let the birthday celebrating begin!
first off, it seems that facebook has been telling everyone that my birthday was yesterday. it was not. my birthday is tomorrow. but thanks for the early wishes!
there was a happy abbeyite gathering at marche last night. taline is newly engaged and so she, anna p, and lilian sat on one side of the table while the rest of us single and unengaged girls (me, faye, and karina) sat on the other side. ha. segregation at it's best! so we talked about weddings, and fiances and dresses and lives, and work and everything and had a great old time reminicing about highschool. we wondered how mr. desilets and ms. villano (aka, mrs. desilets) are doing and how other abbeyites are faring. since marche is market style food, it felt like we were in highschool all over again because we were getting our food and sitting at those long table-like benches.
in the end, we decided that since faye's birthday is coming up in 2 weeks time, that we are definitely going to do another outting, perhaps clubbing. ha. more like devil's martini. ;p
Friday, September 01, 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
here we go...another chapter in my life is about to close.
as most people know, i have been teaching piano for as long as i can remember. i think i started in gr. oac in highschool. from a teeny bopper with no idea what i was doing, to a full-fledged, confident and fun teacher, i've come quite a way. ideally, i'd love to continue teaching part time in the future. but as of now, there is no way to foresee what is to come, so in order for my students (who i love love LOVE) to get the best of piano, i have decided to stop teaching.
*gasp*
i have absolutely no idea how i will be able to handle the void of teaching!!!! i mean, yes, i've had days when i was frustrated and disappointed, but then there are always the many other days when i am overcome with proudness for what they have accomplished. it's every teacher's desire for their kids to succeed, and i am no different.
last night i almost started crying when two sisters gave me a homemade card that said:
To Christina =)
You have been a wonderful, understanding, kind and considerate piano teacher. The list just goes on and on.
Whenever there was something we were not sure of, or something that was new, you explained in ways that we would understand 100%!
We will miss you soooooooo much!! We will never find a teacher like you!
We wish you the best in the future.
Sincerely,
N & M
*tear* I'm going to miss my tiny tykes!
as most people know, i have been teaching piano for as long as i can remember. i think i started in gr. oac in highschool. from a teeny bopper with no idea what i was doing, to a full-fledged, confident and fun teacher, i've come quite a way. ideally, i'd love to continue teaching part time in the future. but as of now, there is no way to foresee what is to come, so in order for my students (who i love love LOVE) to get the best of piano, i have decided to stop teaching.
*gasp*
i have absolutely no idea how i will be able to handle the void of teaching!!!! i mean, yes, i've had days when i was frustrated and disappointed, but then there are always the many other days when i am overcome with proudness for what they have accomplished. it's every teacher's desire for their kids to succeed, and i am no different.
last night i almost started crying when two sisters gave me a homemade card that said:
To Christina =)
You have been a wonderful, understanding, kind and considerate piano teacher. The list just goes on and on.
Whenever there was something we were not sure of, or something that was new, you explained in ways that we would understand 100%!
We will miss you soooooooo much!! We will never find a teacher like you!
We wish you the best in the future.
Sincerely,
N & M
*tear* I'm going to miss my tiny tykes!
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
each week brings something new and different, you just don't know what to expect.
after a relatively sombre weekend before, this weekend was social weekend. we kick started by celebrating amelia's birthday at a CHINESE RESTAURANT (anyone who knows my sister would know that she isn't the biggest fan of chinese food) but we actually had really delicious steamed fish and other dishes.
after we had sufficiently gorged ourselves on good food, i went home and went straight to sleep. ha! i know i'm older now, but not THAT old! actually, i was supposed to go to christian's birthday party (where, incidentally i heard he got super piss ass drunk...) but due to an ear infection (that came out of no where) i decided to see if i put rubbing alcohol on it and went to sleep it might get better. tanaka's plane came in from acapulco at 11:45pm that evening and matt and i went to make sure she got home alive. we decided that it would be fun to randomly go to the airport and wave at people, pretending to wait for someone! :S
so in the end, i didn't end up getting home until 2:30am AND i had work at 9am that morning. see? taking a nap was a good idea afterall!
other highlights of this fun-filled weekend included:
- really surprising jordan for his surprise welcome home party. HE thought jake and i were just taking him out for the evening to catch up and hang out. but WE knew better. we spent a good hour at second cup talking about his trip, and then as a sneaky side, i got them to take me to walmart where harry potter did a good job wasting time, as did looking at cosmetics and checking our blood pressures! then we went to dave and busters to "pick up jake's car keys from chad." i have no idea if the car keys were picked up, but what ensued was a beautiful catered dinner on 3 pool tables with 40 of jordan's friends and family. quite a successful operation if i say so myself.
sunday was quite the smcsu reunion. in the evening, liz and i went to meet up with rita at future's bakery at bloor and brunswick. manny dropped by for a bit, as did billy dunn, and lily wong also accidently came upon on our merry group when she walked in with some friends. it was really nice to see rita again (who was the main reason we met up.) liz i had met up on thursday when we went to see don giovanni with jacob.
so there's a little fun at the end of august. more to come!
