the cellar door

LIVE FROM THE UK

2009-09-08T12:32:00.001-07:00

Hello!
I'm about to move to England for about 9 months and I created a new blog to chronicle my adventures over there!

Check it out! LIVE FROM THE UK

Much love and see you on the other side!

i want to wake up in a city that never sleeps

2009-08-14T14:43:00.000-07:00

In about 8 hours I'm going to board a flight to one of my favorite cities I've never been to.

Photo Cred: Phillip Klinger

Photo Cred: Mossaiq

New York, here I come.

Stay tuned.

2009-07-30T23:14:00.001-07:00

one more thing...

true art

sytycd thus far

2009-07-30T22:33:00.000-07:00

Uh, so... I totally loved tonight's episode of SYTYCD. MARKSIE'S BACK BABY!!!!!!!!! Seriously, Mark and Chelsie were absolutely one of the best things about all five seasons of SYTYCD. I have never seen chemistry like those two had (although Katee and Joshua had AMAZING chemistry as well) but I just love love LOVE Marksie. Bleeding Love will always be one of my favorite pieces and why was today's episode so great...? BECAUSE THEY DANCED BLEEDING LOVE AGAIN! :3 they make me happy.
For me, Season 4 was the best season. Season 2 is a close second but there were just so many memorable dances and people on S4...

Top 10 Dances from S4 (in no particular order)
1. Marksie - Beautiful
2. Marksie - Bleeding Love

3. Koutni & Matt - Wrestlers
4. Katua - Hometown Glory
5. Jessica & Will - Silence
6. Chelsie & Gev - These Arms are Mine (sooooo underrated. The choreo by Sonya Tayeh is amazing, I'd love to see her choreo in that style)
7. Katee & Will - Pas de Deux
8. Chelsie & Joshua - Everlasting Love Disco
9. Mark & Courtney - The Garden

10. Katua - Slow Dancing in Burning Room

I don't know... this season seems a bit lackluster for me. Maybe it's because last season was effin awesome (IV REAL!) but eh, nobody stands out to me and makes me scream at the TV EXCEPT for EVAN!!!!!!! I am a die hard Evan Kasprazak fan! I don't care that he's not the "best" technically. He is an AMAZING dancer. Your average Joe cannot do standing back flips or have the control in his body like he does. He tries, he really does but most of all he has charisma, personality. Evan makes people want to vote for him. He's likable and just so charming! It makes me happy to see him dance! He's doing his own thing and he's got America and this Canadian hooked!
This season is also so different... Evan is definitely the stand-out "I stole America's hearts" contestant but nobody else seems to be able to grab and reach people's heats. Nigel got it right when he said that people were basically voting for the best routines and choreo... not really digging the hip-hop this season. The only hip-hop this season that got me really excited was Jason and Kayla's Zombie hip-hop.
I'm happy about the top 4. Satisfied. But this season isn't really cutting it out for me. Hope next season is better. So excited to see Teddy Tedholm and Ryan Kasprazak next season!

Well, here's my so-far Top 10 dances of S5, it may change depending on the finale.
No particular order once again.
1. Kayla & Max - Pop Jazz ( Why doesn't anyone like this???????)
2. Karla & Jonathan - Falling Slowly (Stacey Tookey is the best!!!!!!!!!!)

3. Randi & Evan - Koop Island Blues Contemporary
4. Kayla & Kupono - Twilight / Vampire Dance
5. Randi & Evan - Rich Man's Frug
6. Karla & Vitolio - Quickstep (The choreo was genius!! I usually never like quick-step!)
7. Kayla & Kupono - Addiction (My absolute favorite from this season. So so so sooo beautiful.)

8. Janette & Brandon - Pop Jazz (Wade likes Roisin Murphy doesn't he? lol)
9. Can't think of any more duos I like.... lol. Well, I loved Sonya's piece for the Top 6 guys! LOVEEEE!
10. NappyTab's Seven Nation Army group piece was awesome too.

In conclusion... can we get some moar Mia Michaels please?????

robots need love too, they want to be loved by you

2009-07-20T20:57:00.000-07:00

twas at folk festival from the 17th - 19th, friday to sunday! whooooo, it was my first time at the folk fest and man, was it rad. seriously. it was so rad.
basically, all of jericho beach park was closed off and it was just 8 stages of music madness. it was one of the most glorious things i have ever experiened. i don't know why i didn't go last year... hmmmm, but i knew i had to go this year because dan mangan was playing and that man has SERIOUS TALENT. he is a beast!!

but maybe i'll start chronologically.

on friday, me and renata got there at around 7pm and we found a spot quite a far ways from the main stage. not a problem though, i was there mostly to listen to the music. iron & wine played and after arrested development. my goodness, arrested development is a definite party. everyone was going crazzzy. i loved it. i love seeing old people and little kids dance their booties off. we also checked out the market stands. there were these beautiful portable buddhist shrines that we wanted to get, but decided to get it on saturday.... but by then they were sold out... sad!! oh btw. I SAW MR.GREALY AT FOLK FEST!! wooooooo! it made my day, hahahahaha. i didn't even notice him till he was like "alison???" hehehehehe. oh yoko sunshine ono.

