Montreal place.

I just realized that I never actually put up any photos of the cute, albeit small, place we are staying in when we are in Montreal. Cody is there right now, he arrived, very sick of driving, last night.

I will be going in December.

Anyways, here is the place, the landlady is a darling too, she even stocked the fridge upon Cody's arrival !

Let Me Borrow That Top

Best Liam video ever, he rocks !!

'Shoes' was damn awesome, but this is a GREAT second. The best part is the Spanish bit at 2:20...

My favourite quotes are:

"You just won't die will you..." and "Fuck you with something hard and sandpapery"

Oh god, makes me laugh so hard.

Way to go Kyle, another great video, and he just got a TV show too... anyways, it rocks, make sure to watch till the end, the last 5 second are the BEST, priceless !

Ode to DST

Daylight Savings time is great, at least in the fall.

I woke up this morning, running for the shower, because I had 'slept' in and needed to be ready and dressed by 10am. I have someone coming over to buy my old laptop, and its not nice to be in one's pyjamas when doing such a transaction, makes all parties involved feel awkward.

Anyways, so I run for the shower, quickly dry and flat-iron my hair (its finally getting some length to it...), and then try to scrounge up whatever I can to make some sort of breakfast that might at least pretend to be 'balanced'.

Then I look at the computer's clock.

It says its 8:30am, my wall clock says its 9:30am. Guess which one was right ?

Yep, It was only 8:30am... no need to rush. So, instead, I went to the grocery store, bought some muffins, milk, cheese, etc... got some scones from Cobs (the girl screwed up and charged me only $.85 for 6 scones, I'm not gonna complain !! I think they were $0.85 each...), and then came home and started making coffee and typing this story on my laptop.

I love you Daylight Savings Time, and today will be a good day !

Civilization IV

I just ordered Civ IV on eBay today, and thanks to the rapidly rising Canadian dollar, paid the US price of $60USD (about $55 Canadian) for a game being sold in Canada for $99.

The fact that prices are 20% higher in Canada than the US, despite the fact that our dollar is the highest its been since 1957(when we went off the Gold standard), closing at 1.07 USD yesterday, is a whole other issue that I could rant about for a long time... and I might just in a later post.

Suffice to say, many Canadians are buying things like this awesome computer game at a significant discount through American sites and then shipping them up... some even buying cars for $10,000+ less than the price in Canada. Canadian retailers are suffering, and deserve to until they get their heads out of their collective asses...

*cough* focus, anyways, what this post is REALLY about is this game, and how excited I am to be getting it in the mail sometime next week !!!

I am not allowing myself to open the box until I am done my midterms as of Friday, but after that I anticipate I will be barely heard from over the days to follow.

I am just so bloody excited !

Check out the intro movie to the game:



This is the Official Advertisement for the game:



And this is the Advertisement for the Expansion Pack:



I cannot wait !!!

The graphics are awesome, and their are such new things you can do, like form your own religion, and a completely unique governments you can fully create !

Weeee !!!

Song Lyrics Rant

I find it important to have an actual message in the songs that I listen to. I want to not just have a good beat, and listen to something that I enjoy listening to, but also reading. I want a song with lyrics that speak to me, and are emotional. I love songs where you can just hear the pain in the singer, or the love and affection come right through in a deeply primordial way.

So what the hell happened to mainstream music ? Seriously, I cannot stand most 'hit' music now because I enjoy the beat, love to dance to it, but then I listen to the lyrics, and its freaking bull crap.

Britney Spears' (just cause I love to hate her) new song is the best example of this. Seriously, WHAT THE HELL, did you really need a song to basically say "I'm a whore, I pretend to be a pretentious biotch, and I just want to have fun and have no substance to my life"...

Thats deep.

Britney aside, most other musicians aren't any better. And those that have good lyrics sometimes can't sing worth a damn. Case-and-point, Bedouin Soundclash. I love there songs for their messages, I love the tolerance and acceptance and questioning of the world-order in their music, but GOD, is it too much to ask to have a lead singer that can ACTUALLY sing.

It used to be that to be a musician you had to have singing talent, a good voice, a fairly good ability to write music, or at least collaborate and do it. Now, someone else writes the lyrics for you (which could take a 5-year-old thirty seconds to write), someone else writes the music, and usually all you do is sing, albeit badly !!!

What ever happened to TALENT ???

Oh, and just to prove my point, Britney's lyrics, and the song by Bedouin Soundclash (if they just replaced their singer, I would love it...).

Gimmee More
Britney Spears

It's Britney Bitch
I see you,
And i just wanna dance with you

Everytime they turn the lights down
Just wanna go that extra mile for you
You got my display of affection
Feels like no one else in the room (the room)

We can get down like there's no one around
We keep on rocking, we keep on rockin'
Cameras are flashing while we're dirty dancing
They keep watching, keep watchin'
Feels like the the crowd was saying

Gimme Gimme more
Gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more

Gimme Gimme more
Gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more

Gimme Gimme more
Gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more

Center of attention, even when you're up against the wall
You got me in a crazy position (uh huh)
If you're on a mission (ooh)
You got my permission oh

We can get down like there's no one around
We keep on rocking, we keep on rockin'
Cameras are flashing while we're dirty dancing
They keep watching, keep watchin'
Feels like the the crowd was saying

Gimme Gimme more
Gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more

Gimme Gimme more
Gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more

Gimme Gimme more
Gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more

I just can't control myself, more
They want more?
Well I'll give them more (ow!)

Gimme Gimme more
Gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more

Gimme more gimme more
Gimme more gimme more babe
I just want more

Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme
Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme
Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme
Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme

seriously, what the hell was she (and Hollywood) thinking ?!?!?!?!?
(moreover, who the hell wrote this CRAP ???)


Oh, and Bedouin Soundclash, PLEASE LEARN HOW TO SING !



And NO, its not the style of his singing, he is actually off-key a lot of the time, and tries to sing notes he cannot hit, so he forces it, you can just hear his voice straining...
GOD, AND ITS SUCH A GOOD SONG WITHOUT HIS DAMN VOICE...

