this just in: mother nature is a drunk.

heehee, i know this article is about the weather, but the writer was so amusing i just had to post it. my favourite part?

"You can almost see her, if you squint hard enough: Mother Nature passed out in a snowbank with lipstick smeared across her cheek and a half-empty bottle of whiskey by her side."

bahaahhahaha. now, where's that intervention banner?

it's christmas time in the city...

hope that your day is full of happiness and so much love as you surround yourselves with your family, friends, and other loved ones.

merry christmas from me and the snowman on the bench! :)

i <3 phil

even after listening to it over and over again, this song is still so freakin' fantastic. and really, how can you not like the 90s-ness of it all? hahaha, love it.

important thoughts from little sharon

i was cleaning my room a while back and came across this: little sharon's to-do list.

wow, "everyday"? i really meant business back then. let's hope i did the things on the list - especially the first one. :)

oh procrastinator me...

here's an article i came across from scientific american about procrastination. it's five pages in total and it took me three days to read the article from start to finish in one sitting. why? i kept getting distracted by other things and putting it off. :P

ok best buy, you don't suck...as much

i went to best buy tonight and surprisingly enough, their customer service wasn't half bad. not like that other time i went when everything about them sucked. nope, not tonight! actually, the guy who helped me was great! he was super nice, friendly, and he helped me find everything i was looking for without being a git. oh and he was also pretty cute but that's besides the point, haha! :)

lest we forget

i don't know if it's because i'm getting older or because i have the privilege of hanging out with seniors all day, but i have found myself being more and more affected by remembrance day as each year passes. due to the population i work with, i interact with quite a few war veterans and am able to hear their stories during the brief moments this topic comes up. for many of them it's been 60 years since they've fought, but i can tell from their eyes and facial expressions when they talk about it that their memories (both good and bad) are still very much there and still very real. during the two minutes of silence at eleven o'clock today i thought of my residents and of other soldiers who fought, many of whom never got to tell their stories, and as i stood there i couldn't help but feel so much gratitude.

today i wear a poppy for all soldiers, past and present (because sadly, the fighting continues); i remember.

image taken from wikipedia

yes we can

i'm not american, but even so i couldn't help but get caught up in yesterday's election and i couldn't be happier with the result. it's awesome to think that we all saw history happen yesterday. amazing, really. :) well done obama, well done.

dented and scratched

today i dropped my sigg bottle on the floor and now it has a big dent on the side of it. ughh. and i was so proud that it was dent-free (for the most part) too. i knew it was bad news when i heard thud after thud on the the tile floor.

also, when i pulled out my camera to upload pictures onto my computer, i noticed all these little scratches on the front of it. the front. i'm still completely clueless as to how they would have gotten there.

i know that my sigg bottle was bound to become dented one of these days and my camera would eventually get scratched but even so, the foolish side of me is still a little sad. :(

p.s. after tweaking and then tweaking some more, i'm still not sure what i think of my attempt to switch from two columns to three. thoughts?

fall foliage

^ fallen leaves that seem to go on forever...
taken on my street a couple of weeks ago

many of the leaves have said goodbye to their respectful trees now and have made their way onto the grass, covering it up as the earth prepares itself to sleep during the winter months. (read: there are now miles and piles of crunchy leaves waiting to be stepped on, thrown up in the air, and played in. who's with me?)

oh how i love this season!

you know you're chinese when...

i was watching a program on discovery the other day following a team of scientists who were examining a colossal squid before putting it on display in a new zealand museum (ok, there was a lot more to this story but whatever.) anyway, the story itself was pretty interesting, but what i found even more interesting was the fact that there was a huge squid in a tank being probed by scientists...and this was my prevailing thought:

if only they deboned and boiled this sucker, they could have made so much soup!

mmm, squid soup. :)

feds buy $25B in mortgages

i was perusing through the toronto star today and this was the first article i came across. my first thought: we have $25B?

haha, just call me ignorant. :P

twenty-five

throughout the years, i've come to realize that there is so much to be thankful for. thanks everyone, you guys are awesome. especially you justin. :)

wow, quarter century. when and how did this happen?

