mango muses

MOVED!

2009-03-02T08:04:00.002-05:00

As of March, I'll be blogging officially at mango on an apple. Change your bookmarks, update your links...See you there!!!

25 things - the food edition

2009-02-15T16:12:00.003-05:00

What a great way to waste away Sunday afternoon of the long weekend...

I think the premise is 25 Foods/Meals that are memorable? Not sure, but here I go!

Grandma (mom's mom)'s wontons are the best I've ever had anywhere, and even my mom can't quite duplicate them. I used to ask for them whenever I went back to visit. Grandma will now claim she doesn't know how to make them, nor did she ever make them in her life...very sad.
Grandma (dad's mom)'s "healthy congee" was my favourite growing up. Dad's mom's actually not that dazzling in the kitchen but this is the one thing she couldn't mess up.
Tempura on the street corner near my apartment in Taiwan. They sell out by 9pm daily, while the rest of the vendors tend to stay there till about midnight with their food carts.
Rice noodle soup on another street corner by my apartment in Taiwan. With a side of pork cheeks doused in garlicky sauce, it's heavenly.
Vermicelli noodles in Ximending in Taipei with Iggy, eaten standing up outside the shop because they're too famous to seat their patrons.
Deep dish pizza at Uno's in Chicago. It was a deceiving little bastard that I couldn't conquer in one sitting.
Cheesecake with strawberry topping from Save-on-Foods.
Chocolate mousse cake my mom made for my 18th birthday party. Every other cake has paled in comparison, including the more recent ones my mom made.
Steak frites at Pastis with Alex - he was incredibly sick, and I was incredibly full from eating all day. We wanted to kick ourselves for not being able to indulge as much as we should've.
The warm platter at Zwolf Apostelkeller in Vienna. Best meal on our backpacking trip. Best German/Austrian food ever.
Lobster meals by the sea with my dad. He takes me there every time I'm in Taiwan, regardless of what's actually in season, just so we can both satisfy our lobster cravings.
Some type of melon (don't know the English translation for it) we had in the Pescadores Islands in Taiwan. They are supposed to be a vegetable but they were so full of flavour and so juicy that even though I never liked them before, I became a convert.
Barbeques in my grandma's front yard (we closed the gate). It was always a fun gathering of family and friends, lots of good food, and full of silly conversations until the wee hours.
Candies my grandpa gave me after dinner. He'd give me one after dinner every time we were over, without fail. My grandpa's the best.
Chocolat chaud at Angelina's in Paris. That's what heaven tastes like.
Scrambled eggs from the Queen's Head in England. The chefs would add two parts eggs, one part heavy cream, and one part butter.
Sprinkles "black-on-white" cupcakes. Never was there a store-bought cupcake known to be so moist and chocolatey, with the lightest buttercream that had the best balance of butter and sugar.
Full breakfast at Campus Hi-Fi in London. Definitely my favourite greasy spoon breakfast.
Sushi from Sushi Marche - spicy tuna (genius use of green onions) and kamikaze rolls (genius use of lemon peel).
Frrrozen Hot Chocolate from Serendipity3.
Grilled artichoke hearts at Mercatto.
Truffle frites from V Bar at Hotel Valencia on Santana Row in San Jose.
Stir-fry potatoes with rice vinegar that my mom makes. Sounds weird, but so delicious.
"Chinese spaghetti" (nothing like the Italian version, don't worry) that my mom makes. I just can't do what she does.
Our last meal at the Queen's Head. Finally treated with some food respect as a paying customer.

roots

2009-02-04T22:16:00.002-05:00

so, it is officially february and has been for a few days, and i'm sad to announce that i'm a bit behind my overly-optimistic schedule (are we surprised, really)...

however, here's an update and an exciting announcement (for me at least):

- video for 2009 department meeting was a hit, and it's being shown to the president and ceo of the whole company worldwide tomorrow! i feel like a rock star. it's complete, but i need to export it in a smaller format to be embedded into our country manager's blog, as well as post it onto our department's wiki site.

- flash project for my fantastic eyebrow guru is almost complete - i have all the frames built, just need to string it all together. i will be showing her the work so far hopefully early next week and then from there plan to upload and push it live next weekend (in time for valentine's day)! it's been interesting...it was my first time working in flash (kids, when i was making websites, flash didn't even exist, so don't balk at me and my blissful ignorance).

- third project, 52 restaurants in 52 weeks, came to an abrupt halt on monday. one of our founders is extremely annoyed with some of us that the work has stalled (esp. the actual restaurant reviews), that he has stopped speaking to the rest of us. i'm a little bit relieved but also a bit sad as i had already started toying with the design. it's not uploaded yet, so if you go to the link, there's nothing to look at...but still! oh yeah, and the whole friend-not-speaking-to-friend thing is so not cool.

- fourth project, and my announcement - we're moving!! er, not physically. this lil' blog is moving into a bigger home!! i have been getting back to my roots (my so-called web design roots, that is) and bought a domain and have started some work. as of tonight, wordpress is installed and a mock-up is drawn for the layout, so i will be working furiously away to get that live as soon as possible. i love blogging, and hope to make my blog/the site much more fun to visit...while gaining some serious readership so i don't feel like i'm boring the same people over and over again.

righties, that's it. as much as i'd love to stay here and chat and install new fonts onto my computer (yet another obsession of mine once i get into the photoshopping mood), i must get to bed. i have failed to show up at the gym way too often due to sleeping late!!

25 things - from facebook

2009-01-31T14:53:00.005-05:00

Instead of posting this on facebook, I thought I'd do it here. IMHO I think facebook notes are a bit too attention-grabbing for my introverted self ;)

Rules: You are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I can't pretend to like someone I cannot stand, so I have stopped trying.

2. I hate small talk. At some point, I think I lost that ability to be keen about other people's lives and carry a conversation. I distinctly remember being a very big brown-nosing conversationalist with teachers, but I really don't know what happened to that version of me.

3. Despite what you may think, I'm very conscious of the fact that sometimes I tend to dominate conversations and they end up being about me too much. I'm trying, really!

4. There are days when I sincerely believe that if I don't eat chocolate right then and there, I will actually lose my will to live.

5. I'm afraid of all insects and bugs, and I inadvertently go into hysterics when confronted with cockroaches, ladybugs, slugs, or grass snakes too close to me (i.e. jumping up and attempting to flee the scene, literally). I know because I've encountered the aforementioned four types of bugs and that's what happened. The list may be longer, but let's hope I never find out.

6. My irrational fear of something as cute as ladybugs comes from the time when the city of London released millions upon millions of ladybugs to "help the crops" and half of the population ended up on my kitchen wall in my apartment. They fell (that's how they "land") on top of my head during dinner, onto my freshly baked cookies, etc. They made me really sad. And they looked evil.

7. I will read and re-read my favourite books over and over, and I will pick them up and start reading from random pages.

8. I get really dizzy when I'm rock-climbing, but it usually goes away near the end of the session. I think I might have vertigo due to heights, so I close my eyes when I get to the top.

9. I don't know what to do with other people's babies. When people bring their babies in to work and everyone's cooing and asking to hold the babies, I keep my arms crossed (subconsciously). I think it's weird to pass around babies, and I would only do it if there wasn't a crowd gathering and I knew both of the parents well enough. Perhaps I'm also a bit shy about the fact that I have no maternal instincts to want to hold, rock, coo, or sing to other people's babies.

10. I love big dogs, but that's not always been the case. When I was little and terrified of everything, I don't think I enjoyed any type of dogs very much. I also hear my mom's dog knocked me over once in a while when I was a toddler. Oh, and I still don't love it when dogs lick, but I will accept them for who they are and what their instincts tell them to do.

11. I love to eat. I don't think I have ever really missed a meal due to my biological clockwork that demands food at typical meal times.

12. While I love buying shoes and handbags, there are some things I just don't can't bring myself to buy. I am not really able to indulge on expensive clothing (just can't justify it), other than coats, and I don't know how to buy accessories. I'm the least accessorized girl I know.

13. I hate the way my voice sounds.

14. I have absolutely no [conscious] knowledge of the fact that I grind my teeth like mad at night.

15. For the past few years, at the beginning of every year, I tell myself, "dude, you're (insert age) this year, seriously, get a grip and actually lose the weight you've been meaning to lose." Then I go and gain some more weight.

16. Although I keep saying I want to be (insert occupation) when I grow up, I am held back from actually quitting my "normal-person-office-job" because of my upbringing and the beliefs instilled in me.

17. I am an incredibly tense person. I don't know how to relax my body and I find myself clenching my fists or tightening my shoulders even during massages, manicures, and other relaxing activities.

18. One of my favourite things about myself is that I work to avoid gender stereotypes. I know more about cars, computers, gadgets, and sports than most girls I know. I gave up in the tools and machinery section though - getting to know the kitchen was more alluring ;)

19. I have a very sharp sense of smell, and a lot of smells trigger distinct memories for me.

20. I love school. I loved it even when I didn't speak English. If I could, I would stay in school and work through different majors that interest me.

21. Despite popular belief, I do not want, or plan on having, a fancy wedding. I maintain that the max number of guests would top out at 50. Yes, I am willing to forego fancy registries, big pouffy dresses, floral arrangements, etc. etc. I'm not quite ready to let go of a beautiful cake, and something couture, but that can be easily arranged.

23. I wore makeup consistently to work everyday last year and can count the number of days I didn't with my hands. That was one of my resolutions last year, and I'm quite proud of achieving it. I didn't extend the resolution into 2009.

24. I have never tried any illegal substances. My motto there is go big or go home.

25. I used to believe my mom was a witch riding away on a broomstick while I slept at night. She was that magical and scary to me.

Now...I will tag Kasia, Allie, and Spends2Much...and my sister, wherever her blog is...but I think she's already done this.

one down, three to go

2009-01-27T20:09:00.002-05:00

four days before the month is over, and one of my projects is finally done. i will share, in time, a bit of it - it's a video compilation of our department's year in review, done in iMovie. it was my first time playing with the application and i'm definitely impressed. it's a good tool to get your feet wet, but it's not super precise and full of tricks that it becomes too intimidating. by the end i started feeling a little limited by the functions available, but overall, it's better than some of the online apps for making videos, and it's done straight out of materials you have on your computer that you can pull up easily (i.e. it links to iPhoto and iTunes so you can lay soundtracks efficiently from your own library).

the other three projects...well, my goal remains that they be wrapped up by february 1st so i can breathe a little. i'm currently curled up in bed with my mac working furiously in Flash on one of them. the contractors are in to re-do my floors (YAY WE GET HARDWOOD FLOORING! FOR (ALMOST) FREE! THANKS FLOODERS!) so i have no place to squat but in bed. i actually quite like this holed-up-ness. i'm not wasting my time in front of the idiot box tonight, and i'm forced to work comfortably from my bed with a cup of tea, and a magazine at the ready.

speaking of magazines - i am getting my hands on the newest martha stewart living! it has such a pretty cover and i'm totally judging the book by its cover.

hiatus

2009-01-22T16:14:00.003-05:00

as you may have noticed, i've gone on a bit of a hiatus. i have quite a few projects going on outside of work, so life is hectic trying to get them all wrapped up. i hope to do so by end of january (another lofty goal), so hopefully i'll be back up and running soon.

meanwhile, i do owe a few back-dated posts as well, so watch out for those. january hasn't slipped by unnoticed.

random thought - caught my reflection in a glass display case on the wall outside the caf. what's stuck on my butt? oh wait, that is part of my butt. OMG!

another random thought - hey china, haven't you learned from enough parents, and perhaps even Adam and Eve, that temptation only drives the wrong type of behaviour? seriously, do you really think that censoring out parts of obama's speech on communism won't peak your people's interest to find out what exactly you bleeped out?

sprinkles cupcakes

2009-01-05T20:28:00.003-05:00

seeing as how much i adore cupcakes, i decided to scout out cupcake destinations in dallas...and came across sprinkles cupcakes from beverly hills. score!! this is the same company that sells its cupcake mixes at williams-sonoma, so i definitely took note and made sure to stop by there.

internet, my dedication was rewarded more than i had imagined possible.

clockwise from top left: chocolate marshmallow (so-so), chocolate peppermint (festive), black and white (SOOOO GOOD), lemon coconut (SOOOO GOOD), red velvet (delish), and strawberry (so-so)

cute menu card on the flavours of the day, postcards, and a red velvet cupcake mix...everything looks like so much fun and so delicious!

conclusion: 2008 + introduction: 2009

2009-01-02T15:18:00.001-05:00

2008 memories come to me in bits and pieces, and it feels like the year went by doubly-quickly. it began mildly as i returned to work in january, and as the winter wore on, the coldness took some steroids and tripped out at us with lots and lots of snow, slush, coldness, ice, and relentless mercy. from this remarkably cruel beginning, i learned...

i need to get away to somewhere warm in the middle of winter, or else it just feels so depressing by april
i will never forget february 1st. that day marked the culmination of a month of extremely tight and stressful deadlines, strained relationships with the agency, and working overtime just to have it all explode so perfectly in sync with a blizzard on a friday afternoon. it also marked the beginning of a year of whirlwind campaigns that would leave me often deflated and exhausted at the end of a long week; it made me appreciate vacation time so much more in june when i finally took some time off for myselff
my favourite chocolate cake recipe in february, by chance when allison was visiting and i decided to bake a cake in celebration.
when i got my promotion to senior analyst, it also led me to a dangerous place where i would start questioning the need for a new role, my expected timeline for the next movement in my career and the next promotion.
as first-time homeowners moving into a craptastic home that so needed our attention and care, we underestimated our patience for all the highs and lows that come with the ongoing process. it can never be done in a matter of days - and it's true that the house&home featured homes usually say that the owner worked on it for a couple of years before being in the magazine.
to appreciate and "make-do" with our city: we began to do a bit more exploring around the city, and that continued throughout summer. the weather wasn't always cooperative, but i would like to think we made the best of it. my birthday slipped by quietly but with great company and food (mmm waffles).
vacation is important. quiet time is important. there's also a joy to staying at home doing absolutely nothing, and that luxury should be taken advantage of at every available opportunity.
as i got older, i became more wasteful and less concerned about saving money - bad idea.
as i got older, i became less capable of knowing my limit when alcohol is around - another bad idea.

on that note, in 2009 i want to

eat out less often
stick to a budget
get away in February
take time to just relax with Alex around my birthday
take more "me" time regularly
try a different cookie recipe every couple of weeks
eat healthy despite having cookies every couple of weeks
hit the gym more
rock-climb on a more regular basis
take a break from my good friend alcohol until my birthday
get a bike in the summer and go biking more often
learn to swim (this makes the list every year but i have yet to accomplish it...)

Happy new year!

[no pictures because i'm being lazy]

texan christmas

2008-12-28T17:31:00.007-05:00

This year was the first year ever that I did not spend Christmas with my family, and this is the ruckus that I found -

- from 0 degrees Celsius in Dallas the day we landed, to 28 degrees on Friday - hello up there, can you make up your mind on the weather?

- Republican bumper stickers like "YOUR WALLET - the only place Democrats want to drill", "SARAH!", and other interesting sayings countered by a few Obama/Biden ones around town. My favourite was "Texan Democrat" - talk about oxymoron, haha

- Texan POV's such as "well if he (Obama) wants to take the guns away I'm going to make sure he doesn't take mine. Otherwise only criminals will have guns and I can't let that happen..." on and on...

Continuing with the theme of oxymorons, we also had a very traditional British Christmas feast despite being in Texas! (Lori, we used plenty of salt & pepper...you'd be proud of your heritage.)

Grandma making the best roasted potatoes!

Mr Helpful in PJ's all day until Christmas dinner

Brussels sprouts...yum yum

The silverware makes its annual appearance

They even have different colour themes for tree decorations in Texas ;)

Real trees in Texas cost about $400, hence the fake one!!

Lovely message left for us in the coach house

The turkey being roasted in the coach house

Merry Christmas!

