I've always thought that I'm a fairly observant person. I tend to notice little details that slip by other people. But more recently, I've started to notice that I might not be as observant as I might think. Or more accurately, I notice the tiny details, but the bigger picture might slip past me. A few incidents recently have been about branding.
For those who don't know, there is a bike share program in downtown Toronto. You can rent a bike for a couple of hours or the whole day and there are spots to pick up and drop off bikes just about every other block. The logo for the bike share program is two shades of green. And ever since I've been spending time in downtown Toronto (since last summer), I've thought that TD sponsored the program. Imagine my surprise last week when I was looking at the bike share stand more closely only to realize that TD is not mentioned anywhere. TD has got nothing to do with the bikes. I only thought that TD had something to do with it. Any guesses as to why? If you said because of the logo colour, you're right. My brain connected the shade of green of the bike share program to the colour of TD and assumed they were connected. It just goes to show the power of branding and the effect it can have on how we think about things. (Ever notice in Bell ads that every accent is blue?)
Not much going on for me other than work. I'm starting to get some more interesting things to do and my team is still as awesome as they were when I started. I've been practicing my hand lettering in the evenings and doing a fair bit of shopping. I'm finally fulfilling my dream of lots of summer dresses! I still can't cook meals for one. The apartment hunt is ongoing, but I'm going to see one tomorrow which I'm hopeful about. I'm excited for Emily to come back to Toronto, because I don't really have friends to hang out with right now. I'm planning on doing some baking tomorrow, and will probably take some into work, since I can't eat an entire batch of cookies by myself (let's not kid ourselves. I could easily eat a batch of cookies by myself. I just probably shouldn't).
Showing posts with label BFFLAAT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BFFLAAT. Show all posts
Tuesday, 30 May 2017
Monday, 30 January 2017
The Five Part Journey
I spent the past weekend in Toronto. It was lovely, up until precisely 5:39pm on Sunday evening. But I'll get to that in a bit.
Marissa and I wanted to see the Mystical Landscapes Exhibition at the AGO, so we took a trip to Toronto. I also took the opportunity to visit Emily and Alison. We arrived very late on Friday evening, so much so that we just chatted for a bit before heading to bed. On Saturday, Marissa and I went for brunch with her aunt at FRANK, the restaurant at the AGO. (Emily had brunch with her roommates and friends celebrating a belated birthday). The brunch at the AGO was lovely. I started with a pastry platter, which had two mini croissants with butter and jam and two mini chocolate croissants. For the main course we all had eggs benedict: a croissant with smoked trout, poached eggs, and hollandaise sauce with roast potatoes on the side. Marissa's aunt insisted on having dessert, so I had tiramisu gelato with a delicious caramel sauce and 'churro dust'. To top it all off, a lovely cup of tea.
We then met up with the others to see the exhibition. The exhibition had timed entry, so we looked around the rest of the AGO for a little bit before heading to the exhibition. The exhibition was advertised as "Mystical Landscapes: Monet, Van Gogh, and more". I was under the impression that it would be primarily Van Gogh and Monet, with some other artists. To my disappointment, it was the other way around: primarily other artists with a handful of Monets and two Van Goghs. Overall it was still a great exhibition; there were some paintings by Emily Carr and Paul Gauguin, who stayed with Van Gogh at one point. One of my favourite paintings was Crystal Castle in the Sea by Wenzel Hablik.
One of the Van Gogh paintings was Starry Night over the Rhone, which was on load from Musee D'Orsay. Which is where I had seen that painting for the first time. So now I've seen it twice (still just as good the second time around). The Monet paintings were some of his famous Rouen Cathedral paintings, some of which I had also seen before. I enjoyed the exhibition, but had been hoping to see more Van Gogh and Monet. And the audio guide was on the artistic interpretation side of things, whereas I prefer to hear about the facts of the painting.
After we finished the exhibition, we continued to look around the rest of the AGO. It's much bigger than I thought. And as with every gallery, very easy to lose track of where you are. I'm not sure if we actually saw everything or not. We did see most of it though. The last section we walked through was in the basement where they have the miniature boat models. Miniature is a relative term, some of the models were the size of kayaks. But all very impressive; the amount of detail on the models is astounding.
We then went out for dinner where I had chicken wonton nachos (very good) and stopped at Michaels to grab some supplies for a t-shirt making party we are having later this week. Then we headed back to Emily's apartment for a pit stop before Alison, Marissa and I went to see the Toronto Light Festival. It's a collection of light installations in the Distillery District. It was pretty neat and I got some cool pictures of some of them.
On Sunday we slept in and spent the afternoon at a board game cafe. We discovered a game called Codenames, which we all really enjoyed. I'd like to play it again in the future. At 4:30 we decided to head back to Emily's apartment so that Marissa and I could get ready to catch our train.
And this is where the weekend derails (no pun intended).
Our train back to Stratford leaves at 5:40pm. We leave Emily's apartment at 5:20. It's cutting it close, but Google says it's a 15min walk so I'm not too worried. But despite walking quickly the whole way there we arrive at the station at 5:38. Our train isn't listed on any of the screens around the station. Panicking, we ask the info desk where train 87 is leaving from.
Info Desk Attendant: Train 87? I don't know about a train 87! Where does that go??
She was less than helpful and was wasting valuable time. I go to a different desk and ask if they know where train 87 is boarding.
Info Desk Attendant #2: Oh, that's probably left already. *checks with someone on the walkie talkie* Yeah that train just left.
I know you're all thinking we should have given ourselves more time to get to the train station. That's probably true. But I would also like to state that the train left 2mins early. And Union station is a nightmare.
That was the last train to Stratford for the day, so we were not going back to Stratford by train Sunday evening. There were a few options:
1. Stay at Emily's another night and take the Monday morning train to Stratford and be late for class.
2. Somehow get to Waterloo and sleep at Marissa's parent's house and get a ride with a carpool to Stratford Monday morning.
3. Somehow get to Waterloo or London and get our parents to drive us to Stratford.
We decided to try #3 via Waterloo. Marissa called her mom to make sure this was a plan that could happen and we quickly got on the 6:00 GO bus to Mississauga, where we would switch GO buses at Square One and go to Waterloo from there. Neither of us are sure whether our presto cards have enough money on them to pay for the ticket. Mine had just enough; Marissa's did not. We think that we'll have to get off but turns out you can pay with cash (who knew?). I lend Marissa some cash and we're through. We get on the bus, and while still shaken, I'm glad we've figured out a way to get back to Stratford fairly quickly. Although, I had the issue of not having enough money on my presto card to pay for the second bus ticket.
Around 6:45, Marissa is not sure we're on the right bus because she doesn't recognize the route we're on. I check the map on my phone and sure enough, we are nowhere near Square One. We are on the edge of Mississauga and about to go to Milton. I suggest we get off, because Milton definitely is not where we want to be. At this point, we're both tired, cold, and desperately want to get home in one piece.
So I decide to call up Sheila, whom with which I stayed with over the summer. I asked if she would be willing to come pick us up and drive us to Square One, so that we could get on the next bus. Thankfully she wasn't doing anything and was willing to come rescue us. The drive from the edge of Mississauga to Square One was explaining to Sheila the night Marissa and I had had. When we arrive at Square One, we see the bus that we are supposed to be getting on to. Marissa and I decide that instead of rushing and potentially missing it, we'll wait for the next bus which comes in just under an hour. We grab dinner at the nearby Starbucks and buy tickets for the bus at a kiosk there.
Finally the bus arrives and we get on, this time sure that it is the right bus. It take just over an hour to us to get to Waterloo. The bus stops at the university; it was strange being back there. I haven't been there since second year. Entire buildings have gone up in the time I've been gone.
Marissa's mom met us there and drove us to Stratford. I have never before been so glad to see this apartment. I had intended on doing some school work Sunday evening because the train would've arrived in Stratford around 8pm. When we finally pulled up in front of our apartment, it was 10:30. I was going to bed.
That, my friends, was our five part journey. It will surely become something to laugh at in the future, but for now we're simply calling it a comedy of errors.
Marissa and I wanted to see the Mystical Landscapes Exhibition at the AGO, so we took a trip to Toronto. I also took the opportunity to visit Emily and Alison. We arrived very late on Friday evening, so much so that we just chatted for a bit before heading to bed. On Saturday, Marissa and I went for brunch with her aunt at FRANK, the restaurant at the AGO. (Emily had brunch with her roommates and friends celebrating a belated birthday). The brunch at the AGO was lovely. I started with a pastry platter, which had two mini croissants with butter and jam and two mini chocolate croissants. For the main course we all had eggs benedict: a croissant with smoked trout, poached eggs, and hollandaise sauce with roast potatoes on the side. Marissa's aunt insisted on having dessert, so I had tiramisu gelato with a delicious caramel sauce and 'churro dust'. To top it all off, a lovely cup of tea.
