All I Want For Christmas Cont'd

Apparently 'J' things are a theme:

All I Want for Christmas

In the name of procrastination, here's my Christmas Wishlist:

• The nail polish Taylor Swift is wearing in this video (minus the polka dots).
• Panasonic AV Room Headphones.
  
• Festive fashion, Red Converse.
• Snowplay.
• Poloroid camera
• A record player; spin some cheer.
• Traditional Christmas with the familia: brunch and the opening of 'practical' gifts in turn.
• Urban Outfitters items/gift cards.
• Fatty holiday food.
• External harddrive; to save things.
• International phone-calls.
  
• To win the iTouch from work.
  
• To be secure in love, beyond a shadow of a doubt.
  
• A hella-lot of belting out Christmas faves.

My grandma knew how to run.

And when her children were torn from her arms, when her father in law scoured her heels, she did not fall down in defeat. She held tightly to the infant she had in her arms, and she ran.

Enduring hunger, and pain, and sickness, she ran. Eating bark from trees, fighting desperately to keep her baby alive.

And when she finally arrived in Hong Kong. She gritted her teeth and began a new life. And had new hopes and new children.

And I can just imagine days where the mahjong tiles would stop clicking for a brief moment, long enough for the thoughts to settle like the moisture from the sizzling HK air. Days where she'd have had to fight to keep her heart from breaking.

My grandma knew how to fight.

Many years later, when my grandfather had already passed away, and when all but one of her children were far from her, she returned to China. To a house that my grandfather had built for those children they had to leave behind. And she stayed there and fought like I've never heard of anyone fighting for their life until she'd seen every last person she needed to see, even though we were all so slow at trickling back.

Maybe the important thing is not that my grandma knew how to run, and that she knew how to fight, but that she knew when to run and when to fight. And that she had the strength of character (or possibly stubbornness) to follow through on what she had to do no matter how hard life's kicks were.

That's what you leave behind for me, Poh Poh. I'm glad you no longer need to run or fight. Rest easy.

A thank you.

Upon reflection, I find myself so indebted to someone that my own words fall short of what I mean to say. For S, this is "thank you", for everyone else, just listen because its a good song! :)

Everyday by the Rascal Flatts



You could've bowed out gracefully--But you didn't,
You knew enough to know to leave well enough alone--But you wouldn't
I drive myself crazy tryin' to stay out of my own way,
The messes that I make,
But my secrets are so safe,
The only one who gets me,
Yeah, you get me,
It's amazing to me.

[CHORUS]
How every day
Every day, every day
You save my life

I come around all broken down and
Crowded out
And you're comfort
Sometimes the place I go
Is so deep and dark and desperate
I don't know, I don't know

[Repeat Chorus]

Sometimes I swear, I don't know if I'm comin' or goin'.
But you always say something without even knowin'
that I'm hangin' on to your words with all of my might and it's alright,
Yeah, I'm alright for one more night-

Every day
Every day, every day, every day
Every day, every day
You save me, you save me, oh, oh, oh
Every day
Every, every, every day-

Every day you save my life.

Treading Water

Is it just me or do bad things tend to group together and descend all at once? Its like they collaborate before actually arriving, plotting the perfect time to strike. And usually, its an inconvenient time like, say, during finals.

Or maybe things just seem worse and more noticable at points where you don't think you have the time or energy to handle them.

What's so bad about running anyway? It's not like I'm not functioning properly or something, right? Pick your battles. Deal with what you absolutely must, and the rest, let it roll right off your shoulder or sink so far down you don't have to think about it.

If you've gone so long without dealing with certain issues, then what's the hurry to do it now?

I suppose though, sometimes, given certain knowledge, there is nothing you can do but deal.

But what I wouldn't give to have it all go away.

I hate being forced to confront things I have no hope of figuring out.

Museums and Cupcakes

i've got my own dinosaur. (me-- dinolove at the children's museum)

pre-chocolate coma. (marilyn at the cakebox)

Insomniac Ramblings

I never sleep at a normal time anymore.

I wouldn't mind so much but I should really cut out the munchies in the middle of the night.

For some reason I can't get All You Need is Love by the Beatles and the Fifty States Song out of my head.

I really need to update my doodle blog. I've been thinking a lot about writing and illustrating children's books as a possible life goal lately. Like most of my "ambitions"-- all it will likely amount to is a great deal of stirring inside my head.

