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music_and_coffee
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Name: Mappy
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Birthday: 1/14/1983
Gender: Female
Interests: coffee, live concerts, music: trip-hop, swing, classical, jazz, alternative, down-tempo,goth, electronic, good old rock, etc. literature, cultural anthropology, photography,mythology, philosophy, cartoons, coloring books, religious studies, sociology,gender & feminist ideologies, music history, my happy neapolitan ice cream chucks, my happy no staples stapler, etc., randomly surfing onto others' xanga blogs
Expertise: conversationally and socially challenged,simple photography, ritually shoot coffee, missing lectures, insomnia, constantly getting sick--hence popping meds like there's no tomrrow T_T
Occupation: Student
Message: message me
AIM:  ask
MSN: ask
ICQ:  ask
Member Since:
2/18/2003
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| As many years I've spent here, I HAVE been away for quite sometime. I think I will still pop in here and there, but I have officially started & am relocating my blog :) If you would like to continue to know my happenings....
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| Yes, ESL Barrier, but also a complete Blur
Recently, I've been wrecking my mind trying to find books that I've read when I was a kid. Most of these consist of nothing but a blur--something about a clock ticking, some hunter and a grizzly bear, to a hunter boy with 2 hounds who met a horribly depressing fate, or some girl with an old watch and some time traveling thing, or a boy with a dog called Mitch looking into the pie baking in the oven. Either way, as anyone would've guessed, it'd be completely unsuccessful doing an Amazon search on it and discover a the title.
In some more fortunate cases
there are quite a few token books/series that kids nowadays are still reading!
  
Yes, yes, it's Robert Munsch !! Yes I STILL get stoked reading his books  I treated it as a gift from heaven when Mom brought home some of these. I kid you not... I was seriously fighting my mom for the books . Tsk tsk...
My Little Golden Books pile... yes for a good while my shelf was composed of all gold/black bindings!!
  
  
I swear the Christmas one I had something similar... and it was a scratch and sniff thing going on! I remember in Hong Kong I long for smelling the peppermint, cinnamon, nutmeg, gingerbread, and cranberries during Christmas. The wrong thing was that I got to smell all that in a scratch and sniff book before moving to North America. Go figure, I'm a deprived child  Now people are wondering why I'm so into the ginger spice and peppermint things... well now you know.
Ok.. maybe Hong Kong is an international enough city,
that I end up with a series of books called Grug.
Yes, GRUG, not Greg, not Grudge, not George, but GRUG.
Although I had quite the collection from this series and enjoyed seeing Grug dropping from a tree, growing limbs, Grug reading Grug, celebrating its birthday and spending time with a big red apple, 'til now... I have no clue what a Grug is. Either way, as you could tell.. I've spent way too much time with that. Speaking of weird Critters 
I'm ordering Wrinkle In Time quintet set --my initial exposure to wicked science fiction
Not to mention the initial reading of Many Waters had me opening a can of worms in terms of theology. Flood? Sons of Man? Spiritual beings having kids with human women? Noah and animals going on the ark 2-by-2 ain't cutting it anymore.
Ramona Forever!
Ah! Here's one of the series that I was particularly fond of as a kid.
 
Who can forget Ramona Quimby, her sister Beezus (Beatrice) and a doll called Chevrolet?
Mrs. Peters, silly Molly, Snobby Rachael...
   
Scouts are helpers, scouts have fun
Pee Wee, Pee Wee Scouts
We sing and play when work is done
Pee Wee, Pee Wee Scouts 
Hmmm now I need to get the whole set since my mom has given these away when I moved from Hong Kong.
Last but not least, who can forget Wayside School?
  
