So the day after I come home from Montreal, not even 24 hours after, I go to the dentist to get my two upper wisdom teeth out. Fun. I hate going to the dentist. The smell, the fear and discomfort of all the steps of a dentist's checkup or filling processes, and smell of fear.. haha. But anyways, I also hate needles. I cringe thinking about it, so I shall skip all those details and fastforward to the end. When my first one finally came out, I watched him stare in absolute astonishment at my tooth out of my peripheral vision. Since I obviously wasn't going to try to talk, I was mentally sending him What?! Is there something wrong with my tooth? Complications? OMG Did you pull out the wrong one?!
Then he pulled the same expression when the second one came out, pausing while holding up my tooth! Wth?!
So afterwards, he said that it was because most wisdom teeth are supposed to have one root. How many did each of mine have? Three.
Err... I knew three was my lucky number? Lots of threes occuring- three people I stumbled upon at the airport, three roots on each wisdom tooth, three realizations that descended upon me like a wet blanket as I walked into my house for the first time in almost 5 months:
1)I missed my dog, and her fluffiness. Not necessarily in that order.
2)It was cold. Strange, coming from Montreal to Vancouver. But I remembered that my family doesn't turn up the heat up up up 'cause heating's expensive. So I can't wear t-shirts like I can in my rez apartment =S
3) I walked into the bathroom, and it was so clean, so big, so familiar, and so clean, I was almost repulsed.
===
It took me 2 days to finally complete setting up Windows 7 on my laptop. My Dell Studio 14z purchase had come with a free Windows 7 upgrade, and so it arrived at home around November.. I must say, it's actually pretty cool, and I like it better than Vista. Just maybe the slight changes to the look, of which the most significant is the taskbar at the bottom. Dunno what else is very different though, since I haven't played with it that much.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Finality.
Finally, after finishing my chem exam in the Holiday Inn, I could begin making my way home. I bused to the airport, because since it was part of the public transportation, it was free with my OPUS card. I had to transfer buses in the middle, and the ride was about 30 minutes max- pretty good, I thought. This was my first time on a bus in Montreal too! But I made it =)
It's funny, I bumped into three people I knew at the airport- once when I just entered through the doors of the airport- It was this a guy from my rez, who's going back to France. We found the "departures" area together lol. Then when I sat down in the central eating/souvenir area eating a Quiznos sub after checking in my luggage, another guy happened upon me- this time it was someone I haven't seen since.. wow, the October, I think. Then he exacerbated my wisdom teeth extraction fears by saying, "It was the most pain I've ever felt in my life." AAAAHH. Then we went through the personal belongings/person check, and I went to sit at my boarding area.
My third person was a girl from my floor, from my rez! She was mad 'cause she lost her sister's present- at the airport!- and has been wandering around searching for it for 2 hours...
The rest of the flight was boring and uneventful. I've said this many times: It's a too-long flight without the comforts of a long flight. No meals (not that they were good anyways, but still), no blankets, no pillows, uncomfortable seats and that don't really even recline...
The transfer in Toronto was interesting.. a bit. There were lots of souvenir shops, lots of people, I wondered around just for the heck of it. Watched the first episode of "How I Met Your Mother" because I ran out of things to do. There were loads of people going to Vancouver, so the boarding time was delayed an hour, and they keep blaring on the announcements, "Passenger Alexandra Wong, report to gate blah blah blah" and then gradually changed to just "Passenger Wong" and that was just annoying.
On the plane to Vancouver, I watched "Food Inc." which really made me feel a cocktail of anger, disgust, repulsion, and enlightenment.. Ugh. But you should watch that film/documentary. They really help you gain some important information and insight.
Home Sweet Home <3
It's funny, I bumped into three people I knew at the airport- once when I just entered through the doors of the airport- It was this a guy from my rez, who's going back to France. We found the "departures" area together lol. Then when I sat down in the central eating/souvenir area eating a Quiznos sub after checking in my luggage, another guy happened upon me- this time it was someone I haven't seen since.. wow, the October, I think. Then he exacerbated my wisdom teeth extraction fears by saying, "It was the most pain I've ever felt in my life." AAAAHH. Then we went through the personal belongings/person check, and I went to sit at my boarding area.
My third person was a girl from my floor, from my rez! She was mad 'cause she lost her sister's present- at the airport!- and has been wandering around searching for it for 2 hours...
The rest of the flight was boring and uneventful. I've said this many times: It's a too-long flight without the comforts of a long flight. No meals (not that they were good anyways, but still), no blankets, no pillows, uncomfortable seats and that don't really even recline...
The transfer in Toronto was interesting.. a bit. There were lots of souvenir shops, lots of people, I wondered around just for the heck of it. Watched the first episode of "How I Met Your Mother" because I ran out of things to do. There were loads of people going to Vancouver, so the boarding time was delayed an hour, and they keep blaring on the announcements, "Passenger Alexandra Wong, report to gate blah blah blah" and then gradually changed to just "Passenger Wong" and that was just annoying.
On the plane to Vancouver, I watched "Food Inc." which really made me feel a cocktail of anger, disgust, repulsion, and enlightenment.. Ugh. But you should watch that film/documentary. They really help you gain some important information and insight.
Home Sweet Home <3
Friday, December 18, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Canned Peaches At Midnight//The World Map.......
