So many events... so few entries!

Well so much has happened in the last week or so! My sister came home, and that was fanTAStic. It's so nice to see her and Jordan! I miss all the silliness!

Christmas happened, which was great. I got one big present that will hopefully come in the mail tomorrow, so I'm quite pumped for that. Other than that, everyone seemed to like the presents I got them, so that's always a plus!

I did a little boxing day shopping, got some new kicks and some jeans, then went out to Ceili's with a whole bunch of people and saw SO many who I haven't seen in a while.

Worked a little, working again tomorrow and Saturday, which stinks because the university is DESERTED and no one cares that we're open.

Yesterday we went to Kirsten's for a fake Tuesday night dinner (since they were busy on Tuesday) and had some yummy hamburger soup. SO GOOD! On my way to their place I stopped at the liquor store to get some beers, and I was SO happy to see Wildrose, my most farourite beer, in bottles now!!! You used to only be able to get Wildrose on tap, then they began to offer in in one litre bottles, and NOW IN REGULAR BOTTLES!!!! Velvet Fog is my fave, but the Brown is a very close second. Even people who don't like beer that much like Velvet Fog. Ohhhhhhhh, so delish.

Shopped today with the G-ma and got some christmas clothes, (well not actually christmassy clothing, but clothing for christmas), and had some delicious lunch at Mercato.

I decided to work at the golf course that I used to work at for New Year's since I'll make some good money. My friends Vanessa and Jess are working too, and it's pretty fun (besides the work part) so it's not like it's all bad... I never have the greatest time ever on New Year's, so I decided instead of spending lots of money for an okay time, I might as well make some moola and have fun with my girls.

That's pretty much the update... Basically just trying to take some time to enjoy my holidays and my time with Kristen! Then back to school. Boo.

Scarred for life...

...by my cat. Well hopefully not for life. But she scratched me, oh she scratched me good. It hurts. A lot. I have a deep one on my chin, then a light non-bloody scratch under my chin down my neck, then another deep one on my lower neck. I kind of look like I got attacked my a knife wielding vilain or something.

How could this cute adorable kitten, who comes to the door everytime I come home, who comes running when I call her, who keeps me company when I'm brushing me teeth, who sleeps on my chest with her head nestled on my shoulder do something so evil??? Well, it's because she's a cat. And as someone once said, cats don't have owners, they have staff. And I CLEARLY did something she was NOT pleased with. So naturally, I was punished.

J'ai fini!

Yahooo!!!!

No more school! (Until January 9, that is, when I start my VERY LAST SEMESTER OF UNIVERSITY!)

So on Saturday, I celebrated by making some caramel almond popcorn. Mmmmmmmmm. I saw it on Martha Stewart, and I just had to make it!

I toasted my own almonds, popped my own corn, made caramel from scratch... It was fun! (I even dropped my candy thermometre in the caramel... that was really fun too.)

You can find the recipe here.

That night I went to the Roadhouse with my girls Vanessa, Jess, Caroline, and Jess's friend Jenna, who was fun too! As always, we had a blast. But, the celebrations took their toll on my the next day, let me tell you! I was NOT feeling good the next morning. I think I'm getting too old for this club stuff. I think I'll lay off for a little bit.

That's a hot pose I've got going on... And Vanessa please don't kill me for putting this picture on here, because I know you don't like it, BUT you can find more and better pictures from the night here, so don't fret!

I didn't end up taking a picture of me dancing around like and idiot after finishing my last paper, but you can just picture it in your head... My stomach still hurts too much to dance around...

Tequila = Death.

Procrastination

This is me writing my paper.

(Other side of me writing my paper.)

This is me getting an idea and writing it down.

This is me realizing that it wasn't the greatest idea and now being stuck with nothing.

This is me sulking because I have more writing to do.

Stay tuned for me being finished and celebrating by dancing around like an idiot!

And to answer any questions, yes, I am that pale (except for when I'm drinking, because then I'm pretty red. Or when I'm working out, cause then I'm pretty red too)... but I like to think that my chins aren't that big... I think it's the camera angle... yeah, the camera angle.

Christmas tree?

My family has a sort of running joke surrounding christmas trees. My father like everything to be pretty much perfect. He has a fake tree, (a real looking one though), whith perfect lights and perfectly placed ornaments, with garlands around the whole house and (electric) candles in all the windows. He has a very beautiful "perfect" style christmasy house. My mum has different tastes. In her house, we have the chinese new year figurines, which are very neat and OLD. (I think they have been passed down for some time now, but I'm not sure.) We have lights on the bush outside, and the sweetest little reject of a tree ever. We used to make fun of my mum and her Charlie Brown christmas tree and we'd sometimes make her get a "good one", but over the years, we've come to love her poor little tree with sprawled lights and our home-made-in-kindergarden-ornaments. This year, the tree is actually quite full (normally it's pretty straggely), but, it's lacking in the height department.

