Reality TV Rant

What is the deal with ex- Survivor contestants appearing on other reality TV shows? Last night, while watching the Academy Awards, I saw an oft-repeated ad for the newest season of The Amazing Race. The ad featured "Boston" Rob and Amber from Survivor. All right, I'll admit that I used to be a Survivor junkie. However, I detoxed two seasons ago after the end of Survivor:All Stars. Anyhow, for anyone that's not familiar with the Survivor series, Rob and Amber hooked up during the All Stars series. They ended up placing first and second and to top it off, Rob proposed to Amber on live TV during the finale. Cold hearted snake (in the eternal words of Paula Abdul - hah!) that I am, I did not find this romantic. It only made me realize just how much these people crave the spotlight... I mean, they'll do anything to attract attention! These 2 subject themselves to 2 seasons of Survivor, they get engaged on live national TV, advertise their wedding plans in People magazine. And now they're appearing in another reality TV show! Which brings me back to my original point...

So Rob and Amber will now be appearing on The Amazing Race. The ad was rather amusing. The voice-over guy says something to the effect of "... featuring Rob and Amber!... and other memorable couples." as in, who cares about the other contestants, we've got Rob and Amber! Between the 2 of them, they have already won over $1 million and a couple of cars, if memory serves me correctly. But don't quote me on that one. What's next?!

As I was flipping through the Montreal Gazette this afternoon, I noticed an ad for an upcoming episode of Fear Factor (the most awful reality TV show ever made, in my humble opinion - I mean, how long can anyone possible enjoy watching people retch on inedible substances they are being forced to ingest?) Anyhow, smiling out at me from that ad was none other than Ethan and Jenna, another famous (although lesser so) couple from Survivor who were also in the All Star series. Here's the kicker: they are BOTH previous Survivor winners. I don't want to sound ungracious, but hopefully Jenna can put on a happy face during this round on TV. Throughout her 2 previous Survivor experiences, she was constantly worried about her dying mother. Understandable, but why go if you're so worried? Anyhow, she actually quit All Stars to be with her mother, who died shortly after. Anyway, now she can get back on reality TV worry free! Wow, that does sound pretty heartless.

I guess it just boggles my mind that these people live their lives hopping from 1 reality TV show to another, and at times, neglecting the important things, such as family. Are these people so starry eyed that they're willing to subject themselves to... whatever, just to get some recognition? And is that how you really want to be remembered? As being filthy, starving and hairy on some island or choking an a pig's uterus? Come on! Well, I'm sure that some Survivor contestants are approached by different networks to be on their shows because they are already familiar to most of North America. I suppose it's an effort to help boost their ratings. Oh my. I suppose eventually we'll have to start recycling all of our reality TV stars and we'll always see the same people appearing over and over again! We'll have a new class of celebrity: Reality TV Stars... they could have their own awards show!

"Your server is not amused"

What an exciting time, it seems like everyone is getting new jobs! First and foremost, Mike was officially hired yesterday by a company where he will be working upon graduation in May. What a concept: Mike as a career man! Anyway, it's really exciting that he's got a great job lined up for the spring, I know it takes a huge load off his back! Also in the new employment field is Aurora, who will start working at the office with me! Since we were so short-staffed at work, my boss asked me if I had any friends looking for work... Aurora was hired four days later! Anyway, I'm also excited to be working with Aurora again!

Speaking of working, I read an interesting article in the Montreal Gazette this morning about what it's like to be a waiter/waitress. One of my favourite things to do on a Saturday morning is to read the paper in my bed! Anyway, for anyone who's ever done waitress work (that means all of my fellow blogger-girls!) you'll see a bit of yourself in this article. It's about time many restaurant patrons realize how just how much a bit of rude or obnoxious behaviour can affect the serving staff. The article quoted several Montreal-area waiters and waitresses:

"Requests for menu substitutions cause many a contretemps between chef and waiter... 'Special requests are a nightmare in the rush.'"

Tell me about it! Come on, people, this is why we have a menu! Here's another one I identified with:

"And I'm always amazed by the people who rush in and say they only have 20 minutes for lunch, but then linger for an hour over dessert."

Oh, these people who think they are clever in pretending they are in a hurry in order to get quicker service... we see right through you! Here's one more. Anybody that worked with me at the BGC should recognize this one:

"The only drawback with regulars is that some treat this place like their personal kitchen, or walk right in without a reservation and sit at their favourite table."

