#also i love her giant backpack it makes no physical sense and its the best

[dafukdidiwatch]

Fantasy High Rant (and why you should watch it)

Ok I got suggested this and I cant believe I've been sleeping on this series in the last two years. This series is freaking fantastic! I’m screaming.

Overview is this is a modern d&d fantasy land a la Onward Style, where we follow fantasy Scooby Doo gang as they try to solve the mystery of missing students while interacting with the fantastical citizens of Spyre.

I hella love it, because while it has such a great mystery of whats going on in the town, who is doing what and why, etc etc, and it just GROWS the more you watch it. You think it was something simple, but the conspiracy rabbit hole gets deeper and deeper. But to me the main pull is just seeing how our Party just interacts with everyone and each other. This is a very character driven series, which makes sense this is a d&d party, you have to get attached to the party if you want them to work together.

Fabian Seacaster: God he’s fun to watch. The rich kid high class type of character but is just has so much gusto. I love his relationship with his family, it’s adorable. He just adores his parents and his parents adore him back. Like Addams style adoration. He is a bit full of himself and arrogant and has a thing of living up to his father's legacy as well as his family name, but I think his arc is him learning that he doesn't have to define himself through his dad and can be his own person. Plus my favorite moments are him screaming “WHAT IS HAPPENING” because out of everyone he mostly the straight man dealing with people.

Gorgug: I just love him. He is just so sweet. He is just a gentle giant and confused all the time. I feel so bad that he keeps getting the shit end of the stick to save the rest of the party. Like the whole "stealing backpack" shit to basically set him up as the outcasts of outcasts. Granted I’m laughing my ass off when it happens, but he is just so anxious it’s cute. He is just very sweet and genuine, even if he is a little awkward. I also love him just asking if people are his dad lol he just wants to know. But when he rages he’s basically God-Tier Shaggy. 

Fig: lol her angsty teenage years finding out she isn't who she thought she was. Tbf her dad basically said she was the reason for her parents divorce soooo take that as you will. Her being the "bad girl" but also very helpful when she can is great. Her flirtatious punk attitude, the winking, and rocking bard stuff. I low key like the idea of her being with Gorgug because of the moments in Barbarian class and giving him drumsticks. And I also like her with Fabian as just a wild cool kid power couple. Also her fucking with Goldenhoarde is the best with her being sexual,with him. Its super funny.

Riz: I freaking love him. Kid detective on the case. The business cards for friendship which I mean, makes sense. His goal from day one was to find the missing girls and babysitter. I'm sorry he has a poor house to use water cereal, but his mom just loves him and I think that’s sweet. His family is the coolest and he isn’t afraid to admit how cool his family is. But he has direction, he has a mission, and he does it with determination. Plus I love how he is The Ball and everyone is just going with it and now supports it. Him fucking with Fabian is great. And I'm glad he is reconsidering his life choices after meeting the AV kids.

Adaine: She needs help. The panicking one. I mean, her family,obviously looks down on her and she is literally jealous of all the other kids parents (love the gnomes). She is learning to find her own magic her own way and trying to shatter the expectation forced on her. God I support her just fucking people up, especially with Pixie Boy.She is just trying to deal with things which honestly this adventure is getting her to open up and not take shit. Character Arc: Don’t Take Shit.

Kristen: I’m just watching a train wreck here. Like she was 100% Helios all the way. But now it is just watching her questioning everything about religion after dying. Its amazing from looking into other religion herself and just how it ALL escalates from there as she is pulled further and further away from her religion and old life. Learning that how she was raised was just so fucked. Like I'm just seeing how far this goes and if she will pick another god instead or just not be a cleric anymore.

Also I'm like never going to post a completed version of this post because I’m way too fucking obsessed. I went from ep 8 yelling about Kristen’s religious life to episode 13 plot-twist end. I basically am physically restraining myself from watching episode 15 before I type this or else this will never be typed. I can literally go off about all the characters there is just so many good moments.

Basically, check out the show yourself. It’s on Youtube, it’s hilarious. Watching the reactions and faces is just so much fun to see. 100% recommend.

Now excuse me while I scream spoilers for episode 8/13/14 underneath:

Midway through Ep 8:

Ok it was fucking Kristen! Like not her obviously, but she was the hellmouth! She was the initial sacrifice! Demon-Dad Garthox said that the Hellmouth can be opened inside a person, and Goth Kid Blane was working for the Harvestmen Helios to get that page. And lo and behold the page was in the corn vat that Kristen's book was pushed into! Coincidence? I think not!