I give you: the tree!

No, we do not have an abnormally tall chair and lamp... our tree is TINY!!! There aren't any decorations on it yet, but we just put the lights on it the other day. (and by "put the lights on it", I mean I litterally threw them over top of the tree and called it a day.) I especially like the care I took in camouflaging the cord leading up to the lights. It's very nice.

The funny part is that normally when we put the decos on it, the branches struggle to hold up the paper plate circle, and the (broken) egg shell with sequins and yarn glued to it. Everyone always makes fun of our poor little tree, and my mum always defends it saying "well someone has to love the little ones!". She's proud of our tree! As pathetic and meager as it is, it's ours!

Sad, Mad, Schocked, Blue...

I've had a very interesting day. I started the day with an e-mail from a friend telling me that an other one of our friends was in the ICU. He and I weren't super close (he is studying music at UVIC and has been for 3 years), but in high school we were friends, and we actually dated way back in Junior High. We chatted on MSN last week actually and he told me how he couldn't wait to see me when he was home for christmas. (He's actually the one who told me my eyes looked beautiful in the picture everyone hated.) So I guess he got into a skateboarding (or longboarding?) accident and he has a collapsed lung, and I think his skull is majorly fractured. I'm not really sure what else, but something like that. He is in a medically induced coma and they're slowly taking him off the meds. Apparently he's responding to reflex stuff, which is good... but really, they don't know about brain damage and stuff until he wakes up. Horrible. Like I mentioned before, he's studying music, and he's the most amazing musician... He has this raw talent on piano and trombone and he can play a jazz lic like no one else. That's the part that's scary to me... thinking about the possibility of him NOT having his musical talents when he starts recovery. So I'm looking for some pictures of us from when we were in school, because his mum is looking for some to show him to help with memory recovery. I hope I find some.

I went on with my day, since I had a meeting with a prof and then an exam... but all I could think about was him... I don't really know why this is affecting me so much, since we really haven't seen each other in over a year. But it really is... I can't understand it. I guess it's just weird to think of someone I used to be so close with, and who I just talked to, suddenly in a hospital and in a coma. It's really weird.

So whatever, I take my exam, it goes alright, then I call my friend (the one who informed me of his accident in the first place) and we talked a bit, then she tells me some MORE bad news, another guy we went to school with (she was much closer to him than I was) died last week from either an OD or a drug induced anurism (can't spell). This is the sad/mad part, since you just want to shake him for doing such a stupid thing, but he still died, and that's a tragedy. This isn't affecting me as much since we weren't too close, but it's still something that hurts people around me, and that's never fun.

Then I find out that my sister got a JOB which is SO exciting, and that makes me happy... but then I feel guilty for being happy when there's so much sad around me. I also have a shit load of homework still to do, so I have to concentrate.

Another thing that's bothering me is that this accident is affecting me so much, since like I said I haven't seen him in over a year. Why am I so sad about something that happened to someone I barely talk to? I don't know. I just am. Maybe I'm just remembering how close we used to be, or how he's the one who ALWAYS told me how beautiful I am, no matter who I was dating or who he was dating. Whenever I felt terrible or was having boyfriend troubles and felt bad about myself, he'd always say something so over-the-top mushy and cheeseball, but that still made me feel great about myself. I guess I have a right to be sad. No one can dictate my emotions, not even me!

Anyways, I'm happy about the whole happy part, and sad about the whole sad part, and apathetic about my homework situation. If I can make it through the week, I deserve a good night out to relax!

It's Monday

In case you were wondering what day it is.

I had my first exam today. It went well... I blabbed on for 8 and a half pages about how the two protagonists in two novels are similar and different in their ways to "climb the ladder of high society in Paris" blah blah blah... bored yet? You should be.

I went to the library because I found THE PERFECT BOOK for my spanish paper on learning and teaching strategies for different learning styles in the acquisition of a second language, but when I got to the library, the librarian told me that I couldn't have the book. Isn't that what a library is? THE LENDING OF BOOKS??? It's a 24 hour loan, which I accept, but she tells me "well if you're not in the class, you can't have it." First of all, she never asked me what class I was taking. (I'm NOT in the class, but still...) Secondly, OBVIOUSLY no one else wants it, otherwise it would be out, considering we're already into finals. Thirdly, no where does it say anywhere that you have to be in the class... it just says 24 hour loan. Why is it in the general library catalogue if you can only check it out if you're in the class? What a tease.

"I know it's for that particular class, but it's the perfect book for my paper, which is in a very similar class, but it's in Spanish, not Education. Couldn't I just take it home tonight and give it back tomorrow morning? Please?"

"NO."

"Okay, well can I take it now for a few minutes, and then come back tomorrow and have it for a couple of hours?"

"FINE. Give me your card." (snatches my card out of my hand and throws it back to me after scanning it)

"Thank you."

Five minutes later... she walks over to where I'm sitting.

"Are you done yet??????"