You gotta love it when the diners actually come into the kitchen to make a complaint! Anyway, all in all, a great article. Next time you dine out, please be nice to your waiter!

Quotes taken from the Montreal Gazette, Saturday, February 26 2005. "What your waiter's really thinking". Life section, p. 5.

Adventures in Science

Hi! I'm back!

Mike and I went to the Montreal Science Centre yesterday... what an adventure! It's a fun place, I'd recommend it. Just watch out for all of the annoying school kids. It was difficult to even get into the building. As we fought our way through a crowd of 5-foot-nothing kids, one boy shouted at Mike, "Hey, are you a football player?!". Kinda funny but also kinda dumb.

Why are so many children so badly behaved? We went to see 'Forces of Nature' at the IMAX theatre (cool movie if you're into volcanoes, earthquakes and tornados) and the place was packed with kids. Naturally, some kid had to yell into a microphone as he walked into the theatre. Throughout the movie we were periodically pelted with M&M's. I got hit right in the neck. Those things sting! After the movie we visited some of the exhibits. In about 3 hours we managed to solve a murder, learn to fly, make delta flyers (and fly them across the exhibition hall), walk a tightrope and make lots of digital babies (much to the amusement of the staffer working in the 'Geee in Genome' exhibit)! Anyhow, it was good fun and a learning experience! However, it would have been nice to have a little extra time, I felt a little rushed and we didn't get to visit all of the exhibits. Oh well, it was worth it!

Time Well Spent... But Not Really

Okay, I figure it's been a while since I wrote anything here. It's been... what, three days? Well, it feels like a long time! But that's what happens when you're on spring break. Yup, spring break in February. Or should I say, 'Reading Week' in February? While some people go to Cuba (you know who you are!) and others go skiing, I will sit here and do what I'm actually supposed to do: catch up on my reading for school. Oh wait, scratch that. I intend to catch up on my reading. That's more like it! Whether or not it actually gets done is a whole other story!

Three days into my break I've watched several movies, had some drinkies, played some sockey... yes, I do mean 'sockey'. With an 's'.

Hmm, spring break isn't very conducive to the blog writer. How boring! I'm going to have to start rustling up some adventures...

Point of No Return

I've just sent in my application for graduate studies... everyone, cross your fingers!

Aww, Stop Complaining! Everything's Fine!

As of Monday, my coworker at the office started a new job. She left rather suddenly, having been requested to start at her new job right away. Although this left us with very little warning, I can't say that I blame her for leaving. I mean, I wouldn't turn down a job that's in my field either. Also, she's been looking for another job for a while. And while I am very happy for her, I can't help be feel a little selfish about it either. Boo, she left me! And there's no one at reception during the day anymore, so all of the work piles up and I have to take care of it the two days a week that I'm there! Well, there's also someone there on Fridays, so that's alright. Anyway, her absence was apparent the first day... when I arrived at the office, everyone seemed extra frazzled and there was lots of work for me to do! It was actually a pleasant change, seeing as I spend most of my evenings there reading a book or surfing the net. I also figured that what with losing one person, I would get requests to work extra hours. Sure enough, I was asked to take on any extra day shifts that I could. I've volunteered an extra two days for after the spring break but I can't be expected to do this all the time: I've got to concentrate on school!

Anyhow, I hope they hire someone soon. The nice thing about this situation is that perhaps I'll get a chance at better hours, seeing as I will no longer be the newest person there! Yeah! And if I end up staying there for the summer, maybe I won't have to work all of the evening shifts. That'd be nice...

Anyway, I wish my old coworker the best of luck in her new job!

Birthday Party

Today is my dad's birthday!
I got him a wallet and I put a photo of myself in it sticking my tongue out. I'm such a funny girl! Anyway, he liked it!

*Happy birthday, Daddy!*

HEARTY!

Yes indeed, happy Valentine's Day! Who decided to schedule Valentine's Day in the middle of midterms, anyway? Heh heh, what a romanticist I am! Seriously though, I felt somewhat badly a few days ago because what with midterms and trying to finalize my application for graduate studies, I hadn't had the time to come up with something really nice for Mike for Valentine's Day. My guy who, I sincerely belive, deserves everything because he's so good to me! Additionally, here we are on February 14th and I am stuck in the office until 9:00 pm! And Mike is in class until 9:00 pm as well. However, we still managed to get in some celebratory time by going out for lunch, which was very nice. As for something nice for him, I got something I knew he would enjoy: I'm going to take him to the Montreal Science Centre. My treat! I mean, what guy wants a teddy bear for Valentine's Day, really? Maybe some do, but I know mine doesn't! I don't like caving in and giving boxes of chocolate either... I find it so impersonal! Just like every other holiday, Valentine's Day is incredibly commercialized and I think it's nice to make that special effort to do something special and original for the one you love. I'd much rather put my own feelings down on paper than purchase some that were already fabricated by the Hallmark people.

