you have your own geekery to tend to, and these things take time.

5. Won't hate you for going to a LAN conference/comic book convention and will probably come with you. That’s right, you could be that guy who brings the girl. Worshipped as a God, you’re the nerd who gets some at the conference or convention. You’re the dude with arm candy. And you didn’t even have to pay her.

6. Will gladly dress up as the Princess Zelda to your Link for Halloween (or Harley Quinn to Joker, Mrs. Lovett to Sweeney Todd, Princess Leia to your Han Solo, Cleopatra to your Caesar.) There’s nothing better than pair’s costumes. Remember how lonely it was to go solo as Solo? Remember last Halloween they laughed at your elf ears? That’s solved by bringing your very own sexy geek counterpart!

7. Willing to role play. In and out of the bedroom. Enough said.

8. Your favourite activities are now sexy activities. Imagine adding sex to all your favourite nerd pastimes! This is now possible, with your nerdy girlfriend. Multiplayer? Check. Wii Fit? Definitely check.

9. She'll settle for being serenaded with Rock Band instruments instead of real ones. Because she’s geeky, all of your geeky ideas of romance will have her swooning. What better way to say Happy Valentines than with a new website design? Or Happy Birthday with tickets to the opening night of Wolverine? Nothing says Merry Christmas like battling the forces of evil together.

10. She’s looking for you. Above all, the best thing about a geeky girl is that she’s probably looking for a geeky guy. After trying her hand at dating jocks and jerks, she’s probably looking for someone who’s actually interesting and who’s interested in her. For once, your chances increase directly with your nerdiness. You can impress her with your geekery.

Mythology Mondays: A friend to mankind

Prometheus is a Titan, the son of Atlas. Now, the Titans don't really like the Olympians much, being that Zeus and his siblings sort of stole their power from them. Prometheus, however, is a special case.

In some accounts, it was Prometheus who created mankind out of mud. But Prometheus is best known for his gift to man - essentially the gift of civilization.

Prometheus tricked Zeus. On the event of the first sacrifice to the Gods, Prometheus divided the animal into two portions and wrapped each in cloth. In one portion was the bones and fat, all of the inedible parts of the animal. In the other portion was the meat. Prometheus spoke to Zeus on behalf of mankind. He bade Zeus to choose which portion he would take for himself. Zeus, of course, chose the larger bundle. Prometheus had made sure that the sack of bones and fat was larger. This set the precedence for all divine sacrifices - humans would feast on the meat and leave the bones for the Gods.

Out of anger, the Olympians kept the power of fire to themselves, to forge Zeus' lightening bolts, to light Helios' sun chariot. But Prometheus conspired to steal it back.

Prometheus begged admittance to Mount Olympus. He climbed to the heavens where he could reach Helios' chariot. He lit a torch on the flame of the sun and hurried back to Earth, where he gave fire to mankind. Hesiod says that with fire, humans were finally able to take the first steps towards civilization. That Prometheus gave man the means of life.

Prometheus' punishment is renowned. He was chained to a rock on the top of a mountain. Every day an eagle would swoop down and gnaw out his liver. Every night the liver would grow back, and Prometheus would have to suffer again the next day. He remained here through ages of mankind, until finally Heracles freed him.

Prometheus

For boons bestowed
On mortal men I am straitened in these bonds.
I sought the fount of fire in hollow reed
Hid privily, a measureless resource
For man, and mighty teacher of all arts.
This is the crime that I must expiate
Hung here in chains, nailed 'neath the open sky.

-Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound

Prometheus' brother Epimetheus, was the husband of Pandora. Prometheus' daughter was Pyrrha, the wife of Deucalion and the only woman to survive the Flood.

Not so there

Fae appears to have noticed something about me in the past few days that no one else has noticed before... or maybe they were just too nice to comment about it.

Apparently, I have mentally challenged moments. This doesn't come as a huge shock to me, my dad has long called me the stupidest smart person he knows. This is because I generally live in my head, and I tend to zone out. I also tend to mess up on the small, stupid things in life because I'm too busy thinking about bigger things. Or at least, I like to think that's my excuse for being stupid.

This isn't a new revelation, Fae once looked back in the car and saw me just grinning absently out the window. Since in her family people don't smile, she was shocked.

And then there was the night with the Fanta. Where I just couldn't get it in my head that the pop machine wasn't working in the hostel.

Then, the other night we went to the movie store with Fae's boyfriend and roommate. When I get out the car I suddenly realize that Fae's looking at me funny.
"What...?"
"Nothing...."

We go inside. I'm walking around, looking at the movies. Suddenly, Fae turns around and starts laughing at me.
"What...?"

Apparently I was actually walking around, twirling my hair with my finger with this blank smile on my face. Fae was hysterical. Apparently I'd had the exact same blank expression when I got out of the car earlier.

We have since come to the conclusion that I have mentally challenged moments. And it makes so much sense. I also sometimes rock back and forth in circles when I'm sitting down, without realizing it.

I swear I'm really a smart person....

Hez and Fae Rewind Moment #2

Also known as why Hez and Fae shouldn't travel together.

When I was living in Ireland, Fae came to visit for the last week before I went home. We decided to plan a Great European Adventure. We were going to go to London, Paris and then drive around Ireland for a few days to see what I hadn't been able to see on a bus yet.

First thing, we found out that without a substantial credit card and at the age of 20, we could not rent a car in Ireland. Or anywhere. So that part was shot, but we were still heading to Paris and London!

