Recently in Like Mike Category

I'd been feeling very nostalgic. Somewhere there was a trigger that set off a chain reaction inside me. Memories flooded back. I couldn't help it.

The end of high school; the first time I got drunk. It was right near the end of grade 12. I was finally realising that dating girls because the only other gays guys in high school all sucked wasn't going to fly anymore. I was slowly cycling through a new group of friends from another high school as a result. My coworker, who was my in, had a party for her birthday. Everyone else was drinking. I drank, but my old friends didn't drink as much. So I got drunk. I mean really drunk. Like I didn't know my limit and drank Smirnoff Green Apple vodka out of a cup like it was a cooler, and then followed it up by doing Bacardi O shot's and chasing with Smirnoff Ice, because it was sweet. No one really knew better. Or they didn't tell me if they did. So I wound up wandering off to a park with an incredibly sweet straight guy who was the only person who thought someone should look after me. We went to Mac's and I was so drunk I ruined an entire display by accident, and followed it up by going to a park to vomit. A proud moment in my life.

Before I know it I'm only re-reading a story that defined what I really wanted out of my high school experience. I was almost bitter. Fairy tales are so cruel. I sat down, put on some slow songs from four or five or more years ago, with the occasional new one that I love and started re-reading. It's amazing what a good story can do. When I was getting too in touch with my emotions I would stop and watch jpop videos for songs I used to (and still) love on youtube. Youtube is an amazing gift from technology to us that I don't think we appreciate enough.

And I'm thinking about how every summer I promised myself it would be different. I wouldn't waste away. I would seize the moment this time. Grab life by the horns and what not. I had a stroke of luck too. Adam is moving into my building, 15 floors down. This summer is ripe for adventures. I'm going to try and remember to seize it this time.

1. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what my favourite number was, which would tell me when to stop.
2. Ever since that one year I gave up pop for lent, I have a hard time drinking it.
3. Japanese Cuisine is the way to my heart.
4. Actually, anything Japanese is the way to my heart. I think Japanese is the most beautiful language in the world; much more than French. Anyone who says otherwise is probably an ignorant white person, Korean or Chinese.
5. There are 6 pillows on my bed and I feel I need 2 more before I'm set. I like being surrounded by pillows.
6. Before I go to bed I usually fantasize about living in a video game or a fantasy book.
7. Addictions are a part of my life. As a result I try to avoid drugs and alcohol.
8. A serious Starbuck's addiction has just been curbed; they cancelled Cinnamon Dolce Lattes.
9. Textbooks and notebooks fall on a list of things I'm OCD about. There's a reason I have notepads and notebooks all over my desk.
10. I'm very easily annoyed with people. In order, I'm most likely to be annoyed with gays, then lesbians, then everyone else, then Asians.
11. Despite the tendency for people in computers to bootleg music and movies (especially movies), I only bootleg cds that I can't find in stores and porn.
12. People think I hate my exs, but I really don't. Whether or not they hate me is a another story.
13. Once upon a time I had a really hot dream about sex with someone only to wake up having sex with that same someone.
14. I don't do excessively nice things for people's approval If I do something nice, it's because I would have done it anyways.
15. Conversation subjects tend to jump around because I don't voice the connections I'm making in my head before speaking.
16. Despite claims I'm a label whore, I'm really not. There are so many expensive pieces of clothing that I think are hideous and would never ever wear, never mind purchase.
17. There's a possibility that I'm physically incapable of purchasing something I don't like. Even though I'm a compulsive buyer, there are a number of occasions where I'd love to buy something but don't.
18. The greatest compliment someone has ever given me was when they said I should work at Hollister because I'd be perfect there. I asked her to have my children.
19. The service has to be absolutely horrid before I stop feeling bad about not leaving a tip at a restaurant.
20. I feel horrible for people with nice bodies and ugly faces, especially when I see them at a gym. It's because no matter how hard they work out they can't change they have an ugly face.
21. Compulsive liars are my form of entertainment. It may make me a horrible person, but I absolutely love catching people in their lies. This has caused a problem only once when I really wanted to believe someone.
22. The most challenging thing for me is to apologize to someone. It's like admitting defeat, only a thousand times worse. Even worse than working at a job I'm way too qualified for.
23. As a result I try very hard to make sure everything that comes out of my mouth is valid.
24. It takes a very special person to be chaotic neutral. You either need to be ADD, or your conscience and your temptations need to be waging a constant war with each other. As much as I act it, I'm not ADD. I still haven't decided if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
25. Old women can do no wrong, unless they're causing me a personal annoyance. I find them adorable. They could murder someone right in front of me, and I'd flat out pretend nothing happened or tell everyone that they saved my life in killing that person.
26. That goes double for Asian women, and triple for little old Japanese ladies. Quadruple points of those little old Japanese ladies happened to be my Japanese profs.
27. When I was younger I used to think that people got piercings because they didn't like themselves and wanted to make a statement. I now have two piercings that I constantly forget I have. I'm not sure if I feel like a hypocrite, or there's some statement I'm trying to make that I just haven't figure out yet.
28. I know far too much about the TTC, especially considering that most of it is pointless information. Forget schedules, those are boring. LRT turns me on.
29. There are exactly 2800 songs in my iTunes library right now, and most of the time on shuffle I can't find a single song that I like. I forgive iTunes because every once and a while it does an amazing job shuffling.
30. This is a result of the fact that I used to buy CDs for one or two songs that I liked, leaving me with a ton of music (especially rap) that I can't stand but don’t feel like removing just in case.
31. Every so often I try very hard to talk to people on my msn, usually when they sign in. This never lasts very long because I always end up getting really awkward with the first person, and I give up.
32. Grade 11 Drama was weird for me. It was even weirder after I realized my drama teacher could be Emma Bunton in her music video for 'Maybe'.
33. I hold a special spot on the list of things I hate for the Toronto Public Space Committee, and all the shit they whine about because their lives suck, because they're not getting laid and because they have nothing better to do.
34. Very often I realize that I'm giving people dirty looks without meaning it. This usually happens because I'm watching people and thinking about something, which leads me to thinking about other things until I hit something I don't like and scowl. Only I forget to stop looking in their direction, and before I know it I've offended someone.
35. Forget how amazing their voices are, the very first thing I heard a music theatre student sing was 'Cry Me A River' by Justin Timberlake. I'll never look at that song the same way again.
36. Cooking is so ridiculously challenging for me. Not the kind of cooking where you drop something in a pan and let it sit for 10 minutes. I mean real cooking. As soon as there is defrosting or sauce involved, I'm screwed. I'm not creative enough for it. I can hardly make a sandwich I enjoy eating.
37. I enjoy driving a lot. Despite having been in 2 accidents, I still love it. I tend to forget about the accidents.
38. I used to read a lot as a child. Actually I still read a lot. Only as a child I would power read. In grade 5 we had this thing where you'd get a coupon for Pizza Hut if you read the most books. I used to plow through Goosebumps books, because they were easy to read and easier to remember.
39. I went through this phase where I really liked tighter jeans. 4 pairs and like $2000 later, I've decided that I'm just going to shop at Hollister unless I feel like splurging.
40. I used to spent far too much money playing DDR. By the time I got to Waterloo, before the mono kicked in hard I was able to pass MAX300 on Heavy. Those were the glory days though, and now I can hardly pass simple songs like Waka Laka.
41. When I was too unfit to play DDR without embarrassing myself, I started playing Time Crisis 3 and Initial D V3. I've beaten Time Crisis 3 more times than I can count, and Initial D is the reason I picked a Manual Transmission car.
42. I tend to confuse Nancy Silverman for a black woman and I think of Ali Momen-googleplex every time someone says that they left their waitress job in Jersey.
43. I definitely almost skipped this number. I forget about things sometimes. Worst memory ever.
44. My claim to fame was the fact that I'm loved more than everyone else who went to high school when I did. That, and the fact that people named Phil have a tendency to dislike me.
45. The last time I had sex was with Abby. Just kidding. I swear.
46. I've decided that I really enjoy the number 46. Not because I can't think of anything else – I've cut stuff out. But even numbers are always cooler than odd numbers, unless their cubed. In which case things get really complicated so we won't get into that.

