Devan Boomen Journal

2009-03-27T12:51:00.001-07:00

FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER IN MY FOUR-YEAR HISTORY AT WESTERN, I'M GOING TO APPEAL A GRADE! HOW EXCITING CAN WE GET HERE, FOLKS. I'M NERVOUS.

Memories Can't Wait

2009-03-10T13:43:00.000-07:00

Using ONLY SONG TITLES from ONE artist, cleverly answer these questions:

Pick a band/artist: Talking Heads

1. Are you a male or female: 'Television Man'

2. Describe yourself: 'I Get Wild/Wild Gravity'

3. How do you feel about yourself: 'Dream Operator'

4. Describe your ex-boyfriend/girlfriend: 'Drugs'

5. Describe your current boy/girl situation: 'Thank You for Sending me an Angel'

6. Describe your current location: 'Houses in Motion'

7. Describe where you want to be: 'Cities'

8. Your best friend is: 'the Democratic Circus'

9. Your favourite colour is: 'Ruby Dear'

10. What’s the weather like: 'Cool Water'

11. If your life was a television show what would it be called?: 'the Book I Read'

12. What is life to you: 'Wild Wild Life'

13. What is the best advice you have to give: 'Don't Worry About the Government'

14. If you could change your name what would you change it to: 'Bill'

15. If there was a drink named after you, it would be called: 'the Good Thing'

16. Describe your first car: 'Puzzlin' Evidence'

17. In the morning: 'the Overload'

18. At night: 'Stay up Late'

19. Describe your sex life: 'Making Flippy Floppy'

20. My theme song would be: 'Paper'

Quote of the Day: Gary Stitt Edition

2009-02-22T18:19:00.000-08:00

"Indie music is just an excuse for musicians to be shitty at instruments."

How true is THAT!!

Quote of the Day: Granny Edition

2009-01-24T17:18:00.000-08:00

Outside smoking a cigarette with Granny:

"Aye, I watched the Obama thingmy on the telly. Next thing ye ken we'll hae a woman president, an' then an oriental wan. An' then they can a' shut up."

Designate/Your Love as Fate

2009-01-15T11:03:00.000-08:00

I'm telling you this much:

If grad school sends me a big-fat-no,
I'm going to drive there and kick some big-fat-ass.

Acoustic Bru Ha-Ha

2009-01-09T16:20:00.001-08:00

I went to the Post Office today to Express-Mail four years of hard work and one year in the future away to Hamilton. Needless to say, I was greeted by the "did you staple your pages in the right order?" question inside of my head the very second I handed the envelope over to the mail clerk. I chain-smoked to help answer it.

Then I went and picked up my other letters of reference from a professor. They're currently sitting and staring at me on my desk. They're asking for me to boil a kettle and accidentally hold them over the steam. Does that shit even work?

So tempted to open them.

Mom

2009-01-07T18:23:00.000-08:00

My mom was hanging out with me in my room this evening, and I was trying to force Bonnie "Prince" Billy on her. She told me she hated it and wanted to hear "Sufan Sargent" instead.

2008-12-25T00:12:00.000-08:00

i'm too excited to sleep because of santa coming!!!!

Funny High School Jounral Entry #1

2008-12-19T22:14:00.000-08:00

This is taken from a journal entry dated July 12th 2004:

"...I've got money now though, so maybe I shouldn't be so uptight. I just feel like I'm wasting it. That's really not the case, though. Music is something I love and admire, so why can't I spend my extra money on it? It's REALLY not going to cigarettes and booze anymore. For one thing, I've decided I don't like boozing at parties, and if I do every once and a while, I think I'll drink shandies. Steamwhistle and Canada Dry: two wonderful things. As for smoking, I just can't do it anymore - as in afford it OR handle it physically. Cigarettes are gross. The head rush isn't, though. But recently, I've been smoking to such an extent that I'm not getting that wonderful feeling as much. There was a period last week where I didn't have a cigarette for three days, and when I had one at the bus stop, I was totally dizzy and was brought back to "the good ole days" of smoking. I think that's what I'll do, then, is just have the occasional cigarette. I'm not doing anything at all this week, so I doubt I'll be smoking at alll... maybe I won't smoke next week, either. Maybe never."

2008-12-18T23:49:00.000-08:00

i just remember being in awe of this video when i was a tyke.

wait!

2008-12-15T11:39:00.001-08:00

while i was walking up the steps to huron's library, i had a brief moment where i couldn't remember if i was twenty or twenty-one. i suppose this would be why i'm an english student and not one of mathematical prowess.

how come female african-american authors like to write about their female protagonists being raped? it makes me feel awkward.

nostalgie

2008-12-11T18:54:00.000-08:00

la vidéo est très ennuyeux, mais j'adore la chanson. Il me dirige manques TR un petit peu! (et parle le français. j'ai perdu mon grammaire!)

2008-12-10T12:04:00.000-08:00

Today I started my grad school statement!

Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah for me!

I'm also studying Tar Baby:

someone is

2008-12-06T11:14:00.000-08:00

last night, leslie made me chicken stir fry for dinner. later, her and i hung out in bed and ate bbq chips and cake frosting out of the jar.

right now, she is making me eggs.

life is good!