We then met up with the others to see the exhibition. The exhibition had timed entry, so we looked around the rest of the AGO for a little bit before heading to the exhibition. The exhibition was advertised as "Mystical Landscapes: Monet, Van Gogh, and more". I was under the impression that it would be primarily Van Gogh and Monet, with some other artists. To my disappointment, it was the other way around: primarily other artists with a handful of Monets and two Van Goghs. Overall it was still a great exhibition; there were some paintings by Emily Carr and Paul Gauguin, who stayed with Van Gogh at one point. One of my favourite paintings was Crystal Castle in the Sea by Wenzel Hablik.
After we finished the exhibition, we continued to look around the rest of the AGO. It's much bigger than I thought. And as with every gallery, very easy to lose track of where you are. I'm not sure if we actually saw everything or not. We did see most of it though. The last section we walked through was in the basement where they have the miniature boat models. Miniature is a relative term, some of the models were the size of kayaks. But all very impressive; the amount of detail on the models is astounding.
We then went out for dinner where I had chicken wonton nachos (very good) and stopped at Michaels to grab some supplies for a t-shirt making party we are having later this week. Then we headed back to Emily's apartment for a pit stop before Alison, Marissa and I went to see the Toronto Light Festival. It's a collection of light installations in the Distillery District. It was pretty neat and I got some cool pictures of some of them.
And this is where the weekend derails (no pun intended).
Our train back to Stratford leaves at 5:40pm. We leave Emily's apartment at 5:20. It's cutting it close, but Google says it's a 15min walk so I'm not too worried. But despite walking quickly the whole way there we arrive at the station at 5:38. Our train isn't listed on any of the screens around the station. Panicking, we ask the info desk where train 87 is leaving from.
Info Desk Attendant: Train 87? I don't know about a train 87! Where does that go??
She was less than helpful and was wasting valuable time. I go to a different desk and ask if they know where train 87 is boarding.
Info Desk Attendant #2: Oh, that's probably left already. *checks with someone on the walkie talkie* Yeah that train just left.
I know you're all thinking we should have given ourselves more time to get to the train station. That's probably true. But I would also like to state that the train left 2mins early. And Union station is a nightmare.
That was the last train to Stratford for the day, so we were not going back to Stratford by train Sunday evening. There were a few options:
1. Stay at Emily's another night and take the Monday morning train to Stratford and be late for class.
2. Somehow get to Waterloo and sleep at Marissa's parent's house and get a ride with a carpool to Stratford Monday morning.
3. Somehow get to Waterloo or London and get our parents to drive us to Stratford.
We decided to try #3 via Waterloo. Marissa called her mom to make sure this was a plan that could happen and we quickly got on the 6:00 GO bus to Mississauga, where we would switch GO buses at Square One and go to Waterloo from there. Neither of us are sure whether our presto cards have enough money on them to pay for the ticket. Mine had just enough; Marissa's did not. We think that we'll have to get off but turns out you can pay with cash (who knew?). I lend Marissa some cash and we're through. We get on the bus, and while still shaken, I'm glad we've figured out a way to get back to Stratford fairly quickly. Although, I had the issue of not having enough money on my presto card to pay for the second bus ticket.
Around 6:45, Marissa is not sure we're on the right bus because she doesn't recognize the route we're on. I check the map on my phone and sure enough, we are nowhere near Square One. We are on the edge of Mississauga and about to go to Milton. I suggest we get off, because Milton definitely is not where we want to be. At this point, we're both tired, cold, and desperately want to get home in one piece.
So I decide to call up Sheila, whom with which I stayed with over the summer. I asked if she would be willing to come pick us up and drive us to Square One, so that we could get on the next bus. Thankfully she wasn't doing anything and was willing to come rescue us. The drive from the edge of Mississauga to Square One was explaining to Sheila the night Marissa and I had had. When we arrive at Square One, we see the bus that we are supposed to be getting on to. Marissa and I decide that instead of rushing and potentially missing it, we'll wait for the next bus which comes in just under an hour. We grab dinner at the nearby Starbucks and buy tickets for the bus at a kiosk there.
Finally the bus arrives and we get on, this time sure that it is the right bus. It take just over an hour to us to get to Waterloo. The bus stops at the university; it was strange being back there. I haven't been there since second year. Entire buildings have gone up in the time I've been gone.
Marissa's mom met us there and drove us to Stratford. I have never before been so glad to see this apartment. I had intended on doing some school work Sunday evening because the train would've arrived in Stratford around 8pm. When we finally pulled up in front of our apartment, it was 10:30. I was going to bed.
That, my friends, was our five part journey. It will surely become something to laugh at in the future, but for now we're simply calling it a comedy of errors.
Monday, 7 November 2016
BFFLAATs Take TO: Take 4
The yearly tradition of me going to visit Emily (and now Alison) in Toronto for a weekend continues. I was able to stay for a little longer this year because I don't have school on Fridays. I arrived Thursday evening and we went to see Mariah Carey perform at the unveiling of The Bay holiday windows. There was a large crowd filling the street and we weren't sure where Mariah would be performing. We did manage to eventually worm our way further into the crowd, but we still couldn't see a stage. Mariah eventually came on stage after the Mayor of Toronto and CEO of Hudson's Bay Company spoke for a few minutes. We couldn't see her at all, but there was a screen that was projecting the whole thing. I did see her at one point when I jumped above the rest of the crowd and I caught a glimpse of her in her predictably red dress. Add Mariah Carey to the list of famous people I've seen with my own eyes.
On Friday we went to Snakes and Lattes Board Game Cafe. It took us a while to walk there, but it was worth it. They have so many different games. We played one called Sushi Go Party, which once we got the hang of it, was a lot of fun. It's a card based game by Gamewright, whose games I've played before and enjoyed. We played a number of games and ended up staying at the cafe for the whole afternoon. We headed home and made dinner (pasta with a rose meat sauce - very delicious) with our friend Justine. It was really good to be able to see her again.
Saturday morning I took on the role of model for Emily's roommate, Nicola. She was doing a photography assignment on lighting and needed a model, so I was assigned to the role. It was a lot of fun, and also something I'm not keen to do again. It feels great to have your photo taken and to have the fancy lights and reflectors, but staying in the same pose for an hour at a time or trying to recreate a pose multiple times get tiring. For one position, I was leaning all of my weight on my crossed leg and I promptly lost all feeling in my lower leg. I could touch my foot and I didn't feel anything. When we were done it took me 5mins to try and get feeling back in my foot again. I can't wait to see the photos though. I'm sure Nicola made me look much better than I usually do.
After the photoshoot was done, we headed to a cafe that made #freakshakes, which are these milkshakes that have entire desserts perched on top of them. I got a surprise version, which came with a chocolate milkshake topped with Nutella, whip cream, a mini cupcake, two powdered donuts and lots of sprinkles. They also offered a version which came with a full size donut and a fudgsicle on top. On the way to the cafe we stopped in this store that has a bunch of random props everywhere, including these absolutely massive picture frames. It was a really neat store to look around in.
For dinner we went to a pub type restaurant across from the movie theatre, where we each got poutine. Alison got a popcorn chicken poutine, Emily got a smoked brisket poutine, and I got the poutine sampler which came with the standard poutine, the popcorn chicken poutine, and a pulled pork poutine. It was delicious.
Of course, the tradition of the visit to Toronto is to see the next Hunger Games movie. Unfortunately those are finished now, so we found another movie with a November premiere date that we all wanted to see. Thus, after we finished dinner we crossed the road to the theatre to see Doctor Strange. It was a really good movie, and pretty different from other Marvel movies. But they still managed to tie it into the MCU. And I'm very happy to hear that Doctor Strange will be making appearances in future Marvel movies.