MJ and I are going to the Children's Museum uptown tomorrow! I'm most excited to revisit Exhibit Cafe which is this adorable little place inside the museum that serves only organic foods and coffees. Chique.

I should probably make better use of my time and either 1) make a schedule or 2) allow Twilight to be finished (although it is slow mind torture) so that I'll have it read before Saturday when we go see the movie.

Does anybody even read this when I go off nonsensically this way? ha.

Pile it on

I apologize for the crappy quality of this post (and for its nonsensical order) after so long of not posting. But I just need a release.

I'm listening to Adele's version of Make You Feel My Love. That probably helps contribute to the thick sloshy feeling I have.

Laura, Janna, and I are hitting up V1 cafe tomorrow though, which is always fun! Spicy chicken nummayyyy.

What "it" is, I think, is my approaching that point where there's just too much. Mental claustrophobia or something. I always need to know there's some means of escape from whatever it is I feel squashed by. Right now there doesn't seem to be one as far as I can figure. And there doesn't seem to be a safety net to catch me when I inevitably fall either.

In other news I've confirmed that I'm ridiculously awful at video games, but apparently am semi-decent at beer pong.

Come ONNNNNNNN

Dana Porter Monday

Krystel and I are re-uniting over Developmental Psych notes and a newly renovated Dana Porter Library. I love Krystel. She makes developmental psych hilarious!

"Hmm.. I saw her put it under B. But I'm a baby. And I have no object permanence."

and Collective Monologues-- Kid1: My dad is a policeman. He caught a robber. Kid2: I have a real big dog. He licks my face all the time!

Hahaha.

The granite floors and clean cut decor are doing well to offset the purpose of my being here. My favourite part, thus far, is a glass panel and doorway separating the quiet study area from the browser's cafe. The frosted glass reflects quotes in different languages-- the English is the only one I can understand-- but it's a good one. It says:

"Think wrongly, if you please, but in all cases think for yourself." -Doris Lessing

Won't Back Down

Won't Back Down covered by Tyler Hilton (Tom Petty orig.)

Autumn... scratch that. Winter.

I did a barefoot dash out into the snow in the middle of the night last night. I had hot chocolate and red toenails and it was all very exciting. But I woke up today and remembered-- its not supposed to be winter yet! I'm not ready.

Burger Cravings Satisfied.

Night Ramblings

Cravings

I just watched season 4 episode 2 of How I Met Your Mother entitled The Best Burger in New York and now I must have a burger. I must! Unfortunately there are no burgers in my house and no burger places are still open. But I'm going to have it tomorrow. and I know exactly which burger I'll be purchasing too! Stay tuned.

Stealth.

Kids Stuff

Kids make the world sunshine and lollipops.

While chilling with my favourite 2.5yr old boy yesterday, he was showing me his neatly lined row of "friends" (plastic animals):

Nathan: This is the lion. ROAAAAAAAAARRRR!!!
Jasy: Whoa! That's a ferocious roar! Does he eat people?
Nathan: No!
Jasy: Oh, he's a nice lion?
Nathan: Yes. That's part of his song. All the lions sing it together.

Today, I was helping out with the kids program for 3 -5 year olds at a church event. We were colouring booklets and the yellow page was supposed to represent what we thought heaven would be like. I doodled pictures of cotton candy, icecream sundaes, and lollipops. 4 year old Matthew who was sitting next to me, glanced at my page:

Matthew: What are those?
Jasy: Well this is an icecream cone.. and this is a lollipop! That's what's going to be in my heaven!
Matthew: That isn't very healthy.
Jasy: Oh, that's true. Do you think heaven has healthier things?
Matthew: Yeah. Do some brocolli.

On the white page (page of 'good stuff'), he told me to draw Iron Man.

Printed

The Epic Hitchhike

Fanny and I had a coffee date at Williams after my night class last Wednesday. I was very excited about it but not at all excited to walk from Renison to plaza.

"I want to hitchhike!!" I joked to Fanny.

After I hung up, I called a cab which didn't arrive for 15 minutes. Seeing as I'd told Fanny I'd be there in 20, I was starting to feel a little anxious. And impatience and overall laziness seem to melt away whatever shame I have-- I strolled down the Renison parking lot, right up to a girl who was just opening her car door.

"Um excuse me... sorry to be creepy, but would you be heading towards University plaza by any chance?"

Much to my surprise, her response was a bright "Yeah! Hop in I'll give you a ride!"