Ok, so I didn't actually write anything new. But I promise I will. I'm just tired.

Grade 8 was a little different without Matt, Chris or Chris. Like the beginning of grade 6, Andrew and I were on our own so to speak; it was near the middle of grade 6 that we really started talkign to Matt, Chris and Chris. So when grade 8 started we went back to doing our own little thing, with alot of help from Pokemon. There was no business selling bean bag babies this time; it sufficed in grade 6 when we wanted to take money from foolish classmates. God Bless Mrs Groves though for buying so many, and for somehow knowing that even though Kim was in love with me, and even though I was only in grade 6, that I was still a big fag. Pokemon became the big thing in our group of friends that was now spread at two different schools. For whatever reason, it picked up a lot. It was something that tied the group together just before we were split up. I remember by the end of grade 8 just being ready to go to High School and be done with Our Lady of Peace. So when I started at Loyola, I was extremely happy. I was somebody now, right? Hardly. I was shattered to learn that I only had one class with Andrew. Well, one class and lunch which made it bearable. Second Period Gym with Mr Aresenault. It was interesting to see who was in that class. One of the first people I saw was someone I hadn't seen in months. I was going to say four years, but it's not true. Andre was in my gym class. He came and said hi, and we did the regular pleasantries. I hadn't seen him since Appleby. I assume he didn't get in, since he was at Loyola. Although that's not fair. He could have been like me; scored high on the entrance exams, aced the interview, and didn't go. Although I find that hard to believe personally. The reason being that, before the extrance exam the last time I had seen Andre was in grade 4 and he wasn't in the best shape. I mean no offense by that, he had his reasons. Reasons that I will not go into because they are his business. We talked, then I went and sat with Andrew, displaying classic Carrots and Celery behaviour. I remember how on the second day of class, Andre and I got in trouble for not having gym clothes. There were a few of us who got in trouble, although he had totally said we could buy uniforms in class. We had to sit on the bleachers and not talk to anyone. So I sit on the bleachers up againt the wall, took 30 seconds to try and figure out the rest of my day, and homework I'd have to do. When I looked up, Andre was sitting down next to me and complaining. Before I could open my mouth and tell him to leave we were getting in trouble. Add 25 more pushups to the 50 we already had to do. Great way to have Andre reintroduced into my life.

I still remember how uncertain those first few lunches were. It was odd. The table was our same old group from elementary school, plus one more: Taylor. He was a friend of Matt's. I remember how quickly magic cards started with them, and how our table grew. I had never before seen magic cards. Like, ever. So it was interesting. I had to learn to play to have somethign to do with them at lunch. Boy, I will never let myself live that one down. It didn't take long before I stopped and would talk to people who I had class with while they played. I remember how Rob joined our group of friends. There was some disagreement on how this happened when I was talking to him. As far as I remember, Andrew and I were talking about Diablo II as we did our warm up runs in gym when Rob came over and started talking. Rob recently informed me he never played Diablo II. So I find it amusing that we argued about it. I'm sure he lied, and so is he. He was a quick addition to our table though. He played Magic Cards. So did Mike Yip.

Mike Yip and I had 4 out of 5 periods together in Semester Two. We had also gone to Mini-U together. He was in the same group as Matt, Andrew and Fly which allowed him to discover their common love of Magic Cards. His older sister Carmen was one of my Junior leaders. So Mike quickly joined the group. This is when I like to think the group was at it's best. It really was too. Well, with Andre. He was there too. Not that this was bad, I just think I forgot to mention that. He also played Magic Cards. Grade 9 was a good year. I still think Chrono Cross is a gorgeous game. We played it at Andre's house once, along with Xenogears. Unfortunatly, things would lead to disaster. Andre, Andrew and I all had the same personality faults to a certain degree. There was a certain point where we would do things to seek approval of each other. This lead to tension near the end of grade 9. Mike Yip and I were on the Reach team with Matt and Fly, so Andre and Andrew pulled closer together. After that, Fly, Mike and I went to EMC and when we came back Mike Yip and I were Mike Squared. I don't think it went over too well.