"Ummmm, no, not yet."

"Well you better bring it back when you're done."

"Okay... no problem." Despite what all those who know me are thinking, I actually was being nice to her.

So I barely got any time with the precious book, and for all I know someone will have it tomorrow. Some special "in the class" person who doesn't want it as much as I do. They won't appreciate the book, love the book, care for the book like I will. I NEED THAT BOOK!

I found another book (in the reject aka for regular people not special IN THE CLASS people), not NEARLY as perfect, and I brought it up to the counter and at first she ignored that I was standing there, then finally sighed and came over, examined the book, and then looked at me in the eyes and said "so what class is THIS one for?" What kind of question is that? Is there a rule that states that the librarians are allowed to interrogate each student who wants to check out a book? I told her that it was for the same class... it honestly took her 10 seconds to react and finally she snatched my card again and decided that I was worthy enough to check out the book. I totally don't get it.

Oh well. I better get that freaking book tomorrow.

NEW Picture

Well, the tribe voted... my picture was bad. I definitely hadn't thought of any of the things you thought of... I actually kind of liked that one. But now all I can see is evilness and maybe a lazy eye? And I always thought that I was my worst critic! Oh well, it serves me right for asking the internet what they thought of my picture.

I'm kind of dreading the whole wedding pictures thing. Now all I'll be able to think about it sucking in my chins and trying to look dead straight ahead (with both eyes) meanwhile trying not to look like I could make someone spontaneously combust if I try hard enough... Oh well, I have christmas to practice. And if all else fails, you can airbrush me right out of the pictures! (Or at least brush my chins down to one singular chin). No one mentioned the chins this time, but I've been taunted and haunted by them too many times before... I always tilt my head up slightly whenever I see a camera pointed my way. Luckily I'm not the ONLY one in the family who has chin(s) problems! Well I guess not luckily... but at least I'm not alone!

Tried to come up with a clever title -- It did not happen

I changed my picture. The one over there... you know... over there. (I'm moving my head in the direction of the picture.)

Is it just me, or do I look
a) extremely young
b) a little bit like my father
c) kinda chubby (which may contribute to option a)

Don't get me wrong, I like it. But I think I look a little hors de normale... (couldn't think of what that is in english... sorry for those who don't speak french. Seriously... what is that in english? Oh, never mind, it's not normal. that was kinda weird)

Anyways, that's my weird random post for the day... It's been a long one (the day, that is) so I'm feeling a little hors de normale.

Tuesday night dinner... and stuff

Last night I went to Kirsten's for Tuesday night dinner... sans the rest of the people that normally go... (aka Kristen, Jordan, and Devin). So, Kirsten (Jordan's sis), Nathan (their cousin), Taylor, Quinten (Kirsten's daughter and brand new son) and I had dinner, watched some TV, and ate ice cream! It was pretty nice. Nice to see them, since I haven't seen them since Kristen and Jordan moved away, and nice to be entertained by a 2 year old. Taylor was so funny, and SO MUCH MORE TALKATIVE! "Quin Quin crying!". SO cute.

So then I went home, and watched the Amazing Race. It was pretty good... I'm excited to see the finale! I don't really care who wins between the Bransens and the Linzes, but I really don't want the Weavers to win! Did anyone else notice that Phil's package looked kinda huge in the episode? In all of the little Phil moments, it seemed to really ZOOM IN on his package, and it seemed larger than normal... maybe it was just me. I don't know.

Then today, I had a final, which went alright... then I have lots of stuff to do until NEXT Friday, then I'm home FREE!!! I can't wait. I have SO much to do until then, but I'm trying to look ahead to the FREE part.

It seems like everyone around me is stressed... and it's stressing me out too. I don't like that feeling. Oh well... Soon it's over!

Cold & Annoyed

When I left my house this morning at 9:25, it was -6 degrees celsius and there was no wind. When I arrived at my parking lot, McMahon Stadium, at 9:35, it was about -25 with STRONG winds. I walked the 10 minute walk to my class with wind whipping harsh snow up into my face, and I was the coldest I've been ALL semester. I was very cold. Very very cold.

Also, my computer is being stupid again. I don't really know what's wrong with it, but if something happens and I loose all my papers, I think I might just throw something hard against the wall. (Yes, I did back them up... but only today after it was being stupid.)

I am annoyed.

Girly Day!

So my best bud Katie is going to her boyfriends "real person who works at a real company" Christmas Party. She asked me to help her with her hair and make-up, and since I LOVE doing stupid girl stuff like that, of course I said yes! So after a few tries and some major "I don't think so"s from her, this is what we ended up with! Fabulous!

Isn't she a knockout???

Here I am, not even showered.... lovely!

This is me going home... (notice her in sweats... she had a few more hours to kill before the party, so back in the sweats!)

World AIDS Day

Thanks K for reminding me that it is World AIDS Day. I too, will wear the virtual ribbon!