I had to leave fairly early on Sunday morning to come back to Stratford, so Emily made pancakes for breakfast and I was off. I got a ride with my friend Mara, so the ride was much more enjoyable than riding public transit. I ended up going skating at one of the Stratford arenas in the evening with a couple of guys from GBDA. It cost $5 which might be a bit much for skating, but it was enjoyable. I'm not quite at the level of skating as the guys I was skating with (they both play hockey), so at the beginning we were spread out on the rink. After a while we were starting to tire, so we just started doing laps together and chatting. There were only 6 other people on the ice, so there was lots of space. It was an adults only skate as well, so there wasn't any kids which was nice. It was good exercise. I set a new record on my Misfit (fitness tracker). The way the misfit works is you get points based on how much you move. It's approximately one point for 100 steps, but if you're doing something more intense than walking, you get more points. Unfortunately, I think some things got mixed up with the time change, so things aren't registering correctly. But I reached my daily goal of 600 points with just the skating.
A very busy and enjoyable weekend!
On Friday we went to Snakes and Lattes Board Game Cafe. It took us a while to walk there, but it was worth it. They have so many different games. We played one called Sushi Go Party, which once we got the hang of it, was a lot of fun. It's a card based game by Gamewright, whose games I've played before and enjoyed. We played a number of games and ended up staying at the cafe for the whole afternoon. We headed home and made dinner (pasta with a rose meat sauce - very delicious) with our friend Justine. It was really good to be able to see her again.
Saturday morning I took on the role of model for Emily's roommate, Nicola. She was doing a photography assignment on lighting and needed a model, so I was assigned to the role. It was a lot of fun, and also something I'm not keen to do again. It feels great to have your photo taken and to have the fancy lights and reflectors, but staying in the same pose for an hour at a time or trying to recreate a pose multiple times get tiring. For one position, I was leaning all of my weight on my crossed leg and I promptly lost all feeling in my lower leg. I could touch my foot and I didn't feel anything. When we were done it took me 5mins to try and get feeling back in my foot again. I can't wait to see the photos though. I'm sure Nicola made me look much better than I usually do.
After the photoshoot was done, we headed to a cafe that made #freakshakes, which are these milkshakes that have entire desserts perched on top of them. I got a surprise version, which came with a chocolate milkshake topped with Nutella, whip cream, a mini cupcake, two powdered donuts and lots of sprinkles. They also offered a version which came with a full size donut and a fudgsicle on top. On the way to the cafe we stopped in this store that has a bunch of random props everywhere, including these absolutely massive picture frames. It was a really neat store to look around in.
For dinner we went to a pub type restaurant across from the movie theatre, where we each got poutine. Alison got a popcorn chicken poutine, Emily got a smoked brisket poutine, and I got the poutine sampler which came with the standard poutine, the popcorn chicken poutine, and a pulled pork poutine. It was delicious.
Of course, the tradition of the visit to Toronto is to see the next Hunger Games movie. Unfortunately those are finished now, so we found another movie with a November premiere date that we all wanted to see. Thus, after we finished dinner we crossed the road to the theatre to see Doctor Strange. It was a really good movie, and pretty different from other Marvel movies. But they still managed to tie it into the MCU. And I'm very happy to hear that Doctor Strange will be making appearances in future Marvel movies.
I had to leave fairly early on Sunday morning to come back to Stratford, so Emily made pancakes for breakfast and I was off. I got a ride with my friend Mara, so the ride was much more enjoyable than riding public transit. I ended up going skating at one of the Stratford arenas in the evening with a couple of guys from GBDA. It cost $5 which might be a bit much for skating, but it was enjoyable. I'm not quite at the level of skating as the guys I was skating with (they both play hockey), so at the beginning we were spread out on the rink. After a while we were starting to tire, so we just started doing laps together and chatting. There were only 6 other people on the ice, so there was lots of space. It was an adults only skate as well, so there wasn't any kids which was nice. It was good exercise. I set a new record on my Misfit (fitness tracker). The way the misfit works is you get points based on how much you move. It's approximately one point for 100 steps, but if you're doing something more intense than walking, you get more points. Unfortunately, I think some things got mixed up with the time change, so things aren't registering correctly. But I reached my daily goal of 600 points with just the skating.
A very busy and enjoyable weekend!
Friday, 14 October 2016
Christmas Countdown
In case you don't follow me on other social media, I recently discovered that there are exactly 100 days between my birthday and Christmas. As I have a fondness of counting down the days to Christmas, I was A) happily surprised by the coincidence and B) shocked that it took me 21 years to figure that little connection out. (In case you were wondering, there are 71 days till Christmas.)
I don't have any exams this term, so I'm going to be done school on December 5th. I'll have almost exactly a month off, and I'm quite looking forward to it. I have many plans, most of which involve some form of creativity. I'm hoping to work on two quilts. My friend asked me to make a quilt out of t-shirts she doesn't want to throw out, but doesn't want to wear. The other is a quilt that I've been putting off for about 5 years, for a lady at church. That quilt will be much more time consuming and difficult than the t-shirt quilt (hence why I've been putting it off).
And of course, I'll continue my tradition of making a gingerbread house from scratch. I'm thinking of doing a gingerbread train this year. I feel like there's a lot of potential with things that you can put in the carriages of the train.
Back to reality, I had 6hrs of class today. This was particularly harsh because I usually have Fridays off. The timetable this week was messed up because of two 'reading week days'. I'm not feeling too stressed about schoolwork this term so far. It definitely helps that I'm only taking two courses. One course is worth 4 credits, so I have the workload of 5 courses. But only having to worry about assignments, groups, and due dates for two courses instead of five is making it easier.
I am hoping to get some 3D printing done this weekend. I'm currently printing 3D tiles for the board game Settlers of Catan. I've done one so far and it turned out really well, so I'm hoping to print one for each resource by the end of the term. I'm also tweaking a keychain I made last year. Interestingly enough, a friend asked if I would print some #GBDA keychains for her this weekend - she wants 6! I'm happy to do it, but you can only print one thing at a time and 3D printing is a long process (a Settlers of Catan tile takes ~3hrs). So we'll see how it goes. At least once you've started the printing, you don't have to do anything till it's done. I might be spending a lot of time on campus this weekend. But to be honest, I don't mind it. There's hardly ever anyone there on the weekend, so you basically have the building to yourself. And now that they have massive beanbag chairs, it can even be comfortable :) I'll set my laptop up and watch the last couple episodes of Stranger Things.
Until next time!
369. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?
Ever since Emily went to New Zealand, I've been wanting to go! So New Zealand. #screwschool
I don't have any exams this term, so I'm going to be done school on December 5th. I'll have almost exactly a month off, and I'm quite looking forward to it. I have many plans, most of which involve some form of creativity. I'm hoping to work on two quilts. My friend asked me to make a quilt out of t-shirts she doesn't want to throw out, but doesn't want to wear. The other is a quilt that I've been putting off for about 5 years, for a lady at church. That quilt will be much more time consuming and difficult than the t-shirt quilt (hence why I've been putting it off).
And of course, I'll continue my tradition of making a gingerbread house from scratch. I'm thinking of doing a gingerbread train this year. I feel like there's a lot of potential with things that you can put in the carriages of the train.
Back to reality, I had 6hrs of class today. This was particularly harsh because I usually have Fridays off. The timetable this week was messed up because of two 'reading week days'. I'm not feeling too stressed about schoolwork this term so far. It definitely helps that I'm only taking two courses. One course is worth 4 credits, so I have the workload of 5 courses. But only having to worry about assignments, groups, and due dates for two courses instead of five is making it easier.
I am hoping to get some 3D printing done this weekend. I'm currently printing 3D tiles for the board game Settlers of Catan. I've done one so far and it turned out really well, so I'm hoping to print one for each resource by the end of the term. I'm also tweaking a keychain I made last year. Interestingly enough, a friend asked if I would print some #GBDA keychains for her this weekend - she wants 6! I'm happy to do it, but you can only print one thing at a time and 3D printing is a long process (a Settlers of Catan tile takes ~3hrs). So we'll see how it goes. At least once you've started the printing, you don't have to do anything till it's done. I might be spending a lot of time on campus this weekend. But to be honest, I don't mind it. There's hardly ever anyone there on the weekend, so you basically have the building to yourself. And now that they have massive beanbag chairs, it can even be comfortable :) I'll set my laptop up and watch the last couple episodes of Stranger Things.
Until next time!
369. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?
Ever since Emily went to New Zealand, I've been wanting to go! So New Zealand. #screwschool
Saturday, 6 June 2015
350. Where is your best friend?
Toronto.
351. What were you doing last night at 12am?
Trying to fall asleep.
352. Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend?
If this is to mean would I want a friend with the same personality as myself, I would say no because as a quiet person, us hanging out would just be a lot of awkward silence, I think. But in terms of what I do for my friends and the effort I put into my friendships, yeah I would have myself as a friend. I am not the one to suggest hanging out often, being an introvert, so I would be okay with that. I don't know. This is too much thinking for my tired brain.