They thought that it was somehow Adaine's magic that caused it, or the very least it was the bully,guy who chucked Kristen's book in. But no, the page was already inside her book and fell into the corn! If bully ass McGee didn't hit the book out of her hands, then she might have been the victim! Which makes sense, why not have a follower of Helios bring the end times in His name.

Which means that it could be Daybreak or her parents that gave her the page in her bible for this.

God,is this what Helios meant when it "wasn't her time?" Because she is needed as the Hellmouth Sacrifice?

And this makes the whole "sneaking into heaven" part make sense now. If Aguefort was trying to be assassinated by Helios, he could sneak into Helios Heaven and spy on them from the afterlife. He's a weird ass man I'm sure he can pull it off.

Also Fig's Dad is hella cool and I totally love him for,trying to be a parent and mature about this. Fig is totally supportive of him and I love it.

Ok I'm going back to finish episode 8 I just REALLY needed to rant about that.

Screaming about Episode 13:

The oracle was going to return,if the country was in danger. It was but she was,kidnapped/killed on an illusion ship to stop,her. Rix dad is a spy and he was 100%,super dope about it and him just finding his family secrets I was just crying like, he found his legacy, his entire family was,badasses he was so happy and took up his dad's gun for justice. Like how cool is it for a goblin spy,being small and already default evil to infiltrate that is so clever. That is what gets me on this show,is that they take these cool setting and ideas and how they are twisted to fit the fantasy. Cops? Fantasy cops. Skateboarders? Fantasy skateboarders.

Which lets be real, I think the best battle where they really,worked together was during the skateboarders.

This mystery is building and building and I,guess Penelope is,trying to,be queen,via homecoming queen which is,weird and has a Sarah berry vibe to,it. Which is fucking nuts.

Now I’m wondering if nice guy,pixie actually was in on it day 1, or if he was turned over after he was "beaten" like the bad guys offered him a way to make his dream girls his 2D pets. Which, gross. But Biz part doesn't necessarily fit with the main plot. He obv isn't behind this.

Kalvaxus is a demon with money. His money needs to be destroyed. So they are funneling his money through the banks. They used his ship in disguise to kidnap/capture/kill the oracle to prevent her from returning, which she said she would if the country was in danger. Yes the religious Harvestmen wanted to start the apocalypse via Kristen, but ass-elf diplomat said it wouldn't really work, but it would break the treaty and start war. Kalvaxus. Coach Daybreak had control,on Zane, who had control over Johnny Spells to kidnap girls, and since Alwin had a spell to find "maidens/virgins" they need the girls, either as a sacrifice or as conduits to power the arcane source. Was all of this to raise Kalvaxus from hell to the mortal world? That would explain the power source at the arcade with the trapped girls, to keep the connection going. The only,thing I can think,as to why Penelope would be as high up as she is in this conspiracy is if Kalvaxus is her dad. Which I guess,everyone has dad issues in,this group.

Side note, I appreciate how Gorgug thinks himself as,dumb but gets really smart ideas and the whole party agreed they are smart. Like,he was the first to,put 2 and 2 together about Kalvaxus== KVX bank, even if he didn't outright say it.

All,the adults are really,enjoyable,to see. I fucking love Rix’s mom shes so cool. And Gilear is actually really,pitifully funny. I wouldn't think I would like,him as much after that first episode, but he is actually hilarious being the lunch lad and just trying his best.

Live Screaming Episode 14 (lots of incoherent):

fucking He'll Riz got the drop on Biz but he fumbled the attack with a nat1.

Ah shit! This is their shit! The prizes are the girls shit as trophies. Zelda headphones. Skateboard girl. You need to give the items back!!!

Fig's German Shepard patrol finally works out

And Riz is now in Penny's game, oh this hurts because this is the girl that he wants to help.

Biz is like a terrible chucky cheese mascot.

I love it when Fabian says "whats happening" because for all his rich person elegance his bafflement amuses me.

It's so sad to see these girls just be this, shadow of themselves. Like no personality at all.

Adaine does will with the divination rolls, I don't think I,could be able to,do this that well.

Damn they are taking the girls,into the power source, they need girl power. Literally.

Gorgug is just so sweet to call his parents for help. Too bad it didn't work. Its a gnome game, sweet.

damn this is a lot more dangerous than before. This is why we don't split the party.

