ok. so its been a while. bucket list!!

Ive decided to begin putting together a bit of a list of things to do at nipissingu before u graduate.

these are something ive done, some im glad i did, some not so much.. some i wish i did..

1. spray paint your name on the rocks
2. play an intramural sport
3. hike to the falls
4. swim in trout lake
5. take a guy to fanny'f for his bday (the punishment is much worse for guys then girls, yes i did spend my 19th bday at fannys!)
6. play winter classics
7. go on spring break!!!
8. get drunk at the wall, in the afternoon
9. while you're there, order le grand formage
10. get involved in a group or club
11. take the "suicide" trail, barefoot
12. get kicked out of the wall, before midnight
13. ok my class is over, ill finish this later!

you'll never be alone again

So this might be a bit personal but after the week I have had I need to vent a bit.
sit back and relax, because this is my life...

My best friend was admitted to hospital early in novemeber and treated for pnemonia. While most people dont get hospitalized for pnemonia her health situation was less than normal.

Kate (my friend) was diagnosed with cancer when she was 16. She had undergone 6 major surgeries in the last 6 years and was left with only half of her right lung and 2/3rds of her left.

So needless to say the pnemonia was taken pretty seriously. I had called her a number of times during her stay in the hospital and she let me know that she would be sent home on November 17 provided everything went well.

I got a phone call on Sunday (nov 16th) from my mom, about 9pm. she was frantic and crying. She had just recieved a call from Kate's mom, that i should come home from north bay because Kate wasnt expected to make it through the night. Needless to say I was shocked. Just a day earlier I had recieved a text from Kate saying " Im going home Monday. Yeehaw!!" Of course I rushed home without question and went straight to the hospital to see her. (this didnt go over well considering it was 3am and patients arent permitted visitors after 8pm)

What I found out next was possibly more shocking then the phone call i had recieved... Kate had gone back to toronto to meet with her doctors early in September and they told her the news she had been dreading for 6 years. The cancer had become so aggressive that it had completely taken over her lungs and there was no further treatment that could be done. Kate attended this appointment alone and made the decision not to tell anyone. not her mom, her sister, and not her best friend. I respect her decision, I know she was the strongest girl I had ever met. throughout her entire battle with cancer I never saw her feel sorry for herself, she never wanted sympathy. The part that really bothers me is that for 2 and a half months she lived out the rest of her life with the burden of knowing her time was limited. What gets me the most is that when I was home for readingweek in the fall, i never saw her. She had just gone back to work after she recovered from her hip replacement that she had last spring (the cancer first attacked her left knee, then her lungs, then her right hip... and had ultimately become aggressive in the lung) I spent my week during placement and homework and then spent a few days in toronto. Before I knew it my week home was over and I had barely seen anyone, and not my best friend.

I ended up getting to talk to kate when I first arrived home on that sunday night. It was difficult to understand her because her lungs were soo full of fluid but it wasnt one of those movie goodbyes. We just said hi. how are you, the normal stuff. It was hard to see her hooked up to all those machines tho i had visited her in the hospital a number of times before. She had been reduced to about 70 pounds. She was always a slim girl, she was tall about 5'9 or so. Kate ended up being induced into a coma on Monday, her breathing became struggled and she was beginning to panic so the doctor induced a coma. She slept peacefully for 3 days before she passed away at 6:18 on Nov 20th.

I never expected to have to bury my best friend at only 21. Even in her final days that same doctor who had cared enough not to reduce the pains she experienced as a 16 yr old to "growing pains" as many would have. He had scheduled that first MRI and would eventually be the same doctor to explain to a 16 yr old and her mother that she had a very serious form of cancer. Sitting there with him he said to me... "you know, shes such a fighter, I also just thought she would be the one to make it. Every time the reports came back clear i let a sigh of relief and thought these reports would just keep comming".... I had the same mentality. Its kind of like that..'It wont happen to me thinking' I knew her cancer was serious, but i always just thought, not her, she will be the one to make it... its devestating so say it.. but i was wrong

kate was an amazing person, she had a will to live like ive never seen. She thouched the lives of everyone she met and was brilliat and witty. She was many things to many people. And now she is a beautiful angel. I really miss her. and the wound is still fresh. but i find some comfort in knowing that all the pain is over. She endured so many things and im happy she is at peace.

power ranger danger

So we all remeber the power rangers, and we all know that if you hit 3 3 2 3 9 3 on a tounch tone phone at just the right beat it will play the power rangers song! (okay so maybe you didnt know that, none of you probably did, unless you have talked to me on the phone, at which point you would know i do it more often than anyone shoud)... moving right along...

The red power ranger aka. skylar deleon was convincted today of 3 murders,
the firtst, a double where he posed as a perspective yaght buyer and then tied the owner of the yaght and his wive to the anchor and drown them.. and then charged with lureing a man from calfiornia to mexico, stealing 50 grand from him and then slitting his throat.
-having had a serious crush on the red ranger as a youngster i have to admit i am feeling a bit betrayed.
-no sentence was impossed yet. But i thought it was blogworthy.

lesson learned: not only should we not allow our children to watch violent tv. we should certainly never allow them to star in such shows.

Let it.. er.. Snow?

I have to be honest. after the terribly rainy summer we had. I was looking forward to snow. During yesterday's depressing cloudy and rainy day I said to me roomates. Im sick of all this rain, i would rather ot snow!!. So now i get to take the blame for this early snowfall. I must admit I pay no attention to news or weather for that matter, so for all i know meterologists everywhere have been calling for snow in their forcasts. Not that thery are every accurate anyways, hence the reason I dont follow weather reports.. Anways, despite my roomates unhappiness and the fact my facebook newsfeed is littered with unwelcomeing messages to jack frost. I plan to continue to welcome the snow with open arms, a scarf and perhaps even some snowboots. yay!