after a relatively sombre weekend before, this weekend was social weekend. we kick started by celebrating amelia's birthday at a CHINESE RESTAURANT (anyone who knows my sister would know that she isn't the biggest fan of chinese food) but we actually had really delicious steamed fish and other dishes.
after we had sufficiently gorged ourselves on good food, i went home and went straight to sleep. ha! i know i'm older now, but not THAT old! actually, i was supposed to go to christian's birthday party (where, incidentally i heard he got super piss ass drunk...) but due to an ear infection (that came out of no where) i decided to see if i put rubbing alcohol on it and went to sleep it might get better. tanaka's plane came in from acapulco at 11:45pm that evening and matt and i went to make sure she got home alive. we decided that it would be fun to randomly go to the airport and wave at people, pretending to wait for someone! :S
so in the end, i didn't end up getting home until 2:30am AND i had work at 9am that morning. see? taking a nap was a good idea afterall!
other highlights of this fun-filled weekend included:
- really surprising jordan for his surprise welcome home party. HE thought jake and i were just taking him out for the evening to catch up and hang out. but WE knew better. we spent a good hour at second cup talking about his trip, and then as a sneaky side, i got them to take me to walmart where harry potter did a good job wasting time, as did looking at cosmetics and checking our blood pressures! then we went to dave and busters to "pick up jake's car keys from chad." i have no idea if the car keys were picked up, but what ensued was a beautiful catered dinner on 3 pool tables with 40 of jordan's friends and family. quite a successful operation if i say so myself.
sunday was quite the smcsu reunion. in the evening, liz and i went to meet up with rita at future's bakery at bloor and brunswick. manny dropped by for a bit, as did billy dunn, and lily wong also accidently came upon on our merry group when she walked in with some friends. it was really nice to see rita again (who was the main reason we met up.) liz i had met up on thursday when we went to see don giovanni with jacob.
so there's a little fun at the end of august. more to come!
Friday, August 11, 2006
Sunday, August 06, 2006
good morning fellow readers.
i am currently sitting in our pretty posh Wyndham Chicago hotel room that is literally 30 seconds away from the famous michigan avenue (magnificant mile.) i spent the last two days a lollapalooza watching all these bands from grant park, an awesome experience, but alas, this has also resulted in a VERY crispy girl! mom and dad toured the city on a double decker bus and checked out the water tower while ames and i suntanned at the festival.
friday night after watching stars, we all met up together for dinner at the hotel luxe cafe. afterwards, ames went to watch sleater-kinney and some of death cab for cutie while i went with mom and dad to the art institute of chicago for some FREE impressionist viewings. the museum is humongous (like going to the louvre in paris) but all i really cared about (and had the time for) were the paintings of renoir, degas, picasso, and joan miro. i was pretty disappointed with the musuem's collection of salvador dali. but it was still pretty fun. also saturday between feist and kill hannah, ames and i caught a free trolley ride around the city and went to see the adler planetarium and the shedd aquarium. it's a good thing we weren't planning on going in, the line were ginormous! we just took in the beautiful city.
i have to comment on the architecture of this city. as soon as we drove in thursday afternoon, i had this feeling like i'd seen this place before. i wonder if batman's gotham city was based on the city of chicago. the transit runs above ground like in the movie. the buildings run between modern architecture (such as the corn on the cob condo buildings) and older gothic buildings like the tribune tower. there's also a lot of other buildings that i don't know the names to but from grant park you get an awesome view.
so far, the most fun i've had are the free stuff. the streets of chicago are teaming with really neat sounds and sights especially when walking past millenium park (the cloudgate.) ames' is particularly impressed with the walkby chess games that are set up on the side of the street. anyone can just stop by and play a game with the next person, and you see all types of people, from business men to little children who are just standing on the street playing chess. also on the side of the grass, there's a guy who has a couple of muppet-like puppets that are attached like marionnettes. he plays jazz music and then with his puppets have them dance around. also, when dad and i were waiting for ames after the art institute, two guys set up several pails on the sidewalk in front of the museum at closing time and starting banging on them with their drum sticks. it was quite a phenomenal experience just to sit infront of the museum steps and listen to these guys bop away.
we're heading onto a lunch cruise off of navy pier in an hour so we'll check out the scenery there as well. it's supposed to rain today and this makes me nervous because we're getting a boat. i'm debating whether i should take a gravol or not before. i'm leaning towards taking the gravol...
i am currently sitting in our pretty posh Wyndham Chicago hotel room that is literally 30 seconds away from the famous michigan avenue (magnificant mile.) i spent the last two days a lollapalooza watching all these bands from grant park, an awesome experience, but alas, this has also resulted in a VERY crispy girl! mom and dad toured the city on a double decker bus and checked out the water tower while ames and i suntanned at the festival.
friday night after watching stars, we all met up together for dinner at the hotel luxe cafe. afterwards, ames went to watch sleater-kinney and some of death cab for cutie while i went with mom and dad to the art institute of chicago for some FREE impressionist viewings. the museum is humongous (like going to the louvre in paris) but all i really cared about (and had the time for) were the paintings of renoir, degas, picasso, and joan miro. i was pretty disappointed with the musuem's collection of salvador dali. but it was still pretty fun. also saturday between feist and kill hannah, ames and i caught a free trolley ride around the city and went to see the adler planetarium and the shedd aquarium. it's a good thing we weren't planning on going in, the line were ginormous! we just took in the beautiful city.