In the car we discovered a mutual friend and a mutual acquaintance and discussed the pros and cons of living at home.

Tonight I relayed the events to Kat proudly, but instead of getting the admiration I was after, I got this response:

Kat: you are sooo lazy!

annd when you said hitchiked i thought you meant standing BY the road and hitchiking as the cars were passing by.

that was a weak and cheap hitchike

So much for epic!

Hello Monday

Wake up right

Carson and I started the week off in good faith, with lunch at Sweet Dreams. Bubble tea just makes life better. Although Asian Patties (deep fried green onion pancakes really) start off as a good idea and then FAIL. I feel my arteries clogging.

What's that funky smell?

Every 30 seconds I'm getting a whiff of this disgusting odor. I'm sitting at the 3rd floor computers at DP, and have less than subtly sniffed the air around me and around my neighbors, but I can not figure out what it is! Uhhhghhh, it stinks so much, it's making my stomach turn.

Oh, scratch that, I've 90% confirmed its the guy sitting next to me.

Nick and Norah. (MichealCeralove*)

I want to see this please! --

It's my BIRTHDAY and I'll cry if I want to!!!
(OR DO WHATEVER I WANT!)

(YAAYYYYY!!!)

For example: Drink Milk Tea with Kenny at Mikey's and take pictures on photobooth! Woohoo!

My Completely Realistic Birthday List

Ok, maybe not the most realistic. But hey, a girl's allowed 8 simple wishes for her birthday.

1. PUPPY! :D
(A beagle puppy if possible. but I'll settle for practically any puppy.)

2. Poloroid camera

3. Grey Converse Chucks (low tops)

4. Graphics tablet

5. Turqoise Converse Chucks (low tops)

6. KITTEN! :D

7. Red Converse Chucks (low tops)

8. Charm bracelet

I JUST LOVE HIM SO MUCH!

Second Day at Second Cup

Seriously, I may as well live here.

I had a butter pecan latte today. I should stick to caramel correttos.
I think I'm getting a sugar headache from the butter pecan.

For dinner, I decided to get a chicken caesar pita from Pita Pit again. It just makes sense since it's right next door and easy to bring back here to eat.

Pita Pit is about one million times better than Pita Factory.
Take the Chicken Caesar Pita as an example--

At Pita Factory, the pitas are coarse and dry, they give you iceberg lettuce with very little dressing, grilled chicken, and bacon bits *shudder*.

A Pita Pit-- the pitas are just the right thickness and texture, they give you good lettuce with adequate dressing (not drenching but enough that it coats all the lettuce), grilled chicken, and actual bacon strips grilled right in front of you.

Plus you can add extra toppings... i can't remember if you can or not for Pita Factory.

It would be better if I could put this in the form of a chart.

Orrrrr.... I should possibly stop since my brain is clearly fried.

Sweet Escape

Mmm, I do still enjoy my alone time.

Three things that contribute to good quality time with yourself:
- Coffee. (in this case, an Iced Caramel Corretto & and Chai Latte from Second Cup)
- Music you like (winning songs for the day-- John Mayer : Say, Natasha Bedingfield : Pocketful of Sunshine, Augustana : Sweet and Low, No Doubt : Spiderwebs)
- Free wireless

Morality Police with Short Term Memory Loss

Ahhhh, pet peeves.

Chris might be delighted-- I have a rant coming on.

Where do people get off having expectations when they're unwilling to dish anything out?

I have no problem with people ranting and pissing and moaning to me about things. Absolutely none. I think let people get it out, and then I try my best to acknowledge and affirm them. Because that's what people need when they're upset or annoyed about things!

What BUGS me is when you take that same person who spewed out godknowswhat to me last week expecting me to have their back on all issues, and no sooner do the tables turn and YOU have some venting to do and they go all Morality Police on you!

Suddenly their issues that you supported them on fully even though it may have been "this person talks to me too much about Hedley" isn't overreacting and mean. But your thoughts on "this person barely said goodbye to me and was really dry" are!

Where's the double standard coming from? And what's up with re-inventing conversations/situations to suit your own purposes? Or rubbing things in my face for no other purpose than to make me feel like crap?

Seriously. If you think you're so much better than me, then just don't bother talking to me! I have far better things to do.

I heart VBC!

Mortification at its finest

This week is our church's annual Vacation Bible Camp. It's always a really great time with adorable and energetic kids and something I look forward to every year.