353. You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you that if you are late one more time you're fired. What do you do?
For the record, I think punctuality is key so would never be in the situation of late-one-more-time-and-you're-fired. That aside, I would keep walking and not save the dog.
Toronto.
351. What were you doing last night at 12am?
Trying to fall asleep.
352. Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend?
If this is to mean would I want a friend with the same personality as myself, I would say no because as a quiet person, us hanging out would just be a lot of awkward silence, I think. But in terms of what I do for my friends and the effort I put into my friendships, yeah I would have myself as a friend. I am not the one to suggest hanging out often, being an introvert, so I would be okay with that. I don't know. This is too much thinking for my tired brain.
353. You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you that if you are late one more time you're fired. What do you do?
For the record, I think punctuality is key so would never be in the situation of late-one-more-time-and-you're-fired. That aside, I would keep walking and not save the dog.
Tuesday, 26 May 2015
A Peek Into the Life of a Food Service Director
I suppose it's been awhile. My go-to thing to do when I'm bored isn't blogging any more...now it's usually reading or Netflix :) But I finished my book and you can only watch so much Netflix at a time, so here I am (also I was told to by a certain BFFLAAT).
This past week at camp was hard and tiring, especially at the end. We had our first school group, Matthews Hall from London. Then we had a couple days with just the staff before a youth group retreat came up for the weekend. I screwed up two times: the first was with Matthews Hall. We made roast beef, but not enough. I panicked and was sitting on the floor of the kitchen not sure what to do. I just froze. Luckily, Nola, my kitchen partner (and debatable more-kitchen-abled) did not panic and/or freeze like I did, and started thinking of a solution. Aaron also helped, which surprised me a bit. It's taken me a while to get used to the fact that he's the go-to person in charge right now, not Reagan. Aaron was the one who convinced me to get off the floor and find a solution. Everybody at Matthews Hall had eaten but the staff had not, so we made chicken tacos for them. They were all very understanding and didn't get mad (at least to my face), but I was still beating myself up for it, and was for a couple days. And of course after that I was nervous every time I figured out quantities because I didn't want to screw up again. Everything was going fine until I screwed up again: this time with the youth group retreat over the weekend. We were having tacos/fajitas/whatever you want to call them for lunch and we ran out of ground beef (clearly beef is not my strong point. Probably in part because we don't order it through Flanagans and is really expensive). So we made more chicken (the chicken we use at camp is already diced and fully cooked, so makes for an easy prep). At least that time I think everybody, except for a few stragglers, had eaten and people just wanted seconds. I dealt with that situation much more professionally than the first. Nola and I didn't end up eating until 2pm. Aaron had gone to town when the beef ran out, and he bought me a sub from subway :)
And then Saturday afternoon happened. Most people don't know about this, because it all happened in the kitchen, and not around meal times. Nola and I were in the kitchen, trying to increase the amount of chilli we had prepared for dinner. We were adding beans and veggies and all forms of tomato: diced, sauce, paste. We even debated adding condensed tomato soup (that didn't end up happening). Now keep in mind that Nola and I had been in the kitchen since before 7 that morning. All of this is being added to a huge pot - easily a diameter wider than my shoulder width and as tall as my torso. We weren't sure how many people it would feed, and there were 160 of us that needed to eat. So we start lining up ladles along the edges and sides of the pot to try and figure out how many servings we
could get out of this thing. We even took a picture to send to Catherine to see what she thought.
(this picture does not do the size of the pot justice)
We had a range of guesses, ranging from 75 to 114. Regardless, not enough to feed everyone. So we start whipping up another pot of chilli. We cooked some more ground beef, start grabbing veggies and all our cans of tomatoes in various forms. The only problem is, we used so many of our cans of tomatoes and beans on the first pot trying to bulk it up that there wasn't many left for this second pot. So we added in all that we had, and it still wasn't tomato-y enough to be considered "chilli". So I start looking up how to make homemade tomato sauce because we have a box of tomatoes in the fridge. I had never before peeled a tomato, and I don't think I ever will again, but it was interesting at the time. Needless to say I did not have the 90 mins to let it simmer on the stove and added it straight into the pot.
So there we were, Nola and I on our step-stool (because the pots are so tall), using wooden juice paddles to stir the pots of chilli (because nothing else was long enough to reach the bottom of the pot), and the sanity had left the building. We said that we didn't have any sanity left, because it was a key ingredient in the chilli. There were also multiple mentions of leaving camp and never coming back.
When it was dinner time, we had to ask two of the guys on staff to move the pot because all Nola and I could do was nudge it in circles on the stovetop. We had managed to created almost another full pot of chilli. I knew that was really too much, but I had been told by Aaron, from Tyler, to "make enough, and don't worry about leftovers". Well Tyler, it's hard not to when you still haven't given me a budget. (As a result, I've decided that if this special meal deal* that Nola and I are doing for the staff goes over budget, camp will step in and cover the rest). Aaron came up to me and asked how it was going, as he has made the habit of doing around meal times, and all I had to say to him was "If they eat both pots of chilli, I'm handing in my two weeks notice**". And I wasn't even completely joking. Aaron, having not yet seen the pots of chilli, said "Don't say that!" I just walked away. He walks into the kitchen, where Em was because she was helping prep dinner, and sees the pots of chilli and goes "Whoooooooooooa..." Em then says something along the lines of 'that's why she's threatening to hand in her two weeks' because THERE IS A RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF CHILLI.
Dinner starts, and the buffet line starts moving. I keep checking up on the pot of chilli and it seems to be going down at a reasonable amount. Everybody has gone through the line; people start coming back for seconds (more for the homemade buns than the chilli). Nola and I approach the pot. The bottom has just been exposed. We fed all 160 people. With one pot of chilli. I couldn't even get angry because I was just so done with everything. So the camp freezer currently holds a pot of chilli large enough to feed over 100 people.
And still we were not done. There was popcorn for a late night snack, and while popcorn is easy to make, it is very time consuming. My day did not get any better when Aaron said that instead of 9:40, the group wanted their snack bumped to 10:15. Nola and I were joined by Rebecca in making popcorn and putting it into paper bags to be handed out. We started right after dinner, and finished around 9:30. And we missed the fireworks that the group was letting off at the beach. I later found out that the spring staff had taken group pictures down at the beach after the fireworks, so I was bummed that I had missed out on that. At the final count, Nola and I had been in the kitchen for over 16hrs straight.
On Sunday, everything went fine food wise, but then we had cleaning to do. Clean up takes a long time, and people just want to go home, so it's always a rough process. Aaron was helping, which I appreciated because I would peg him as the kind of guy to disappear until everything was cleaned. But the thing that really got me down was that the debrief meeting that we always have after a group leaves was held while people were still cleaning in the kitchen. I know I wasn't missing much, because we just discuss how we felt the retreat went, but I felt really left out. Especially after that weekend, where I had hardly any time to relax and hang out with people.
I know that some exclusion comes from working in the kitchen - that was a lesson I learned last year - but I never felt as left out as I did on Sunday while cleaning up and leaving. I understand why the meeting happened when it did, people were done cleaning and wanted to go home. But I felt like I hadn't talked or even sat down with someone other than Nola in days. People come by to help prep or clean up, but I can't really relax and chat with them then. I can't even talk to people during meals because during the meal we have to watch the buffet and replace food when it runs out. By the time Nola and I are eating, everyone else is already done and gone. Often we just end up eating on the counters in the kitchen because there's no longer any reason to go eat somewhere else. I'm going to mention it to Reagan, because I feel like I need to tell someone about how the meeting didn't happen when all the staff were present. And I just also need to get it off my chest, which this has helped with a bit. Hopefully this upcoming week is better.
*The Special Meal Deal: in hindsight, probably a bad idea on my part in terms of stress and extra work required, but hopefully it works out. Nola and I came up with this because the meals that the spring staff have together alone are dwindling quickly. We pitched to the staff that if they each brought in $3, then we (Nola and I) would make them a meal of their choosing that is not limited by camp's (non-existant) budget or food/ingredients, for a dinner this coming week where it's just spring staff. They were all for it, and so this Friday dinner will include guacamole, chicken breasts with goat cheese, stir fry and some sort of dessert (Nola wants to make cheesecake).