2nd bi-annual christmas party

2008-12-23T22:41:00.006-05:00

Alex and I have bi-annual Christmas parties. Originally I thought maybe we'll start doing them annually after this year (last year was a disaster to begin with and the party got semi-hijacked to a different location, on a different date, with a different concept called pot-luck). However, after the past week - see you all in 2010 peeps!!

I had a project plan for tasks to do every day of the week leading up to the party, as I believe firmly that if I'm opening the doors, I'd better treat my guests right and there's never too much enthusiasm. The plans actually got put into motion in October when I ordered custom invitations from redstamp.com. I'm obsessed with custom letterpress and stationery shops these days so I jumped on the opportunity to get these invitations made. Two years ago I sourced shimmery champagne-coloured card stock and embossed the invitations myself, which took a long time, and gave me a hand cramp!

Anyway, this week has been full of baking, prepping, cooking, shopping at various specialty stores, procuring cheap(er) amaryllis, etc. I followed the rule of 6-7 pieces of food per guest for the hors d'oeuvres, and since we invited at least 30 people, you can imagine the sheer volume of food passing through the kitchen this week. I would basically be in the kitchen from the moment I got home until about midnight!!

The final menu included crab cakes, duck crepes, curry chicken purses, brie and cranberry spanakopita, veggies and chips with pan-fried onion dip, lamb bites with roasted red peppers, 4 mushroom tarts with truffles, cherry tomatoes stuffed with pesto on a skewer with bocconcini, smoked salmon with creme fraiche, and prosciutto with dijon mustard. The desserts table included chocolate cups filled with fresh fruit, shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate, mini coconut cupcakes, chocolate chip skor bits cookies from allison, and gingerbread cookies!!

The party started at 7:30 (Terence and gang arrived about 30 minutes earlier to help with last minute preparations as I was super stressed out and considered not doing my hair or makeup just to make sure everything was ready), and went on until 3:00am!!!!! It was a smashing success and I think we had about 24 people show up despite the snow storm that hit last minute, and one of my guests had to be picked up with a garbage bag in hand, so I think we did very well! We polished off 18.5 bottles of alcohol...although if everyone had read the instructions on the invite and brought a bottle of champagne, we would've gone through more I should think!!

Getting the bar ready - Julia was the barmaid for the evening

Main food table

Dessert table

Favours - Santa-hat-shaped cupcake pops

Not quite the whole picture of 18.5 empty bottles

Drunken self portrait at 3am

bake fest 2008

2008-12-14T13:36:00.003-05:00

Julie and I have been talking about baking goodies and packing them up as care packages for Christmas to send to our mutual friends. The idea started in 2006 when we wanted to send cookies to Vartan, Dave, and Logan. So finally this year we organized a baking date, and I procured all sorts of materials and ingredients and got prepped for a day of baking goodness.

The baking ingredients (partial). Not in photo: pre-mixed shortbread and chocolate chip cookie dough, and brownie and gingerbread cookie ingredients, plus the cookie cutters and other fun decorating things.

My oven turned on at about 3:30 and went straight through to 9:30, and we made superbly delicious gingerbread cookies (that Julie and Alex kept on stealing when I wasn't looking), my favourite chocolate chip cookies (from the NYTimes article), and amazing chocolate brownies, and countless shortbread figures that Julie decorated with gusto. She even made a Blair Waldorf with a pearl headband, come on...

We packaged up the cookies in tins, bags, and these amazing boxes I found at Michael's. By the way, Michael's is awesome - there's soooo much going on in there for fun things you can do, and these boxes were just a cute little example. I ended up spending a little over an hour in there just browsing when I went in...haha.

If you don't feel Christmas-y yet, I hope the cookies help you get there!!!

12 days of Christmas

2008-12-12T12:52:00.002-05:00

12 cookie boxes lined with tissue
11 days until i get on a plane
10 goodie bags with twine
9 bottles of sprinkles and dragees
8 lightly floured winter cookie cutters
7 types of goodies (shortbread, shortbread with chocolate, linzer, ginger molasses, chocolate chunk, peppermint meringues, brownies)
6 care packages to fill and mail
5 pounds of callebaut semi-sweet chocolate
4 pounds of unsalted butter
3 bags of icing in red, green, and white
2 mini gingerbread cookie cutters
1 very overwhelmed mango

see above for weekend plans.

buncha random thoughts

2008-12-04T14:37:00.000-05:00

I can't quite start working yet even though I'm painfully aware that it's 9:44 already, and my three-page-long to-do list isn't getting any shorter. I think I just need to rant and get all these thoughts out of my head!

First of all - Christina got married! I was totally hoping to get to her wedding in Taipei as part of my trip to Taiwan in Q1, but there she went having a small ceremony with just family...congrats Christina! :)

My desktop background is a picture of Nyac the otter. The same picture can be found under my entries with the tag "otter". She was adorable!

Kasia got my package, which is great...I still owe the girl at the post office money for the bubble wrap stuff to hide the cookies in, I shall go pay her back some time tonight. She will obviously have no idea that I nicked two of those bubble wrap bags for my cookies but it's an honest thing to do to pay her back, right? I was desperate!

Trip to Taiwan - I need to start doing research! I think I want to swing by Bali for a week of sun and relaxation (and visit that healer from Eat, Pray, Love)! The thing is, everything looks kind of expensive right now so I have to do some more research to find cheaper alternatives and plan things a bit more DIY to save money. You're all invited to join me and Terence in Bali, by the way.

South Beach - I have been on it since Monday morning. I just woke up and decided it was time, and so far, I am incredibly glad I am doing it. My eating habits have gotten SO BAD. When I think about what I might've been eating if I weren't on South Beach, I cringe. I would've probably had a nice greasy English muffin with sausages and an egg for breakfast, had a soup and sandwich for lunch (which is probably the healthiest part of the day, usually), and snacked on Halloween candy from my coworkers, eaten lots of fruit (another semi-good thing) for the afternoon, binged on rice cakes or crackers as soon as I got home, eaten some sort of a dinner (not always healthy), and snacked on whatever else came my way, including anything I bake. For example, yesterday I went to Loblaws to buy some stuff because I'm having some coworkers over tonight. The old me would've cracked open the Pringles right there in the parking lot because I hadn't had dinner yet and was starving, and probably would've bought a Kinder Surprise or something to "tide me over". It's not that I was eating a lot in quantity, it's that I had absolutely NO filter and would just eat whatever was available around me - it's like I was constantly walking around in Costco waiting for samples to be thrown at me. That, my friends, is dangerous.

My naturopathic doctor (yes, I went back) did have a chat with me about the way I have been putting on weight, especially in the last year. As you may all have heard because I whine about it so much, my ass grew a healthy two inches in the last year, and I don't even want to think about how much my waist has grown. I never used to put on weight in my butt; if anything, my limbs were more likely to suffer in hard times (see pictures from beginning of third year after a summer of toast with my freshly churned, delicious butter in England). Anyway, he mentioned that in stressful times, your organs can't process fats as quickly and you tend to gain weight differently...so basically, the last year and a half have been stressful for me and that should explain the weight gain in awkward areas. It's kinda funny, because I really don't have overall complaints about my job and the type of work I do, and I never thought of it as stressful in a harmful way. I'm much happier than I was at my previous job, that's for sure.

Christmas party...I feel so disorganized this year. I think there's a bit of work to be done with decorations (will be starting this weekend - first official December weekend), and the menu planning is driving me bonkers in my head. I kind of know what I want to do, but it's so scattered in my brain and I feel like I need to be constantly jotting down things and ingredients to make sure I don't forget anything. I need to write myself a project plan!! Just need time to sit down and do that now...So many ideas in my head, so little time. Also, I take slight offense to people feeling like they need to bring food. I'm not sure why, other than maybe it interferes with my masterpiece slightly and goodness knows I can't have that. So if you're reading this, and you're coming to the party, please refrain from bringing food. Especially the store-bought saddo-looking type. Homemade food? I am open to discussion, but no promises.

Christmas presents - again, another drawn out list of the nonexistent presents this year. We've decided to go super small this year, so there's quite a bit of brainstorming going on, as well as supplies-procurement for those DIY gifts. I'm excited though, somehow living frugally thrills me a little bit because we had so much fun living frugally in England and forgetting about material goods for a whole summer. I find that my life was much simpler back then and thus more time to have fun and relax!

Anyway, ranting time is over and it's 2:40pm now - I guess I should get back to work ;)

Happy Birthday Jakub!

2008-12-01T00:03:00.002-05:00

These cookies never made it to you because the colours spread and the bears didn't look so good the next day. So you got snowflakes instead. Sorry kid, to give you a reality check so early on in life :)

december

2008-11-30T21:27:00.005-05:00

December is here!!

I spent a lot of September being sick and enjoying the after-effects of food poisoning. I remember two things about October: Thanksgiving cottage and apple picking. I have no real recollection of how November could've gone by so fast, but it did. Someone out there is cheating us time!!

The happy thing is, I finally got around to organizing the advent calendar this weekend. This is my advent calendar this year:

It's a reindeer, who has a giant headache right now (har, har).

The reindeer is from Pottery Barn, and the numbers are all sugar cookies! I didn't get a bigger reindeer, thinking this was big enough. It is, for the most part, but we learned rather quickly that the reindeer's parts are quite fragile (broken legs, broken antlers, etc. are all possibilities) so I had to distribute the weight a little more, hence the stars on the actual torso.

Time to get into the holiday spirit even more! I can't wait <3

mini brownie parcels, v. 2

2008-11-27T11:33:00.003-05:00

this is what i've been working on:

after attempting bakerella's" cupcake pops last time when i had a long weekend, i tried again last weekend with some more store-bought cupcakes as a small sample. they turned out slightly better as i got a bit more experience with dipping the little bites, but overall still not up to my standards. however, i threw those pictures out there anyway and convinced tina at work that she wanted them for her holiday party this weekend...and so off i went on my third try.

i baked my "holy mother chocolate cake" this time, which by the way is the best chocolate cake recipe ever. it is the perfectly moist basic chocolate cake for any type of project, except maybe cupcakes because they're that moist that they don't hold their shape as well as a typical cupcake. i made a delicious chocolate buttercream icing from melted dark chocolate, and added my own twist to it with reducing some icing sugar in the recipe and substituting in some cocoa powder for an even richer chocolate flavour. yum!

blended altogether, i froze them first as they were shaped into balls, and then took them out from the freezer a couple of hours later to shape into squares. i found it was much easier to shape them into decent looking squares that way because they're not as pliable and melty when they're half frozen. then back in the freezer so the dipping process will be easier and faster.
dipping turned out to be rather smooth (ha, no pun intended) for the first 4 or 5 i did, then the cake started flaking off whenever it felt like it, and i had to change the white chocolate and start over, and then the chocolate was all lumpy and wouldn't melt nicely...ughhh! by this time it was about midnight and i was ready to call it quits and pretend the whole thing never happened. i was also ranting on and on about how people should stick to what they know. i like my chocolate chip cookies (all versions), my cupcakes (all versions), and my sugar cookies. i think that's a good enough repetoire for an average person. anyway...i stuck it out and made some more horrendous looking brownie parcels that were clearly sub-par but at this point i just wanted to get it over with.

then this morning i got up early and finished off with the red ribbons in fondant. would have loved to do actual bows on top but the ambition just wasn't in me at 6 in the morning...so here they are, finished product!

the little brownie parcels dipped in white chocolate

and finished off with red fondant ribbons

all packaged up as party favours!

are you kidding me?

2008-11-21T16:25:00.006-05:00

I have problems with people who can't spell definitely.
- it's a word we see daily and you can't be arsed to remember how the letters line up next to each other in the correct order??

I have problems with people who think their creative license allows them to "bypass" grammar rules.
- then what's the point of the little brown handbook that is neither little nor brown? it doesn't matter who you are, you sound less educated when you think you can start sentences with "and" just because it sounds better/more clever.

I have major problems with people who overhype the twilight series
- i bought the first book so i could see what the hype is all about, and i would know what i'm watching when i go see the movie with sexy cedric (from harry potter, thank you very much). the writing made me cringe. it was so elementary. maybe she did an overly good job of personifying a teenage girl but it just lacked depth and i can't believe i am going to say this, "thought leadership". it was all so superficial that yeah, you feel like you're there, but you're there in a two dimensional picture! ughh. you could also tell that there was some awkward thesaurus use. remember when you were in grade 8 and you had to write a paper and you thought it would be really clever to go and find a thesaurus so you can replace words in your paper with "big words"? yeah, that's what the author did here. some words just don't make sense. it's like instead of me saying i'm a little sad today, all of a sudden i'm "poignant". say what? i am not exaggerating when i say i flipped through most of the book, getting the jist (which i do have to admit is interesting), but not reading the horrendous piece of non-literature.

To be fair, I'll let you be the judge. Here's an excerpt.

It was impossible, being in this house, not to realize that Charlie had never gotten over my mom. It made me uncomfortable.

I didn't want to be too early to school, but I couldn't stay in the house anymore. I donned my jacket - which had the feel of a biohazard suit - and headed out into the rain.

My favourite word in this excerpt is definitely "don" as a verb.

"How old are you?"
"Seventeen" he answered promptly.
"And how long have you been seventeen?"
His lips twitched as he stared at the road, "A while", he admitted at last.
"Okay", I smiled, pleased that he was still being honest with me. He stared down at me with watchful eyes, much as he had before when he'd been worried that I would go into shock. I smiled wider in encouragment, and he frowned.
"Don't laugh but how can you come out during the daytime?"
He laughed anyway, "Myth"
"Burned by the sun?"
"Myth"
"Sleeping in coffins"
"Myth", he hesitated for a moment, and a peculiar tone entered his voice. "I can't sleep."
It took me a moment to absorb that, "At all?"
"Never", he said, his voice nearly inaudible. He turned to look at me with a wistful expression. His golden eyes held mine and I lost my train of thought. I stared at him until he looked away.
"You haven't asked me the most important question yet." His voice was hard now and when he looked at me his eyes were cold. "
I blinked, still dazed, "Which one is that?"
"You aren't concerned about my diet?" he asked sarcastically.
"Oh", I murmered, "that"
"Yes that", His voice was bleak, "Don't you want to know if I drink blood?"

Okay, wow, how many adverbs did you need after each "he said" or "she said"s?

Why am I so irked about all this? See picture below. All I have to say is, BAH.

First of all, freaking idiot headline writers, give your facts context!! The last Harry Potter was released in 2007, and it sold 8.3 million copies in the first 24 hours in the US. THE US ALONE! I suspect the data provided is Chapters/Indigo data only, and sorry to break it to you Onex/Indigo jerks, but nobody cares about the sales at your company and your company alone for these books. In 2007, there was only one Harry Potter released, and the previous release was TWO WHOLE YEARS AGO that obviously by 2007 people would've purchased all the books they needed in the series. So Indigo has compared the sales of one book to a whole freaking series of books. ARRRGGGHHH.

the first snowfall

2008-11-19T23:00:00.003-05:00

i have to admit, it looks pretty exaggerated here.
blame the long(er) exposure.

someone wrote x-mas (with their shoes i guess)?
put a smile on my face.

ha, not so lounge-y now, are we...

i can't believe it's already here!!

so far it's been pretty tame (i.e. the snow hasn't reallllly coated the ground). perfect day to get some baking started though - i need to get some pictures out there for my holiday "business". today's cookies and this weekend i'm hoping to make more cupcake bites so that by next week i should have a pretty full portfolio of goodies to showcase.

things on my mind:

a) google party tomorrow night. it conflicts with the class i'm taking in the evenings and my class is only four sessions, so missing one is kind of a big deal. i'm still debating how i will approach the conflict because i love everything google (c'mon, who doesn't), and i already missed the yahoo! party last thursday due to class so i feel like i've been good enough to deserve a break.

b) i should go to class though. it's a beginner's cake decorating class and since i failed miserably at making roses last week, i should really go so i don't become the worst student in the class. i'm supposed to be good at this shizzie! i tried practising tonight but my royal icing is too runny to practice real piping, esp. flowers, and i don't have a strong enough blender to make real royal icing. bahhhh.

finally, a picture sample of my hard work tonight.

nigella's chocolate pudding

2008-11-18T10:46:00.000-05:00

we made this for our anniversary dinner on saturday night. it's so easy to make once you get the ingredients together, and so delicious! the most amazing thing about it is definitely the "wow" factor - you expect to get desserts like this in fancy restaurants.

from Nigella Express (mine's signed with love from Nigella. Just sayin'.)