Make Gorgug fly again that would be awesome. But Adaine flying is good too.

Riz using his gremlin powers to fuck up the parascepts from the inside is fucking amazing, why the hell is it funneling to the school.

Sucks that Fabian just kept running all the way out the building. But lets say Fabian having that motorcycle is just so op. Plus it called him Daddy let's not forget that.

Gorgug using the headphones with Zelda’s music is just so sweet and clever. See hes a simple man but very smart. Practical I think.

Lol only the guys got sucked into the game. No girls in video game.

The Bebe raises Gorgug’s rage. Riz is right: hot topic vs av nerds.

Where is devil dad, like he wasn't kidnapped or kidnapped figs mom or whatever right??? Like i get suspicious when people don't respond immediately.

OMG Gorgug is God Tier Shaggy.

Biz is doing the Fantasy Truffle Shuffle.

Cut his wings Gorgug!

Riz!!! Keep her here!!! FUCK!!! HE DIDN'T!!! Biz is soooo creepy.

Yes! Keep the ghosts so sad I would love the bag of holding but too bad it didn't work.

Gorgug’s parents are just so freaking sweet and supportive.

Hold shit Gorgug’s honesty got him double crit. That sucks but I lowkey hope he keeps the white hair.

That motorcycle is so op. But hes in a racing game with the hangman, at least he has an advantage.

Kristen's philosophers are just so op. I love how her religion is just searching for eternal knowledge.

NAT 20 THE NAT 20 FUCKING YES LETS GO RIZ JUST FLIPPING IT OFF AND SCREAMING FUCK YOU holy,shit that was funny. Too bad it was wasted on such a dumbass moment.

Just smashed the palimpsest that's how the owlbear popped out. Wow it was hilarious how biz popped out. But holy,shit Riz not even giving biz a chance as he starts shooting off fingers that’s amazing

I love them fucking with him because hes an ass. Oh, Alwin modify memory to make him think it was his evil plan. You know still fuck him tho. Ugh are those pictures. No. They know it was the group and photos of their house. Ughhhhh and now things are getting more dangerous,

#dafukblog #fantasy high #fantasy high episode 8 #fantasy high episode 13 #fantasy high episode 14

[evenstevensranked]

#49: Season 2, Episode 12 - “Easy Crier”

Holy crap you guys. Can you believe we’re already into the #40s?! This is going by faster than I anticipated.

This week, Lenny Cranepool (a.k.a “Lenny the Lifter”) is the new kid at school. He's a giant. Louis and Twitty befriend him and they become the most feared crew in school. Until they find out Lenny is a big softie who dreams of becoming a pastry chef. Meanwhile, Ren is trying to outlaw dodgeball due to its physical dangers.

The opening shot is Louis late for school, running in slo-mo down the hallway. His backpack is unzipped so every single paper in his bag goes flying literally everywhere. He gets stopped by Tugnut who yells at him for being late, and Louis says “Or! Is it possible everybody else on earth is early?” Real slick, Louis. Tugnut let’s him off the hook for his “sassy mouth” clap back, because it’s dodgeball season and he’s creepily overexcited for it and even throws in some maniacal laughter to drive it home. Do schools have dodgeball season, though? Like, is that a thing? Do they have big rainbow parachute in gym class season, too? That was the best. Anyway, this dodgeball mention is setting up the subplot.

Louis crawls into math class trying (and failing) to go unnoticed, when suddenly… there’s a giant foot in the aisle! Someone else is sitting in his seat. It’s Lenny Cranepool! The new transfer student who must’ve only transferred there for a few days because we never see him again! Louis is clearly intimidated when Lenny stands up, towering over him and GROWLING. I’m not kidding. Lenny genuinely growls and grunts like a caveman. Now that I think about it, that’s pretty hilarious. Louis is chill though and settles for a different desk. Once he sits though, he casually says “Actually, I’d prefer the window seat” and out of nowhere he is LIFTED INTO THE AIR BY LENNY and carried over to the window. 

He’s sitting in front of Twitty now, so Twitty fills him in on everything. He tells Louis the new kid is Lenny the Lifter. Word on the street is that he got kicked out of his old school for “going on a lifting spree” probably. I love that, omg. Lenny breaks his pencil and growls like an animal again. Louis is nice and gives him one of his pencils, but Lenny doesn’t even say thank you and gives them a hard look. Louis and Twitty are just relieved to be alive at this point. 

