large post alert! (only because i've been too lazy/tired to blog recently)

my life in a nutshell:

last friday i stayed over at pauline's with margaret because we were working on our speeches that took place saturday morning. that was SUCH a brutal evening! we were all up until 3:30am trying to help each other with the reports, the media releases, and the news-bites! and then i woke up at 6:30am because i couldn't sleep i was so nervous! the actual presentation was incredible. since i was the first person to present my speech, i hit them hard and heavy! ;p

it was after the class that was really hard for me because i had to go to work...and then saturday evening was michelle's birthday dinner. hahaha. i thought the dinner was going to be short and sweet, but it lasted until almost midnight and then we all went out for bbtea too! sandra sent me the pictures from that evening and i will post them as soon as i get some down time at home!

sunday i went to see the raptors play at the acc. i like to think it was because i was there that they won. hahaha! ames' got us gold seats and i could actually see the player's faces! ;p just for the record, jeff foster is very good looking! haha!

other highlights from the past couple of weeks include (but limited to):

- meeting with des and seeing the new biochem building. how exciting it must be to work on the top floor with open windows on all sides! we had korean food on baldwin, ahhhh good ol baldwin!

- going to see "brokeback mountain" with alicia. we both liked the aesthetics, and the torn emotions of heath ledger. hahaha. amazing that ang lee can make a sea of sheep look good!

- going out to dna nightclub for cat's birthday. that was it's own dramatic episode involving picking up the mc that night and then going out for a lunch date that just couldn't be the longest lunch of my life! at least i can say "been there, done that" and be done with doing THAT ever again!

- going out to demetres with shelley! demetres is now reserved only with shelley, it's our meeting place for when we see each other which is pretty much never! but i'm proud that even through our busyness, we're still really keen on keeping in touch. the hardest part is that last year at this time, we'd never have thought twice about hanging out everyday!

working has been really draining recently. i've been going in a little earlier and leaving a little later, that combined with piano and doing work for classes (or in the case of counterpoint, JUST going to classes) and seeing friends on the side...it's been crazy! also, because pauline has been moving to her new place we've been visiting and just being there for her through this new phase of her life.

my only sad thing is that as i was browsing through everyone's photos of formal, i realized how much i missed going to these events! i realize i'm in a new chapter of my life, but sometimes i wish it was back in the day with all my good friends. the good thing is that the people who really care about me still keep in touch, and that's the best feeling in the world, even if it's once in a blue moon. the important thing is that it's THERE.

that being said, i should back to work!

it's so weird that i haven't posted in awhile. i've been so incredibly busy. jordan left for lyon last wednesday and i didn't even get to see him before he left. :( he makes me so jealous, being in france for at least 6 months!

work is work. i've been pulling some OT because i like the money. hahaha. i spent my extra cash at nine west where they were having a year-end sale and i bought a sweet pair of blue heels (i was looking for black,) and then i went back and bought a pair of classic black pumps, god they are so gorgeous. Dinners with pauline don't help either! just last night, i went with her to try the "pear tree." their french onion soup had a weird sweet taste to it, and the cesear salad was too cheesy. their bread rolls are amazing though! i had their tailapia and that was really good, but i tried one of pauline's potatoes and it was gross. hahaha. margaret came halfway through so we could dish on greg. hahaha. when the four of us (pauline, margaret, erin and i) get together, we are the fab four almost like in sex and the city, but asian canadian style.

last saturday, i went with kristy (a co-worker who moved here about a month ago from australia), karina, faye and mat to the "blue moon" on queen st east where my good friend, matt was djing. man, that was a good time. after 3 glasses of bailey's on the rock (because they don't serve baileys and coffee) i was like the happiest girl on earth. kristy was funny too because after a wine and 2 beers, she looked ready to hug the next person who came in! good music and drinks plus great company... what more could you ask for? and geordie and nicki stopped by to see matt play and i have seen those two since 2nd year!

sometimes it's hard to coordinate times to meet up with friends, but when it happens it is definitely worth it! well, now i'm wide awake, and it's time for work. !!!

Dear gentle men and women, it's that time of the evening yet again...

instead of working on my speech, i just finished watching the two-part grey's anatomy AGAIN. *sigh* such a procrastinator, i believe i get my best work done at this time of evening. haha.

anyway, i thought i'd share this email i received from my professor regarding our test next week...he is soooo jokes!

Orators--

Test #1 will be conducted Saturday, Feb. 25. It covers chapters 1 though 8. There are 80 questions-- 40 true or false, and 40 multiple choice. You have 60 minutes to complete it.

Please note that all types of success enhancement techniques (SET) will be permitted. This includes, but is not limited to, looking at other people’s answers, peeking at your textbook, eating energy food, deep breathing, phoning an intelligent friend, using the CD that came with the text, coded notes on small cards, bribing the teacher, or working with someone who seems to know a lot. Talking is permitted. Mild assaults of students who appear to be doing better than you are also permitted.

The test is worth 5%.

David

as lyle would say...cheers!

You were wearing that ratty little Dartmouth t-shirt you look so good in.
You just washed your hair and you smelled like some kinda flower.
I was running late for a surgery...you said you were gonna see me later...
Then you leaned to me, put your hand on my chest...and you kissed me.
Soft. It was quick. Kinda like a habit.
You know, like we'd do it every day for the rest of our lives.
You went back to reading the newspaper and I went to work.
That was the last time we kissed.

- Derek recalling the last time he and Meredith kissed from Grey's Anatomy

man, i was just dying last night as i was watching this episode. although i'd have to agree with matthew (yah, i got him hooked! ;p ) that the first part from last week was better then this week. why wasn't anyone else upset the the bomb squad dude blew up? he literally became pink mist. and i totally saw it coming...there was absolutely no way there were going to kill meredith or any of the other main characters.

in other news:
i was accepted!!! whooo hoo!

that is all (haha)

aww, it always feels good to do something nice for someone and then see them so happy! today is one of my co-worker's birthday and so i thought i'd get him a cake or chocolate as a token of appreciation for logging on to the computers for me (i don't have my own log-in!!) wait! he's on a diet?!? haha, apparently he's trying to cut out sweets and pop. so who am i to crash on his diet? i went out to dominion and bought him a nice big red (organic) apple, and an orange. the bananas looked really green so i skipped that. hahaha. he's SOOOO HAPPY with his apple. he cut it up and is now currently sharing it with everyone. ;p

edit:
next day, he took out the orange and shared that with me. haha, we have a special bond now! (unlike me and some other asian co-worker who shall remain nameless...)

i started counterpoint at anna and jonathan. dennis is our teacher, it's going to be mighty interesting...i don't remember ANY harmony from what...7-8 years ago? so i'm already the kid with the dunce cap.

i think i'll blog tomorrow. i always think better in the morning anyway...

the last time i worked out was two weeks ago tomorrow. no, my new years resolution wasn't to lose weight, no i don't make resolutions, and no i didn't want to stop working out.

the treadmill is BROKEN. *tear*

i don't know how it happened, but one day i came home from work and our machine was in various pieces on the floor. that's not how i have come to know and love the machine (although clearly not enough to name it, hahaha.) the worst part is that the MACHINE MAN DID IT! apparently he came and took the machine apart to fix it (there was a tiny tear in the track) and realized he had the wrong part and left. who does that? put the machine back together again until you get the new part!!!!

i'm on a treadmill withdrawal.

just an update on maintenance guy:

despite what happened when the misunderstanding started , i still do not yet understand why the cold shoulder of all a sudden ....continuing to be nice to me would help , ignoring me is the puzzling part. i like you and you know that but i will not go over the line when i know your committed ok? your a nice girl ....i hope you continue to work for MINTO in the future...Good Luck

just so everyone knows, this email pissed me off. now he's telling me how to act with him? just because everything is weird because of HIM, he's telling me i'm being cold and ignoring him? what a small-minded individual, it made me so angry. in the end i just didn't reply. i suppose that also constitutes as ignoring him, but you know what? he brought it upon himself. what was i suppose to write back? so sorry, i'll try harder to incorporate your creepiness into my life ?!?!? anyway, enough about that.

in other news:
even though i SHOULD be working on my next presentation that is due tomorrow morning, it appears that i'd rather blog then do that. i think it's because i just need a break from writing well. hahaha. it's definitely been an interesting time since the last time i blogged and wanted to update so many times but i've just been too busy. so here it is now.

i'm now working full-time so that makes me happy in one aspect. but only one. the satisfaction of making some cash to save for school and travelling. I'm not UNhappy at work, it's just so boring. i suppose someone's got to do it, and here i am. the biggest problem up to date from working full-time now is that i have NO time for anything else.

i'm currently still taking french classes at alliance so my tuesday and thursdays are shot to hell. i try to stick in some dinner dates those evenings, but since cat isn't taking french with me this semester, i find that i am not motivated to do my homework. hahaha. counterpoint starts in 2 weeks and since i haven't taken harmony since 8 years ago, i'm pretty much screwed. no hope there so moving on...

on jan 18, jacob and i went to see a symphony on mozart's work. titled "The Singing Voice", it was played at the TSO. Peter Oundjian was the conductor for that evening, and it showcased Viktoria Mullova on violin and Isabel Bayrakdarian as the soprano. What a great evening! i even ran into tarik and brian from anthropology. can you imagine? i can't even manage to get together with tarik, but of course we meet at a symphony. he cracks me up. that evening was interesting because i had taken two packets of neocitran during the day and therefore had to leave work early to go home and sleep before the concert. how was i suppose to know that neocitran makes you sleepy?!?!!?! i DEFINITELY learned from THAT mistake.

sunday evening, i went out with jordan and alex. we were originally going to eat at the honey kaffe but because it's not opened after 4pm on sundays, we decided to go over to yorkville instead. I finally went to Panorama. and yes, it has a great view, but for the amount of money we spent, the good food came in portions so small you would have thought we were in france. and afterwards, since we were still hungry, we went to cafe nervosa and had dessert. yum!

i conversed with carlo at yonge and bloor this morning for a full 15 mins. hahaha. we met up because he wanted those cookies my mom made for the graditude fundraiser last year. so i had to get up extra early to meet him but that came back to bite me in the ass last night. since i had french class, i didn't return home until after 10pm. but i couldn't go to sleep because i had to finish writing my statement of interest for my orientation today. this resulted in bed-time at around 1am. and now i'm up again. tonight's not going to be any different. i have a presentation tomorrow morning and i have to prepare for that as well. the only problem is i cannot leave THAT until the last minute because i'm in a 3 person group and already one of the guys has slacked off so we have to pick up the slack. *shakes fist at dud boy*

anyway, enough rambling i have to go to work.

