Memories of SHS.

Dear Whit,

After waking up from a dream that made me miss Sacred Heart School, I went on the school group on facebook and browsed through pictures. I was flooded with memories and Lynn and I struggled for a while trying to remember people's names.

I miss Sacred Heart.

While I was still there I thought the school was a torture house - we had overly strict nuns running the place like white ghosts, insisting that long hair was to be tied back, that there were to be no colours other than blue, black and white, and every morning we had to stand in line in the heat, in height order, and listen to the prayer.

I never thought that one day I'd be missing the strict environment. I look back at high school here in Canada, and though I like the idea of a closer and more open teacher-student relationship and the freedom of students, sometimes I feel like most of the young people are slowly losing respect for their elders.

Like I remember how in Ms. Diaz's class, it was the students who took control of her classes most of the time. People would just walk in late, blasting their music, food in their hand and when Ms. Diaz would tell them off, they'd talk back.

Complete lack of respect.

I miss the way we were actually taught in Bahrain. Sure, they piled stuff on us. In Jr. 1 [Grade 1] we would be forced to learn things that the children in Canada wouldn't be learning till Grade 4. But I learnt how to spell properly and not mix up my "there, their, and they're". I learnt how to use proper grammar, write proper essays, and how to spell. They taught these things in Canada, but you wouldn't believe how many people still can't tell the difference between "your and you're". There are people my age who still can't spell ("grammer" instead of "grammar", "seriouse" instead of "serious") and those who mix up their words ("I taught I told you not to do that" or "My arms are soar").

They're not stupid - they just haven't been taught right.

In Bahrain they taught us things that, at that time, I thought were utterly useless. They forced us to stand in front of class reciting poems from the 1800's, write formal and informal letters, write speeches and then say them in front of class, make up stories just by looking at a picture ...

It was SHS that moulded me to become who I am today. I know how to spell. I know how to write. I know to respect my elders and not chew my food with my mouth open. I know the proper way to position my hands while reciting a poem. I know how to write a formal letter.

I know the difference between "there, their, they're" and "your, you're".

I know how to act in a fine-dining restaurant. I know which utensils to use first, and that if I drop one I should ask for a new one and never pick it up.

I learnt how to properly address my elders, how to be confident, how to respect. They taught us manners. I remember one of my teachers teaching me how to chew my food in Jr. 2. I'm glad she did - or else I'd be chewing with my mouth open right now. And trust me, there are a lot of people - grown up people - who do that.

They taught us more than just basic knowledge in SHS. And I miss that. I miss the teachers who stand out because they taught me life lessons on top of everything else ... Mrs. Alexander, Mrs. Mendoza, Mrs. Chakravarti, Mrs. Advincula ...

I miss Sacred Heart. And I'm glad I went there.

We Belong [Sacred Heart School Song]

We belong, students of Sacred Heart
In thy school, Lord, we sing in honour and praise
Take, oh Lord, take each and every day
Teach us to love, teach us to give, teach us to pray
Guide our minds, when we're at work, we find so difficult
Knowing well we need to know all there's to know
Take our strengths, spent on the fields in anticipation
There's a victory to be won

We belong, students of Sacred Heart
Teach us to love, teach us to give, teach us to pray

Bless oh Lord, our dear parents, their every sacrifice
Bless oh Lord, our teachers too, their every toil
Keep oh Lord, under thy care this great big family
As we sing, praising thy name

We belong, students of Sacred Heart
Teach us to love, teach us to give, teach us to pray
Teach us to love, teach us to give, teach us to pray

---------------------

We are the loyal students of Sacred Heart School ...

... All the bells [all the bells]
Ringing tales [ringing tales]
Music choir [music choir]
Our song

All praise to thee
Honour and glory be ...

- Tha Nostalgic Boo

No Way! =O

Dear Whit,

Everyday I tend to make it a habit to check up on all the sites that I have submitted my comics to: DeviantArt, Facebook, Smackjeeves, Drunk Duck ... you name it. I like to keep up with viewer comments.

Anyway, a little over 48 hours ago, I visited Drunk Duck to check whether I had any new comments on my latest comics. And a little pop-up alerted me that I had a new Private Quack. Interesting. Who'd be Private Quacking me? Hmm. So I opened it up and got a message from the creator of the Creepy Carly comic.

Carly Wagner. Manager of the mobile department of Platinum Studios.

Apparently she was offering me an opportunity to turn my comics into mobile wallpaper format. Interesting. And further down the line as a full comic on mobile. [le gasp]

Of course, at first I thought it was a con of some sort, so I checked out the Platinum Studios website and did some background research. Lo and behold - they're authentic, and apparently their job was to turn comics into actual shows. One example was a TV show called "Jeremiah" which started off as a comic.

