Well it's official. I am now a Saskatoon resident and I even made it official by purchasing my first plaid/flannel shirt. Transition complete...kinda.

I am all moved to "The Paris of the Prairies" as they call it. And so far I'm enjoying it. Don't get me wrong it's ridiculously cold here, but I am willing to ignore that and focus on the excitement that is living in a brand new city that I get to explore.

Today was my second day at Global and so far I'm really enjoying it! It was a big of a shock on day 1 going from such a huge market that was CTV Vancouver to Saskatoon. But I'm sure it won't take long for me to get accustomed to it.

I went out on a story yesterday with one of the other reporters the very talented Shallima. She was working on a story about "Idle No More" and the misconceptions that have sprouted up since the beginning of the movement.

And today I wrote a VOSOT about Big Brothers and Big Sisters that's going to run on the 6 o'clock news tonight. So far things are going well, so I look forward to what the future will bring.

As far as the city goes it's a balmy +3 today and although I haven't been outside in the past 6 hours, soon I will be able to soak in the "rays". And by soak in the rays I mean go grocery shopping and try to locate some damn produce in this city.

New Chapter

Well it's been awhile... A lot has changed since November. It's been quite an adventure to be completely honest.

I have come to the end of my journey at NAIT. It's been a very exciting and interesting year and a half but I wouldn't trade it for the world. The RTA program at NAIT has helped me become the person and the reporter that I am today. And most importantly introduced me to some of the most amazing people I've ever met. That whether they like it or not will be in my life for many years to come. As I write this I'm preparing for the next chapter in my life that starts in Saskatoon.  I'll be working for Global Saskatoon and acting as a real life reporter for my time there. Just writing that is terrifying but I'm excited to dive in head first.

Here is a blog post I wrote for my final exam about my memories from the past 1.5 years...

RTA Memories

There are many things that I will miss about the RTA program here at NAIT. And also if we’re being honest, many things I won’t miss. It has been a long eventful year and a half here at NAIT. However, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. We’re going to start off with the things I won’t miss so that I end this post on a happy note and don’t sound like a raving lunatic.

Cons:

1.    I won’t miss staying at this lovely establishment until all hours of the night trying to get things finished. Whether it is for NewsWatch or 2^nd Edition.

2.    I won’t miss being a taxi driver. It may have taken me five tries to get my license but come on at least pay for parking.

3.    I won’t miss Stu’s crazy video projects. I have accepted my fate, and it doesn’t involve any cameras if I can help it.

Pros:

1.    Even though I hope it continues on in the “real world” I will miss the thrill I get when someone calls you back and says; “Sure come one down with that camera!” Or working really hard to get a story and having everything fall in to place. Like getting in to Alice Cooper or getting the exclusive interview at Chad’s Smoke Shop in second semester.

2.    I will miss the RTA parties. Being together with all the semester’s at the Duck or at Mike’s house or especially at Hawk Eyes (a wonderful, classy Karaoke joint). And the epic charades battle of Boys Vs Girls, where the girls were robbed in my opinion. That family atmosphere we have will be missed a lot. At least until the 10-year reunion.

3.    I miss my RTA Family! Avry’s giggle and/ or racism, Matt’s awkward sexual comments, David and I rapping in the hallways, yelling at Kevin and Brillzy, Godwin shrugging his shoulders in response to every question I ask, Basically everything about Anika, Bringing my scripts to Jeannete, Durham giving me anchoring advice, Perry thinking I’m hilarious, and Stu making fun of the fact that I cannot work a camera. All of these little things will be missed.

Maybe, even enough that I will step up to organize the 10-year Reunion but I will probably just leave that to Rianne since she is the organization queen.

So long RTA, it’s been a slice!

My Home...

Also speaking of Nait Newswatch here is the first episode my team did. I was the "live reporter" so I got to pick the lead story subject and write questions for the anchors to ask me.

I chose to do it on the website nohomophobes.com. It's a great website that came out of the University of Alberta and I got to interview some pretty amazing people in the process of putting my story together. Which is essentially the reason I want to do this job in the first place.

So I hope you enjoy it. This week I got to anchor so I'll share that when it's up online.

So last Tuesday night right in the midst of all the Nait News Watch madness, I decided to take a break and went and saw this movie with my brother.

Now before I start my review I should mention this movie is based on a book. A book that appears to have a cult following. Some people I talked to had it as assigned reading in Jr High or High School. My school however preferred "The Outsiders" and the book that almost killed me "The Heart of Darkness" (That book is the definition of a hard read). Anyways I've never read the book, so I went in with no idea what to expect.

The movie is described as a "coming of age drama, that captures the dizzying heights and crushing lows of growing up."

The film centers around Charlie a young freshman entering High School after the suicide of his best friend over the summer. After some struggling he is taken under the wing of 2 seniors. The beautiful, free spirited Sam and the funny, flamboyant Patrick.

All the young actors did a tremendous job. And without revealing to much this film really covered some mature themes that I wasn't expecting to see in a "coming of age drama". There was mental illness, depression, sex, alcohol and homophobia. I really felt that the movie captured that time in a teenagers life very realistically. And you felt yourself really caring about the futures of these characters.

The movie was extremely well done in my opinion. I left the theater incredibly depressed however. It's not exactly a feel good movie, but that's not to say it's all doom and gloom.

Another thing I enjoyed is that the film was directed and the screenplay was written by the author Stephen Chbosky. So any fans of the book are sure to be satisfied with the movie adaptation.

All in all I would recommend "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" and keep an eye out for the three young actors Logan Lerman (Charlie), Ezra Miller (Patrick), and Emma Watson (Sam) (and Hermione for you Harry Potter fans). They're sure to be sticking around for awhile.

OOOOOOH YES!! I can't wait for this movie!

1. I still remember the first time I watched Psycho. Film Studies class in grade 10, I was terrified but I loved it. And I have since made my way through the rest of his films. Like Birds for instance, crows haven't been the same for me since.

2. Anthony Hopkins?? Is that you??

3. Helen Mirren, I mean is she not the hottest old lady ever??