Glitzy Chocolate Puddings

25g 70% cacao dark chocolate
25g unsalted butter, softened
50g white sugar
1 egg
10g all purpose flour
pinch of baking soda
small pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Break up the dark chocolate and melt in microwave with the butter. I melted it in 10-15 second intervals because burnt chocolate smells absolutely horrendous and lingers forever. Once melted, set aside to cool a bit.

Using a mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until thick, pale, and mousse-like. This took about 3 minutes for me on a medium setting on my handheld KitchenAid mixer.

Gently fold in the flour, baking soda, and salt into the egg and sugar mixture. Then fold in the chocolate mixture and mix until just blended. Pour into two ramekins and put in the oven.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes - it'll puff up significantly higher and the top will look just about done. The best thing is if you take it out early, it'll be a little gooey inside, which doesn't really hurt anyone either ;)

While the puddings are baking...

Melt another 40g dark chocolate with 15g soft butter. Stir with a spoon - it should look smooth and glossy. Break up a Crunchie bar or just plain honeycomb if you have some.

Drizzle the top of the puddings with the chocolate glaze and top with the honeycomb. Voila, simple and absolutely delectable.

random photos from the past week

2008-11-17T22:30:00.005-05:00

since i've been so AWOL so far in november, i thought i'd use some pictures to describe what i've been up to in the last week. i'm not going to make any excuses: i've been pretty useless since that drunken debacle and my stomach is still paying for the recklessness.

one of my finds at the william ashley sale - such a cute little casserole
beats the boring old corningware stuff

champagne for the special occasion...brought it all the way from paris to nerja to barcelona to toronto, in one piece! too bad we can't say the same about the artwork we bought in montmartre...

calligraphing the invites...
i was feeling particularly DIY/martha-y this year

right now my contractor is doing the kitchen backsplash. yes, it is 10:37pm on a monday night, but he's dedicated. so i'm blogging to be polite even though it's 37 minutes past my bedtime.

stay tuned for complete kitchen pics! we're almost done our whole place, just waiting to get photos into the frames and the chandelier up in the dining room!! we've come a looooong way!!

so this one time...

2008-11-13T23:33:00.002-05:00

i had two days off in a row, after a weekend.

in the four days, i accomplished a trip to buffalo with the crew, a catch-up session at crepes-a-gogo and the ROM with julie, painting alllllll the trims in my condo (it really takes a long time!), and patching up paint where necessary (i.e. where the contractor cracked open the wall). i also managed to hit up the william ashley sale and spend $200 there (the total is always $200, no matter what you're buying that day). i tested out the cupcake bites as per bakerella. i invited terence and avi over for dinner as a goodbye dinner to avi (he's leaving for india for two weeks).

we had gorgeous lamb with mint-feta-pistachio pesto, roasted potatoes and carrots, and the cupcake bites. we drank two bottles of wine between three of us (alex had a glass, so that didn't really count him as a fourth person sharing the wine). we moved on to vodka tonics (had to make a pit-stop downstairs to buy tonic first). terence stumbled home. then i somehow managed to walk avi through some coursework that i teach before he stumbled home. he also took that time to point out to me that flying via belgium to india is much, much faster than flying through taipei. he google map'd it and all. i was pwned. but seriously, my surrey brown friends claimed to have stopped in taipei on the way to delhi. i digress. i closed the door on avi. then i have no memory of what happened. the next thing i remember is me curled up in a fetal position on the bathroom floor after throwing up my entire dinner and then some. then i remember being dragged off to bed by alex because i could barely stand, let alone walk. then i remember waking up to a very violent alarm on my blackberry, followed by standing up wayyyy to quickly and remembering that i felt very delicate.

oops.

i made it through work okay though.

i still feel slightly queasy today. ah, i am getting old.

yes, i realize i was hammered beyond belief on my sixth year anniversary with alex. i already feel really terrible, so if you can please refrain from commenting that would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

witnessing history

2008-11-05T19:25:00.003-05:00

it makes me proud for the americans: they were able to see past prejudices and differences to make a decision that will change everyones' world. oh thank god.

i am really thrilled to have been a part of this history in the making, starting from 7:30pm at lori's in front of cnn all the way till dashing upstairs into terence's apartment at 10:59pm to catch the announcement for "333" electoral colleges - cnn projection.

the energy at grant park looked incredible, and i only wish i was physically there to cheer and celebrate!!

this morning, the newspaper bins along the streets looked so happy with their respective headlines about obama, and call me crazy but i felt this energetic vibe in the air and i swear i could see it on people's faces. it's what i imagine how people reacted after voldemort was defeated as per j k rowling's description in one of the books.

i can't wait to see the change he'll bring, the differences he'll inspire.

no more random thoughts

2008-10-30T18:08:00.003-04:00

i used to post random thoughts that would come to me during the day. lately, however, i am not getting "random thoughts" at work anymore. i get really angry thoughts instead. or really cloudy thoughts.

first of all, i went to see a naturopath doctor (who came highly recommended and is a teacher at the naturopathic college). he got my problems right away and prescribed a herbal tea, some pills, and a tinture for before meals. the next two days when i began taking the herbal remedies are completely blurry to me. i would wake up early (i.e. 6am) on my own, but by the time i got to work (around 9am), i was extremely exhausted. exhausted to the point of not being able to form coherent sentences when engaged in friendly or business conversations. exhausted to the point of not remembering how i got to work that day. exhausted to the point of forgetting where i parked (i have never forgotten where i parked, except when we came back from europe but that was because we left for 10 days. and i only got the floor wrong but the spot right).

anyway, so the haziness might be attributed to the naturopathic remedies, but maybe i was feeling under the weather or just ran out of energy altogether. i persisted and continued taking them, albeit with a little less enthusiasm. i wasn't as tired anymore but still pretty fatigued. this morning i decided to stop drinking the tea (i think it might be a little too calming) at work, and picked up my usual cup of daily drip from starbucks. i also decided to stop taking the multi-vitamin that is supposed to give me energy, and reverted back to my own multi-vitamin from GNC. i feel so much better.

that doesn't explain my angry thoughts. sure, it might be attributed to being that time of the month (i got all teary-eyed reading campaign speeches, come on). i think it also has something to do with the fact that i'm just getting so bored at work. thanks to the economic recession, moving upwards or even horizontally seems more difficult, and i just don't know if i have the stamina to last through the recession until departmental movements begin again. i'm not bored in the sense that i have nothing to do. i am bored because i have so much inane stuff to do. the only way i comfort myself is that at least my bosses aren't abusive (verbally), at least i get paid pretty well compared to other marketing analysts (this is a whole can of worms someone else opened and i secretly gloated over), and at least i don't have to worry too much about job security.

seriously though, i am 24, not 42, so i'm a little bored of being responsible and comforted by the fact that job security is important to me. why should it be when everyone else is off seeing the world, doing meaningful things for their lives that are memorable?

i think i need anger management and a prolonged vacation.

in one week

2008-10-28T18:02:00.003-04:00

i really liked the excerpt of obama's speech on tuesday -

In one week, you can turn the page on policies that have put the greed and irresponsibility of Wall Street before the hard work and sacrifice of folks on Main Street.

In one week, you can choose policies that invest in our middle-class, create new jobs, and grow this economy from the bottom-up so that everyone has a chance to succeed; from the CEO to the secretary and the janitor; from the factory owner to the men and women who work on its floor.

In one week, you can put an end to the politics that would divide a nation just to win an election; that tries to pit region against region, city against town, Republican against Democrat; that asks us to fear at a time when we need hope.

In one week, at this defining moment in history, you can give this country the change we need.

I think it's really inspirational and the rest of the speech was really patient in explaining why people should vote for him. It wasn't patronizing but it was very eye-opening and honest about his plans and how he sees those plans working for people and making a difference in their lives. I wish I was American so I could vote!

winter? winter!

2008-10-23T09:27:00.003-04:00

it all started with full on snow fall on tuesday. we had all been in a meeting and came back downstairs only to notice a snow-globe-effect going on outside! luckily the snow wasn't sticking. it was a really harsh reality check that said, "hey, you know fall? that season where you get to wear warm clothes but are not actually cold? it's gone."

i'm a bit sad that winter is coming so early because as i painfully remember, i hated winter last time and it felt like it would never end. so i can only sit here and dread what it'll be like this time around, esp. since i won't be able to travel very far to escape winter (thanks, economic recession!) this year as i had originally planned.

the plus sides of winter, though, are keeping me afloat until christmas:

MAC sent out the pretty emails for their holiday collections. those are always fun to look at but i hardly ever buy any makeup these days. i'm wondering where the brush sets are, though!

William-Ashley sale! this year i will make it there and stock up for the holidays

remembrance day super long weekend - i'm doing it. i heart long weekends, esp. when they're four days long!

the red cup. i am every marketer's dream because i buy into every single campaign of theirs. my favourite time of the year though, has got to be when the red cup is out at starbucks and i order the first of many peppermint mocha's with red sprinkles on top. yay!

my bi-annual Christmas party! time for the big shindig again, and hopefully we'll be more settled in our place so it'll actually be kind of a housewarming party too

born to blush unseen

2008-10-21T07:27:00.004-04:00

Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.
- Thomas Gray, Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard

The worst thing is that the world moves on. Time moves on. But it's so hard for people to move on.

to my bestie in kangaroo-land

2008-10-20T17:25:00.001-04:00

Dearest Kasia

I just spent the time from 4:32 to approximately 5:03 looking through our old Gmail chats because I discovered the function. Also, let's not forget that my head is in a "Monday cloud", so of course I wasn't doing anything productive. This is all besides the point.

I MISS YOU.

I miss our random middle-of-the-day chats about nothing in particular but whatever came to our heads. I love the casual-ness of being able to just message you when I saw you online. Some snippets of my favourites:

March 2, 2007
Katherine: hows san fran?
me: it's awesome
me:my hotel room is in the Club level for some awesome reason
Katherine: cool!
me: i got a complimentary mini bottle of wine too
Katherine: and did you promply drink it?
me: no :(

only kasia would say "promptly drink"

---

April 2, 2007
me: oh we went to queen's pasta cafe on bloor last night - it was quite good
me: really hits the spot if you are craving pasta
me: and they have whole wheat pasta too
Katherine: i was always wondering about that place
me: i liked it
me: k i should probably close this window - i'll see you later tonight
me: i am thinking you wont' be working late...

we took seeing each other after work for granted i tell you!

---

April 13, 2007
Katherine: hows work?
me: not that exciting
me: you?
Katherine: its "slit my wrists"able
Katherine: but my current boss is leaving at 4 or so today and told me i can leave "any time after that" - so i think at 4:01 or so i'll leave

the term "slit-my-wrist-able" trademarked by Kasia

---

July 24, 2007
me: i finished harry potter!!!
me: i finished it at 2:30 in the morning the day after - couldn't put it down after i started!
me: i just succeeded in spilling yogurt all over my pants. for fucks sake.
Katherine: haha - really? how is it? i just started ot read it
Katherine: i was in the middle of another book and wanted to finish that before starting on HP
me: ok i am packing up because i just dont want to sit here anymore.
me: my pants are now clinging to me wiht a horrendous scent of fake raspberries from my yogurt

true friendship: sharing a play-by-play of your work day while maintaining a whole other conversation

---

October 9, 2007
Katherine: eeek! i'm SO excited about [the baby shower]!
Katherine: what can i do to help out?
Katherine: i'm currently unassigned and bored
me: you can call these people and reserve the stuff
me: wait no you can't
me: because then you'd find out my theme
me: forget that...
Katherine: ahh...ok
me: :P
me: i will give you a call later
Katherine: ok call me at work 417 941 8383 ext 13887

being able to call your bestie at WORK! during the DAY! to talk about NOTHING IN PARTICULAR!

---

November 15, 2007
9:09 PM
Katherine: hey - ok, so i think i might be in labour
me: WHAT!
me: or wait, as ross would say, "are they just braxton-hicks contractions"?
Katherine: they are kind of painful
Katherine: FUCK and they are coming like every 5 min!!
me: good girl, you're timing them
me: please go in labour so i can get out of work early tomorrow :P
Katherine: haha well it might be a false alarm... sometimes women have contractions and then they stop
Katherine: i did lose my "mucus plug" on monday though
me: that sounds gross btw.
Katherine: anyway it might take hours...do you want me to call you if we decide to go to the hospital? i mean, just to know if I am really in labor?
Katherine: it might be in the middle of the night
me: yeah let me know if/when you go to the hospital
Katherine: ok even if its like at 4 am?
me: and potentially confused and cranky, but that's ok
Katherine: haha ok
Katherine: jordan wants to know if i am indeed in labor if you would want to be my second "person" thats allowed in L&D
me: i could be?
Katherine: cause i think he's freaking out a bit
me: sure
Katherine: ok thanks...i'll let you know what the decision is...its just nice to have someone as a back up!
me: no problem, although i too, am squeamish
me: remember i couldn't even look at drunken puking dude when we were in the emergency room

it ended up being a false alarm and little Kubus wanted to be a December baby, but still, it warmed my heart to be in the know and to be invited to the delivery room

---

November 30, 2007
12:59 PM
Katherine: i get my UFE results in 1 min
me: i know.
me: i am also watching the page...:P
Katherine: hahah
me: i can't believe you're not in labour yet.
me: what is going on, woman!
me: YAY YOU PASSED!
Katherine: I KNOW!!!
me: CONGRATS!
Katherine: thanks
Katherine: 'i'm so excited!

so excited, in fact, that she went into labour and delivered Kubus a day later

---

That's pretty much my trip down Memory Lane so far...*uncontrollable sobs*

[Edit: it's funny that I am writing this today - a year ago today we had Kasia's baby shower!]

my irrational fear

2008-10-18T14:08:00.002-04:00

i fear many things in life, but can usually manage to avoid most of my fears. i.e. i refuse to consider living in taipei because i am scared of cockroaches. i.e. i refuse to go watch scary movies. there is, however, one fear that i cannot avoid: the dentist.

i found my dentist after moving to toronto and she's awesome. the people at the practice are also super friendly. i was even friends with the receptionist for a while there until she moved on to being a full time student. i digress. no matter how nice my dentist is, and no matter how chatty my hygienist has been for the past two visits, i can't help but shudder when the "procedures" begin. i hate knowing that little machinery are working away in my mouth without me seeing and controlling, and i get all kinds of weird involuntarily reflexes to want to move, hit people, and run away.

usually my fear is somewhat calmed by the presence of my wonderful boyfriend who makes his check-up appointments for the same day as me. to clarify though, he's never had to hold my hand through a procedure, yet. anyway, today, i had to go alone.