I received a disturbing email from the maintenance man at work this weekend. it was titled "christina":

Hi there , i thought i'd send you an email to let you know ...(psst) i have one *wicked crush* on you but i am kind of hesitant on letting you know that at work...i guess the signs are there huh? and also i know your a busy woman so ...let me know how you feel and if your committed to someone else...if so , i understand see ya at work ...Take care! Jeff!~


If Ya Don't Reply ....it's your FuneraL

Byllzy says so >:-)

there are so many things wrong with this email. why are you putting yourself out there like that? he's very old looking (like late 30s or early 40s), VERY unattractive, AND he doesn't seem to know the difference between "you're" and "your." the last line also freaked me out. "if ya don't reply...it's your funeral"?!?!?!?! is he threatening me as well? needless to say, i enlisted the help of many friends to get their feedback as to what i should do and say.

my good friend jordan offered to send him an email, i asked that he run it by me first. this is what he posted on his blog:

So...I was going to write a threatening email to to help Christina get the creepy 40-something maintenance fella off her back. This situation just goes to show you that being bubbly and friendly has its downsides and very few upsides...unless you're actually trying to pick up. The worst decision Christina made was not giving me the guy's email address. She requested that I run the email through her so she could ensure I didn't send anything like the following sick joke: (And I don't do pre-approved censored emails because I'm a shit disturber...)

"Hey you, fucking janitor, stay away from my biatch - I mean it!! My hunni's pot is real sweet, but the only sweetness you'll be tasting anytime soon will be the opened sugar packets I stick in your mouth to help your blood clot after I use a pair of cold-forged pliers to slowly remove each and every one of your non-cavitated teeth. I'm leaving the bad ones in 'cuz the sugar will fuck them up even more. Ain't no Crest that can repair that damage and good luck getting OHIP to cover the cosmetic surgery that you will require after I use a razor blade to scrape the tissue off your upper-right gumline. Then every time you bite down on a hard candy, you'll remember the time you tried to grab my candy's ass. And let me remind you that as a temporary employee, YOU DON'T GOT NO HEALTH BENEFITS...SUCKA!!!!!!! Regards, Jo Jo"

hahaha, it's so great. unfortunately, i don't think the maintenance man would appreciate your humor jo. i eventually came up with something, but i had to really fight the urge not to write please don't kill me at the end of the email. today is monday now, so let's all hope that everything will be ok. i've already warned karina that if i didn't see her tonight that they should send a search warrant out for me. :0

i'd just like to put my two-cents in about the politics that is going on in ames, jules, and grace's blogs. i actually don't care too much about politics in general and i find their banter quite amusing. however i'd like to point out that i'm only voting liberal because the liberal candidate in our riding happens to be KEN DRYDEN. that's right. that would be KEN DRYDEN, the canadian goalie!?!?!? now i hate to give you a slap in the face *cough cough grace cough* but if ken dryden happened to be conservative or ndp or even green party, i'd still vote for him. he's a national hero. so i suppose it's just luck of the draw that he's liberal. AND he's a lawyer. (i know, that had nothing to do with it, but whatever.) and on a slightly more different note, i also have a bias towards paul martin, partly because he looks more honest then stephen harper, and mostly because he's also an alumnus from university of st. michael's college. hahaha. so there you have it. the reason why i'm voting liberal.

ps. jared padalecki is SO NOT lickable.

courtesy of kinsey...

Impressing Chinese Parents 101
Written By Michael Wong

You're in love. You love her. She loves you. You talk on the phone for hours at a time. You drive her everywhere. You find yourself spending fifty bucks on cuddly Korean stuffed toys that cost a buck twenty to make in Shenzen. In short, your world is complete. Now the only things standing in the way of your complete bliss are her parents. Want to learn how to overcome these obstacles? Welcome to impressing Chinese parents 101. Guys, take note. These are ancient secrets that up to now only a handful of noble families knew of. Father to son, to his son and so on. Only recently have these powerful techniques been catalogued and brought to the public's attention. Girls, take note too. If you love him, make him learn these rules. Harmony in the house, between your man and your mom and dad is paramount. And what's more they can be used when you meet his parents! Okay let's get down to the details.

Basically, we'll be covering what to wear, drive, say, bring, and talk about during dinner. We'll also cover what details to reveal about yourself, what your "supposed" ambitions are in life, what your family does for a living, and how much to eat during dinner. Finally, since there is no way to cover every conceivable situation which could arise, we will teach you the secret of secrets, to be used only in times of dire need. Please proceed.

What to Wear

Wear Polo or Tommy Hilfiger, as these labels will make you seem non-threatening. Chinese parents like non-threatening. They like to think that their daughter will be the boss of you and that you will be a hard worker and give her all the money you make. When she has all the money, she can lavish her parents with gifts and give them a nice life. Through you, their daughter will be able to repay her debt to her generous parents who sacrificed to give her a better life.

Under NO circumstances should you wear French Connection UK. Chinese parents know very little English, but they'll recognize the obvious mangling of one of the three words in their working vocabulary of English. The other two English words that Chinese parents also know are "yes" and "no", although "yes" is seldom used.

What to Drive

Borrow your parents' Accord. Your parents don't drive an Accord? Borrow their Camry. Your parents don't drive a Camry? Wait you're Chinese right? You're not Chinese and you're meeting your girlfriend's Chinese parents? Hmm, we have a problem here that we don't have room to cover in this article, so please proceed to purchasing the textbook, now in its 7th edition. Some other acceptable cars to show up at their house with are Corollas and Civics. Contrary to popular belief, Mercedes and BMWs are not good choices. Her parents won't like the idea that you are flashy. You could try to front and say that your parents are rich, but this can go both ways. If her parents smile, this means that they are gold-diggers. If they are gold-diggers, then your girlfriend is one too. If they don't smile, it means they have an inferiority complex and feel that their daughter should be matched up with someone of the same social class. Take my word, go Honda and Toyota.

What to Say

Several years ago, the beautiful and amazing Chinese vocalist Sandy Lam came out with a song called "Talk more, screw up more." It would be wise to listen to Sandy's advice. Say as little as possible. Let your girlfriend's dad brag about his prowess in the stock market. Let him bore you with his outlook on the Hong Kong - China or the China - Taiwan situation. Let him put metaphorical "money in your pocket" by sharing his experiences and the work attitudes that made him the man he is today. He will wave his hands about the room and tell you that if you work hard, one day all of this will also be yours.

If you must speak be modest and apologize for not knowing much. Chinese parents ask a lot of rhetorical questions. Feign ignorance. Let THEM answer the question for you and then say that's what YOUR parents tell you all the time. Your girlfriend's mom will beam from ear to ear, and chide you about new world folly versus old world wisdom. In truth, she is not admonishing you as much as she is strutting her tail feathers. Let her strut, by all
means let her fuss and strut.

The Meeting

It's either at a restaurant or at their house. If it's at a restaurant, pretend to fight half-heartedly for the bill but let the real man at the table pay for it. Pour tea constantly even if no tea has been drank from the cups. I once poured the tea so high that it was actually higher than the rim of the teacup. Thank goodness for grade 12 physics and that lecture about surface tension. If they actually let you pay (not a good sign), leave a 3% tip. Chinese parents love frugality. But you might also want to rethink ever going back to that restaurant for fear that you will be recognized.

Most likely the meeting will be at their house. This is their territory. In this territory, your girlfriend's dad is king. Your girlfriend's mom is queen. You would do well to remember that. First off, bring something. To show up empty handed or what the Chinese refer to as "two bunches of bananas" is disgraceful. Bring tea, bring dried mushrooms, bring dried scallop, bring ginseng, bring dried seafood, bring bird's nest, or even bring shark's fin if you can afford it. Do not bring a case of Molson Canadian. Do not bring tiramisu (Chinese parents won't eat what they cannot say). Do not bring bbq pork or other dishes (this is an insult as it suggests that your host didn't make enough food). Do not bring anything that's name sounds like "4" unless you are wishing death on the Mr. and Mrs.

When you meet them don't call them by their first names or address them by Mister and Mrs. and their last name. Go "uncle" or "aunty". By doing this you've made yourself a part of the family. Be of the belief that all men are brothers with different mothers. Also, never let your guard down, because while you are trying to earn their affection, you have to recognize that the parents are the enemy. There is nothing you can do that will ever make you good enough for their little girl, so know your enemy. Recognize that all girlfriends' parents are old, crabby uncles and aunts that smell of white flower oil or tiger balm. The dad uses too much Brylcreem in his hair, while the mother wears an updo. Of course she doesn't know that updos are actually back in style. For parents, time and coolness stops after 40, so don't even try to relate.

Dinner

Before the meeting, remember to not eat for two days. Then, when you go to your future in-laws house, go to town on her mom's lion's head meat balls or her mom's shrimp paste stuffed tofu or her mom's bitter melon beef. Sing the praises of the dishes as if it were dishes fit for Pu Yi himself. You do know who Pu Yi is right? Have at least four bowls of rice. Conventional wisdom dictates that making a pig of yourself is not wise. On the contrary, lavishing your future mother-in-law with praise is a shrewd investment that will reward you with ample dividends down the road.