**Handing in our two weeks notice has become something of a joke between a handful of us at camp. A couple weeks ago Em, Aaron and I were chatting about the changes at camp that we didn't like/agree with. We were jokingly threatening to hand in our two weeks notice of quitting our jobs. We all agreed that if one of us did it, the others would. We then went to see Reagan and told her about this. I asked her what she'd do, and without missing a beat she said "I'd hand in mine as well." :D
This past week at camp was hard and tiring, especially at the end. We had our first school group, Matthews Hall from London. Then we had a couple days with just the staff before a youth group retreat came up for the weekend. I screwed up two times: the first was with Matthews Hall. We made roast beef, but not enough. I panicked and was sitting on the floor of the kitchen not sure what to do. I just froze. Luckily, Nola, my kitchen partner (and debatable more-kitchen-abled) did not panic and/or freeze like I did, and started thinking of a solution. Aaron also helped, which surprised me a bit. It's taken me a while to get used to the fact that he's the go-to person in charge right now, not Reagan. Aaron was the one who convinced me to get off the floor and find a solution. Everybody at Matthews Hall had eaten but the staff had not, so we made chicken tacos for them. They were all very understanding and didn't get mad (at least to my face), but I was still beating myself up for it, and was for a couple days. And of course after that I was nervous every time I figured out quantities because I didn't want to screw up again. Everything was going fine until I screwed up again: this time with the youth group retreat over the weekend. We were having tacos/fajitas/whatever you want to call them for lunch and we ran out of ground beef (clearly beef is not my strong point. Probably in part because we don't order it through Flanagans and is really expensive). So we made more chicken (the chicken we use at camp is already diced and fully cooked, so makes for an easy prep). At least that time I think everybody, except for a few stragglers, had eaten and people just wanted seconds. I dealt with that situation much more professionally than the first. Nola and I didn't end up eating until 2pm. Aaron had gone to town when the beef ran out, and he bought me a sub from subway :)
And then Saturday afternoon happened. Most people don't know about this, because it all happened in the kitchen, and not around meal times. Nola and I were in the kitchen, trying to increase the amount of chilli we had prepared for dinner. We were adding beans and veggies and all forms of tomato: diced, sauce, paste. We even debated adding condensed tomato soup (that didn't end up happening). Now keep in mind that Nola and I had been in the kitchen since before 7 that morning. All of this is being added to a huge pot - easily a diameter wider than my shoulder width and as tall as my torso. We weren't sure how many people it would feed, and there were 160 of us that needed to eat. So we start lining up ladles along the edges and sides of the pot to try and figure out how many servings we
could get out of this thing. We even took a picture to send to Catherine to see what she thought.
We had a range of guesses, ranging from 75 to 114. Regardless, not enough to feed everyone. So we start whipping up another pot of chilli. We cooked some more ground beef, start grabbing veggies and all our cans of tomatoes in various forms. The only problem is, we used so many of our cans of tomatoes and beans on the first pot trying to bulk it up that there wasn't many left for this second pot. So we added in all that we had, and it still wasn't tomato-y enough to be considered "chilli". So I start looking up how to make homemade tomato sauce because we have a box of tomatoes in the fridge. I had never before peeled a tomato, and I don't think I ever will again, but it was interesting at the time. Needless to say I did not have the 90 mins to let it simmer on the stove and added it straight into the pot.
So there we were, Nola and I on our step-stool (because the pots are so tall), using wooden juice paddles to stir the pots of chilli (because nothing else was long enough to reach the bottom of the pot), and the sanity had left the building. We said that we didn't have any sanity left, because it was a key ingredient in the chilli. There were also multiple mentions of leaving camp and never coming back.
When it was dinner time, we had to ask two of the guys on staff to move the pot because all Nola and I could do was nudge it in circles on the stovetop. We had managed to created almost another full pot of chilli. I knew that was really too much, but I had been told by Aaron, from Tyler, to "make enough, and don't worry about leftovers". Well Tyler, it's hard not to when you still haven't given me a budget. (As a result, I've decided that if this special meal deal* that Nola and I are doing for the staff goes over budget, camp will step in and cover the rest). Aaron came up to me and asked how it was going, as he has made the habit of doing around meal times, and all I had to say to him was "If they eat both pots of chilli, I'm handing in my two weeks notice**". And I wasn't even completely joking. Aaron, having not yet seen the pots of chilli, said "Don't say that!" I just walked away. He walks into the kitchen, where Em was because she was helping prep dinner, and sees the pots of chilli and goes "Whoooooooooooa..." Em then says something along the lines of 'that's why she's threatening to hand in her two weeks' because THERE IS A RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF CHILLI.
Dinner starts, and the buffet line starts moving. I keep checking up on the pot of chilli and it seems to be going down at a reasonable amount. Everybody has gone through the line; people start coming back for seconds (more for the homemade buns than the chilli). Nola and I approach the pot. The bottom has just been exposed. We fed all 160 people. With one pot of chilli. I couldn't even get angry because I was just so done with everything. So the camp freezer currently holds a pot of chilli large enough to feed over 100 people.
And still we were not done. There was popcorn for a late night snack, and while popcorn is easy to make, it is very time consuming. My day did not get any better when Aaron said that instead of 9:40, the group wanted their snack bumped to 10:15. Nola and I were joined by Rebecca in making popcorn and putting it into paper bags to be handed out. We started right after dinner, and finished around 9:30. And we missed the fireworks that the group was letting off at the beach. I later found out that the spring staff had taken group pictures down at the beach after the fireworks, so I was bummed that I had missed out on that. At the final count, Nola and I had been in the kitchen for over 16hrs straight.
On Sunday, everything went fine food wise, but then we had cleaning to do. Clean up takes a long time, and people just want to go home, so it's always a rough process. Aaron was helping, which I appreciated because I would peg him as the kind of guy to disappear until everything was cleaned. But the thing that really got me down was that the debrief meeting that we always have after a group leaves was held while people were still cleaning in the kitchen. I know I wasn't missing much, because we just discuss how we felt the retreat went, but I felt really left out. Especially after that weekend, where I had hardly any time to relax and hang out with people.
I know that some exclusion comes from working in the kitchen - that was a lesson I learned last year - but I never felt as left out as I did on Sunday while cleaning up and leaving. I understand why the meeting happened when it did, people were done cleaning and wanted to go home. But I felt like I hadn't talked or even sat down with someone other than Nola in days. People come by to help prep or clean up, but I can't really relax and chat with them then. I can't even talk to people during meals because during the meal we have to watch the buffet and replace food when it runs out. By the time Nola and I are eating, everyone else is already done and gone. Often we just end up eating on the counters in the kitchen because there's no longer any reason to go eat somewhere else. I'm going to mention it to Reagan, because I feel like I need to tell someone about how the meeting didn't happen when all the staff were present. And I just also need to get it off my chest, which this has helped with a bit. Hopefully this upcoming week is better.
*The Special Meal Deal: in hindsight, probably a bad idea on my part in terms of stress and extra work required, but hopefully it works out. Nola and I came up with this because the meals that the spring staff have together alone are dwindling quickly. We pitched to the staff that if they each brought in $3, then we (Nola and I) would make them a meal of their choosing that is not limited by camp's (non-existant) budget or food/ingredients, for a dinner this coming week where it's just spring staff. They were all for it, and so this Friday dinner will include guacamole, chicken breasts with goat cheese, stir fry and some sort of dessert (Nola wants to make cheesecake).
**Handing in our two weeks notice has become something of a joke between a handful of us at camp. A couple weeks ago Em, Aaron and I were chatting about the changes at camp that we didn't like/agree with. We were jokingly threatening to hand in our two weeks notice of quitting our jobs. We all agreed that if one of us did it, the others would. We then went to see Reagan and told her about this. I asked her what she'd do, and without missing a beat she said "I'd hand in mine as well." :D
Saturday, 3 January 2015
I'm Back
Today was the ideal day to relax and go to bed early and get a good nights sleep. And so obviously I blew it. It's harder and harder to go to bed early, even if I want to. I'm back in Waterloo now, because I have training all day tomorrow for being an International Peer Mentor this semester. It's one of the requirements to get the Global Experience Certificate, which I'm going for. It will be interesting to see how it goes, because I am not the most outgoing person and I've never before attempted to communicate with someone who doesn't know English.
Coming back to Waterloo was easier than I was expecting. I was thinking that I would have to get used to my apartment all over again, but I slipped right back into my routine here, which is nice. I'm the only one back so far. My two friends are supposed to arrive tomorrow. The other two roommates I had last term are on co-op this term so I will be getting two new roommates. Well, one of them didn't find a subletter, so there might only be 4 of us in the apartment for a while. That would be nice, just to not have so many people in such a small space.