i have to comment on the architecture of this city. as soon as we drove in thursday afternoon, i had this feeling like i'd seen this place before. i wonder if batman's gotham city was based on the city of chicago. the transit runs above ground like in the movie. the buildings run between modern architecture (such as the corn on the cob condo buildings) and older gothic buildings like the tribune tower. there's also a lot of other buildings that i don't know the names to but from grant park you get an awesome view.
so far, the most fun i've had are the free stuff. the streets of chicago are teaming with really neat sounds and sights especially when walking past millenium park (the cloudgate.) ames' is particularly impressed with the walkby chess games that are set up on the side of the street. anyone can just stop by and play a game with the next person, and you see all types of people, from business men to little children who are just standing on the street playing chess. also on the side of the grass, there's a guy who has a couple of muppet-like puppets that are attached like marionnettes. he plays jazz music and then with his puppets have them dance around. also, when dad and i were waiting for ames after the art institute, two guys set up several pails on the sidewalk in front of the museum at closing time and starting banging on them with their drum sticks. it was quite a phenomenal experience just to sit infront of the museum steps and listen to these guys bop away.
we're heading onto a lunch cruise off of navy pier in an hour so we'll check out the scenery there as well. it's supposed to rain today and this makes me nervous because we're getting a boat. i'm debating whether i should take a gravol or not before. i'm leaning towards taking the gravol...
Friday, July 28, 2006
i went to the Andy Warhol SUPERNOVA exhibit at the AGO yesterday. it had been a really long time since i'd gone to an event by myself. usually i'd find a friend or co-worker to go with me, but after speaking with kristy (who told me that we stand at the exhibits listening to a hand-held phone to our ear), i decided that it would be less stressful (as in finding someone to go with) just going alone. i was lucky, as there was also a small exhibit for some of rembrant's sketches, so i went to take a look at those first before the main show. i personally prefer looking at classic art (as opposed to modern contemporary art) and as my favorite art era is the impressionism period, so i really enjoyed looking at the micro sketches with it's fine detailing.
warhol's exhibit was simply fascinating! this specific exhibit focused on celebrities, death and disaster but with the free audiophone included in the show, i was able to gain some valuable insight into warhol's philosophy. because he worked on silkscreens and film, there was a mix of paintings and movies that were playing in the exhibit. my favorite was the screen tests. in this showing, the audience is watching a silent 4 minute (per person) screen tests for movies that were never meant to be made. The screen tests were of people who wanted to become famous or people who were prominent in the art scene (like salvador dali, edie sedgwick, dennis hopper, bob dylan...). but i was really drawn to this one because if i stood there watching the whole time, you could really see the vulnerability of the people doing the screen tests, almost like you're looking into their souls....
another great painting is the miriam davidson. i think i really liked that one because of all the different colors. plus miriam was made because of her likeness to jackie kennedy (who warhol also had an obsession with.) there's so much more that i'm not mentioning because i don't want to give too much away, but over all i really enjoyed the solo time at the art gallery. mind you, i probably would have had just as much fun if i went with a friend, but once in awhile (which i haven't had in a long time) i like having free time for myself.
i'm so interested in warhol's philosophy, and my friend nelson has so kindly lent me warhol's book. i'm excited to read it, so since it looks like this weekend is a rainy weekend, i might spend some time curled on the sofa with a nice mug of hot tea and a book. oooh yah, that sounds great! ;p
warhol's exhibit was simply fascinating! this specific exhibit focused on celebrities, death and disaster but with the free audiophone included in the show, i was able to gain some valuable insight into warhol's philosophy. because he worked on silkscreens and film, there was a mix of paintings and movies that were playing in the exhibit. my favorite was the screen tests. in this showing, the audience is watching a silent 4 minute (per person) screen tests for movies that were never meant to be made. The screen tests were of people who wanted to become famous or people who were prominent in the art scene (like salvador dali, edie sedgwick, dennis hopper, bob dylan...). but i was really drawn to this one because if i stood there watching the whole time, you could really see the vulnerability of the people doing the screen tests, almost like you're looking into their souls....
another great painting is the miriam davidson. i think i really liked that one because of all the different colors. plus miriam was made because of her likeness to jackie kennedy (who warhol also had an obsession with.) there's so much more that i'm not mentioning because i don't want to give too much away, but over all i really enjoyed the solo time at the art gallery. mind you, i probably would have had just as much fun if i went with a friend, but once in awhile (which i haven't had in a long time) i like having free time for myself.
i'm so interested in warhol's philosophy, and my friend nelson has so kindly lent me warhol's book. i'm excited to read it, so since it looks like this weekend is a rainy weekend, i might spend some time curled on the sofa with a nice mug of hot tea and a book. oooh yah, that sounds great! ;p
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Your true colour is brown!
