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Sunday February 29th, 2004. - 9:30 PM

Quite a lot has transpired since I last scribbled a diary entry. I've been meaning to write earlier, but well...I've been busy, lazy, blah blah blah....You should know my common excuses by now. I think I wear them out to their death, only to resurrect them in a few month's time. Hey, this is the life of a university student....We're always busy with something and we're always sleep-deprived! A sure-fire way to identify a university student is to a) look for dark undereye circles and b) a backpack weighing just over a ton from the textbooks! Yeah and if you sit in an 8:30 AM lecture class, take a look around the room and eerily enough, it brings to mind the movie, "The Sixth Sense", and that little boy when he says, "I see dead people." Seriously, 8:30 AM is too early, especially if you have to commute to school and it takes more than 2 hours in the winter. If you're lucky though, your professor will have a monotone voice (like David Duchovny from "The X-Files"), which will lull you to sleep. *Smirk* Of course you know you're in trouble when you wake up in your seat, you notice it's pitch black outside, and a scruffy janitor is nudging you to lift your feet so he can mop the floor. I guess class has ended.....14 hours ago??? If professors quit their day jobs, rest assured that they could always study to become hypnotists or healers of insomnia. *Rolls eyes* Honestly though, most of my classes aren't as terrible as my jokes. *Smirk* Some professors are very entertaining and Hollywood is really missing out on some sheer talent......okay, okay, I see the rotten tomato you're about to throw at me....I'll stop with the cheesy "jokes."

I was watching television and came across Josh Groban's music video for his song, "You Raise Me Up." WOW!!! I had never heard about him before, but now I want to find out more about him. When I hear him sing, I get goosebumps! His voice is so majestic...yeah, that's the proper adjective to describe it. It's rich and as smooth as butter, that's what. It's amazing that he's 22 and has such powerful vocal pipes (broadway seasoned) and honestly, even though he has the talent of a seasoned pro, he has that boy-next-door look. He's definitely an artist to follow and see what he comes out with next.....

Most people I know have never heard of the Canadian singer, Emm Gryner. That's because she's not a mainstream artist and to me at least, it's so perplexing because she has oodles more talent than many of the ones currently in the industry. Although I have several favourite singers (in widely varying musical genres), she easily ranks in my ultimate top 5 list. She produces her music, writes her music, plays her musical instruments, does all the vocals, and is the president of her own record company. She seems to do it all and even with touring and recording new albums, she still manages to stay in touch with the people who matter - her fans. She regularly scribbles in her online journal (and you'll be pleased to hear that she writes in her journal more frequently than I do!) and she also stops by her message boards to answer questions and comment on the things people have to say. I don't even have to tell you guys that many (but not all) celebrities are spoiled and far-removed from an ordinary person's access. (My 2 cents: For goodness sakes do they REALLY need to plunk down thousands of dollars on a couple pairs of undies? Just because you HAVE the money doesn't mean you should WASTE it. I think that if celebrities each contributed even ONLY $1000, together they could eradicate much of the grusome deaths resulting from starvation in the less fortunate parts of the world.) Back to Emm Gryner...She's NOTHING like the snobbish, wasteful celebrities I mentioned. She seems like a genuinely caring individual and she goes the extra mile for her fans.

"Money, money, money....Ain't it funny....in a rich man's world...." (Trust me, it's rare that I quote an Abba song when I'm sober, which is pretty much all the time...haha, so bear with me) So many great DVD sets are out or are coming out. First of all, I'm obsessed with the show, "Gilmore Girls," and I've been waiting and waiting and waiting and WAITING for them to release season one on dvd. No, I didn't suffer sleepless nights over it, but I did sign an online petition form (thousands of others also signed). Thankfully the producers of Gilmore Girls listened and yayyyyyyyyy it's coming out on May 4th, 2004!!!!! I'm so excited (can't you tell?)....I mainly love the show for the fast witty dialogue with generous sprinklings of pop culture humour throughout. The writers are geniuses! Unfortunately however, season 4 (which is the current season) has had less punch than the previous seasons, which I've admired. Now, the plot seems to just be dying and the jokes aren't as hilarious as they used to be, but we'll see....they should be picking up the pace anytime now. From the episode I saw last Wednesday, it seems like Lorelai and Luke will be getting together in the future. Any true Gilmore Girls fan knows that they're destined to be together and can't wait to see it happen. Anyway, I'm also excited about the release of the dvd set because I only started watching the show midway through season 2, so I completely missed the first season...and usually the first season is when they outline many of the characters and the contexts. (By the way, if you're interested in pre-ordering the dvd set, check out amazon.ca...right now they're selling it for around $52 Canadian funds).