ALONE!

i put on my brave face and sat through it all, but cursed evolution for not being advanced enough to give us indestructible teeth. it's an issue i may have to take up with the divine presence if i ever meet him/her. i flinched when my teeth got too sensitive with the little poking thing that spurts water, and almost snorted when water misted on my face (by my nose). i grunted a few times to stop the evil, and i'm pretty sure that without realizing, i was shooting daggers with my eyes at the hygienist. i know it's not her fault, but still, she was inflicting extreme discomfort on me both emotionally and physically.

i have no idea why i should feel so scared. i know why i'm blood-averse (thanks julia), and i know why i am afraid of ghosts (thanks scary stories that i didn't want to hear). i don't know of anyone who's been traumatized at the dentist. i think it's seriously an irrational fear based on the fact that i feel like i have no control of what's going on in my mouth, yet i can hear and feel every movement in there. AUGH!

afterwards i cheered myself up by parking along a side street and walking down to bloor west for some groceries and to pop into the bank. i love bloor west. it's my favourite neighbourhood in toronto. it always feels vibrant and bright down there. it's a well-to-do neighbourhood but doesn't exude the same hoity-toity ambience as forest hill or rosedale. it's where i would want to live if i were to stay in toronto long term because i feel so comfortable strolling along there, buying my groceries and checking out the little boutiques. the little walk perked me right up and made me forget about the horrid fluoride stuff in my mouth. AUGH!

i promise i will start flossing more regularly!

thanksgiving

2008-10-16T20:11:00.006-04:00

i feel like it's an obligatory post waiting to happen - our thanksgiving weekend away at the cottage. let it be known it was my first time visiting the famed "cottage country" in ontario, and we weren't even in real "cottage country". we were slightly north of peterborough, in kawartha lakes, with a lovely place on buckhorn lake. the buckhorn thing is my educated guess.

i had seen pictures of this said cottage on facebook, via angel's profile. it looked so good that i could hardly believe it was a cottage. so i emailed the owner, bill, and begged him to share for thanksgiving. he agreed after a few days of not hearing back at all (bless the unspoiled world of non-internet-ness).

coordinating the details of the cottage visit was anything but a piece of cake. the control freak that i am fretted about everything. terence and i grocery shopped and alcohol shopped, bringing our food and beverage supplies to a whopping $637 in total, just for the weekend. also, i had no idea what to expect - pots? pans? spatulas? bottle openers? baking trays? honestly, i meant it when i said (while cooking at the cottage), thanksgiving would be much easier in my kitchen.

after a few delays spurred on by workaholics who insisted that we must finalize 2009 planning before we go home on friday, packing $637 worth of food and alcohol into two cars plus people and their belongings and terence's personal dvd, video game, and board game collection, and a pit stop at chapters, we finally made it to the cottage. it was dark, it was pretty, we were excited. we ate the cake that consumed my life for the week prior, and went to bed.

terence's birthday cake - scene from mario kart
what greeted me in the morning outside was absolutely beautiful and made me fall in love all over with fall.

the leaves! the colours! the lake! the sky! the reflections! the trees!

the lake in the morning - very peaceful except for the breeze that moved the water slightly

the canoe's maiden voyage with alex and terence. i was being responsible and supervising.

the turkey dinner worked out, after some intense scrubbing with easy-off in the oven. the meal was big, fulfilling, and knocked out terence promptly after his first plateful of food. he didn't even make it to dessert, but there's photographic evidence of him sneaking the leftover dessert we saved for him the next morning.

here's me hugging my creation - i even stuffed things up this one's bum!

my favourite view - from the hammock. also my favourite fall colours.

all in all, a really fun weekend. we were ambitious and didn't finish all of our alcohol, but we made pretty good headway with the food. had the other two stayed for the whole weekend, we would've probably finished most of our food and bevs that the cars would've been even emptier coming home.

next time, i want to rent the cottage for a full week. i felt like there was always something to do and i could never fully relax. for example, saturday morning we had to go buy easy-off and do the easy-off'ing and then cook the feast. sunday was our last day so i couldn't fully relax knowing that we'd be packing up and leaving soon, too. just needed one more day!!

have you ever

2008-10-09T11:05:00.000-04:00

- walked into work, looked down, and thought, holy crap what am i wearing?
- reached down to grab your shoes from under your desk, only to feel a gianormous run from ankle to knee in an offending pantyhose?

such is a day like today. what the heck am i even wearing pantyhose for? i feel ancient in my stupid calvin klein pantyhose, and now i look like a total loser with a giant run in it.

yet another awesome cake

2008-10-07T22:24:00.004-04:00

i was just browsing cake wrecks today to look for a link to another blog that gave tips on fancy cake decorating using gum paste and fondant...and i came across the most amazing wedding cake ever. let it be known that what i am about to show here is from let them eat cake in california, because goodness knows when i might need to call them about some cool cakes!!

look at all the stuff going on here! can you spot all the characters?

oh, and that is rainbow road circling the middle (planet).

i love that mario is standing on a block. so funny!

here you can see that rainbow road is made out of sugar art.

apparently everything on the cake was edible - all the better!

the fact that they remembered to include the ball & chain thing is just hilarious!

check out the detail on the wing of toad's blooper (i think that's what he's driving...)

needless to say, i am super impressed. this comes on the eve of terence's birthday cake this weekend (which i'm making), and i was totally planning on making him a mario kart themed cake! talk about perfect timing! my idea though, is not as elaborate, obviously...but this does give me good ideas on how to shape certain characters/objects from mario kart in a more simplified form.

the flickr album with more detail can be found here.

a few of my favourite things

2008-10-02T16:06:00.002-04:00

i have this incredible urge to buy lots of useless fluffy magazines, bake lots of warm superbly awesome chocolate chip cookies, and make myself a warm cup of tea. combine the magazines, cookies, and tea with my nice comfy couch and we've got my plan for the weekend. the cherry on top would be if i could do all this in a warm comfy hole with a nice soft blanket and the hole automatically vacuums up any crumbs i may drop.

first weekend of fall

2008-09-30T19:43:00.004-04:00

i've just sat here and tried to remember what i did this summer, and it's realllllly blurry.

let's say summer officially began when i went to vancouver on june 20th, because before that, i don't think it was ever warm. or was it? my birthday was kinda chilly, so i can't be sure there. anyway, i came back, and the weekends in july...hmmm. i did bootcamp daily, i taught on tuesdays, i went to the rogers cup party, we saw batman but not in imax, alex went to vegas and i went shopping, then my sister was here, then my mom came to visit too, then we went to europe. and now summer's over.

somewhere in there, we managed to make very little progress on our place, and i think i have a list of "what i'd love to do in the summer/when the weather's nice" that's still untouched.

anyway, we did cross one very important milestone this past weekend - we finally went apple picking. i've been saying this since 2006, and two years later we finally got out there. i also came up with the brilliant idea of bringing a one-year-old who knows nothing about picking apples and has absolute no appreciation for the things we like. oh, and who is extremely prone to motion sickness - i would know, because i dealt with vomit to and fro. kingsley found it superbly amusing after he vomited the second time - he actually laughed and giggled. i wondered if i'd ever have my own kids.

the weather was beautiful though, and the crowds at chudleigh's proved that it was probably the last nice weekend before fall bites us in the bum. i always remember fall hitting us hard after thanksgiving, but judging by the rain today, i'd say fall has come early this year. only a little while longer before i'm standing in a dark parking lot at 6pm shoveling snow off the car - grrreat.

i do have high expectations for fall...we're doing the cottage thing over thanksgiving, and then some down time before remembrance day long weekend (i'm planning on skipping town - any takers to join me??). i'm picturing getting the kitchen all finished, the lighting fixtures installed, and the window treatments done. fall's a good time to nest, non?

unclean bill of health

2008-09-29T09:44:00.002-04:00

- although i can eat normally now, my digestive system is still recovering from the hell it went through from a week of not eating
- my skin decided to develop rashes on all four of my limbs overnight on wednesday night, and i am still scratching like a monkey. i'm not sure if it's just too dry, if i am allergic to something, or if i'm just due for a skin transplant
- my eye, not wanting to be out-competed, developed an infection on friday night. i woke up on saturday with my eye spitting out gunk angrily
- somehow on saturday afternoon i managed to twist my knee and ended up hobbling for most of the weekend

there we have the reasons of why i'm a four-eyed mango today at work.

Nyac

2008-09-25T14:55:00.002-04:00

This makes me ridiculously sad: Nyac, my favourite otter at the Vancouver Aquarium, passed away due to leukemia on Tuesday evening.

Nyac was the famous otter holding Milo's hands on YouTube, and Nyac was also the oldest otter at the Aquarium. She was great to watch and I loved visiting her. I would stand there and watch the otters all day if I could.

Nyac was recued from the Exxon Valdez spill, which the vets at the Aquarium think might've played a role in giving her leukemia (one more reason to hate oil companies?). She was 20 years old, which is about five years more than the average otter age.

I'm biased because I love otters, but still, how could this little thing not capture your heart?

I would find more pictures of Nyac that I took if I could, but they're not on my work computer like I thought they were.

I frantically searched my fridge today for the magnet I got of Nyac and Milo when I was in Vancouver in June, and couldn't find it! Turned out my cleaning lady hid it under another magnet when she was cleaning. My coworker Diane, who has the other magnet I got, called and told me hers was face down on her desk this morning - the first time it had been moved since I gave it to her in early July. Maybe our magnets were mourning too.

what a cubicle worker thinks about daily

2008-09-25T13:28:00.003-04:00

- i may not finish my (non-alcoholic) drinks, ever (had to explain to someone why i was carrying a starbucks cup presumably containing quite a bit of coffee out of the office at 6pm once), but i dislike people who don't finish their food and want to throw it out. why do they want to throw it out? because they've beaten the food down to a pulp that no self-respecting overeating individual would want to tackle it. how old are you, three?? this rule is only acceptable when dining at restaurants and the food is so mediocre that if you eat it again for your next meal you might actually die of boredom.

- i judge you by the shoes you wear. clunky heels were in when i couldn't walk in heels, so we've all come a long way. now move on and join us in 2008.

- no matter how big the diamond studs in your ears are, your privileges don't extend to blackberry reception in an elevator. so stop trying, and stop acting like you cannot bear to pay a smidgen of attention to us minions in the elevator ride with you. we feel the same way about you, ps.

- to the guy who asked so politely at marche: can i get my stir-fry in a cream sauce please? sir, 3 out of 5 asians are lactose intolerant.

random thought of the day

2008-09-24T15:31:00.003-04:00

overwhelming number of high school classmates getting (or have gotten) hitched. i'm ok with that, considering i still think surrey is a "small town".

i wasn't prepared though, to see that my classmates' younger siblings are now walking down the aisle. that creeps me out and makes me feel ancient.

ideal world vs. reality

2008-09-24T10:17:00.002-04:00

ideal day:
5:45am - alarm goes off; i get up
6:00am - do my 5km on the elliptical or treadmill
6:45am - work on those guns and abs
7:15am - quick breakfast, pack up some food for the day
7:30am - shower
8:00am - clothed, made up, and out the door
8:45am - at desk with coffee
4:45pm - start the countdown
5:00pm - ditch
6:00pm - home with my feet up, waiting for dinner to cook, wine in hand
7:00pm - a blur of vegetating on the couch, tidying up, and perhaps doing house stuff if i'm extra keen
9:30pm - in bed

-----

reality:
6:00am - alex's extremely annoying alarm goes off, i whack him, shove a pillow over my head, and go back to sleep
7:23am - panic ensues in my mind while my body remains completely still
7:25am - my body decides to test out moving one limb at a time
7:35am - putter putter, then get in the shower
8:00am - brushing teeth as if i were a shark with seven rows of teeth
8:05am - complain i have nothing to wear (how does this happen?)
8:10am - put on a semi-normal outfit, smear on make-up
8:15am - valiant attempt to include some food from home in my purse for the day
8:25am - look for a jacket
8:30am - realize jacket is actually still in the car
8:35am - locate keys, cell phone, and other miscellaneous items needed for work
8:37am - wait for elevator
8:40am - get in the car
9:20am - in front of desk without coffee, but with a questionable breakfast from greasetown in the caf

where was my alarm in this reality? maybe that's where i've gone wrong.

Nerja

2008-09-11T21:09:00.004-04:00

ah, the mediterranean. we meet again.

balcony of europe. our hotel faced this lovely little square

cutest little beach hut! i loved how vibrant the colours are!

thank you, i take wonderful pictures of people

the alhambra...the architectural detail on all of the palaces and random buildings was breathtaking

this is why we have a tripod

beautiful sunset...almost as beautiful as vancouver sunsets

nerja has been great for lying on the beach doing absolutely nothing important. other than that, i think it's a pretty mediocre beach town. it is overrun with brits and other english-speaking tourists. oh, and germans. while i love that every afternoon from 2pm till approximately 6 or 7, we are lying on the beach with occasional dips in the freezing mediterranean sea, i have to say i haven't been super impressed by the scenery.

wait, let me back up. i feel like i have heard the term "warm mediterranean sea" used many times (maybe too poetically) in everyday speech, in books, in prose, in travel brochures, etc. etc. i'm not sure if those people were here in the middle of july, because now in the beginning of september, i suspect the arctic shelf that recently broke off is hanging out here, about a mile away from the shoreline. it is absolutely freezing. i know most oceans and even lakes feel a little cold at first, but this is cold enough that when i dip my feet, my feet actually hurt from the coldness. if the sun's not beating down my back, even when i'm fully immersed in the water and used to the temperature, it can get a bit too breezy and chilly in the water. i have to tell alex to prove his manliness in order to get him to jump in - haha.

so, back to the scenery. there's something about beach towns. i'm still on the fence about how i feel about them. anyway, having grown up in vancouver, then transplanted to toronto, i have a deep, profound, obsessive, and biased opinion about how beautiful vancouver is. i compare many cities to it...and so far south of spain hasn't measured up. the mountains here are yellow for crying out loud! it's missing some lushness and some of that really natural, i-am-not-trying-at-all beauty. for example, north shore in oahu, hawaii is absolutely stunning, but waikiki and honolulu try too hard and are too commercialized. i feel that so far what i've seen is closer to the waikiki-style than the north-shore-haleiwa-style.

so i'm picky. however, have had great fun out here lying on the beach, adding colour to alex's glow-in-the-dark self, and becoming uber-tanned that i am the centre of jealousy in our hotel room (can't compare self to those bronzed people who live out here). also had an amazing seafood meal in frigiliana thanks to tina's suggestion, and drank quite a bit of sangria. we move on to barcelona - commercialization, shopping, city fun, here we come! oh and tapas. and paella coz i haven't had any yet.

Paris

2008-09-09T12:55:00.000-04:00

Specialty florist that only did roses - we saw a couple of them around the city.

One of my favorite pics - Raspail Market as recommended by Barefoot Contessa.

Chopin's grave at Cimetiere Pere Lachaise - finally made it there within "cemetery hours" this time

cafe angelina - best chocolat chaud ever!!!

what's Paris without an image of the Tour Eiffel?

As I get older, I think I become more and more self-conscious. When in Paris, even though I do know some French and used to chat with my teachers in French all the time, I just couldn't do it. I would mumble, I felt embarrassed, and I just could not bring myself to it! Therefore, I found the city slightly hostile due to my imagination, and it just didn't feel totally right to me.

It took a lot of convincing from Alex, but eventually I did warm up to the city. I was all, "I heart New York City" (which I do), because I feel alive and happy in NYC, and there's no language barrier to worry about. However, Paris is very charming, and I think the Parisian lifestyle is one that I'd like to try some day.

For example, the open-air markets were a treat, and the first night, we went down the street to a strip where they had a boulangerie/patisserie, charcuterie, wine store, and cheese store, and basically bought dinner there plus at the downstairs section of Monoprix (which is AMAZING by the way). Our baguette was still warm and fresh when we picked it up, and it was just such a simple luxury, yet so attainable in everyday life.

Walking on cobblestone streets with flats that don't have much support on the bottom for three days straight? Not fun at all. I ached so much by the third day I was begging to go home and forfeit shopping. It made me wonder though, how do Parisian women do it in stilettos on those streets!

Funny thing about our Eiffel Tower pics - the lights were on when we were walking from the Metro, and I kept on saying, "I'd be so pissed if it turns off by the time we get there." So at one point I stopped along the way and snapped a quick pic with the little camera we have. What do you know, just when we were approaching Champs-de-Mars, yep, the lights went off. I was sooo annoyed but we set up the tripod and took pictures anyway. After quite a few with different angles and all that, we walked off towards to Arc de Triomphe. About five minutes into the walk, Alex turned around and said, "OMG the lights are back on!!" We looked at each other and just ran!! Set up by the Seine on the Right Bank and just took as many pics as possible, the one here being one of them. Apparently, the light show is every hour on the hour for ten minutes. Now you know.

should i be seeing signs?