This year, kind of by accident, I somehow became a part of the drama team.
I can not act. But the kids can't tell good acting from bad, really. And dressing up as a princess is kind of my calling in life.

After the skit was over this morning, I race downstairs to change out of my shimmery blue gown and wash off the makeup. The handicap bathroom seemed like the best option because of its privacy and adequate space. I guess I was in a really big hurry and didn't shut the door properly because (as my luck and timing would have it) as soon as I had the gown off and was in nothing but my underwear, the door swings wide open and a ten year old boy bursts in.

I scream. Loudly.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! PLEASSSEEEE CLOSE THE DOOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He shuts it and I lock it immediately, leaning back against it, hovering in my own private mortification for a few moments before going back to changing into regular clothes. Then, mustering up as much dignity as possible, I open the bathroom door and stride out.

The boy's group is sitting nearby having their snack and as I walk past, he peeks his head out at me and smiles the most adorable cheeky smile that I just can't help but laugh a bit despite myself!

(Later, I apologized for not locking the door properly and for screaming at him! But he was quite gracious about it really. Nothing was mentioned and his friends didn't seem to know about it and he didn't act all weird around me. So I'm lucky I guess, but I'm pretty sure I'm still scarred for life. )

The perfect night comes with your back cool against the pebbly driveway, hood and hands behind your head, singing quietly at the sky.

A star shoots.

(I saw two.)

I've been very... 'extro' lately (haha thanks jenni).

It's weird, really. It's like I'll want to hang out with people and do things all the time.

I hadn't really noticed until yesterday I said something like "really, I'm an introvert with extrovert skills! really i don't want to be around people all the time!"

Which is true! But then I felt kind of foolish, because lately, I really have wanted to be around people all the time.

People who haven't known me for a long time won't remember my hermit term. They won't remember weeks where I just wanted to stay at home and not talk to anyone. I worry that I'll get annoying... I'm annoying myself and I didn't realize it until last night.

I guess this happens when I don't want to face things within myself. Alone time gives you too much time to think. Time to pressure yourself to 'figure things out'. And maybe right now I'd rather just laugh and eat and not worry.

Love is sweet.

It's not that the other weddings I've been to haven't been absolutely beautiful and enjoyable, but there was something else about Bernice and Andrew's wedding that shone just a bit brighter. Maybe its the fact that I was close with both the bride and groom which rarely happens. It may have been because I saw the beginnings of their 'interest' in each other and then watched that grow gradually into this full fledged LOVE over the years. Or maybe its because I was closely involved with wedding thoughts, wedding plans, wedding rants-- it was just a joy to see it pull together into this glowing day.

Whatever it was, Bee and Andrew's wedding was full of this happy love. Love between the two of them, love between families, love between friends.

And love is sweet.

Mrs. and Mr. Tsoi

Table 13 baby! lol

*aside: it must be mentioned that we did have the best wedding table in the place (well, besides the head table of course ;) )

Early Bird

I slept over at Jenni's last night and bussed on campus with her this morning, arriving at DC library at around 8:30am. Surprisingly, I'm not exhausted. But that's likely because I've finished inhaling my Tim Horton's. Tim Horton's is a good breakfast coffee, but UW should really invest in a Starbucks.

I should really get to work before I meet up with Jenni for lunch (Caesars! :D) and the purpose of my coming here so early is defeated.



I have a growing list of things I want to do after I finish all this crap:

• read Pride and Prejudice, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, and the other book I said I was going to read
• watch Gone With the Wind
• see Mama Mia, The Dark Knight, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
• review all my ASL
• I'm sure there's more.
  

citylove*

Oh, I had a feeling this would happen.

I should have been back in loo yesterday-- but I'm still here. I'm sorry that you are now going to get a bit of a play by play.

Bee and Andrew's wedding rehearsal dinner was incredible- SewLungBao AND Peking Duck in one go. It compensated for the fact that I totally blew the song during rehearsal and how angry I felt about it. It's like... how do you spend hours and hours practicing and having it sound GOOD, and then, when it actually matters--you blow it? Life hates me like that.

I slept over at Alison's which was good laughs and good conversation, as expected. :) And we had brunch at Cora's! which I love. It gets me thinking about fall though. Because she was one of the people I spent the most time with in University... and come fall, I won't be able to. Fall's going to be an adjustment in so many ways.