Dinner Talk

If they're Christian, say how you've always wanted to be converted and ask for their guidance. Offer to go to a sermon with them that coming Sunday. If they're non-religious talk about saving money to buy a house (they love this). Tell them you've been condo shopping. Talk about a general mistrust of computers, but the necessity of computers in the modern world. Talk about famous singers like Teresa Teng. All Chinese people love Teresa Teng. If there's one thing that China Chinese and Taiwan Chinese people can agree on it is Teresa Teng. You're on your own if you talk about Four Big Sky Kings, Cookies or Twins. Talk about how Rap Talk is stupid. Remember to use the words "rap talk". They'll look at you blankly if you use terms like "hiphop" or "urban". Talk about how everything is so expensive. In short, be as fake as a ten-dollar Rolex.

Yourself

Don't talk about your grand schemes to save the world. Don't talk carpe diem, getting colonics, the protein diet, google, and other new age crap. Don't tell them about your plan for an Internet business. Don't tell them about how you plan to backpack across Europe after you graduate from university, that is if you decide to go at all. Tell them that ever since you were a kid you wanted to be a doctor. Tell them that your parents are strict. Tell them that their daughter is your first girlfriend. Tell them you're a straight A student (what are they going to do, phone the school?). (editor's note: I wouldn't place bets on that)

Your Family

This is a thorny issue, but if your parents are notorious triad gangsters, tell them that your parents own an importing and exporting company. If your parents are working stiffs, tell them that your parents are working stiffs who saved every cent so you can go to medical school. If you're out of school, tell them that your parents are retired, but got part-time jobs because they were bored sitting at home.

The Secret of all Secrets

Even if you do everything as we have instructed, situations may arise where all your hard work is for naught. In that event, use the secret of secrets to get yourself out of trouble every time. Lie. Simply calm your mind and pretend that they are your parents. It's so easy to lie to your own parents, isn't it? Your parents actually think your credit is fine. They don't know about how you are on Prozac. They don't know about how you smoke (thank goodness for breath mints). Once you realize that all parents are the same, you'll find that it's a cinch to lie to other people's parents as well.

The Conclusion

In parting, I expect some of you out there to doubt the effectiveness of these techniques. Why would anyone call someone who is not related to him "uncle" or "aunty"? Who in his right mind doesn't like tiramisu? Who is Sandy Lam? And who the heck is Teresa Teng? (For your information Faye Wong frequently covers her songs. Who is Faye Wong? Awwww...just forget about it.)

Ah, young grasshopper. If I could I would introduce you to the future you, a future you who is sad and depressed because Chu Chu (piggy) or Boh Boh (precious) or whatever other cutesy name you have for your girlfriend won't see you anymore. You feel independent. You feel powerful. You feel you don't have to kiss up to your girlfriend's parents right? It's an illusion. Children are only as independent as their parents allow them to be. Cut off the credit cards, the cell phone (they pay the bill right?), the Lexus IS300, and all the other perks and your girlfriend is a nerd in Seven jeans. You have to realize that you are fighting the equivalent of The Machines in the Matrix. To be a successful Neo, follow my words. I wouldn't steer you wrong. I have put these tips into practice. In my lifetime I have gotten along great with parents. To this day, every couple of months I get a call from the parents of one of my ex's. They call me over for dinner and fret about how I don't get enough soup and home-cooked meals. I jump at the offer and starve myself for a day or two (not on purpose mind you. I am a writer and starving comes easy). It's okay that my ex-girlfriend married some other guy and moved to another city. It's all good. That just means more lion's head meatballs, boiled shrimp with chili sauce, and winter melon soup for me.

i went to see chronicles of narnia with alicia and fiona, and my oh my, what an incredible movie! i can only vaguely remember reading a little bit of the novel but i was never into the fantastical books and it never really made an impression with me. but the movie was just SO good! the boy who plays peter reminds me of chad michael murray, and the little girl, lucy, is simply adorable.

and yesterday, despite being sick, christian joined me, mich and sandra out for a sushi dinner, and then we went to this most wonderful coffee shop called "williams" up at yonge and elgin mills. we were the only asians in the store, hahaha. i think next time i will bring my grandma there.

oh, i took a break to talk on the phone with matthew, but now that i'm back, i'm just tired. so i think now i'll read a book and go to sleep.

what is true love? true love is your soul's recognition of its counterpoint in another - wedding crashers

well well, happy new years! jordan's in lyon, france and i'm soooo jealous, but let's all hope that he finds a place to live otherwise there will be problems...i hope tj's recommendations help out. as well, thanks to jordan's photos...i uploaded some of the pictures we took with tyson here and while i was at it, uploaded alot of my other old photos from my now defunct website. the thing that bugs me most about yahoo photos is that they're all in random order and i can't even remember when and what happened first. oh well, as long as i have a faint idea, i suppose that it's all that matters.

the new year is off to a good start. sushi with the newtonbrook guys plus simone and liz. i love sushi, i don't think i'll ever get sick of it. we gorged ourselves and then went to bug alex at price chopper, and then when he finally got off on his hour break we whisked him away to starbucks (we hope to get him a job there so we can get discounted coffees.) in the evening we went to lenny's house and watched wedding crashers...love love LOVE that movie.

also, somehow i quadruple booked myself for thursday january 12th. it all started off with cha organizing an abbey get-together for that evening. then jenny decided that would be a great evening for a knitting group, and then i find out that AF108 begins next tuesday and since classes are every tuesday and thursday, i therefore have class next thursday evening. the kicker came from work today. i had promised monica i would substitute for her when she went away for examinations this month and surprise surprise...thursday january 12, 2006. unfortunately that's the deal breaker. rescheduling abbey and knitting groups and skipping my second day of french class. what a way to go. hahaha.

this is going to be a great year! ;p

i nearly died just now. liz and i were on our way home from meeting up with tee and wongie. and we were driving up dufferin from wilson in her little white geo, and this huge ass canadian tire truck totally switched lanes and WE WERE IN THE FREAKING LANE!!!! she honked and honked but he didn't care. we're lucky we were driving in the left lane so she was forced into the median, fuck man. why can't anyone know how to drive anymore? that makes me soooo mad. it's raining and it's late and people don't have the courtesy to watch how they drive. i'm so pissed. and this happens on a normal day too. NO ONE KNOWS HOW TO DRIVE. it's like, hey let's pretend to go to driving school, pass the test and then promptly forget everything. we ended up taking down all his license plate numbers down, the cargo number and described the time and place so that liz will call and email and complain tomorrow. i hope he loses his job.

wow, that was such a bitter end to a crazy fun evening. ok, well we didn't really do anything, we just met up at futurs on bloor and went to have sushi. and afterwards tee invited liz and i to see her friend matt, who just got engaged to his boyfriend rene. they are such a darling couple, i love love gay guys. we went to the ramada in on jarvis and carlton (surprise surprise) where they had this big gorgeous room and just hung out for a bit and looked at pictures (did i mention they have a GAZILLION photos from their trip to tanzania?) man, i so want to go to africa right now.

anyway, i'm pissed and tired right now and that's just not a great combo. i'm going to sleep.

day 2: snowboarding

what a fantastic experience. i have to admit that i think i'm snowboarding the wrong way. i know for a fact that snowboarders face forward...however, i am most comfortable facing backwards! i think it has something to do with which foot is forward. i face forward with my left foot. it thought that the right foot at the back does the maneuvering but clearly i am wrong. but then, i was much too lazy to go in to change the foot forward...hence ending up snowboarding backwards! hahaha. that and plus getting up when i'm facing the hill is much easier then getting up when your ass is on the ground.

ah, which brings me to the various parts of my body that has been subjected to this torturous outdoor sport. (it's interesting but skiing brought the same results, but i suppose i can't remember skiing. haha) anyway, my butt isn't speaking to me anymore, i think that's a good thing. because it's my right knee that's bitching at me right now. i've got at least 4 bruises on my knee, is that possible? and my upper arms are just so sore. serves me right to go snowboarding two times in a row. i have various parts of my thigh and calf muscles screaming at me. that's partly what i'm not sleeping yet. i'm too scared to!

the weather has been pretty craptacular. it rained most of yesterday, thereby melting the snow. but it snowed overnight for a bit so that was exciting! karina came with connie and marta for the evening, and so we had a blast on the bunny hill. that's right...the BUNNY HILL. haha. my sister and i tried the big hill twice (and by big hill i simply mean the largest of the easy hills) and we finally gave up and went back to the bunny hill. hahaha.

but i'll be home tomorrow, and i'll rest up then. until then bailey's will have to do! ;p

where to start? ok i went and had my flu shot last night after work, and now my left arm is sore. it's sucks because it's always at these moments that i realize how important my left arm is and how often i run into it! there are these coat hangers in the women's washroom at work and i almost always run into them, i don't know why! and hugging people? i have to make sure that my left arm is on top of the other person's right arm! it definitely made it difficult today when i had a late lunch with tee and liz.

tee just came back from tanzania last night, and boy have i missed that girl. i'm so happy for her, she seems to have had an amazing time. i told her next time she wants to go to tanzania to let me know because i'd like to go. and knowing me, i'd go too! we were originally going to go to cafe demetres for dessert but after passing all these sushi restaurants we decided to eat sushi instead because tee hadn't had any since she'd left 3 months ago. mon dieu, i love sushi too much to go so long without! since i had some time before meeting the girls, i went to the eglinton centre and had laurinda gift wrap their presents so that they were all pretty!

tomorrow morning i'm going to blue mountain for the next couple of days. this year i'm going to try and learn how to snowboard. karina will be up on the 26th so i will go with her. it'll be a joint effort! until then i think i'll work on my skiing technique.

i'm also bringing up two movies, castle in the sky and amelie. i borrowed them both from alliance and so i'll be watching them in french. i thought i had this genius idea of watching the movies in french with french subtitles because i find that i understand better when i can see the words. i did that for the movie les miserables, but i found out that they don't actually translate word for word so that clearly didn't work out. i'm hoping these two will be better.

ames has also recommended that i read "hey nostradamus!" so that will also be brought up for some reading leisure when i'm tired of watching tv or knitting. i've gotten the hang of knitting now, the only problem is, i only know how to knit scarves. i'd like to try my hand at a toque, or perhaps some nice little mittens.

hey you know what's really good? peach and ginger tea.

everyone, merry christmas!