Next, we see Ren and Nelson preparing to go live on the school news program, The Wombat Report. Ren introduces her dodgeball segment accusing it of being a “barbaric celebration of pain and violence that sadistically pits the mean and vicious against the weak and skinny.” Dang, Ren. Tugnut is watching while wearing an I <3 DODGEBALL shirt and gets so pissed he breaks his pencil, too. That’s one too many pencils broken in under a minutes time if you ask me. Ren says they took a hidden Cap Cam into Tugnut’s gym class and came away with “disturbing footage.” The footage shows him teaching the kids about Hot Zones on the human body to aim for while playing dodgeball and uses a cardboard cutout of a skinny nerd dubbed Target Timmy. He notices the kid in the Cap Cam and says “no hats in class! TAKE IT OFF!” and violently throws a dodgeball at their head. Great teacher, right there.

I’m sure that’s enough to get him fired and banned from teaching ever again???

Louis is walking down the hall and is surprised when each step he takes parts the crowd of kids like Moses. Until, of course, he notices Lenny has been following him. He initially runs away, but Lenny catches up to him at lunch and thanks him for the pencil. Louis says “The pencil! Oh, right. Old Number 2! You’re welcome.” The Old Number 2 comment makes me laugh. That was definitely an ad lib. Louis invites Lenny to eat with him and we see the first glimmer of Lenny the Softie accompanied by sensitive piano. He’s like “YEAH! :D Thanks!” all happy. And it would be a nice gesture, except it marks the arrival of Selfish Louis here. He immediately decides to use Lenny to his advantage. He takes a seat at the 8th Grade lunch table, which is clearly off-limits and decorated like a fancy restaurant in comparison to all the other lowly tables, lol. Twitty comes over and asks Louis if he has a death wish. This is accurate.

When I was in middle school, there was this small stoop in the parking lot where the 8th graders would hang out during recess. If you went anywhere near there they would cuss you out. I was a pretty outgoing kid (I mean, not as brazen as Louis can be, but..) so one day when I was in 6th grade, I purposely got to the stoop before the 8th graders and just stood there. When they eventually came over telling me to leave, I stood my ground and said “This is a slab of cement. I don’t see your names anywhere. I can stand here if I want to.” They eventually gave up and went somewhere else, letting me and my friends hang out there that day! Ayyyyyy! One of my proudest moments. I wonder if I was subconsciously inspired by Louis. Probably, honestly. This show subconsciously shaped my sense of humor growing up and I only realized this when I started getting back into the show in 2011. I digress…

I felt the need to include a picture of the stoop. I literally went on Google Earth to get this! haha. This isn’t the exact stoop at the exact location, but this is exactly what it looks like. Just so you can visualize, lol.

Sure enough, Larry Beale and the big tough 8th Graders come over telling Louis the table is reserved. But, Louis says “Larry, this table is only reserved because you and a few of your unattractive friends say it is.” Burrrrn. I’ma use that next time. Just then, Lenny comes over. Larry is clearly scared and quickly sits at a different table and pretty much does whatever Louis says. So yeah, this is where Louis realizes he can just use Lenny to intimidate everyone and get whatever he wants from this moment forward. Nice!

Ren goes walking into a pitch black gym per Coach Tugnut’s request. He says “you got a problem with dodgeball?!” and claps twice to turn on a spotlight which dramatically reveals him sitting at desk. That’s honestly terrifying considering Tugnut is a grown man and Ren is like.. 14. I’d run out the door. We get one of my favorite lines here, though. Ren asks “I take it you’ve seen my dodgeball exposé?” and Tugnut says: 

(credit)

He tells her that Principal Wexler is holding a referendum on whether to keep or ban dodgeball. But he’s adamant that dodgeball isn’t going anywhere.

Louis notices Lenny sitting on the stairs, visibly upset. Louis goes over to him and Lenny immediately bursts into tears! Louis frantically tries to hide him so his tough image stays intact. Turns out Lenny is crying over a simple poetry assignment that’s due the next day. He says he’s worried that if he doesn’t do well in school he’ll “never graduate and become a p-p-p….” through tears, and Louis tries to guess what profession he was going to say. Asking “Police Man? Private Investigator?! PYTHON TRAINER?!” (I just love the way Shia says it.) But Lenny clarifies that he was going to say pastry chef. Louis ain’t thrilled.