on the mend - for real this time.

so i thought that things were getting better and that everything was well on its way to being normal again until today when my stomach got all upset and i found myself in the bathroom again. i stuck it out for the rest of the day, but called the doctor's office again to book another appointment because even i know that 10+ days of stomach issues is not normal. luckily my test results from last week were in and it turns out that it wasn't stomach flu at all. instead, i have bacteria in my stomach.

those stupid nasty little boogers.

anyway, my doctor prescribed me some drugs to kill all the little gits who have been wreaking havoc on my gi tract as of late so hopefully they'll all die off in the next couple of days. in the meantime, i'm just really happy that it wasn't all in my head and that my doctor said it was safe to eat again.

...see you at the fridge. :)

on the mend, finally.

i ate this for dinner yesterday! my first real meal in 10 days and so far my stomach hasn't totally crapped out on me. :) sure, my appetite wasn't exactly all back so i didn't finish everything and i've been having little mini-tummyaches sporadically thoughout the day, but it hasn't been anything like last week, so i'll take it as a good sign.

honestly i'm just relieved things are looking better. there were times when i thought i'd be eating mash-up pumpkins, saltines, and water, for the rest of my life. gross.

keep up the good work, tummy!

stomach update

yah, still hurts. stomach still sucks.

my plan of reintroducing solids totally failed. i tried to eat instant noodles for lunch today, but my stomach didn't react to great to it so i didn't even get to try any real solids. tomorrow will be the seventh day of "eating", but hopefully i'll be able to eat real food again soon.

i'm planning on sucking it up and heading back to work tomorrow, so hopefully the pain and stomachaches will subside. we'll see how that goes.

so hungry, but not

after 5 days of eating nothing but crackers, digestive cookies, jello, soup, and liquids, i think it's time to start reintroducing some solids into my diet. you would think i'd be more hungry (i'm usually always hungry!), but my appetite has all but disappeared as of late. it's a very wierd feeling. oh well, let's hope this virus of mine has upped and left by now.

it will not be missed.

it's here!

today is the first day of autumn! so in celebration of today, i've put together a little haiku for your reading pleasure. here we go!

i love this season.
the leaves change colours and fall.
so we can crunch them.

umm yah, i was never too good at elementary school poetry. :P

sick to my stomach

i started having bad stomachaches on thursday at work, but shrugged it off and went into work friday stomachaches and all. then i started getting chills and my skin got all tingly everywhere, but i attributed this to the facility being cold, sucked it up, and continued working anyway. chills got worse but i decided to go to the final facility of the week when i realized that everyone around me was wearing t-shirts and had their windows down, while i was wearing a wool sweater, jacket, and had the heat going at some points...and was still getting chills. made it to the final facility, told them i was going home early, and made an appointment to see the doctor.

turns out i was sick with the stomach flu. my digestive system sucks.

hurry up and clear out, virus. this "diet" of saltine crackers, flat pop, and chicken noodle soup (sans the noodles) is just not cutting it for me.

r s s

btw, i added an rss feed thingie on the left in case there were other people who wanted to subscribe since i got one of those feedburner account things. (can you tell i have no idea what i signed up for?) anyway, i actually don't really like rss feeds all that much because i'd rather see webpages in their entirety, but now the option to subscribe is there if you want it but didn't know how to do it before. :)

if you ask me, the sciam article is way more interesting than anything rss related, haha! :P

from the geek in me

came across this article from scientific american re: autism, william's syndrome, and eye tracking. really interesting stuff! check it out here.

shine on harvest moon

my tummy is happy and full after eating my dinner followed by some mooncake. mmmmmm. :d i was trying to look up some more info on the chinese festival of the night and here's what i came up with: the chinese take on how the moon got its face (scroll down to the stories section.) gotta love legends and folklore. and wikipedia.

happy mid-autumn moon festival everyone! :)

everybody loves apple

lookit! there are paint droplets falling from the nanos! it doesn't even really make sense, but i love it just the same. how can you not love mac ads?

