As mentioned in my previous blog, I will be going to the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 next summer! I will be travelling alone for my trip to Recife, but will meet up with a friend in Recife for a couple of games (hopefully), before heading off to Rio de Janeiro for (hopefully) a quarterfinal game. Luck has already been on our side yesterday, when the World Cup groups were drawn, and our only confirmed ticket so far will be for the United States vs. Germany game on June 25th. We got incredibly lucky! I had a feeling we would end up watching a match featuring less prominent teams, but somehow we managed to get the Group of Death as Group G. Insanely lucky.
To watch Brazil play in Toronto was a childhood dream
The first time I saw Brazil play was back in 2002. It was summer, and my dad was hooked on the TV, following every single game of World Cup 2002. I started watching with him, and before I knew it, I became a fan of the Brazilian national team and the magnificent maestro Kaka. The rest, as they say, is history.
The Brazilian national team came to Toronto to play Chile in a FIFA certified friendly. It was a very short trip. They arrived the evening before, and they left the night of the game. They only stayed one night. I wasn’t even planning to attend because the tickets were so expensive – even more expensive than actual World Cup 2014 tickets! – but the day before the game, I realized that I didn’t take this chance now, I may never see them play again. At least never in Toronto – hell, when I was a kid, I never imagined I would even be able to see them play in my home city of Toronto! – and probably not at least until my 30s. So I took this chance, bought a $62 ticket for the nosebleed sections and off I went.
Life is about taking the opportunities as they present themselves to you after all. If not now, then when?
Spreading yourself too thin
Many of us feel as if we need to set ourselves apart from others, or that if we miss an opportunity now, we’ll never get the chance to experience it again.
This article describes exactly how I have been feeling the past few weeks. I am overwhelmed with school, work, and responsibility in general. I don’t know how to stop, but now, from this article, I’ve realized that I must learn how to stop. I must force myself to stop and say “no”.
‘About Time’: Treasure each moment as it passes
I got to attend a super advance screening of Richard Curtis’ About Time last night thanks to Scene Creek! So top secret, there were even Universal Pictures Canada employees in the audience! As Rachel McAdams’ biggest fan in Toronto (hah), this was a huge treat, so I was incredibly excited about seeing this movie! But I’m rather exhausted after a long day of grad photos, group project meetings and classes, so this is a largely unedited review of what I thought about this film…
‘Prisoners’ is intense, dark, and one of the best movies this year
I finally took some time out of my hectic school/work schedule for some “Me Time” – some desperately needed work/life balance – to go watch Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners. Here’s what I wrote in my Rotten Tomatoes review (which generally are more blabbing than proper reviewing – forewarning):
This is one of those movies where you have to pay attention all the way through. The director – who’s Canadian! – makes it easy for you by slowly guiding you through the story.
The performances, of course, should be mentioned because you have never seen Hugh Jackman like you have seen Hugh Jackman in this movie. I was a little wary going into this movie that Hugh and Jake Gyllenhaal were a little too young for their roles, but they both did extremely well. Gyllenhaal, for one, does less of his “Zodiac” I-need-to-know performance, but does a more subtle performance. As for Jackman, he just goes off the charts in this role. There are some spectacular scenes he’s in that really impress you – I would say it’s his most emotionally intense role yet, but I haven’t seen all his movies, so I can’t say that for sure!
This year’s TIFF experience was exhausting
TIFF ended 15 days ago, and I am just writing my TIFF experience blog now. Sigh. I’ve had such a hectic schedule since the end of August, I’m not sure why I decided it would be a good idea to start a brand spankin’ new blog. Perhaps I underestimated the workload for the first month of school… Though actually, it’s less about the “first month of school” but more “first month of the last year of undergraduate school”. I have always been involved with extracurricular activities at school, but because I am in my last year, I’ve felt greater pressure to add more to my resume to ensure I can start my career as soon as I graduate. This meant trying to juggle positions at two part-time jobs, one student group, four school courses, and briefly, a two-week volunteer position all at the same time. Chaos.
Make the most of your 20s
We’ve been called pre-adults, emerging adults, millennials, the defining decade and the lost decade. We graduated during the worst economy in recent memory and pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps to recover what was lost. We’ve been told 80% of life’s most significant events take place by age 35, but listened to other 20-somethings daydream about “taking some time off,” presumably to spend more time gaming. We have an intuitive sense that the foundation we lay now will continue to carry us throughout life. We’ve seen lists on “20 Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make” go viral and helped make it happen. One thing is clear: we’re searching for answers on how to make sense of this messy life we’re leading. I know, because this is my generation.
I read this article a couple weeks back, and it made an impression on me. “20 tips to makes the most of your 20s” sounded just like another article formatted as a list particularly for millennials like me who have short attention spans, but the article gave great advice. I am in my last undergraduate year, so the list reminded me of all the things I should do to change my mindset about my future.
But looking at this list, I can confidently say that I am definitely fulfilling at least seven of these suggestions: Be honest, choosing the right friends, start listening etc. But there is also a lot of work to be done: Stop complaining, be revolutionary, make a cold call etc. When I turn 30, I want to have cleared this list!
Describing ‘Moebius’ to the casual filmgoer
Having worked the Toronto International Film Festival this year as both a volunteer and a filmgoer, I often get asked about what movies I’ve seen at TIFF so far, and what’s been my favourite. I am watching two more movies tomorrow, Hotell and A Wolf at the Door, so while I can’t say this Korean movie has been my ultimate favourite, it’s definitely in my top three!
Why the Toronto International Film Festival?
Regardless of the film or the response to the film you’re in, there will always be a love for the fact that you did something creative and that everybody is excited about it. I think that’s the spirit here.
Jake Gyllenhaal
Begin the end
I suppose it’s very fitting to start a blog today out of all days.
Today marks the last holiday weekend before the start of my last undergraduate year. Today marks the summer Transfer Deadline Day for the 2013-2014 European football season, which my all-time favourite players moved from my team for the past three years to his home team, AC Milan. And last week, I helped participate in organizing and promoting Ryerson University 2013-2014 frosh week on their various RU Student Life social media accounts, which was significant to me because I had never attended the frosh week for my first year at Ryerson University – way back in the fall of 2007. As my Instagram caption for the photo I published on last week’s first day of frosh, “Beginning the end with the beginning I never began with.”