Well, here's to hoping this year, and more specifically, this term, goes well!
I'm listening to Songza's Reddit 100 Most Beautiful Songs.
298. Do you want your friends to respond to this?
Getting comments is one of my favourite things.
299. Who is most likely to respond to a text from you?
Definitely not my Dad. Probably my BFFLAAT. Or my mom.
300(!). Who is least likely to respond to a text from you?
Ha! My dad ;)
Coming back to Waterloo was easier than I was expecting. I was thinking that I would have to get used to my apartment all over again, but I slipped right back into my routine here, which is nice. I'm the only one back so far. My two friends are supposed to arrive tomorrow. The other two roommates I had last term are on co-op this term so I will be getting two new roommates. Well, one of them didn't find a subletter, so there might only be 4 of us in the apartment for a while. That would be nice, just to not have so many people in such a small space.
Well, here's to hoping this year, and more specifically, this term, goes well!
I'm listening to Songza's Reddit 100 Most Beautiful Songs.
298. Do you want your friends to respond to this?
Getting comments is one of my favourite things.
299. Who is most likely to respond to a text from you?
Definitely not my Dad. Probably my BFFLAAT. Or my mom.
300(!). Who is least likely to respond to a text from you?
Ha! My dad ;)
Saturday, 8 November 2014
Homecooked Meals For the Win
I feel bad for the students who are living off fast food and premade frozen meals because I just had a PC indian butter chicken frozen meal.
And.
It.
Sucked.
I was supposed to have spaghetti and meatballs, but I forgot to take the sauce out of the freezer, so I had this frozen dinner that I only bought cause it was on sale. And how badly I would have preferred the spaghetti and meatballs, you'll never know.
This weekend has been incredibly unproductive in terms of school work. Although I have made big progress on my various study abroad forms. I've decided that my first choice school is the University of Leeds. I'm really excited, now that most of the stress of all the forms is mostly out of the way. Also, I can't get over how fast time is moving. Like, another week is gone already. Each day comes and is it's own, but then BAM it's the weekend again and I'm just over here like damn where did the time go. And I keep looking at my list of things that I need to do and how I'm ignoring every single one of them. I'm pretty sure at about 8pm tonight I'll suddenly get this panic and I'll work till midnight (hopefully. I'm kind of banking on that happening so that today isn't completely unproductive).
275. Something that's worrying me right now
(LOL) Um, my lack of productiveness this weekend.
276. tumblr friends
No one.
277. Description of my best friend.
- funny
- beautiful
- caring
- loving
- creative
- giving
- supportive
- loves me for me
- honest
- makes me smile
- fashionable
- intelligent
- genuine
- my RDJ-loving partner
- there for me
- encouraging
- imaginative
- ambitious
- friendly
- happy
- outgoing
- an independent woman THAT DON'T NEED NO MAN
- encouraging
- talkitive ;)
- basically the coolest person I know
- aka my BFFLAAT 8D
And.
It.
Sucked.
I was supposed to have spaghetti and meatballs, but I forgot to take the sauce out of the freezer, so I had this frozen dinner that I only bought cause it was on sale. And how badly I would have preferred the spaghetti and meatballs, you'll never know.
This weekend has been incredibly unproductive in terms of school work. Although I have made big progress on my various study abroad forms. I've decided that my first choice school is the University of Leeds. I'm really excited, now that most of the stress of all the forms is mostly out of the way. Also, I can't get over how fast time is moving. Like, another week is gone already. Each day comes and is it's own, but then BAM it's the weekend again and I'm just over here like damn where did the time go. And I keep looking at my list of things that I need to do and how I'm ignoring every single one of them. I'm pretty sure at about 8pm tonight I'll suddenly get this panic and I'll work till midnight (hopefully. I'm kind of banking on that happening so that today isn't completely unproductive).
275. Something that's worrying me right now
(LOL) Um, my lack of productiveness this weekend.
276. tumblr friends
No one.
277. Description of my best friend.
- funny
- beautiful
- caring
- loving
- creative
- giving
- supportive
- loves me for me
- honest
- makes me smile
- fashionable
- intelligent
- genuine
- my RDJ-loving partner
- there for me
- encouraging
- imaginative
- ambitious
- friendly
- happy
- outgoing
- an independent woman THAT DON'T NEED NO MAN
- encouraging
- talkitive ;)
- basically the coolest person I know
- aka my BFFLAAT 8D
Monday, 26 May 2014
Camp has been really good. Tiring, but I've really enjoyed being up there. And I really like being in the kitchen. A couple days ago I had some time where I wasn't supposed to be doing anything, and I thought to myself, "I don't know what to do with myself." Our schedule is pretty packed, and is only going to be more so starting next week.
176. Last person you talked to today?
My mom.
177. Name a person you hate?
I don't hate anyone, really.
178. Name a person you love?
Nobody romantically, but I love my BFFLAAT :)
179. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now?
What kind of question is this? I'll punch the person that asked this question!
180. In a fight with someone?
Really, who is asking these questions? No, I am not.
181. How many sweatpants do you have?
This is another stupid question in a completely different way. 3.
182. How many hoodies/sweaters do you have?
I don't know off the top of my head (who does?) but definitely more than 10.
176. Last person you talked to today?
My mom.
177. Name a person you hate?
I don't hate anyone, really.
178. Name a person you love?
Nobody romantically, but I love my BFFLAAT :)
179. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now?
What kind of question is this? I'll punch the person that asked this question!
180. In a fight with someone?
Really, who is asking these questions? No, I am not.
181. How many sweatpants do you have?
This is another stupid question in a completely different way. 3.
182. How many hoodies/sweaters do you have?
I don't know off the top of my head (who does?) but definitely more than 10.
Wednesday, 30 April 2014
On Wednesdays, we wear pink!
Happy 10th Anniversary to the release of Mean Girls! Went shopping in the states today, and may I just say something? If you have to pin the clothes smaller to fit your mannequins, it probably means that there is something wrong with the size of your mannequins. I only saw it once, but I've definitely seen it multiple times, in both the states and in Canada. Ridiculous. Anyway, got some great deals! Went to see Captain America: The Winter Soldier this evening with my friend Croissant. It was so good to see her again! Aaaah, she makes me so happy every time I see her. And the movie was really good too.
157. Names of your best friends?
My bestest best friend: my BFFLAAT :)
157. Names of your best friends?
My bestest best friend: my BFFLAAT :)
Wednesday, 23 April 2014
I believe in yesterday
I swear our house only receives phone calls when I'm home all day and there is nobody else to answer it. Seriously. There have been 5 (update: 6) phone calls this afternoon. This is ridiculous. Also, I've been wasting a lot of time on sporcle.com recently. I did a quiz to see if I knew John's speech that he gave at Sherlock's grave (I do. I'm not sure if that's something to be happy about or if I should start crying...).
I'm just going to continue this post now, even though I started it yesterday. My hair appointment took longer than expected, and then I went to see Divergent with my BFFLAAT. It was so good! And it was so good to see my BFFLAAT again (I can't wait to be seeing you every day again!!!! CAMP!!!) I got some red highlights. It was a long process because the first time she did them, they didn't show up, so she had to put in some highlights and then put the red dye back in. But I'm happy with how it turned out. It's definitely going to take some getting used to.
150. Been arrested? For what?
You guys may be in for a shock here....I have not been arrested.
I'm just going to continue this post now, even though I started it yesterday. My hair appointment took longer than expected, and then I went to see Divergent with my BFFLAAT. It was so good! And it was so good to see my BFFLAAT again (I can't wait to be seeing you every day again!!!! CAMP!!!) I got some red highlights. It was a long process because the first time she did them, they didn't show up, so she had to put in some highlights and then put the red dye back in. But I'm happy with how it turned out. It's definitely going to take some getting used to.
150. Been arrested? For what?
You guys may be in for a shock here....I have not been arrested.
Monday, 20 January 2014
Roommate
The other girl on my floor, who from here on out will be referred to as A, who has no roommate, was saying that our don came up to her and was asking if she would mind if another girl on our floor moved in with her. Apparently the two girls aren't getting along very well. A said no. So I'm guessing that sometime in the near future, our don will be asking me if I wouldn't mind. I don't want another roommate though. I just got used to not having one. So if she does ask, I'm going to say no. At least that's what I tell myself. I'll probably actually say that I would prefer not to, but if there were no other options for her, I would do it. I've been thinking about how I could potentially rearrange the furniture. A has moved the two beds so that they're beside each other. I was about to do that, until I realized I don't have anything to cover the other bed with, and I don't want to be lying on the mattress cover. So I'm still thinking of different plans. I want to organize it to that I can have the two desks beside each other so I have a lot of work space.