p.s. the blue one, fourth from the left, is the same colour as my iskin for my 3rd generation ipod. and yes i said 3rd generation - i'm old school baby, old school. (it still works, so why not? haha!) :)

home life

there's nothing quite like returning home after being away even if you've only been gone a few days. after spending two weekends away from home, i breathed a happy and satisfied sigh of relief as i walked in through the front door this afternoon. my house may not be the tidiest, most glamourous, or even nicest, but it's home to me. and the comfort of home just can't be matched anywhere else.

i always knew i was a home girl at heart. :)

from montreal to new york city

^ a panoramic view of Manhattan from the top of the MET (7 pictures in 1)
i really like the stitch-assist/panoramic thing on my camera and i'm kicking myself now for not using it by the bridges in brooklyn. note to self: use it more.



this past weekend was spent on a great trip with a bunch of great friends. :) from the megabus, to hard rock cafe, to matt's apartment, to the met, we managed to fill our limited time in the city with many laughs, memories, and good times. highlights included: meeting up with liz and maxine, "beautiful harlem", all the famous food joints, the boys sitting where harry met sally, sweating like maniacs while waiting for the subway, no more chipotle, and the ladies playing dress-up at urban outfitters (so glad no one works in the basement.)

all in all it was an excellent trip despite the mishaps (i.e. broken windshield wiper which caused a 3.5 hour delay.) there's no other group of people i'd rather have gotten stuck on a 13.5 bus ride with and hey, at least we got free round-trip tickets out of it. where to next? :)

S & V's Wedding: 08.16.08

our shannon is married! she is someone i literally grew up with since birth, one of my best friends, and now she's victor's wife. :) i'm honoured to have had the privilege of standing up there with you shannon. congrats again you two!

from zero to thirteen

no need to feel embarrased anymore! zero medals in the first week, but thirteen medals in the span of a few days in the second (including one gold by an asian - sweet!) we've already beat the medal count from athens, yay! keep them a comin' team canada. :)

p.s. how beautiful are these medals? those rings inlaid in the gold, silver, and bronze are 100% jade - i love the asian influence! china really went all out for the olympics (right down to the medals) and continues to impress me with their hosting of these games. canada has a lot to live up to for vancouver 2010. o_O

canada, where are our medals?

beijing 2008 has been so exciting to watch (especially women's gymnastics and swimming - the water cube is the coolest building ever!), but sadly it has also been a really bad olympic games for canada so far. with the US with their 29 medals (darn them!) and china with their 27 (yay china!), our zero medals to date has been nothing short of embarrassing. (no offense, but even mongolia has a medal.) i know that the athletes are trying their best and i recognize that i could never even come anywhere close to doing what they do so all the power to them, but i'd be lying if i said it hasn't been frustrating to watch. i think this kind of sums it all up.

nevertheless there's still time and so there is still hope. come on team canada, you can do it!

hnic anthem challenge

so i did it. i took the plunge and submitted my attempt to fill in the big shoes left behind by 'the hockey song'. at first i was pretty hesitant, but i figured i didn't really have anything to lose to at least try, so i threw something together using garageband (well, after i figured out how to work the program, haha), tweaked it a little bit here and there, and this is what i came up with.

i suppose the worse thing that can happen is that i don't win, but i'm not even really going into this with any expectations so i guess i'm in a pretty good place. let me know what you think.

the 29th olympiad

so the 2008 summer olympics in beijing have begun! hello days of sitting in front of the tv, watching hours of sports (usually unheard of for me), and trying to soak in as much of the olympics that i can while it's still here. can't believe it's already been 4 years since the last one...

i'm especially excited for swimming, women's gymnastics, diving, rowing, and some of the running. can't wait! i'll be cheering on canada, australia, and china. alright, let's go get us some medals!

carrying the banner

so i finally got my hands on a copy of newsies this past saturday and although the last time i saw this movie was at least 7-10 years ago, it was like being reunited with an old friend. i've already watched it 4 times (not including watching clips of the movie here and there), sung all the songs at the top of my lungs, and watched all the bonus material. hahaha. i'm freakin' amazing.