you know it's bad when cleaning my room is a major operation plan. plus sleeping in bed just isn't the same when all the blankets are bunched up in one corner and the other half of the bed isn't taken up by another person...but with clothes. anyway, i figured i'd do myself a favor and make my room pretty again. so now i have a bed.

i'm having the most incredible time right now. yesterday was flashback to the abbey days. tanaka came back for a bit from medical school in north carolina, so i organized a get-together (go wedding planner!) and i am still in shock as to how everyone was able to get their act together and meet up! maija came sans jonathan, and then had to leave earliest but she still had us in stiches about her little "activities" with hubby. charysee knitted me the most adorable arm-warmers! it's mostly grey-white with touches of blue and pink...AND purple and pink ribbons too! she totally knows my inner girly side! lilian showed up later with her fiance, michael...no one can still believe lilian's getting married.

it's so odd, but if feels like just yesterday that i was sitting in the cafeteria with all these girls and laughing and making fun of each other. just like old times, but OLDER. lilian pointed out that i never call satchmo anything other then satchmo. i suppose the nickname has just stuck, i can never call her "maureen" it's just not the same. satchmo's right! ;p

ROGER
Who do you think you are?
Barging in on me and my guitar
Little girl -- hey
The door is that way
You better go you know
The fire's out anyway
Take your powder -- take your candle
Your sweet whisper
I just can't handle
Well take your hair in the moonlight
Your brown eyes -- goodbye, goodnight
I should tell you I should tell you
I should tell you I should -- no!
Another time -- another place
Our temperature would climb
There'd be a long embrace
We'd do another dance
It'd be another play
Looking for romance?
Come back another day
Another day

MIMI
The heart may freeze or it can burn
The pain will ease if I can learn
There is no future
There is no past
I live this moment as my last
There's only us
There's only this
Forget regret
Or life is yours to miss
No other road
No other way
No day but today

ROGER
Excuse me if I'm off track
But if you're so wise
Then tell me -- why do you need smack?
Take your needle
Take your fancy prayer
And don't forget
Get the moonlight out of your hair
Long ago -- you might've lit up my heart
But the fire's dead -- ain't never ever gonna start
Another time -- another place
The words would only rhyme
We'd be in outer space
It'd be another song
We'd sing another way
You wanna prove me wrong?
Come back another day
Another day

MIMI
There's only yes
Only tonight
We must let go
To know what's right
No other course
No other way
No day but today
(Lights slowly fade up on the Life Support group.)

MIMI & OTHERS
I can't control
My destiny
I trust my soul
My only goal is just
To be
There's only now
There's only here
Give in to love
Or live in fear
No other path
No other way
No day but today...

ROGER
Control your temper
She doesn't see
Who says that there's a soul?
Just let me be...
Who do you think you are?
Barging in on me and my guitar
Little girl, hey
The door is that way
The fire's out anyway

ALL
No day but today
No day but today
No day but today
No day but today
No day but today

ROGER
Take your powder; take your candle
Take your brown eyes, your pretty smile, your silhouette
Another time, another place
Another rhyme, a warm embrace
Another dance, another way
Another chance, another day

- Live Another Day, RENT

i ran into laurinda on my way home monday evening, god that girl looks good. we met up for lunch the next day and had a really good heart-to-heart. it kills me the things we as human beings go through. you think you just watch it on tv, but then when you hear real live friends tell you the things they go through, it just seems so unreal. half of me wishes that she'd told me before, but realistically, what help can i give? all the love that a friend can give, but nothing else. i suppose a friend support is good to have but still, it's hard the whole feeling of helplessness.

life is hard. but it can also be good.

i say this as i look back on the last couple of months. i feel like in the past couple of weeks, i've taken on a new out look on life. suddenly i know where i'm going with my life (i hope.) david, my instructor at ryerson has opened a HUGE door for me regarding post-grad schooling and possibly grad school. i haven't been this excited since i don't know when. work is starting to look good, french is incredible, i *heart* alliance, and the best part is seeing old friends. friends define who you are, and i'm glad i have so many. always the greatest treat of all.

say WH-AAAAAT?!?!?

good weekend everyone. went with liz to georges' birthday at insomnia, and it was awesome. i haven't seen mu since phl384 and i met his incredibly cute girlfriend. monica is adorable as always, and yes i got to see avril and jt for maybe all of 3 mins, but it was still good.

i can now say that i've been to the T-Dogg's farm for The First Ever Michael Scofield Christmas Party. i loved it so much. finally, a party that i can make! and what an adventure just before walking in his house on saturday. lily, manny and i arrived just seconds before noel and erica. but noel's car promptly got itself stuck in the snow. so we had some pre-entertainment involving a shovel, manny pushing the car, and shooting spurts of snow from the back car wheels. good food and great music, terry definitely is a good host!

the house smells. we're varnishing the hardwood floors and since i've been at work it's been ok. but i've just come home, and the smell is enough to get me high. ;p

tanaka's back, went out with her and karina tonight, and then we bummed around at a shoppers drug mart waiting for someone to call and give us a ride, and who should do that but jacob! so we went over to jordan's house for a bit where mark proceeded to creep us out and we watched the simpsons while eating chips. ha.

christmas is almost here and the christmas parties are going crazy. eat, drink and be merry.

parlez de votre vie ideale au futur...

this is what it's come down to. it's 7am, i have half an hour to write a blurb on what i expect in my life in the future, and then i have to haul ass to class downtown. *sigh* and the worst part is i'm doing this to myself all by myself! :0

last class AF106 was last night, and boy will i miss the motley crue from our class. cathy and i decided that levan isn't really that bad looking afterall. and robert? geez, if only he'd started chatting with us BEFORE THE LAST CLASS. he is really quite an interesting character, if not only that.

wait wait, i have to stop reminising about the past...think FUTURE...

happy belated birthday satchmo, happy early birthday karina!

what great fun it was to see my girls this evening. for some reason, cha thinks i'm the funniest thing on earth, why? i don't see it. hrm...

poor satchmo didn't realize the restaurant she picked was so far up north, so while the rest of us were at the lcbo getting her "presents gift wrapped", she was freaking out cuz she was late for the reservation. and while she went out clubbing at "afterlife" with litta and claudia, the rest of us went to see maija's new apartment that she shares with her adorable hubby (who was at a bachlor's party this evening...convenient) and we stayed and watched this crazy home video that she had made with some of her girlfriends she lived with last year about a stalker. yah that's right you read correctly and no i'm not going to explain it. haha.

well i have gotten hold of 12 past exam papers for history 5 and i was sort of skimming through them today. it's unbelievable how scared shitless i am now. ack. well i have 5 more days left and i will definitely have to make the most of it by shutting myself in the basement with an endless supply of starbucks. so farewell until then.

and to imagine that after this i have to think about 4 counterpoint, 5 analysis and 5 harmony (because i can't remember if i took it or not...i think i did already)...the possiblity of dennis teaching 4 counterpoint to me and johnny? scary yet at the same time, enlightening.

"...as human beings, sometimes it's better to stay in the dark
because in the dark there may be fear,
but there's also hope."

- grey's anatomy, meredith grey

i have screwed up my sleep cycle yet again. i stayed up until 2am to watch hbo's "rome." i haven't been watching the show faithfully probably because i never know when it's playing, and i've never really taken the time to find out. but i'd usually see it playing sunday evenings as i'm taping desperate housewives and grey's anatomy (my favorite show this season by far!) so anyway, i decided for some godforsaken reason to watch this episode of rome tonight, and i find out it's the LAST episode of the season, and not only that...they killed off my favorite character! well actually, i like alot of the characters, but this girl (narobi)was so pretty. hahaha, i am SO materialistic like that!

now i'm debating if i want to pick up this tv show as a "must see" for me. it doesn't really matter because i read somewhere that it's on hiatus for the next two years, but just for kicks, huh?

god what a boring day today has been. i'm trying to get into "study-mood" but so far it's been a no go. i'm hoping tomorrow will be a better day.

i went to bed right after my post last night. but i had the weirdest dream last night. i dreamed that i was walking past this store with my mom, and we decided to go in...and then we were watching a tv show infront of a stack of cupcakes, and they all fell down. and a whole bunch of girls were wondering how they fell over, and some random guy was saying in french that it was me. so then i turned around and started yelling at him in french that it had nothing to do with me. and he was so shocked that i understood him that he kind of ran away.

the end.

i know, i said it was weird.

it's too bad that my work was temporary and the contract is now done. my only hope is that my supervisor will randomly call me when things get really busy so that i will come in to help...and then january i can get a part-time/full-time job. let's cross our fingers and hope. on the bright side, now that i've filled my november working quota (no, i don't have a quota, but making $400 is always a good thing) i can concentrate on studying for my exam december 9th, AND enjoy going out with friends again.

which brings me to this fun story...larissa and i met up on wednesday evening to look for a nice venue for her birthday party (dec 2.) she had three places in mind. so we met up at bay and avenue at 10pm and walked to avenue and davenport to look for this place called "bohemian nightclub" that i have actually been to (like 2 years ago) and is now...well there IS no more bohemian, nightclub or anything. i couldn't stop laughing there was nothing there anymore! so then we walked to museum station and took the spadina streetcar to college to check out 2 more places. the supermarket (which looked fantastic and has a great dance floor inside with a rotating discoball), and then we walked all the way down augusta to look for another place called "the boat." the boat is a funny little run down chinese place, with chinese music floating up the stairs, a disco ball and floor, and NO PEOPLE. ahahaha. i think we're going to meet at "the supermarket" dec 2 at 9:30pm. come one come all, to larissa's birthday party!

i know i don't update as often as i would like, but i get home so late that i am usually exhausted and don't even have the time to check my email. so now that i've wrote a little, i'm hoping i can muster enough strength for next time. hahaha.

lalala...randomness...