Haha the title reminds me of a Magic Tree House title. XD
For some reason, I dislike canned things, except for corn and peaches, I suppose. You know those fruit cups or whatnot with those cherries (ew!), pears, pineapples mandarins, and peaches? I realized, I've always like the peaches for some strange inexplicable reason.. Anyways, that's why I've bought canned peaches and am now eating them while researching on the internet whether canned fruits have the same nutritional value as fresh fruits, and I must say, it has dispelled some of my beliefs about the former. First of all, let's establish that I am talking about canned fruit without the preservatives, additives, syrups, sugar and all that added stuff to the fruit that is obviously going to result in less nutritional value than fresh fruits. Now, from my browsing, it seems that there is not as much of a difference between canned vs. fresh fruit in terms of nutritional value, as most people think. There are some vitamins and stuff lost, but how much depends on so many factors, from the process, and type of fruit/vegetable being canned and so on.
Here are some of the links- of course, there are biases, esp. in the first one, so that's why there's more than one link. XP
http://www.europeachesfc.com/en/nutrition.php
http://blog.totallyready.com/our-general-storethink-fruit/02/23/
http://www.letsgo.org/resources/5210/five/CannedAndFrozenFacts.pdf
//===========================================================
So it being late at night and all, I get into all these moods and sometimes revelations and realizations and laughter fits and strange longings, meloncholy, and now sudden cravings (for Sprite(in that other post), for fruit?). Wow. Sounds like pregnancy. (O___O) Hahaha!
Well. I got up to look at my beautiful and beloved poster #2 that I bought at the poster sale back in September. It's a World Map. I was just checking out Southeast/west Asia 'cause Any posted a Sri Lanka tourist Youtube video on my wall and I'm going to go watch that soon.
Looking at the world map, it suddenly came to me that I know at least one person from every continent in the world. With the exclusion of Antarctica (Well, I know Pingu. He can be my someone =P )
It's sort of mind boggling and interesting at the same time.
For some reason, I dislike canned things, except for corn and peaches, I suppose. You know those fruit cups or whatnot with those cherries (ew!), pears, pineapples mandarins, and peaches? I realized, I've always like the peaches for some strange inexplicable reason.. Anyways, that's why I've bought canned peaches and am now eating them while researching on the internet whether canned fruits have the same nutritional value as fresh fruits, and I must say, it has dispelled some of my beliefs about the former. First of all, let's establish that I am talking about canned fruit without the preservatives, additives, syrups, sugar and all that added stuff to the fruit that is obviously going to result in less nutritional value than fresh fruits. Now, from my browsing, it seems that there is not as much of a difference between canned vs. fresh fruit in terms of nutritional value, as most people think. There are some vitamins and stuff lost, but how much depends on so many factors, from the process, and type of fruit/vegetable being canned and so on.
Here are some of the links- of course, there are biases, esp. in the first one, so that's why there's more than one link. XP
http://www.europeachesfc.com/en/nutrition.php
http://blog.totallyready.com/our-general-storethink-fruit/02/23/
http://www.letsgo.org/resources/5210/five/CannedAndFrozenFacts.pdf
//===========================================================
So it being late at night and all, I get into all these moods and sometimes revelations and realizations and laughter fits and strange longings, meloncholy, and now sudden cravings (for Sprite(in that other post), for fruit?). Wow. Sounds like pregnancy. (O___O) Hahaha!
Well. I got up to look at my beautiful and beloved poster #2 that I bought at the poster sale back in September. It's a World Map. I was just checking out Southeast/west Asia 'cause Any posted a Sri Lanka tourist Youtube video on my wall and I'm going to go watch that soon.
Looking at the world map, it suddenly came to me that I know at least one person from every continent in the world. With the exclusion of Antarctica (Well, I know Pingu. He can be my someone =P )
It's sort of mind boggling and interesting at the same time.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
More French......
So I got home after my math exam and my roomies and I engaged in a conversation which included that Quebecois French vs. France French thing again.
My roomie said that it was soooo funny to experience the differences in French culture here that whenever she felt sad, she could always be cheered by looking around, and something would make her laugh.
"bienvenue"= "welcome" in French; however, it's used here as "You're welcome", a literal translation, in lieu of "de rien".
"joyeux festin"= my favourite of all that my roomie told me today- It's what the McDonald's "Happy Meal" is- it's it's so amusing because the language is so old, so archaic and medieval, my roomie says she feels like she should've be carrying a sword to order this "jovial feast" as it is in English.
"McPoulet"- as well, Chicken Nuggets are only called otherwise in Quebec.
"char"- I already said this, it's like a medieval carriage instead of a "car"- my roomie said the first time she heard it, it was like telling her, "You can get out of the carriage now." Umm.. pumpkin, anyone?
Ahhh, I forgot to tell you about the funniest commercial ever! Because of the culture differences and stuff, it's only possible here to have commercials here that play on both English and French-- My favourite, and I smile everytime I see it: "La vie est Bell."
HAHAHA. Ii applaud whoever came up with that =)
Also, my roomie told us that construction company that was doing work on the Peel metro station was called "Pile"- a pun on Peel, itself!! Haha. I would never have gotten that..
My roomie said that it was soooo funny to experience the differences in French culture here that whenever she felt sad, she could always be cheered by looking around, and something would make her laugh.
"bienvenue"= "welcome" in French; however, it's used here as "You're welcome", a literal translation, in lieu of "de rien".
"joyeux festin"= my favourite of all that my roomie told me today- It's what the McDonald's "Happy Meal" is- it's it's so amusing because the language is so old, so archaic and medieval, my roomie says she feels like she should've be carrying a sword to order this "jovial feast" as it is in English.
"McPoulet"- as well, Chicken Nuggets are only called otherwise in Quebec.
"char"- I already said this, it's like a medieval carriage instead of a "car"- my roomie said the first time she heard it, it was like telling her, "You can get out of the carriage now." Umm.. pumpkin, anyone?
Ahhh, I forgot to tell you about the funniest commercial ever! Because of the culture differences and stuff, it's only possible here to have commercials here that play on both English and French-- My favourite, and I smile everytime I see it: "La vie est Bell."
