Music

I couldn't think of anything to write about, so I decided to write about the first that came to my head. And that first thing happened to be music, simply because I'm listening to a movie soundtrack right now.

Despite all the complaining people in positions of authority are doing over iPods in classes, most people like music. I mean, who doesn't? I'm sure there's at least some kind of music style that speaks to you, whether you're a die-hard Greenday fan or one of those people who only listens to music while riding in someone else's car. The thing is, there's a time for everything. That's what people that are constantly plugged into their iPod, whether they are in class, at the dinner table or at teh doctor's office, fail to understand. And this is just personal opinion, of course, but I believe that it is impossible to fully enjoy your music, if you're listening to it 24/7.

I've never been crazy about music as a child. I listened to it in the car, of course, but I never collected CDs or went crazy over boy bands. It was only in grade eight, when I got my first iPod for Christmas, that my passion for music started developping. And now... My taste in music is a bit ecclectic. I like the top 40, country, rap, broadway/theatre songs, soul, jazz... I can find something I like in every genre of music, though the reverse is also true- there's a lot of songs that do not speak to me at all. So really it's not about the gerne of the music, it's about the type of song, the beat of it, the lyrics...

What is it that draws me to one song and not to another one? That I do not know. Why do we like some things and do not like other things? That is one of the mysteries of the human brain, one that the scientists were unable to crack just yet.

En français!

Brief heads up: Someone suggested that I write a few of my blog posts in French, so that's what I'm going to do now. If you want to read this, learn French. Or hire a translator. ;) Et maintenant, en français....

Bonjour! Je vais écrire cette entrée de blog en français, pour ceux de vous qui sont francophones. Pour commencer, je m'excuse pour ce qui concerne mes fautes d'orthographe- le français, ce n'est pas ma langue maternelle. Oui, ça fait assez longtemps que je l'apprends, mais malgré tout ça j'habite quand même en Colombie-Britannique. En dehors de l'école, il n'existe pas beaucoup d'occasions pour pratiquer cette langue.

Je commencerai par vous racontant un peu de moi. Je m'appelle Veronika Bondarenko. J'ai dix-sept ans et je suis en douzième année à l'école secondaire Hugh McRoberts. C'est une école bilingue, qui offre un programme qui s'appelle l'Immersion française. J'habite à Richmond, une banlieue de Vancouver. J'aime bien Richmond, mais j'espère d'allez voyager ou vivre quelque pars d'autre lorsque je commencerai mes études secondaires. J'espère d'entrer dans une programme d'arts a UBC et plus tard, lorsque j'aurais eu la chance de terminer quelques semestres a UBC, d'aller faire un semestre en Europe ou a New York. Quant à futur, je veux être journaliste. Ce métier combine les deux choses que j'aime faire le plus- voyager et écrire. C'est la raison pourquoi j'ai voulu être un journaliste-étudiant pour les Jeux Olympiques de 2010, pourquoi j'écris ce blog. L'écriture, c'est ma passion.

Maintenant, parlons-en des Jeux Olympiques. C'est assez incroyable qu'ils s'approchent aussi rapidement. Je me rappelle du jour ou ils ont annoncé qu'ils auront les Jeux de 2010 à Vancouver. J'étais en école élémentaire et l'an 2010 semblait d'être quelque chose de très lointain… Et voila, c'est déjà 2010. Les Jeux de 2010 sont presque la. Suivez mon blog pendant que je couvre les Jeux Olympiques et Paralympiques de 2010, en anglais et en français.

Veronika B.

Hey there...

OK, I know that I haven't written in a while. And that is unexcusable. But, I am going to try to update more often. So... Updates.

They put up Canadian flags all over my school and all over the nearby community centre where I eat my lunch on a daily basis, in spirit of the Olympic Games.

Sort of like this, except more flags, all in the school foyer:


And that is all good and well, of course, because I am personally excited for the Games. The problem is, what if someone is against the Olympic Games? How would they feel, seeing these babies everywhere? Not to mention that, patriotic as they may be, huge flags in a tight hallway is kind of... tacky. And what happened to the whole "Go World" idea? Or are we only cheering for Canadian athletes now?

Hockey Mania

First off, let me start off by thanking the weather gods for all the sunshine. I was starting to forget what it looked like. It's amazing what good weather can do to lift your spirits. Doctors and anti-depressant prescribers should not underestimate the power of the sun. After such a gloomy week (school, lack of sleep, cleaning, rain) a few days ofsun was just what the doctor ordered. Not to mention that we started to take down our Christmas tree today- another sad affair. I don't know, I guess it's hard coming to terms with the fact that the holidays are actually over... But what can you do? Not stay in the past, but look ahead, I guess.