A+ numero deux tonight! our group rocks! i have to admit that i felt completely unprepared tonight (compared to the last presentation) but we hit all the key spots and the prof is simply amazed with us. i'm looking to sign up with him in the next semester so i hope that all works out!

i just signed up with rcm for history 5. the deadline was 4 mins ago. hahaha. this is go number 3 i think. i now have a month and a half to prepare for this exam. lets cross our fingers and hope everything goes well!

french classes at alliance francaise begins tomorrow (today) again. cathy and i have changed our classes to the downtown spadina and bloor area. this too i hope will now turn for the better. we were very much unimpressed with the north york centre. updates will follow.

i've now seen LES MIS twice in a month. boy am i spoiled. that is my favorite favorite musical. i can see it forever and not get sick and tired of it. jake now listens to the cd over and over again in his car. it's so great. i *heart* les mis.

d'accord. maintenant, c'est fini. bon nuit!

just for the record ames, even though there was a giant sticky on your monitor asking you to tape lost, you STILL managed to not get it right! you tape the lost episode on the LOST tape, not the DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES tape!!!! gah! n'est pas difficile!

anyway, the whole reason for her taping for me was because i was at the new opening of the vegas bar tonight. very nice atmosphere, there was brie, and i had some, and well...you can imagine the results. hahaha. and there was a performance by three drag queens, it's the first time i've seen THAT. VERY interesting!

which reminds me of alicia, i'm not sure why, but yesterday we met up after my pr class and we were supposed to go to alan's little birthday shindig at the bedford ballroom, but that didn't work out, so we ended up walking around yorkville before settling at brownstones with tiramisu and decafe lattes. ah, heaven!

and cha is going to teach me how to knit! or she's going to knit me something, either way there is wool involved.

these last couple of weeks have been interesting, and i thought i'd blog about it but then i got tired so i'm just going to leave it at that.

things to do before i leave this weekend:

- send beth my new presentation slides
- send erin my apa bibliographies
- send pauline my presentation script
- pack my bag
- don't forget textbook (test tuesday!!)
- bring french stuff to review
- CLEAN MY ROOM

this is just crazy. i never get home before 10:30pm anymore. i have no time for my friends of family. i have to TAPE tv shows to watch another day. plus i'm tired.

french isn't going the way i want it to. i feel like i'm being screwed over with the amount of time i am paying for. the teacher is always rushing...why are you rushing? we're paying to LEARN not to sort of not understand what's going on. all the vocab i know is because i already knew it, i'm not learning any new vocab because she doesn't like getting up off her ass to the whiteboard (which is right behind her) to right the spelling. for example, wednesday she said "souhait" and i heard "sweat." i'm a visual learner, and this doesn't seem to be working. cat and i are pretty upset and we're going to be looking into the one at spadina and bloor for january. as for now, we have to make do with what we have now.

as for pr, it's been great. my group is great, pauline is forever giving me new jewellery every time i see her (she owns a jewellery company called lolobubsisters.) and we go out for lunch and have martinis and sushi. it's great. at least, not everyday is all work! especially since i work for orthodox jews and so i get a whole bunch of days off this month! ;p

either way, i get to spend quality time this weekend with matt, shelley and carmi. yay!

happy thanksgiving everyone!

fall's here, the weather's getting cooler, i'm so excited, i get to bust out my really nice jacket i bought in france! tee's gone to tanzania to save orphans, so good luck to her and her mission, and we'll see her in 3 months, whew, that means i don't have to go to oshawa any time soon. liz and i went to visit her sunday evening before she left, but we got lost because we went to the address for grandview SOUTH and not grandview NORTH. we definitely got to see alot more of the shwa then we wanted to! the good thing out of that visitation was seeing deans, ray and ana. sometimes it's just good to see old friends. ;p

yay to staying in pr. i definitely hit the jackpot with that. a great teacher, a
great course, a great group...what more could i want? after class today, i met up with alicia and we went to the papaya hut for smoothies. it's been awhile since i've been in that area...i kind of want my usual at not just noodles. hm, i'll think of that next time. the unfortunate thing is now i cannot get downtown any earlier then 6pm. I GOT A JOB! yay. no celebrating yet, i'd like to see how long i want to stay, for 2 weeks or 4 months? it really depends on what my mission is. i'll keep you all posted on that.

driving thought of the moment:

do i really really want to take that PR course at ryerson? it's driving me crazy.

edit
sept 13 - first episode of season 6 gilmore girls! it's about time!!!

i don't even know how to start this rant post, so i'm just going to dive in...

i simply hate people who take advantage of nice people. when i see it happen to people who are close friends of mine, i will rip them apart because i can't stand my friends being taken advantage of. of course, when it comes to me, i just let it go. it totally sucks, but i hate being the nice person, and no matter how much i hate it as i see it happening to me, i don't say anything because that's just the way i am.

what am i referring to? i went to a friend's party last week and a girl there found out that i did piano accompanying and she asked me to accompany her for an hour for $20 for her audition tomorrow. i said of course. we met up yesterday and today, and spent over an hour with her, even taking her home when hart house kicked us out because we're supposedly not allowed to "sing" with the piano, it's just for listeners enjoyment. and did she give me any money? nope. nada. and as she was leaving, i couldn't even bring myself to say anything. i don't know HOW to ask for money.

she's not the first person who's done this to me. i've had a recent job where i did the job, i'm STILL waiting for the money, i don't even know HOW MUCH i'm being paid. i hate this so much. how do you discuss money when you're applying for jobs? it's my biggest pet peeve. the only thing i can do, is learn not to deal with that person again. i lose out.

grr, i'm so upset right now...

i COULD be weird...but has no one else noticed that there's almost no more guacamole doritos being sold in the supermarkets? !!! i was craving them all last week and everywhere i went there was NONE! luckily, as i was bitching to alex and jordan yesterday, alex told me that his store still sold them! (NOT ANYMORE!!! i bought the last bag) so now what? what will i do the next time i crave guacamole chips?

my france photos have been developed!! you can check them out here. i'm very happy with the turnout, i wish i had more photos of my school and the city (Tours) where i was staying. i have a sneaking suspicion that those photos were part of the package where most of the photos didn't turn out. =( oh well, next time...because there WILL BE a next time! ;p

such an interesting and fun filled summer, but it's all coming to an end, and suddenly i'm lost as to what i'm going to be doing if i'm not at u of t this year. mind you, i hate u of t (besides the point) but the lazy person in me doesn't want to leave the cocoon of just enrolling and going to class and thinking that i can get a good job AFTERWARDS. because afterwards is here now...too much thinking! yikes!

anyway, i'm currently stuck in my basement because my parents have friends over and i don't feel like talking to them (awful, but true, so deal with it.) the only problem is that they've been here since 3:30pm and it's now almost 8pm. i went upstairs earlier to take a nap in hopes that they would be gone by the time i woke up...but oh no, they were STILL here 3 hours later (hey, i LIKE my naps.)

therefore, this is the perfect opportunity to catch up on unanswered emails and everything else i've been procrastinating. hahaha (maybe not!)

i'm home...and totally bored out of my mind ALREADY. did everyone read about the airplane crash at pearson airport yesterday? that was literally MY flight number and time TWO days earlier. can you imagine if i had decided to stay another 2 days? how scary is that? everyone in our program was so worried about the other people who had stayed, but we're lucky, no one we knew was actually on that flight!

in other news, i finished reading harry potter, the half-blood prince, and i haven't really decided what i think of it...it's certainly not quite as exciting as her other books, and there's definitely more "snogging" which i actually find quite funny, and i feel bad for the poor actor who will play ron and lavender. as for the climax part of the book, i think i will sleep on it...

oh yes, before i forget...i got home sunday evening, and there sitting on my desk...maija's wedding invitation! i'm so excited, my first official wedding invite! and there's also been other exciting news but i'll leave that for her to tell, but congrats!

but now, i must fix up my resume, i need another job...

so this is it kids...the home stretch. the time here has flown by sooooo incredibly fast, it feels like a WHOLE day packed into one huge mumble jumble mess (a good mess at that.) i did some last minute shopping today, i bought the cutest black skirt, and some really cheap tank shirts at zara, succumbed to buying the cutest underwear package from etam, and i WILL be buying the new Thierry Mugler perfume: Le Lys Angel. mmmm yummy, it smells so nice!

we're going out for karaoke tonight, it's the last U of T self organized trip, and anyone who is still in Tours will be coming out...hahaha, i might sing if i'm drunk enough...hahaha. tomorrow i will be leaving early from class to go to Paris where i will crash with my sister and cousin belinda friday and saturday evening before we all go home on the group flight. so this is most likely my last post before i get back home...unless i feel like spending some money on internet in Paris, but that is quite unlikely. so watch out, here i come...home, something i haven't really started to miss yet, but nevertheless i'm sure i will be glad to be home when i do get back. just a little heads up to people who are planning on seeing me as soon as i get back...i've lost enough weight that even the people i live with has noticed. nono, i'm not aneorexic, i've been eating well enough, but it's been all healthy food (except for the little bag of chips i splurged on yesterday) and i've been walking an incredible amount. you know those stories where our parents start off with "when i was your age i had to walk 30 mins to school..."? yah, well i guess i can pull that one on my future kids too. hahahaha.

au revoir, see you all back in Toronto!

ok, before everyone freaks out...i went to london, and i came back unscathed. in fact, it's really no big deal, it's all over-hyped, everyone there doesn't really care. actually, it's the attitude of londoners that just doesn't strike a good chord with me...i really prefer France, Paris soooo much more. i think i'm more of a French girl, my personality seems to fit that atmosphere better, in fact, i've decided that when i come home, i'm going to look up french courses to further my studies, and i want to look in the direction of coming back to France in the near future....just seeds of thought right now.