2008-08-29T11:46:00.003-04:00

as much as i would like to treat each blog entry to a nice picture of something, i just can't do it because it's such a huge production right now. i felt the need to justify that, and now i feel better.

a couple of weeks ago when a spanair flight crashed, i got goosebumps. alex and i are flying from malaga to barcelona on spanair (and earning aeroplan miles while doing it!) so that's slightly concerning. thennn, my second sign came yesterday when alex called me at 12:57pm - hey, zoom (airline) is "days away from ceasing operation"!

we booked our flights to paris on zoom because american express had just signed a merchant deal with them so employees got an additional 15% off. well then. hopefully the airline will remain in business until our trip is over. at 2:38pm alex called again - yeah, they're closed. nobody answers the phone there anymore. there's a statement on the website. looks pretty darn ceased already!!

so i'm thinking, freaking hell, should i just stay home for the week? then i think, but i have all these flights and hotels booked in europe! then i check the prices on airfrance.ca, ba.com, aircanada.com, and i think, holy crap flights are SO expensive! then i call amex (GREAT company btw, not biased) and they said they'd pay me back for the zoom tickets in 6-8 weeks so i think that's ok then, at least i'm getting money back. after a lot of debating, we just bit the bullet and bought tickets encore - full price. my biggest lesson learned in the past year is that all problems, big or small, go away when you throw money at them. indeed we threw our hard-earned cash at aircanada.com and now we're back on track to be in paris on september 6th!

seriously, though - two incidents hinting that perhaps i shouldn't take this vacay. what next? if there's a third sign from now until september 5th, i'm going to be realllllly concerned.

changes

2008-08-27T09:33:00.003-04:00

two years out of school, what are the subtle (and not-so-subtle) differences about me?

- i instinctively drive with my shoes off. i don't know how to drive with shoes on anymore. this is a huge change from 2006 when i hadn't driven for 4 years and was scared to even entertain the idea of driving in toronto. this is also a change that isn't easily observable.

- i have gained at least 16 pounds. most of this comes from this past year. i notice the differences on my body slightly, but at the same time it is so easy to adjust to the added cushions that i haven't been seriously alarmed yet. i have had a couple of episodes of "i-don't-fit-in-anything-anymore", but surprisingly enough i've also almost acquiesed to this change in me. however, for the sake of my elie saab, i have decided i must make a change and lose this blubber. the last thing i want is to be 25 years old and still feeling like i can lose another 10-15 pounds.

- my perception of money and wealth has changed dramatically. designer labels used to feel much more unattainable to me, but somewhere along the line i've changed. i think now it's more justifiable in my world. i know that my lifestyle is indulgent, and i can't help but think of the SATC episode denise told me. i'm the girl who spends my money on shoes rather than practical things, and perhaps other people would balk at my choices, but somehow it works for me. i also know that somehow i'm able to stretch out my salary so it barely affords me and me alone. should i feel ashamed about my lack of concern for budgeting and practical spending or should i just chalk it up to being young and childless and indulge myself like carrie did in SATC?

- adding to the money talk, i eat out a lot more and damnit i also enjoy nice wine now! as i stood in line at the lcbo one evening, two bottles of chilled whites in hand, i realized that this is a dangerous habit. i mean, $35 every couple of weeks is a luxury that i don't really need to make my life better. again, should i feel guilty about how i choose to spend my money?

- i'm lazier. after a day at work, it's so easy to just wallow on the couch and do nothing. watch the giant pile of laundry sitting in the corner, glaze over when the dishes in the sink add up, look away when the windows are smudged...that sounds about right. this makes me miss being in school because i could do a lot more with my time then. honestly, nobody believes me but i really didn't study much in university, so i made cupcakes and cookies and homemade meals and cleaned and organized...

i don't know what to make of these changes. obviously more changes need to be made (see point re: weight), but for now, i'm not sure if i like the changes in me so far.

my mother

2008-08-21T10:23:00.000-04:00

I like my mother, I really do. Ask anyone who knows me. I talk to my mom at least once every two days, I like visiting her, and I always follow her around when I'm home (much like what I did when I was 2 years old and unwilling to part with a parental unit). We always have things to talk about, I can tell her mostly everything (in time), and of my two parents I'm definitely closer to her.

She's in town now. I am seriously questioning my own sanity. Perhaps I was too quick to conclude that we get along. Perhaps I was delusional to think that we have a healthy relationship.

Two minutes after picking her up at the airport, she asked me if I had instant noodles, the Taiwanese kind. I replied no. (Alex doesn't endorse "junk" in the house, and I hardly ever crave it. When I do, I drive for 5 mins to T&T, buy one pack, indulge, and wait another two months before the next urge hits me.) She then proceeded to list all the failed expectations of not having a warm bowl of soup and noodles, especially after such a trying long day that she'd had. Egged on by her hunger, she then asked her next question (and I feel like she must've know the answer deep down): Will I have coffee tomorrow morning? I replied no, I don't have a coffee maker. I was almost defiant in my response because I knew that would add fuel to her fire, and sure enough, it did. How could I possibly invite house guests when I don't have a necessity such as a coffee maker? Um, because I want to buy a Saeco Odeo Gira Espresso Machine that makes Caffe Americano but haven't found justification to drop $1,000 on it?

Anyway, this really set the tone for the rest of the night (two hours). In the hours between travelling home (making a pit stop in Chinatown for noodles before my ears fell off from her whining) and going to bed, she decided it was absolutely crazy of me to

a) not own window treatments in my north-facing windows - $2,100 for Hunter Douglas Silhouettes, why would anyone have bought window treatments after getting a quote like that?! We are looking to do something eventually...
b) not have a kitchen backsplash - I want to do stainless steel subway tiles, so it's taking a while to organize it. Meanwhile I take perverse pleasure in ruining my wall above the stove because it'll be covered up eventually anyway!
c) want stainless steel tiles - apparently that's a sign I'm "cold".
d) make her sit on my Bertoia chairs at the dining table...don't you know, she almost FELL OFF! - Um, I like my designer, I like the choices we made together, and you can sit on the upholstered fancy chairs if your unbalanced butt wishes
e) not have all upholstered fancy chairs - that'll be $2,000. Will it be on your MasterCard, Mom?
f) not have updated lighting fixtures - seriously, who cares. I know I'll get there eventually and for now, I have enough light to function.
g) not have a junction box over my dining table - again, who cares. She doesn't know this, but we only bought the table less than two weeks ago because imagine if we didn't have a dining table for when she came to visit!!
h) not have renovated my bathroom. I won't even go into details here because that'll just end up being a post on its own.
i) not have two bathrooms - I feel like she's Rachel's sister and I'm Rachel...yes, you may go upstairs and use the "second" bathroom. Say hi to the people who live there.
j) not have breakfast materials - I daren't tell her I don't eat breakfast at home generally. I was too tired for another defensive argument.
k) have "dirty" floors - I'm sorry if your feet picked up some dust. I do not live in a bubble and there is likely some "floor-stuff" on my floors. I refuse to devote my life to cleaning daily and certainly don't have the money to pay for someone else to do so for me!

The list really went on, and continued again in the AM because I stayed home until 9:30 before heading over to Ogilvy and then Aeroplan for meetings.

Honestly, ask me on Tuesday next week how I feel about my mother. I may very well have changed my opinion. What if she becomes one of those bitter old people who just criticize others to make themselves feel better(?)...like Monica's mom!! Ugh.

always love

2008-08-07T23:43:00.004-04:00

- i don't care if you have a trashy reality tv show
- i don't care if your trashy reality tv show indicates that you're hopped up on drugs and alcohol a lot
- i don't care if you sing to me (and i have publicly stated the horror of being sung to)
- i don't care if you still have baby fat
- i don't care if you might've stayed at the paris hilton before*
- i don't care if you don't know my name yet, you will

tonight, my unrequited love for nick carter has been completely, 100%, revived. the backstreet boys concert was absolutely amazing. i can't even begin to describe it. at some point i thought maybe i should write down the order of songs, because i just want to be able to hold on to all the memorable moments.

first of all, i knew i felt strongly about this concert when i passed by the swag shop on the way in and wanted to buy a t-shirt. i have never wanted to buy a concert t-shirt.

they did a mix of old and new, and my favourite favourite part of the concert was the medley of the four best hits. brought me right back to 1999. it began with quit playin' games with my heart, then transitioned into as long as you love me, then the hats came out and we KNEW it had to be all i had to give, and finally, without warning, the best thing ever, i'll never break your heart. sundeep and i almost died of happiness when it came on, and we both at that point understood how some people may feel compelled to cry at concerts. oh my.

in the beginning they did a couple of newer songs (make note: buy all cd's that i don't have yet, i.e. the newer two), and then they did show me the meaning of being lonely and i want it that way. in show me the meaning, nick carter looked freakin' gorgeous. i can't believe that after 11 years, my heart could still be tugged on in the same way that it was touched when i was 13 years old. speaking of which, loved the sign that said "we're legal now". as am i, as am i.

anyway, i digress. the energy at the concert was incredible. people were ALL singing but their sound equipment was good enough that you didn't feel like the crowd singing drowned out their singing. many times, they paused to let the crowd take over. overall, very well done concert. great mix of songs to make sure people are hooked on new stuff and will buy their albums. i can't even describe it even though i wish i could replay the whole thing all over again, minute-by-minute, so i don't ever forget it.

i took a LOT of pics. see facebook for a sample of my favourites.

i'm still swooning.

i will also be posting some pics up in my cube. sundeep and i almost bought the t-shirts so we can wear them to work proudly tomorrow. we know we'd be made fun of, but all the better for the world to see what a great time we had. i am also contemplating going to their show at the ACC on august 27th...somehow.

ahhhh i'm soooo happy.

[edit] just found the set list on wikipedia...so here it is.
Larger Than Life
Everyone
Any Other Way
You Can Let Go
Unmistakable
I Want It That Way
Howie Dorough - She's Like the Sun (Song from Solo Album)
Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely
More Than That
Helpless When She Smiles
Trouble Is
Incomplete
A.J. McLean - Drive By Love (Song from Solo Album)
--not sure what happened between here...
Panic
Everything But Mine
--i don't think we saw these ones above but there was definitely something between AJ and Nick
Nick Carter - Blow Your Mind/I Got You (Song from Now or Never) medley
Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)
As Long As You Love Me
All I Have To Give
I'll Never Break Your Heart
Inconsolable
Brian Littrell - Welcome Home (You)
The One
Treat Me Right
The Call
Everybody (Backstreet's Back)
Encore: Shape of My Heart

*the paris hilton thing is on condition that he doesn't have cooties from his stay.

You remind me

2008-08-06T14:14:00.001-04:00

of a person I once knew. She was so charmed but still managed to be charming. She was so willing to give everything her all, but also demanded to be given everything that you or I had. The world was wrapped around her pinkie, and the world loved it, and so did she.

You bring out a side of me that I've long laid to rest. Without warning, we all grew up.

You inspire. You encourage. You revive. You touch. You love.

You befuddle me. You help me live. You remind me of things...long forgotten.

---

Sorry for the rant. I'm feeling particularly emo today. Today can also be defined as:
a) abysmal (in relation to work, to "driving results", to how I feel towards it all). In fact, the word has been officially borrowed by everyone from the VP down.
b) blah (in relation to how I feel about the next few hours before I get to go home, and also in relation to how I feel about the laundry that awaits me, and the typical dinner dilemma).
c) confusing (in relation to how I am going to accomplish three major projects in the next three hours, when I really need three days to do it).

797 kilometres

2008-08-04T14:17:00.002-04:00

Saturday 7:42AM of the long weekend:
Phone rings three times
Avi: Hello?
Sandy: (phew, he's awake) Hey, where am I picking you up from? (wow, this makes him sound so slutty)
Avi: Shit, my alarm on my Blackberry didn't go off. Give me twenty minutes. I'm at my place.
Sandy: OK (so I have another thirty minutes or so before I have to leave...)

Saturday 7:43AM of the long weekend:
Phone rings four times, about to go to voicemail
Terence: Hel-lo?
Sandy: (don't tell me same thing happened to you) Dude?
Terence: Shit, my alarm didn't go off. Give me fifteen minutes.
Sandy: Well, Avi needs twenty, so I'll see you in twenty five.

Saturday 8:31AM of the long weekend:
All three are now in the car, blocked by two cars in Terence's round-about. On our way!!

Long drive down, but it was fun! It took us until about 11:30 to get to the border at Sarnia, with a pit stop at McD's for breakfast included. The line at the border was sooo long that by the time we successfully crossed, it was well past noon. After much debate, we decided to go straight to Somerset Collection and skip the outlets. I was quite gung-ho about the outlets initially but I decided to be realistic and join the team. Somerset Collection is huge that it really required the dedicated time.

Another hour and fifteen from the border (due to construction and all that), and we finally arrived at Somerset close to 2pm. We began on the South side where the fancy stores are (the side closes at 7pm), and Avi and Terence devised the walking tour plan to ensure we would not accidentally miss a store. We stopped in most of them for quick peeks and so on, and did the laps around Neiman's and Saks too. Barney's Co-op was slightly disappointing - the sale section was tiny, the actual selections were not that impressive, and I didn't see a lot of names/designs that resonated and made my heart jump. Haha. I got a skirt from Theory's fall collection at Neiman's. Since the economy is so bad, it's already on sale from $230 to $80. The customer service at Saks and in general on this South side, was terrible. Saks had a pathetic denim collection, and the women who worked there reminded me of the snootiest of the bunch at Holts. It's such a huge difference from Dallas where everyone's falling all over themselves to help you and make your experience magical. Clearly in Dallas they understand that magical experience = exponential growth in spending power. We got a few little things at C&B and then proceeded to unload at the car and work on the normal people side - the North side.

Since we had already deposited some of our shopping into the car, really, it was like I was starting with a blank slate. The denim collection at Nordstorm's was fantastic (can you imagine having the same style in every single size? What a concept!) and I got COH jeans :-) Finally! I've been punishing myself with "fat clothes" that are mediocre, so I was excited to finally get back to the fancy denim. Anthropologie was really disappointing there, though. It seemed disorganized and also really uninspiring. I hate it when stores don't have any inspiring pieces on the mannequins...it really sets a negative tone on browsing through the rest of the store. We spent a long time at BR for the boys, and Terence went all out. Avi got this beauuutiful pull-over sweater that I just loved! It is such a nice comfy fall sweater, and his outfit of the day just so happened to go with it very well that I felt compelled to find the same one for Alex. No such luck - these two are not meant to be matchy-matchy, I guess. I then stole the sweater from him while he tried on the rest of his stuff...it was so comfortable to wear too!! Haha. I found flats at BR for $25 (marked down from $100 - genuine leather and everything), and an orange knit shirt for work.

We walked past BCBGMaxAzria and I almost turned in, then decided against it, then they encouraged me to go in anyway...and I headed straight for the 70% off racks. They had all these dresses on for 70% off, and I grabbed a couple that I had seen at the Eaton Centre with Denise in May. While I was trying them on (ridiculous looking), I saw another girl try on a black cocktail dress. I asked if I could try it on so they found me a size...and I almost didn't actually put it on because it's satin and I'm not a huge fan of the corset/satin look (kinda trashy when overdone). For reference, the other two I tried on were more tulle than anything else. So anyway, I put it on, and as soon as it zipped, I had a good feeling. So I called Avi and made him come into the store to check it out and we both loved the dress so much (egged on by other shop assistants) that I had to buy it!! It was marked down to $99 from $340!! Definitely best buy of the day for me.

Dinner was at McCormick Schmicks, which I felt really bad about because they had three items on the menu that Avi would actually eat/like. Oops! PF Chang's had a huge line-up, and there was no cheesecake factory close to the mall!! So sad...