So. Today's the Canucks vs. Penguins game. The long awaited one that I really wish I had tickets to. I've only been to one hockey game in my life (the Capitals vs. Canucks one in December) and I would love to go to more. Then again, hockey's a new passion. I used to find it boring, up until I discovered hockey players. ;) O'Brien. Crosby. Ovechkin. Linden and Naslund, when they still played. And on it goes.

Back to this game, however, I don't even know who I'm rooting for. I'm torn between my undying love for Sid the Kid and my patriotic pride that doesn't allow me to cheer for anyone but Vancouver. The ultimate solution would be if both Sidney Crosby and Ovie came to play for the Canucks next year. Hah. Like that would EVER happen. Besides, the whole thing that draws people to Crosby and Ovechkin is that they're rivals. Like Lemieux and Gretzky. Bird and Johnson. Great players that cannot share the glory. Sports just isn't the same without them.



Cutie and Hottie.

Anyways, even if I will not be able to get into GM place without getting into some serious trouble with the police, I will be in the city on account of some people that I need to visit, so I'll probably experience the craziness before and after the game first hand. It's going to be an exciting night for sports, Canada. We'll see how it all goes. Which team's your money on?


P.S. Which sounds better Veronika Crosby or Veronika Ovechkina?

Back...

Hey... As you may or may not have noticed, I haven't written for a couple of days. Well, I spent the weekend in Kelowna for a school ski trip and I spent the next couple of days recovering from the trip. I won't go into details, except to say that I came back very, very tired. Got about a combined 8 hours of sleep in those two days. And as I mentioned earlier, I am someone that needs her sleep. But now that a sense of normality has come back to my life, I'm going to start blogging again. Regularly!

Today hasn't been that exciting because all I did was go to school, take pictures of the McRoberts Wood Club for the yearbook, hang out with a friend, go for a run and, ahem, clean my room a little bit. I'll also be going to dance in about an hour. Everyday stuff. Nothing to write an entry about. So I guess that I'll have to write about something other than my day (shock!).

I was recently told that people love to read lists. And I love to write lists. So.. I'll write a list of things that I don't like. Because it seems that the list just keeps on growing, apparently.

My List of Things that I Do Not Like, Of Sorts:

-people looking over my shoulder when I write, text, type or anything else like that
-when the thread in a sewing machine runs out halfway through a seam
-when people wear pyjama pants in public on any day that isn't PJ Day
-mixed messages
-when my locker won't open, even though I have the right combination
-stnading at the register, trying to find that nickel, while there is a long line behind me
-wimps and people that are so afraid of failure that they don't even try
-people being unable to pronounce my last name
-meaning to do one thing and ending up getting distracted with something totally different
-when you shake a Ketchup bottle and red water comes out
-wanting to volunteer for something, but being afraid to raise your hand because no one else is
-scientific movies that aren't Bill Nye
-when teachers take forever and a day to mark a really simple assignment
-late fees from Rogers and the library
-being the last one to understand a joke
-long lines
-cooking by myself
-when people whisper and/or talk in a foreign language around you
-coming to a pool twenty minutes before closing time
-five people all sitting in a room together, each playing games on their own device
-mocha (what a waste of hot chocolate)
-not being hungry, but helping yourself to the shrimp balls anyways

To Be Continued, because I'm drawing a blank right now. But there is definitely more to come!

Study... Again.

So, I am in my other study. After some schedhule adjustements at the beginning of the year, I ended up with two free blocks in one day and none in the other. It's not like I really mind because it's right what they say about school- grades nine and eleven are the hardest. Last year math and biology were the classes that gave me grief. This year, I don't have a problem with any of my classes. :) Still, if I had a car, I would definitely be getting up later and coming home earlier. But first I have to get my licence, which is a problem in itself. It's not that I can't drive, it's that concentrating and learning how to, say, back in, takes longer for me than for the average Joe. But anything can be achieved and I will get my licence. I mean, I am making progress.

In grade eight, I assumed that I'd just get my licence on my sixteenth birthday and drive everywhere ever since, like they do on T.V. But, in case anyone needs to hear this one more time, life isn't T.V. Learning all the driving techniques isn't easy. Actually one driver instructor told me I was a little close to ADD. Um, thanks? I'm not offended, though. It's not like this is anything I didn't know. I've always been hyper. I've always ran around, doing everything at once, not concentrating on anything in particular. I drove everyone around me crazy, as a child, asking a new question every ten seconds. Actually, I think I still do that. I just never thought someone would actually consider this to be a disorder. It's just the way some people are. And doctors are actually prescribing things like Ritalin. Kids are actually getting medicine for being... kids. If you ask me, something is a little wrong here. Apparently, some doctors think kids on drugs is better than hyper kids. But, hey, what do I know?