And that's my spiel about Heart's Day!

So I got my first credit card bill in the mail today since my card was stolen. They were nice enough to show me where my card was used while out of my possession. Some degenerate went and spent about $730 at four different Videotron stores around Montreal. Can you believe that?! I bet you it's all pornography, too! Happy Valentine's Day, indeed...

* Happy HEARTY Day, to my 'Nicest Guy'!... I know you're reading! I love you! *

Trust No One (Except for Those You Can Trust)

I just got a strange phone call... I'll share it with you!
So the phone rings and this woman is on the line. She says she's calling from Fido. Apparently, I've been selected to win a new phone. I'm thinking 'cool!'... up until the woman asks me for my name. My first thought was, 'If she's calling from Fido, why does she need my name?'. Seeing as I currently have a contract with Fido, one would think that my name would be in their database. Anyhow, I give the woman a chance and give her my name. I give her my address as well. Then she asks for a credit card number. For a credit check. This is when the little alarm bells start going off in my head. The woman notices my hesitation. She says; "If you don't have a credit card, I can take your social insurance number." That was when I laughed at her. Was she kidding?! Why would I ever give my social insurance number to a complete stranger over the phone?! Anyway, I asked her how this new phone would work with my current contract with Fido. This is when she got confused because she wasn't aware that I already had a cell phone. "Sorry," she says, "There's nothing I can do." With that, the phone call ends.

I feel somewhat badly because I was a bit short with the woman. I don't know if I was being overly suspicious, yet the whole thing did not seem completely legitimate. I know that at this point, I am definitely mistrustful, having already been the victim of fraud this month. My credit cards were stolen from me and now that I've finally got all that back in order (numerous phone calls to both Visa and Mastercard and the Montreal Police, a nice little trip to the local police station to file a report), I don't feel like having to deal with all of that again! Excuse me if I'm a little over-protective of my personal belongings!

On a brighter note, I recommend you go and visit Steph's blog. She's begun recording the adventures of Norm, the Domino's Pizza delivery guy. You can see Norm featured in Dominos' new advertising campaign. If you're in need of a good laugh at the expense of someone else, go check it out! The link is on the right side of the page!

I Propose Outlawing the Ingestion of McDonalds Food on City Buses

I was exceptionally lazy today, I woke up at noon. And I'm usually a fairly early riser. When I woke up and looked at the clock, I immediately felt guilty. As to why, I can't explain it! Anyway, my first task of the day was to come to my computer and do the blog thing. I was so happy to find some comments from people! It seems that blogging has become somewhat of a fad: I originally got the idea from Aurora. Subsequently, both Kim and Steph decided to create blogs as well. Notice I added in a Links area, so anyone can can go and visit them as well; they're just a click away!

Yesterday was COLD. It was blowing snow all day... And it had been so nice earlier in the week! Thursdays are bad enough already! I worked from 8:30 to 3:30, hopped on a shuttle bus to the other campus to get to my 4:15 class and then shuttled it back to the downtown campus for another class at 6:00. That one ends at 8:00. It makes for a long day (when I finally made it back to the West Island, I fell asleep watching 'Napoleon Dynamite' - don't tell Kim!). It also makes for a really long stretch of time where I have no time to eat beacuse I'm always travelling back and forth trying to get to class on time! And so, last night at 8:30, I found myself exhausted and starving standing in an overpacked city bus with a woman eating McDonalds french fries sitting right below me. Have you ever noticed the smell of McDonalds food? Everything smells the same and it's so easily identifiable. And so potent! Anyhow, as someone who tries to never eat McDonalds food (triple bypass and the runs waiting to happen), I could have grabbed those french fries right out of that woman's clutches and inhaled them all! In any case, do people realize how much the smell of food can affect people in small enclosed spaces such as a bus? I've seen people bring McDonalds food onto the metro before and when they get on, you can actually see people's heads swivel in the direction of the food. It's not fair! We're starving! And we have to smell your greasy-heart-attack-in-a-box-but-oh-so-delicious McDonalds of a breakfast. And thus, everyone begins to salivate.