I have only recently become insanely, unhealthily (if that's a word), and desperately obsessed with L. Frank Baum and the Oz books in his series. When most people think of "The Wizard of Oz", then think, yeah, I saw the classic musical, with Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale in Kansas, Toto, and those ruby slippers. Little do they know that the musical was based on only ONE of the FOURTEEN books in the Oz series written by Lyman (that was Baum's first name, but he didn't like it, which is why he used just L.). How did I come to discover the enchanting and often-satirical books in the series? I had to do a book review in one of my English courses in university this semester and we had to choose a novel published sometime between 1900 and 1930. I went through my bookshelf at home and discovered that I had not read this book called "Journeys Through Oz" ever since I had received it as a child. I don't know why I overlooked it, considering that I was (and am) a total bookworm AND that "The Wizard of Oz" is my all-time favourite movie since I was 4 years old. Anyway, so originally I was going to do my book review on "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", but then I noticed that my book contained TWO Oz stories...The 1904 sequel was called "The Marvelous Land of Oz" (note the AMERICAN spelling [Marvelous]...as opposed to the Canadian spelling [Marvellous]). Anyway, I figured that I'd read the sequel since it looked intriguing enough and I thought that most people would write about the first book. Being different can be advantageous....(not that I plan to get a nose ring anytime soon...*smirk*). The first thing that struck me about the sequel was that Dorothy doesn't enter the story at all (to my disappointment), however, so many novel characters are introduced and there are so many discrete political and satirical opinions raging throughout the text. My favourite character is the H.M. Woggle-Bug T.E. because he's a pompous insect who is so annoyingly arrogant. (H.M. stands for "Highly Magnified" and T.E. stands for "Thoroughly Educated"). Anyway, after reading the 1904 sequel, I was instantly hooked. I just had to buy the rest in the series. I really like the format of the Bellantine (that's the publisher's name) versions. They're mass market paperbacks with pretty covers and they contain the original illustrations. W.W. Denslow illustrated the first novel and John R. Neill, for all the rest. Unfortunately, there are only a small handful of the Bellantine (Del Rey) books still in print and available to the public. I bought as many as I could, but it looks like now I'll have to obtain copies of the later 2002 versions. Right now I'm a few pages away from finishing book #3, "Ozma of Oz." The movie "Return to Oz" (another movie that I absolutely love) is based on books 2 and 3. I intend to read all fourteen of Baum's Oz books and if possible, to read the continuation of the series by Ruth Thompson and various other talented writers. The world of Oz is so richly imagined and I bet that if you start reading one of them in the series, you too will become hooked, regardless of age. That's the beauty of these books. Adults can enjoy the books as much as children do. Baum chose the best medium for his writing....very effective. (A sidenote: To my disappointment, I learned that the filmmakers of "The Wizard of Oz" made up the ruby slippers. In the books, the slippers are silver......)

Do any of you remember that show, "Roswell"? I used to watch that almost religiously when I was in high school. I even had a crush on Jason Behr (the actor who plays Max Evans). I guess you could say that he was a "teen heart-throb" because most females who watched the show thought he was cute...and heck, one of my friends in highschool (who is gay) had a crush on him too.....My crush on Jason Behr sorta faded over time though, because the more episodes I watched, the more I desperately wanted Max to SMILE...The character of Max Evans was always so darn serious and he was always telling Isabelle or Liz or Michael or whoever that it was dangerous and that they shouldn't do this or that. FINALLY, in a later season, Max smiled and wow, he had a lot of wrinkles (and he's young)...so it was at that point when I realized why he never smiled....and so my crush ended. I don't think I could ever like anyone (female or male) who hardly smiles, being anally-retentive as they say. That would be like hanging around a funeral director who's on duty. No thank you. I'm more the hee-hee-haw-haw-type of person (as if you couldn't have guessed by now). Laughter is healthy (in moderation of course) and humour always relieves my stress or anxiety. Anyhow...back to the dvd...I bought it for $53 from a bookstore (yeah, a bookstore) and I've watched up to the end of the 3rd disc. Before watching them, I had almost forgotten the appeal of the show, but now all the memories are flooding back and I'm once again enjoying the characters and the plot, even if it's sometimes unreal. Roswell wasn't a widely popular show, so I wouldn't be surprised if you have no clue what I'm talking about. It can be classified as teen science fiction and trust me, it's highly addictive. It's like the potato chip saying: Bet you can't eat just one....only in this case...Bet you can't watch just one episode....But really, if you watch each episode, you will notice that Max Evans ALMOST ALWAYS tells others to "be careful" and that "it's not safe" or that they "shouldn't do it" or "what were you thinking? It could get us into a lot of trouble?"...It's funny because I never noticed it when I first watched the show....