We left for home at about 10:45, and got to the border/paid duties & taxes at midnight. By the time we made it back to Toronto, it was 3AM and we were basically all zombies. Avi fell asleep before we even got on the highway in London (driver-switch), and I fell asleep mid-sentence when trying to talk to Terence to keep both of us awake. I'm not sure what I was about to say...

All in all, it was a realllllly fun day!! We think we might do this at least a couple of times a year...however, Pepper won't be making the drive that much because of the limit on the lease I think.

week 3, survivor bootcamp

2008-07-30T20:33:00.004-04:00

i ended week 2 on a bit of a lazy note. i wasn't feeling well since a) it was that time of the month and b) everyone at work is sick and i just happen to have to sit in meeting rooms with these people for extended periods of time. i warmed up with only two laps, and after the circuit (only two of us were there!) i walked the hill twice. just. could. not. bring. self. to. move. any. quicker.

monday evening i made up for it though. somehow i got this boost of energy as soon as i started running and i did four(!) laps to warm up!! i felt like i could go on for another lap too, but since everyone else had already warmed up early, i didn't want to hold up the class. i even managed to semi-jog the hill at the end of class! i was so proud. i also used the heavier weights for the arm exercises so i could get some pain and some gain - graduated from 5lb to 10lb for some of them!!

tuesday morning i went and did the exercises by the skydome again. i think i did better this time, but it was still really hard because of all the cardio-intensive work. terence came with me and although he claims he felt it was kinda easy, he admitted today he's a tad sore. ha!

today was core day, and i went downtown again in the morning. i like morning classes more because i get my evenings to myself...although for the past two days i haven't really had an evening but those are other stories. anyway, i pushed myself really hard for the crunches and the push-ups and the planks, and even managed to do the circuit runs a little faster than usual. i'm really hoping to see results here!

speaking of results...none yet. i forced the tape measure but it just won't budge and admit the truth. i haven't weighed myself yet and i am not sure if it would be any help since i may have gained muscle from all this intense work. i feel better - my stomach feels leaner when i sit and stand and my arms, when resting, look skinnier too. the tape measure just sucks. also, i think i am motivated to continue bootcamp until we go to spain - i can get in another 4-week session before leaving, so it'll be perfect timing! i see some difference, and since the tape measure isn't showing that, i am determined to do it until a point when the tape measure agrees with me too.

this week has been sooo hectic so far and i'm feeling a bit deflated. tuesday was a full day starting from bootcamp at 6am, and i also taught my first official kaplan class. it was hard. it wasn't hard to teach the material but it was hard to sustain the enthusiasm about math! at one point i thought to myself, i am SO freaking bored i could walk out right now. immediately after i felt really guilty for thinking that. i think a lot of prep work has to go in to be 110% prepared, confident, and happy about the syllabus. BOOHOO. i didn't get home until 9:30 last night, then it was back out the door at 5:45am this morning for bootcamp.

i stayed late at work today to figure out the mess that is with our current campaign. a month old and it's wreaking havoc in our lives still. you'd think it's smooth sailing now that it's launched and in market. apparently someone has a great sense of humour and wishes me a heart attack or two in the near future...by the time i left, it was basically because if i didn't leave, i would probably have started banging my head repeatedly on my desk. alex and i then went to pick up the dining table that we bought on craigslist. we're going to re-finish the table (which costs 4x the actual cost of the table), but for now it'll have to be weird pine-y colour table sitting in our dining room, i think. i'll have to call around tomorrow to see what the timeline would be like to get the table re-finished.

i can't seem to stop rambling but i do need to make sure i'm maximizing my precious time before hitting the sack at 10, so i'll save the ranting for another day.

crazy week

2008-07-24T22:17:00.002-04:00

the past week since i last blogged has been absolutely nutty that i have neglected to do anything on the computer. i think today is the first day alex's laptop is even set up since the weekend.

saturday night, i was invited to the party i'd been waiting for, the roger's cup players party at ultra. the invite was all black, it was sponsored by moet & chandon and belvedere, and i felt posh just whispering that i was going to the party. (i had to keep it on the d-low for political reasons.) anywayyyy, mr. roddick showed up, did the press wall, did the rounds with media (5 minutes), and left. the patio was sooo crowded with wannabe's (only a section was blocked off) that i didn't even see him come and go!! boo. however, we met novak djokovic, who's currently 3rd(?) in the world, and his entourage (i.e. coach, health trainer, friends, etc.), and some brazilian coach and his player, and daniel nestor, the best thing that canada ever had in tennis (so far). i don't think nadal showed up even though he was supposed to. all night though, champagne and vodka drinks flowed freely...nice. i must've had at least 3 glasses of each, plus a few we purchased on our own. good times! if i ever locate the press wall pictures, i shall post them. the four of us definitely made efforts to look good!

on sunday evening alex and i went to the gym, where i ran intervals on the treadmill again, in hopes that come monday, i wouldn't "forget" how to run the track three times as a warm-up. i'm impressed with myself.

monday was the very first arms day. i find that with arms, at the time of the exercises, my arms get really tired and sore, but there's never really lingering pains the following days. does this mean i'm not killing myself enough?

tuesday i had to attend the morning class because i've started teaching at kaplan again. so at 6am, i was standing by the cn tower...and then running from the steam whistle around to the other side of the skydome. that run is not fun; it involves way too many stairs. or so i thought. we ended up using stairs pretty much the whole time...up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down, the long long long stairs outside the skydome. if you haven't been, just think of the stairs in a major ball park - they covered that on the outside of the skydome too, and that's basically what we used. alex came with me, pushed himself like crazy (show-off), and then sat out the second half of the class because he was basically green and ready to throw up. i think part of it was because he foresaw the suicides, done on the stairs, TWICE!! i actually didn't mind them, because as a closing exercise, the stairs are much more conquerable than the stupid hill in markham.

wednesday i had to do the downtown class again, because of the team offsite. core is always the easiest day, although i think i may have to start stepping up my game when holding planks and stuff. you know, be a keener and do the "extra-challenging" poses. ugh.

surprisingly on both days when i did the 6am class, i was able to wake up in time, do the class without feeling like crap, and continue with the rest of the day. it leads me to believe that i can probably handle the next session (if i sign up again) downtown, to make life easier. i mean, i get tired around the same time at night regardless, so i might as well be able to come home earlier every night instead of staying in markham till 7. this is all just hypothetical - i don't want to take my insane speak of waking up at 5:00 every morning seriously just yet.

today was the gauntlet again, and i felt a bit weird going in. i am exhausted because this week i've been away from the office or my desk everyday, so i have had to stay up late or go in early (7:15am and at my desk, yo) to get stuff done. i finished the three laps (barely), and had a huge headache. the exercises were OK, but i just didn't feel super great throughout. hopefully i'll be able to get a good night's rest tonight and it'll be good tomorrow to finish off the week. i can't wait till the weekend! i have no serious plans except going to the american idols concert (haha, i'm a loser, i know).

in other news, kingsley turns 1 on monday! i've really got to get on teaching the child how to say my name before he starts saying mama and dada. bwaha.

survivor bootcamp, day 5

2008-07-20T10:06:00.002-04:00

day 5, friday, was a full body circuit. we started off with jogging the track 3 times, which was a huuuuge thing for me. i did all three laps fairly easily, and by the end i didn't feel like how i felt on monday after just 2.5 laps. not to say that i didn't struggle through all that breathing and convincing my legs to continue, but it was definitely an easier feat compared to monday. seeing that improvement, it made me feel so much better about the rest of the workout.

we did three circuits, four stations in each circuit, with an agility ladder as part of the running. activities included squats, lunges, donkey kicks, burpies (twice!), deltoid raises, push-ups, crunches, russian twists, upper cuts, and a whole range of other torturous activities invented by gym fanatics. i was doing OK on the stations until burpies came along. each burpie takes soooo long, soooo much energy, and was just soooo unnecessarily hard on my legs rather than my upper body that i literally had jelly legs after doing them. i felt quite dizzy a couple of times but continued on and i'm glad i pushed myself because clearly i survived. last thing on the list was two times up and down that damned hill again. i swear, i can't see how i will come to enjoy running up and down a steep hill, but it's something i will have to face for three more weeks so maybe by the end of this bootcamp i won't be whining about them as much.

i think my stupid jokes are annoying some people and perhaps even the trainer. i can't help it! i love saying, how about a nap now? or i need a little lie-down. i would actually really enjoy one so i joke to get myself more motivated. it works for me, ok?

i'm glad week 1 is over. sometimes during the exercises i am still questioning why i am doing this, but then i see my giant stomach and suck it up (haha, literally too). i was really looking forward to the end of week 1 too. i think i still haven't gotten to the point where i am used to exercise and am motivated to do it regularly. again, maybe by week 4 i will have changed my mind. we'll have to see!

the dreaded gauntlet - day 4

2008-07-17T20:29:00.002-04:00

i made the mistake of googling blogs that would explain what the "gauntlet" entailed. after reading the blogs, i concluded the gauntlet sounded pretty intimidating. so i went off asking for expert opinion...the experts in question being people i know who exercise more than me. the unanimous response was "yeah, you're so going to puke" followed by some giggling. so i spent all afternoon psyching myself out, and at 5:15 i told steve just how mean he was being, and went and got changed.

indeed, the gauntlet is a hell of a workout. we started off by running to cones back and forth (5 in total), and each time we came back we had to drop and do 10 push-ups. at the end, plank hold for 30 seconds. if you finished early, you would start the plank early. luckily i had no such issues because i was (and will remain probably for a while) always last. then we did the same thing, but now 12 crunches. then we ran further, came back, and did work with the elastic thingies - squats (which, looking at my previous post this morning, was impossible for me. i could lower myself maybe a foot before i started cringing). then more running and this time we did arms - bicep curls and tricep curls. after that, just arms rotating between arm curls and shoulder raises, and deltoid raises and pumps (pumps are deathly - i wanted to drop the weights on my head). thennn we did suicides, a painful memory of why i stopped playing basketball in high school. finally, as a goodbye present, ari made us run up and down the hill (it's pretty steep!!) twice.

during the workout, i felt a tad sick as usual, and the exercises felt challenging for sure. however, i don't think i was as close to wimping out as the first day. i feel like my body has accepted this torture and is more willing to work with it rather than reject it completely. so at the end of the session, i didn't feel as whiny as the first day. it was intense, for sure, but my body is trying to figure out how to handle it rather than flat out hate it. so we're making some progress here...

i am still the last person in most exercises. part of this, i think, is because i'm such a princess when it comes to exercising. perhaps even life in general. when the going got tough, i was never really pushed (either by other people or by circumstances) to deal with it. rather, i was often encouraged to walk away or someone else would take on the burden for me. plus, there really weren't a lot of tough things in my little surrey life where fretting over what i got on a chemistry test was the biggest of my worries. not to say that i blame the people who raised me, because i love them for sheltering me from ever having traumatic disappointments in my life, but i think it makes me less tough and definitely more delicate. hence i usually dramaticize when i'm sick, when i'm hung over, etc. etc. even my flute teacher - he would tell me that if i felt like i was having an "off" day, just don't waste my time practising. so dealing with physical stress? forget it. this is a good lesson for me to learn in general to try to work up my stamina and my tolerance - like they say, so cliche, "good for my character".

when we were doing stretches some parents showed up in the parking lot to watch their kids play softball on the field close by, with mcdonald's. i blurted out how good it looked, and was punished to 10 extra push-ups. blah. kasia would know what it means to indulge in a big mac :)

anyway, i survived. tonight i'm getting very little sleep due to the dark knight premiere at midnight, so we'll see how i feel tomorow morning when i'm in mississauga at 8am for a darned meeting. i think tomorrow afternoon's full circuit will probably kill me.

no cheese

2008-07-17T08:27:00.002-04:00

no whine.

day 3 was the "core" muscles so it was a lot of pilates, but enhanced with extra torturous positions to make sure that nobody was able to slack off. we did crunches, modified "100's", planks in all different positions, and some partner work with free weights and elastic bands. oh, and there was running. apparently as a warm-up, we run at least 800m daily. i wish someone had told me that before i signed up - it would've made me think twice.

also, i don't think the idea of "bootcamp" ever really clicked in my head. i don't know what i was imagining, but i blocked out the part where bootcamp trainers will push your limits to the extreme. i guess i thought there would just be "intense" workouts, but didn't really want to believe that it would be hardcore testing your stamina (mine is nonexistent).

i ran the laps with the other newbie yesterday. i know she could've run faster and passed me, but she stuck by me and chatted. i don't particularly enjoy talking while running (stitches anyone?), but the thought was much appreciated. i felt like forrest gump being cheered on.

today, i feel "interesting". my arms no longer hurt from monday (yay!), my core doesn't really bother me unless i go looking for trouble (yay!), but my poor poor legs!!!!! i feel like my thighs were crushed by a 300lb weight, and i can't even really walk with flats on! booooooo.

tonight's the "gauntlet", which is intervals and i overheard the word "running" a few too many times for my comfort. watch out for another whiny post after tonight's extravaganza...

elevator day

2008-07-16T08:52:00.002-04:00

this is a bonus post because i just had to share my physical condition after day 2. considering day 2 wasn't even a "real" day 2 for me, i can only imagine how i would've felt had i actually done everything yesterday.

every day when i wake up, i think my muscles are asleep for another hour or so. therefore, i get this extremely misguided optimism that i can handle whatever is thrown my way.

not so much. first of all, you should know that if i'm not wearing flats to work, my heels start at 3.25" and up. second of all, i decided to venture into ironing my shirt this morning. i can honestly say that it was probably the third time in my life that i've completed an ironing job, and a shotty one at that. i accidentally hit my belly with the iron so now there's a tiny burn mark on my stomach. good way to start my morning.

so anyway, as i am leaving, i looked at my shiny patent leather heels and thought, well, i'm not feeling that bad today so i should give them a try. put on my brave face. i got to the garage and into the car, and drove up the street to pick up jovana. i waved to her, and my arm reminded me not to. on to markham and in front of starbucks...realized i was having issues unfolding myself out of the car. it was quite a dilemma - right foot first? nope. left foot then? nope. head first? ouch, my non-existent abs. it was ridiculous! hobbling into starbucks, i managed to get a nice fresh cup of coffee.

finally, at work, walking down the stairs to the basement was baaad. that was when i declared today an "elevator day"...

however, i feel pumped and ready to go for the third session, so we'll see how it goes tonight!

day 2 - homemade bootcamp

2008-07-15T19:47:00.002-04:00

let me start off with "how i feel the morning after day 1":

i was absolutely exhausted last night after i got home and finally ate. as a side note, i crave some serious carb lovin' after the workouts so far. i woke up feeling OK, got dressed, wasn't tired, but had that hint of soreness when i moved around getting ready.

as the day progressed, i felt stiffness everywhere and was secretly glad i didn't wear heels to work today. then finally time came to get changed and as i was about to finish getting dressed, a siren went off in my head: i forgot my shoes!!!!!!! it was one of those moments where i could then clearly picture exactly where my shoes were (sitting between the boxes and the chairs in the foyer). resigned, i still managed to get to milliken mills high school in my flip flops. i felt like such a huge dork. after a lengthy discussion on how today was "legs" day, and how they were going to begin by running the track (WHAT?! i thought that was a day 1 special!) i was encouraged to sit this one out. ari gave me some exercises to do at the gym so off i went.

i'm proud to say i managed to half-kick my own ass tonight. i was instructed to do intervals on the treadmill with 1-5-1-4-1-3-1-2-1-1-1 rotations, starting from a one minute walk and a five minute run. you get the idea. by the end of the 22 minutes it took to do all this (switching gears included), i almost died on the treadmill. i felt like i was emitting heat, i had a primo headache brewing, and i wanted to throw up. the super buff ladies working out next to me might've added to the puke factor. ari also said i could do leg curls but i sat down, did five, and left. the pain from yesterday's "fit test" lingered too strongly in my thighs that it was absolutely torture. therefore, i only managed to half-kick my ass tonight.

onto tomorrow! will be doing a double check tonight in terms of packing up.

survivor bootcamp, day 1

2008-07-14T21:51:00.003-04:00

first night! there were five of us - three returning and had just finished the week before, and me and another girl who are just starting. the first day is always the fitness test, so here goes my numbers!

measurements
- right bicep (flexed): 11.75"
- chest (widest part): 34" (let's hope this doesn't shrink down, because that would just be really sad)
- abdomen: 30"
- hips/glutes: 38" (i think my butt grew two inches in the last year!!)
- right thigh: 20"
- calf: 15" (this is abnormally wide. i blame my excessive walking around as a child, and my asian genes)

then we proceeded on with the actual fitness part of things, and here are my results.

fitness test
- 1 minute push-ups: 22
these were knee push-ups. not completely girly, but not manly either. for now, i am ambiguous.