saturday we got there around 3pm because dan mangan, the great lake swimmers, matt berube and some other band were on! SERIOUSLY. it was SO GOOD. i discovered dan mangan whilst listening to cbc radio 2 canada live and dan mangan was playing a show with danny michel. dan totally stole the show with "Robots." best song to sing live. ever. he sang it again at the folk fest. :) my only feeling at the time. happiness. i love hearing him sing and the audience singing along to "Robots." great lake swimmers were amazing too, i love that guys voice. it's so soothing. rest of the day was spent walking around... listening to great music at the different stages, going to the beach, browsing the markets, admiring trinkets, tanning... ahhhhhh.

however, we did learn from saturday that you must go early to the folk fest! if you don't you miss out on so many great workshops! renata and i got to the folk fest super early. like 9:45am early..... it was SO worth it. our first workshop was "The Republic of Strings" with Matt Andersen, Bellowhead (strings), The Ebony Hillbillies, and Jamyang Yeshi. BRILLIANT. BRILLIANT. BRILLIANT. i love hearing the combination of different musical styles..... Yeshi was a Tibetan musician, Andersen a blues player, Bellowhead an English folk band, and the Hillbillies... well, hillbilly music really. it was beauty though. But Andersen totally stole the show. his talent is just so large. (no pun intended, for he is quite a large man) his guitar playing is god-like and his voice beauty. OH AND BTW. MY LOVE KEVIN FOX WAS AT FOLK FEST. he didn't sing or anything... but he did support steven page with the cello on his set!!! i didn't even know he was going to be there till i walked by and heard page introduce him! sigh, he should've been given a stage to sing on.

The Republic of Strings workshop.

The other highlight of the day was Dan Mangan. During the time at folk festival I saw him live 4 times!!!!! but every single time was amazing a refreshing. actually i only saw him once playing a show on his own with his band. and wow. as i said before. his talent is so huge. his voice so distinct. his charisma and cute smile... greatness. we were sitting so close to the stage this time too!! and then he came off the stage and into the audience!!!!! swoooooon. i am totally fangirling. not cool. not cool.

example of dan mangan's greatness.

Also, because we got to the folk fest so early, we were able to get a pretty good spot up at the main stage. so after all the workshops started ending we just sat and chilled. Umalali was up first and it was amazing Afro beats that made you want to start dancing. After that was some band... i forgot who they were but they played "Polska." I think its eastern european folk music??? AND THEN VEDA HILLE AND THE CRAIGSLIST MUSICAL. OMG IT WAS THE WEIRDEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN BUT ALSO THE BEST. HILARIOUS! it was basically a 20-min musical based on real craigslist ads..... Cat Hats.... :)
BELLOWHEAD. BELLOWFRIGGINHEAD WAS UP NEXT AND OMG DID THEY STEAL THE ENTIRE SHOW. it was like english pub folk and everyone, EVERYONE was dancing. i love folk fest because people aren't afraid to express themselves. you see adults who are 30,40,50,60,70,80, and 90 who just freely dance and move. it's so beautiful to see people who've freed themselves and are comfortable with expression. so many people are just so uptight nowadays that its just so liberating to see something like a throwback to Woodstock. old hippies, and granma's who put their hands up in the air when the main guy from bellowhead asks if anybody is a prostitute. love it. but back to bellowhead.... oh man. they definetely know how to put on a LIVE show. it is a truly amazing experience. i was so sweaty after all the dancing. haha. me and renata didn't stay for mavis staple... we wanted to put were way too tired. pooped. but man, it was so much fun to end off with bellowhead.
there was this one guy, Geoff Berner, who played in between main stage sets and oh man, he was the funniest little shit ever. he is so SICK (like TWISTED) but his humor is so darkly correct. his little accordion makes you think he's some cute little singer-song writer... and he is. but better. "Official Theme Song for the 2010 Vancouver / Whistler Olympic Games (The Dead Children Were Worth It!)" That exaplains it all.

beautiful vancouver. mountains and ocean side by side with great music pumping.

pull n'peel licorice necklace

If you live in Vancouver, go to Folk Fest. at least once in your life, go. it is an amazing experience. you do not need to know all of the bands, musicians, artists that are there. it's the being there that's the beauty. yeah, it is uber hot. so hot that i felt like i was going to have a stroke and so hot that i darkened 3 shades but bring a hat then. GO. this festival makes you appreciate and love vancouver so much. it makes you realize how music can bring people together. it makes you realize how much talent there is in the world. GO. it's like the greatest camp in the world, i felt like i wanted to live there. go go go go.

you won't regret it.

Expelliarmus!!

2009-07-20T20:34:00.000-07:00

haaaaaalllooooooo!! HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE OPENED LAST TUESDAY!!!!!
woooooop wooop wooop! so i totally waited with alisha, nathan, doopy, allison, thor, and mama kapil for 6 hours to watch the movie!!! we got there at around 5:30pm... movie started at 12:15am... YEEEEEEE BOI.
we took nerdy pics while we waited. yep.

don't mess... i'm harry potter

my shirt has a pic of NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM and it says: MY HERO.