Argh, I'm gonna go have a Starbucks...

Rotting Pumpkin

I like the music.

Its fun to watch.

Happy All Hallow's Day ! (not Eve)

Pics from last night...

I had a headache this morning, it is mostly gone.

The party was good, not great, but good.

These are from beforehand, when we were getting our friend Sanjay all dressied up as Elizabeth I, he definately was the show-stopper.






Then, we decided to walk the 4 blocks downtown instead of cab-ing it, and it was awesome, we got SO many looks, especially Sanjay. It was really cool, he felt like the center of the universe, the Queen that he is, haha !



Cody, er, ravaging the foods of plenty !!




I think this one needs to be on a book cover or something, Jamie has a GREAT couch:



And these are the others that were there:

Girl Guide cookies anyone ?



Sun-bathed Ken and drag-queen-Barbie:



Pirate and scary Police Officer (she had a club... things happened):



TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (missing one):

Partae !

We are off to our Halloween party tonight.

Weee ! Our friend Sanjay from Vancouver is wearing this gorgeous dress that Cody made and going as Elizabeth I, Cody is going as the Count of Monte Christo (I also think he looks like Casanova) with a long brown/black haired curly wig... and I am going as an English Prince, with a blonde bob-like wig and these awesome lace-up boots.

It will be fabulous, pics to come. This is the first time EVER that I have dressed up this much for Halloween, and we are totally going ALL out.

:D

Long Black Hair

Tonight I found a long black hair on the bathroom floor.

There can only be three explanations to this:

A. Cody is having an affair with a man named Eduardo from Spain (or perhaps Argentina), with long, flowing locks of black hair, and while he was vainly brushing it (with MY comb !!) it fell on the floor for me to later discover.

B. My appartment has recently been broken into, without me realizing it. It must have happened when the locks were recently changed. The locksmith was a man in his late 50's, and must have some perversion towards cutting copies of people's keys and giving them to his long-haired wife. She, in turn (because likeness attracts) has a perversion towards having long-warm bathes in other people's places. She takes these keys, draws herself a bath, bathes, and then while also combing her hair (with MY comb!!!) she lost a hair on the bathroom my floor. She probably watched it gently fly through the air, to land on my once-clean bathroom tile, which she then left there as a sick joke, cause she figured it would form a mystery that would haunt me forever. WELL GUESS WHAT, I'M ON TO YOU !!!

C. The other option is that its Cody's mom's hair. She came and stayed with us about 3 weeks ago.

I think option B makes the most sense.

For you, from ME

Chris, and his show, were recently discovered by me.

I am now addicted.

There are 52 episodes, I think I may have watched them all. This is one of my favourites, its fairly funny (although he has funnier), but the cat at the end named 'Riley' reminds me of myself, so I chose this one to post.

Enjoy. (all two of my readers)




P.S. Go to his website, Chris rocks.

Matt in Montreal II

Matt's NOT in that place.

Apparently, the guy wanted some money transferred to him as a deposit to hold the place (illegal), and he wanted it through Western Union... pretty seedy sounding.

So, we are still moving to Montreal, just to a different place that we haven't found yet !

Weee.

Matt in Montreal

Cody went into work today, and gave his notice.

He has been offered a very well-paying contract job for Bombardier Aerospace in Montreal, and we have decided to move there for the next 6 months.

First Cody will drive out, and I will stay here and pack-up some stuff, watch the movers, and monitor them as we place all our stuff in storage here in BC... then I will fly out and meet him after my semester here is done, at the end of December...

Lots of changes, tons of work is involved, but I am excited. Packing is going to be a lot of work, and I am already super busy with schoolwork. Speaking of which, it looks like I will be finishing my degree as a visiting student at Concordia University in Montreal, and then grad from UVic when they transfer the credits back !

Its all exciting, I am a little overwhelmed, and I will post more later, but right now I have to head off to my next class !

P.S. This is the place that we have decided to rent, its right downtown, near Route Guy, and Concordia Univeristy, and its CHEAP compared to our current place (rent in Montreal is much less than here, and its bigger, go figure?)

Mud Skating

Its muddy on campus...

I was trying to be quick to get to my class not-more-late-than-usual and therefore didn't walk on the sidewalk, and I slipped, and totally skated on mud for a bit. Seriously, It was the mud-scapades, just minus the grace. Also minus the cheering audience, rather I had two giggly first-year girls watching me, probably some others too (since everyone has nothing better to do than follow me on campus and watch me).

Now, I didn't actually fall, but I sure made a scene in front of all the people at the bus stop. Feet sliding, hips swaying to maintain up-right bipedal locamotion, and the facial expression of concentrating on all the above while avoiding spilling my precious morning coffee.

Sigh, I am just soo cool that its hard to see sometimes.

Perhaps I just invented a new sport: Mud-skating.

Happy Turkey Day !

The Turkey weekend is over, and I have eaten a lot of turkey (and have a lot in my freezer).

Happy Thanksgiving !



Cody left me in charge of the groceries, which resulted in us having three gigantic Yams, (seriously I have never seen yams this big) and a 15-pound turkey. There was only the two of us for dinner last night, so there is a LOT of leftovers. I know whats for lunch for the next month.

Cody is still stressed about work, we are in the process of finding him a new job and looking for other options. It most likely looks like we are going to be moving at some point, although how that will take place is uncertain (you will know when I know...)

Anyways, its raining, and I love it.

Yay leftover stuffing, and turkey !

Dedicated...

to Cat in (her) Gulf.




And yes, I was born in the mid 80's :D

And I must admit that 'White Wedding' is my favourite song, but I don't really like the music video all that much...

Bears, Bears, Bears...

So, Cody and I went up to Cody's parents' cabin this weekend, it was grand.

My mom and her partner Claude and my bro all went up too from Vancouver, it was awesome. Our two families met for the first time, as we stopped in at Cody's parents' place along the way to the cabin, it went really well.