After brunch I met up with Deborah and her mom invited me over for supper-- which was so delicious! I've never had Jewish food before! So it was quite enjoyable, and her family was so warm and friendly. We watched Alvin and the Chipmunks and went to a playground in the dark. Good times.

I meant to return to Waterloo last night. But by the time I got to Finch I knew I wouldn't make it downtown by 11:30. So Joanna saved me and let me crash at her place. And now I am here.

I just realized how everybody works here. So here is a song I love to help both you and I pass the time.:

Some books I want to read but can't because I have too much work to do:

- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (no, I haven't.)
- Looking for Alaska by John Green
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith

I started what was supposed to be a daily 'comic' of sorts, but failed on the 4th day to think of anything to draw. Go look anyway?:

Jasy : Life in Permanent Marker

On futures looming

I don't do change well. But improving? Looking to the future is always a mesh of both anticipation and dread. I found a song that I'm dedicating to a friend (maybe more than one, but one in specific) because well, you know. When the words fit! Listen and read along:



There's too many things that i haven't done yet
Too many sunsets
I haven't seen
You can't waste the day wishing it'd slow down
You would've thought by now
I'd have learned something

I made up my mind when i was a young girl
I've been given this one world
I won't worry it away
But now and again i lose sight of the good life
I get stuck in a low light
But then Love comes in

How far do i have to go to get to you
Many the miles
Many the miles
How far do i have to go to get to you
Many the miles
But send me the miles and i'll be happy to follow you

I do what i can wherever i end up
To keep giving my good love
And spreading it around
Cause i've had my fair share of take care and goodbyes
I've learned how to cry
And i'm better for that

Sing how far do i have to go to get to you
Many the miles
Many the miles
How far do i have to go to get to you
Many the miles
Send me the miles and i'll be happy to

Red letter day and i'm in a blue mood
Wishing that blue would just carry me away
I've been talking to God don't know
If it's helping or not
But surely something has got to got to got to give
Cause i can't keep waiting to live

There's too many things i haven't done yet
Too many sunsets i haven't seen

Girl's Night In

One thing I love about Social Group Work class is that afterward, there is usually room for an excuse not to go home. Tonight that comes in the form of Jenni's gigantic, family-less house with Jenni and Krystel.

Pizza and chicken fingers. Fashion magazines. Lipstick. Sex and the City.

Procrastination and womanhood at its finest.

I miss ASL.

I think I'm going to email Doreen tonight because I feel like I have an ASL hole in my life right now and I don't have time to take a course in the fall. :(

I found this video on youtube and the song's just so much more beautiful with this language. (although, the thing's not done entire in actual ASL, I think there's sign english in there too. but still.)

An Asian girlband singing O'Canada. Wait... what?!?!

The embedding is disabled so go see for yourself:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=F0zggO07MNI

Yay Canada! Yay fireworks!

escape artist

Major forms of stress relief:

- Laughing over Morty's wings
- Baking under a night sky and mellowing out to Dave Matthews.
- City escape to a night of cocktails, flashing lights, and loud music, celebrating a bride-to-be.

Ahhhh. :)

Catching up with myself

I feel drained lately.
A bit bogged down with worries and wondering why I can't do enough fast enough.

It doesn't help when you drag your butt out of bed for a 10am group meeting and then nobody shows up and only one person bothers to let you know what's going on.
I can think of about 50 better things I could have done in that 1 1/2 hrs.

mm.. I don't know what else to say. I need a vacation from everything. (it's not that bad really. I just need better coping mechanisms.)

I remember!

I remember now why I love Dr. Dan's exams-- they are so FAIR!

haha-- no tricks.

I aced that baby for sure.

Cramfest

Cram session number 1 of this term.

Social Policy has entirely too many definitions.
Subway makes me sleepy.
I need more coffee.

But I'm learning that study buddies are good!-- it really helps having Krystel here. She's focused! And it forces me to stay awake!

(*Sigh* Blogs are such a wonderful method of procrastination. )

Ready, set, scream.

Today's general annoyances (and it's only 11am.):

1. People who adopt chauvinistic attitudes that seep into all their thinking and opinions-- even if their opinions can't possibly be informed yet! When you know literally NOTHING about a social movement group you can't already have the opinion that the group takes an angry/violent approach.
(If you just took a slightly closer look, you'd see that the group's method is satire and drama. Oooooh, fierce.)
(Honestly? I think you just don't really like women.)

2. When people ask you questions as if you haven't already just told them the answer. An example of such a conversation is as follows:

Person A: Hi, I'm done class.
Person B: WHAT??!?! you're done class??? already?? are you sure???