Possibly going crazy...?

2008-12-04T11:51:00.000-08:00

Whilst writing my Crime Exam...

"What becomes interesting of Henry Maudsley is how he creates a conversation of truth and power within himself. In other words, the Victorian psychiatrist created a conversation of truth and power within himself."

It's time for a break.

i wish winter break would hurry the fuck up.

2008-11-28T05:58:00.000-08:00

For fun;
This picture was taken on Superbowl Sunday 2006. Aleta and I got together and used the sport-astic event as an excuse to eat chips, cake, pop, chocolate, ice cream, and pizza.

I believe this was a feigned attempt at rooting on a team in manly fashion. Who was playing that day, anyways? Judging by my sporty football jersey, I think it was the Rough Riders...

This morning my stepdad busted the door open and flipped on the lights and yelled at me to get up. 6.15 a.m.

Oh, he didn't do it in one of those asshole stepdad ways. He did it because he knows that's the only way I'll actually wake up. My mother usually comes and and whispers softly for me to get out of bed. I'll comply and then fall back asleep for another two hours.

However, this morning was total whirlwind-heat-and-flash. I shot upright in bed and seriously didn't know who or where I was for about thirty seconds. I got up in time for breakfast (oatmeal and two pieces of toast), which ultimately gave me heartburn because I haven't had breakfast in the morning since I was eleven.

t-rex

2008-11-27T11:56:00.000-08:00

why do t-rexes(?) t-rexi(?)
have those useless little arms?

write is might.

2008-11-25T11:57:00.000-08:00

Between my 8.30 - 11.30 class and my 12.30 - 2.30 class, I fell asleep.
I didn't wake up until 1.30.

I have one more essay to write, one more test to write, one more take-home exam to write, and one more final to write. Then I can be done for a couple of weeks so I can write my statement of interest and my grad school applications. After that, I plan on going back to school in January so I can write some articles for the Grapevine and write a History paper that's due on the fifteenth.

My hands are sore, and I don't think I have any more theses left in my head.

-d.

netted slippers

2008-11-24T10:06:00.001-08:00

I'm not sure what it is, but there's this new fad of dragging your boots on the gravel. I'm not too fond of it. Every time someone drags past me on the sidewalk, I give them cut eye. People need to learn how to pick up their feet while they walk again. I'm not sure if it's the lack of support that ugg boots give to your feet, or if it's some sort of north toronto boho jam, but come on. It's not the slut shuffle.

In other news, I'm writing my ninth essay of the year. We're only three months in.

Welcome, back! (To the journal, and school.)

it seems to be the time of year...

2008-04-28T17:34:00.000-07:00

my great grandma just passed away.

minor thought.

2008-04-25T18:56:00.000-07:00

i think i'm going to switch to contact lenses.

embar.

2008-04-24T17:22:00.000-07:00

I've been told that FM96 is currently advertising for Jack Astor's Wednesday Night Patio Parties featuring:

"A LIVE DJ!!!"

Somewhat embarrassing because they forgot to say that these patio parties feature:

"A BLOATED AND UNSHAVEN TWENTY YEAR OLD STANDING BEHIND HIS LAPTOP!!!"

also: you should go to the CoinStar at Loblaws and turn your change into cash money. I made 27 easy bucks!

paninini

2008-04-23T13:54:00.000-07:00

about fifteen minutes ago, i learned that the jonas brothers are actually brothers!! AND they went to a christian high school!!!

i'm watching oprah make sweeping claims about humans and shit right now. and doing laundry. and i haven't had a shower yet, nor have i brushed my teeth.

i wish i was this skinny again. but i don't wish for blonde hair again.

new song!

2008-04-21T10:51:00.000-07:00

three out of five done.

i have one tonight, which has forced me to stay at the school.

i went to subway. when i tried to purchase my sub, i had insufficient funds. so i had to put my sub on credit. i felt like such a western jew-girl. except for they would never experience the embarrassment of insufficient funds.

beautiful spring

2008-04-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

squirrels are so ugly at this time of year.

232 Steps

2008-04-16T19:19:00.000-07:00

I wrote this thing three years ago. I realized today that it can apply once again.

***

It is approximately two hundred and thirty two steps from my house on Windsor Avenue to your house on Emery. I counted with my step counter I got for free inside a 'Specially Marked Box of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes'. That is ninety seven seconds worth of walking, and forty five seconds if I run. I tend to run to your house more, because I know that my best friend lives two hundred and thirty two steps away. What will we do today?

You're the best friend that took me to the Upper Room Bookstore to laugh at the Christian and Grown-Up music that they sold. You're also the one that wore a hideous neon green "Just Add Water" t-shirt to the first day of grade nine. I didn't know you at all back then, so therefore I had the right to laugh.
What?
That wasn't you?
Oh. Oh right, you were the kid with the spiked hair.
Yeah I probably laughed at that too.

You're also the best friend that was never afraid to bust out the dance moves on the South gym floor during school dances, the one who admitted to watching "Once and Again" every Wednesday night, and wetting the bed as a child. Okay fine, I also did those things. Compatible, aren't we?

