review: how i met your mother
since summer tv basically sucks (burn notice, canada’s next top model and top chef masters aside), it is a good opportunity for me to [go outside and get some fresh air, catch up on my reading, write poetry] watch television programs i have not yet seen. after finishing up for the first 4 seasons of house with mathew of which i’d seen most, but not all, and certainly not in order, we have moved on to how i met your mother. this was a logical next choice, as it is one of mathew’s favourite shows i had not yet seen a single episode. also he owns the first 3 seasons on dvd .
so at this point we have finished the first season and moved on to the beginning of the second, and i figured it was time for me to offer my impression of the show thus far.
i admit that intially i was less than enthusiatic about the show. first; if a lot of people recommend something to me, i tend to get turned off from it, see: the office (which i still haven’t seen an entire episode of). this is particularly likely to happen if the people recommending it also claim it is very clever. i take cleverness seriously– it is a description bestowed only on the very elite, and for it to be used so lightly makes me extremely hesitant. however, for the aforementioned reasons i decided it was time for me to give how i met your mother a chance.
the shows chronicles a father telling his two children how he met their mother, so although it takes place technically in the year 2030, the majority of the show occurs in the years 2005 and onwards. featuring a cast of 5 differently quirky characters, it definitely takes a few episodes to get to know the characters in a way that allows you sympathsize, and therefore laugh (and potentially cry) along with them. this is particularly true due to the fact that the show is only 30 minutes long.
the interesting thing about the show is its ability to provide both comedy and sincerity. there are characters you find hilarious (like barney the manwhore and strict follower of the ‘bro-code’) and characters you just don’t like that much (for me this is ted, the main man looking for a wife but who does pretty stupid things during his passionate quest for the woman of his dreams). asides from ted and barney, there is also lily and marshall a couple who have been together for 9 years (since the first day of college) and seem basically like the perfect couple. the only question is– who are they without each other? and that’s what the second season begins to answer. after you get over the fact that this is not american pie (or buffy for that matter) lily is actually another character i like a lot, if only because i wish i owned at least half her wardrobe. but seriously, the banter between her and marshall is quite entertaining. and finally, there is robin, who ted hits on in the very first episode and promptly falls in love with. unfortunately for him, she’s looking to focus on her career and isn’t looking to settle down, so it seems like they are destined to be just friends….or are they?
so far how i met your mother has been a nice summer surprise for me, and i am definitely going to finish the next two seasons. although it is not the best tv show ever made, it does have some clever moments (gasp!) and i sincerely recommend it for anyone looking for a few laughs, a few heartfelt moments, and 22 minutes of distraction from whatever you are doing.
Filed under: Blogroll | Leave a Comment
Tags: how i met your mother, review, summer, television, tv
Too many blogs, too little time
Pretty much my excuse. I really like wordpress, it has clean lines, but I find blogspot more inspiring and I perfer the xanga community. So even though this website is a poor indication, I’m actually a blogging addict. I’m just hesitant to have blogging overlap…And I still like wordpress incase I want to do a movie reivew or a book analysis… All those elipses to say, maybe I’ll see you around elsewhere. Maybe not.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Beagles and better things
A quote I had saved from the film Traitor,
You must be willing to sacrifice some of your pawns if you want to win the game.
So I’m sick again. Is that the only time I feel like updating here? I have several sites going at the moment, finally started a photoblog over at Aminus3 which I picked quite literally by googling photoblogs and theirs looked nice. It’s pretty efficient and I just got my first comment. It was something I have wanted to do for awhile and a good motivation for regular photo-taking so hopefully I’ll manage to keep up near-daily posts, I really want to make better use of my camera this summer.
And I don’t want to be repetitive between sites but this photograph is just so darn adorable I couldn’t not share. The subject is Mathew’s beagle Teddy, he and his brother Sam are absolutely adorable though Teddy is definitely more photogenic. I can’t wait for the lighting outside to be better. Today is as dreary and awful as my body feels, rain rain rain.
Things that are less awful:
- I submitted my thesis
- I finished my 4000-level genetics course
- I finish finals April 15th… and I only have one
- I got an NSERC to stick around Wolfville this summer and work in Rodger’s lab
- I got asked to present a paper at the national conference for the Canadian Botanical Association in Wolfville this May
- Gordon has been showing steady improvement
Keep on the sunny side…
Filed under: Journal | Leave a Comment
Tags: beagles, camera, cold, photography, summer
Roads and Changes
I’m not always sure what to write in this blog anymore, in between the hecticness of school and life and family, there’s been a lot to say but I seem to be lacking words or energy to form them into sentences. I’ve been home the past couple days and I’ll be here a little longer. Gordon, my stepfather who I have known for seventeen years, had a massive stroke and is in the hospital here. Of course he is one of the most stubborn people I know, so if anyone is going to be forming new brain connections and beating the odds it will be him. Still it’s a stressful and uncertain situation.