Polka dot Blog

Note: the title has nothing to do with what your about to read... but i thought it sounded catchy!

This is a bit of a mentor program plug, and its mostly relevant to the 1st years... but feel free to read on!

In a continued attempt to become more involved in campus life and addmitably in an attempt to build my resume credentials I have joined the mentor program as a mentor.
-unknowing to most of us (in the upper years) this program has changed a bit in recent years...

*apparently the university has found that it is unethical to provide upper year students (the mentors) with the personal and contact information of the first year students whom were formerly assigned mentors without their knowledge, or at least i wasn't expecting some random to call me up and ask me how i was doing when i was in 1st yr..

this now creates a bit of a problem for the mentor program... there are 40(ish) mentors and about 4(ish) 1st years who had signed up for a mentor during NSO.

The mentor program organized some workshops, events etc.. early in september in an attempt to recruit first years (mentees) and get out some awareness.. so now maybe there are about 10(ish) mentees.. and still 40(ish) mentors...

SO... Calling all First years! sign up for a mentor...

the mentor program runs some pretty worthwhile programs and events
-trick or eat
-cardboard boat races
-SOS (pre exam cram sessions run by students, maybe even with some hints from the profs!)

and... in the event you have a passion, for whatever it is (within reason), and you think other people on campus might be interested in supporting your cause the mentor program can offer resources that will support, and in some cases even fund your endeavour.

Also, mentors are chosen/assigned by/to students, usually by discipline and help students, though advice, friendship, leadership, and in my case charm and wit with issues pertaining to student transition etc.

So. if your a first year, who maybe hasnt found out what resources are available to you here at Nip, who are having trouble adjusting to budgeting, time management, being away from home etc... and feel you might benefit from being introduced to a student with similar interests in a similar program who is willing to assist you as best they can. go to student affairs, right atop the crooked stairs and ask for transition services. they'll help you out!!!

anyways thats my plug. hopefully if u didnt know the program existed you will now and maybe some of you will even go in there and solicit a mentor!!!

DO IT! and tell all your freinds too

A sad day for democracy at Nipissing and Canadore.

This was posted by the Ryerson Free Press. I found it rather interesting and thought I would pass it along...



Nothing says the start of a school year more like the talk of referenda.
And, to that end, nothing says counter-democracy more than when a referendum is conducted during the summer or so close to the beginning of the school year that no student could be expected to participate fully.
Over the summer, the Joint Student Centre Executive Committee (JSEC) at Canadore College and Nipissing University, organized to launch a referendum to raise the student centre fee that is shared by students at the two institutions. The referendum is on now.
There isn't a ton of information written about the referendum in an official capacity. Other than a facebook group that wasn't created by the Nipissing Students' Union, their website has a 13 word brief from August 28 directing students to a PDF for information .
The group NipissingYOU, a counter voice to the Nipissing Students' Union, has more information at their website, including the NUSU link to the PDF, and a link to the Campus Free Press, a student paper at Nipissing University. According to their website, the referendum starts SEPTEMBER 4! (Orientation for new students starts on Tuesday, September 4).
And, just to ensure it doesn’t look completely crazy, there will be an open forum on Friday Sept. 5. For everyone keeping track, that is during the voting period. Groups wanting to register a ‘no’ or ‘yes’ side campaign had to do so by today.
Perhaps most undemocratic about this referendum is contained within the question. Rather than a simple yes or no vote, the JSEC has crafted four options: three yes options and one no option. And, to further influence students to vote yes, the question has a list of possible improvements that can be made to a student centre by an increased student centre levy.
Students at Nipissing should be outraged.
And, according to yesterday’s Bay Today, they are. In fact, students are now appealing to the university president (and former Ryerson Vice-President, Academic) Denis Mock to stop the proposed referendum.
There have been many years of questionable conduct at the Nipissing Students’ Union and maybe the tactics driving this referendum shouldn’t surprise anyone.
However, organising in the summer to pull the wool over the eyes of members is just about the lowest tactic a students’ union can take. Sure, the nature of student politics is to develop policy that may not be agreed upon by everyone. But in a member-driven organisation, the students are the highest decision making body (or, at least, they should be). Students need to be equipped and trusted to make the right decision. Boards need to equip and trust students to make the right decision. Otherwise, board and executive members are just fooling themselves.
A proper referendum should be highly publicized, offer enough time for students to register in different camps and learn about the issues, contain no leading information in the question and be a simple yes or no question.
Hopefully students at Nipissing will win their chance for a fair referendum.

90s rewind

So for those of you who made an appearence at the wall last night, your probably feeling about as great as I am right now. With the affordable CC and my personal love affair, dirty larry's WTF Friday's are sure to be a epic. Last nights theme made me a bit nostalgic though; dressed in a dapper Jesse Spano (circa the saved by the bell work out video) onesie with a kangaroo fanny pack I was a bit let down I didnt make the line up to win the TV. But the hunt for the attire at our friendly neighbourhood thrift store, and the return of the mid 90s dance mix cd's definately brought back some good memories.

Following today's shinerama festivities there is the glo in the dark pub at the wall, event nights seem to have moved themselves to fridays so this looks like one of few saturday night events. This makes me kind of happy, it seems sad but on the countdown to my 21st bday the bar nights which my body can handle have slowly become less frequent. Perhaps its reflective of the increasing stress of 4th year, but Im beginning to feel like an old lady as its now 3:30 and I'm still pondering whether or not breakfast is feasible. (feel free to comment if you feel the same way, I really hope im not the only one whos ability to pull 3 day long benders is dwindling)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. I know I will.