That's something that changed my a lot; when I went Mike Yip and I were the only grade 9s from Loyola. We roomed together, obviously. We stayed in McNeil residence, I still remember. The first night Mike and I weren't sure what to do, we hadn't met up with his friends from elementary school and couldn't find Fly. We walked down to the common room, to try and pass the time. It was so obvious that we were out of place. We were watching some of the grade 11s play card; we didn't play with them we were too scared to talk. Much music was on playing songs that I had never heard. One of the kids was being loud and obnoxious: "God damnit play some good music." Missy Elliot comes on the screen: "Thats more like it!" Now at this point my music exposure was almost entirely what Kiss 92 played; not Missy Elliot (which is probably why they later went bankrupt). It was a shock to me. The music, but more so the music video. For those of you who havent seen the music video to Get Ur Freak On, I suggest you watch it as soon as possible to try and understand what Iw as going through.

[ dear mike, don't forget: emc stuff (music, girls, keys, course) ]

Midway through grade 10, things had blown up. This was caused by the hiatus a few of us took from the group near the end of grade 9. By second semester, the group had seen the addition of James Hine as a friend, and Olek, Oscar and Gustabo as pawns for Andrew to try and control. I don't even remember what the boiling point was. I just remember Mike Yip left to sit with friends we had, and eventually Rob, Olek and I had left to walk to McDonald's for lunch with Andrea, Dan, Nick, Dave and Tim. At this point Rob and I were really close. Like, weekend sleepovers (the kind that Andrew and I used to have), Munn's Dance Chaperoning, Volunteer Hours Galore. By second semester I had no more contact with my original group of friends. The new group would go out every weekend and see a movie. The amount of movies I saw in in the six months before we went away to Holy Trinity.

[ dear mike, don't forget: emc stuff, mini u, etc ]

End Pre-Holy Trinity

The very first Mike Haddad History Tour I officially gave was to Adam Steczkiewicz because we're losers like that. Or something. It took place as a walking tour around River Oaks; something like a walking tour in London. It was pieced together from bits of walks that I used to take during the summers I spent at Saugeen. It starts at Our Lady of Peace, winding down Shannon Creek Trail to Callahagn and Leacock; up Towne and along Saugeen to Munn's Creek at River Glen Blvd; down Munn's Creek before cutting off to Harman's Gate, along WestChester and Andover; along Sixth down past Holy Trinity to Munn's, then over to River Oaks Blvd via the River Oak's School side of Munn's Creek. It's all quite confusing, and I'm sure that somewhere in there I butchered the proper use of a semicolon (for which I appologize). It tends to deviate after that depending on my mood, and the weather. With Adam, we continued across Upper Middle down Elm and through Oakville Park So it basically consists of walking through my old "stompin grounds" if you will, with me talking about myself and what I used to do; people I used to be friends with; sports activities I stopped taking part in. So let's try to make this something more official.

I didn't always live in the lovely Oakville. No, I was a proud Torontonian; born and almost raised. I lived there until I was six. I went to one school in the East Beaches for Junior Kindergarden and one school in Parkdale for Senior Kindergarden. Oh Parkdale. I don't recall what the school was called. On no, I do: Alexander Muir. It was old. It also allowed me to form a great friendship with a Japanese girl that ended when she moved back to Japan. So old that my parents went there. It makes me wonder about what highschool would have been like at Parkdale Collegiate Institute. Think about it. The school was over 100 years old when my parents went there. My dad still holds the bench press record in the gym. Do you have any idea how scary that is for me to think about? It's scary.