You're brown, a credible, stable colour that's reminiscent of fine wood, rich leather, and wistful melancholy. Most likely, you're a logical, practical person ruled more by your head than your heart. With your inquisitive mind and insatiable curiosity, you're probably a great problem solver. And you always gather all of the facts before coming to a timely, informed decision. Easily intrigued, you're constantly finding new ways to challenge your mind, whether it's by reading the newspaper, playing a trivia game, or composing a piece of music. Brown is an impartial, neutral colour, which means you tend to see the difference between fact and opinion easily and are open to many points of view. Trustworthy and steady, you really are a brown at heart.
www.tickle.com
You're brown, a credible, stable colour that's reminiscent of fine wood, rich leather, and wistful melancholy. Most likely, you're a logical, practical person ruled more by your head than your heart. With your inquisitive mind and insatiable curiosity, you're probably a great problem solver. And you always gather all of the facts before coming to a timely, informed decision. Easily intrigued, you're constantly finding new ways to challenge your mind, whether it's by reading the newspaper, playing a trivia game, or composing a piece of music. Brown is an impartial, neutral colour, which means you tend to see the difference between fact and opinion easily and are open to many points of view. Trustworthy and steady, you really are a brown at heart.
www.tickle.com
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Showcase - July/August 2006
By Karen Bliss
Nick-e
Who: Nick-e
What: sultry stuff
Where: Newmarket, ON
To Contact: www.nickeonline.com.
In the "thank you" section of her debut EP, Mosaic, Toronto soul singer Nick-e declares, "Wow! It's finally here. It's been a four-year labour of love, hate and all that good stuff rolled into one." So what did she roll in this six-song collection recorded mostly at Toronto's Kitchen Sync Digital Audio? Well, the first two songs are simply sultry. The title track, which is reminiscent of a less jazzy Sade, features piano and cello, then "It Feels Good" puts some snap (quite literally) into the smooth vibe. One can tell Nick-e, whose real name is Nicole Pratt, can sing - she's been doing it since the age of three - but one really wants her to bust out and show that she can roar. Instead, the next song, "Numb", is totally leftfield, a menacing, mostly programmed track on which she delivers a trip-of-the-tongue vocal. Then, she gets jazzy on "I Say" and "If You Were Here" - employing real instruments such as horns, congas, and upright bass before -ending with the moody electronic-based "Turn Me Around". Nick-e, who won the Mark Caporal Songwriting Award and Great Big Music Studio's best vocal performance award while studying recorded music production at London, ON's Fanshawe College, produced the EP herself.
and the girl is GOOD! My girl Nick-e performed at "Ciao Edie's" last night in "The Skiffle In My Ear" showcase. The performance started around midnight (yes, yes i DID go out very late at night on a work night!! ;p) and featured 4 other singers. Luckily, nick-e started first and so i was able to enjoy her and some of the others and didn't feel guilty about leaving without hearing her. I was very pleasantly surprised to see that i knew the bartender working at ciao edie's. his name is joseph, and i knew him as a waiter at the most exquisite restaurant, "honey kaffe." however, i was disappointed to hear that honey kaffe decided not to renew it's lease and has thus since closed down. boooo. i really loved their food! so if you hear about nick-e, check her out!
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Her face is a map of the world, is a map of the world
You can see she’s a beautiful girl, she’s a beautiful girl
And everything around her is a silver pool of light
People who surround her feel the benefit of it
It makes you calm
She’ll hold you captivated in her palm
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) this is what I want to be
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) why the hell it means so much to me
(Suddenly I see) This is what I want to be
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) why the hell it means so much to me
I feel like walking the world like, like walking the world
You can hear she’s a beautiful girl, she’s a beautiful girl
She fills up every corner like she’s born in black and white
Makes you feel warmer when you’re trying to remember what you heard
She likes to leave you hanging on her word
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) this is what I want to be
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) why the hell it means so much to me
(Suddenly I see) This is what I want to be
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) why the hell it means so much to me
And she’s taller than most, and she’s looking at me
I can see her eyes looking from the page of a magazine
She makes me feel like I could be a tower, big strong tower yeah
The power to be
The power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah (Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be
The power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah (Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be
The power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah, yeah (Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be
The power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah (Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be
The power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) this is what I want to be
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) why the hell it means so much to me
(Suddenly I see) This is what I want to be
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) why the hell it means so much to me
- from "the devil wears prada"
You can see she’s a beautiful girl, she’s a beautiful girl
And everything around her is a silver pool of light
People who surround her feel the benefit of it
It makes you calm
She’ll hold you captivated in her palm
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) this is what I want to be
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) why the hell it means so much to me
(Suddenly I see) This is what I want to be
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) why the hell it means so much to me
I feel like walking the world like, like walking the world
You can hear she’s a beautiful girl, she’s a beautiful girl
She fills up every corner like she’s born in black and white
Makes you feel warmer when you’re trying to remember what you heard
She likes to leave you hanging on her word
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) this is what I want to be
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) why the hell it means so much to me
(Suddenly I see) This is what I want to be
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) why the hell it means so much to me
And she’s taller than most, and she’s looking at me
I can see her eyes looking from the page of a magazine
She makes me feel like I could be a tower, big strong tower yeah
The power to be
The power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah (Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be
The power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah (Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be
The power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah, yeah (Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be
The power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah (Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be
The power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) this is what I want to be
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) why the hell it means so much to me
(Suddenly I see) This is what I want to be
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see) why the hell it means so much to me
- from "the devil wears prada"
Sunday, June 25, 2006
finally! this super loooong month is finally coming to an end!!
