September 26th - Great people are born on this day. lol.

Your Birthdate: September 26

You lucked out the the skills to succeed in almost any arena. Put you in almost any business or classroom, and you'll rise to the top. You're driven and intense, but you also know when to kick back and cooperate. Your ability to adapt to almost any situation is part of what's going to make you a success. Your strength: Your attention to detail Your weakness: You can be a little too proud of your successes Your power color: Turquoise Your power symbol: Arrow pointing up Your power month: August

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Not your year...

In addition to being an enjoyable song by the Weepies, it looks like the title for this particular entry is also indicative of the fate for my various sports teams. [Note: I do not play on any sports teams, I have no athletic prowess whatsoever so this comment is in reference of the teams that I cheer for.] This fate became evident to me as my newly adopted Patriots blew a big lead to the Colts. What's worse was the fact that I procrastinated the numerous days previous to last Sunday and had a paper to finish before Monday at noon. Needless to say I was in no mood. However, the good news? I now have no emotional stake in the Super Bowl game and can enjoy it for the sake of its status as a huge sporting spectacle! It's the small victories people. Remember my new push for positivity? =P

Maybe next year Tom.

Typically, I've become engrossed with yet another sporting league/organization. So what on earth am I supposed to do with my Sundays now? Read?! Pfft. I'm saved by the fact that college ball is heating up in anticipation of March Madness.

My life can be summed up the following way:
Eat. Sleep. Sports. ....Oh yeah, and that pesky thing called school.

And there it was...

An A, in all its beauty. The very last mark to be released and in Property no less. Property is a class that I all but stopped reading for and absolutely hated. But guess what's moved up in my books? ;)

There was a more unpleasant grade on my transcript but that's ok. It was only worth 25% and a great mark considering that I used the wrong burden of proof to answer a question that asked if the prosecution could secure a "committal" and not a "conviction". I guess I learned my lesson though - read carefully!!

Now I just need to get accepted to go on exchange and to get a job...

You think it could never happen to you...

So by now you're probably curious and being the good friends that you are (if you're reading this blog you are) you may be concerned for my safety and well-being. Well, today was the beginning of the release of marks from the first semester.

Everyone tells you that Bs are good in law school and when they say that, you nod politely, thinking in the back of your head that you can and will be the exception - that you will be the one to get that elusive A. Afterall, As are what you've been getting your entire life and you've been in the company of intellectual people before so you can do it once again. Well I'm sad to report that the two courses that have been reported - among my "better" classes - I have 2 B+s. o.O; I'm disappointed but trying to put on a brave face because people do get lower marks and are happy with them. But they're not me. And these are the better ones...it's all downhill from here.

Here's my horoscope for today:

You are coming face to face with challenges that you would rather run away from and you are coping remarkably well. Although it is not yet evident, a process of liberation has been launched that will gather pace with the next new moon.

Liberation...there'd better be an A in my escape route.

Techniques in "How to put a class to sleep" (aka Advanced Dispute Resolution)

So it's January (way to state the obvious, right?) and Ottawa has dedicated this month to one, mandatory class for first years - Advanced Dispute Resolution (ADR). It's 4 hours of mental torture and agony. I feel like I'm back in kindergarten except for the fact that in kindergarten, I was allowed to go to the bathroom. It's seriously no wonder that they take attendance 3 times per class because we'd all bail if they didn't...but maybe they're doing this to make sure that we still have a pulse (in which case, it may not be such a bad idea after all). While I appreciate having the day free after 12:30pm to do as I please, the 8:30am start times are killing me.

I've also found that I'm really good at wasting time. This is a skill that I have almost perfected, but alas it's not exactly something to write home about or put on one's resume. Anyways, as if MSN and Facebook, combined with all the television that I watch already weren't enough, I decided to start watching the one sport that I've never bothered to learn about - football. Guess how I've been spending my weekends lately? That's right, watching football. Yesterday, I looked up at my clock after the Giants-Eagles game and was absolutely horrified by the fact that it read 8pm! Where had my day gone? But don't cry any tears for me. I'm quite enjoying it. I've decided that I quite like Tom Brady and as such, am rooting for the Patriots. We'll see if any of the teams I root for have a shot this year. In the year of the NHL labour dispute (because we can never count on my Leafs to win, they haven't in 40 years) the teams I adopted as my own all won their respective Championships. Last year was a different story, if I liked you, you lost. Hopefully this is not the case this year but we'll see.

Anyways, I think I'm going to work out the ill effects of this morning's class with some television. Hopefully that will wake me up so that I can do it all again tomorrow. Joy [note sarcasm]

What will 2007 bring?

I read my horoscope daily. Just a tip for those of you out there looking for a good one: check out the Toronto Star. It's eery sometimes. I've always wanted to go see a psychic and get my future told. I'm not one for surprises and I've always been the first to say that patience is not a virtue that I possess. That said, I have no idea what the future has in store. I'm just along for the ride and my fingers are crossed that everything works out in the end and that things happen for a reason.