It was a great drive, its about 1.5 hour ferry ride to Vancouver from the Victoria and our little island, and then about 3 hour drive to Merrit, where Cody is from, and then a further 45 minutes to the cabin.

Its absolutely beautiful, deep valleys, and intensely high rugged mountains, along the drive we drove to the highest point in the Canadian highway system, and the cabin is at about 5200 feet above sea level.

Upon arrival Friday night it was dark and Cody lit the wood heating system that heats the cabin, while we unloaded the food from the car and made the beds, etc. The 'cabin' itself is actually a log cabin that was made by Cody and his father about 10 years ago, and is roughly 2000 square feet, with three bedrooms, laundry, decks, two bathrooms, running water, electricity and all that jazz. They just got electricity up there about a year ago, so thats definitely nice.

Walking is a great thing to do up there, the weather wasn't bad, it rained mostly, but it was only about 0-2 degrees celcius the entire time, and it snowed a wee bit too, but the ground is still bare. We ate way too much food, played cards, my mom and I studied (she is doing her Phd in Transpersonal Phsychology right now), my brother and Claude fished, and we all ate. Did I mention we ate a lot ?

WAY too much food was eaten. Between the 6 of us, in two days, we ate 36 egss, salmon fillets, calamari, seafood chowder, bacon, ham, lots of chips with fresh homemade salsa, and lots of wine and beer. Hehe, way too many calories :D

On Sunday, Cody, myself, my bro and Claude and our friend Sanjay from Vancouver who had also come up with us, all went for a big walk around the lake that the cabin is on. Its about 5-7 KMs around the lake, and we kinda took a long way, hehe. Cody was leading. It was simply magical. Cody spotted many moose and deer tracks along the trail, most fresh. I discovered a bear tracks, and we found more, all of which were fresh in the mud. That was a little scary. Luckily, there was no sightings... but it is serious bear country.

It was a great weekend, totally relaxing, and we got lots of fresh air. Long drive to get there, but it was great to see the high alpine mountains and be there right before winter really settles in.

Now, I must return to reality, and my midterms that I have this week...

Oh, and Cody's parents rent out this cabin a lot of the time, so you can see it on their website here.

Pink Update

I am sooo impressed by these students, but they're grassroots student anti-bullying movement has totally sparked off and now hundred of schools across the Maritimes have started wearing pink to school, some are offering pink face painting, there was even a picture of a football team member sporting a pink (very tight) hello kitty tee. All in support of one student who was bullied by classmates for wearing a pink polo shirt on the first day of school.

The story is totally moving, I love how it has taken off, and now schools are considering having 'Pink Day' once a month.

It just is nice to have a story that shatters our normal perceptions of high-school age kids with their self-obsessive, sometimes spoilt, clique-y, and highly hierarchal social structure... and we see that they are turning into mature adults with a sensible solution and a will and want to change things to make the social atmosphere of their world a more accepting one.

Yay, this totally makes me smile.

Check out the short video on CBC's website about it, its under 'news' and then on the right hand side, under 'Pink Power' ... CBC

Commercial Songs

Just watch this, enough said. This guy is wicked.

Way to Go !

WAY TO GO. I am soo awestruck and proud of this occurrence. A great article from CBC today:


"Two Nova Scotia students are being praised across North America for the unique way they turned the tide against a fellow student bullied for wearing pink.

The victim — a Grade 9 boy at Central Kings Rural High School in the small community of Cambridge — wore a pink polo shirt on his first day of school.

Bullies harassed the boy, called him a homosexual for wearing pink and threatened to beat him up, students said.

Two Grade 12 students — David Shepherd and Travis Price — heard the news and decided to take action.

"I just figured enough was enough," said Shepherd.

They went to a nearby discount store and bought 50 pink shirts, including tank tops, to wear to school the next day.

'Sea of pink' support

Then the two went online to e-mail classmates to get them on board with their anti-bullying cause that they dubbed a "sea of pink."

But a tsunami of support poured in the next day.

Not only were dozens of students outfitted with the discount tees, but hundreds of students showed up wearing their own pink clothes, some head-to-toe.

When the bullied student, who has never been identified, walked into school to see his fellow students decked out in pink, some of his classmates said it was a powerful moment. He may have even blushed a little.

"Definitely looked like there was a big weight lifted off his shoulder. He went from looking right depressed to being as happy as can be," said Shepherd.

And there's been nary a peep from the bullies since, which Shepherd says just goes to show what a little activism will do.

"If you can get more people against them … to show that we're not going to put up with it and support each other, then they're not as big as a group as they think are," he says.

The students' "sea of pink" campaign did not go unnoticed outside the province. U.S. talk show host Ellen DeGeneres expressed interest in their story, and other schools are talking about holding their own "pink day."

"It's been totally overwhelming for us. I mean [we're] just two local boys and I mean we're getting calls from Alaska and e-mails. It's just phenomenal the support we've gotten from across the globe," said Shepherd.

The school principal, understandably, was flush with pride.

"You're always hearing about the youth of the world and how bad things are. Well, they're not that bad," said Stephen Pearl. "


Check out the original HERE.

YouTube Video of the Year...

My Morning Coffee Lesson

It all started when I planned on getting up at about 6am this morning (which may have been a little unreasonable since I worked until midnight last night), and then proceeded to sleep in until 8am... when I had class at 9:30am... I panicked a bit, but quickly realised that if I forwent my morning shower, made coffee in the bodum, and had a very small breakfast, I could easily make it to the bus stop on time for my first class.

So, I do all the above... except, I normally have a cup of coffee at home (to warm me up to the idea of me leaving the bed/house), and then a second cup for en-route to school. I had to skip the cup at home, this would later prove to be a fatal mistake.

I then proceeded to give a goodbye hug to the dog (whom I think I smother, probably not a good sign for the mental health of any future children of mine), and rush out the door to the bus stop.

I cross the cross walk, just in time for the light to change and to see my bus coming... I am already at the stop, so things are good. There are two busses, one is mine (the 14), the other I have no idea, and still do not know what number it was.

