The story of how an innocent photographer got arrested by the riot police
(or: Why I can't stand kids)

the prelude

Today was one of the sickest days of my life. For one thing, last night I didn't go to bed until 4:30 am, due to an essay that I had to write. Shucks In any case, this morning I woke up at 9:00, dead tired, but determined that I was going to get my ass to school.

I got there, only to find out that the due-date of the essay had been moved by a day.. So it's due tomorrow. Ack.

<skipping through a fairly long and not very interesting day at the uni>

deprived of sleep again

I got a call on my cell phone just as I was about to crash in my bed at about 4'o'clock. A demonstration was happening on the other side of town. Of course, being such a dedicated staff member of the student newspaper, I put my clothes back up, grabbed my Camera, a handfull of black and white film, and an umbrella, and ran off to the bus.

The demo was against the opening of a new McDonalds in a particular area of town. I have to admit that I sympathize with the protestors: The McD's was placed opposite an elementary school, right beside a health centre, in an area with very nice victorian buildings. The big M was a real eye-sore.

Enter the militant kiddies

The protestors were very peaceful - three or four teenagers, a few kids my age (university students, in other words), and a few "proper grown ups" (as in between 40 and 60) handing out leaflets, talking to pedestrians walking by, and holding up a banner.

Everything went just fine, until a few young kids (11-12) started discussing with some of the protestors. The protestors tried to explain why a McD's was bad, while the kids were chanting "We love our burgers".

The trouble starts

As a result of our protest, the management calls the police. Not that we were doing anything illegal (they were off their property, at least technically). In any case, there were two policecars and a few riot police people around (you know.. flak vests and batons).

In any case, the kids start chewing up pieces of paper, and spitting it at the protestors. Very annoying, and the police didn't see it. In any case, one of the kids gets brave, and gets one of these little cups*, fills it with ketchup, and throws it at the protestors.

*) In some european countries( including the UK), you get a small paper cup and you use some form of pump to fill the cup with ketchup

The manager of the McD's stands and looks at this, but doesn't do anything. I start getting a bit worried about the situation, but decide to go on snapping pictures

REAL trouble

Then it happens. One of the kids throws another of those cups, and hits me. Not really a problem, cause clothes can be washed, you may say. However, as I am working at the moment, I am carrying my camera around. My camera happens to be a Canon EOS 1N HS. If this says you nothing, think of an outrageously expensive camera that press people like to carry around if they lack in other areas of life (I'm not saying that.. eh.. never mind, at least you got my point).

Including the lens, this camera is a good $2000 worth of equipment, and I obviously get very annoyed at the small brats. So I go over (into McD's territory) to have a chat with them about it - try to make them quit.

Then it happens again. One of the kids hits me right in the nuts with a cup of ketchup. So I run after the kid, cursing him with all the english words I know. When I run out of English words, I continue in Dutch and Norwegian (You might imagine how that must have looked.. someone 6'4 tall with a heavy bag of photo equipment and a 2,5 lbs camera running after an 11 year old, basically telling the kid he's going to die a horrible, slow and painful death)

In any case, in rounding a corner around the McD's, I litterally ran down a Riot Police officer. Not a great move. Even worse: He did a self-defense move.. Because I have done a few years of Jitsu, I acted on reflexes, and countered his move, almost slamming him to the ground, before recovering and apologizing.

Too late

Before I know it, I got three riot police people all over me, and I'm wearing a set of gleaming, trendy handcuffs.

The release

It took me a while to explain my situation. Of course, the kid got away (Seriously - those kind of kids should be shot in the head... twice.)

.... And I got released.

 

Needless to say, it's been a rather odd day today.