How does Person B expect Person A to respond? "...well no, actually I'm not done class. I just made that up to see how you would react. Because I have so much time." .. HEL-LO!!!

3. WHY can't I enroll in REQUIRED courses?!?!??!!?!!?! SCREW YOU STATS.

Ok, so I'm having an angry sort of day. Bite me, Friday.

Give me my goat cheese!!

I love goat cheese. ♥

Recently though, my love for it was dampened because of being given some incorrect nutritional information about it.

I can't remember who I was talking to, saying "isn't goat cheese is better for you?" and they scoffed at me and said something like "What! NO! Goat cheese is even more fattening than regular cheese!"

Well for your big fat information, according to the Food Network:

Goat cheese is rich in protein and contains potassium, vitamin A, thiamin and niacin. Significantly lower in calories, fat and cholesterol than cheddar or cream cheese, some people may also find it easier to digest than cheese generated from cow's milk.

Yes I looked up the nutritional value of goat cheese. You would too if you tried the thing at the keg where they give you little crostinis and goat cheese and special salsa and you spread it all around and becomes the most perfect combination of crispyness and meltedness you've ever experienced and then somebody told you goat cheese wasn't good for you!

ARGHHH!!!

I slept in this morning and my prof called me to tell me he'd be 10 min late.
I rushed to school and took me a million years to pay the cab driver because my cash was buried in my bag.
I lost my eyeliner.
I attended a really pointless meeting.
I got frustrating news.
I feel like I've been accused of being an unreasonable person.
I am NOT an unreasonable person!!! I EXPLAIN things CLEARLY.
I CARE about the feelings of others.
How can someone know you but then act like they really don't know you at all?!

I want to give people a piece of my mind. I want to display LOUD amounts of emotion.

But what's the use?

The sophomore slump is an uphill battle and someone said that ain't my scene.

I should be reading. And I will continue in a second but first I must share about a very exciting discovery!-- I found the most adorable coffee shop on campus today! God knows why I've never heard about this place before-- it's at St. Jerome's which is right next to Renison where I have all my classes. (Really, I shouldn't take credit for this discovery. My classmate Lyle told me about it.)

It's a quaint little shop, tucked against one side of an underpass. Its name is printed in white along the front of its glass entrance. Campus-heaven. Well, no. But that's what it should read.



The Atrium is its real name.

The whole place is very clean and modern. Impressionist and abstract paintings line the walls. The tables and chairs which are expertly arranged around a fireplace are a sleek, pale wood. Student minded, there are electrical outlets in convenient locations and campus Wifi is accessable.

I didn't have much time to examine the menu in detail. I really was just in and out with a coffee. But I did note: three flavours of Ritazza brand coffee, three roasts. Decent tasting. A selection of grilled sandwiches, soups, and salads. Cold drinks. Pastries and icecream. What more can you ask for really?

And its basically the only establishment on campus that accepts Interac. About time!

That place is going to be seeing a lot of me this summer.

Good morning upper east-siders.

Spotted--haha. Just kidding. (Sort of. :P)

It's Wednesday. The weeks seem to slide by more and more quickly.
This week I turned in my first assignment of the term-- on time! HA! take that 'old me'.

Kat had to cover for Auntie Mony at Mikey's today, so I hitched a ride with her onto campus at 11. She showed up at my house with a wonderful surprise-- STARBUCKS! :D Eggs flourentine and a caramel macciatto. Can you think of a more perfect start to the day? I can't.

Other thoughts:

When bad things happen-- they've already happened. And getting angry or making negative comments isn't going to help situations any. Especially if the thing that happened wasn't intentional.

If you knew taking a chance on something could get you hurt, and you'd gotten hurt before because of it, and that even if you took the chance, you could still lose the love of your life, but that not taking that chance would definitely cause you to lose the love of your life--- would you take it? (Did that run on sentence even make sense?

On THAT cheery note, the song of the day is a toss up between Leona Lewis' Yesterday and Gotta Have You by the Weepies. For your listening pleasure:

I so don't feel like going to class right now... =/

A Glitter of Sunshine

As much as I wish I coined "a glitter of sunshine"-- the credit goes to Alison-- who noted the 'glitter of sunshine' on the tarp despite the thump of shadow that had settled over what had been our tanning spot.