HAHAHA. Ii applaud whoever came up with that =)
Also, my roomie told us that construction company that was doing work on the Peel metro station was called "Pile"- a pun on Peel, itself!! Haha. I would never have gotten that..
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
I'm dying I'm dying aaaaargh math will be the death of me
I took a 5 minute break 'cause I saw that there was a new chapter of the FMA manga
and
OMG ASDJLKASJDKLSADJKSALDJSKLD: THE MOST TERRIBLE THING HAPPENED IN THE FMA MANGA
(I suppose I'm being melodramatic, and no one will understand exactly what I'm wailing about anyways)
OHHH it's killing me !!! The irony of it!!ASJDKLASDJAKSLDJASLKDJLSAKDJLSKDJLKSDJLKSJDLKASJDLKSAJDLAKSJLF:JL
I took a 5 minute break 'cause I saw that there was a new chapter of the FMA manga
and
OMG ASDJLKASJDKLSADJKSALDJSKLD: THE MOST TERRIBLE THING HAPPENED IN THE FMA MANGA
(I suppose I'm being melodramatic, and no one will understand exactly what I'm wailing about anyways)
OHHH it's killing me !!! The irony of it!!ASJDKLASDJAKSLDJASLKDJLSAKDJLSKDJLKSDJLKSJDLKASJDLKSAJDLAKSJLF:JL
Monday, December 14, 2009
Of Fruit, Singapore, and Pakistan.
So a few weeks ago I went to visit a friend's apartment (couldn't follow directions, ended up on the 4th floor instead of the 3rd... ) and found her and her roomie standing in the kitching staring into an empty garbage can. Or so I thought. They stared at me and I stared at them from the doorway and finally I asked, "What are you doing?"
The answer I got? "Worms."
O-kay.............. My first thought was "vermicomposting!" and then I ran through many confusing loops and reasonings in my brain because it was unusual and weird but it was so awesome they were vermicomposting but wasn't there composting bins available in the courtyard already maybe they didn't want to walk all the way out there?
That was a proof that I was turning into a bio nerd. Haha jk.
But it turned out to be just that. Worms. UUUUUGHHH. Anyways, I met someone new that day. I love how this cycle of meeting ppl never ends. We bonded over fruit! Yes, I am talking about Far, (one who got me into the Sprite craving in the previous post). She's from Pakistan, and I'm immediately fascinated and then we bonded over fruit! I think because we were talking about a lot of stuff before, and my friend whom I came to visit reminded me that I had to share my great longing for pomegranates. The season was almost there and I was excited! Then the topic of fruit came and stayed the whole night, and Far took out her mini laptop and HAHAA all three of us spent basically the whole night googling and wikipedia-ing fruit! The fruit we didn't know much about, the fruit we didn't know existed, and did you know that list on Wiki of tropical fruits is really handy?
I felt so full of fruit knowledge that night I went to bed dry-mouthed and craving all sorts of fantastical things.
And it got me so excited and full of longing for those tropical fruits I hadn't had in so long, which is still the same weeks later =(
Some of them are..
-starfruit (I don't even REMEMBER when I last had it, and it's been so long that I want it although I remember it wasn't my favourite fruit)
-Buddha's head- I tried to tell them about it, and it was hard and I finally found that the more common name was Custard Apple. I mean, I didn't even know about that!
-Bell Fruit- Seriously one of my favourite fruits ever. EVER. But apparently there're just so many pesticides used to grow it (dubious fact), and they're expensive! (another base-less fact, because they must be cheap where they're grown) Also, they're called Rose Apple more commonly?? It's a beautiful name and I'm drooling again, but Bell Fruit actually describes its shape! Hhhmm.
One of my dreams is to try so many different fruits- I can't believe there are so many and many I've never even seen before and just thinking about how a new fruit will taste like makes me so excited! One fruit that I know I can get, but have not actually tried to get, is durian. Lots of things I have heard about it. So that's a rare exception in which I'm not clamoring to try it. Perhaps.. one day, a tiny piece will be conveniently offered to me, because there's no way I want to buy the whole freaking stinkyness of a spiked ballon and drag it home! So we bonded over fruit!~
Just last week, at the same apartment on the 3rd floor (every single time I've tried to go up there, I end up on the 4th floor for some inexplicable reason!!!) This time, it was for a "pomegranate party"- because I bought pomegranates!! So yum! I invited Min, from my floor, and when we got up there, I met another new person! Far's friend from the MacDonald campus! Super exciting because wow, who would've thought I'd meet one of those rare, rare creatures? lol. McGill's MacDonald Campus (as opposed to the Downtown campus, where the majority of the students are) is the special Agriculture and Environmental Sciences faculty...
Anyways, her name's Mari (to differentiate from Mar), and we didn't bond over fruit. Because I found out the most astounding thing; she does not eat fruits. Apparently she was made to eat stewed apples or something when she was little? Childhood events causing aversion? But it wasn't just a slight aversion to apples- it's to every fruits she's ever tried! Because I asked her if she tried this and this and she's like yes she's tried it all and she'd just puke it back out!
Psychologically allergic to fruit! That is just.. mind-boggling to me. Alien.
Haha, then we spent the rest of the night talking about Pakistan and Singapore and going to the MacDonald campus to visit next term and having a snowfight there because it's basically all farms and beautiful pastures and cows! Min and I got excited about the cows- we want to try milking cows!
The answer I got? "Worms."
O-kay.............. My first thought was "vermicomposting!" and then I ran through many confusing loops and reasonings in my brain because it was unusual and weird but it was so awesome they were vermicomposting but wasn't there composting bins available in the courtyard already maybe they didn't want to walk all the way out there?
That was a proof that I was turning into a bio nerd. Haha jk.