Now, this is where the fateful twist occurs.

For reasoning that is beyond me, I step onto the first bus that arrives... which is not my bus. This I think is partially due to the fact that at this point, while I am holding my coffee, I haven't had any of it yet.

Not only did I get onto the wrong bus, but I did not realise this mistake until after some sips, and numerous stops, and suddenly finding myself entering Uplands. Uplands is near UVic, but most definately NOT along my bus's route, nor is it anywhere near the most direct ways to UVic from downtown.

The bus then proceeds to WIND through Uplands... down Cadboro Bay road, along the water... PAST the road that goes to UVic (there was a lot of praying happening at this point) and around god-knows-where-land. I saw lots of pretty houses, I have no idea where I was. The trees were fairly dense, houses/lots were larger, and there was an increasingly suburban feeling to the area.

Eventually, after about 45 minutes of this, the bus arrives at UVic (this I think is a direct result from the frantic praying), just in time for me to arrive to my over-filled class 35 minutes late (which is bad when your class is only 50 minutes long....), where I have to sit on the floor with a bunch of first-years because the class is overbooked.

Oh, did I mention that I tripped and spilled my coffee on someone's bag upon my very-late arrival at class ? Yea, cause it certainly wasn't ALREADY an embarassing enough of a situation.

I talked to my prof (I am also on the waiting list for this class), whom seemed sympathetic, and he agreed to take me off the waiting list and put me in the class. I think he just felt bad for my pathetic-ness... also it helped that its a first-year class and I am the only student with 4th year standing on the waiting list.

Which also brings me to a WHOLE new level of embarassment considering I am probably one of the OLDEST students in the class... sigh.

So yea, that was my morning...

The moral of this story:

NEVER leave the house without at least consuming one cup of coffee.

Meatloaf Moments

Cody is making Meatloaf for dinner and sowing our Halloween costumes on the dining room table right now.

Lol, he is just so cute.

Meanwhile I am laying with the dog on the couch studying.

AHhh !

Okay, I promise sometime soon I will stop posting videos and actually write about something, but I think this counts as a conversational item. This new song by Mika that I absolutely adore (and you realize how tall he is) is awesome. I love the idea of the song, I love the beat, I love to dance to it and ponder the lyrics.

Yay Mika !

OMFG

I don't know what else to say.

This is simply the most amazing video I think I have ever seen, and the second most disturbing. The most disturbing one was the video of clips from George W. Bush's speaches and how he is literally an incompetent public speaker and has horrible analytical skills (both kinda important when you run a country...)

At least this Miss South Carolina lady doesn't actually RUN a nation, but it sure is scary that this crap is even on TV, not to mention that she is PAID to be an idiot ! Christ, stuff like this makes me seriously worry about where our world is heading. I believe we are an age of stupidity. An age we might not survive.

Here it is:



Jebus help us all !

Love Today

This is my theme song for today, I am in an awesome mood, just finished my evil Sociology paper, which will hopefully be the last paper of my University career (although I somehow doubt that...) and I am off to UVic to apply for a bursary that I will probably get (I put that I am a 'visible minority' on the application, which I considered fair since they had a checkbox for 'lesbian' but nothing for 'gay'... jerks)...



Another HUGE part of my cheerful mood is that I recently learned that Cody was originally planning on proposing this month !!! I know, OMFG.

I'm breathing.

Okay, but he didn't because of my 'taste for expensive jewelry'... which I know is a horrible reason to not propose. It also makes me really sad to realise that I scared him off from proposing cause of my comments that wedding rings should be of a certain value. Especially when the ring he had selected is from Tiffany's and gorgeous... although I don't know the exact details.

I think it is for the better in the long run, because we aren't really at a place yet where we can afford any ring at all, but I am soo amaxingly happy that he was seriously going to do it. And kinda kicking myself for saying what I did in passing...

I hope that it does happen, and I hope sooo much that he follows his heart and gets me whichever ring he thinks suits me, because I trust that he knows what I love, sometimes more than I even do myself.

I also love him SO much. I have never been with anyone whom I even thought was capable of thinking of us being married, let alone someone who had planned to !! I appreciate him soo much right now, and I think we have been taking one another for granted. I don't know what I did to deserve such an awesome boyfriend, but I sure as hell am happy that I did it !

:)

p.s. enjoy the lyrics below, I heart Mika.


- MIKA Lyrics

My Day

So, I went to class at 8:30am... wrote a test I barely studied for, and I think I did quite good on... possibly, then attended a class at 10:30a that never happened. I suspect my prof cancelled the class without my knowledge, and of course, that is a huge inconvenience to me.

Then, I went home and did some calls and cleaning. Then, since I was tired from all my non-studying yesterday and my lack of classes this morning, I had a quick nap.

After said nap I was groggy, as naps tend to have that effect on me. Thus, I travelled to my friendly, neighbourhood Starbucks, and got a latte for free (I don't know why I EVER quit). On the way back I signed some sort of a Greenpeace petition, they are having a protest downtown about something, the guy was cute, I didn't really listen all that much to what he said. Then, I felt bad cause I signed the petition without knowing what it was, and for some reason it bothers me that my signature is on a document that I have no idea what it says... moveover, I felt bad for my motivations for signing the document, cause the guy was cute... and I have a wonderful boyfriend.

So, I came home and thought about these things while sipping my latte. That is, until the dog came up to me, curled in my arms, snuggled, and then started heaving. I took him onto our patio just in time for him to expell something I can only describe as 'dog-ish' from his stomach. I petted him, tried to make him drink some water to clean his mouth, and then put him in his bed. Poor baby. I think its the medication he is on for his worms. Yes, my child has worms, I am a horrible parent. Hopefully they will die soon (the worms, NOT him), cause it makes me soo sad and disgusted all at the same time.

After that I sat down and decided to update my blog with this post.

I believe I will go read my CSC notes and possibly do a practice exam... (aka I am procrastinating writing my paper).