i miss good quality movies like this - they're just not the same nowadays. my apologies to the high school musical fans out there, but newsies totally kicks high school musical's arse over and over again. the dancing is better. the singing is better. the music is better. the storyline is better. everything about it is just better. oh and did i mention that christian bale is in it? (i love christian bale - loved him ever since newsies!) come on now let's be honest, zac effron has got nothing on christian bale. i mean can you imagine zac effron as batman? eww, gross.

p.s. speaking of batman, i watched the dark knight with justin last friday and it was so good! scary at times (yay for justin letting me peek through his fingers!), but really good nonetheless. heath ledger was phenomenal as the joker. it's easy to see why he would have been so disturbed and unable to sleep - that joker is one deranged lunatic - its too bad how things turned out. so tragic. in any case, he was great and i really do hope he gets that oscar.

crumbly crumbly crummy crummy

i've been feeling a little crummy today. not sure if it's the weather, the fact that i have a lot of things to do but no motivation to follow through, withdrawal from a great weekend (that's another post for another time), boredom, or because my room is messy (it really does make a difference.) in any case, i had high hopes for today to be a productive one but it has just been one of those days. here's to hoping tomorrow will be bigger, brighter, and better - good thing it's only a day away.

mute to the math, whut?

gotta love mutemath. creative bunch, they are. (this is honestly one of the greatest, and most random, videos ever.)


speaking of darren king, check this out.

is that not madness or what. he's phenomenal. crazy yes, but phenomenal. plus he's hot so yah. bah hah. ;)

thanks liz, for introducing me to mutemath way back and for showing me these vids. you always did have great ears. :)

goodbye old faithful

after four years of faithfully being by my side and taking picture after picture despite being dropped, pointed directly at the sun, and used in the rain and snow, my old faithful has decided to crap out on me - i guess enough was enough. :(

oh well, it was probably time to move on anyway. i've since decided on which one will be my new faithful: the canon sd850. it will never take the place of my old faithful (since it was my first ever digital camera and i'm sentimentally stupid like that), but at the end of the day i'm happy with my choice. and ready to take pictures. and done with this pointless post. bahahaha.

p.s. big ups to jon and nevin (dude, you gotta update) - i made it to their RSS feeds! :)

cottage weekend

^ view of the cottage from the dock

fun times in kawartha this past weekend! 3 days of beautiful weather, sunshine, paddleboating, canoeing, drinking, cooking, eating, and many periods of doing absolutely nothing - in other words, 3 days of awesome (minus the bugs.)

it's been a long time since my skin has seen that much sun in one shot. i'm now left with legs that are not quite as pasty anymore (yay!), a pretty hefty tanktop tan (nooo) and a right shoulder that is painfully sunburnt (owww). even so, i wouldn't have changed a thing. thanks for the good times guys! :)

some cottage pics can be found at my flickr. click either on the link to the left, or right here.

the fraser and the fitzsimmons

i went to see brooke fraser at the el mocambo this past wednesday and i must say, her voice is just as good and as beautiful live as it is on her cds. she put on a good show - her guitar playing, piano playing, and singing were all solid. not bad for a first-time concert in toronto. it was a great show for under $14 so really, on the music front, i can't complain at all.

william fitzsimmons opened for brooke and although i know a lot people will disagree with me, i thought that he did a pretty good job. his guitar playing was really impressive (at least to me since i can only dream of playing the guitar half as good as he does) and his voice was nice, breathy and soothing. yah ok, i'll admit his songs were a little depressing and maybe too relaxing for an opening act, but all in all i thought his music was pretty good. well, what i could hear of it anyway thanks to the rude people who comprised about 3/4 of the concert crowd. i honestly couldn't believe how incredibly annoying and moronic some people at the concert were, which leads me to...