But it turned out to be just that. Worms. UUUUUGHHH. Anyways, I met someone new that day. I love how this cycle of meeting ppl never ends. We bonded over fruit! Yes, I am talking about Far, (one who got me into the Sprite craving in the previous post). She's from Pakistan, and I'm immediately fascinated and then we bonded over fruit! I think because we were talking about a lot of stuff before, and my friend whom I came to visit reminded me that I had to share my great longing for pomegranates. The season was almost there and I was excited! Then the topic of fruit came and stayed the whole night, and Far took out her mini laptop and HAHAA all three of us spent basically the whole night googling and wikipedia-ing fruit! The fruit we didn't know much about, the fruit we didn't know existed, and did you know that list on Wiki of tropical fruits is really handy?
I felt so full of fruit knowledge that night I went to bed dry-mouthed and craving all sorts of fantastical things.
And it got me so excited and full of longing for those tropical fruits I hadn't had in so long, which is still the same weeks later =(
Some of them are..
-starfruit (I don't even REMEMBER when I last had it, and it's been so long that I want it although I remember it wasn't my favourite fruit)
-Buddha's head- I tried to tell them about it, and it was hard and I finally found that the more common name was Custard Apple. I mean, I didn't even know about that!
-Bell Fruit- Seriously one of my favourite fruits ever. EVER. But apparently there're just so many pesticides used to grow it (dubious fact), and they're expensive! (another base-less fact, because they must be cheap where they're grown) Also, they're called Rose Apple more commonly?? It's a beautiful name and I'm drooling again, but Bell Fruit actually describes its shape! Hhhmm.
One of my dreams is to try so many different fruits- I can't believe there are so many and many I've never even seen before and just thinking about how a new fruit will taste like makes me so excited! One fruit that I know I can get, but have not actually tried to get, is durian. Lots of things I have heard about it. So that's a rare exception in which I'm not clamoring to try it. Perhaps.. one day, a tiny piece will be conveniently offered to me, because there's no way I want to buy the whole freaking stinkyness of a spiked ballon and drag it home! So we bonded over fruit!~
Just last week, at the same apartment on the 3rd floor (every single time I've tried to go up there, I end up on the 4th floor for some inexplicable reason!!!) This time, it was for a "pomegranate party"- because I bought pomegranates!! So yum! I invited Min, from my floor, and when we got up there, I met another new person! Far's friend from the MacDonald campus! Super exciting because wow, who would've thought I'd meet one of those rare, rare creatures? lol. McGill's MacDonald Campus (as opposed to the Downtown campus, where the majority of the students are) is the special Agriculture and Environmental Sciences faculty...
Anyways, her name's Mari (to differentiate from Mar), and we didn't bond over fruit. Because I found out the most astounding thing; she does not eat fruits. Apparently she was made to eat stewed apples or something when she was little? Childhood events causing aversion? But it wasn't just a slight aversion to apples- it's to every fruits she's ever tried! Because I asked her if she tried this and this and she's like yes she's tried it all and she'd just puke it back out!
Psychologically allergic to fruit! That is just.. mind-boggling to me. Alien.
Haha, then we spent the rest of the night talking about Pakistan and Singapore and going to the MacDonald campus to visit next term and having a snowfight there because it's basically all farms and beautiful pastures and cows! Min and I got excited about the cows- we want to try milking cows!
The Day Before The Day Before The Math Final.
Okay, so Rah, Har, Any, and I gathered to watch the last 6 eps of DTB today. I shared some of that Ghirardelli peanut butter filled milk chocolate, which was amazing... I brought up a tupperware of three de-seeded pomegranates (I have a huge pomegranate craving, and ever since it came out at IGA, I've bought 9 of them all starting in the month of December). Then we ordered this pizza+poutine+chicken wings+fries combo... The delivery guy had trouble with the directions. I mean, I wonder how a McGill rez, a chocolate factory, could be so unknown?? It's by the Lionel-Groulx metro station, it's within sight of the Atwater market...
After it was over (man, it ended so randomly and weirdly, but it was promised that the watching of the second season will commence next term), I went back to stress over math =(
After it was over (man, it ended so randomly and weirdly, but it was promised that the watching of the second season will commence next term), I went back to stress over math =(
Oh, It's A Swell Time..
Tonight was the night. Of the Secret Santa and potluck. I contributed with my baked sweet potato fries, which was the only thing I could offer. We started with present openings, but I had to run back to my apartment in two 10-minute intervals because I had two pans of sweet potatoes baking at different times =.=lll So, I missed the latter portion of the present opening, so when I got back, it was all done =(
It was partly due to fact that when I went back the second time, Mich and Kir and a guy I didn't know was standing in the hallway, and I was in such a mad rush I must've looked half-crazy. Anyways, of course with my plate of hot potato fries in my hands, I couldn't just go past them without offering some! They liked it a lot, and Kir attempted to kidnap the plate. I was pleased. Haha. AND the guy I didn't know and I, we looked at each other, thinking, "Do I know you?" I asked him which floor, where he lived. He pointed. It was the apartment door to the right of mine. And where did I live? I point to my door a little of the left behind me. Err. Rob is his name.
So I finally meet one of "true" neighbours on the same side of the hallway!! Seriously, I never saw anyone go in or out of the apartments on either side of ours. It's a bit creepy, actually. But I found out that at least one dweller is human, so it's all okay XD
When I made it back, all the presents were opened except the one I had to give to him! Haha I hid it under the table, so no one knew there was one left! (You must be confused; some of the people were away, or were missed in the communication that Secret Santa was changed to today instead of Wednesday, so not everyone gave or received a gift today). I came back to the potluck and my sweet potato fries were attacked! I got compliments! *blushes* It's nothing at all though, it's almost insultingly easy to make; I shall make some for you guys when I get back?