those are totally capes. made by the great mama kapil

i only got into harry potter last year... january 2008. i was16 years old. before then i hated harry potter, thought it was too scary. funny story, i actually owned books 1-4 (for the sake of being cool, duh) but didn't like them and gave them away. 5 years later, i buy them all again..... he he he.
and confession... i saw the half-blood prince twice in theaters.... hahaha. at the midnight premiere and on friday with renata. i will gladly see it again with whoever!!!!!!!! at first, i didn't really like the movie. i felt like they left out so many important parts and unecesarily added new parts. (why did the weasley house burn down??? and what was up with the corn field battle???) half-blood prince was never my favorite book as well. but i think after seeing it the second time i'm starting to like it more and more. i love how its a darker harry potter, all grown up. there is definetely more depth than in the previous books. although for the movie, i wished they focused more on voldemort's back story and didn't cut out [SPOILER ALERT] dumbledore's funeral. the light thing was pretty cool though. i heard that they might add the funeral to the beginning of the deathly hallows??? i hope so.

but i still love harry potter.
:3

L'ete

2009-07-11T14:37:00.001-07:00

I know, I know. I haven't blogged in a long time... shame shame! I never feel much inspiration to blog, although so much as happened to me since my last blog.

A comprehensive list of amazing and notable events that have happened since my last appearance:
- GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL and... FINISHED THE IB!!!!!!!!!
- June 8 - 13: I went to California. Which was oodles and oddles of fun. I went to a firing range and shot a gun for the first time, went to my favorite place in the world, and ate lots of Pinkberry. I love California.
- The rest of June seems like a blur...
- Renata and Jyoti graduated as well! Whoo hoo! Now we're all done!
- Been doing a lot of UK Visa and legal stuff for England next year... that has taken up the bulk of my time.
- June 30 was my Mom's birthday party and on July 6th, Oribu, my mom and me went to go eat at Market by Jean-Georges. Which is delicious! But go for lunch! It's super cheap! $28 for an appetizer, main course and dessert!
- Oh, I also worked with Alisha at her dad's two days... that devil room is the bane of my exsistence.
- I have found a job and am now employed as an ESL tutor! I am so beyond excited for this job because it's something that I love doing which is teaching! And the pay is pretty awesome... ;)
- ALSO!!! I LEARNED HOW TO RIDE A TWO-WHEELER BIKE!!!!!! Honestly, I am 17 years old and before this I had no clue how to ride a bike. Paul taught me, and I got it pretty quickly. We practiced in an empty parking lot for about 15-20 min and then we went to the Sea Wall!!!! So scary!! So many people and bikes!! I was terrified. I apprently did not look like I was having fun but really, I was! I was just concentrating really hard on not falling or hitting people.... but in the end someone clipped my bike and I fell over.... sigh. I have a huge scrape on my elbow which pustulates. And I have gnarly bruises everywhere. The one on my stomach is especially gross. I also started crying.... a lot!! Embarssing!! It didn't even hurt that much but I think it was just the shock of actually having being hit which sent me over. I also didn't even realize I was bleeding so much... Paul played it off so nonchantly.... a very nice German family gave me some band-aids though. Danke!!!
- After, Paul and Yuka came over for dinner at my haus. Andrew was also there. We had a grand'ol time looking at photo albums... lol.

Pictures?!?!?!?!?!?

pinkberry!!my gnarly scrape

Soon, I'm going to New York!!! And I'm going to learn how to drive! New adventures await!!

I'm Done (Not Really)

2009-05-15T16:03:00.000-07:00

Hello hello.
I am sitting in the library right now, taking advantage of their wireless, when I should really be studying Chemistry and Spanish. Oh well, whatever, Chemistry is boring me to tears. Break time!
I have not blogged since I declared my month of hell would begin soon, and yes it has been a month of hell but it is over soon! I have five exams left, two days, ten hours of being a high-school student. Wow. Twelve years I've been here and it's over in a matter of a few hours. Not even half a day.
On to adulthood!
It feels exciting and amazing but I'm also scared. I don't know how to do taxes, I don't know how to pay off credit card bills, I didn't even realize that you had to empty a tray of crumbs from your toaster or it'll rot. What's a mortgage? How do I pay this off? How do I drive? (Actually, learn to bike first!) Should I invest in stocks? Why does the toaster even have a crumb holder? (Who thought of that?) What do I do if I get in a car crash? What if my kids rebel and hate me? How does this whole parenting thing work? How do I get good credit? Do I need life insurance?
I wish Planning 10 actually taught you shit that you'll need in real-life. All we ever did was take personality, career, and aptitude tests.
Maybe I'm just worrying too much. :/

On another note, I have accumulated a cornucopia of music (about 15+ CDs) that I am very excited to listen to once all this studying business has been over and done with! Glee!
Has any listened to the album "Dark was the Night"? If you haven't go!! It is bloody amazing. I love the Lua remix, Sleepless by the Decemberists, Cello Song by The Books ft. Jose Gonzales, and Dark was the Night by the Kronos Quartet. The whole album is really solid though. Go!!

- Half Alison

kicked in the face

2009-04-28T22:38:00.001-07:00

IB Final Exams are coming up...

I am scared but also not but also am.

Exams in order of terrifyingness:
1. HISTORY
2. Biology
3. Math
4. English
5. Spanish
6. Chemistry (I hate Chem, don't really care about doing spectacularly well.)

(I hope.)

Please let my 4 weeks of Hell to be over soon so I can graduate!