...concert etiquette.

ok, if you're going to go to a concert, here are three things you should keep in mind:

1. Talking when an artist is playing.
This would be a HUGE no-no. When an artist is singing or playing, you stop talking. This is done out of respect to the artist and out of consideration for the people around you. Honestly, even though the really good ones make it look real easy, artists practice like crazy and put their hearts into their work, so show a little respect and listen. I don't care if you think their music is too sad and depressing so you decide you don't like them - when an artist is doing their thing, you shut your mouth.

2. Pushing your way to the front when clearly you were there last.
To all the people who think they can show up later and just push your way to the front, please get over yourselves. It is not ok and nobody appreciates it. This is especially true for groups of 3 or more people. It is not other people's faults that your lateness caused you to have to stand at the back or behind the pole with no view. It's first come first serve so back off.

3. Being obnoxious and loud in general.
This is just plain annoying for everyone around the obnoxiously loud, so if you're one of these types of concert-goers, please calm down. There's no reason to scream every two seconds or laugh like a bloody hyena on crack, so take a few deep breaths and at least try to be normal. And no, holding an alcoholic beverage does not mean you can be annoying.

so yes, if by chance you happen to be going to a concert, then try to keep these things in mind - i'm almost positive the people around you will appreciate it greatly. :)

s w o l l e n

after a year of being swollen-eyed-free, this happened again on sat, completely out of the blue. i was completely fine for the whole morning, but in the afternoon things went a little crazy. one minute i'm in the car driving to the mall with an itchy left eye, the next i'm in the mall and then driving home while blinking and trying not to rubba-a-dubb-dubb my eye as the itchiness spreads to the right and the swelling starts, and the next i'm lying on the couch with both of my eyes swollen beyond belief.



it was worse than the last time it happened in that while it took a couple of hours to get from the first picture to the fourth and it only took about 45 mins this time around. two days later, the swelling is almost gone and i'm starting look less like cristina yang and more like myself again.

i still have no idea what allergen i was exposed to that caused this bad of a reaction which makes me nervous. i've gone over the morning again and again, searching for something, anything, which may have been the cause. so far i've been unsuccessful, but for now i'm just thankful that the massive swelling has gone down and life is getting back to normal. here's to hoping it doesn't happen again.

the beginning of a new era...

in our attempt to live a little healthier and exercise more (ok exercise, period) adrienne and i decided to get off our butts and go play some 'tennis'. and by 'tennis' i mean running around a tennis court with our racquets trying to hit the ball. anyway, it was great fun and we were able to get in some good playing time for about 40 minutes before the lightning started and the rain fell. all in all it was good times, so we've decided to (try to) make it a weekly thing. i'm excited - yay for tennis thursdays! :)

p.s. i bought a new tennis racquet a few years ago because my hands were too small for the other one and i must say, the smaller/thinner handle makes such a huge difference: the racquet feels great and my wrist isn't in pain this time around. sweet.

book nook: little women

little women
louisa may alcott

i recently worked as an accompanist for a small theatrical production company during the auditions and callbacks for their upcoming production of little women, the musical. after listening to lines being read, songs being sung, and conversations about the characters themselves, i was intrigued.

by the time i got home from the first day of auditions, i had already decided i was going to read the book. someone gave it to me way back as a present, but i never got around to reading it and forgot all about it as it got pushed farther and farther back into the labyrinth that is the back of my closet. (i'm so glad i was able to find it.) actually, the version that i have includes both little women and good wives, the original sequel to little women, making it an even sweeter discovery. :)

the book is set in america with the american civil war serving as its chronological backdrop. centred around a family of four daughters, the book is about the lives of the sisters, their hopes, dreams, and loves. all in all it's a heartwarming book written in a way where it's impossible not to love the characters (or at least most of them) and become submersed in their world for a little while.

full of many heart-tugging moments, and zero trashiness, this book is one that made me laugh, cry, smile, and feel warm and fuzzy inside. i recommend it to those who are interested in reading it, but haven't had the chance to yet.

brad doggett and jeremy "passion" manongdo

youtube is home to a lot of stuff. some of it is great, some is not so great, some is really awesome, and some is just plain crap. on the music front, these two guys are definitely part of the really awesome category.