-30-

Do not, do not, do not agree to have this woman be my roommate. Too beautiful.
Men's defense against beauty:

• John Travolta in Pulp Fiction, in the bathroom trying to talk himself out of sleeping with the gangster's moll: you will not sleep with her, you are going to go home and whack off.
• My Uncle X, drunk and divorced and devastated, collaring me and telling me: Smokey, before you ever get married, just masturbate a hell of a lot
• Ulysseus, tying himself to the mast of the ship so that he will not leap into the embrace of the Sirens.

So worried lately about this issue of beauty, and non-beauty. How will the plain survive?

Good day. Got to the library; really should do that more often. Got a whole (brief) play read, even though Spinoza was damn frustrating. Need to go in and see the professor. Still felt accomplished for the day, will whip Ben's ass at command and conquer tomorrow. May take off for the weekend to Scotland or Northern England, not sure yet. Feeling more happy and more active.

---

Had trouble falling asleep, and revised my Elemental Sonnets to the point that they're totally different poems now.

So yesterday, I decided not to do a day log because I thought I was no longer noding for the ages just noding for numbers. I expanded wrote a couple of nodes, but mostly read what others have written. I guess though I missed writing my random thoughts down here for everyone to read and then vote on whether or not they agree with my thoughts. So here I am, back on the day log, noding cause I want to, about my daily life.

Today I am a science teacher. I don't know much about science, but it does not really matter. I'm only giving a test all day. I mean how hard is it to give a test to a group of students? I guess though if I were a student and not a substitute I would want a teacher who knew what the test was going to be or at least what the information is on the test.


Just another day in the life of a substitute.

Last night I took a good solid look at my life. I heard a quote, and it struck me kind of hard. "Its not how you play the game, its how the game plays you." I took a look at all the simple things I have learned in my short time here. (On a side note, some of these were taken from "All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten" by Robert Fulghum.)

Share. Even if its something as simple as your cookies from lunch, or just a little hug.

My tastes are different then yours. Just because I like sushi, Jimmy Buffet, and blue jeans doesn't mean you have to, and it doesn't give me the right to force anything on you either.

If you love someone, you can't just love all the "good stuff" about them. And no, you can't change them either!

There were some things that were never meant to be said out loud - Like how you really feel about those shoes she's wearing, or that TACKY tee shirt he wore to your parents gathering.

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.

Its the simple things in life that give us the most pleasure, and are the easiest to be forgotten.

Assume nothing.

Those who abandon their dreams, will discourage yours.

Those with closed minds are always the first to open their mouths.

Its better to feel stupid for a few minutes by asking that question, then to feel stupid for a life time having never asked at all.

A thousand plastic roses can't make a desert bloom, and a thousand empty faces can't fill an empty room.

In ending this post, I'd like to thank all of my close friends who have helped me learn and grow in life. They have been more then friends, they have been my adopted family. Sometimes the family we choose is much better then the ones given to us.

Chris is beautiful. She's one of my friends in Audiovisual media technology. We've been chatting today. She's a nice blonde, somewhat nordic (I just found out she's half-dutch). She's got a wonderful voice (I just found out she sings in a band). I guess she's got a boyfriend (I'm nearly sure).

This class makes me feel old. I'm used to being the youngest on CS (and seeing nearly no females). There are tons of girls on this class, but they are mostly 17-19.

Ugh! They make feel old and I'm 21.

Two days ago I found out that a friend of mine has just published her first paper. My brother told me. There it was, along with her picture and her email. Funny. I've got her phone number, I've been to her place and I didn't have her mail. I sent her a quick congrats mail. I don't see her much these days.

My life's a mess... just like everyone else's. It's just that I feel as if the weather was grey though it is blue now. It's not cold. The sun is shining even.

I have to buy a suit for my cousin's wedding. I hate buying clothes.

I probably sound depressed. I guess I'm not. I think I'm catching a flu. I'm tired. Writing daylogs is therapeutic, isn't it? Dunno. I'll tell you about that later.

Seeya

This will be brief, because I am sitting in DIA waiting for my airplane to leave, trying out the really cool free Internet access. They've got these pagodas in the concourse with four computers arranged about in a design created to minimize privacy (no doubt they used The Calculus to derive this setting) but I'm happy.