73. Have you ever cried because you were so happy?
March 14th, 2009. (I didn't know that off the top of my head, I had to look it up). I was going on vacation with my BFFLAAT and we were standing in Port Everglades. We had arrived later than planned, and so were a little restless. After entering the United States and getting on a plane with the documentation I had, I was being told that no, I could not get on the Norwegian Jewel because I did not have the proper documentation. J was saying that this form had gotten me into the US, it should be good enough for NCL. And then J whipped out her lawyer card (not literally, unfortunately, because that would have been enough for NCL) and they still wouldn't let me on. Then there was this whole fiasco trying to contact my parents for permission and is it the proper form and she needs a witness and how will she get it to us. Then my parents couldn't find the form online and everyone was panicking. And then the fire alarm went off. I started panicking even more, but nobody else did anything, so I continued to sit there. Then the NCL people are asking what our luggage looks like so that they can take it off the boat. Meanwhile, J was starting to loose it and I thought, "I'm not going on a cruise. J is going to hate me, I ruined her vacation (cause they couldn't very well just leave me there and go on the cruise themselves). I'm not going to be able to hang out with my BFFLAAT anymore." Finally, NCL gave in and said I could get on. About bloody time! But before I could even rejoice, the port security come in and are asking people to leave the building because of the ******* fire alarm. WHICH HAS BEEN GOING OFF FOR 20 MINUTES. So we are standing outside, aware of the minutes ticking by before the boat leaves. Finally we are let back into the building. Where we have to go through security AGAIN. And so, after a painfully long and stressful afternoon, we walk onto the Norwegian Jewel. And that is when I cried happy tears. (I just want to thank J and I* and my BFFLAAT for still liking me after that whole situation and putting up with me after that. And even more so to be willing to face that situation again.)
I'm gonna do more bonus questions for a while. These ones are all about Sherlock.
1. Favourite male character: My first reaction is probably Sherlock. Cause he's amazing. I love what he does. Especially seeing him show more emotions and being in his mind palace this past season makes me love him even more. But also seeing this last season, I have realized I have this hidden love for Moriarty (and Andrew Scott, who plays him). So either of those two.
*that's not I as in me, that's I as in a short form of a name.
73. Have you ever cried because you were so happy?
March 14th, 2009. (I didn't know that off the top of my head, I had to look it up). I was going on vacation with my BFFLAAT and we were standing in Port Everglades. We had arrived later than planned, and so were a little restless. After entering the United States and getting on a plane with the documentation I had, I was being told that no, I could not get on the Norwegian Jewel because I did not have the proper documentation. J was saying that this form had gotten me into the US, it should be good enough for NCL. And then J whipped out her lawyer card (not literally, unfortunately, because that would have been enough for NCL) and they still wouldn't let me on. Then there was this whole fiasco trying to contact my parents for permission and is it the proper form and she needs a witness and how will she get it to us. Then my parents couldn't find the form online and everyone was panicking. And then the fire alarm went off. I started panicking even more, but nobody else did anything, so I continued to sit there. Then the NCL people are asking what our luggage looks like so that they can take it off the boat. Meanwhile, J was starting to loose it and I thought, "I'm not going on a cruise. J is going to hate me, I ruined her vacation (cause they couldn't very well just leave me there and go on the cruise themselves). I'm not going to be able to hang out with my BFFLAAT anymore." Finally, NCL gave in and said I could get on. About bloody time! But before I could even rejoice, the port security come in and are asking people to leave the building because of the ******* fire alarm. WHICH HAS BEEN GOING OFF FOR 20 MINUTES. So we are standing outside, aware of the minutes ticking by before the boat leaves. Finally we are let back into the building. Where we have to go through security AGAIN. And so, after a painfully long and stressful afternoon, we walk onto the Norwegian Jewel. And that is when I cried happy tears. (I just want to thank J and I* and my BFFLAAT for still liking me after that whole situation and putting up with me after that. And even more so to be willing to face that situation again.)
I'm gonna do more bonus questions for a while. These ones are all about Sherlock.
1. Favourite male character: My first reaction is probably Sherlock. Cause he's amazing. I love what he does. Especially seeing him show more emotions and being in his mind palace this past season makes me love him even more. But also seeing this last season, I have realized I have this hidden love for Moriarty (and Andrew Scott, who plays him). So either of those two.
*that's not I as in me, that's I as in a short form of a name.
Friday, 10 January 2014
QOTD #63 & 64
63. First concert?
Um, I may be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure my first concert was The Cheetah Girls for my BFFLAAT's birthday party. Or it might have been High School Musical Live. I'm not sure which came first.
64. Wal-Mart, Target, or Kmart?
Well, I've been to Wal-Mart the most often but I probably like Target more. But only the US ones. None of this Canadian Target stuff. I mean, it's cool that they're in Canada now, but they don't carry the same products and prices, which is what I go to Target for. And isn't Kmart going down the drain?
Um, I may be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure my first concert was The Cheetah Girls for my BFFLAAT's birthday party. Or it might have been High School Musical Live. I'm not sure which came first.
64. Wal-Mart, Target, or Kmart?
Well, I've been to Wal-Mart the most often but I probably like Target more. But only the US ones. None of this Canadian Target stuff. I mean, it's cool that they're in Canada now, but they don't carry the same products and prices, which is what I go to Target for. And isn't Kmart going down the drain?
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
Happy New Year!
To ring in the new year, I thought it would be cool to create a 2013 in review. Because if I'm honest, it all feels like so long ago and I've probably forgotten half of it. So here is my 2013 in review:
- submitted university applications
- got my G2
- took guitar lessons
- got accepted to 3 universities
- got rejected by one university
- went on a cruise
- bought a new lens for my camera
- graduated high school with honours
- worked at FCC for the summer
- got a laptop
- started university
- saw Justin Bieber's star in Stratford
- turned 18
- became obsessed with tumblr
- folded 87 paper cranes
- improved my guitar skills
- got a new phone
- surprised my BFFLAAT at the train station
- made 3 new friends (and other acquaintances)
- created a gif for the first time
- took my fangirling to a whole new level
- visited my BFFLAAT in Toronto
- saw Catching Fire in ULTRAVAX
- made my first ever animation
- decorated my house for christmas all by myself
- finished term 1 of year 1 of university
- made 14 glitter jars
- started spontaneous dancing
- travelled to Ottawa
- made 226 blog posts
- made 2.5 quilts
- read 45 books
- baked 1500+ cookies (at camp while I was working in the kitchen, and at home. Technically I didn't bake each cookie at camp myself, but it sure felt like it.)
I'm sure I've forgotten lots of things. But this is a lot!
- submitted university applications
- got my G2
- took guitar lessons
- got accepted to 3 universities
- got rejected by one university
- went on a cruise
- bought a new lens for my camera
- graduated high school with honours
- worked at FCC for the summer
- got a laptop
- started university
- saw Justin Bieber's star in Stratford
- turned 18
- became obsessed with tumblr
- folded 87 paper cranes
- improved my guitar skills
- got a new phone
- surprised my BFFLAAT at the train station
- made 3 new friends (and other acquaintances)
- created a gif for the first time
- took my fangirling to a whole new level
- visited my BFFLAAT in Toronto
- saw Catching Fire in ULTRAVAX
- made my first ever animation
- decorated my house for christmas all by myself
- finished term 1 of year 1 of university
- made 14 glitter jars
- started spontaneous dancing
- travelled to Ottawa
- made 226 blog posts
- made 2.5 quilts
- read 45 books
- baked 1500+ cookies (at camp while I was working in the kitchen, and at home. Technically I didn't bake each cookie at camp myself, but it sure felt like it.)
I'm sure I've forgotten lots of things. But this is a lot!
Sunday, 24 November 2013
QOTD #18 (and a Bonus!)
18. The last time you felt broken?
Well, that depends on how you define broken. I felt broken during the Catching Fire movie when they showed Rue (and I cried), but that doesn't seem like a worth-while broken, if you get what I'm trying to say. Like, it was over something not real. I think I'll go with last Thursday. One of my university groups watched The Pursuit of Happyness (yes that's actually how the movie title is spelled). It was about this father who was struggling to provide for his family and at one point only has $21 dollars in his bank account. I felt broken then, once again being forced to think about how blessed I am to live the life I'm living and have lived. And how there are so many out there who are experiencing what the character in the movie suffered.