Later that day, Louis and Twitty try to come up with a plan that will help Lenny remain feared. Louis just hopes that Lenny will write a poem that’s dark, mean and hateful. Unfortunately, he writes a poem that’s gentle, sweet and loving. Ren reads it and convinces Lenny to recite it on the Wombat Report to show everyone what a sweet guy he is.

Then, the following scene happens. Which I’m just going to embed instead of describing because I think it’s hilarious.

This paper cut incident helps Louis come up with an idea to stop Lenny from reading his poem.

The dodgeball drama turns into a Ren vs. Larry thing because Larry sides with Coach Tugnut. I’m not complaining about this. Any Ren/Larry interaction is nice because REN AND LARRY SHOULD JUST PUT ASIDE THEIR DIFFERENCES AND DATE! Larry and Tugnut demand equal time on the Wombat Report to debate over dodgeball, which is fair I guess. 

Over the course of ONE NIGHT Louis comes up with a voice activated device to attach to the bottom of Lenny’s chair that will zap him as soon as he starts reading his poem. Louis The Incredibly Gifted Engineer strikes again. 

The plan is to make Lenny go insane, like when he got the paper cut, on live TV. Yeah, that should do it. But before he’s about to go live, Lenny gives Louis a copy of the poem and says he wrote it about him. Louis reads it and asks Twitty “You ever feel the gnawing pains of guilt? You know, the ones that make you feel like a terrible person who doesn’t deserve to live?” Twitty says no and Louis is like, “Yeah, me neither. But this is the closest I’ve ever been” as if he’s a person incapable of feeling remorse or emotion. Not a fan of that choice, tbh.

Either way, he decides to do the right thing and swap the chairs. Lenny successfully reads his poem, which is also hilarious. Here’s the transcript:

“Emotional” by Lenny Cranepool

I wish you could see beyond my size, to the person that lives inside. There is someone who sees the real me... his name is Louis, and you see... He never judged, or laughed or tried to hide, he just treated me like any other guy. I owe a lot to this true friend, I hope our friendship never ends. It really hurts to be left out, if you have any doubt... Try being me for just one day, and I’m sure you’d agree when I say -- That being feared cuts like a knife, but one good friend can change your life.

The entire school is in tears, including Louis and Twitty. We see Larry and freaking PEDRO FROM NAPOLEON DYNAMITE with tears in his eyes (this is his second appearance in the series as a member of Larry’s posse.) He turns to Larry and says “That was so beautiful, man.” And Larry’s just like “Shut up, Omar” which makes me laugh. Larry’s happy though, because Louis just lost his body guard.

“Shut up, Omar.” lol this show has so much meme potential. 

Then they make a sharp turn from crying to the dodgeball debate, which is also funny. Only problem is that Ren is sitting in the rigged chair now. Oops. As soon as she speaks to debate against Larry, she gets zapped and screams at the top of her lungs. She knows Louis did it. She kicks the chair away and quickly shares a seat with Larry instead. They’re so cute. Just like that, Ren changes her position on dodgeball and decides that it can be a “very rewarding experience.” Meaning, she wants to get back at Louis.

I love how they have an American flag displayed. I mean, what’s more American than dodgeball?! 

The last scene is Ren, Larry and Tugnut ganging up against Louis by pelting him with dodgeballs. Ren and Larry are smiley and he says it’s nice to be on the same side for once, which is also cute. They’re just cute and should’ve got together by the end of the series!!!

Anyway, I’m not against Louis getting his but kicked here. He was going to do a pretty mean thing to Lenny for his own personal gain. And, then ended up ruining things and embarrassing Ren in the process. So… Sorry, Lou! I'm not with ya on this one. The episode ends on a freeze frame of Louis about to get hit in the face. The end.

This is a good episode. I used to love it... A LOT. (But again, every episode was my “favorite” at some point.) I guess the fact that it revolves around a one-off character makes it difficult for me to rank it any higher. Although, a good episode is a good episode regardless. But still. Louis’ ugly side made an appearance here, which I hate. So. I love the little Ren/Larry bit at the end, though. I wonder if Eric Ty Hodges was directed to subtly act like he has a secret crush on Ren occasionally, because I get those vibes.