this guy, brad doggett, does covers of a lot of songs from different genres; from britney to wyclef jean to oasis, this guy does it all and does it well. he may not be the greatest musically, but his videos and music have an authenticity to them, a 'grass roots' and feel if you will, that really appeals to me. it's just him being himself and his guitar. that, plus the fact that he has one of the nicest voices i've ever heard, makes him my favourite musician on youtube right now.


this guy, passion, is just plain solid. his guitar playing is solid, his voice is solid, and his music is solid. so good. he seems to do a lot of talking in many of his videos, so i'll just leave my description of him at that. haha.

...and now i must go and practice guitar, bye!

things that go kaboom in the sky

^ sadly i can't take credit for this picture. image from chromasia.

i went with justin and some friends to see the fireworks at the unionville festival yesterday. as per usual, the fireworks were big, bright, and beautiful - and worth all the mosquito bites. there was just something so heartening about the scene as a whole, standing there beside my favourite person in front of toogood pond watching explosions of light illuminate the sky while hearing the sound of laughter, oohs, and ahhs escape from the crowd around me.

it's all about enjoying the small moments in life. :)

so slothy

so far, today has been one of those days - lazy, unproductive, and slothy. i've been trying to get working on my case study, but i've had such a hard time focusing. motivation is at an all-time low, which is unfortunate seeing as i really need to get this bloody accreditation file done so i can move on to bigger and better things in life. sid the sloth may be cute (in a really ugly and demented sort of way), but slothiness is nothing but fugly to its core. must get past this hurdle and out of this hole.

ronald weasley and the youtube video about the vortex

so randomly funny i just had to share it. :)

william fitzsimmons

i'm going to the brooke fraser concert in july and this guy, william fitzsimmons, is gonna be opening for her. i don't really know him, but i like him already. he puts my weak and sucky guitar skills to complete shame. (note to self: must get better. and soon.) like i needed another reason to be excited for this concert, but i got one anyway. can't wait!

book nook: tuesdays with morrie

tuesdays with morrie
mitch albom

i've been wanting to read this book for a while now so when i saw it hiding on a shelf at my local library, i snatched it up right away. i'm so glad i found it.

this book is a memoir outlining the journey/relationship between a professor and his former student as the professor's health declines. through the professor's philosophical tidbits and outlook on life despite his failing condition, the student is reminded of what is really important in life and what is truly needed to live.

i appreciate the fact that albom's writing made the heavy content in this book digestible and the fact that he threw in snippets of the past to put things into context. i literally soaked this book up in a couple of hours and couldn't put it down until i was finished. even though the book itself is small and thin, don't let it fool you - there's a lot of depth and wisdom in its pages.

all in all it was great book which i thoroughly enjoyed and definitely recommend. just be sure to have some tissue around.

book nook: in my mother's house

in my mother's house
margaret mcmullan

so in my attempt to get back into reading books other harry potter or artemis fowl, i've decided to write a little blurb on the books i read whenever i finish them and get around to doing so. i'm fully aware that i am no book critic and for all i know everything i write might be complete crap, but at least i try. haha. keep in mind these are my own personal thoughts so read them with a grain of salt if you need or want to. ok, here we go.

this book was actually the first non-harry potter book i've picked up and finished in...well let's just say it's been a long time. :P unfortunately although i didn't dislike it i didn't necessarily like it much either - actually, the only reason why i ended up finishing it at all was because i was determined to see it to the end. while the subject matter was touching and concept of the book was interesting, it didn't really capture or keep my attention long enough to make me want to keep reading.

i personally didn't feel like i really connected with any of the characters which probably made the book seem longer than it actually was. i also found it a little confusing to follow at times since it switched between the perspectives of the mother and the daughter every chapter and there were quite a few jumps in time. then again, maybe i just didn't get it.

i did end up finishing this book in less than a week so the writing itself must have been ok, but that kind of sums up my thoughts on this book: it's an ok read. not great (despite multiple 5-star ratings over at amazon.com), just ok.