it's been a massive blur of working long hours every SINGLE DAY, and going out with friends, fulfilling friendship obligations (ie, to my graduating friends, congratulations!), and going to dinners with the family.
today was the 11th annual music recital at my work, and not that it's over, my chaotic weekends will relax for a bit. now most of my students are on vacation so i can relax and teach only a few sporadically over the week. that means i get back alot of time. and just in time for summerlicious!
it's been a massive blur of working long hours every SINGLE DAY, and going out with friends, fulfilling friendship obligations (ie, to my graduating friends, congratulations!), and going to dinners with the family.
today was the 11th annual music recital at my work, and not that it's over, my chaotic weekends will relax for a bit. now most of my students are on vacation so i can relax and teach only a few sporadically over the week. that means i get back alot of time. and just in time for summerlicious!
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Sunday, June 04, 2006
i was going to post this uber-long msg at 8am yesterday but then we had a blackout, and it erased everything that i wrote...so i was too lazy to re-type everything.
basically, i'm perpetually tired from work 7 days a week so the past week i've been going home and sleeping. but i do still like to see my friends, and since work has started their summer hours, i can get off work on fridays as early as 1pm, which leaves me plenty of time to make the most of a friday afternoon! this friday i walked with kristy from eglinton to bloor (along yonge) and as i was leaving the bloor station to go to carleton and sherbourne, i randomly ran into immanuel on the steps of the royal bank! so i sat down and chatted with him for a bit and then went over to pauline's where she cooked an awesome gourmet-like dinner for me using the herbs she's growing on her balcony.
i have somehow hurt my right arm around the rotator cuff. i did something to it wednesday and since then, it just hasn't been right. it seemed to get better on friday, but then yesterday i think i made it worse because i tried to bowl with it. it's all the weather's fault! work had a wonderland day so it was supposed to be all sunny and fun, but then it was just raining and raining so no wonderland! so bowling instead, and now a screwy right arm! i had gone with karina, kristy and matt, so karina and kristy played for me instead as i watched them all compete. my goodness kristy's a competitive one! she lost both bowling games so she and karina started playing air hockey and she was soooo aggressive! hahahaha, those two kill me! but it was all good times!
the month's are going by so fast! may was crazy what with seeing my abbey girls, tanaka (who's in costa rica now), and faye, and watching the season finale of grey's with ana, and going to the TSO THREE TIMES with michelle, and pusateri's with larissa and pauline, and going to a party with cat and the jobloft boys, and let's not forget seeing shelley for her birthday!!!! and now we're in june and the weather is crappy, it doesn't know whether it's happy or sad.
at least life is moving, and even though i KNOW i'm going to burn out from work soon, the fact that i know i'm going back to school in september makes it all worth it. i'd been hit by the travelling bug since may (i want to go to shanghai) but i'm holding out for belgium...i can do it! it doesn't help that half my friends are gone away: liz is studying in italia for the summer, and tee just left to teach english in nagoya, japan where mark sutherland and rachel mettler already are, and jerome is becoming a teacher in buffalo, and bernadette's in korea...soooo jealous!
but summer will zip by fast and before i know it, grey's anatomy will be back on thursdays! ;p
basically, i'm perpetually tired from work 7 days a week so the past week i've been going home and sleeping. but i do still like to see my friends, and since work has started their summer hours, i can get off work on fridays as early as 1pm, which leaves me plenty of time to make the most of a friday afternoon! this friday i walked with kristy from eglinton to bloor (along yonge) and as i was leaving the bloor station to go to carleton and sherbourne, i randomly ran into immanuel on the steps of the royal bank! so i sat down and chatted with him for a bit and then went over to pauline's where she cooked an awesome gourmet-like dinner for me using the herbs she's growing on her balcony.
i have somehow hurt my right arm around the rotator cuff. i did something to it wednesday and since then, it just hasn't been right. it seemed to get better on friday, but then yesterday i think i made it worse because i tried to bowl with it. it's all the weather's fault! work had a wonderland day so it was supposed to be all sunny and fun, but then it was just raining and raining so no wonderland! so bowling instead, and now a screwy right arm! i had gone with karina, kristy and matt, so karina and kristy played for me instead as i watched them all compete. my goodness kristy's a competitive one! she lost both bowling games so she and karina started playing air hockey and she was soooo aggressive! hahahaha, those two kill me! but it was all good times!
the month's are going by so fast! may was crazy what with seeing my abbey girls, tanaka (who's in costa rica now), and faye, and watching the season finale of grey's with ana, and going to the TSO THREE TIMES with michelle, and pusateri's with larissa and pauline, and going to a party with cat and the jobloft boys, and let's not forget seeing shelley for her birthday!!!! and now we're in june and the weather is crappy, it doesn't know whether it's happy or sad.