Just a side note I’ve been thinking about: I might be the only person who feels this way.. but… Season 2 is weird for me. I’ve always seen it as the awkward transitional period between gritty Season 1 and über polished zany Season 3. Barring a few super memorable, pretty iconic episodes — Season 2 is just kinda… there. It might have something to do with the fact that Shia looks a little awkward himself. He’s not the young baby faced kid from Season 1 and he’s not the grown teenager we see in Season 3. He’s like.. an actual awkward 7th grader here lol. Also, little known fact! Louis and his friends actually move up to 8th grade in Season 3! It’s widely believed that Louis and Ren are in 7th and 8th grade the entire series. It's even listed as a production fact on Wikipedia! But, nope. There are slight things that confirm this, which I’ll acknowledge when they pop up but yeah. (This means that LJH is one of those rare middle schools that go up to 9th grade, btw) So, that’s definitely something else that contributes to my feelings towards Season 2. For Louis and his friends, in my mind I think...

Season 1: First half of 7th grade.

Season 2: Second half of 7th grade.

Season 3: 8th grade.

Obviously, Ren would be the same except 8th-9th. Also, fun fact #2: Seth Miller, who plays Lenny, was in an episode of Boy Meets World. There are a lot of parallels between the two shows, actually. 

I DIGRESS AGAIN!

Thanks for reading! Share your thoughts belowwww!

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#rank #even stevens #shia labeouf #louis stevens #ren stevens #lenny cranepool #comedy #tv show #review #old disney #disney channel #season 2 #alan twitty #efren ramirez #larry beale #louis plot #ren x larry #louis the engineer

[jovitainvancouver-blog]

Hello, Vancouver

After almost 24 hours spent either in airports or on planes, I have finally arrived in Vancouver! No one is more thrilled to be typing that sentence than I am - 13+ hour flights and I do not go well together.

 Now that I've slept off the jet lag and have spent just over 24 hours in this beautiful, currently-super-hot city, I am finally ready to share my initial thoughts and observations. Brace yourselves: I'm feeling ramble-y.

1. Note to self: pack lightly.

 Here's a unsolicited tip for you: the day before you leave on your international adventure, go through every single item you have decided to pack. If at any point you find yourself staring at an object and going 'what is this?', that is your cue to leave the item behind. Absolutely, unequivocally, you will not need it. This is coming from a girl who's had a few 'what is this?' moments after landing with her overstuffed suitcase in a foreign land, so you're going to want to trust me on this one. (I packed a boxed set of dangly earrings that I absolutely, unequivocally do not need.)

 Aside from causing you to be faced with the aforementioned 'what is this?' moments, over-packing your bags has serious mental and physical ramifications that you in your jet-lagged, sleep-deprived state, do not want to deal with.

 First instance of regret: I arrive at the airport with my parents approximately two hours before my departure time; giant suitcases in hand (trolley), ready to go. I head to the relatively clear check in counter, expecting to breeze through with no problems. I’d already weighed my bags at home and came in a good fifteen kilos under my weight limit. As it turns out, my lack of reading comprehension skills (!) caused me to miss the fact that each suitcase I packed was allowed to be a maximum of 23kg. As it turns out, one of my suitcases was over by 8kg. So I sheepishly push my trolley on over to a clear area and begin to reshuffle.

 Friends, if for no other reason, you want to avoid over-packing so that you don't have to encounter your parents' horrified expressions when they realised they've raised a pack rat. 'How many things did you pack?' asks my mum, holding up dress #6 of 22. 'I thought you were going to re-use the clothes!' On the other side of the suitcase my dad's frown is deepening as he fishes out my giant floral mug. 'You need to take this to Vancouver?' (In my defence, that mug is one of the top 20 things ever to happen to me and the UBC packing list did say to bring your favourite mug.) Despite their obvious concern over my life choices, my parents temper their disapproval and instead focus on helping me achieve the lofty goal of reducing my suitcase weight by 8kg.

 After a few minutes, we think we've achieved our goal and take our efforts up to the check-in counter and place them onto the weighing scale, hoping we've done it. No such luck; we were only halfway there.

 The second time around calls for cuts to be made. My beloved pink blanket that I was hoping I could get away with bringing doesn't make the cut; nor do several dresses. After reaching what we think is the right weight, we weigh the bags ourselves before taking them up to the counter. This time: success.

 I gratefully hand my oversized bags to the lady at the counter, tuck my boarding pass into my passport and walk away.

 My parents, obviously still disquieted by the pack rat discovery, say nothing about this and instead choose to dwell on the fact that the flight agent didn’t explicitly disclose that each suitcase could only be 23kg, completely missing the fact that I was responsible for this reading  error.