sometimes you just need to rant

dear mr. neighbour,

kindly tell your kids to stay off our property (which means no more flying kites, running around or playing catch in our yard), please stay off our property yourself (which means no more playing catch in our yard for you either), stop using our water supply and hose to clean out your own eavestrough, and stop being the biggest jerk to ever live beside us.

thanks ever so much,
sharon

from funk to pop

i'm not an avid concert go-er, but i ended up going to two concerts this month: victor wooten & sara bareilles. both great entertainers, both great musicians, both great concerts. the victor wooten concert was nothing short of amazing. all the videos of him playing are sick, but they're nothing compared to seeing his fingers flying and the sweat dripping down his face live in concert. it was a long concert (can't believe they played for pretty much 2.5 hours non-stop), but it was worth every minute of standing and the ache in my legs. haha. sara bareilles was an entirely different type of concert, but it was amazing all the same. i've always liked her and her stuff, but she was even better live! the only low-lights were being stuck behind the tallest couple ever (aghh, when she put her head on his shoulder i couldn't see a bloody thing) and the fact that my knees were killing by the end of the night, but that's ok. the music made it worth it.

two nights of listening to incredibly talent musicians (one of the guitarists had john mayer-esque solos - so good!) was really refreshing, although hard on my ears. (i swear after the sara concert i thought i was going deaf, no joke.) anyway, i fully recommend going to see these artists in concert. just make sure to bring earplugs.

a touch of green

^ photo taken somewhere near the opera house

the days are getting longer, the weather is getting warmer, and neighbourhoods all over are becoming spotted with little green flecks. spring has arrived - and not a moment too soon.

brooke fraser | a l b e r t i n e

...like a breath of fresh air, this is music to my ears. and heart.

three of three

today i heard back from the final university i applied to (and my first choice of all three.) it came in a small envelope so as i opened it i was preparing myself for another rejection, but instead it said that i made it onto their waitlist. even though it's not a "yes, you're in!" i'm still pretty excited to have made it onto the list and even happier that they said that my application was excellent. :) so at the end of it all i got rejected once and waitlisted twice - an improvement from last time so regardless of whatever happens at least i will feel like i accomplished something. yeah. i'm happy. there is still hope. :)

and the waiting continues to continue...

two of three

i've been waitlisted at one of the remaining two universities i applied to (read: there is still hope, even if the chance is slim.) :) i'm actually just really happy that there was some improvement relative to my last attempt. kinda makes me feel like all my hard work and sweat wasn't totally for nothing. anyway, still haven't heard anything from my first choice - not sure if this is a good thing or not - but i'm thinking i'll most likely hear back from them within the next week or so. this is nerve-wracking.

the waiting continues...

severus snape and the funny youtube video

i just couldn't resist posting this. BAHAHAHHAA!

one of three

so i didn't make it into one of the programs i applied to. sucks, but that's ok. even though i'm pretty crushed, i can't really do anything other than keep my chin up and just wait for the next two results to come in. i truly did try my best, and i think God recognizes that, so regardless of whatever the outcome may be i will have that to hold onto. and that (ideally) should be enough, right?

one down, two to go. :/

Easter Sunday: three days later...

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His, and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

Good Friday: Remember...

...and be thankful.

last night as i was waiting for my eyes to close until the morning, i remember my heart feeling heavy with a sense of anxiousness, impatience, and frustration at my lack of control in this whole situation. since i could feel that i was still minutes away from drifting off to sleep, i decided to take the time to cry out for patience and a sense of peace despite everything when suddenly the thought "Not my will, but Yours" came to mind. i immediate became very aware of the fact that on the same very night (at least symbolically) 2008 years ago, Someone Else cried the same words out into the stillness of the night, distraught, broken, and pleading, with the weight of the world on His shoulders - literally.

at that moment the verses recited at every communion came flooding into my mind and the depth of those words, the graveness of His situation, and the realness of it all, truly pierced me. my heart instantly felt so much lighter as i was overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude and peace, and enveloped in His love as i drifted off into sleep.