at least life is moving, and even though i KNOW i'm going to burn out from work soon, the fact that i know i'm going back to school in september makes it all worth it. i'd been hit by the travelling bug since may (i want to go to shanghai) but i'm holding out for belgium...i can do it! it doesn't help that half my friends are gone away: liz is studying in italia for the summer, and tee just left to teach english in nagoya, japan where mark sutherland and rachel mettler already are, and jerome is becoming a teacher in buffalo, and bernadette's in korea...soooo jealous!
but summer will zip by fast and before i know it, grey's anatomy will be back on thursdays! ;p
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
i'm sooooo annoyed right now. last night i went with pauline to get latte's at this place called "jet fuel" on parliment and carleton at around 7:30pm. I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO SLEEP PROPERLY SINCE!!! it's currently 6:15am. i've been up since 5:30am and i wasn't able to get any shut eye until after 1am last night. this is ridiculous!!!! i'm just soooo wired right now! ahhhh!!!
anyway, i'm going to try and drain my energy all day so that i can finally get some proper rest. and the perfect way to get me all tired is counterpoint of course! i've already resigned myself to the fact that i'm probably not going to pass the exam, so i'm just mosying on, just trying to get the basic stuff down. i don't think i'll sign up for this class again, it was more of a learning experience. i'm just not very creative in that way!
i'm also the mail girl at work today. so i'm going to wear a cute little skirt and be a cute little mail girl! hahaha. it's so much better than being in the accounting dept! i just get to deliver mail and chat with all my co-workers! i think today will be a fun day!
anyway, i'm going to try and drain my energy all day so that i can finally get some proper rest. and the perfect way to get me all tired is counterpoint of course! i've already resigned myself to the fact that i'm probably not going to pass the exam, so i'm just mosying on, just trying to get the basic stuff down. i don't think i'll sign up for this class again, it was more of a learning experience. i'm just not very creative in that way!
i'm also the mail girl at work today. so i'm going to wear a cute little skirt and be a cute little mail girl! hahaha. it's so much better than being in the accounting dept! i just get to deliver mail and chat with all my co-workers! i think today will be a fun day!
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
i am doing the cn tower climb for wwf-canada on saturday april 29, 2006. if anyone is interested, please sponsor me by going here and under public climb, click on sponsor, look for me and donate whatever you'd like. i've spoken to a couple of people about the climb and i'm a little nervous about it because i have been soooooo out of shape for awhile and apparently the air gets thinner the higher you go.
as for the long weekend, man, i really needed it. being a working girl really really sucks. however, after work on thursday, i went out with a couple of co-workers to st. louis' for cheap wings and fries. that was fun! nelson is such a sweetheart, and kristy is always fun to go out with. apparently the party kept going until the wee hours of the morning, but i didn't stay very long because i was going to meet another special someone....larissa!!! i've been trying to meet up with her for awhile, but our schedules have been quite conflicting. we went to cafe nervousa in yorkville and the evening was so nice and warm. i think because school is coming to a close, alot of people are now freer. larissa and i will try to make a sunday brunch date for pusateri's this weekend.
i also got to visit my grandma for the first time since the christmas holidays and i feel so bad for her. she's at this point in her life where her back pains her so much that she can't even sit anymore. it's so hard to see someone you love fall apart. i think it bothers me alot because she used to live with us when we were small, so i never had to wonder how she was doing because everyday when i came home from school, there she was. it's when she moved out and into a nursing home that it hit me how far away she was going, and how much i depended on her presence when things got rough. and there isn't anything i can do to help her lessen the pain. so i just sit quietly and listen to my mom banter with grandma. just seeing her makes me happy.
so that was friday afternoon...afterwards, i met up with shelley at a tim hortons and we had one of our "all-out" conversations because we never see each other and so everything accumulates. haha. we pretty much catgorize the priority topics (family, work, friends) and then after that we go more into specifics and little sub-categories! there was this one episode on gilmore girls, where lorelai and rory had been in a ginormous argument and after they made up, lorelai pulled out all this little notes of scrap paper that she had been keeping so that she could tell rory after the fight. i think we do the same thing but we're not fighting, just busy!
then after shelley, i went downtown to meet up with pauline and margaret for korean bbq. yup, still gotta get together with the SAS (sex and city) girls! we have yet to meet pauline's elusive mark, but margaret's being hooked up with tom. yup, that's the gist of our evening, but it's always more fun in the moment.
saturday was 'family' day after work. yes, grace and juju, you ARE family. and since ames couldn't make it, i had to pick up the slack. haha, i didn't do much though. we watched "walk the line" and ate alot of food. hahaha.
since grey's anatomy isn't on again until april 30, i was able to take the much needed time to work on some counterpoint with jonathan. honestly, i don't know what i would do without him. actually, that is what i have to do this evening too. all i know is that i have zero creative juices when it comes to music. i think i should stick with playing songs that have been written already. hahaha.