I'm flying to New York to be interviewed for entrance into Oxford University. This is my biggest, bestest dream right now, and I'm unbelievably excited. I think I can handle the interview well-- I'm a charismatic person-- and I'm not worried about the flight. The airport is a ghost, half empty. One man I talked to said he was going to start flying again-- but he "sure as hell took out an insurance policy before he bought a ticket." This paranoia is crazy. I understand that people are scared, but they can't be paralyzed with fear forever. This too shall pass.

It's been two full weeks

..and it hasn't been easy. It's only starting to get easier, now that a few more things are happening in my life.:

The 2002 SVT Focus will be coming out in about four months time, and I've been saving up for the downpayment. This car should be really exciting, but it's a long time to wait. Most of the buyers have been waiting over one year since its announcement. I've already pre-ordered my car in June of this year!

After over a year of employment, I'm finally going to an indoor soccer game paid-for by the company. I'm not really into soccer, but at least, the fun will take my mind off the agonizing.

I finally completed the description for my personals profile. I don't expect anything to come out of this, but it doesn't hurt to experiment. I've browsed through other profiles and only found a ccouple that seem interesting. Of course, I end up choosing a blonde girl to add to my list. I'm still laughing at myself for joining this group.

I've realized that it was a pretty good idea to move out of the apartment. The air in there was unbearable. The ventilation didn't work too well since it carried the smoke fumes from other units through the washroom vents. And the appearance of the mouse didn't help either. I hope the masking tape barrier holds for the next tenants.

Overall, I miss her.

---

Random thoughts

- Sometimes it seems as though she had just died, disappearing just like that - with no trace.

- Yes, I remember all the times she had driven me crazy. More than once a week was the trend, and I had gotten used to it, but not immune to it. That was the unfortunate part.

- Looking at some old pictures, I still love her, and I remember what it was about that drew me to her. It's unconditional love, and it still exists for her. Sometimes, I wish for her to just come back to me, and her tears would be all she needed for her explanation.

- October 19, 2001, we were suppose to get tickets from a stranger and go see Tori Amos at Massey Hall in Toronto. We broke up instead.

- I have a feeling that she may be trying to go back to Ottawa.

- She ripped my heart out.

- I can't believe she's out of my life.

i am sitting at work. i am still listening to the same mix that i have been listening to since tuesday night. i have been to the basement, i have shredded much paper...i have hit a very unnatural state of calm. a quiet smile, a shiny coating on a vacant gaze...taking in everything, and letting it pass. the headache is gone, and i return.

i used to be like this in my first year of college. no one saw me, not because i wasn't there, but because i must bend light bizarrely in this mood. i had to turn it off in order to buy lunch, or i'd have stood there all afternoon. i have an aversion to dealing with anyone in meatspace. i would like to stay interfaced with the world and its happenings, but i would do it from here -- from behind the machine. little sister is watching, don't you know.

niall will be unhappy with me. he doesn't understand that this is a perfectly valid mode -- that a person can function in a refractive zen bubble for months at a time, with few ill effects. once, i forgot the sound of my voice. it sounded funny when i finally spoke to someone after two weeks of silence. i'd had no reason to talk, no one to talk to. it was pretty funny. i watch myself now, make sure i at least go out and buy a sandwich at the frontier so that i won't have it happen again. i'm sure it won't. too many people are bent on speaking to me at this point. i don't understand.

but hey, it's all good. some russian physicist was hitting on me today. that was confusing and cool. i really wanted to go to the colloquium today, and he really wanted me to go to the colloquium....but i had to go to work. *sigh* i'm sure there'll be another chance. this week's lecture was to be divided (if i heard correctly) between quantum physics and something about design principles for non-terrestrial environs. god, i love the space program.

the world is a wild and wonderful place today....