He stayed awake that night so I could sleep.
He gave His life so i could live.

Amazing Grace, indeed.

the waiting game

it's been a while since my first attempt, but once again i find myself in the same place as i was two years ago: waiting.

it's the worst part of the whole process and the part that takes the most strength because it's so much more than just waiting for a letter. i'm waiting to see what the next step is, waiting to see what direction to head towards, and waiting in expectancy because despite all the obstacles and setbacks that have come and will come my way, i'm still holding onto this promise:

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." - Jer 29:11-13

seeking, waiting, and trusting that my future is in good hands...

a weekend in montreal

this past weekend, a bunch of us went to montreal after scoring $1 greyhound tickets (return trip = $2.) best two bucks ever!

having gone on this trip with 5 awesome individuals, it's no surprise that at the end of it all we left montreal with a crapload of great memories and stories (complete with embarassing moments as well as many hilarious haha-pee-in-your-pants ones too.) from the accidentally stolen bottle opener to red thighs, to all the craziness in room 1421, to walking through snow, snow, and more snow after midnight to eat the best poutine ever (SO WORTH IT), the weekend was just crazy. and by crazy, i mean crazy awesome.

despite choosing one of the worst weekends to go (not only did we lose an hour, but we also had to wait for buses in and walk through the worst blizzard i've ever seen in my whole life - 45cms!), i wouldn't have changed a thing. and that's how much fun i had. thanks guys, you guys rock. :)

happy valentines day

from pork chops to rat meat

happy chinese new year! hope everyone had a fun-filled time with family complete with yummy food and red-pockets. ;) see you in twelve, piggy!

accio all things harry

even though the series is over and done with, i can't help but pick up my books and read (and re-read) them again and again. and again. call me a nerd or a dork (or even a dorky nerd), but i just can't help it - i really love harry potter. i love getting lost in the pages of the books and seeing the scenes play out in my head. i especially love j.k. rowling for writing, in my humble opinion, the best book series i have ever read. oh and for being so bookishly cool.

cbc's the passionate eye aired this yesterday, but unfortunately i missed it. *sobs* (i watched bbc's special on jo and she was so fantastic.) lucky for me - and you! - it will be airing again this coming sunday, feb 10th, at 8pm. yay! i'm so there.

sunday. 8pm. cbc. see you at the tv.

queens and kings

i posted this a few years ago, but i like it so much that i'm posting it again. heh. :P a gentle reminder of that which should not be forgotten.

Already Complete
(fellas, just sub in the appropriate words. same message.)

Just because no one has been fortunate enough to realize what a gold mine you are, doesn`t mean you shine any less. Just because no one has been smart enough to figure out that you can`t be topped, doesn`t stop you from being the best. Just because no one has come along to share your life, doesn`t mean that day isn`t coming. Just because no one has made this race worthwhile, doesn`t give you permission to stop running. Just because no one has realized how much of a woman you are, doesn`t mean they can affect your femininity. Just because no one has come to take the loneliness away, doesn`t mean you have to settle for a lower quality. Just because no one has shown up who can love you on your level, doesn`t mean you have to sink to theirs. Just because you deserve the very best there is, doesn`t mean that life is always fair. Just because God is still preparing your king, doesn`t mean that you`re not already a queen. Just because your situation doesn`t seem to be progressing right now, doesn`t mean you need to change a thing. Keep shining, Keep running, Keep hoping, Keep praying, Keep being exactly what you are already; complete.

all in a week's work

this past week two of my residents, in two different homes i work at, passed away. i know it's to be expected when working in long-term care and this isn't the first time i've 'lost' residents this way, but it's a part of the job i don't think i'll ever get used to. i guess it's a good thing though - it means my heart is still intact.

it has been a sad week in this regard and i'm exhausted. goodbye my all-star residents. you'll be missed.

*clink*

here's to the beginning of another fresh, new, and untainted year full of opportunities and possibilities. let the good times roll.

happy new year! :)