The Disappointed Manic

August 25, 2008

So I wasn't really planning on writing this often but something came up that needed to be addressed - and no, it's not my shitty spelling. Today we had our picture taken together, ALL of the residence together and then right after we did all these activities organized by our Residence council. Well, I didn't. I planned to go buy things I needed, such as pillows and towels. Yup. This morning I dried myself off with my residence shirt since it was the biggest/cleanest piece of absorbent material I had that I wasn't going to wear or use soon. Our Residence floor President made us Pancakes and then we had a meeting about the day. We were told to go get our Residence shirts for the picture. F my life. I threw the soggy shirt into the dryer (which cost me a buck) and waited about 40 minutes for it to dry. When we left I took it out and it was slightly less soggy but still soggy enough to be annoying. Whatever, I was just wearing it for the picture.

After the picture I threw the savage shirt back into my room and went shopping for Pillows, Comforter, and towels. Side note*: holy mother fucking shit are comforters ever expensive; and I only found one that wasn't made in China and it was 130 bucks. Fuck that noise, I'm waiting for the Ikea trip! Anyway, I got everything else including a cell phone (My new number is on facebook) and just as I started unpacking my stuff in my dorm I heard a knocking on the door. It was Shiloh, my Residence Adviser for my floor. Now Shiloh isn't as bounce off the walls manic as the other RAs, but he's still enthusiastic and likable.

"Wear were you?"
"Shopping. I needed towels."
"There are times for you to do that."
"I thought the event were going all night." I actually did. I was going to unpack and join them right away.
"No, It's over now. Now would have been a time for you to get the stuff you needed."

As it turns out, only 4 of the 25 people on my floor went out to represent us. Crap.

The Resident President said it was depressing. We literally were the least represented floor of all the residence buildings. There are about 25 floors.

And before we went for dinner as a 'family' - I still hate the cultish term - our RA said it was disappointing how few people showed up. Good God. I would usually role my eyes at this but he meant it. It WAS depressing.

So now I have an emotional obligation to go to every other orientation event I can. Just now, at 10:15pm someone came to the door and tried to get me to go to some comedy show. . . SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?! It's 10:00!! Aren't I just a rip roaring college student?

Peace

Chris

The First Day

Today has been my first day at Ryerson and it has been quite interesting. First I got up at 3 in the morning after MAYBE two and a half hours of sleep, probably due to anxiety.Once I woke up I had this horrendous naesous feeling in my stomach. Was it the anxiety of leaving, was it the fact that I only had 2 and a half hours of sleep? I don't know. But I finished packing my crap and we were off to the air port at 4:30.
As expected, Mom cried instantly when I hugged her at security. We had been waiting for that moment for a few weeks now, not with anticipation but just in knowing that it was inevitable. Security sucked but made me feel safe, the flight was long, I kind slept, blah blah same old shit.
My Aunt Michelle and Aunt Jackie picked me up from the airport and we went to lunch which I tried extremly hard to pay for but - being the loving Aunts they are they kept shoving money into my pocket. So I ended up buying toilet paper, crackers and shampoo with it. Next step, a towel!
But what I really want totell you about is the INSANITY of the orientation. Not totally in a good way. It's not like "Whoa Dude, that was awesome! It was totally insane!" Not at all. It's the enthusiasm that is insane if not down-right cult like.
I hate orientations with a passion. You go trhough all this bullshit that is mainly commen sense and there is always one tool in the crowd who has to make up ridiculous hypothetical scenarios to, I don't know, test the limits of authority? attempt to be funny in front of all the new people? Either way it's been drilled into me that we can't walk around with open alcohol and can't dink if we are underage, as most people are. Sweet. I'm with a shat load of 17 and 18 year old. Swell.
Then there was the pep ralley. Seriously. We had a pep ralley where we all chanted really crappy chants with the rest of the people from our building. Then we did this strange team building, bango smashing group thing - that was actually kind of fun. What got me here was a couple of things. The first of which are the RA and the Council Presidents. They must be either high on speed or at least a little mentally retarded. They were running around with their heads cut off trying to hype the crowd like we were a fleet of tweens going to see Hannah Montana. Better yet, a fleet of tweens going to see Hannah Montana with the Jonas Brothers opening up for her. Again, at least a little bit mentally retarded.
Secondly, this is REALLY what gets me, is how they tell us we are going to be a family. Ew. No. Absolutely not. I don't want to be your family. I don't know who you are. You can't throw 783 people in a gymnasium, have them smash some drumbs and expect them to be the best of friends. It is so bizzare and strange and probably the most unnatural way to make friends. You don't make friends through forced activity, you make them through experience. You make them in an environment where they aren't pressured to be open with every flippin person they meet. (I remembered two names today) You don't make them because you are in a new place and you so desperatly need someone next to you to make you feel likeable. You make them because you get along with them and it would be stupid not to be friends with them. Socialization is so awkward and strange to begin with and it's even stranger when it's forced. Why can't I just ease into it like I have with every other successful friendship I've ever had? Why can't we slowly get to understand each other's humour so that I can slip in an inappropriate joke about someone that annoys us both? or about dead babies? Why does it matter if our dorm building wins the cultish chanting competition? Because maybe, when we throw ourselves into these ridiculous situations, we will find others that respond to it in the same way. There's gotta be someone else that is going to try to avoid Orientation Week and wait for a chance to build friendships in a normal social environment. . . maybe I should hunt him/her/them down.

Peace

Chris

The Virgin Post

HOLLA! HOLLA!

This, obviously, is the first post in my Toronto blog.  Oddly enough I am not yet in Toronto.  I move on Sunday and once I get settled into residence and have internet I will begin posting blogs chronicling my misadventures and hi-jinks in The T-dot.  I have heard from many people that I will love Toronto.  I've heard form others that I will despise it with every fibre of my being and long for the comfort of my mother's arms back in Alberta.  Many examples of each are bound to pop up through out my four years (minimum) of being in Toronto, that I can assure you.  One other thing I can assure you is that whenever one of these examples pops up I will be writing about it here with all my cynical, pretentious, sarcasm that we have all come to know and love. . . or at least learned to put up with.

Thanks for at least reading this first post.  There will be a bunch more to come.

Peace

Chris