Housecleaning

I removed some links to other people's blogs that they don't have anymore, or that I don't care about anymore.. haha.

I have reconnected with some people too, its been awesome.

I am also addicted to Facebook, it is the source of all evils (I think I might have previously mentioned this...)

Anyways, I am thinking of having a social get-together tomorrow night, for no apparent reason... actually its to celebrate that I am getting my brows done finally Friday afternoon, they have needed some landscaping for quite a while now.


I think its time for bed... I have a test tomorrow, and I suspect I may actually be prepared for it, hehe.

This was a total post about nothing, sucks to be you who read it !

Me, extremely intelligent ?

So, I got back my Astronomy tests and assignments for the last couple of weeks, and something is seriously wrong. The lowest mark I got was 16/20... and two I got 100% on. Normally this would be a good thing, but you see, I completely BS-ed my way through most of the tests and assignments. Generally his questions are nothing about what we did in class, the readings, or anything on the slides, thus I do not have a clue, and completely fudge my way through them. I was honestly expecting to be doing fairly poorly.

Now, there are two theories I have come up with to explain this incident. Either:

a) My prof is a complete wacko, and is marking extremely easy (this is also supported by the fact that his questions seem to come from out of nowhere, and are generally on material we never went over)... or

b) I am a super-genius in the field of Astronomy/Physics, and till this day had no idea.


I think its the latter of the two. I'm going to go get a latte to celebrate.

Mika made Better ?

I hope I grow up to be almost as cool as these guys.

They made my night of studying worth it.

Sometimes

You just wanna eat a big chocolate eclair !

Sometimes not.

I am REALLY craving chocolate right now, in case you didn't notice. Its a problem I have. My crappy mood is mostly over. I don't know what the heck it was all about, I really don't, but I think its just been one of those days.

Anyways, things are grand now. I started at Starbucks this weekend, it was actually quite a lot of fun, and they are apparently wanting me to come back and be a shift manager, even though I am only willing to work 10 -15 hours a week, they are making an exception for me. Wee hee, cause its more money, haaha.

And yea, things are good with the boyfriend, he is reading right now. Sometimes I think I forget how cute he is. He is especially right now cause he went back to growing he goatee, and I love it. I have to stop being so anxious about life, I am where I am, and I am doing what I am doing, and it will be alright. I just have to breathe.

Days go by...

I love Daft Punk, but only sometimes.

Anyways, this is going to be a short post. I am working on my paper for my Sociology class, which has taught me that Sociology as a study is very interesting, but that the people involved in it are petty, egotistical and overly self-absorbed. Suffice to say its the last Sociology course I will probably ever take.

I having a fairly down day, no reason for it. I just don't like the world today. This is probably the best attitude to have while writing an academic paper anyways, so it will probably work out for the best.

I'm sure I will share more insight later, right now I am off to Starbucks for a latte, and then more writing. I am actually procrastinating going to get said latte because I literally desire absolutely no human interaction at the moment, I just want to be alone. I want the world to leave me alone, just for a day.

That won't ever happen, so I might as well get over it.

Happy Bunny

... makes my DAY !!

Argh.

Don't you hate it when you have a hard time getting out of bed, and then you realise that not only must you get out of bed, but you have to go somewhere and do things...

Argh.

I just started a load of laundry, put away the dishes and showered, do I REALLY have to go to school as well ? Cripes, freaking demanding life I have...

Working... Again.

So, I have a job... I just did what was simple and went back to what I know, Starbucks... haha. Its odd cause I remember why I hated the job and why I disliked it, but as a job for only 5-10 hours a week, its totally awesome, I get the discount again, and the free drinks, and the free pound of coffee every week, so that is good.

Cody and I are trying to plan through some financial issues. While all is good, we just have to try and figure out how to make everything work until I am done school. I cannot wait until I can work full time because that would solve all of our issues, even if it wasn't for that good of a wage, me working full time would make a huge difference.

I think I should plan for starting working full time in January, or thereabouts. If I can complete my CSC course (securities license) by then, and then only have 5 courses left for my degree, I can do the leftover courses in the evenings while I work... that way its less of a burden overall.

Anyways, I think thats what I might do, but we shall see. I am actually, and surprisingly, really looking forward to starting work on Saturday ! hehe. My schedule will be working every Saturday and Sunday, to a max of about 15 hours a week, but less when I have exams and such.

Thats about it, wanted to get that off my chest... I should post about something more interesting soon, haha !

Job, me ?

Hrm...

So, as much as I love being part of the wonderful leisure class, and not working for anything, I have discovered something.

I am bored.

School is great, classes are really engaging and interesting. Cody and I are doing awesome, really enjoying our life, and looking forward to his birthday bash this weekend coming up... but I am kinda bored with just school.

Don't get me wrong, I am super busy and have lots of schoolwork, but it is manageable and I am finding that I would like to have a job for one or two days a week to get my mind into a different mode, maybe make some fun money and get out of the house and my mind out of the books.



So, I have an interview at a new shoe store opening next week !!

Its called Town Shoes, they are fairly high-end and carry collections by Richard Tyler, Oscar De La Renta, Hype, Lacoste, Puma, Steve Madden, Diesel...

So, I would get to work with fabulous shoes, there is a free shoe plan involved working there, and its some money (although I am sure the wage is crap).

Anyways, my interview is on Wednesday, I'm totally over-qualified, but I hope I get it, hehe. It will be a good distraction.

Taco !

Okay, so it appears that out of all the last photos, the main personality that people are interested in is our baby, the dog named 'Taco'.

He is such a sweetheart, frequently snuggles in bed with me, we enjoy our yawning sessions together (as I contemplate a world outside the covers, and he hopes that I don't go to class)... He also frequently protects me against the world. Most notably Cody, whom I think he perceives as some alpha male that he must defend me against. The moment Cody kisses me, touches me, or sometimes come near me (not always but about 60% of the time). Taco will start barking and growling at him, its sooo cute. It can be annoying, but I think that its endearing that such a small creature loves one so much that he feels the need to defend me. He sometimes does it when I kiss Cody also. He also likes to defend me against the people who live across the hall... which they, surprisingly, find amusing.