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

2009-04-05T19:04:00.000-07:00

My friends are the bestest. I love them all to death.
Today, Jyoti, Renata, Leonard, and Kevin came to my house and surprised me with a Mrs.Field's BIG COOKIE CAKE that said: "Congratulations Alison! You're going to England!" with the colors of the Union Jack on it. Spawned in the mind of Renata (I'll know you'll appreciate this shout.) Uhhhh, can you say I'm the luckiest girl in the world?
Afterward, we went to Home Depot to look for C-Clamps and to Deer Lake Park to fly kites.

Basically, Jyoti and Renata are my bestest friends and I love them. Swooooon. They make me swoon with glee!
Leonard and Kevin are awesome as well. (Thanks Kevin for the ride home!)

<333333333333!!!!!!
MY FRIENDS ARE THE BEST!!!!!!

2009-04-02T23:55:00.000-07:00

I am going to study in England for my first year of university.
...
...
...

IN A CASTLE.

HERSTMONCEUX CASTLE HERE I COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ugh ugh blargh blargh

2009-03-31T22:17:00.000-07:00

So... I've been really sick for the past few days
Stomach sick.
Really, not the kind of sick you want, nor the kind of sick many wish to talk about...
I've really been having a case of "be careful what you wish for, BECAUSE YOU JUST MIGHT GET IT." oh boy oh boy...

So when I went to Seattle on Thursday - Friday last week, I bought these super cute bandaids from Urban Outfitters. Then I thought to myself: "Gee, I wish I could get a cut so I could wear these bandaids!" ANNNND fast foward to the next day, I cut myself twice on the eyes of my Doc Martens!!!!!!! "Why's this happening to me??" At least I get to use my new bandaids...? At least they look super kawaii...?

Zip to the weekend. On Saturday, I was wishing that Spring Break didn't have to end (even though I did had two weeks off...) Oh and hmmm, guess what happens to me!? I get cursed with a wicked case of food poisoning, stomach flu, dysentry, or I-have-no-idea-what-actually-happened-to-me-but-my-stomach-was-WHACK!!!! Simply, I was puking the entire contents of my stomach out and then some.
Needless to say, I didn't go to school on Monday. Another day off from school... an extended spring break...

But at what price? :(
This was probably one of the few times I've actually become bed-ridden and unable to get out of bed. C'est la vie...

Be careful for what you wish because you just might get it.
Thanks Pussycat Dolls.

black comedy

2009-03-20T22:55:00.000-07:00

Attn, all people.
Especially women.
"don't go to wal-mart. gang initiation shooting targeting women. 3 dead. confirmed by the news."

Did i get you?
I'm sorry but this is all fake. A sham. A hoax. A terrible, terrible prank.
apparently, beginning yesterday people from all around north America have been getting text messages telling them not to go to Wal-mart because of a gang-initiation shooting that had killed three women in an unnamed Wal-mart.
My mom told me this tonight. said she got the text message. i will admit that i was scared. i think anyone would be. I did a little research online to find out which Wal-mart in Vancouver had been targeted. and lo and behold!

"Reports of a text message about a gang initiation stunt requiring the random shooting of people at a Walmart are a hoax." via Now Public
(I STRONGLY URGE YOU TO READ THIS)

If i am to believe what i've read, this originated yesterday, March 19th, and possibly in Kentucky.
It then proceeded to spread like wildfire across North America.

I believed that shootings did happen in Wal-Mart was afraid, i was scared, i felt sadness and despair for the state of our community, our world.
But now that i've come to learn that this was a hoax i am even MORE afraid, scared, sad for the state of our world. What have we become? What terrible prank is this? Who would do this? Why would someone do this? Are we so amoral that we'd scare the shits out of an entire continent?
Maybe I'm just bitter because I got fooled by this hoax but you know what? I don't care.
I don't care that maybe the one that did this is concerned for the well-being of the world and it's wal-mart monoculture.
I don't care that maybe the reason they did this was to steer the public away from the capitalist Wal-Mart giant.
I don't care.
This is still mean, terrible, and horrible.

I'm not laughing.

what is stephen harper reading?

2009-03-12T17:44:00.001-07:00

I just happened upon this website by Yann Martel (the guy who wrote Life of Pi, which by the way is an AMAZING novel).
It's Martel's project entitled:"What is Stephen Harper Reading?"
I'll let him explain in his own words the premise of his project:

“The Prime Minister did not speak during our brief tribute, certainly not. I don’t think he even looked up. The snarling business of Question Period having just ended, he was shuffling papers. I tried to bring him close to me with my eyes.Who is this man? What makes him tick? No doubt he is busy. No doubt he is deluded by that busyness. No doubt being Prime Minister fills his entire consideration and froths his sense of busied importance to the very brim. And no doubt he sounds and governs like one who cares little for the arts.But he must have moments of stillness. And so this is what I propose to do: not to educate—that would be arrogant, less than that—to make suggestions to his stillness.

For as long as Stephen Harper is Prime Minister of Canada, I vow to send him every two weeks, mailed on a Monday, a book that has been known to expand stillness. That book will be inscribed and will be accompanied by a letter I will have written. I will faithfully report on every new book, every inscription, every letter, and any response I might get from the Prime Minister, on this website.”

Yann Martel

The idea of stillness that Martel is exploring really intrigues me and really, Mr. Harper, what are you reading? I wonder if he's read any of these books. I wonder if he'll one day response to Martel's letters. I wonder if he even gets any of these books. I wonder if he practices stillness.