london was nice, belinda took us to Windsor castle, and luckily for us...not only did it rain that day (before sunday, london was ALMOST in the state of calling a DROUGHT, so yay, i got the real london experience!) but the QUEEN was also in that day, we knew because her offical flag was flying from the tower (if she wasn't, the union jack would have been up instead.) i really like the display of queen mary's dollhouse, and we had a really late lunch at the crooked tea house (it's literally a house that is crooked, apparently it was demolished but then rebuilt, but the foundation was kind of sketchy so now it's crooked...hahaha)

but for me, the best parts just isn't really in london. alot of my london experiences with the guards just scare me. i think it's because i'm so gullible, and i just don't get londoners dry, sarcastic humour...it all goes over my head!!! belinda is forever making fun of me, and i don't even know it! i even didn't know it was a joke when i went to ask some english guards for a photo, and they were pretending to be mean and i thought it was for real! i got all red and embarrassed and my cousins and my sister were all in stiches! :0 yah, i think i love FRANCE. i went back to paris sunday evening at 8pm and arrived 11:45pm Paris time. i called up larissa (thank god she answered, i don't know what i would have done if her phone hadn't been working) and i stayed with her in a 4 star hotel, and the next morning we had brunch on the house before we went market shopping and then went to see notre dame before i came back home to Tours.

marks are going in today, so my professor has been giving all these tests and stuff...but yay for me, i've been doing well, last time i checked i had an A but after today's comprehension test, we'll see how i'll do...hahaha. i'm actually starting to feel sad that this the last couple of days here and i'll be home soon...i miss everyone at home, but i also really really love it here, and i wish i had more time to see everything that i want to see!

anyway, people are going out, and i must too, peace out.

hey kids, i'm in london!

ok, i lied. i'm actually staying with my cousin belinda about 1hr and a half outside of london. we're in maidenhead, berkshire, about 5 mins from windsor, where the queen lives...and Eaton, where prince william and prince henry went to school! we're actually going to get ready to go sightseeing around windsor today, and then before we leave tonight, head back to london to see westminister abbey.

i'm still reeling from taking in yesterday's sights. we went to buckingham palace to see the changing of the guard...unfortunately, there was so many people gathered around, amelia, grace and i went across to the park and i stood on the gate surrounding the park. afterwards we went to see the tower of london, where the crown jewels were being displayed. they are simply breathtaking, the amount of jewels on these crowns and sceptres and even the gold plates....incredible.

and then in the afternoon, we went back to london, to st. pauls cathedrale where princess diana was married, and then we walked around the picadilly, the strand, and regent st. in the evening after my sister and i came out of "the phantom of the opera." let me take this moment to say how glad i am that we caught a show in london. we've seen phantom of the opera before in toronto, and we've even seen the movie when it came out, but it just seems 10 times more fantastic in the london showing. the girl singing as christine was incredible, as was the guy who sang as raoul. i think amelia and i have decided that the role of the phantom is really hard, because the guy who sang for him wasn't and won't ever be as good as the original, michael crawford.

we even went to this crazy multiplex centre, the trocadero, where we were able to shop until almost 11:30pm, where afterwards when we were on our way out of london, we passed by harrods, which was lit up in bright white lights, and i was able to snap a photo literally 30 seconds before midnight when they turned off all the lights!

karina is also currently in london, and we've been trying to meet up. since i only have today left, i suppose it's now or never! hahaha. london is very nice, i like it...but i think i like france a lot more...i think i like their style and culture a lot more!

oh yes, incase you all haven't gathered, my whole plan to meet up with my sister in paris, gare du nord station was a complete success! i really did worry about her friday morning in class, and the amount of relief i felt (as well as her, because she thought we'd be there by 1:30pm but we showed up about an hour later) when i spotted her in the station was just unbelivable. she brought with her my hair dryer!! yay, now i can have straight hair again, hahaha. i brought my hair gel for the specific purpose of when i didn't have time to blow dry my hair...but seeing as i had forgotten it at home, i pretty much had crazy wavy hair for most of the trip. hahahaha.

belinda is the best hostess ever. i haven't had to look at a map since i've come here. we get up in the mornings, pile into her car, and she takes us into london and drops us off infront of a landmark and waits for us to finish (she entertains a lot of people in london so she does this often.) since she's lived here for 15 years, she knows all the streets to take, and she's very informed with the sightseeing in london. and she does this all with a british accent! when i have more time, i will list a bunch of cultural difference i see in london from north america. as for now, i need to get dressed to see the queen! ;p

i really wanted to see château langeais today, but i had class until 4:30 today and the last train back to Tours is at 6:37 so there was no point in going. oh well, everyone is already making fun of me already as i've gone to see sooo many château's as it is. i went with the institut yesterday for a nice FRENCH guided tour of château chenonceau (sooo cool, it was where henry II and his wife catherine de médici lived, and cat took the château from henry II's mistress Diane de Poitier and they both made their own gardens....just some background) which is the prettiest castle i've seen yet. the castle is built over water, and their kitchens are humongous. we also stopped off in the caves of vouvray where i had my first (and only...most likely anyway) wine tasting. we tried three types of white wine, the first two were much too strong and dry for my liking...but the last one...oh la la!!! i had to buy my own bottle! hahaha...but at the price of 8,15€ i think that was a good deal! ;) BESIDES...since i couldn't see the château, i went shopping instead, and scored myself a real sweet pair of shoes for under 20€ from mango. i swear, i don't know what i'll do when the sales are over and i want mango stuff!!! i will probably go again before i leave...hahahaha...

tonight is salsa night, and i'm debating if i should go or not. i have a very large verb conjugation test tomorrow, so we'll see how that studying goes. i have a feeling that i will go for a little bit, but since i am heading straight to Paris to meet ames afterschool tomorrow, i need to get my packing stuff done tonight...as well as change my bedsheets and throw out garbage (which if it ISN'T thrown out SMELLS soooo much) tomorrow morning!

Londres (london) this weekend! so i'll most likely post when i get back from le weekend!

a bientot!

i almost overslept the last two nights, especially the night after i got back from la rochelle. sara and i ran into jerry, jason, bryant, tanya and helen at the train station and our train left la rochelle at 1:50am and then we had a stopover in Poitier from 3:30-5:06am. so we really didn't get back to tonnelle until 6:00am.

after class monday, i was supposed to go to blois with reva, but the silly girl thought she could get away with not paying for a ticket, and the outcome was that we got kicked off at the night train station from tours, mont louis. hahaha, we went to look for the chateau there but it was so far away, and after 40 mins of walking, we decided to head back to the station, and i ended up going to the grocery store there and then buying chocolate cookies...yum!!

today was more successful, after learning from my mistake yesterday, i decided to go see chateau chinon by myself, and i caught the 4:33pm train right after class. chateau chinon is a medieaval ruin, and it was so gorgeous. walking around the ruins, i wished it was still intact because it would have been soooo beautiful, and so large and grand. i even saw the place where joan of arc went and stayed. so great!

i've just come back from my trip and i'm kind of tired, even though that is the story of my life here. so now i have to go eat (it's 9pm now) and study before bed, and maybe i can go to sleep early tonight...hahaha, yah riiiight.

i miss everyone!!!

i'm sooooo cold!!!! i'm currently sitting in an internet cafe in la rochelle with my friend sara. we both decided to sit in the internet place because it got so cold outside, and of course, we both didn't bring sweaters or anything. i have a big beach towel though, because i wanted to go to the beach today, so i think i'll wear it around my shoulders.

la rochelle is sooooo beautiful. it's close to the atlantic sea, so it's pretty much a port. sara and i were really lucky because we decided to go on the last day of the "francofollies" a french musicfest that was on from july 12 to today (july 17.) we went to see all the FREE shows, and we caught all of the bands doing sound check. they were: N & SK (nomades & skaetera), daniel fernandez, usmar (i love usmar, i bought his cd, AND i stole a poster from a gate...ahahaha), and BRG. these french people are soooooo good! and while these acts were playing, we sat in a cafe and i had moules (mussels) in cream sauce and frites (fries) with vanilla ice cream, yum! i'm becoming soooo french! ;p

yesterday, i went with the asian posse, elena and sara to mont st. michel. the castle is pretty from the outside, it's like on this massive mountain, but the inside is not as impressive. we got shushed...hahahahaha. we also went to st. malo, but it's like a huge massive tourist attraction, sort of like niagara falls...la rochelle is so much better!

anyway, my migraine is clearing up (oh, did i mention i had a migraine? i had a migraine) and i'm no longer freezing cold. BUT our train back to Tours leaves at 1:50am and we have a two hour stop over in Poitiers so we won't be back until....6:30am...no sleep!!!

so depending on how tired i am, i might be going to blois (pronounced blwah hahaha) tomorrow, or sleeping after school....we'll see! amelia, you need to blog.

Bastille Day fireworks are sooooo much better than toronto, niagara falls fireworks. like 100x better. they lasted almost 20mins, and the theme was the four seasons (except it seemed more like 7 seasons to me.) they have some crazy cool fireworks that i'd never seen before, like they bunch like flowers, so pretty. although, the only thing thing i didn't like was that people would randomly throw firecrackers on the streets, and they'd throw them so close to us, and it's so loud and scary. but i'm just glad nothing messed up my face, hahaha.

after class let out at 12:10pm today, elena and i went to la gare to buy tickets for Saumur. while we waited for out train to arrive for 2:30pm, we went shopping on rue de bordeaux, and ended up with a nice nice tank top from promod (my favorite french store), and a really pretty jacket from mango. i really need to stop shopping!!!

so we went to Saumur, and it was sooooo hot outside! we walked to the château which took forever because it was très chaud and we sort of overshot our destination so we had to walk back, and then walk UP a mountain. and when we reached the château, we find out that it was under renovations until 2008 and we could pay 2€ to walk the perimeter. hahaha, no thanks, i can take pictures from the outside! hahahaha.

so that's my productive day. tomorrow i will be going to mont st. michel and st. malo, and i reserved tickets for bordeaux on sunday. so more updates later. c'est toute!

hello! today is Bastille Day in France, it's equivalent to Canada on July 1st. because i accidently missed the last train back to Tours last night (i'll explain that in a min) i was able to catch the Bastille Day celebrations/parade along Champs Elysées. as i am short, i wasn't able to see much, but bryant held up his camcorder so i was able to see a little tiny bit of the guys all dressed up and marching on the street. there was also planes flying in the air in different formations, very cool.