 Bless. I love them and am going to miss them.

 Second instance of regret: I land at Vancouver airport, clear border control and customs and breeze through the doors with my luggage trolley, ready to face the city. Or, more accurately, almost ready to face the city.

 First, I have to get my backpack down to a weight that I can actually carry. I go through round one of reshuffling again, only to almost topple over backwards when placing the bag on my back. No deal - I go back for round two. After a few more minutes of revealing the contents of my luggage to the entire arrival lounge, I gingerly place my second attempt on my back and discover that this time, as long as the waist strap is secured tightly, I only have approximately a thirty percent chance of toppling over.

 Good enough, I think, and headed towards the train.

 Third (and by far the worst) instance of regret: see below.

2. You are not the weirdest sight on the street.     (Or how to deal with it if you are)

 If I thought getting on the train was hard (and it was), it was nothing compared to the ensuing trek to the hostel.

 Google maps told me that it was a fourteen minute walk to my hostel from my station. 'Piece of cake,' said New Zealand Jovita, sitting at her desk with unburdened arms and well-rested legs.

 'Oh dear,' said sleep-deprived, newly-arrived-in-Vancouver Jovita, with her heavy-laden arms, staring at the street she needs to walk on, which is on an upwards incline.

 I wasn't going to back out of it after having navigated the train system, so I braced myself and began the trek upwards, inch by painful inch.

 I wish I was exaggerating when I said this, but I literally stopped every 20 metres - sometimes less. I would stop, stretch my back, and change the arm that was hauling my behemoth of a suitcase before resuming my snail-paced climb.

 Though downtown was relatively deserted when I began the trek (I made a mental note that Vancouver-ites are not early risers), there were enough people on the street to make the city not seem like a ghost town and, unfortunately, enough people to notice my mortifying predicament.

 On a positive note, my sympathisers were many and included (but were not limited to): a curly-haired proprietress who came out of her store to ask me with a concerned smile if I was lost; a petite brunette woman in an enviably pretty dress who smiled/winced for me as I walked past her; a motherly-looking dog walker who exclaimed 'Your bag is bigger than you are!' when she first saw me and told me with an apologetic grimace that my destination was still seven blocks away. The best of Vancouver's early risers offered their commiseration over my situation.

 On a less positive note, there were many more Vancouver-ites who were not so excellent at commiserating and even worse at hiding their smirks and laughter as they passed. With every malicious grin of a neighbouring car and fast-paced stride of a fellow pedestrian, my humiliation grew.

 Just as I was on the verge of bursting into tears with physical exhaustion and the burden of my utter humiliation, a smiling woman came up to me and asked if I was going to the hostel. Having heard me say yes, she asked if she could help me with my bag.

 I think we all know how this story ends, friends.

 That kind woman's name was Sharon and I may or may not name my firstborn child after her.

 With the help of the angel that is Sharon, my painful trek up the hill came to an end. I dropped my bags at the hostel and headed into the city to pass the time until I could check in.

 I took shelter in my favourite kind of refuge (the library) for a while and eventually began to recover.

 But the humiliation of the morning's misadventures still lingered. I wondered if people could see how out of place I was in this cool city; if I had been invisibly but permanently branded as a non-Vancouver-ite.

 All of this continued to plague me until, on my way back to the hostel, I went to cross a street and caught sight of a pram out of the corner of my eye. Never one to resist a peek at a cute baby, I turned, prepared to smile at the chubby-cheeked angel I was sure was going to greet me.

Instead, I came face to face with a large black cat.

 As I crossed the street I tried to glance discreetly at the pram-pusher, who turned out to be a sixty-something year old woman who wore an expression that clearly said she didn't give a d*mn what people thought of her pushing her portly cat around. More power to her, I thought,  and felt the embarrassment of this morning fade a little.

 This little incident did wonders for my self esteem and general thinking process.

 She's pushing a cat around in a 1970s baby stroller! That's weirder than hauling two bags bigger than you are up a steep street, right? Right?!

 As I reflected on that first day I realised I had also seen my first out-in-the-open cannabis store and not one, not two, but three elderly, pot-bellied gentlemen with no shirts on.

 I realised that I was probably not the strangest sight on the street.

 But, more importantly, I realised that it was okay even if I was.

 If the worst thing that happened that day was that Vancouver-ites had a good laugh at my expense - that I provided them with a daily dose of laughter or a silly story to tell around their dinner tables - that was okay.  