I just thought that this was interesting. Martel makes really cool suggestions for novels and literature for Mr. Harper to read. Some of my favorites (or at some of my favorites from the ones I've read) are: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (the movie is equally as awesome), Le Petite Prince by Antoine de Saint-Expuery, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and Maus by Art Spiegelman.

I'm currently reading three books: The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis, Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky, and Metamorphosis by Kafka.

What are you reading?

i sac, you sac, we all sac

2009-03-09T21:42:00.000-07:00

Just purchased the le sac dress from AA.
I am beyond excited to receive it and play around, ENDLESS CREATIVITY.

ps, you may have noticed i have changed the layout, look and title of my blog
i'm trying to go in a new-ish direction...?

El Fin de Semana Dos

2009-02-02T22:47:00.000-08:00

Feb 1, 2009
- Went to Spanish and got some pictures of Japan from Paul. They's vair cool.
- After Spanish, Mom picked me up to go to Katharina's birthday party.
- Katharina's host parent's house is absolutely beautiful! It's soooo nice! I wish I could live there. The fridge is transparent! Oh my goodness!!! Everything is so eclectic and coolsville.
- Her host parents also have a cutie dog named Bella who absolutely adored me :) and a naked Siamese cat named Bugger. Alisha and Allison were so scared of the kitty... haha, I loved him. I miss Bugger. :'( I think he liked me a lot too, like sitting on my lap.
- Watched Juno and Harold & Kumar at Katharina's. Had nachos and guac... mmmm.
- Left Katharina's at around 9:30 and went with mom to Soho to meet up with JihWei, Yuka, Andrew and James to play pool. But Yaletown was insane and after 20 mins of looking for parking we decided to leave and go to Main st.
- We were going to go to the Legion Hall on Main, but it looked way too sketch and I totally didn't want to go in. Went to The Main instead. Much better choice.
- There was sucky live music at The Main but after a whlie, this alt-country female singer got up and did a pretty good set.
- "If you're here for the music, then you're too late..." Ahahahaha, so good. so good.
- Paul, Yuka and his friend Grant came later on. Turns out his friend works with McG's girlfriend. What a small world!
- Had tonnes of laughs and water (8 glasses!) at The Main. Love hanging out with them friends.
- I showed them my picture of Danny... "Here, look at what I got at So You Think!" "What the hell is that!?!?" LOL. Well, I think Danny is good looking.....
- Went home at about 12:30am.

Superbowl Party next post...
Always,
Half Alison

last thoughts on woody guthrie

2009-02-01T22:48:00.000-08:00

El Fin de Semana

2009-02-01T22:10:00.000-08:00

I had an extremely eventful weekend.
Every single day was filled with something to do and somewhere to be.
You must be getting sick of my long posts that sum everything up in a huge chunk! I'm going to try something new and summarize in the form of bullets and points.
And here we go!