Naturally, I emailed Carly back to let her know that I was interested. Why wouldn't I be? This could be my big break! Yesterday she emailed me back with an agreement form. Mom is going to have that reviewed for me before I fax it back to Carly. Gotta make sure.

I'm trying not to be too excited, or thinking about it too much. I don't want to be fantasizing myself getting somewhere already [when to think I only started MMM BooGrrs about 7 months ago], and then be gravely disappointed. That would only discourage me. I'll wait it out and see what happens.

Greenie told me to let Perrone know ... the man would want to know. But I think I'll see how this goes first before I spill him any good news. =)

[Sighs]. I sincerely hope that this leads to somewhere. It would be really awesome ... Jose was going on about me being a millionaire already. I don't think so. I'd honestly be content living in an apartment with just enough to live by as long as I can continue doing what I enjoy doing.

I mean ... if MMM BooGrrs ever becomes a well-known name, even if it's only in Toronto or something, being published daily or weekly in the local paper ... I'd be happy.

But a little scenario of me turning on the TV to see my characters screaming on TV like The Simpsons and South Park ... now THAT would be the awesome. And if that ever happens ... =)

Gah. Wishful thinking.

But no rushes. Someday I'll get there ... maybe.

- Tha Boo (Trying Really Hard Not To Be Excited In Case I Jinx It)

I Know Your Secret.

Dear Whit,

So. I went back and visited this old 'uberly green' website that I used to host my guestbook with. It also had this "Secret Generator" that I, being my bored and silly self, decided to play around with.

Here were the results:

• K fell in love with a dead dog.
  
• Jesse steals candy from a baby and threatens him with a spoon.
• Beverly sinks boats with Grandma.
• Leslie robs grocery stores with a pillow.
• Greenie escaped from prison with an elf.
• Amanda uses the restroom with Grandma.
  
• Liezel breaks toilets with a dog named Melvin.
• Jose spends all of summer camp with a spoon.
  
• Laura escaped from prison with an elephant.
• Rocky becomes the Easter Bunny with no pants.
• Robin grows evvil mushrooms with a tennis racket.
  

And the funniest one I got:

• Mr. Perrone wears a clown suit and scares old people with bacon.

LOL! Why do I not find that so hard to believe? =)

Anyway. I had a little talk with Jesse a couple of hours back about the "topic I had been meaning to discuss". And in all honestly, it went far better than I expected.

I remember Leslie telling me off for not being open with him. She told me that if I opened up to Jesse and broke our friendship up over that, then we obviously have a weaker bond that what I had thought. But maybe that's why I was so afraid to spill it out - coz what if our friendship wasn't strong enough? Would I be losing my best guy friend over some girl?

It turns out I was getting all freaky over nothing. After nearly four years of friendship, fighting over stolen cookies, seriously well-played pranks, and fingering vagina trees - I can't believe I ever doubted that. But anyway. At least I know now that it's gonna be hard to fuck up this friendship. =)

I've decided I want to attend the Art Institute of Toronto. I went to a little tour and interview with an AI rep, and I was impressed with what they've got to offer. Apart from the small class sizes [which I think is very important], the faculty had a very impressive biography. They also offered a nice career help and allowed freedom for creativity, which is the #1 thing I'm looking for in a post-secondary school. I'm still going for the portfolio review session on the 13th with Centennial, but I think I've already made up my mind. The location of the institute is very good too - just a few minutes walk from mom's hotel. It's downtown! I can go shopping afterwards!

- Tha Extremely Happy Boo

The 10 Hour Halloween Ordeal.

Dear Whit,

I have just survived a 10-hour work ordeal. I started work today [well, technically it was yesterday] at 3:30pm and ended about 2 hours ago at 2:00am. It wasn't as bad as I expected - most people were outside trick-or-treating, so it wasn't all that busy.

I was supposed to meet up with Jesse at school yesterday, but I kinda overslept. I woke up at 9am first, but kept going back to sleep thinking: "Five more minutes ... just five more minutes." Next thing I knew, it was 12pm. I swore to the cat who was meowing for food [like he needs any really, the fat bastard] and thought "oh fuck that" and I just went back to sleep. I needed the sleep anyway. Anyhow, Jesse would understand. All he wanted me to do was take his bloody picture anyway.

I gotta make sure to go to school and go to the guidance office tomorrow though. I need to talk to them about sending my transcript to the colleges I've applied for. I'm still hoping to get that Art Institute of Toronto scholarship though - it would be really wicked if I got that. Sounds like an awesome school from what I've read.

Anyway - I must get my sleep. I drank a lot coffee since my Halloween shift started - I must will its effects to fade now ... I need my goddamn sleep. Or else I'll be waking up at noon again.

- Tha Nervous Boo