 An inappropriately dressed (long-sleeved dress and fleece-lined tights in full sunshine) Indian girl sweating and struggling with her gargantuan bags up a main street is a funny sight. One I might have laughed at had I seen it myself.

 We all have to take turns at living out humiliating moments in public - here's to hoping I don't have (m)any more.

 3. Be careful what you wish for.

 As I write this, sitting on a park bench, there is a man sitting on a neighbouring park bench not five metres from mine, casually smoking weed.

 As I continue writing this, a bespectacled elderly gentlemen with central-Asian roots sits on the park bench recently vacated by the weed smoker and cheerfully strikes up a conversation. 'You're getting some work done!' he begins. I smile and say, 'Yes'. He continues to engage with me for a few minutes, asking me where I'm from and what brings me to Vancouver.

 At some point I begin to pull away from the conversation, trying to get back to my writing. He senses this and says, 'I don't want to impose, but give me two minutes and then I'll leave you alone. I promise I'm not a crackpot.'

 I take him at his word and concede to this offer - he comes over to sit next to me. 'Hold up your hands,' he says, demonstrating. I reluctantly stretch them outwards and upwards, as if I'm going to give him a double hi-five. He stares intently at my palms for a moment, briefly mumbling something about beautiful hands before straightening up and instructing me to make a fist with my hands, with my pinky finger closest to him. He peers at the closed fist for a moment before sitting up and looking back directly at me.

 'You have a lot of wisdom,' he says, 'and your wisdom and your education are going to take you  places.' The encouraging flattering, statements in a similar vein continue for about a minute before he switches track and begins talking about my life partner. 'You need to find someone who's as interested in making people as happy as you are. Your qualities will help you to choose the right person.'

 I thank him for his words, telling him they're lovely, and return to my writing. Before three minutes have passed, he's returned to my bench, this time with his own laptop in hand. 'Look at this', he says, having opened up a folder of PDFs all under the heading of anthropology. 'One last thing and then I'll leave you alone.'

 I think to myself that he said the same thing last time, but push the thought back and allow him to continue. He begins to read aloud his latest piece on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with reference to similar situations in the far and Middle East (I'd mentioned that I was a political science major). I listen half-heartedly, genuinely interested in what he has to say, but also worried that he's trying to steal my wallet despite his promises to the contrary. I notice a few onlookers from various parts of the park, all staring at me with a mix of amusement and concern. Careful, hon, they say with their eyes.

 I turn my focus back to his paper; it's fascinating and well-thought out; a fact I could better appreciate were he not a complete stranger invading my personal space on a park bench. Eventually, I stem the tide of his words and extricate myself as gracefully as possible. He walks away a little disappointedly, but though I feel a little bad, concern for my personal safety trumped my genuine interest in talking to him.

 He's still sitting here as I write, staring at his own computer screen while I stare at mine. The silence between us isn't uncomfortable and the sun is still shining so this little encounter, though somewhat disquieting, has not in the least spoiled my day.

 -----------

 You probably noticed that I entitled this little section of my day-two ramblings 'be careful what you wish for.' This is really true, and perhaps an even more apt title would be 'be careful what you pray for.' It turns out that God really listens.

 Before leaving, I hoped and prayed that this time here would be a time unlike anything I had encountered before. I prayed to have opportunities to love people well. I hoped that the city would really be unique and push me outside of my comfort zone.

 It's day two and all of these prayers, whether uttered out loud or not, have already been answered.

 Park-bench palm readings, 'premium' cannabis stores, more tiny dogs in one park than I have ever seen in my life; Vancouver really is a whole new world.

 'You asked for it,' I can hear God saying. I did, and I'm thankful to have gotten it. There's a lot that's happened in the last twenty-four hours; a lot to take in, a lot to learn, a lot to process.

 I know that I'll navigate some (read: many) of the coming challenges imperfectly, so much so that I may have to categorise them as failures (see aforementioned packing example), but that is okay.  

 I didn't come all the way to the other side of the world to feel perpetually comfortable.

 I suspect that there will be much mental, emotional and physical discomfort waiting for me in the coming months and though I am daunted by it, I am also thankful for it. Struggle leads to growth and I am desperate to grow in every way possible while I am here.

 I'm thankful for a God who hears and answers my prayers in unexpected ways - I can't wait to see what the next five months have in store.