Cartoon, which I didn't draw, in case anyone is wondering. I just thought that it was funny.

School Started

I am at school right now, even though I am not in class. I have a spare first block, so I am in the library. I don't even know why I came to school today, because I feel really, really sick. Maybe it's the waking up at seven a.m. part that didn't sit well with me. Or maybe all the junk food I ate during the holidays finally caught up with me. One way or another, though, I really wish I had stayed home from school and just went to my Students Live meeting in Vancouver at one.

What should I write about? Um, school? Yeah, until you graduate, it's pretty much your whole life, isn't it? Only recently did I realize how true that was, when I talked to a friend who was home from the holidays over the break. He asked me what I had been up to for the past three months and I had pretty much nothing to tell him. "Um, school? School and dance?" That's sad. Let's pray that things get more exciting than this.

Love, Ronnie

January 2nd

School starts in... like 35 hours? Very scary thought. It's not that I don't like school. It's that... there are things better than school.

What did I do today? I had to go on an emergency trip to the mall, to buy a bellybutton ring. After being poked in the stomach by someone as a joke, the little screwey ball that keeps the ring closed fell off. I only noticed a few hours later, so I had to take the barbell out. And if I had kept it out long enough, the piercing would have closed up. Hence the emergeny trip to the mall. The ring I really liked cost fifty bucks, so I settled for a less pretty one from Claire's, costing eight dollars.

Also today, I saw "Nine" at the movies. Since today is the last Saturday before school starts again, the SilverCity was PACKED. The line to buy tickets stretched out outside. I couldn't even use my "free regular popcorn" coupon, because we were already late to see the movie since it took so long to buy tickets and the line to buy refreshments moved painfully slowly. The movie itself was... okay. I expected much, much more. The music was good (I'm listening to My Husband Makes Movies on YouTube right now), the costumes were good, the cast was amazing (Penelope Cruz, Sophia Loren, Marion Cotillard). The story was something that I would normally like. And yet... something wasn't right. Maybe the plot wasn't directed well. Maybe they didn't act it out properly. It just didn't flow like good movies flow. One thing I liked, though, was the way they ended it. Guido Cantini, the infamous director, says "Action!" and the screen goes black. Intruiging...

The uncanny thing happened later. After the credits, they turn the lights on and guess who I see sitting in the same row as we are, about two people away from me? My best friend with two of her friends! I guess we never saw eachother because we came in late, after the lights were turned off, and they were there early. Considering, that neither of us go to the movies that often, what are the chances of something like this happening? Not big. Then again, extraordinary things happen all the time. You just have to keep your eyes open.

And then, as we were leaving the theatre, we saw people lined up to get good seats at a movie called... Three Idiots. I mean, am I the only one who sees the irony here? People waiting to get good seats to see a movie about three idiots? Hahaha.

Anywho, that's all for today. It's almost twelve and I'm going to bed.

First Day of 2010

Happy 2010! So... it's the first day of 2010. January 1st. First day of a new decade too. The '10s. See, when I hear '10s, I think of the 1910's, like of WWI. 2010's sound so futuristic. Aah! Time's going by so fast! But I'll grasp onto the idea of the 2010's soon enough. Probably somewhere around 2019.

Now that the 00's are over, I'm wondering what they will be known form, fashion-wise. Like the 80's are known for neon and the 90's are known for the whole "anti-fashion" thing. Jeans probably. Jeans were huge in the 2000's.

I spent yesterday (or technically early today) celebrating. I didn't come home until around 5 a.m, so I feel and look pretty dead. But I can always catch up on sleep, if you know what I mean. When I'm old, I'll never regret not sleeping enough.

-When the night was still young. I'm on the left, the blurriest one, in the sparkly silver dress.

New Year's Resolutions! Last year, I made a whole list of them. Be nicer to people, eat less fast food... And looking back, I feel like I didn't accomplish all that much. So this year, it'll be simpler. My New Year's Resolution is this- be happy. That's all. Just feel happy, make memories, worry less, live more. If I can accomplish that, I won't need anything else.

Cheers. Sorry this update was so crappy, but like I said, I'm not exactly feeling my best right now. Tomorrow, I'll try and write something profound.

I'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Year one more time! May your year be filled with good things.