Here's what my horoscope says:

You've been carrying too many responsibilities. It's been a challenging time, clouded by the sense of having to grind away without respite. The promise of much gain has fallen short of expectations. Then again, perhaps those expectations were too high, or perhaps they were the expectations of someone near and dear who's been driving you on like a donkey. Your ideal has been beyond reach. Even so, it has been a most productive time, providing new reserves of strength, tenacity and endurance. Be honest and admit there have been some glorious moments. They will provide the boost to blow away all woes. In 2007, you will make constructive changes to your inner and outer world, and also enjoy a glimpse of the perfect life. Allow your philosophical and reflective nature to blossom. Greater freedom and greater wisdom will reward your efforts. A redress regarding an unjust financial arrangement is in the cards.

Doesn't give me much in terms of direction. But it doesn't sound negative so that's a good thing. Come on guys, let's take a glass half-full perspective here.

So it's a new year. A "blank slate" if you will. Time to be ambitious and bold and declare that I will do this or accomplish that. It's been done before (i.e. every previous year) but what the heck, some things in life we do out of habit and making New Year's resolutions is one of them. With that said, here are mine:

1. Get in shape. (this is there every year, I haven't seen any improvement)
2. Remember to take time out to do the things I enjoy and have fun. Life can't be all about studying.
3. Live for the present and not for the future.
4. Spend more time outside of my room.
5. Spend less time on MSN. (yeah, again, not likely)
6. Don't concern myself with other people's business.
7. Keep up with my readings. (another thing that's not likely to happen)
8. Learn how to cook.
9. Do something entirely new. (I have issues with risk in that I dislike it)
10. Stop dwelling on past regrets and what ifs. (a harder task that you would think)
11. Work on lowering my fear of failure. (this is pretty entrenched fear so I'm seriously doubtful about this one)
12. Go on vacation or indulge myself in some other manner.

I think that's it. I'm sure I'll get a big hearty laugh out of this list this time next year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Note to 2007: You'd better be a good one ;)

2006: The Year in Review

2006 marked a year of change and will go down as one of the more eventful set of 365 days that I have experienced thus far.

Academics have always been at the forefront of my life. Four years ago I was jumping at the chance for something new, to leave high school. And then, when I got to Schulich, there were many times where I wanted to take the express lane and get to graduation. Ironically, somewhere along the way things changed, as they do have a habit of doing in life, and I decided that I wasn't quite done with academia just yet. I quite enjoyed being an overage dependant, having 4 months off for summer holidays and living in a "bubble", sheltered from the realities of the working world and what it really means to be a productive member of society. To make a long story short, I decided to extend my stay in institutional life and signed up for a three year stint at the University of Ottawa in pursuit of a law degree.

As such, 2006 marked the year that I finally moved out of Hotel Mom & Dad and started having to do chores and fend for myself all the while being forced to actually do readings for the first time in my life. Gone were the days where I could function on "logic". It's true what they say, payback's a bitch. It's challenging and ridiculously frustrating at times when judgments seem to make absolutely no sense and they seem to be written in a foreign language, regardless of how much the text resembles the English language. But I think I'm finally getting into the groove of things (hopefully anyways, with the blip so far being the Crim exam which I still can't quite get over). I've got a great bunch of friends in law school (both at UO and elsewhere) that I bond and complain with over case briefs, summaries, case comments and 100% finals. Misery loves company LOL!

In the process of moving on from Schulich and graduating from business school, there are things, and more accurately, people missing in my life. Gone are the days where I get to hang out in the Marketplace and here the numerous and wildly entertainment exploits from the weekend's festivities or garb about the latest in celebrity gossip with my gals. I've been really fortunate in my life to be in the company of and befriend so many tremendous people. Cheers to the 2006 BBA class at Schulich, you guys made the past 4 years one hell of an amazing ride. But hey, it's true what they say about networking so we'll always be just a business rolodex flip away.

2006 wasn't all about school either. Some people go backpacking in Europe while others enjoy the sun and sand (among other things) in tropical destinations like Cuba. Me? I've always liked being different so I made a return trip to the Happiest Place on Earth for my grad trip. I'm happy to report that Mickey and the gang are still in great spirits and the main mouse hasn't aged a bit since the last I saw him! I also got the chance to revisit my favourite academic institution and the place that I would *almost* give a limb to go to (although it might actually cost a limb to go there), Harvard. In case anyone is wondering, I totally realized this year that as nice as it is to go on vacation, there's really no place like home. Toronto, I'm sorry that I took you for granted all these years. This is especially true when you're not on a real "vacation" and you're just away for school. This is especially true if that place is Ottawa, home of those blasted Senators! Oh yeah, I also took in a Leafs-Habs game last month with a glorious 5-1 result!

All in all, 2006 was a great year. But the challenge is out for 2007 to top it!