January 30, 2009
- Half-day at school.
- Tried the new restaurant near the school, Bandidas. It looks hip and intriguing on the outside but I'm sorry! Not worth going. Bad Mexican food, bad atmosphere, and bad service. However, it is very cheap.
- After Bandidas went Alisha and I went downtown to await the So You Think You Can Dance Canada Tour 2009! So pumped and excited because I've been a loyal SYTYCD fan since USA Season One, represent!
- We were supposed to go to the library to do "homework" but ended up shopping. Didn't buy anything but Alisha bought bangin' kicks from UO and a vintage Steelers shirt.
- Finished shopping at around 3:30 and headed off to do some homework at the library. Alisha fell asleep and got a gnarly bruise on her forehead from sleeping on her fist. Haha, it was awesome.
- Went to Subeez to eat. SO YUM! We shared Hummus (excellent), these Rissotto Balls (divine), and Two Pesto Pasta (mmmmm).
- I went to go try Froyo Yogurt near the library. Disappointing. Not nearly at the same caliber as Pinkberry!
- Got to GM Place for SYTYCD at 6:30, one hour early! But there wasn't anyone at merch and bought a picture of Danny and Alisha bought a picture of Nico.
- Danny and Allie are my favorite favorite FAVORITE dancers!!!
- Seats were pretty decent, Floor, 19th row. I had to sit on my Coldwar books in order to see over all the heads though!
- 7:30pm!!! IT'S STARTING!!!!!
- They opened with a new Hip Hop routine, I can't remember what song it was to. I liked it though.
- Ahahaha, they are so cute and awk when they are introducing themselves and dances.
- I can't remember all the routines that they did, I'm going to try my best to remember them all and write a little blurb about them.
- The first couple performance was Nico and Natali's Disco routine. Not my favorite disco routine (Arrasay and Vincent's was my favorite!!! HOT N'COLD!) but they were solid.
- Arrasay's solo was the first solo of the night. Loved it, she was wearing her trademark white outfit! :) Reppin' Vancouver!
- Danny and Allie did the jive and the mambo which I both loved in the show! The jive was so fun and Danny is just so cute! They work so well off each other! And the mambo... well, that was just hot. Allie's outfit was so much more subdued than in the show though!
- Kaitlyn and Izaak did the Breakin' Dishes piece which I ABSOLUTELY LOVE in the show! It was still cool seeing it live but I felt that Kaitlyn could have hit it a little bit harder and sharper. They also did the West Coast Swing that was choreographed by Benji... I didn't even remember this piece from the show, it was... eh.
- Vincent and Lisa's house was soooo funky and grimy. I didn't like it that much on the show but loved it live! Those two are just such amazing technical dancers!!
- Danny did his Closer solo and Allie did her Moloko solo!!!!!! MY FAVORITE SOLOS FROM THE SHOW! :)))))
- The top four did their group routine by Dan Karaty and it was amazing. So good, hit it hard and tight. And you know, you can't go wrong with using Justice as your bg music.
- They did the Paso Doble group piece which was epic to see in real life.
- Intermission: Alisha and I take lot's of pictures of ourselves.
- SPECIAL GUEST!!!! TWITCH WAS IN THE AUDIENCE!!!! He didn't perform but he was totally there and was only about a few feet away from where I was. People started freaking out and mobbed him! I really wanted to go and meet him but there were so many people! It was so cool that Twitch was out here supporting the Canadian SYTYCD though!
- Everyone went crazy whenever Nico was up, I like him but I still think Allie should have won!
- The Any Other World group piece was done and I went balistically crazy!!!! MIA MICHAELS! :))) I totally stood up for them after the performance, waved, and screamed my butt off.
- All THREE Stacey Tookey pieces were danced!! That totally made my night. Stacey Tookey was by far my favorite choreographer on the show, her movement it so real and emotional. To see Slow Me Down and all the others live was just.... wow. Especially Slow Me Down, it was just so moving.
- Miles and Lisa did the Mirror piece. Always makes me teary. The camera people did a pretty good job with representing the mirror in the same way as it was on TV, live. Well done camera crew!
- Nico and Arrasay performed It's a Man's Man's Man's World and Somebody to Love which are both such great pieces. Those two have such chemistry and anything they do, they can destroy (in a good way!). But Somebody to Love was definitely a highlight, I think it was the last couple performance that was done as well... I think. Superb though!!!!
- They finished with a group routine to Please Don't Stop the Music, similar to how the season finale S4 USA did with all the alumni.
- And after that, it was over.... :'( It was absolutely awesome though! A total dream come true for me to see SYTYCD live on tour because I've been waiting for this moment for years. SYTYCD is my favorite TV show and it inspired me to take dances classes and to just dance! I will forever be in love with this show and it was just so cool to be at the first tour stop, for the first Canadian season for my first time at a SYTYCD tour ever! Man, I was just so happy.

Other days of my weekend later...
Always,
Half Alison

Kampyo!

2009-01-11T17:39:00.000-08:00

it's strange how all my posts are birthday related nowadays... can't help it though, great things always happen on birthdays!
and i always blog a few days after occurences happen to me, bad bad bad

January 8 , 2009
Richard's birthday!
I got a lot done that day and had a blast of a time. I love doing things by myself (only child represent!) and spent much of the time doing my favorite things.
In the morn, I went to the library to get some "homework" done but ended up reading books on Iceland, Art Deco, Bauhaus, and Robert Steadman for about 5 hours. I absolutely love to read and anytime spent reading up about interesting things is always glee!
After, went to go eat at Tim Hortons and then off to the Vancouver Art Gallery! I haven't checked out the gallery since summer and wanted to check out the new exhibitions before they ended. "WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution" was pretty good. I loved how they decided to divide all of the art by themes, very different and cool. Was super excited to see some Yoko Ono performance art pieces on video. "Cut Piece" is even more dramatic when you see it on video!
Best part of art gallery: Kai Althoff. Hands down. Extremely over-the-top and whimsical, loved his sculptures and the weaving room! The weaving room was amazing and I learned how to weave!! It's so simple and fun, i wove on the loom for about 20 minutes, haha. I strongly encourage you to check it out it you have time! Kai's exhibition is on till Feb 25, 2009!
Stayed at the Gallery for about 4 hours and then at 6pm, I left to go to Aki and buy Richard's cake at Urban Fare. Mmmmm, Triple Chocolate Mousse. :)
Super yummy food at Aki as per usje! It was great just to spend time with my favorite people and meet new people! Wahoo!
After Aki, we were sooo full but decided to head over (and when I say head over, I mean walk across the hall) to Fantacity and sing karaoke! I LOVE FANTACITY! New favorite place! I was so hyper and excited!! They had sooo many Queen songs, and Muse, and OMG! COME WHAT MAY FROM MOULIN ROUGE! Moulin Rouge = one of my fave movies of all time. James and I sang a duuuuuet for that song and it has been divined that we are totally musically sympatico! FUN TIME!
Awesome day filled with favorite people, things, places, activities, food, and the such!!

Always,
Half Alison

Birthday Extravaganza 2008 Pt. Deux

2008-12-29T22:26:00.000-08:00

I'm back to blog about the third and final day of my birthday festivities... wahoo!