Hmm, it's just occured to me how hungry I am. Time for lunch!

In with the Rooster

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!!

We are now in the year of the Rooster... hey, that's exciting, that's my year! They say that people born in the year of the Rooster tend to be prideful. Am I prideful? Hmm, does advertising my personal life over the internet make me prideful?... Maybe! But it's nice to know that my life is characterized by one of the seven deadly sins... I think I'd rather be a Monkey!

Moving on: I saw a girl on the city bus last night, she had a broken nose. It reminded me of my cousin. You see, about 2 weeks ago, his car beat him up. He was tooling down the highway when the airbags in his car suddenly deployed for no reason... how does that happen?!?! Anyway, the force from the airbags cracked his windshield and bashed his nose. He was actually very lucky that he didn't get into an accident... or was he? Apparently, it is very expensive to get airbags replaced. Not only do they have to have the sir sucked out of them, they must be reinstalled and the dashboard must be replaced. And in my cousin's case, the windshield as well (get this: right after this happened, a cop pulled him over and gave him a warning to get his windshield replaced). Anyhow, his insurance will not cover the costs of the repairs: he did not get into an accident! I believe that my poor cousin is considering pressing charges. However, I am told that big car companies are bound to have big time lawyers and that they are not prone to settling. Apparently, if this issue is pursued, my cousin will most likely end up in court.

But what do I know? I know nothing about law!

A few Southpaws

Today I had a Biology midterm (I think it went quite well, thanks). In the middle of the exam, the prof. wrote on the blackboard; "There are three lefties in this class." This comment amused me to no end! I mean, I'm the type to notice weird things like that all the time, but I never announce them! Especially to a group of roughly 120 people I barely know! Anyway, I thought it was cute...

Told my boyfriend today about my brand spanking new blog... he was a little concerned, I think. He knows I've been pestered before from weirdos surfing the internet. I've gotten the annonymous e-mails, the dirty phone calls... And yet here I am, broadcasting myself over the internet, once again! Agreed, I can be kind of impulsive at times, so that's why it's good that I've got a great guy looking out for me!

I Found It!

I found the address for my old website, as promised...

http://www.angelfire.com/oz/nancy/index.html

I occasionally try to update it, but this format is much simpler than html!

It's Only the Beginning

I'll say it right off the bat... I'm a copycat. And I'm not ashamed! I received an e-mail today from a friend who said she was starting a blog. Naturally, I decided to check it out, and was immediately inspired! So I decided to start a blog for myself. Doesn't seem too difficult, and I've made a bit of a foray into the world of cyberspace with my archaic little website that I created in 2003. Don't recall the address right now, but I can post it later on if and when I find it. Anyway, so here I am and that's GOOD because... I like to talk about myself (who doesn't?) and I find the feel of clicking keys on the keyboard under my fingertips oh so satisfying!

So let me start off this blog-thing with a bang... I'm a psychic! Actually, I'm just as much a psychic as I am a butcher. So I guess I could say I experienced one hell of a coincidence today! I woke up this morning, very early and therefore fell back into a light, dozy kind of sleep. The kind of sleep where you have really vivid dreams. I dreamt that I was at Ashton Kutcher's birthday party (let me explain right here that I am no great fan of Ashton Kutcher's and I rarely watch 'That 70's Show'. Good show, but I don't watch it religiously). Anyhow, apparently Mr. Kutcher was a friend of a friend and I was invited to this restaurant for his birthday lunch where we ate fried snake (inconsequential detail, but interesting nevertheless). I never spoke to Ashton, but he was there having a great old time. The dream goes on from there, but that's the essential part. When I woke up, I could not for the life of me figure out why I had been dreaming about Ashton Kutcher. Anyhow, later on in the afternoon, while packing up my school stuff, a magazine fell out of my bag. It was one of those free magazines you can get at any movie theatre. I had forgotten I had it; I got it at the Paramount last week when I went to see 'White Noise'. Anyhow, I hadn't looked at it yet and decided to read it right then and there. Toward the end was the horoscope page and the bottom featured celebrity birthdays. Out of curiosity, I looked to see who was clebrating a birthday today, February 7th. Indeed, today is Ashton Kutcher's birthday.

I'll leave you with that thought while I go and microwave myself some dinner.

Hey, this blog stuff is fun!