In Guatemala, there are many other ways to die.

The Guatemala semester coordinator was talking about risks and travel. He said "In India, the traffic can kill you. In Guatemala, there are many other ways to die." I laughed out loud, and those words have stuck with me ever since.

I'm sitting in my usual spot in the UoG library in the midst of procrastinating. The paper on the Guatemalan Revolution (1945-54) is almost finished, but my take-home exam on Canadian Identity proving to be a task and a half. Between Grad Apps, finishing this semester and prepping for the semester in Guatemala my schedule is feeling pretty full.

I'm starting this blog to serve as a record. If anyone reads this... I hope they find it entertaining, and maybe even insightful. Until this blog gets to the point of becoming entertaining or insightful, please forgive the first few posts, as the only thing I've written in the last 5 years have been academic papers. I've created this blog at the worst possible point in time in this semester. I'd like to think of this blog as a noble project for the future, whereas in reality its a self-absorbed exercise in procrastination. The Intent: to keep up posting throughout the next 12 months. The Challenge: make the posts interesting.

Guatemala is on the horizon, so I'll be posting some of my preparations and my thoughts.

Shoutouts:

-To the City of Guelph. For putting in some protected bike-lanes on Stone Road. Keep it coming!

- To Leslie Nielson (Nov 28th, 2010). The funniest man a 13 year old boy could have ever known.

Monday Music Chart:

1. Sufjan Stevens "Age of Adz"

2. Jay-Z "The Grey Album"

3. Mos Def "Black on Both Sides

4. Mos Def "The Ecstatic"

5. Owen Pallett "Heartland"

p.s. also on twitter @UpandOnward