Almost exactly a year ago a good friend of mine told me:
you create this image of what you want to be, and you spend too much time worry about that that you forget who you are right now. sounds cheesy, but its still what i think.
I said:
yeah, well, when I am happier I worry/obsess less
And he said:
you’re happier when everything is going as planned along your pre established route.
So far in 2009 I have started to try not to worry so much about what ‘path’ I am on. I try to remain optimistic that the ultimate destination is rarely dependent on the road you take, and so you might as well enjoy the journey. A little anxiety medication doesn’t hurt either.
Filed under: Journal | Leave a Comment
Tags: anxiety, family, hospital, school, stroke
St. John’s, Newfoundland was a lot of fun this weekend. As was the bonding time with my montreal bestest buddy Oliver who drunkenly asked me to be surrogate mother to his children, or at least godmother so that I could ‘hang out with them lots so that your smartness rubs off.’
I don’t really have the time or energy for this site at the moment, but life is really good. Hopefully in the next week I’ll have a much better idea of what I’m doing this summer, and either way I’m looking forward to it. I just need to keep crossing things off my perpetual to-do lists.
Filed under: Journal | Leave a Comment
Tags: lists, newfoundland, st. john's, travel
It’s the small things
…that seems to pile up to an insurmountable level. I just had my best semester ever, and I want this to be another one. I’m just not sure how I managed it in the first place. Guess we’ll see how things look come May.
In the meantime, if somebody else would love to write my thesis for me I would be totally okay with that.
Filed under: Journal | 1 Comment
Tags: university, work
Textbooks for free
Today I got a $500 textbook scholarship. I did not know such a thing existed. I thought it was a joke e-mail until I realized it was from the financial aide office. I have to go pick it up at my appointment time tomorrow. Apparently,
These scholarships are awarded to students based upon Acadia’s nomination and selection criteria and are issued in the form of a gift card tenable at the Acadia Bookstore in Wheelock Hall.
Well I actually purposefully choose classes so I would have my first semester without any textbooks. Furthermore, even if I had books, I would have already bought them long ago. So I’m assuming these things are good for at least year and I can use it for my textbooks next year, at which point it will definitely be greatly appreciated.
Thanks guys.
Filed under: Journal | 1 Comment
Tags: free, scholarships, textbooks
Puppy Kiss
Puppy Nala at seven months old has a love of giving kisses, not just to people but also to other dogs. Her mother doesn’t always appreciate this.
I will return to blogging shortly, it’s been an exhausting last month, but in the meantime I thought I would share this photograph my mother took. I love my puppies so much.
Filed under: Journal | Leave a Comment
Tags: kiss, love, puppies
So my vacation has been quite lazy so far. I wish I could make some sort of theme or cohesiveness to this blog but so far that seems unlikely. I’ve managed to maintain a 4.00 GPA so far, with my three posted grades being As. I’m really hoping the last one will be too, since apparently I only get grades for 4 classes this semester and have to wait till the end of the year to get one for my yearlong thesis. I’ve sorta worked away at my vacation to-do list, although I still have to write my poetry book review, finish updating my resume, and do my reference section for my thesis.
Last night I watched Memento again with my family. It’s one of my favourite movies.
We all need mirrors to remind ourselves who we are. I’m no different.
Filed under: Blogroll | 2 Comments
Tags: grades, lazy, memento, vacation
Home for the holidays
Exams are done, four out of five classes are complete (as I desperately procrastinate finishing up the required part of my thesis before deadline) and as of one pm on Monday, I am home in Montreal. I’ve been particularly looking forward to this vacation, as an opportunity for sleep, family, and most importantly puppies. Sassper is pictured above, and I have also been spending time with her daughter Nala who I only first met in August. She’s actually already bigger than her mother, and much more of a sook.
On the books for this vacation is a haircut, cleaning of my computer and room, and a possible visit to some place interesting. Mostly I’m just enjoying the opportunity to de-stress, although grades do start being posted tomorrow so I’m not sure how much luck I’ll have with that. I doubt I’ll get more than one grade initially, and I’m not sure I have much to look forward to as what started off as a pretty fantastic semester ultimately flailed and drowned during exams. Still, fall 2009 is a work term for me so it’s pretty awesome to be done my last fall semester at Acadia University.
Filed under: Journal | Leave a Comment
Tags: grades, holidays, puppies, winter break
SOME OF US ARE LOOKING AT THE STARS 
You must be logged in to post a comment.