And now for the bonus! J gave me some extra questions to do once I ran out. But I have enough questions now to last me a year. So I'm just going to do two for a few days.
My proudest moment was...
Wow. Um, I've had a lot, I'm sure. But my proudest moment. It might have been when I got accepted into GBDA. Probably some academic achievement. (BFFLAAT: my T&T award lol). I'm really not sure. I don't think that I'm an overly proud person.
Well, that depends on how you define broken. I felt broken during the Catching Fire movie when they showed Rue (and I cried), but that doesn't seem like a worth-while broken, if you get what I'm trying to say. Like, it was over something not real. I think I'll go with last Thursday. One of my university groups watched The Pursuit of Happyness (yes that's actually how the movie title is spelled). It was about this father who was struggling to provide for his family and at one point only has $21 dollars in his bank account. I felt broken then, once again being forced to think about how blessed I am to live the life I'm living and have lived. And how there are so many out there who are experiencing what the character in the movie suffered.
And now for the bonus! J gave me some extra questions to do once I ran out. But I have enough questions now to last me a year. So I'm just going to do two for a few days.
My proudest moment was...
Wow. Um, I've had a lot, I'm sure. But my proudest moment. It might have been when I got accepted into GBDA. Probably some academic achievement. (BFFLAAT: my T&T award lol). I'm really not sure. I don't think that I'm an overly proud person.
My AMAZING Weekend
While my weekend was amazing, it didn't start off that way. The bus was half an hour late, time which I was standing in line outside in the freezing temperatures. Eventually the bus did show up. But then it left before everyone in line was on. The bus wasn't even full. Then I started panicking a bit because I didn't know why it had left. But then another bus showed up, so it was all good. And what a coincidence, I got the same bus driver as I had when I was coming back from a weekend at home. The bus ride was fine, there was hardly anybody on the bus. My BFFLAAT met me at the bus station in Toronto. It was great to finally see her again. It was already kind of late so we just hung out in her room. I also met a lot of her friends and floormates. One of boys (whom I had actual met over skype before) complemented me and said that I was beautiful. I said thank you but I just thought he was saying that to be nice. But then my BFFLAAT said that when he gives a compliment, he really means it. So that was nice :) Too bad he's gay. (When I say too bad, I'm not saying I have a problem with him being gay, I'm just saying that it wouldn't be able to go anywhere, if you know what I mean). I met this other guy as well who gave me a donut, which is always nice, but then I found that he watches Sherlock and we have similar movie and book tastes. We would get along well. On Saturday morning we went out for brunch at one of the caf's on campus with a couple other people. Then my BFFLAAT and I fangirled over Hunger Games characters (actors). We read a special edition magazine about The Hunger Games Catching Fire movie and started watching the first Hunger Games. And then Dylan Sprouse happened. Then we headed out for an early dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory. When we arrived they told us it would be a 5 to 10 minute wait and so we got one of those buzzer things but after two minutes it buzzed and we were led through the restaurant to our table. My BFFLAAT and I laughed because even though we were told that there would be a 5 to 10 minute wait the restaurant was completely empty. Why would we be told there is a 5 to 10 minute wait if the restaurant was completely empty? It was funny. For those who don't know, The Old Spaghetti Factory was a blacksmith shop a century ago. Inside they have a bunch of cool things hanging from the walls and all the dividers are stainglass windows. They even have a carousel and a caboose train that you can sit in. The dinner was really delicious. There was this ice cream flavour called Spumoni. It is chocolate, vanilla and pistachio all mixed together. It was so good. After we were done we walked back to my BFFLAAT’s residence to pick up her friend and head over to the movie. We were seeing the movie in the Scotia Bank theater which is this really huge theater with a lot of specialized theatres. It was assigned seating so we didn't have to worry about getting there really early which was nice. They have this pre-movie show that was interactive with their mobile app which is really cool but we didn't have their app so we couldn’t play, but it was cool to see the other people do it. The movie was amazing. I can't find anything in it to complain about. Obviously they couldn't fit everything in the book in but they were pretty close and it was so amazing. I cried at one point. I loved it so much. I would even go so far as to say it was better than the first movie. Morning we had a lazy morning and went to Starbucks for lunch. Then my BFFLAAT and I watch some Catching Fire interviews with the actors. Then, since my BFFLAAT knew that I missed it, we watch the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special episode. I don't even know what to say about it. It was really well done and I really liked the storyline. However that amazing story line changes absolutely everything. It basically goes back in time and changes one of the main time points in the Doctor’s timeline. I won't going to great detail because I know most of you don't watch Dr. Who and won't understand it but just know that it was amazing but also that it changes everything and I don't even know how to handle it right now. (I'm using this dictation feature on my Mac right now to type this blog post out because I'm too lazy to type it all out so that's why there's a lot of run-on sentences. Sorry). After that we headed out to the bus station. I almost missed my bus because I couldn’t see the bus and I wasn't sure when it started boarding. It all worked out in the end of course. But at every stop I panicked because I was freaked out it wouldn't go to my stop which was unrealistic but, you know, stuff happens. When I got to the bus terminal I was really tired and didn't want to have to wait for the city bus to come around so I just ended up taking a taxi home. (Another note on this whole dictation thing. I never realized how much I say “just”. I've been editing the sentences after I speak them just to make sure that the sentence makes sense and I say “just” so much it's ridiculous). When I got back to residence I talked to my Doctor Who friend about the episode because it changes everything and we also chatted about the Catching Fire movie, which she has yet to see. Then we talked about exam schedules and I realized that I'm going home in eight days, which also means that my Italian exam is in eight days, which I completely not ready for. I've started writing review notes but I havn’t actually started studying for it yet so I’ll have to do that. I also have two astronomy assignments that I need to finish, not to mention studying for astronomy which I'm not looking forward to. Having heard about all the snow in London and thinking about how I'm going to be going home soon I just really want to go home right now. I'm really excited to be at home over December for a good chunk of time. So yeah. That was my amazing weekend with my BFFLAAT. I had so much fun (and once again I apologize for this whole dictation thing, the run-on sentences are really horrible. But using the dictation really sped up the speed of writing out this blog post, so there).
Tuesday, 12 November 2013
QOTD #6
6. What are you excited for?
Lots of things.
- my cold to be gone
- Christmas break
- Catching Fire (and spending the weekend with my BFFLAAT!!!)
- Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special
- SHERLOCK SEASON 3
Lots of things.
- my cold to be gone
- Christmas break
- Catching Fire (and spending the weekend with my BFFLAAT!!!)
- Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special
- SHERLOCK SEASON 3
Tuesday, 28 May 2013
Monday, 27 May 2013
Ducks...and A Swan
As requested, here are some of the photos from my Art Trip.
Or I guess not because my computer is being stupid.
Well I got these ones to work...
Wednesday, 8 May 2013
Artists, Models, The Market and Ducks
That describes my day today. It was an art field trip. We went to the Art's Project downtown and heard from Steve Tracy who is an painter having a show there currently. He has some pretty cool stuff. He recently finished a series called Sculpted Flowers, in which he uses a technique similar to that of decorating a cake. He fills tubes with a few different colours and squeezes it through a custom tip onto the canvas. It results in a very 3D effect. And one that is very tempting to touch. All of my friends expressed a desire to touch the paintings. At the end of his talk, he asked if anybody had any question. I asked if someone were to touch them, would it be rock hard or bendable? And his answer: Oh, well you can touch them if you want. !!! My one friend actually let out a little yelp. Needless to say, everybody was walking around touching all the paintings. Not something every artist would allow!
Then we went into one of the studios and drew gesture drawings and figure drawings. It was really neat to do a 30min pose, that's the longest we've ever done. I didn't think I would like it because when we were doing 10min poses I found that I had too much time. But knowing that I had 30mins allowed me to take more time on the proportions and then eventually work on shading. Then we went to the Market and had lunch. (I think that this was what most people were most excited about throughout the entire day). I had a meat burek (a pastry tube type thing filled with meat and then coiled and baked, with sour cream, it's so good!). Then we went down to Harris Park to draw the ducks. We were lucky and found a pair of ducks that were content with just sitting there while we drew them. However, the whole point of drawing the ducks instead of something was to try drawing something that wouldn't stay still. Ah well, it was fun. I brought my camera and took lots of photos of the ducks and my friends. It was an overall great day.
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