- 1 minute sit-ups: 32
these were actually crunches, and i wasn't bad at them at all. i obviously didn't power through them because i didn't want to kill myself just yet.

- plank hold: 1 minute 34 seconds
i celebrated, thinking this was pretty decent, until two other people, including the other newbie, had to be cut off at 5 minutes 5 seconds. then i felt sad. apparently this is "mental" as well. i think whoever came up with it is mental.

- squat hold: 57 seconds (absolutely pathetic, as the other lady who ran 10k yesterday held it for 6 minutes 30 seconds and had to be cut off)
this is also "mental" - however, my legs were shaking so much i thought i'd spare everyone the cruel joke of watching me shake and just give up.

- 1k jog: 7 minutes 5 seconds
i told ari, the trainer, that i hadn't run like this since the end of grade 10 since gym class became optional. this time, the other ladies had to wait for me to finish. how sad.

(basically, at this point, i am completely out of breath and feel a little sick. i looked green, i'm sure)

because we had time, we did arm exercises with the weights. we did bicep workouts, tricep workouts, then some more muscles that i can't remember the name of, and then i had to have a little sit-down on the grass during the "pumping weights" part because if i didn't stop i was probably going to make a scene/throw a tantrum/puke on someone. i am soooo unfit and such an embarrassment...wherever did my parents get me from??

then came the stretches and i could still hear my heart pounding in my ears. i began thinking that maybe i have this deathly illness that's really rare, but basically it would mean that i can't exercise or i'd kill myself. kinda like that heart condition on one tree hill, maybe. this was so fantastical to me that i zoned out and ari had to ask if i was ok. i was...i was just lost in a fantasy where medical pros will have to declare me exempt from exercise for life. what a great concept!

finally we were dismissed and i was seriously questioning my sanity by then. so far when i've told people that i've signed up for bootcamp, i've gotten either really super encouraging (come to think of it, almost too enthusiastic) responses such as "oh my you'll be so fit! i'll be so jealous!" or the complete opposite - "you're soooo going to kill yourself. you're going to regret it after like, day three." well, it was day one and i already wanted to ask myself why...

good thing that i had water and some dried fruits and nuts in the car to take me home...or else i seriously wouldn't have made it. by the time bootcamp is done, it's 7pm and i'm typically starving and super grumpy by then that it is a dangerous place to be. that, and i have naturally low blood pressure and blood sugar that if i don't eat, i get all shaky and feel sick. so anyway, we'll see how the 19 days that remain go. i'd better be buff at the end of the session or else i just wouldn't know what to do with myself!!

for those who have google'd this entry because they're contemplating joining - please don't make a decision based on day one. you can wait another 19 business days to decide if this is worthwhile, and i'm your live guinea pig. (which also means, if the guinea pig dies at the end of an experiment? you probably don't want to tamper with whatever it is that did them in.)

Leveraged, challenged, managed, collaborated, and drove "idea generation"

2008-07-09T22:11:00.002-04:00

i'm supposed to be working on my personal mid-year assessment document. this was due to my manager and director the week of June 30th. since i was on vacay, i was told i could try for today end of day.

today end of business day, i was nowhere near done. now that today has 2 hours left to go, i'm close, but more like halfway than 95% finished. p.s. i don't think my manager's interested in checking her email at this time for the doc anyway, so i'm officially late giving it to her.

big words are being used in this document! it's actually a really useful document and a great base for discussions on career advancement. the way it's done makes sure that all your successes and areas for improvement are highlighted and even at a glance you can tell how you're doing so far. however, putting it together is a huge pain.

so instead, since i've been working from home this afternoon, i have procrastinated and haven't done too much. i have done other things, such as:
- read are they ALL yours, the truth about motherhood, shawna and her boys, and a bunch of other blogs.
- read perez hilton
- read the globe and mail - arts, sports, news, business, etc. etc.
- researched travel possibilities in spain on budget travel and travel + leisure
- read up on the chapters/indigo events as of late and noticed i missed out on lauren weisberger because i was in vancouver. boo.
- ordered sweets to be delivered to iggs for her birthday from the bent fork
- played mario kart on the wii
- watched an episode (or two) of friends
- made myself a salmon and rice dinner
- napped for an hour
- caught up on facebook for half an hour

basically, the point is, on top of leveraging, challenging, managing, collaborating, and driving idea generation this year, i should also get awarded for procrastinating.

that's all.

why do all good things come to an end

2008-07-05T04:20:00.002-04:00

(the madge really knew what she was singing about there)

i feel like since canada day, the days went by doubly fast. i had to drive julia to a volunteering event on canada day, and while she was there, managed to take some ultra-awesome photos that i'm going to blow up and use in our gallery. also stocked up on purdy's chocolates. then for the rest of day mom and i just hung around the house and didn't do too much...enjoyed the nice weather and watched a bunch of episodes of her latest asian drama on dvd.

wednesday morning i went to wake up julia for our trip to victoria, and she greets me with "i got accepted to u of t." i decided to do the most annoying adult thing i could possibly do, and told her to make the decision on her own. meanwhile, we went about getting ready for going away for the day, as planned. we were driving to the ferry terminal and julia wanted a fourth opinion from alex so we called him at work. alex gave her some pros and cons, and mom continued to drive towards the ferry. finally at the very last minute before we went on the ferry terminal road, julia decided she really wanted to go to u of t and not uvic. so we veered off in the direction of stanley park and the aquarium! at 10:00am as our ferry was sailing away, we set foot into the aquarium.

i swear, if/when i have kids, i would get annual memberships to this place. the otters never disappoint. with the new camera, i went crazy snapping photos of them. we were also lucky to get in line and see the three-week-old baby beluga. so cute! we caught a feeding too! apparently they only feed for 3-17 seconds at a time - how efficient. belugas also sleep with one eye open! they're able to shut off only half of their brain to make sure they can watch out for predators, swim without hitting things, etc. in the end we caught the dolphin show where continuous shooting mode came in very handy...and i was a happy camper when we left. i love the aquarium. had lunch at the teahouse with a gorgeous view - but the sunsets there would be their claim to fame, so i'll have to catch that another time. on our drive home we stumbled across the lululemon outlet - not that great.

thursday i went with jenn to try on dresses in vancouver. she had three top contenders but then kicked out my fave because it was too mermaid-y that it was hard to walk in. i loved that one! we stopped by ikea on the way home, where jenn picked up a bunch of random things. then julia and i bummed around the house together setting up her new macbook (which i'm using right now to blog), and read through her u of t stuff together. i can't believe she's going to be so close!! i have another victim to drag to stupid things i want to check out.

today i had a meeting at aeroplan, which was reallllly good. i learned a lot and realized how much we can do with them so i'm pumped to go back to work on monday. dropped off my present for my flute teacher (loooong overdue) and came home to pick up julia. went to white rock to have fish and chips on the beach with a booster juice, then checked out the archives. i got two prints that'll be done later, and one that they had on hand for much cheaper because it was already printed.

i can't believe my vacation is over! :(

he's no otter, but...

2008-07-01T02:31:00.002-04:00

been bumming around the house lately.

saturday was a huge write-off because i was extremely exhausted and sick for no reason. i had to get up quite early to have dim sum with my uncle and his family because he was leaving town that night, but i just couldn't get out of bed! then i had the weirdest cramp throughout dim sum and was still so tired when we came home that i napped until 1pm. woke up feeling even sicker and couldn't keep food down, so spent the afternoon lying around the house doing nothing. finally at 4pm i gave in and decided there was no way i could make it to kristi's bachelorette because i wouldn't be able to eat much at the restaurant, and had no idea if my stomach would accept any of the food/drinks either. julia bought the nanny diaries and we watched it (second time for both of us) at night.

sunday morning julia had to work, but after she came home, we took a trip out to white rock to have dinner at cosmos. the greek restaurant used to be one of my favourite places, but we haven't been there in the past couple of years, so it was nice to go there again. the roasted potatoes there are fantastic! took a short walk along the boardwalk afterwards, had gelato from dolce gelato (local strawberry and creme caramel in a waffle cone). only when we were driving home did i see that there was a museum/archives-like place right there that i might've found b&w photos at! i think if i have time in the next few days i will stop by there to check it out.

today julia had to work again, but we had the car so mom and i ran a bunch of errands. we had originally planned on going to the aquarium/stanley park, but i just didn't really want to go if julia couldn't go. so we went to richmond and wandered around some of the shops, including daiso where everything is $2! i got a 6-people sushi set with plates and dishes for soy sauce. i was going to get a matching sake set or tea cups but didn't like either sets that much so for now, i will leave it. on our way out of daiso, we walked into my former flute teacher and his wife and his two little kids!!

now, he's no otter, but i was pretty darn excited to have run into him. i have a lot of respect for this man because he was able to sustain my attention in musical development for more than six months. in fact, i took lessons with him from summer 1997 to summer 2002! he was a wonderful teacher who always managed to challenge me just enough so i wouldn't be bored or disappointed with myself. he was also a great master of tonality that whenever i had a chance to play for a different audience, i would get a lot of comments on how great my "sound" was - that it was so clean and full, etc. even strangers in quebec made comments. i never really knew to appreciate the work we did on tonality but i do have a pretty critical ear when i listen to other people play.

since i moved away, i haven't seen my teacher at all. i had called him once shortly after i moved away, when i was auditioning for the orchestra at western. i needed some advice on the audition pieces and he talked me through them to make sure i was comfortable with what i was doing.
sadly, i also haven't played much since i stopped playing in the western orchestral band or whatever it was called.

anyway, it was just so nice to see my teacher again. i had picked up a gift for him in italy when we travelled through europe in 2004, but just couldn't work up the courage to stop by and say nothing except admit that i haven't opened my flute case for a long time. i really had a great time learning from this man, and he was such a huge inspiration and part of my life throughout high school that i don't think i'll ever forget all the great things he helped me achieve. now that i've seen him, and know that he has two babies now, i will definitely have to stop by and drop off the present some time this week.

where phallic cakes come from

2008-06-28T02:22:00.000-04:00

Jenn and I had a super exhausting day that began at 10:30 and ended twelve hours later. We took the Skytrain downtown in hopes of finding penis paraphernalia for Kristi's bachelorette party. Not knowing exactly where all the sex shops are in Vancouver, we knew it was going to be an interesting day...

Minutes before Jenn picked me up, I had left Tommy a FB msg asking him which Starbucks he worked at downtown. I recall him mentioning it to me before, but couldn't find it in my emails or on my FB wall. So I left him a msg with minutes to go, knowing that I probably wouldn't find out in time to visit him anyway.

So Jenn and I took the bus (!) to the Skytrain, got on, sat down, and saw Tommy standing in front of us. It was pretty crazy. We got to catching up and chatting and he pointed us down Commercial Drive for this super-comprehensive sex shop that I had heard about a long time ago. We were supposed to head up Commercial for a "10-15 minute walk", but roughly 25 minutes later, I had to call Alex to find the directions because we still weren't there!! Finally when we got there, we realized that "Womyn's Wear" is what one might imagine as an "upscale" sex shop. You know, the type of store that has "empowerment" written all over it, and you can see that every toy/empowerment tool was carefully chosen for their store to maintain that image. Loosely translated, there was no way we were going to find penis straws, penis ice cube makers, etc. etc. at this lovely store.

However, the nice lady there got out a tourist map (!) and showed us Davie Street, at which point I recalled I saw a couple of "Love Nest"-y stores there the last time I went there for lunch with Allie P. So off we went running for the one bus that went down Commercial Drive that just happened to pass us then, and back on the Skytrain with literally a minute to spare before our passes expired. We got to Burrard, decided that we were ravenous then, and went into Kamei for some sushi. I had been craving Kamei since the previous day when I was downtown with Julia looking at laptops, so I was thrilled when they said there was no line! I had a delicious fancy roll and a nice cold beer, and Jenn had a huge Bento box before we were on our way again.

At last, when we approached Davie Street and saw the rainbow signs there, we breathed a sigh of relief. The first shop we went into, we were so happy to see all the sex toys and plastic lingerie hanging there that we gladly scooped up the penis straws in all five available colours. The straws, btw, are a new thing to me and I cannot imagine any drink that passes through those straws are allowed to taste good. There was also a wind-up penis that would jump around the table. After leaving the shop (they had a small selection because it's wedding season), we decided to check out another just in case. This one was much better stocked, so Jenn also picked up multi-coloured penis candles and something else. Then we were finally done.

But wait, we haven't even gotten to the best part - the cake!

We took the Skytrain back, got off in New Westminster to pick up an inebriated Brian amongst a couple dozen construction dudes at the bar (and his car) and drove home. Had to make a pit stop at T&T to pick up a jelly roll cake (chocolate with cream filling) for the, er, shaft, and Zellers for some more bachelorette party stuff.

After dinner, we got to work. We had to cut out the balls from loaf pans because we couldn't find little round cakes that were the perfect size. Then we compared the balls to the jelly roll and realized the proportions weren't working, so had to trim the jelly roll down. Then came the biggest debate of all - the head. How, what size, circumcision/not, etc. were all factored in, with our resident expert Brian at our aid. He had to draw us a couple of diagrams, too, to ensure that we really understood what he meant.

During this time, we also perfected the flesh colour with food colouring - 2 parts yellow and 1 part red should do the trick, with perhaps a bit more yellow if the red is too strong.

Finally, icing the cake took forever, because the jelly roll is a fairly moist cake in order to be rolled up without breaking. Also, the icing liked to slip off the cake because it was such a hot day. Once iced, we completed the look with chocolate shavings as the hairs, and a silver dragee at the tip. Sorry, I hope I haven't ruined chocolate shavings and fancy dragees for everyone reading this.

And that, took us until 10:30pm at night!

Mini-Trips

2008-06-26T03:09:00.002-04:00

Now that I've been in Vancouver for a few days, I've successfully managed to drag my sister out of bed before 9 everyday so we can go out and do stuff.

Saturday my mom and sister both had to work, so it wasn't super exciting for us. Sunday my sister worked while my mom and I cooked and cleaned so my uncle's family could come over for a visit. Needless to say, a lot of wine was drunk, although I think not quite enough. We could've been much more obnoxious.

Mini-Trip #1 - Steveston (Monday):
- One of my favourite places to just sit and eat ice cream. It's usually fairly quiet because it's so out of the way and I suspect not a lot of people know about it since it's not an "obvious" attraction. I love Timothy's (not the chain) there, where they have freshly made waffle cones for a huge selection of ice cream and sorbets. The flavours aren't fantastic and won't move you to tears, but the waffle cones themselves feel like such a simple luxury. When I got mine filled with white chocolate raspberry ice cream, the cone was still warm from being just off the iron. That's what I love about everything Steveston.

Mini-Trip #2 - Bellis Fair (Tuesday):
- Crappy American Mall that's literally 15 minutes away once we cross the border. Considering we live about 15 minutes away from the border, and the wait during the day is about 10 minutes or less, this mall ends up being closer than going downtown sometimes. I'm surprised that it hasn't attracted more American stores, because the parking lot there is full of BC license plates. Anyway, I was pleased to find that they had cleaned up Target (or is it because I've come to appreciate Target more as I've aged?) that it was fun to wander through there. Target has also stepped up in big ways in terms of products that it is fun to shop for stationery, gourmet foods, and makeup there amongst other random things.