so my long weekend in a relative nutshell. i'm sure i'm missing alot more activity that i've done, afterall, my life is all about running around and doing things. i just never have the time to sit down and blog. i'm only blogging now because work is kind of sloooow. although, they feed me quite well! ;p
as for the long weekend, man, i really needed it. being a working girl really really sucks. however, after work on thursday, i went out with a couple of co-workers to st. louis' for cheap wings and fries. that was fun! nelson is such a sweetheart, and kristy is always fun to go out with. apparently the party kept going until the wee hours of the morning, but i didn't stay very long because i was going to meet another special someone....larissa!!! i've been trying to meet up with her for awhile, but our schedules have been quite conflicting. we went to cafe nervousa in yorkville and the evening was so nice and warm. i think because school is coming to a close, alot of people are now freer. larissa and i will try to make a sunday brunch date for pusateri's this weekend.
i also got to visit my grandma for the first time since the christmas holidays and i feel so bad for her. she's at this point in her life where her back pains her so much that she can't even sit anymore. it's so hard to see someone you love fall apart. i think it bothers me alot because she used to live with us when we were small, so i never had to wonder how she was doing because everyday when i came home from school, there she was. it's when she moved out and into a nursing home that it hit me how far away she was going, and how much i depended on her presence when things got rough. and there isn't anything i can do to help her lessen the pain. so i just sit quietly and listen to my mom banter with grandma. just seeing her makes me happy.
so that was friday afternoon...afterwards, i met up with shelley at a tim hortons and we had one of our "all-out" conversations because we never see each other and so everything accumulates. haha. we pretty much catgorize the priority topics (family, work, friends) and then after that we go more into specifics and little sub-categories! there was this one episode on gilmore girls, where lorelai and rory had been in a ginormous argument and after they made up, lorelai pulled out all this little notes of scrap paper that she had been keeping so that she could tell rory after the fight. i think we do the same thing but we're not fighting, just busy!
then after shelley, i went downtown to meet up with pauline and margaret for korean bbq. yup, still gotta get together with the SAS (sex and city) girls! we have yet to meet pauline's elusive mark, but margaret's being hooked up with tom. yup, that's the gist of our evening, but it's always more fun in the moment.
saturday was 'family' day after work. yes, grace and juju, you ARE family. and since ames couldn't make it, i had to pick up the slack. haha, i didn't do much though. we watched "walk the line" and ate alot of food. hahaha.
since grey's anatomy isn't on again until april 30, i was able to take the much needed time to work on some counterpoint with jonathan. honestly, i don't know what i would do without him. actually, that is what i have to do this evening too. all i know is that i have zero creative juices when it comes to music. i think i should stick with playing songs that have been written already. hahaha.
so my long weekend in a relative nutshell. i'm sure i'm missing alot more activity that i've done, afterall, my life is all about running around and doing things. i just never have the time to sit down and blog. i'm only blogging now because work is kind of sloooow. although, they feed me quite well! ;p
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
i just woke up from the most wonderful sleep! i crashed at 8pm last night and now feel fresh as a daisy! well actually, if you must know, i'd rather keep sleeping...but work prevails.
once again, weekends are crazy and this past weekend was no exception. it all began with sleepless nights the week before because every evening after work, i'd meet up with ana, margaret, and shae to practice our speeches at city hall's speakers corner. yes, our FINAL speech took place at city hall. friday night, i was up until after midnight refining my visuals practicing and practicing and...practicing. yes yes, i'm such a keener! ;p
bright and early saturday morning, i sold my soul to matthew, who came with me to tape the speeches. i think i owe him ice cream too! but alas, it was too cold for ice cream that morning, so he had to settle for hot chocolate. haha. my class time is three hours normally, however, on this particular day, we didn't finish up until 1pm, which calculates to a FOUR hour class.
i am so proud of my girls! margaret gave the speech of her life on eugenics. if anyone heard her speak during the week, they'd throw fits like the ones i threw at her. but she really improved and practiced and MADE IT WORK! and shae was just incredible. shae's always had such a flair for writing, i call them "shaeisms" but she becomes a little timid when speaking to the audience. SHE just knocked the socks off everyone that day too! david was so proud of us too! he suggested that he could help me create an 800 word paper from my speech and then i should send it in to the globe and mail! ;p
anyway, afterwards, i had to work for 5 hrs up north, and then jetted back downtown to attend a new creations festival at the tso with karina. we went to see chinese percussion instruments, it was sooooo cool!
sunday, i met up with ana p who i hadn't seen in FOREVER. i think the last time i had run into her was during the summer on the danforth. we met up at the starbucks just south of her place and it's the cutest starbucks i've been to yet! (i know, how cute can starbucks be? but i think it was tailored to go with the exterior of the other stores, and they are all very quaint)
and yesterday, i met up with manny after work and we went to grazie for dinner. manny has been in kingston studying law, and the fact that i see him pretty much never, that was a real treat! he was in town to see a south concert with terry and i'm glad he made time for me! i am only sorry that i missed seeing terry as he was still working...next time terry!