right, so yesterday i left class a little bit earlier so that i could catch the train to paris at 12:09pm, otherwise i'd have to wait until 2:15pm for another train. i went with 4 other ASIAN guys, charles, bryant, jerry and ian (aka, romeo...hahaha, that's going into the explanations section along with dimples). we went to versailles to see where Louis XIV lived and it was just incredible. the palace was gorgeous, so much gold and paintings. my favorite was the garden area, it was sooooo large, so large that the palace rented out mini golf carts for people to travel around in!!! i saw the king's chamber, and the state apartments as well.

afterwards, the 5 of us went and met up with 3 other girls (patricia, cinzia, and lisa) for dinner, and i ordered a "hamburger avec frites". right. so hamburger in france is not the same as north america. here they just give the meat and fries. and on top of the meat, there was also an egg. hahaha. that's why french people stay thin, they don't eat the carbs from the bread bun!!!!

we finished dinner at almost 10pm, and then after saying goodbye to the girls, we went for the train station. we MISSED the last train by barely 30secs!!! hahahaha. you would think i'd freak out, but i thought it was funny. we were originally going to stay up all night, hit up a pub and go drinking till morning, but romeo needed his sleep so we got 2 double bed rooms for a very nice price of 30€ per person. bryant stayed in a room with me, but these guys are such gentlemen. he insisted on sleeping on the floor, who am i do change his mind? but that kid is a snorer! hahaha. it's ok, after so many years of putting up with my father's snoring while on vacation, this was pretty much a piece of cake.

so you might be wondering why i was with a bunch of ASIAN guys? i don't know, they're fun to hang around with, much better then the girls last weekend. not that i didn't have a good time in Nice, but there wasn't any crazy girl drama, it was just me and the guys.

so La Rochelle is probably not happening since today happened, but i'm most likely going to Blois tomorrow to see the Chateau Blois, and Chambord. yes! so exciting!

haha, elena, my next door neighbor, lent me her laundry detergent this morning and i did my "delicates". they have now been drying all day, and i'm hoping they'll be ready to wear by tomorrow (but it's all good, i'm not lacking too much in underwear.) ;)

so this is my plan for this loooong weekend (with a sporadic class on friday):
i plan to go straight to paris to visit versaille right after class tomorrow (wednesday; actually i'll be leaving 15mins earlier from class) have dinner with patricia, cinzia and lisa.

thursday i plan on spending the day in la rochelle, chill at the beach, take in site-seeing (it's 2 hrs from Tours)

friday i have class until 12:10pm so i have to go do that, do a dictation, and then i will be heading back towards Paris to see Monet's flower garden in Giverny.

saturday is the institut trip to Mont St. Michel and St. Malo which will take all day, and finally sunday i will probably head towards Bordeaux to St. émilion, a small mediaeval village for the day before going back to Tours.

hopefully it will go through, and if it does, i might not be in on the internet for awhile, so i'll update everyone when i get back! bonne chance!

adieu!

i just got back from Nice, it's incredibly beautiful and peaceful there. i'm proud to say that i've had ice cream and coffee on the Riveria. hahaha. i have a bit of a tan, but i wasn't out on the beach too long because the beaches in Nice aren't all that it's cut out to be. it's all large rocks! i also went to see vielle Nice and the Matisse Museum and i also went to Monacco yesterday to the casino Monte Carlo and Prince Rainier's Palace. That was also a very beautiful place. i am now back in Tours, and am currently trying to figure out what i want to do this upcoming weekend.

i miss everyone at home so much. there's too much female hormones raging, and even though i had an amazing time in Nice there was a lot of drama that i will tell you about when i get back! all i have to say is, i will never go with a large group of females (8 total) and i will never share a ticket with anyone ever again. there's a bunch of irresponsible people, and i guess highschool cliques just never disappear. oh girls are so bitchy. i miss my guy friends, and the non drama.

thanks jake for the email updates, i enjoy them alot! but i have to buy groceries and figure out how to do my laundry now.

i'm soooo lucky, there's no one in the internet room today, so i'll be able to write a relatively in depth blog now.

school is really good right now. i was put in the level one french classes, but since i actually have a background in french, everything that i am learning right now, i actually learned before. it can be a little bit boring, but i'm glad i'm in the beginner class because i can focus on the fine attention detail. i have classes everday which really sucks (and the prof won't change the day of our test next friday so i HAVE to go back to Tours for a little dictation) but it's also kind of good because for a good couple hours each day, i'm just hearing french because the professors refuse to speak in english (but they KNOW english.) i have two professors. one of them, Monsieur Bolo, is the regular professor and he teaches grammar and comprehension. the other, Mademosielle Laurie, teaches us pronounciation. we also have classes in the library and labo where we wear headphones and speak into a microphone to listen to our pronounciation. it's a really good technique!

i really like it here in Tours, but the weather is forever changing. one min it's sunny and hot, another min it's raining, windy and cold. if i look out my window in the morning, it means pretty much nothing if the suns out because at noon, dimples will point out that it's raining.

i wonder if culture shock has set in? hahaa, here are some things i've noticed that are different from home:
- dogs and people shit everywhere, everyone HAS TO watch where we're going, and when we are walking in a pack, people will shout out "watch out for the poo!"
- the convenience store is called a tabac, and stores are called magazins.
- people driving cars have a different way of defensive driving. actually, it's not really defensive, they just drive. they pay absolutely no attention to anything on the right side, but if anything happens on the left (such as turning left) and an accident happen, they take full responsiblity.
- there are no stop signs at the small intersections, us pedestrians just have to keep our eyes peeled.
- milk is not in boxes or bags, they are in jugs, either frozen or not.

yah, so that's just a bit of stuff i've noticed.

SHOPPING here is amazing. in my post yesterday, i mentioned that i spent alot of money. but almost all of it was spent on my institut trips to mont st. michel, chenonceau, and d'azay le rideau. those trips are taking place next saturday (the 16th), and 2 wednesdays. because i have afternoons free on wednesdays and fridays, what better time? the trips will definitely be interesting as they will guide us in french. not like the amboise trip which was part of u of t and was guided in english. i'm actually kind of excited because i know that i understand alot more then i can speak. but i'm proud to say that my french classes actually paid off because i can now converse alot better to people such as the lady who booked the institut trips, and the lady at the poste office when i went to cash in a traveller's cheque today.

oh yes, back to shopping. well, since i don't have class until 11:15am on thursdays, i got up early yesterday to walk along rue de bordeaux and rue nationale. they are the best streets for shopping. i bought a dress, and pretty sweater at this shop called promod, a very very pretty pink satin tank top, earrings and a beautiful purse (soft like butter) at MANGO for just under 60€. it's sale season here, so all these clothing at usually expensive shops are sooooo cheap!!! like the purse from mango, i'd never buy anything from toronto, but here it was 8.95€. soooo cheap! i also so this really nice jacket, but i'm going to hold off buying it just for now, i don't want to spend ALL my money now. hahaha.

anyway, this was good, i was really sad that i had to rush my blog from yesterday, there was a lady waiting for the computer and she kept sighing, so i couldn't think on the spot. but it's now 3pm and i have to be at the train station for 6:57pm and i have to pack, and look for a hostel in Paris for next weekend's Bastille Day.

Off to pack! ;)

i have spent so much money on clothing today. in fact, i spent so much that i have to cash in some traveller's cheques. ;) but the clothing is soooo cheap (because of the sale season in france right now) so i think i'm going to take advantage of the sales now, and then i'll not spend so much the next couple of weeks.

so i don't know if i'm going to london anymore, because i heard about the bombings after class today. i still want to go, so i'll see what happens in the next two weeks. man, that would suck if i couldn't go, but i guess i'd rather be around then not.

i'm off to nice tomorrow at 7pm, so i won't be back until after school monday. not only will be exhausted, i'll also be TANNED!!!!! whooo!

oh yah, for everyone who emailed me their home addresses, i sent out postcards today. so that means you'll get either in a week, or a month. hahaha.

anyway, i'm out.

the first day of classes started yesterday. i'm convinced that i'm in the wrong level as i've been put in level one. but the people in level one don't know a word of french, and i have 3 years of french under my belt. no matter, i'm having a great time learning how to say my name, count numbers and spell my last name. hahahahaha. i'm also in the class with dimples (hahaha, i'll explain if you ask me when i get home) and we're always both zoning out while everyone is struggling. i have classes everyday mostly starting at 9am, but on thursdays i start at 11:15am. they sometimes end pretty late (like around 4:15pm on tuesdays and thursdays.)

i stayed in rez last night and chilled with larissa and the girls. we had such a great time and somehow i still managed to not get to bed until 1:30am. i finally got my defective alarm clock to the shop and they were really nice to give me a brand new one. so now i don't need the girls to knock on my door in the morning anymore!!!

i bought a skirt at the market on rue belanger today, it's so pretty, blue and cute!!! i'm wearing that to the nice dinner restaurant when we go to Nice! yay!

anyway, i have to get ready for a special surprise tonight that's being hosted by larissa. bye!!!

today there was a mandatory group excursion with the institut and we went to visit the city of amboise. before we reached that destination, we stopped for a boat cruise in the river 'le cher' in mont richard, to see troglydytes (these are houses that people live in but their roofs are made of the forest floor). we also took a tour of mushroom caves and after the tour, i bought a bottle of mushroom soup (made from shiitake mushrooms) and i made some for dinner tonight and it was soooo yummy. of course OUR bus was late and even though the tonnellé people made it on time to the destination, the professor favored her 'hameau and homestay' students and left on the first bus right away. it kind of sucked because we ended up not having anytime for lunch when we reached amboise before we went on the tour of the chateux amboise. the tour was amazing, so pretty, and AFTERWARDS we had 2 hours to check out the little shops around the town.

the tour de france reached tours this afternoon while we were in amboise, but a bunch of us are planning on attending the leaving tomorrow after our first day of class!! it will be pretty exciting. anyway, before i forget, after dinner tonight (consisting of the mushroom soup and a left over HEATED on a pan panini) 9 girls and our RA (larissa) went to the train station and we have now booked tickets to go to NICE THIS WEEKEND (july 8-10.) whooohoo!!!

well it's pretty late now (2:04am,) so i'm off to bed. goodnight.