The "Felicity" season 3 dvd set is coming out this July! I'd have to say that aside from Gilmore Girls, my second favourite show would be Felicity. Felicity is a mellow drama involving a group of university students. Each episode is highly emotional and thought-provoking. It always deals with life events, relationships, and heartaches. Sure, Felicity Porter (the main character) always seems to be crying or worrying about this or that, but the acting is so great that you feel drawn into her world. You feel like you know friends who are just like the characters on the show. You feel their sorrow and rejoice with them in their victories. It's also nice to know that Scott Speedman (who plays cute Ben Covington) is Canadian...so yes, you can have Canadian pride and get some eye candy too...hehe...there's nothing wrong with that! *Wink*....A funny thing to note is that just like any good show featuring young people in a school setting, hardly anyone seems to have to study! Boy, if the real world was like that, I can tell you one thing: There would be a lot more happier students out there!!!! *smirk*

Yesterday I trimmed my long curly hair. I haven't been to the hairdresser in a while...My hair was close to reaching my lower back. I got about 3 inches snipped off and lots of layers put in. Nope, this time I didn't dye my hair. I've decided that I like my natural colour best and since dying my hair never really comes out exactly the way I want it to, I figure that I'll keep what Mother Nature gave me and be happy with what I've got. Besides, dying hair is just too much work, not to mention really expensive when you have long hair. My hair is still long and because of the layers, it feels lighter and more lively....It's amazing how good a flattering haircut can make a person feel....

I think that at some point in everyone's lives, the thought of running away pops up. Some people find their living conditions simply unbearable and others fantasize about living la vida loca elsewhere (minus pelvis-gyrating Ricky Martin, who seems to have vanished off the face of the earth, not that I was a fan of his). The first time I ever thought about running away from home was when I was around 6 years old...but wait...before you pass any judgement, read further. My home living conditions at that time (and now) are wonderful and I cherish my close relationship with my parents. I vaguely remember getting into a huff about something probably that was no biggie...I was 6, for crying out loud! The worst thing it could've possibly been was that I wasn't allowed to have a lollipop before dinner...and to a child, of course that spells the end of the world!!!!!! *rolls eyes* Anyway, so whatever possessed me, I told my mother, "I'm running away!" and of course, she was shocked to hear those words coming out from my tiny mouth. I ran upstairs to my bedroom and what would a 6-year-old pack in a survival kit when running away from home? For me, there were only 2 things necessary: 1) A pillow...my favourite white pillow with pink bears embroidered around its scalloped edges and 2) A book. Yeah, I actually didn't think about food...or water for that matter. I thought I'd be able to survive as long as I could sleep comfortably and that I had a good book to read. It just proves what a bookworm I would later become when I learned how to read. My mother, being wise and not believing that I'd REALLY run away from home, casually told me before I made it to the backyard screen door, "Make sure you come home in time for supper!!!" *Smirk* Thinking back, I didn't REALLY want to run away...I think I just wanted to get a reaction out of my mom for whatever reason. This was clearly noted by my sloooooooow trudging towards the door and me carefully making sure that my mom would see me leave. I was in the backyard for probably less than a mere minute and what did I do? That's right folks, I turned 180 degrees and went right back inside the house. Not wanting to shatter my pride (as much pride as a little 6 year old may have), I defiantly told my mom, "I only came back because I was hungry." Hahahahaha....and that was the end of that. That was my first time thinking about running away from home and my last....which of course is a good thing. So there you have it....Mary as a goody-goody in a nutshell. *Rolls eyes* Yes...I have a million and two "funny" little stories about myself growing up, but I think that's enough for now....maybe next time I'll embarrass myself some more....*blush* Well...with that, I'm sorry, but I'm going to end my entry here. Unfortunately this entry didn't come out as well as I hoped. Maybe it's because I haven't written in here for a long while and I've become a tad rusty at this....*shrugs shoulders*....but I'll return don't worry and I'll be back to continue to do what I do best......spread the sunshine!!!!! Hehehe.....

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" When You Look Outside, Look Inside To Your Soul "

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SONG STUCK IN MY HEAD: "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban

LAST FEW SONGS I LISTENED TO:

+ "If It Makes You Happy" by Sheryl Crow

+ "One Way Mule" by Silverchair

+ "More than a Woman" by Aaliyah

+ "Anywhere You Go" by Shawn Colvin

+ "My Immortal" by Evanescence

+ "East Coast Angel" by Emm Gryner

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