Despite his tough demeanour (and he is such a ferocious-looking dog), he is such a big baby. Possibly compounded by the fact that we totally spoil him. He spends a lot of his day on his back, and is incessant with his demands for belly-rubbing. Cody is not as much of a fan when I rub his belly, I am not quite sure why, since Taco sure loves it.

Anyways, enough of my rant about my baby, here are the photos you all want !!

Some pictures

Since its been a long time, here are some photos of the last little while:

**see if you can spot our baby boy!! (his name is Taco and he is a long-haired chihuahua)**

Me, in all my glory

The cute couple.

Me, Cody, our baby, and our friend Andrew.

Cody and my best friend, Elaine.

So Little, so long.

It has been such an awefully long time since I wrote anything on here.

I seriously doubt that anyone will actually read this, rather its almost like a personal journal now I suppose, just really a container for my thoughts... although a public container... what an odd world we now all live in that it can be so.

Anyways, enough of my ramble. I just finished the latest Harry Potter novel. It was good, not great, no excellent, but good. Above mediocre for sure. I was impressed by some of the character developments (Snape definately shines), and thoroughly disappointed by the un-needed complexity of the plot, and the lack of grace in the way it is laid out, it was not smooth-flowing or mind boggling, rather I would say its her most disappointing novel at best. Probably the worst of all 7, but definitely a good novel nonetheless. It also has an overwhelmingly happy, cheerful ending, which I usually dislike, and she seems to waste a good portion of the novel with all three main characters simply lollying around, aimlessly pursuing a goal, but with no real advancement.

Moving on from my Harry Potter rant: I suppose it has come to that time when I do the obligatory update about my personal life (as much as I can reveal in a completely public environment), especially since it has been almost a millenia since my last update (or something like that)....

I am in school again, working hard at a very condensed summer class at UVic, and also doing full-time studies in the fall. I had been working at BMO, but left them to just do full-time school and get my degree done. I am also working on my securities course, so that when I do return to the working world I will have a bona fide degree and a license to sell securities to add to my name.

And just like that, life goes on, and I run out of things for this post. Tata !

A rant about Everything ... and nothing

Okay, so they 'updated' the whole blogger system and the login, but honestly, its just a headache and WAY too much work to try and figure out exactly how to log in, post a new entry, etc. I guess its my own damn fault for not blogging for about 2 months straight !!

Gawd, I hope someone out there is crazy enough to still be reading my entries... although the idea of just ranting to myself is rather entertaining in a way.

Enough of these musings. So, I am in the middle of exam month, woo hoo, gawd, I want to die. Wrote one for my Software Engineering class today, hopefully I passes it cause it was damn hard. I don't even know why I am taking the damned course. I had these grand ideas of minoring in Computer Science back 4 months ago, and took the course because it was required... as well as a math course I am taking right now. Guess what ? They are both kicking my ass royally ! Excellent. Effectively I just paid the University of Victoria $1,000 for these two courses in return for a barely-passing grade, two second-year credits when I am in THIRD year, and a constant look of pity from both my professors... absolutely awesome.

Suffice to say, I am no longer minoring in CSC.

Argh, I have another final tomorrow, for my class: 'European Economic Integration' which is actually quite interesting. I am also trying to organise some sort of summer studies schedule that allows me to also go away for a week or so this summer. I am quickly learning that 'vacation', 'new job' and 'summer studies' are items that may not all schedule well together over the next 4 months... hrm. I have also decided, about 3 minutes ago, that I want to go on a road-trip down to California with the BF. I think it would be grand fun, maybe bring a girlfriend or two along, and I am now 21, so I could go to pubs and drink along the way, hurrah !!

Hurrah indeed...

I don't wanna ...

I am SO not in the school mood right now.

I have a 12 page paper I need to write and two tests that I have to write next week, and I have this week off for Reading Break, and guess what ? I don't wanna study !

I'm seriously unmotivated right now, Its not that I don't THINK I should study, I just honestly am avoiding it very well. I got some reading done tonight, and about 30% of my math assignment done, but thats it so far, hehe.

My goal is to finish my math assignment by Friday. I want to have one section of my 12-page paper written by Sunday night, and I want to be fully studied for both of my tests. Its a lot, but it shouldn't be too hard really. I just CANNOT get started... argh.

Well, I did some reading and studying tonight, tomorrow night will be working on my paper. Wednesday night will be the Math assignment... that sounds like a plan that might work... yea.

Valentines... yippee

I love today... its raining (which most of you know is my favourite weather when I am indoors) and my Cody just sent me the sweetest hallmark e-card from work. We're gonna go out to a movie tonight, I'm excited, something simple yet enjoyable.

In unrelated news, I got a midterm back today, and the mark was slightly disappointing. I love the course, and I pride myself in getting great marks in courses I love (lets not talk about the others). Its with my favourite Prof, Dr. Gugl who is from Austria and she is so sweet and helpful and adorable. Best word to desribe her, adorable, and she always wears these warm cozy hip-looking retro-style sweaters and jeans and I dunno, she reminds me of a cool Aunt. Anyways, I like her and I like the class. AND I GOT 74% ON THE MIDTERM, WTF ?!

The best thing is, after analysing the marking, out of 10 questions, I got 7 of them PERFECT, not a flaw, not a thing wrong !! I would like to see a statitician who is perfectly correct 7 our of 10 times, or a politician who knows what the hell they are talking about that often. Then !! On the stuff I didn't get perfect, I got marks for knowing the underlying concept or idea, but missing out a minor detail that became important to the calculations. How amazing would it be, if every person in life, know 70% of their job/position perfectly correctly, and then knew the underlying concept but were fuzzy on the details for the other 30%.. ??? How much smoothly would business and government function if that were true for all employees and workers ?!?!?!

GAWD. I know, I know, my mark is fair, and it is a true reflection of how much I knew overall, I just think that it is silly that I only get a B (for my 74%) for knowing more on a subject that pretty much 99% of the world population.