once again, weekends are crazy and this past weekend was no exception. it all began with sleepless nights the week before because every evening after work, i'd meet up with ana, margaret, and shae to practice our speeches at city hall's speakers corner. yes, our FINAL speech took place at city hall. friday night, i was up until after midnight refining my visuals practicing and practicing and...practicing. yes yes, i'm such a keener! ;p
bright and early saturday morning, i sold my soul to matthew, who came with me to tape the speeches. i think i owe him ice cream too! but alas, it was too cold for ice cream that morning, so he had to settle for hot chocolate. haha. my class time is three hours normally, however, on this particular day, we didn't finish up until 1pm, which calculates to a FOUR hour class.
i am so proud of my girls! margaret gave the speech of her life on eugenics. if anyone heard her speak during the week, they'd throw fits like the ones i threw at her. but she really improved and practiced and MADE IT WORK! and shae was just incredible. shae's always had such a flair for writing, i call them "shaeisms" but she becomes a little timid when speaking to the audience. SHE just knocked the socks off everyone that day too! david was so proud of us too! he suggested that he could help me create an 800 word paper from my speech and then i should send it in to the globe and mail! ;p
anyway, afterwards, i had to work for 5 hrs up north, and then jetted back downtown to attend a new creations festival at the tso with karina. we went to see chinese percussion instruments, it was sooooo cool!
sunday, i met up with ana p who i hadn't seen in FOREVER. i think the last time i had run into her was during the summer on the danforth. we met up at the starbucks just south of her place and it's the cutest starbucks i've been to yet! (i know, how cute can starbucks be? but i think it was tailored to go with the exterior of the other stores, and they are all very quaint)
and yesterday, i met up with manny after work and we went to grazie for dinner. manny has been in kingston studying law, and the fact that i see him pretty much never, that was a real treat! he was in town to see a south concert with terry and i'm glad he made time for me! i am only sorry that i missed seeing terry as he was still working...next time terry!
Saturday, March 25, 2006
THURSDAY COLDPLAY SHOW = A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.
i'm currently wearing my new coldplay t-shirt. it's purple with white lettering (of coldplay, duh) and a black and blue shadow picture of the band jumping in the air. hotness! michelle and i went to see coldplay thursday and even though we were in the 300 section and chris martin looked miniature (ok, i couldn't REALLY see him) it was ALL GOOD. they really know how to use the lights, and i just love the voice and the music! i was singing along to every single song, so nutty! AND i ran into terrence at the bus terminal on my way there, and he was soooo jealous, but i told him we'd take pictures. hopefully all the pictures mich took will come out awesome!
i *heart* coldplay.
ok, that's all. i just needed to post a little something for my love of coldplay.
i'm currently wearing my new coldplay t-shirt. it's purple with white lettering (of coldplay, duh) and a black and blue shadow picture of the band jumping in the air. hotness! michelle and i went to see coldplay thursday and even though we were in the 300 section and chris martin looked miniature (ok, i couldn't REALLY see him) it was ALL GOOD. they really know how to use the lights, and i just love the voice and the music! i was singing along to every single song, so nutty! AND i ran into terrence at the bus terminal on my way there, and he was soooo jealous, but i told him we'd take pictures. hopefully all the pictures mich took will come out awesome!
i *heart* coldplay.
ok, that's all. i just needed to post a little something for my love of coldplay.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
wasting time while waiting for grey's to come on. hahaha.
i spent a good 5 hrs with jonathan today working on our counterpoint. and the output? we finished only TWO songs. and both of them had a cantus firmus (one line is given and we have to fill in the other.) by the time we left, we were both pretty high on those board markers (hahaha) and wondering why we decided to torture ourselves with this class! on the brightside, at least i have something to show dennis on wednesday!
last night i attended this cd release party for prince at the drake hotel. it was IN-TER-ESTING....lots of people...lots of OLDER people...and lots of guys kept staring at me while i was waiting for matthew to find his friend. hahaha. i just kept on standing infront of the fireplace because i was so cold! and then on the way home, cat called to tell me that as she was waiting at a red light, a car stopped by her and someone was waving at her. at first she thought it was some weirdo trying to pick her up (she was in the club district.) turns out it was levan! now we're going to try and see him for coffee sometime. ;p
alright, enough procrastinating, there's another speech to be written, it will be presented at speakers' corner in city hall shortly....ahhhhhhh!!!!
i spent a good 5 hrs with jonathan today working on our counterpoint. and the output? we finished only TWO songs. and both of them had a cantus firmus (one line is given and we have to fill in the other.) by the time we left, we were both pretty high on those board markers (hahaha) and wondering why we decided to torture ourselves with this class! on the brightside, at least i have something to show dennis on wednesday!
last night i attended this cd release party for prince at the drake hotel. it was IN-TER-ESTING....lots of people...lots of OLDER people...and lots of guys kept staring at me while i was waiting for matthew to find his friend. hahaha. i just kept on standing infront of the fireplace because i was so cold! and then on the way home, cat called to tell me that as she was waiting at a red light, a car stopped by her and someone was waving at her. at first she thought it was some weirdo trying to pick her up (she was in the club district.) turns out it was levan! now we're going to try and see him for coffee sometime. ;p
alright, enough procrastinating, there's another speech to be written, it will be presented at speakers' corner in city hall shortly....ahhhhhhh!!!!
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
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!
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!
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
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. !!!
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. !!!