December 21, 2008 - SF Party at Deighton's Well
The night before Jyoti and Renata had slept over at my house and it was great to catch up and really talk to each other after months of lacking communication. We stayed up till about 6AM talking, laughing, watching My Blueberry Nights and Darjeeling Limited. Blueberry was ok... we couldn't really get through it, lol but Darjeeling was so good! I adore Wes Anderson and I've already seen Darjeeling but watching it with them made it so much better. We assigned ourselves characters, as per usje, and I was Owen Wilson (a bit neurotic but motherly), Renata was Jason Schwartzman, and Jyoti was Adrien Brody (because she's tall) :)
We got up at around 12PM and didn't do much except watch TV, I read a bit.
For the night, my mom and I were "supposed" to have some sort of family dinner for my birthday at an unknown restaurant but at the last minute she invited Jyoti and Renata, and her friend to come with us. Yeah, well, whatever. I didn't care at the time because I was cranky due to the lack of sleep, and off we went for downtown.
I found it a bit fishy that she invited other people to come to our family dinner but shrugged it off and slept during the whole car ride. It was so icy and snowy when we were driving though! It was insane!
When we finally got to Deighton's Well, it was like we were in the wrong place... there was nobody in the whole bottom floor of the restaurant and the staff looked totally bored. It was quite sketchy. But when we started up the stairs to the the second floor... SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!
Everybody was there!!!!! About 15 people were sitting around a huge table, there was a huge plasma screen on the wall, presents and did I mention that everyone was there!?
BEST SURPRISE EVER! Everyone had been lying to me for about 3 weeks that they couldn't make it to my birthday dinner because of prior committments and what not... and they totally had me fooled! Ahhhhhh, it was insane! Paul and Jih Wei were the most convincing liars! Paul even told me the dinner he was going to have at the company dinner he was supposed to be at! Crazy people!
It was just so amazing to have everyone there when I thought nobody could make it! I actually can't believe they made it too because of the super heavy snow fall! THANKS EVERYONE!! :)

Birthday Extravaganza 2008

2008-12-23T22:42:00.000-08:00

WARNING: v. long post ahead!

"They only want you when you're seventeen, when you're twenty-one you're no fun."

As of last year, I have always had three (count 'em) three birthday parties!
One for the kids at Stratford Hall, another for the FVAA/Carver/BCS kids and one for the adults (otherwise known as mein Surrogate Family)
Of course this was to be no exception this year! However, there was a slight complication... the SF party was probably going to be cancelled due to everyone's busy schedueles which totally bummed me out for a while. (But it was miraculously saved! More on that later!)
So for this year, this was the basic shebang for my three day birthday weekend EXTRAVAGANZA! Wahoo let's go!

December 19, 2008 - Stratford Hall Birthday Party at Mein Haus (I am a Germaphile now :>)
This whole day was pretty much amazing. It started off with the IB breakfast for the Diploma Program and everything was sooo nummy. But there was way too much French Toast! (lol, Priyanka) I had yummy chicken sausages, potato, bread, crackers with nutella... and KATHARINA'S CUPCAKES!! I swear, those are the best cupcakes I have ever eaten in my life! Katha, if you're reading this make me more!! :)
We also finished watching Stand By Me in TOK... I really really really like that movie. For only being twelve years old, River Phoenix was absolutely mind-blowing. And then the Great Race at school commenced! Haha, much fun seeing the Prize in a devil costume, tehehehe.
After a half day of school it was off to mein haus for party! I really had nothing planned for the party except for all of us to transit to my place and from there on, see where the wind would take us.
We got to my house at about 1ish, and then my mom came quickly after bearing samosas, pakaora, and pizza! Nom nom nom, we had so much left over! Hahaha. And then came cake time!! My cake was absolutely adoreable and tres mignon!!!
Adoreable, mais non? C'est un hamburgerrrr! It was almost way too cute to eat! But it tasted delicious as well!
Present time was next and man oh man, you guys know me so well! The onesie from Alisha.... haha, I felt so exposed wearing it! I'll do a present recount at the end but much love! You guys are so awesome!
We basically all then plopped onto my couch and living room and proceeded to "watch" LoTR Two (but we basically skipped every part with Frodo and Sam, and then fast forwarded to the Battle at Helm's Deep). We then actually watched Wedding Crashers and then my mom and I took Katha, Doopy, Char, and Allison home while Alisha and Kathy stayed at home doing God knows what. jk jk, lol. Thanks for not burning my house down, hunnies!
So after I dropped off the others and came back (this was at around 7:15ish), Alisha, Kathy, and I sat around trying to watch HP4 (courtesy of Char) but ended up talking and having Kathy teach me the ways of conversation... haha.
After Alisha left at around 10pm *tear* Kathy stuck around till 12:15AM! We watched Across the Universe and chit chatted. Hahaha, she was the first person I shared my birthday with! Congratulations Kathy! Now next time, let's finish Across the Unvierse, eh eh? :))))
It was just such a relaxing time and I don't really know if I can call it a "party" because we all basically just relaxed and some of us even fell asleep! (*Kathy*) but I think that's what we all needed! A nice, relaxing break. :)