Growing up in Toronto with parents who grew up in Toronto meant one thing: I wasn't allowed to go outside very much. The park down the street was extremely sketchy. I went back to the one in the beaches a few months ago; they had cleaned it up a lot. Unfortunatly it wasn't clean when I was living there. Not that it mattered much. In the beaches, there was no one my age, and when I stayed at my grandmothers for a year I got in fights with the neighbours. Luckily for my birthday my parents bought me an SNES. Needless to say I was in heaven. I'm sure that to this day they regret making that purchase. I was to be extremely addicted to Nintendo throughout most of my early life.

When we moved to Oakville, we were one of the first families on the street. I think for a while my parents were extremely antisocial. I blame the fact that they both worked like crazy. I started at St John's for grade 1, with no idea that I would be once again switching schools when then year was over. So, making friends was a challenge. Not an actual challenge, but a challenge in the sense that everyone in grade 1 is carefree and fickle. I was probably a big pussy too. We went through a number of nannies until I was in about grade 4. So up until that point I really didn't do much outside of the house; it was easier for both the nanny and my parents that way. I did have friends though. Two in particualar that I was close with: Rylan and Mario. That's not to say I didn't meet other people, because I definatly did: Andre, Adam, Amanda, and Kaitie; I was just close with them because they lived right near by (and when you're in grade 1, going from Towne and RiverGlen to Sixth Line and UpperMiddle took way too long). The amusing thing about that is I don't think any of us talk to each other anymore. Mario is extreme gino styles, and Rylan is a scene punk. So you can see how that might cause some conflict. We were good friends until around grade 7, when things like that started to matter (As if they really do matter). We did the regular things. Ball hockey, video games, board games and swimming in pools. Talked about girls, and teachers; what it would be like when we finally got into highschool. Whatever. It was fun while it lasted. Oh those crazy games of "Nicky Nicky Nine Doors".

By the time Rylan, Mario and I had our falling out I already had two close groups of friends. The first were the male friends, the other were the female friends. This of course being the case because in elementary school it was taboo for groups of friends to be co-ed. The male group consisted of the following people: Andrew and Matt the brothers, Chris M and Chris Q. It started with Andrew. I am no longer able to recall how we became friends. I know that, looking back, we always told stories of how we met in grade 1. I know this to be extremely and blatantly false. I was probably insecure, and suffering from a huge bout of Carrots and Celery Syndrome, when I said I had met him in grade 1 and we had been friends since. I'm sure he was going through the same thing. We both hated everyone in school. However, we weren't in the same grade 1 class and I hardly talked to many people in that class. They all knew each other from kindergraden. We weren't in the same grade 2 class; we weren't in the same grade 3 class. We didn't have a class together until grade 6. However, by that point I know we were almost inseperable. I remember us being excited that we were in the same class. So our friendship developed somewhere, it's just a question of where. I'll get back to you on that one. Matt was his older brother, and the two Chris' were his friends. We called Chris M Fly. For the record his fly was never actually undone, we had been having a conversation about the leather things they place on the front of school buses when he walked by. That was the male group of friends. Every morning we would meet at Andrew's house and we would play videos games. Goldeneye was the big one. Oh the memories. The other group of friends was the small female one. Kim, Danielle and Christina. They were pivotal in many things, I'm sure. The developement of certain tendencies.

Having the group of male friends was really good for my mental growth, if that makes any sense at all. I don't actually think that's a good way to describe it. It was a nice way to discover myself. Yes, that's right. Somewhere in between the ocarina and the farm life I started thinking about who I wanted to be. Before I got into grade 8 I had already decided that I was going to go to UWaterloo for CS. I'm still not sure how I knew that Waterloo had the best program at that age; it will forever be a mystery. I remember how torn I was after I started going to Mini-U over the summer. Andrew, Matt and Chris would go with me. Andrew had decided he wanted to go to Mac (last I heard he was taking computer science there). What was I going to do. One part of me had already been determined to go to Waterloo (since you know, in grade 6 I knew it was the best - I blame my father). That was tough on what little mental stability I had. I got over it.

End Pre-Highschool

(I hit enter by accident. So I'm taking this as a sign to take a break. I'll continue the rest in an edit later.)