In a sense, the weekend was a little glitter of sunshine in itself. A small escape (if you will), escape into giggles, woodcollecting, stargazing, and even a bit of reminiscing. Oh, and cheese sausages, of course.

A random assortment of information

I almost threw up at work today. I do not handle people's gross body odor well. It makes my stomach lurch and my head pound. My supervisor gave me her Marc Jacobs (!) daisy ring to wear though! It was perfume filled!

I love broccoli and cheese quiche. And I really appreciate the company of Kat, Amanda, and Esther.

I'm waiting for my laundry to be done so I can stick it in the dryer and go to sleep.

I need to get the laundry done so I can wake up early in the morning and shove it in a bag and go camping for the weekend.

PPIC's and SMORES justify sleeping on the dirty cold ground with bugs.

Marie Digby's single Say It Again has a video! (Watch. The props are really cool.):

"...and never in my whole life have I heard words as beautiful as when you say my name..."

Long Weekends mean something again!

When I wasn't in school, weekends didn't mean much. Long weekends meant nothing.

But this long weekend I soaked up the holiday like double-quilted bounty!

I made a trip to Toronto and packed basically every minute of everyday with fun and food. Mainly food. Here is a vague schedule accompanied by some visuals:

Friday night: frantic shopping, Go for Tea with Bee, Andrew, Nate, and Jo (bbt and popcorn chicken)
Saturday: Ikea breakfast with Jo and Carson, Ina and Brian's wedding ceremony, trip to visit Alison in Ajax with Laura and Jo (laura secord), Ina and Brian's wedding reception
Sunday: church at ntcbc (after which there were croissants!), Shanghai lunch with Laura and Jo, shopping downtown, meeting up with Deborah (baskin robbins, starbucks, mcd's), karaoke at Laura's
Monday: breakfast with Euming and Jo (Rosti! mmmm!), visit CC, lunch with Tiff and Jo (cha siu/sew yuk faan!), head to Laura's for bbq, FIREWORKS!, bubble tea at The Sugar
Tuesday: lunch downtown with Kat and Laura at Salad King (which honestly, isn't that great for the price! Way to get worked up about nothing!)

Tuesday ups and downs

Routines

Starbucks is a good Tuesday routine. And their new breakfast sandwiches give Kat and I great excitement. I had the sausage and egg today which was ok, but next week I will most definitely be getting the eggs flourentine.

I really like Social Welfare Policy too. Even if it is at 10am. And not just because of oogling the professor.

Other things

"This town is colder now, I think its sick of us.
..steady hands just take the wheel, every glance is killing me.
..all my senses push, untie the weight bags, I never thought I could.

Steady feet don't fail me now.

Yeah i know that everyone gets scared-- but I've become what I can't be."

"So we'll say our goodbyes, I know it's better that way... we won't break we won't die its just a moment of change.

..I need to get some perspective on these words before I write them down."

Considering how often I emo-ize One Republic lyrics, it's a good thing I'm going to their concert! =P

The Second Monday

My blog titles aren't very interesting, are they? Oh, well.

It's the second week back and I feel like I need to really get into "school mode".
I've been a better student than I feel like I've ever been... but yet, am I good enough?
Maybe improvement is futile unless you improve to 'the' degree of adequacy.

Or maybe it's the second bloody week and I need to take a chill pill. haha

As of today-- I no longer drink bottled water. And I really want to start getting all my coffee in a thermos/tumbler, so I'm hoping to make my Starbucks one soon.

Time for class again.

What's that funky smell?

Friday early-morning blogs may become a habit.

I have a 9oclock class on Fridays but my most convenient ride in arrives at Renison at about 8:20, leaving me a good 40 minutes to kill before class.

Of all my classes, this is the only one I haven't had yet. Community Organization. And for some reason I'm dreading it more than any of my others. Will I really be able to stay awake for a four hour class that starts at 9 in the freaking morning?

Lucky things-- Renison has a cafeteria from which I just got some free coffee and it doesn't taste too terrible.

Not so lucky things-- the caffeine hasn't kicked in yet.

That and my bag emits the funky smell of cold cuts from the sandwich in there when I open it. Not condusive (sp?) to friend-making.

Note to self: Find a better sandwich container.

Why I (and possibly Kat as well) should never bake.

We followed the directions perfectly. To the letter. And I have documentative pictures to prove it!

But somehow, this is what became of our shortbread cookies:

Bummer.

Day Two

A honey latte makes it far easier to stay up during a morning class.

