All About Me, a story by my big brother.

Here is a story my brother wrote when he was probably about 12 years old. I'm going to date this around 1994ish. Note that this was probably dictated to our mom and typed out on a TYPEWRITER. Retro, I know. I will insert the teacher's comments in [square brackets].

Enjoy!

Cover Page: All About Me

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Page 1: HOW AM I UNIQUE

I am unique in many different ways. I could tell you about many unique events that happened to me such as getting stung by a jellyfish or falling asleep with a spoonful of spaghetti in my mouth. Instead I will tell you about what is unique about the inside me. First of all, I will tell you when provoked or annoyed I have a really short temper but when in a good mood I have a good sense of humour. As you can see I am very different to other people.

[Is this you Georges!]

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Page 2: MY GOOD AND BAD QUALITIES

I have a vast [great word] range of good and bad qualities and due to popular demand I will start with my good qualities. Some of my rood qualities are that I am kind and respectful. This wins a lot of respect among my elders. I don't normally put people down either (unless they're annoying and deserve it). I have a good sense of humour as well because if something bad happens to me I will usually take it like a "good egg". Unfortunately I have bad qualities as well. When in a bad mood or in a tired mood I have an irritable and short temper. I also have an uncontrollable laughter in which I cannot stop sometimes and I get in trouble with [rephrase]. As you can see I am a very varied person when it comes to my personality.

Pictures show him in a "good mood" and "tired mood."

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Page 3: MY PERSONAL AND GLOBAL WISHES

I wish for many things and although I cannot have them all if I could I would wish for the following. First my global wishes. i would like for the world to realize what economy and marketing have done to us and the health of our planet [explain]. I also wish humans will be able to land on Mars by the year 2050, our knowledge about space has only just begun. On that same note I wish (in this lifetime) to make contact with extraterrestrial life. [Really? Are you an X-files fan?]

My personal wishes are to do well in school and extracurricular activities. I also wish to win 5 trillion dollars [Don't we all!] and buy everything possible. If I could I would wish for a huge computer corporation, the Pentagon and of course better T.V. programming. [Georges, you have a wonderful and very unique sense of humor.]

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Page 4: MY FUTURE AND FUTURE JOB

I believe fate and destiny will lead me into the future and my future jobs. Although I do have wishes I don't believe any of them will come true. I cannot tell you what I will be in the future because, frankly, I do not know. I can tell you this though I will not be anything boring like a lawyer or an accountant. Whatever I do it will be fun and enjoyable to me. [Hope so!]

Note: my brother is currently working as a chartered accountant :-)

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Page 5: WHAT I THINK ABOUT MOST OFTEN

When I think I am normally worrying. I worry about many things such as what will happen to me today or tomorrow. I also worry about things such as homework and due dates and getting around to meeting them. I also have an oversized conscience so I only worry more about everything.. I think about pleasant things as well though such as visiting an old friend or an upcoming special occasion. these are just a few of the many things I think about. [I always find it interesting to hear what people think about.]

Picture is captioned "Christmas 1987"

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Page 6: MY WORDS OF WISDOM

My words of wisdom are just a few,

But they are just enough to get you through

Life.

A long hard test of courage and might,

To see if [it] can take the

Fright.

As life takes its harder turns,

A desolate time that leaves a burn.

A test [on] which no one has a perfect score,

But if you try hard, its something to ignore.

[Good!]

I believe the picture is Georges at heavens' golden gates. St. Peter is saying "Good score! Enter."

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Page 7: MY LIKES AND DISLIKES

Lego

Ice hockey

Killer Instinct

End of school

Soccer

Dolls

Imbeciles

Sisters

Loud noises

Illnesses

Kerfuffles

Evilness

Stealing

I think the pictures speak for themselves. PS. I'm his only sister. *Sad face* (but really I'm laughing.)

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Page 8: WHO I ADMIRE AND WHY

I admire many people either for what they do, have done or represent. i admire my mom and dad the most for putting up with my little sister and all her annoying and obnoxious ways. [ :) ] I also admire my karate sensei and instructors for balancing karate and a normal life so well. I aspire to be like some of time's greatest geniuses like Albert Einstien and Leonardo Da Vinci. AS you can [see] I admire many people for what they represent in my life. [Good. I'm sure your parents would like to see this! ]

Picture is captioned "Mom & Dad"

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Page 9: THE ACTIVITIES I ENJOY

I enjoy a variety of different activities. one of the things I enjoy doing is training in the martial arts. It makes me stronger as well as relieves stress from school. The card game MAGIC [Don't know it!] is another one of my favourite pastimes it beats watching cheap T.V. [ :) ] My favourite sport would have to be soccer. It is fast and fun and not very hard to play. I also enjoy a bit of hockey, some baseball, and a tad of wrestling. I love playing on my Nintendo and computer because they are relaxing and entertaining. The last thing I will mention is building LEGO because it uses the imagination. Life can be difficult at times [Does it ever!]. With school, homework and chores to do at home it is those special activities that make my life special and enjoyable.

***

Page 10: MY PET PEEVES

Pictures are captioned "boredom," "school," and "sister."

***

THE END?

(I certainly hope not!)

I spent the weekend in 1964

So this past weekend I was in Quebec City with my parents. It was a great chance to catch up with my mom's aunt, an 88-year-old woman who we dubbed "the blue aunt" because she loves blue, especially when it comes to home decor. However, what struck me about her house is that it looks like a set from Mad Men. Her house is a shrine to the 1960s. So here I present a salute to my aunt's lovely house and to the swingin' home furnishing trends of the '60s.