December 20, 2008 - FVAA/Carver/BSC Party at Mein Haus
December 20 was the actual day of mein birth, so I guess it had to be an extra special day! Or not? Well, the party didn't start till 5pm, so I didn't really know what to do till then so I still went to Spanish class that day! Haha, it's not really a chore though! I thoroughly enjoy going to Spanish and look forward to it every week!
I met Paul at the VPL at 1pm as per usje, and gave him his Chirstmas gift, a hot sauce set! Hehe. It had hot sauces from I think 7 different places in the world! It looked pretttty cool. Haha, well then. While in Downtown we picked up Renata and then went back to my place to prep for the party.
People started coming at about 5pm, and I think the first people to arrive were... Jose, Bebe, Malc, and Kevin. Lol, I still can't believe Kevin came. Seems a bit random but most certainly, welcome! Then all the others started trickling in like Bryce, Sonia, Leonard, Mark, and Jyoti! Haha, I can't believe she was the last person to get here!
I, much like the last party, didn't have anything planned. It's not that I don't like planning parties becase there was a degree of planning that went into the parties, it's just that for activities or whatever, I just like the party taking it's own course.
And that it did! We ended up playing this really fun game Jyoti played the day before at her friend's party called "Prom Date." In this game, there several groups of two and one winker. So the winker has to wink at one of the partners and then try to steal their prom date. But the other partner wants to keep their date, so they have to hold them back no matter what! It's a bit hard to explain but it was still REALLY fun! Haha. Loved it.
But yeah, that was pretty much the highlight of that party. I kind of felt it go worse for me at the end. I don't know how to explain it but I didn't really have as much fun as I should have after that. Je ne comprend pas. No comprendo. I just wasn't feeling it at all. Yup.

Ahhhh I've written so much for one night.... tommorow I'll continue with the last party! Which was the best one out of all of them!

"Did you girls come out here to look for me?"

2008-10-26T00:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday night was the school dance.

For most of the time it was v.fun but for some of the time, it was boring. (3 people on the dancefloor!? wat!) But still very fun.

I just love to dance, and my dance to Paper Planes is absolutely nucking futs! ahaha.

It got even better when The Prize got there though.. ahaha, jk jk.

Pictures to come...

This night was Fright Night!

I was a bit disappointed because I missing Parade of the Lost Souls but it was still fun. Got to hang out with school peeps and for most of the time, I laughed the kind of laugh where no sound comes out... that geniune hardcore laugh. Then met up with kids from Fraser! It was so strange. I'm standing there and I here someone call my name, and I turn around and it's Leonard! And then I see Mark and the whole gang. So awesome. Renata came later too and I hung out with them for the last while. Wooden Rollercoaster was absolutely king.

Pictures as well!

Just a quick summation of my last two nights.

Always,

Half Alison

I Love... Pt.1

2008-10-21T22:34:00.000-07:00

"It took us so long to realize that a purpose of human life, no matter

who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.”

— Kurt Vonnegut

I love Kurt Vonnegut.

Kurt Vonnegut will never cease to inspire me. Slaughterhouse-five is one of my favorite books and Vonnegut is absolutely one of my favorite authors.

He died April 11, 2007 at the age of 84. So it goes.

Always,

Half Alison

"i'm going to start calling you fidel castro"

2008-10-17T22:39:00.000-07:00

The title of this post has absolutely nothing to do with the contents.
I just happen to be watching a commericial for the Amazing Race and a man just said to his long-distance dating partner: "I'm going to start calling you Fidel Castro." whatta guy.

Well then, today school school school.. learning about the Third Reich is so brutal.
Especially the Holocaust, it's quite difficult to watch the film and documentries that we're watching in history now but we have to keep on learning, so we don't repeat it. However, it really shows you the true capacity of the human race. The evil that may lurk inside all of us. So scary.

And then Renaissance College came to visit out school and gave out their propaganda talks. It's not a bad college though, do love the idea of having a Bachelors in Philosophy and Leadership Studies but it's just a tad bit too small.... they accept only 25 students per year!!! My goodness, Me = Graduating class of 2013, class of 25.
I'm used to small schools (my current class has 6 kiddies) but 25 for university?! Insane! I at least want to go to a university with a bit more people than that!

Betty's birthday party @ Boston Pizza's was today as well. She's such a sweetheart, (Paid for meals for SIXTEEN people!!) I feel bad for not talking to her as much last year. Hope she had an amazing day.

My goodness, this entry is full of such random things.
Forgive me, but I can't think straight now.
Have a good day wherever you may be!

Always,
Half Alison

never too late

2008-10-09T22:48:00.000-07:00

I guess it's never too late to start documenting my life.
Not much really happens though.
School starts at 8:20.
I usually get to school at 8:15. I should really get there a tad bit earlier but I can usually never wake up.
On Mondays, I have Biology first- it's fun but also quite difficult.
Oh, I'm watching ER right now and Morris just got yelled at by the crazy new director. Boo hoo.
Anyways, I have four classes everyday. Breaks inbetween, lunch at 12:50.
Sometimes we go down the drive for lunch, pizza is always welcome in my stomach.
At 3:20 (yes, three-twenty) school ends.
Sometimes I go home, sometimes I go to my mother's office, other times I go to the mall.
I may stay at school for clubs ocasionally.
When I get home at around 4:00-5:30, I watch some television and go on facebook. Jon & Kate Plus 8 is always a must on manic mondays.
Dinner at 6:00-6:30, sometimes at 7:00.
And then homework and primetime (the majority of the time is spent on homework) till I go to sleep at 11:30.
I'll read a book or a magazine before I go to sleep. Can't sleep without the printed word.
I'm reading Maus by Art Spiegelman now. It's amazing. I recommend it to you, regardless of your age.

This is just an introduction. Just routines, routines.
What will we talk about next?

Always,
Half Alison