I'm weird, I know, but I like walking into class dressed decently, with a starbucks in hand. It makes me feel more prepared. Why looking good and having trendy coffee makes me more prepared for sitting there for three hours to take notes and discuss politics and welfare policy? .... don't ask. But if you look good you feel good! Feeling smart and confident makes me more likely to have interesting ideas to contribute to class discussions.

Plus, I have a giant crush on my prof.

I can't help it! He makes everything so interesting! Even social policy! I mean, come on. He's so brilliant and passionate in an infectuous way. And he remembered me from the one class I took with him an entire year ago! :)

I sound crazy. But hey, if this enthusiasm carries throughout the term-- I'm not going to skip or fall asleep in a single class! *Grin*

The First Day of School

My first day of school in a year.

It's a crazy feeling, people.

All in all, it hasn't been extraordinarily torturous as one might think. I actually enjoyed my first class. Ok, so I've only had one class. Maybe too soon to be relieved.

Renison library is pretty decent, so I think I'll be hibernating in here quite a bit this term.

It would be nice to have my laptop back though. Come on, HP, move move move!

(Night class in 20 minutes... we'll see how that goes.)

Also! I love this song:

Tree Hugger Animation

CHAINSAW MASSACRE!!!

I awoke this morning, to the sound of chainsaws.

Something didn't seem right about it... it sounded as if it were coming from INSIDE my house.

I won't lie, my heart did a little jump while I entertained thoughts of some crazy psycho looking for his victim. But eventually, I worked up the nerve to make my way downstairs toward the sound and outside my front door are two men with chainsaws!

After a few seconds I recognized one of them as Wallace's dad. And saw bits of our evergreen coming off-- so I figure they're helping us trim our tree. How nice. It was a bit overgrown.

I went back upstairs.

WHAT A MISTAKE! -- When I came back down THIS is what I saw outside my house:

Pauvre arbre! :(

Moving requires great strategy, you know.

While helping Bee move out yesterday, Andrew, Bernice, and I are sitting on her mattress, backs against the wall, eyes scanning the vast spread of bags and boxes that have yet to be moved into the car:

Bee: How abouuuuuttt... we move the mattress down first. Then we can see how much space is left to fit everything else.

Me (somewhat unenthusiastically): ok.

Andrew: But wait! ... if we move the mattress now, where will we sit to contemplate our next move?

Me(having already thought that over, of course): Oh, there's another mattress under this one.

Andrew: OH, ok then. :)

[Bee shoots self. ... haha not really.]

It ain't easy to say goodbye. (So darling, please don't start to cry.)

cuz girl you know I've got to go.

and lord, I wish it wasn't so.

Tomorrow I'll be gone.

People in the Philipines are helping me fix my laptop.

I finally stopped being so incredibly lazy and called HP to get my laptop fixed. I figured it was about time since it might be nice to have a laptop when school starts in two weeks. (uck)

Mark, the customer service guy, was helping me out and asks: "How's the weather over there?"

I respond politely. "Nice! It's like summer lately... but it's supposed to get cold. How's the weather where you are?"

"I'm offshore."

"offshore?"

"Yes, this is HP Philipines. It's summer here."

"Oh! Wow!!" :D

Unfortunately, he cut me off before I could divulge to him how much I love Manila and show off the three Tagalog words I know: Kamusta mahal kita!

Shut the blood up, Rayman!

I've discovered (or just realized) a new pet peeve and a possible explanation of why i don't like playing video games.

It drives me NUTS when people are playing some stupid game and SCREAMING! -- Chill out , geeze! As if the game itself doesn't already have enough ugly screaming bunnies to give anyone a headache! I hate Ray Man(sp?)!!

I suppose it's my own fault for willingly coming over to Kat's knowing they were going to play wii, but shoot me, i have nothing better to do.

While I wait for my NYLON. (still.) (where are you?!??!)

ROAR

Gossip Girl has been kicked off CTV by ... DEGRASSI!! I mean come on! I know two people who actually watch Degrassi v.s. a million in love with GG! >:( Now you can only watch GG on the CW. AND I DO NOT HAVE DIGITAL CABLE!!!

Gawd.

AND! I hate the smell of celery and it's infiltrating the main floor of my house. barf.

DOUBLE and!-- its the "end of an era". *sigh*

edit: The Hills always puts me in a better mood. *happy sigh* -- at least their drama doesn't make me want to pull my hair out.