Ok here I go... maybe another box set when I get rich! No wonder I have no resources for Harry Potter, Series of Unfortunate Events, etc.
On that note, I should get back to my readings with no pictures 
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| Esthero!!!Heard her when I was way back in highschool, loved her voice and was madly scouting for her CD. My friend ended up getting her debut cd for my birthday when she finally had her debut cd out. Gods know how many years later now when I can actually go to shows... SHE IS FINALLY COMING TO TOWN!!!
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| In response to my last post,
there's been some good things in life that I've neglected. Mainly, the appreciation of simple things like chilling with roommate after work. I guess whenever I get immersed into the whole "growing/life" responsibilities, I always forget what it's like to chill out with a bunch of people and have a good laugh. Good call roomie, for staying home in a cozy setting instead of rushing in/out running about in town. Although I was dead by the end of the night, I felt so much more relaxed after laughing our asses off about anything and everything:
- Revolutionary chocolate cups coating chocolate cups.. with marshmallow separators for instant melting chocolate goodness
- People's thing for OLD(ER) men
- Pumpkin carving night & collective smashing-pumpkins activities in the streets
 Relation between one night stand knocked up, child support, and money launder
Liberty & Responsibility 2: Canadian Election
Speaking of which, the Canadian Elections are coming up. All I can say is that the more I read/hear about what's going on from the media, the more frustrated I become. It's not exactly the matter of who to vote for, or who "wins THE election" so to speak, but it's the method of how citizens (especially youths) seem to be rather unprepared, ill informed, and disinterested in Canadian politics. True, it's not fair to say that everyone hold the same attitude. On the other hand, I've been increasingly frustrated that 1) Young Canadian Citizens (especially immigrants) don't see the need to vote and 2) general mass seem to have a lack of understanding of what a Democratic government means.
Freedom & Responsibility to Vote
Certainly in this day and age, one wouldn't be caught in a situation where they'd have to vote at gunpoint. However, my rant for now is how a handful of young Canadians especially immigrants seem to take Canadian politics (or any politics for that matter) as a grain of salt.
First off, if one is to vote, DO NOT JUST CHECK OFF WHOEVER YOUR PARENTS TELL YOU TO VOTE FOR!!! What the hell, the family themselves are being manipulative...I'm beginning to think if that's a crime. Even people in their twenties, I hear that they say "Mom and Dad reminded me that I should vote for X". Please, PLEASE do your research before doing that.
Second: Immigrants & Immigration
One is now considered a full Canadian citizen, and it's only in the recent decades that immigrants have the rights to vote. Please, don't say "Now that I have the freedom to participate in Canadian politics, I choose NOT TO". One is now living in a country as their own home, please be more aware of the surroundings, learn about their culture, and participate in the well being of the nation.
Third: Education System
When's the last time that the Canadian public school system taught a fuller portrayal of what's exactly gone on in our nation's history? Let alone bridging political ideologies, history, and Canadian social issues into "Current Events"? No more "I vote for the MJ party SOLELY because they would legalize pot".
An Ill-Informed Democracy: Is Majority Government THE way?
Functioning in a so-called democratic nation, it appears as if though the individualistic mindset has permeated way too deep into people's head. As I've previously mentioned, democracy is not about "who wins". It's not sports team for fuck's sake..."My team winning" does not necessarily contribute to satisfying the nation's need. Democratic government allows a distribution of various parties to voice out for diverse groups of citizens. To disagree with certain views does not necessarily mean that your fellow citizens do not deserve to be heard!
In an overly simplified manner, "Is a majority government the only way to go?" Perhaps it's just me, but it seems like so many people are concerned with voting for "the winner" that we've forgotten about oppositions and seats distribution. Well, back to midterm studies. Perhaps it'll give me a few days to think of what's the pros and cons/people's obsession with a majority government.
Essentially, it boils down to if democracy is doing its job among an individualistic, megalomaniacal society that's obsessed with Winner vs. Loser. Go Canadians, politics is just like hockey right?
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| First off: I haven't forgotten about xanga! In fact, it's been less than a year since my last post.
Loosen Up
Either way... I've successfully hit the wall on my assignment, so I feel the urge to carelessly blab about something in order to (do I dare to say) "polish" up my rusty writing skills. Sometimes after rotting for a duration of time, you'd get this miraculous awakening that your current lifestyle is completely "useless" so to speak. Well, perhaps not 100% to the ashtray useless... but unproductive nonetheless.
Then comes fall. These days I've been working my ass off once again: Night school, and p/t day job. After a few semesters of just schooling or just working, schedules like this seems a little difficult for me. It's difficult not because of the tasks themselves, but more on my fluctuating energy level and the ability to focus. It appears as if though I've lost the art of multitasking and that I'm burning the remaining youthful energy down to the rocks.
In one word: DAMMIT!!
Liberty
Because of the "dammit" thought, I think of liberty--not the WOOT WOOT patriotic liberty, but the amount of freedom that one has depending on their age, resources, and stages in life. When I talk to some peers, it makes me a little envious of their lives that they have the time and freedom to still do essentially whatever they want, whenever they want. It seems as if though some of them have less financial and personal responsibilities than well.. my own life. Let me just put this out in the open and be a child: It sucks to be a late bloomer--to have to be broke, to work, go to school, pay rent, and live in a bloody basement. I begin to miss the liberty of going back home after a long day and have a warm, homecooked meal at the table. Not only that, but I miss being able to focus on my studies and taking all kinds of crazy lessons without worrying that much about my bills and expenses.
Perhaps in a sense, I'm just frustrated that I'm lagging behind--not fully independent: Graduated, have a full-time job/career and stable income. At the same time, refuse to live off of my parents' generosity. Some people actually ask me to "move back home " as an easier solution, but it's just not right.
In this case, I guess I'll just live through this, and in due time... liberty takes on a whole new meaning though expanding my capacity. Hopefully in the near future, I'd know what it entails. After all, I should be thankful that I've had such luxury and appreciate my parents' generosity when I was younger. Guess it's all about the growing process :)
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