Yea, that was just a rant cause I wanted a better mark. I feel better now.

Dork

Hrm. It is 10:16pm and I was working on my Software Engineering assignment (in fabulous Linux, well Unix .... and Perl) for about 20 minutes before I got distracted and ended up looking at screenshots of the new Windows Vista (specifically looking at the Ultimate version). They have totally stolen some GUI ideas from Mac and are simplifying the entire look, making the icons bigger and more user-friendly while not looking like a design to make sure old ppl can still read the screen through their rediculously thick lenses. Anyways, umm... I'm rambling. Pretty much this entire post is a ramble. So.. yea, I also find it interesting that Windows Vista is the 'most secure version of windows ever' so I started reading about it, and it does have a whole lot of security features, encoding, encryption and backup storage systems built-in. However, I still fear they might have missed the boat on making the code behind it 'simple' (relatively) and crash-free, but that remains to be seen.

So, just a thought. But, as I was doing this, and thinking/reading about this, I realised, I am far more of a dork than I can ever admit.

There, thats it, my 10:22pm revelation. Goodnight.

Dinner Party

Well, Cody and I just officially hosted our first fabulous dinner party in our new place. My friend Stacey came over, and Cody's friend Andrew came with his gf and his friend. So, there was 6 of us, and we had a wonderful curry dinner that Cody made, with espresso beverages flavoured with liqueurs of all sorts as a desert. It was lovely.

Its so nice to be downtown now. I have never been the host of any sort of social get together. It was just so nice to have people over, have good food and drinks and then play some cards games and watch crazy people across the street sword fight in a parking lot (true story, and very amusing). I have always been the person to go downtown to some else's parties or host my own with someone at their place, never at my own house, and never so close to everything.

Its awesome, if we want to see a movie, we walk 3 blocks to the movie theatre. If we want to get some last minute groceries then we walk over a block and get them, and along the way we can stop at the local Starbucks that is a block away, or go to the Chinese food restaurant that has great lunch specials that is literally right next to our condo building. Its just all so easy and freaking fantabulous !!

Anyways, I love living downtown, its grand.

I want to write more, but I am really tired, so I am off to bed, more blogging tomorrow. I really need to start this back up again !!

Bank of Montreal ?

So, Cody is a client at BMO Financial Group, and he loves them. So, I looked up their banking packages, and they rock, its amazing how cheap and efficient banking with them is...

They have a student banking package that is free, and its not like other banks where the package is basic and includes nothing, its actually got a lot of features. Anyways, so I am impressed, definately they beat anything that RBC has. So, I went in to open an account and do some other financial things (hey, its private... you don't need to know). I even have a banker that I deal with specifically, with RBC you as a client can have someone you like to see, but they don't monitor your account or anything, this lady actually does. I am impressed to say the least.

Best thing is, I applied at BMO months ago (back in the summer) before I got the job with RBC. The manager at the branch still remembered me, and my personal banker told me today she had talked with him. Apparently, the only reason he didn't hire me was that they had just hired a slew of new people at the time, but he liked me. They have some openings for (get this !) Financial Services Managers, and they are part-time positions. They would be willing to work around my shool schedule just like they do at RBC with me being a teller, but at RBC, there are no sales positions (office people in the branch) that are part-time. Well, BMO has started having part-time ones !!!

I am so excited, its totally more leaning towards what I want to do, and its with a bank that I believe in, I would bank with them even if I wasn't an employee. I do not think I would bank with RBC if it wasn't for the fact that I work there. Anyways, so I have the Branch Manager's number, and I think I'm going to call him on Monday and set up a time to see him.

I am totally excited, even though I already have a million things I am doing, this is too good of a possibility to pass up, Wish me luck !!

So much...

I'm working a lot, its seriously starting to toll on my gorgeous looks and cramp my style.

Anyways, so worked at the bank today, that was fun. I opened an account that is joint with Cody today, so that we can pay all of our bills together for the new place. Its totally exciting, but I didn't think much of it until about an hour after we had done it, its kinda a big step and a big leap of faith in the relationship. I think its totally the right thing, but I just think that its cool that I trust and am committed enough to do this already. Anyways, I was just pondering on that topic.

I finished my math assignment last night, that was also exciting, and I'm trying to sort out this virtual machine thing on my computer so I can fool around in Unix/Linux for my Software Engineering class.

Anyways, I'm going to go fool around with that now....

Daunting.

So, I have a new home !! Cody and I have found the perfect suite downtown, right on Yates, and smack in the middle of everything. I'm tres excited to move in and enjoy the space, but I am daunted by the idea of moving there right now. Its so much work and stres to move, especially when its my first time on my own, with a bf, and while I'm doing full time schooling.

I started the task today. I went and got some groceries from Thrifty's and asked my friend Amy who works there for some heavy-duty potatoe boxes to start packing books. Now, Cody has warned me that there is a lot more 'stuff' in my room than I am aware of, but I had no idea until this evening. I got three large potatoe boxes and proceded to pack them when I got home. The first one was quickly filled with old textbooks and notes from past schoolwork that I want to keep (but will almost definately never use). Then I cleaning off the top two shelves of my bookcase. Only two shelves ! They took up two entire boxes worth of books ! I now still have my entire desk and the bottom two shelves (not to mention other books tucked into the niches of my room) remaining !!

So, suffice to say I have more books than previously estimated. I am going to tackly my endless piles of crap and collected random nonsense next. These include christmas cards from my extended family for the last 5 years that I have never had the heart to recycle. I also found my old camera in my closet, along with two undeveloped rolls of film (the fact that these are even from the era of rolls of film should give you an idea as to how much of a packrat I can be). My goal is to get through all the useless crap that I have and do not wish to take with me within the next week or so, then all I will have left is the boxes upon boxes of meaningful crap and books !

I swear sometimes I get the urge to just burn all this stuff, its such an annoyance. I vow, that from now on, I am going to be a minimalist.