Mini-Trip #3 - Granville Island (Wednesday):
- One of my favourite places. It feels tucked away from the world as it is under the Granville Bridge which connects Vancouver to Downtown Vancouver, and that area is generally pretty old-looking with quite a few auto-body shops etc. I love to wander into all the shops on the Island because for some reason, no matter how obscure the shops' services/products may be, they'll manage to survive. They'll make you smile when you walk in becuase you would never have believed that a shop selling only postcards, or only funky hats, or only paper, or only beads, would be there time and time again for your perusal. I love the paper store. The market is a plus because it's the only market in Vancouver that I know of that resembles St. Lawrence, but without some of the steep prices because hey, the produce selection in BC is actually better(!) and cheaper!!

I feel like I've built up a track record now to keep up. However, as I'm knocking off items on the to-go list, I'm also conscious of the things I need to do at home! We will be heading to Victoria for a day trip next week, as well as the Aquarium (another dearly beloved place o' mine). Since my mom works five days a week, I'm not sure where else we may end up!

Also on the to-do list is to visit Vanessa and to bake a phallic cake with Jenn for Kristi's bachelorette party!

Relief

2008-06-21T02:31:00.003-04:00

As the plane was landing in Vancouver Int'l Airport, I caught a glimpse of the mountains outside. To my surprise, I felt my eyes well up. And that was when I knew I was finally home.

Home this time means so much to me. It's been six months since I took a break from work, and in the six months, we've launched/have worked towards launching two huge campaigns that involve moving pieces in all the communication channels. I know there are lots of people out there who work longer hours than me, but I think this is the first time I've felt stress from work. More specifically, this is the first time I've experienced this type of stress - the type where I actually do care a lot about the end result, and I'm not just stressed about not getting things done. I stress about not getting things done perfectly, not leveraging all the channels and vehicles available to me, not doing enough testing, and all kinds of "non-perfection" issues. I guess it comes with being so close to your job and actually enjoying the fruits of your labour.

Also, I know I joked about it a lot, but I actually do think there's been truth in my statement that our apartment is like our first-born. I don't have a choice but to love it unconditionally, and make it into the best that I know it can be. Since we've gotten the place, there's been so many kinks that we've had to smooth out along the way. We haven't gotten to the day when it's completely finished, tidy, and perfect, and we can just sit back and marvel and fall in love with it. I work hard to get to that day, but for now, it's been like my first-born that I lose sleep over.

So this time, home is where I want to recuperate. I want to "heal" - eat, relax, read (a lot - I have lots of missed months), and just be.

I can't wait.

for whom the bell tollls

2007-10-18T10:41:00.000-04:00

... any man's death diminishes
me, because I am involved in mankind, and
therefore never send to know for whom the bell
tolls; it tolls for thee.
- John Donne, 1624

when you find out that a loved one has only days left on earth, you morph into a cartoon segment. you stand with your arms hanging helplessly at your side, while the world spins madly around you like a tornado. bits and pieces fly past you: clips of mini to-do lists, things you want to say, things you think, things you wish you had said, things you wish you had done, and the people lists. you mentally note the people you want to see, people you want to tell, people you don't know how to tell, people you wish were there, people you need to talk to...

yet still, a part of you is in denial. maybe you don't think about it and go on auto-pilot take care of every one and every thing. maybe you think about it, albeit with edits as you subconsciously alter reality in your mind. like me.

i feel like i'm letting my everyday life carry me through the days, and i work with a bigger purpose these days: to forget. however, the inevitable is, well, inevitable, and i will find out more as today wears on. i am not sure if i am prepared to hear certain things, so i plan out what i may hear, based on what i want to hear. i plan out the next few days as if i will hear exactly what i want to hear, yet i know i am simply building myself up for disappointment, potentially.

and so i wait.

i give hair, not blood.

2007-08-26T16:49:00.000-04:00

sandy: i want a bob
vince: that could be interesting...that could work. but are you ready to take off that much?
sandy: ahhh stop asking me! i can't decide!
vince: how about we move slowly up to short bob?
sandy: but will i be able to give my hair to charity?
vince: *gets out ruler* no, not at that length
sandy: never mind. let's cut it all the way.

...and that is how i came to have a bob.

i've been dying to cut my hair short for a while now, especially because i am addicted to pulling out my split ends whenever and wherever. it is really not the coolest thing to be in a meeting and pulling out your split ends. therefore i decided that bob was the way to go, especially because fall would be a good time where i didn't mind if my hair was not entirely able to be swept off my face.

of course, summer seems to have returned now that i have cut my hair short. go figure.

alex and i went to check out dSLRs this morning, and i think we're going to have to order one soon. i'm tres excited. after lunch, battled the BTS crowd at the eaton centre - mainly to get a straightener for my 'sleek bob' look - but ended up wandering into the throngs of crazy females ranging from ages 8 - 80 in aritzia. i emerged unscarred and victorious, with the cutest jumper dress for fall :)

just another chill sunday...addicted to kettlecorn.

First Long Weekend of Summer

2007-05-21T21:27:00.000-04:00

9:30pm, Monday of a long weekend.

Potential problems in the next hour: not being able to fall asleep, realising that I actually have nothing to wear to work tomorrow because I failed to do my 'work' laundry yet again, and putting off prepping for lunch and breakfast tomorrow (responsible & mature, I know).

The long weekend started with Friday night - Shrek3 was funny, but the previews were most memorable...Transformers looked amazing, and the Bee Movie with Jerry Seinfeld is hilarious! Saturday morning Alex and I walked all the way to Leslieville to get breakfast at Bonjour Brioche. It's such a cute little cafe, and we got there just in time so we didn't have to wait around for a table. The service was friendly, but since it was a weekend morning, service was also very slow. My latte came with a heart - kinda like the picture, but a smaller/delicate heart. I am still kicking myself for not having a camera with me.

After breakfast we walked over to ReZen Condos at King & Sherbourne...and I was promptly sold on the lovely bamboo floor upgrade option! I'm still debating whether or not it's a good investment, though. The neighbourhood was really cute - it's right on the design strip so we checked out some fantastic furniture shops along King...including AGA!! Aga kitchens just have that lovely country kitchen look that makes me want to bake pies or something. Anyway, so now I'm still trying to decide if I want to buy a unit at ReZen. There are some pretty decent units left on floors that would get a lovely view of the lake, so I'm quite tempted. On the other hand, I'm not sure if I'm ready to nest, especially in Toronto...

Also checked out Ikea and bought a patio set, and wandered down University to end up at sushi just down the block. On Sunday we were ready to go on a biking adventure along the lake, but it was disappointingly cold for a half-ass sunny day. So we had breakfast at home and just hung out, did some cleaning, got my nails done, and made a nice coq au vin dinner to enjoy on the patio :) We watched the Pursuit of Happyness, which was a great movie!

This morning Alex and I went out to breakfast, stopped by the Eaton Centre to look around a bit, and then he went off to work while I sat around and caught up on Seinfeld on TVtropolis. I only turned off the TV when I realised they had a show about couch potatoes! Cleaned up a bit, then baked some snacks for the work week - oatmeal cookies with dark chocolate chunks, and wheat bran pear muffins. The pear muffins taste kind of funny - I can't put a finger on it, but I think the pears weren't ripe with flavour so they're kind of bland. The oatmeal cookies, on the other hand, are fantastic!

After this weekend, I am spoiled with visions of what the summer can shape up to be. The only thing now is to get the freaking apartment floors fixed!!

Hawai'i

2007-03-22T14:10:00.000-04:00

Looking beyond the luggage carousel at the airport, the world is a cacophony of infrastructures. There are no skyscrapers to be seen, only a short row of buildings with petite open car parks. Yet expressways and freeways spread themselves zealously over these buildings, blocking out sunshine and light, as if this were any other heavily industrialized corner of the world. In the car park, families from all over pick up their cars, and the chatters of excitement are all about the beautiful rainbow peeking out from behind the clouds. Putting aside the multiple-lane freeways that would take each family to their respective resorts, the lei's around everyone's neck offer glimmers of hope that this is the utopia presented in the high-gloss brochures.

The North Shore proved to be the countryside - chickens strut alongside the main highway, and luscious fruit trees dot the yards of the houses. The resort itself was older. I've never seen Hawaii Five-O, but I assume that's what the buildings looked like back then, too. The interior may have been renovated more recently, but nobody's here for the view of the buildings, so why bother updating them? Being in the middle of "Winter/Spring", it was always windy and stormy first thing in the morning, and last thing at night. Yet during the day, the weather never failed to encourage the bon-vivre island feel - tropical, lush (from the earlier rainfall), and full of colour. There were shots I couldn't capture because I was too busy driving the Jeep(!), but it's such a constant, gorgeous treat for the eyes because the colours are vibrant, and they always seem to bring out the best of each other. For example, driving downhill towards the North Shore, the sky was pure blue, with a single flaming orange flower tree (not sure what flowers those were because they were so far away) against the backdrop and the ocean in the background - that was beautiful. Also of note - Kailua/Lanikai Beach, the local secret, and possibly the prettiest, smoothest (sand), aquamarine & pristine beach I've ever seen.

Final thoughts - kitsch? Cheese? Yes, in its glory with the lei's, the aloha shirts, the tourist traps and the busloads of Japanese tourists (MIA at Pearl Harbor, no pun intended). Beautiful scenery, relaxed island life, surfer hotties, and the chance to discover a completely natural ecosystem and all kinds of flora and fauna that reminded my mother of her childhood (read: Taiwan pre-everything is made in Taiwan era) made it worth the visit.

On South Beach

2007-03-02T13:31:00.000-05:00

I started the South Beach Diet last Monday when I was in San Diego, figuring it was easier to do it while someone else is cooking for me. After a week of watching my coworkers down pancakes for breakfast, brownies and warm chocolate lava cakes for dessert, not to mention cocktails and wine, I got home on the scale and I had only lost maybe 1.5 pounds, tops. I was soooo upset. Luckily at that point, I was still on my free trial period for the website, so I looked up on the forum and realized the problem was probably that I wasn't doing portion control. As soon as I realized that, I made myself meals that were more portion-controlled (and these portions aren't actually generous by any means)...and I lost weight! On average I saw almost a pound melt away per day for the first couple of days, which was super rewarding to see. I was also going to the gym daily too, and that totally helped.

I think I'm really getting used to these eating habits and I'm less likely to crave a large amount of sugar...however, I'm not sure how I will be able to keep this up...So onto Phase II after Hawaii!!

Rancho Bernardo, San Diego

2007-02-22T13:47:00.000-05:00

Been in San Diego since Monday, with all-day meetings Tuesday, Wednesday, and today. Thank goodness we finish today at 3, or else I'd be missing out on all that sunshine! (It's actually kinda gloomy/cloudy today). Yesterday we held our meeting off site at the Rancho Bernardo Inn, and it was such a beautiful resort!! I tried to book that hotel, actually, but it was all sold out for some event. It is a huge hotel, and each room had its own little balcony overlooking the mountains. The best part about the place though, was that there was an on-site Starbucks cart, and you could pick up your regular Starbucks order and charge it to your room! That, to me, is pure bliss and should be mandatory at all luxury hotels.

Orange and lemon trees were scattered throughout the resort, which just made the place feel that much more Spanish/tropical. Seriously, I am falling in love with this place. I used to think of San Diego as a very urban, and maybe even a bit run-down city. Actually, I don't know what I thought. I just didn't expect that in the more inland places (where I am), it would be so beautiful. The houses are very cute - all one storey, maybe two or three tops.

I went a bit crazy taking pictures around the resort yesterday during our breakout session and lunch time. It was so sunny that we Canadians decided to hang out by the pool during our breakout session. It was so warm on the lounger that I seriously contemplated staying there for the rest of the day. There were opportunities for some cool macro shots, but because the sun was so bright I couldn't really see the screen so not all of them turned out nicely...

Tonight we're heading down very close to the Mexican border to go to an outlet mall for some serious shopping. Las Americas is supposed to house the only Neiman Marcus Last Call in California! I've already made a list of all the must-hit stores in there. Tomorrow before we leave, we still have to go to Target (again), See's Candies, and In-N-Out Burger!! I'm also going to be getting up early and head down to La Jolla in the morning to take some cool beach shots before we leave this pretty place.

Seriously, if you don't see me in Canada this weekend, you'll know I'm still hugging the palm trees.

this bod needs to be bikini-ready

2007-02-15T20:18:00.000-05:00

Sooo next week I'm going to be in San Diego for basically the whole week. Although my coworkers don't know it yet, we will be checking out some nice beaches there. Particularly, I heard there is a beach where seals hang out!!! Maybe I'll run into an otter too ;) I also found out that there is a Saks and a Bloomies in San Diego, so I'm all ready to go. Except my wallet doesn't think so, but we're still negotiating.

Anyway, San Diego aside, this bod has been working to be bikini-ready since January, because I'm going to be in Hawaii in a month with my mom and my sister!! We're staying at the Turtle Bay Resort in the North Shore, which is about an hour's drive away from Honolulu and Waikiki. The North Shore is famous for the surf (which I don't really do, considering I can't even swim...shhh that's another can o' worms), and I'm kind of looking forward to being away from the crowds on Waikiki beach.

Oh yes, going back to the bikini-ready bod...so I've run into some obstacles, and it really is a "wagon" of some sort to be on a diet/exercising regime. First, I got incredibly ill for a whole week due to some insane flu that I caught. Seriously, I thought I had the bubonic plague the first night and I was convinced I would have to check myself in to the hospital or something. Then I was good for a week. Then the weekend came, and I didn't eat so well...(there was that free drinks thing on Friday at the Ivey Toronto Campus...) and then Valentine's Day came yesterday...and I made brownies...

...and today I got all excited and showed up at the gym at 7:35pm. The girl at the front desk asked me if I was there for the class. I wasn't. Then she kindly informed me that, oh, in that case, the gym's hours today are actually 6:30am - 8:00pm. Oops. I knew there was a reason why I had meant to go right after work!! So after 10 minutes of trying to pretend that I'm really keen, I gave up and walked home - there, that was my exercise. It is a 1k walk, and it's the thought that counts (and I really needed to pretend that I was burning some of those Haagen-Daazs calories that I had just consumed).

All in all, I've been pretty unmotivated since last Friday night, and I am not impressed with myself. I vow now to get up tomorrow at 6:00am to go to the gym before I go in to work. Because I've made it a public announcement, I will be there!!!

God, it's so hard to be bikini-ready.

meet marco

2007-02-14T10:16:00.000-05:00

Meet Marco, the World Vision child I've just signed up this past weekend to sponsor. He's 4 years old, and on my birthday this year, he will be turning 5!

I'm really excited to get my 'sponsorship welcome package', which normally includes a letter from the child and a picture. I guess he's too young to write anything now, so I'm probably going to get something written by a volunteer...but nonetheless, I can't wait.

Alex has sponsored two kids for a while now, and I'd always been a bit skeptical about the organization and where the money is going. So instead of hanging around feeling suspicious, I went on the website and found their most recent annual report (signed off by KPMG). Apparently, they allocate ~85% of their cash inflows to helping these children at their project sites. It looks kinda fishy that there is a lot of free cash to the organization's name, so I hope they'll be actively allocating that cash every year!

Working from home today, and the World Vision thing is on - Alex Trebek hosting, weird - and it's so sad!!! It makes me feel good to be helping someone, and if it's as good as they make it look, I hope I will be giving these children more opportunities.

More to come when I get Marco's story in the mail!

the ceremonial first post

2007-02-13T22:10:00.000-05:00

Ah, and from here on I will keep a blog...as long as I remember to post on a semi-regular basis. Being back on blogger is a way of admitting that I am aging and no longer have time to tinker with my own .html stuff, or pick up .php fun on the side. This is almost like typing out and printing a document from MS Word using Times New Roman, pt. 12 font. Except I'm not quite there yet...give me another nine months on the job and I might actually become jaded enough to do that...