First, here is her house:



And here's the living room. Note the abundance of blue:



I love that the curtains match the couches!



I adore these hanging dishes, which make a nice arrangement in the dining room:


Moving on to the... I'm not sure how to define this room. This is where she watches TV and drinks her nightly Panaché (1 part Cinzano bianco vermoth with 1 part Martini Rosso vermoth served in a low-ball glass with ice and a slice of lemon).

There's a nice built-in desk in this room.

In true 60's-style, the desk holds the booze.


The herringbone pattern on the furniture is carried through to the tray and box on the table.

There's a lovely set of Larousse encyclopedias from 1964.

And here's my lovely aunt enjoying her drink :-)

This is a shot of the telephone and conversion mechanism thingy in the kitchen:

And her late-husband's office (where I slept).


She also has some lovely artwork in her house, but I might save that for another post.

I went to the Google Christmas Party!

Are you jealous? I went with my friend Steve, who was interning at the Google Montreal office. Part of my entrance conditions was helping with a youtube skit, which was the theme of the party. Here we are!

Dear Montreal,

I know everyone thinks you're awesome, but I think you're no fun. I wish I was back in Waterloo.

That is all,

Vero

End of an era

It seems that I'm finishing my undergrad this week. I have two exams, neither of which I'm particularly worried about. Graduating feels bittersweet though. It doesn't seem that long ago that I was heading off to university and freaking out about whether I'd make friends or not. Now, in my 4th year at Waterloo, I finally feel like I'm rooted here. I have my own friends. I certainly feel more in touch here than I ever did living in Montreal. Now I'm moving back to Montreal in two week's time, a city where I barely have any friends at all. AND I'm moving back in with my parents which I'm not really looking forward to ; I LOVE LOVE LOVE my folks, but one gets used to not being nagged all the time, you know?

Since I haven't been on my blog in a long time, let's recap my life a bit, shall we?

1. My grades have been awesome! I honestly don't think it's because I'm really brilliant or that I work really hard, but circumstances have lead me to the Dean's Honours List! Yipee!

2. I applied to McGill for the Library Science program. I applied at the last minute and didn't have any expectations. I got wait-listed, which was slightly disappointing but beats getting flat-out rejected. I think I have a good chance of getting in somewhere next year.

3. One of my oldest friends, Cheryl, got married!! That was a very surreal experience, but now that I'm in my mid-twenties (!) I guess this is going to happen more and more. At least none of my friends have kids (yet!). It was nice to finally meet Dave, Cheryl's now-husband. He seemed very nice, but I hope I get to know him better in the future. I don't see my old friends enough!! Anyhow, voici les photos:

Cheryl walking down the aisle

Awwww. Dad lifts the veil.

Ron and Joanne

Theresa and David (the groom)

Monica looking like a pin-up.

Monica and her lovely boyfriend Adam

Mr. and Mrs. Pridham taking their first dance.

Cheryl and Dave with their families

The three musketeers: me, Cheryl, and Monica!

I liked Cheryl's yellow flowers :-)

There you are kiddos! Wish me luck on my exams!

A small statue in Versailles

I guess the 1800s weren't that long ago

Know what I just realized? My grandfather, this guy,was born in 1895. I have a grandparent born in the 19th century. Insane.

In other news, I'm off to Ottawa for the weekend. Should be fun!

I went to a La Nuit en Rose, the ball for the UW French department, a few weekends ago. Here's a picture:
That's me, Aisling and Carla.

ETA: That guy born in 1895 is actually my great-grandfather. I got confused 'cause he died in 1966 while my grandfather died in '67.

UPDATE

It's cold. I'm grumpy. And I have to read FIVE French novels this term. SO I guess that's why I haven't been posting of late. School is a lot of work, even though it's only week 2. And I'm in a bad mood, and usually I only blog when I'm happy (today being the exception).

Anyways, to make the post more interesting than just me complaining, here's a picture of a torso from the Vatican museum.



PS. I'm not as grumpy as I sound.

Bedrooms

This is my bedroom around 1992. I had a pretty sweet set-up: Peter Rabbit sheets, Mickey Mouse blanket, Little Mermaid night gown, and a bunch of toys.


And here is my brother's room. I can see Legos, and old-school Gameboy, and our old computer! That baby had 256kB of memory, a sweet yellow-on-brown screen, and you had to load DOS on with a floppy disk when you turned it on.

It's cold!

It's really friggin' cold here in Montreal. I think it's about -20 and feels like -30 Celcius (that about 0 and -20 F for you Americans). And then it started snowing.

Whatever, let's look at some old snowsuits. These are from a 1992 ski trip in Horseshoe Valley.


Say what you will, but I think I'm kinda working this pink suit.


Georges looks a little more subdued.

We just don't rock the neon colours like we used to!

More Vintage Vero

Let's revisit some of the things I did when I was little. Well, I did some very important ballet stuff (circa about 1991)...

As you can see, we were perfectionists. Notice how everyone is in synch in this picture from our recital.

I also had a brief stint as a brownie (circa 1990).

And as an ice-skater (1994)

As as soft-ball player (about 1990).

And an immaculately-dressed private school student (1991).

So there you go!

Vintage Vero

Now that I'm back in Montreal for Christmas vacation, I have been passing time scanning old pictures. Here's me striking a pose, cica about 1989.