On Thrusday morning, 5am, I got on the bus to Dublin to meet Fae at the airport. I had already had enough of Dublin by that point, from the week I was there at the beginning and then a trip for the weekend to pick up Kristen, so I was very done with Dublin. So instead of staying at all, we just got on a bus back. And we were going to London via the Shannon airport the next morning at 5am. So of course we spent the night drinking at the pub I was working at, and stumbled home to bed for about three hours sleep. We got on a bus to Shannon. We arrived, walked right up to flight counter. We gave the woman our passports.

I realized that it was taking a little too long for her to find us as passengers.
"Do you have a printout of your ticket information?" she asked. I handed it to her. She looked down at it, and looked back up at us.
"Your flight left yesterday morning at 6am."

For anyone who's ever booked through RyanAir, you'll know that they give you a bunch of dates close to yours so that you can find the cheapest. I thought I was just chosing a cheaper time, when I was actually choosing a different day entirely.

It was just after 5am and we had tickets to see Wicked in London that night. And, again, for those of you who know RyanAir, you'll know that they are absolutely completely unflexible, and any time you have to book something less than two weeks in advance, it's ridiculously expensive.

Needless to say, we freaked out. We had to wait until 6am for the ticket counters to open to find ourselves a flight. Finally, 6 came around and 150 euros later we had a new flight to London. Understandably, we were upset for being a whole lot poorer. But we were optimistic.
"Well, when we get to London let's check all our tickets. It's fine, we're going to get there in time and it was just a little glitch."

So we spent the weekend in London. We were supposed to leave for Paris on Sunday night. Sunday morning we went for a free walking tour of London. At the end of six hours of walking, we were wandering around Westminster Abbey.
"We should go soon so we can get back to the hostel in time to take the tube to Heathrow," I say.

So we headed back. We're sitting on the tube on our way to King's Cross and Fae turns to me.
"You know, the flight might have arrived in Paris at 7pm..." she says. I stare at her. It's almost 4pm, Paris is a one hour time difference and we're about an hour away from Heathrow. We practically run back to the hostel to check our ticket. Sure enough, our flight leaves at 4:10. I look up at the clock on the front desk.
"Is there anyway we could get to Heathrow in ten minutes?" I ask the girl at the front desk. She looks at me like I'm crazy. The next hour or so would prove her right.

Our problem is now compounded. Not only do we want to go to Paris, but we have to get to Paris to get our flight back to Ireland, so that we can each catch our flights back home at the end of the week. I go downstairs to the computers to see if I can find us a flight last minute. I give Fae the number for the hostel in Paris and tell her to see if she can cancel our deposit on our room there that night.

As I'm scrolling through the fares on RyanAir, I'm getting prices like 300 pounds one way to get to Paris. I panic. At this point I've been living off my credit card and my parent's charity for the last two months, and I definitely don't have 300 pounds ($600 Canadian at the time!). Fae comes down from using the phone and looks flustered.
"I hate you!" she says. I blink.
"What...?"
"I don't speak French!!" she says. I burst out laughing. I had completely forgotten that I'd booked the hostel in French, that she would need to speak French to cancel our reservation. Apparently, she managed to do it anyway, in English. Much needed comic relief.

Finally, the only affordable situation that I can come up with is to exchange our flight from Paris to Shannon into a flight from London to Dublin, and pay the difference. Which was still a lot of money. The flight would leave two days later, at 6am.

On the plus side, we got an extra day in London - which meant we got to see some of my favourite things: the British Museum, Abbey Road and Spamalot. We also went out for Chinese food that was very expensive and I didn't even realize it until I got my credit card bill the next month. $120 dinner? At least it was good!

But we never did get to Paris.

We finally got back to Galway, exhausted and very poor. I decided to pick up a shift at the pub the next night, to get some money to pay my last week of rent. Everyone else thought all of our misadventures were hilarious (which, in retrospect, they really were.) So my roommate texts me and says:
"Callan (the manager) says you can work, but if you're late he's going to charge you 150 euro."

And then we went on to lose Fae's wallet, complete with her last 200 euro, and our ability to walk in Killarney. But that's a whole other story.

Of course, the reason Fae and I are best friends is because somehow, after all of this, we ended up having the best week of our lives and laughing our asses off that night at dinner.

Pittsburgh, PA

Today I went walking around Pittsburgh to take some pictures, while Fae was at work. Pittsburgh is a gorgeous city, and doubly interesting because it has a long past as the USA's first steel town. But it baffles me a little, because it seems to always be uphill. In both directions.

It's so warm out today, like summer. I have to say that my little knit dress was not the bet wardrobe choice, as much as I love it.

The view from Grandview...

I was amazed that there were flowers blooming in Pittsburgh! It's still all dead in Ottawa.

There are a lot of benches on Grandview, so you can sit and enjoy the view.

Me! It's hard to take a picture of myself with the Olympus.

I was inclined to take the incline down the mountain.

So I jumped the fence (not easy in a dress) and found this clearing with a bunch of abandoned pieces of... well, I think this is part of the incline mechanism, maybe? And there were pieces of statues...

These stairs are terrifying. I hate the stairs where you can see through the back.

Fort Pitt Bridge, says Fae's roommate Dan.

For anyone who has read The Perks of Being a Wallflower: The Fort Pitt Tunnel, where they felt infinite.

Et c'est tout!

See Lascaux du Monde for some graffiti pics.