Anyways, my Secret Santa was a successful! He liked it a lot, so yay!!
The guy Mar, from Mauritius, he brought chicken curry and this interesting coconut dessert, both of which he made himself, emphasizing the Mauritian tradition of the dishes. Haha, told you he was Mauritius crazy =D
The curry was so gooood and there was fried rice, naan (love!), a different kind of curry/stir-fry, my sweet potato fries... Mmmmmm.
After that, I went back down to my apartment, and Rah's like, Oh I'm going to introduce you to someone... and whaddya know? Tonight, I met my "true" fellow neighbours from both sides of my apartment for the first time! After 3 months! Wow. There're three girls living on the left apartment, and four guys on the right. So I met Rob from the right, and Nau from the left. She just returned from Khushali, an Ismaili (I think) celebration. So as Rah and Nau explained to me, it's a celebration of their religious leader, on his birthday- which is December 13th. Rah celebrated by going out to this amazing (apparently best in Mtl) ice cream place at Jean-Talon. I was in a dilemma, but in the end I didn't go because I was just too tired and had too much work to do (study math). There're other times... but it sounded absolutely amazing. There was masala chai flavour! Wth...! Now I'm drooling ><
Okay, so all three of us go down to meet Har, one of the guys in our Secret Santa group, who wasn't present at the potluck/exchange because he was at Harvard visiting a friend for a few days. We end up in front of his door, and Any ended up with us as well. Ooooh and hahaha he reaches into his backpack and gives in two bars of Ghirardelli chocolates!! My Secret Santa revealed, yups yups!
(See. I got chocolate after all. From Cambridge. XP I so do like things from other places)
They're rectangular bars, one of Milk Chocolate (my fav kind!!) and one w/ peanut butter in it. Yum! So we're still all standing in the first floor hallway and someone walk by. I almost let her go down the hall but I realized it was Far! And she didn't say hello, so I was like "Far___! What are you doing?" That got her attention haha. She said she was going down to get Sprite from the vending machine.
Oh no. It's happened. It was all because of her. She said something that just switched something on in my brain and from that point on, after she said that word, I had an extreme craving for Sprite. This Sprite craving led us all down to the hall (Any, Har, Rah, Nau, Far, and me). From that point on, there was proof that something out there did not want to make it easy to satisfy my Sprite craving. First, the machine beeped red and all three rows of Sprite buttons signaled "Choose another selection". Second, settling for second best, we pressed for Coke, and got the same reply. With the banging on the buttons, a Diet Coke rolled out. Which I refused to touch. Aspartame!!! And anyways, remember SPRITE CRAVING??
Since Far is the one who got us all into this, because she had to say Sprite! and I had to get this Sprite craving, which in turn led us all outside in our snow gear with the destination of the corner store which Any suggested, being closest.
The corner store was closed. Again, I had the feeling that something out there really has something against me. I felt like a (wo)man in the desert searching for water, and anything else would not do. McDonald's was closed. G-spot was closed. Damn.
And then we found a place that was still open at 11-something pm! We all went in and we all had Sprite (haha finally!!) and poutine.. It was good.
We went back to the courtyard of our rez, and a snowfight was going on between groups of people! So we get inevitably drawn in, and although I didn't have gloves and it was cold, I totally got some great hits! I got revenge on Hus for hitting defenseless observers Nau and Far (who bonded... 'cause one could speak Urdu and one could understand a bit of it? Yay- glad I intro'd someone to someone today too).
Oh, and I found out the Nau, my neighbour, is from Edmonton. It's apparently SO COLD there right now.
All in all, a fun wacky exhilarating night! (I still can't believe Rah had to introduce me to my own NEIGHBOUR! Well.. he practically knows at least one person behind every door at the Chocolate Rez, I have no idea how.....)
It was partly due to fact that when I went back the second time, Mich and Kir and a guy I didn't know was standing in the hallway, and I was in such a mad rush I must've looked half-crazy. Anyways, of course with my plate of hot potato fries in my hands, I couldn't just go past them without offering some! They liked it a lot, and Kir attempted to kidnap the plate. I was pleased. Haha. AND the guy I didn't know and I, we looked at each other, thinking, "Do I know you?" I asked him which floor, where he lived. He pointed. It was the apartment door to the right of mine. And where did I live? I point to my door a little of the left behind me. Err. Rob is his name.
So I finally meet one of "true" neighbours on the same side of the hallway!! Seriously, I never saw anyone go in or out of the apartments on either side of ours. It's a bit creepy, actually. But I found out that at least one dweller is human, so it's all okay XD
When I made it back, all the presents were opened except the one I had to give to him! Haha I hid it under the table, so no one knew there was one left! (You must be confused; some of the people were away, or were missed in the communication that Secret Santa was changed to today instead of Wednesday, so not everyone gave or received a gift today). I came back to the potluck and my sweet potato fries were attacked! I got compliments! *blushes* It's nothing at all though, it's almost insultingly easy to make; I shall make some for you guys when I get back?
Anyways, my Secret Santa was a successful! He liked it a lot, so yay!!
The guy Mar, from Mauritius, he brought chicken curry and this interesting coconut dessert, both of which he made himself, emphasizing the Mauritian tradition of the dishes. Haha, told you he was Mauritius crazy =D
The curry was so gooood and there was fried rice, naan (love!), a different kind of curry/stir-fry, my sweet potato fries... Mmmmmm.