You walked with me on Friday nights around the darkened streets of the neighbourhood, where we decided that Franklin Avenue had the prettiest houses and the best kept lawns. We also shared laughs about people we associated with and the embarrassing things they did. Of course, we weren't laughing at them. Just with. Nevertheless, you were still upset when you didn't win "The Biggest Gossip" award at prom last week.

Speaking of graduations, and proms and all of that, you're also the friend who is moving to Toronto next September for University. Suddenly, those two hundred and thirty two simple steps in Old South have stretched out of the city limits, expanding themselves beyond vision. Way more than ninety seven seconds worth of walking. Over two hours if I drive (taking 401 Traffic into consideration, of course).

But those steps don't matter to me that much, because I have steps all over this damned neighbourhood to retrace until you get back. Two hundred thirty two steps to your old house, five hundred seventy six steps to the Upper Room Bookstore, endless amounts of funky dance steps to repeat, and even more to wander the neighbourhood with. Despite all of this, the most important steps to keep around (and this is going to sound pathetically sappy...and I know you hate that) are the steps in our friendship, because they are constantly propelling forward in strength. I think we can both agree with that.

See you when you get home,
two hundred thirty three
two hundred thirty four
two hundred thirty five
two hundred thirty six
two hundred thirty seven...

dear god, please give me the strength to totally just fuck my brains out.

2008-04-13T17:09:00.001-07:00

i've been expecting my grandfather any day now.
peppered eggs: hard white, runny yellow.
creepy wide-eyed youngsters looping four notes from some tv jingle
the entire afternoon.
the innocence in children's laughter can be confused with a touch of evil.

at what age can a child detect the deception in a
jack-o-lantern's smile?
and its relationship to autumn and the death of
things all in the wild?
like the anticipation in the face of someone who's just
poisoned your wine saying
"drink! drink!" with their eyes
and making toasts to you.

when do children learn to expect death when the leaves turn
pretty colours?
(smile your brains out.)

- Yoni Wolf

lake michigan pity party!

2008-03-30T18:00:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what it is I'm doing, but for some reason I'm never mentioned.

Over the past year I've been viewed as the one who goes out too much and doesn't do anything. I find that strange, because people keep forgetting that I bend-over-backwards for just about anybody that asks, and have balanced a hefty portion of school, work, and extra shit that no one else would or wanted to do. I made the mistake of biting off more than I could chew this year, and now as the school year is wrapping up, it's starting to bite me in the ass.

I'm still waiting for that day when somebody straight up tells me that they appreciate me. Just one time. Not multiple times, because then I'd get annoyed. But just once, someone should tell me that what I do is appreciated. I'm burning out, because I haven't had that simple pick-me-up yet that would lift my spirits and keep me going.

And now I'm stuck in this rut where if I stop, they'll just assume I'm the one who goes out too much and doesn't do anything. So I guess I'll just keep plugging along with it all until that one person realizes everything I've done for them.

to you, who found it.

2008-03-21T22:16:00.000-07:00

here's fun:

Eagle in your Mind by Boards of Canada
off of the album Music has the Right to Children

two minutes and fifty three seconds in.

-d.

double helix like a wishbone

2008-03-06T15:43:00.000-08:00

Officially that time of year when you come up with a creative idea. Perhaps a short story, or a song, but have no time to write or record it.

And then you do it anyway, and it sounds like shit because you have no time.

promise

2008-03-05T16:06:00.000-08:00

Officially that time of the year when you say "I'm not going out for, like, the whole month! I have too much shit to do."

And then proceed to go out every weekend. And the occasional weekday.

Reunion-union

2007-12-22T23:54:00.000-08:00

They can be the most horrific things of all time.
They can be the most fun you'll have, ever.

murphy's law

2007-12-21T11:39:00.000-08:00

i'll spend an hour and a half aimlessly clicking on links and websites. bored out of my mind.

then i'll think of something really fun to do on the computer.
this is usually when a warning comes up on the screen notifying me of the battery and how it's about to die.

Gas Pains

2007-12-18T15:31:00.000-08:00

In my opinion, there is nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night with horrid gas pains. Never can you relieve them. They just sit in your stomach, not wanting to be burped or farted out. A big ball of air.

Furthermore, you have to lay as still as you can. This is because gas pains give you a sharp pang in the stomach when you roll around trying to get comfortable.
You may decide to get up and use the toilet. However, this usually ends in an unsuccessful attempt, christened with a red ring around your ass and half of a comic book read.

Joy Division

2007-12-17T16:54:00.000-08:00

I love Joy Division.

I love Joy Division as-much-as-the-next-guy.

A brilliant, yet simplistic band that composed innovative music at a time when Punk was becoming slightly too redundant and monotonous. You know, I personally can only handle so many songs about fascism and fuck-this-attitude before I begin to feel anxious. Joy Division broke the moulds of this aesthetic and began to assist in paving the way for College Rock kids like myself, and New Wave geeks alike.

Then Ian Curtis died and Joy Division became a better band called New Order.

And then a few years later a really shitty movie came out titled Control and ruined everything.