hi everyone!!! guess where i am!?!?!?

it' been pretty hectic these past few days. thursday just seemed never ending. the flight was about 7 hours but when we landed, several students didn't show up so we had to wait about 2 hrs before the professor realized the students were NEVER on the flight!!!!! and then our bus broke down JUST outside tours, so we had to wait for the other bus to come back to pick us up.

however, the residence is very very nice. it's quite clean, and i have my own kitchen area, bathroom shower, and a big, spacious room with a long desk and bed. our residence even have our own internet!!! the students living at hameau (i'm at tonnellé) have no internet so they have to either wait inline at the institut or pay 1€ for 20mins. HAHA! the only downfall is that we are about 30 mins away from the institut. it's a pretty long walk and i'm now convinced that my feet will never speak to me ever again.

im typing on a french keyboard so the keys are kind of funny. it is currently 7:30pm july 3rd in Tours. i just got back to the tonnellé residence as i went to paris today to visit the louvre (the museum is free the first sunday of each month.) it was a gorgeous day, no rain. the train ride to paris was surprisingly fast. we had to switch trains 5 mins after leaving the train station at tours, but afterwards, the TGV took an hour to gare montparnesse.

the institut hosted a free dinner for us last night and after the dinner, most of the students went to this club called "xcaliber". it was ok but the guys in france are very forward, so a bunch of us females (10 total...it varies) made a pact to always stick together in a group and to watch out for everyone else. one random girl (who wasn't part of the group but from our residence) decided she wanted to buy drugs from some sketchy guys and she gave us quite a scare. the few guys that are part of our residence stepped in to help her out, but alot of us girls are very unhappy with her stupid decision that almost put us all in danger. i don't think i really enjoy french clubs so i don't think i will be going out very often for these excursions. However, because of the drama last night, everyone ended up not getting back to our residence (it's a 30 min walk) until 4:30am. and i was supposed to meet grace and some other people at hameau to book our train tickets to paris this morning at 7am. so i ended up not sleeping...yet...no worries, i'm fine as french coffee is VERY different from north america, it's literally an expresso, so i've been pretty wired as of yesterday's dinner drink. i will be having a full night's sleep tonight because the institut is organizing a bus tour for ambroise for tomorrow morning at 8:30am.

so, now that i'm done, i'm off to dreamland...

oh a whim, i decided to blog...my sleeping habits have gone to the dogs, oh well, i suppose i'm just minimizing the jet lag!

sooo, FRANCE! everyone's been asking me if i'm excited to go. of course i am. except that i have this annoying project i have to do before i leave. st. mike's called me last week to ask if i was interested in writing a piece on convocation and my experiences at smc. naturally i agreed to do it. and now i have to write it. and of course, i'm procrastinating!

i'm getting money on wednesday, as there were no pounds available today, and not enough euros. but that's ok because i don't even have my bank card! the airhead that i am, i accidently left my bank card and my old driver's license (my new one came in the mail today!) with liz from yesterday (i'll get to that in a sec) and i DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT. well, until she emailed me and told me today. and this isn't the first time i'm left my bank card and not known it. i think i've left many items accidently in matt's car, and he'd randomly call me up and tell me. hahaha. oh so not a good thing!

right, on to yesterday: metric, broken social scene and modest mouse on centre island! sorry grace, i really did want to see you (and everyone else) go dragonboating, but it was way too early, and even though the event i went to didn't start until 2pm, liz and i didn't even get to the island until after 5pm. we stopped off at the second cup at union station, and they undercharged her and forgot to ask me to pay. hahahaha. i didn't see the necessity in reminding them...especially AFTER i had it, it was so gross, so full of sugar! i think i felt queasy after that. but the delicious pizza pizza got me back on my feet! yesterday's event was so good! i even got a metric t-shirt, although i'm pretty sure i got it because it was PINK. hahaha.

monica came back from examining in vancouver, and i had a morning meeting with her saturday morning at 8:30AM. it was insane. i was so incredibly tired after that, and i don't think i've recovered since! and what did we discuss? nothing that was important. the only thing i got out of that was a free breakfast. righto.

and as juju mentioned from her blog, we had a good time at grandma's birthday last thursday. there WAS a bit of awkwardness but i was at the same table with grandma and her best friends. i'm so lucky that i got to know her friends, so all i kept hearing that night was mostly "oh my, you're so grown up and so pretty!" i love little old chinese ladies!

ah well, look at the time. it's nearly 1:30am. and i got some crazy mosquito bites tonight, that are driving me insane. damn those little buggers.

alright then, i'll leave you all a very lovely website. it's about a guy who's been teaching english in japan for almost year, and it's great.

hello hello!

after an incredibly retarded crappy day and a half, matt surprised me with tickets to a JET CONCERT at the opera house last night! ;p i have to admit that when he asked me three weeks ago if i was free the night of thursday june 16, 2005...i didn't really try too hard to find out why. why not? because i know how it feels to try and plan a surprise for someone and then ending up telling that person because they throw such a fuss about not knowing, so i didn't want to ruin any big surprise...and you know what? it was an EXCELLENT SURPRISE!!!

of course there was a huge ton of waiting until JET ACTUALLY made it on stage at 10:30pm to perform for about an hour (afterall, they only have one album! ;p) but they played some of their biggest hits (cold hard bitch, rollover DJ, look what you've done, are you gonna be my girl) immediately, and they literally took my breath away, they were THAT GOOD.

Go!!

So 1, 2, 3, take my hand and come with me
because you look so fine
and i really wanna make you mine.

I say you look so fine
that I really wanna make you mine.

Oh, 4,5,6 c'mon and get your kicks
now you dont need that money
when you look like that, do ya honey.

Big black boots,
long brown hair,
she's so sweet
with her get back stare.

Well I could see,
you home with me,
but you were with another man, yea!
I know we,
ain't got much to say,
before I let you get away, yea!
I said, are you gonna be my girl?

Well, so 1,2,3, take my hand and come with me
because you look so fine
and i really wanna make you mine.

I say you look so fine
that I really wanna make you mine.

Oh, 4,5,6 c'mon and get your kicks
now you dont need that money
with a face like that, do ya.

Big black boots,
long brown hair,
she's so sweet
with her jet back stare.

Well I could see,
you home with me,
but you were with another man, yea!
I know we,
ain't got much to say,
before I let you get away, yea!
I said, are you gonna be my girl?

Oh yea. Oh yea. C'mon!
I could see,
you home with me,
but you were with another man, yea!
I know we,
ain't got much to say,
before I let you get away, yea!
Uh, be my girl.
Be my girl.
Are you gonna be my girl?! Yea

- Jet

In other news:
congrats to myself and my fellow classmates at U of T, who FINALLY have made it out of the HOLE. that day was brutal beyond belief, only because of my SHOES. there are shoes that are made for looking pretty and that is it. the particular shoes i was wearing that day was EXACTLY that, and then we had to walk across queen's park (twice!) and then over to UC, and then to hart house, and then back to UC and then across the kings college circle to convocation hall. it was incredibly painful, and some unknown muscles in my calves told me so for the next four days after!

then there were several bbq's that i was invited to including tee's bbq graduation party up in the shwa, and alex's birthday bbq that was hosted by jordan, and mich's graduation bbq that i couldn't attend because i was grace's house trying to figure out where and what we were going to do in france that day...sorry mich!

and of course, there was the upsetting news of my cousin on wed, but ames pretty much sums up everyone's reaction on her blog so i'm not going to reiterate it again.

i also went to the imax theatre for the first time to watch "batman begins." it was a pretty interesting experience. first off, i was RACED to the back row by this incredibly large woman who seemed to want to beat me to the seat next to kevin (for some reason i don't know, but poor kevin! haha) so i just went round to the other side to sit with kaz. secondly, the movie was ok, but since the screen was so large, i kept getting distracted by christian kane's mole at the side of his nose. and the kid that played little bruce wayne had such long and beautiful eyelashes...hahaha. the end of the movie sucked because at that point i was starting to get sick of all that close up action, and i couldn't focus on any moles or eyelashes...so i don't think i paid too much attention to the ending. oh well...

i went downtown today to pick up my "gown" and class composite photos. soooo weird, it's only hit me now that i'm really graduating. i think i've sub-consciously denied thinking that, so maybe i will be happy tomorrow...i guess i will be most happy just to people who i began university with, although alot of those same people aren't the same people i finish with. it also sucks that the composite photos are only of the people who are graduating from our college, i guess there's just too many people graduating to do a big humongous one. hahaha.


one of the best songs off the album X & Y:
What if there was no light
Nothing wrong, nothing right
What if there was no time
And no reason, or rhyme
What if you should decide
That you don't want me there by your side
That you don't want me there in your life

What if I got it wrong
And no poem or song
Could put right what I got wrong
Or make you feel I belong

What if you should decide
That you don't want me there by your side
That you don't want me there in you life

Oh that's right
Let's take a breath, jump over the side
Oh that's right
How can you know it if you don't even try
Oh that's right

Every step that you take
Could be your biggest mistake
It could bend or it could break
But that's the risk that you take

Coldplay - What If

yesterday i met up with mich to buy the coldplay X & Y cd from hmv. and then we attempted to work on our japan scrapbooks while we watched coldplay on tv. yes yes, we're crazy crazy fans of coldplay! tony espinoza came by after lunch and then we all went and visited ms. sandra wong! god, it's crazy that i've known this girl since gr. 11 highschool! we were both in the same math tutorial school (i know, so nerdy!) but we never listened in class and always chatting with each other, and horton and derek. i think only darren paid attention in class, so we always copied the answers off him! hahaha, we learned absolutely nothing from those classes! hahaha.

i was so delighted that the summer buddies meeting made it into kinsey's blog that i also wanted to take this time to say how much i miss my friends from highschool (even though karen and i were technically "enemies" with the SJ girlies...hahaha.) what great times in OAC accounting...and k. man. hahahaha. i think it's so great that we all still put in the effort to see each other! i'm so excited about us all going to see karen's performance in august! and then, i promise we won't ditch you girls!