After that, I went back down to my apartment, and Rah's like, Oh I'm going to introduce you to someone... and whaddya know? Tonight, I met my "true" fellow neighbours from both sides of my apartment for the first time! After 3 months! Wow. There're three girls living on the left apartment, and four guys on the right. So I met Rob from the right, and Nau from the left. She just returned from Khushali, an Ismaili (I think) celebration. So as Rah and Nau explained to me, it's a celebration of their religious leader, on his birthday- which is December 13th. Rah celebrated by going out to this amazing (apparently best in Mtl) ice cream place at Jean-Talon. I was in a dilemma, but in the end I didn't go because I was just too tired and had too much work to do (study math). There're other times... but it sounded absolutely amazing. There was masala chai flavour! Wth...! Now I'm drooling ><
Okay, so all three of us go down to meet Har, one of the guys in our Secret Santa group, who wasn't present at the potluck/exchange because he was at Harvard visiting a friend for a few days. We end up in front of his door, and Any ended up with us as well. Ooooh and hahaha he reaches into his backpack and gives in two bars of Ghirardelli chocolates!! My Secret Santa revealed, yups yups!
(See. I got chocolate after all. From Cambridge. XP I so do like things from other places)
They're rectangular bars, one of Milk Chocolate (my fav kind!!) and one w/ peanut butter in it. Yum! So we're still all standing in the first floor hallway and someone walk by. I almost let her go down the hall but I realized it was Far! And she didn't say hello, so I was like "Far___! What are you doing?" That got her attention haha. She said she was going down to get Sprite from the vending machine.
Oh no. It's happened. It was all because of her. She said something that just switched something on in my brain and from that point on, after she said that word, I had an extreme craving for Sprite. This Sprite craving led us all down to the hall (Any, Har, Rah, Nau, Far, and me). From that point on, there was proof that something out there did not want to make it easy to satisfy my Sprite craving. First, the machine beeped red and all three rows of Sprite buttons signaled "Choose another selection". Second, settling for second best, we pressed for Coke, and got the same reply. With the banging on the buttons, a Diet Coke rolled out. Which I refused to touch. Aspartame!!! And anyways, remember SPRITE CRAVING??
Since Far is the one who got us all into this, because she had to say Sprite! and I had to get this Sprite craving, which in turn led us all outside in our snow gear with the destination of the corner store which Any suggested, being closest.
The corner store was closed. Again, I had the feeling that something out there really has something against me. I felt like a (wo)man in the desert searching for water, and anything else would not do. McDonald's was closed. G-spot was closed. Damn.
And then we found a place that was still open at 11-something pm! We all went in and we all had Sprite (haha finally!!) and poutine.. It was good.
We went back to the courtyard of our rez, and a snowfight was going on between groups of people! So we get inevitably drawn in, and although I didn't have gloves and it was cold, I totally got some great hits! I got revenge on Hus for hitting defenseless observers Nau and Far (who bonded... 'cause one could speak Urdu and one could understand a bit of it? Yay- glad I intro'd someone to someone today too).
Oh, and I found out the Nau, my neighbour, is from Edmonton. It's apparently SO COLD there right now.
All in all, a fun wacky exhilarating night! (I still can't believe Rah had to introduce me to my own NEIGHBOUR! Well.. he practically knows at least one person behind every door at the Chocolate Rez, I have no idea how.....)
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Place Alexis Nihon.
Today I went out to mall with the IGA upstairs where I do most of my food shopping(metro station: Atwater)to buy some Ferrero Rochers for the finishing touch to my Secret Santa present! I didn't end up buying the expensive cool thing I saw, because it just wasn't worth the money. I got something that he'd like though, I think. There was so much chocolate, I couldn't decide what to choose, but FR won out.. something it seems to do too often. I failed at staying away from the book corner at Zellers (aah.. I just can't help it! books make me giddy) and holy cows, I saw a Shonen Jump magazine! In English! It was dated 2009-2010 or something too! Wth..... It was so out of place. Haha, the book section was just a bunch of random books of everything thrown in in disarray on the shelves and carts.. But then I saw a few random manga, French and English..
Afterwards, I got the gift wrapped 'cause I saw a gift wrap booth service just like our MS Society one back at Metrotown! But there was like no one there at 11am in the morning... There was only one person there, a middle-aged lady, and I asked if my gift would be considered petit or moyen, and she said,"petit". Haha GOOD ANSWER! And also, she asked if I would like it in a box, and it was still the same price! (And they had boxes, something we were majorly lacking..)She was slow (perhaps not used to wrapping presents) and it was quiet and I was just standing there so I told her about gift wrap booths and what organization thingy this was for etc. She then asked me if it was for a guy or a girl and I was confused momentarily because why did it matter? I said guy (or "gars" haha) and it was the ribbon she wrapped around the outside. It's funny, the wrapping method (with ribbon on the outside, plus a bow on top) was the exact same as the one we used for the MS Society Christmas Wrapping.
Afterwards, I got the gift wrapped 'cause I saw a gift wrap booth service just like our MS Society one back at Metrotown! But there was like no one there at 11am in the morning... There was only one person there, a middle-aged lady, and I asked if my gift would be considered petit or moyen, and she said,"petit". Haha GOOD ANSWER! And also, she asked if I would like it in a box, and it was still the same price! (And they had boxes, something we were majorly lacking..)She was slow (perhaps not used to wrapping presents) and it was quiet and I was just standing there so I told her about gift wrap booths and what organization thingy this was for etc. She then asked me if it was for a guy or a girl and I was confused momentarily because why did it matter? I said guy (or "gars" haha) and it was the ribbon she wrapped around the outside. It's funny, the wrapping method (with ribbon on the outside, plus a bow on top) was the exact same as the one we used for the MS Society Christmas Wrapping.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
In All Awkwardness.
Last night was a first. A really, really, really awkward first. I hate it how sometimes I really feel like I'm missing a sense of awareness I seriously need, because that "omg I was ignorant to this it feels like a space that was there and gaping all along has just been filled".
Yesterday, however, had a few notable points although all I was supposed to be doing was studying for math 140.