P.S. I am also inviting my friends to come and help me pack. In return, people who help me pack (or have a damn good excuse) are invited to our house warming party once we move in !! YAY.

P.P.S. There are attached photos of the new place, enjoy !

HELLO ?

Did you guys give up on me ?

I have not blogged in SO long its insane. I feel really bad about it actually, its like missing a long-time friend that you forgot about. Seeing them, you feel bad about slowly moving away, but they think that you are just a jerk. The conversation is awkward, and then afterwards, you know that you two will never be the same again.

So, I don't want us to be this way, my blog and I.

Updates:

Cody is slowly moving some stuff into the house that I live in. My mom is fully based in Vancouver now with her partner Claude and my little bro starts school in Kitsilano on Monday.

I just now started back to classes at UVic today, its exciting and nerve-racking. We (Cody and I) are currently in the process of finding a place to move into to live in ourselves. Lanny (Nathan's [an ex] former roomate's place) is one of the places we may be looking at. Not sure how comfortable I feel about that since I hate Lanny and Nathan and have lost a lot of respect for them. I think they are cool with me still, so hopefully won't be too bad...

Anyways, so we are moving Cody here slowly. He has moved his computer and his AWESOME laser printer here, and we are combining it all. I am really excited about us finding a place together. I am finding myself tending to just want to dive in and move into the first decent place we see, but I have to remember that we have about two months before I need to move out (possession date is March 31st). Anyways, I love that we can be picky and wait to find the right place, although the idea of moving while working an doing 5 courses at UVic is not exciting to me right now.

Anyways, got to get going. Megan (I spelt your name right !!!) is meeting us for coffee later, and we still have not had dinner. I work tommorrow and just picked up my new pants from the tailor's. I am so excited !

I will update more. I had the BEST New Years, it was awesome.

ALSO, Megan:

WHAT the HELL happened to your blog. I'm going to ask you about it tonight, haha !

The Simpsons - UK message

This is a hilarious Christmas message to the UK. I love how it refers to Boxing Day.

Enjoy and merry Eggnog Season !

Poker

My mom and Claude have started teaching my 10 year-old brother how to play Poker. They are essentially introducing him into the world of gambling. This has definately come from Claude, as my mom would never have been interested in such a thing. I'm very upset about it.

We had a big fight about the idea last night. It was suppose to be a 'discussion' but it ended up being a fight, with my mom defending Claude. What a surprise.

I'm so upset I could cry, and I did before bed last night.

Who the hell does he think he is to introduce my little brother to such a thing, when he has only been in his life for MAYBE 4 months. I'm ready to kick some ass, and I'm definately not leaving this one alone.

I hate Christmas

I really hate what Christmas has become.

People get so stressed out this time of year, and working at a Bank, you REALLY get to see how it affects people. So many people are taking out more credit, cash advances on their Visas, increasing their loans, etc. Its so unhealthy, both emotionally and financially.

I'm going to give simple presents this year. Presents that people will love, but also ones that they will appreciate. Not all this store-bought happiness in a shiny box that wears off in a couple weeks, but really interesting genuine presents.

I'm getting a cookbook for my friend Delyth, cause she can no longer eat gluten of any sort, so I'm going to get a gluten-free cookbook for her. I'm making some of my presents. There are a couple people I don't know what to get them, but I'm sure something will inspire me along the way.

Its the time we spend together that matters really. I'm going to make sure I spend time over the holidays with my family in Vancouver, at Claude's house, and with Cody. I just want us all to be together and to enjoy one another. Not to just sit on top of our heaps of shiny new toys, that we then get bored of days later. Cause really, when it comes down to it, those are just toys, they have no meaning to the heart. A gift of value and love is so much better, or even no gift and just spending quality time with those you love.

Yep, all I want for Christmas is quality time (and a hippopotamus).

Aveda Musical

OMG !

Steph did this musical as part of her Aveda class, and it is absolutely AWESOMELY HILARIOUS.

I love it, watch it !

you forgot something ...

Cody left this morning, on the 9am ferry. We agreed that it was best for him to take the early ferry today cause it is cheaper than regular ferries and he has stuff he needs to get to in Vancouver.

I seriously miss him already, and its been like 5 minutes since he left, he just called me, and he is waiting at the ferry terminal right now. I am really sad right now, sad that he isn't here, but I know that it is only termporary and that he is here in spirit.

So much has happened in the last week or so since I went over. I went over (called in sick to work on Saturday so I could) last weekend. Then when it was time for him to drop me off at the terminal to go home, he decided to just come over as well. It was such an awesomely romantic and wonderful time. The ferries were busy so we had to wait for about 2.5 hours and we just sat in the car and talked and read and went and got teas. It started snowing, and it just completed the magically surreal moment. It has been snowy all week here, which is odd for the southern coast, we never have snow that sticks and lasts, especially not for a week.

I worked during the week, and mom was stuck back in Vancouver because of the snow, so Cody and I had the house to ourselves. Work was closed on Monday, and we just hung out and had the most fabulous day doing nothing really at all but the simple small things and making the fun memories that you remember forever. While I worked this week, Cody made some absolutely amazing dinners for us, the first was a complete surprise. I walked home from work and was cold and not in the best of spirits and went right up to my room to change. He then calls me down to come look at something. I walked into the kitchen and there was white wine with a beautiful set table and a lovely aroma. He had cooked us the most amazing meal. Spinach stuffed mushroom caps for appetizer, then seared Cod with a homemade pecan pesto and tortellini on the side. It was absolutely fabulous.

We went to see his Aunt Marge who lives in Sidney as well, and shovelled her driveway and played many a card game with her. She really appreciated it, and she was really a lot of fun to spend the a couple evenings with.

We did so much this week, I cannot even begin to write it all on here. I cannot even describe the feeling of this week either. It has been so magical and surreal. I feel like I had found the most perfect place in life and the most perfect person whom to share mine with. I cannot help but be sad that he is gone for the week, but I am counting the seconds until next weekend.