One, my friend Yak's first snowfight and snow angel experience. AAHH I was outnumbered by internationals!! Note: ice really really hurts, so make sure it stays away from the general vicinity of your face.
Two, Thai peanut noodles (specific instant brand) are actually an amazing experience. For your tastebuds. Also, the person who made that experience happen pronounced it like "thigh"- the "Thai" pronounciation war continues.
Three, I found out that during the winter holidays, if I'm leaving, I have to turn the heat to a minimum of 10C. Instead of turning all the heat off. This makes me shiver.
Four, hot chocolate is amazing, and it's even better if you put mini marshmallows in it and it puffs up and eventually melts in your cup.
Five, wet jeans are not the most comfortable things to wear.
Six, I went inside my first pub. It was heaven because it was roaring cold outside.
Seven, that wasn't the "first" I was referring to in the first sentence.
Eight, late last night, I went to bed at 2am. It was because somehow, I ended up entangled in this immersion of childhood nostalgia and changed perceptions- and it was search, discovery, nostalgia, and SUCH an ache of longing and remembrance and a bunch of other things it stirred up... my insides felt like they were squirming.
My French roomie and I... we really had a moment. I suppose I shall divulge some of this when I come back.
Yesterday, however, had a few notable points although all I was supposed to be doing was studying for math 140.
One, my friend Yak's first snowfight and snow angel experience. AAHH I was outnumbered by internationals!! Note: ice really really hurts, so make sure it stays away from the general vicinity of your face.
Two, Thai peanut noodles (specific instant brand) are actually an amazing experience. For your tastebuds. Also, the person who made that experience happen pronounced it like "thigh"- the "Thai" pronounciation war continues.
Three, I found out that during the winter holidays, if I'm leaving, I have to turn the heat to a minimum of 10C. Instead of turning all the heat off. This makes me shiver.
Four, hot chocolate is amazing, and it's even better if you put mini marshmallows in it and it puffs up and eventually melts in your cup.
Five, wet jeans are not the most comfortable things to wear.
Six, I went inside my first pub. It was heaven because it was roaring cold outside.
Seven, that wasn't the "first" I was referring to in the first sentence.
Eight, late last night, I went to bed at 2am. It was because somehow, I ended up entangled in this immersion of childhood nostalgia and changed perceptions- and it was search, discovery, nostalgia, and SUCH an ache of longing and remembrance and a bunch of other things it stirred up... my insides felt like they were squirming.
My French roomie and I... we really had a moment. I suppose I shall divulge some of this when I come back.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
La neige, partout!
This is more like it! It started snowing hard today, and for most of the day- now the snow truck ppls are out, and the snow's still going!
However, I'm inside studying bio 'cause my exam's tomorrow =(
Oh! I received a box of black vanilla-flavoured tea from Mar today! It was really so nice of him- the tea's from Mauritius, and he's a Mauritian crazy about Mauritius! lol. It's a b-day present, too. Which reminds me..... the first time I met him, he asked if I wanted some Mauritian fried rice! So my first impression was that he's super nice, and he cooks! Haha. XD I shall bring the box back if you guys would like to try some Mauritian tea, lol.. (if I remember.. I'm so scatter brained, I'm so scared that 203 bad and unexpected things are going to happen to me from now to the time I need to get on that plane to Toronto!! I think I'm busing to the airport... but I have AJSDK:JSK:JIW things to do but I need to just study for my exams! ><)
I'm part of a Secret Santa w/ around 16 other people... I drew my person/name out of the hat this morning. Getting things for guys are so hard.. =( but as Any was complaining, I realized that there're only like.. 6 girls. So the chances weren't so good anyways Haha. But I saw something at the mall when I was IGA-grocery shopping the other day that made me go "Wow that's cool!" so perhaps I'll go for that.. although it's not exactly an unperishable. Gahhh gifts. I always long to find something interesting/unusual and hopefully useful, but that's a damn hard combination to get right =(
Think I'm going to shop on Saturday (why do my intentions to study my ass off always waver..?) and AAAH FEAR MY MATH 140 FINAL ON WEDNESDAY!!
Bio is the least of my worries, since it's multiple choice... although they always manage to be damn tricky =0
However, I'm inside studying bio 'cause my exam's tomorrow =(
Oh! I received a box of black vanilla-flavoured tea from Mar today! It was really so nice of him- the tea's from Mauritius, and he's a Mauritian crazy about Mauritius! lol. It's a b-day present, too. Which reminds me..... the first time I met him, he asked if I wanted some Mauritian fried rice! So my first impression was that he's super nice, and he cooks! Haha. XD I shall bring the box back if you guys would like to try some Mauritian tea, lol.. (if I remember.. I'm so scatter brained, I'm so scared that 203 bad and unexpected things are going to happen to me from now to the time I need to get on that plane to Toronto!! I think I'm busing to the airport... but I have AJSDK:JSK:JIW things to do but I need to just study for my exams! ><)
I'm part of a Secret Santa w/ around 16 other people... I drew my person/name out of the hat this morning. Getting things for guys are so hard.. =( but as Any was complaining, I realized that there're only like.. 6 girls. So the chances weren't so good anyways Haha. But I saw something at the mall when I was IGA-grocery shopping the other day that made me go "Wow that's cool!" so perhaps I'll go for that.. although it's not exactly an unperishable. Gahhh gifts. I always long to find something interesting/unusual and hopefully useful, but that's a damn hard combination to get right =(
Think I'm going to shop on Saturday (why do my intentions to study my ass off always waver..?) and AAAH FEAR MY MATH 140 FINAL ON WEDNESDAY!!
Bio is the least of my worries, since it's multiple choice... although they always manage to be damn tricky =0
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
The Red Dip Down.
My computer weather moniter thingy has just given me an all-time low. According to it, it is now -10C in Montreal...
Monday, December 7, 2009
Snow... FIGHT! [1]
Just had my first snow fight of the season! XD The snow's enough to make everything white, but it's thin enough that the grass pokes out of it like a few days' worth of facial hair. Hahaa.
Funfunfunfunfun! ...I looked at the 14-day trend and it forecasts 2 days of snow/flurries, then nothing until the weeken of the 20-21st.. the weekend I'm leaving =( damn! It's so weird that the snow's so late...
Haha, we fought around the rez, in the courtyard, and everyone was mauled down at least once XD I got snow rubbed in my hair and into my face =/ lol. Any made her first snow angel, and it was Rah's first snow-fight- We were shouting, "Get the Kenyan, get the Kenyan!!" while running after him haha!!
Anyways, very unproductive studying going on tonight... tomorrow, I'm going to watch those online lectures for my Bio exam on Thursday- all 15 lectures, yups! See if I can do it? ^.*
...I know people see "student" all over me when I line up at Zellers balancing a 12-pack of toilet paper on my right, and 6 packs of Mr. Noodles on my left. My excuse: It's backup! Just in case I really am hungry and am incapable of finding the time or ingredients to cook something for myself.
Funfunfunfunfun! ...I looked at the 14-day trend and it forecasts 2 days of snow/flurries, then nothing until the weeken of the 20-21st.. the weekend I'm leaving =( damn! It's so weird that the snow's so late...
Haha, we fought around the rez, in the courtyard, and everyone was mauled down at least once XD I got snow rubbed in my hair and into my face =/ lol. Any made her first snow angel, and it was Rah's first snow-fight- We were shouting, "Get the Kenyan, get the Kenyan!!" while running after him haha!!
Anyways, very unproductive studying going on tonight... tomorrow, I'm going to watch those online lectures for my Bio exam on Thursday- all 15 lectures, yups! See if I can do it? ^.*
...I know people see "student" all over me when I line up at Zellers balancing a 12-pack of toilet paper on my right, and 6 packs of Mr. Noodles on my left. My excuse: It's backup! Just in case I really am hungry and am incapable of finding the time or ingredients to cook something for myself.
Midnight Shopping Cart Frenzy.
So it's around December 7, 12:08am, and there's frantic knocking on my apartment door, when it should be the normal time of zzzzz's. And I rush to the door (I've been answering doors a lot today (well, technically yesterday)..) and I see a red shopping cart parked right in front of me. Any was there, and her roommate Ag and another guy, one at each end of the cart, and they say to me, "Get in, get in!" and Any leaps out of the cart and I'm standing there with Who-what-why-whaa flitting through my head like a broken movie reel, baffled beyond belief AT MIDNIGHT, and Ag demands, "Just get in the goddamned cart" (she swears a lot) and I go "O-kaayyy.." (a bit apprehensive even as I do it) and then whoooosh we're off down the carpeted halls, we're rushing past the doors, one, two, three... and Any's saying something like, "Asians are half price!" (it's a Super C shopping cart)and we end up at the elevator at the end of the rez and they asked me to pick a floor, and I said the 3rd, and they wrestle me n' the cart into the elevator and we burst out into the 3rd floor and rush down the hallway like hooligans and I think Any was on a sugar rush and so was I from that hot chocolate earlier and we rushed through the air and ended up at Jul's (our next.. victim, since I'm part of this now) and I they go on another round of knocking, and finally Jul opens the door (hilarious, in his sleep-wear) and I leap out and collapse, laughing, against the wall while he gives the same expression I gave when they arrived in front of my door, and I convince and tug him towards the cart and off we go again........ anyways, in the end I make it back to my apartment... I was in pajamas the whole time too!
I think I just wrote a bunch of grammatically incorrect, run-on sentences.. aaah!
(haha names are so funny when you cut them short, and I noticed that the shortened names I write aren't that easy to guess..)
I think I just wrote a bunch of grammatically incorrect, run-on sentences.. aaah!
(haha names are so funny when you cut them short, and I noticed that the shortened names I write aren't that easy to guess..)
Sunday, December 6, 2009
It descended, a gentle embrace, a white revelation...
The snow came tonight, on my birthday, and it fell in slow spirals, lazy white tufts nestling in between hair and the folds of cloth...
I ran out into the courtyard when it first happened, and it actually gathered and stuck for the first time... we raised our hands to the sky and watched the white falling to meet us, and it was beautiful.
Later, when I went back to my apartment, my neighbours came knocking with excitement at the snow, and I went out for a second time. When I went out, I discovered that there was enough to make mini snowballs, and it covered the sidewalks in a thin dusty layer of white! Running around in the dark, with the white falling silently through the darkness, illuminated by the yellow lamp-lights, was one of the first joys of the winter season. More people were peeking through their curtains and sticking their heads out at the noise we were making, and so more people started coming out into the courtyard to play. When we finally came back from our little excursion in the neighbourhood, back to the rez courtyard, quite a group had gathered, and they took a grand photo right there under the lights and snow. Haha, someone said "Happy Birthday" to me and suddenly the they all started singing Happy Birthday to me *wriggle* There's just some things that makes you feel like the world is a better place, and one of them, I discovered, is hearing a group of mostly strangers suddenly singing Happy Birthday to you in the night (with the first snow descending upon us, a blessing from the sky)...
I ran out into the courtyard when it first happened, and it actually gathered and stuck for the first time... we raised our hands to the sky and watched the white falling to meet us, and it was beautiful.
Later, when I went back to my apartment, my neighbours came knocking with excitement at the snow, and I went out for a second time. When I went out, I discovered that there was enough to make mini snowballs, and it covered the sidewalks in a thin dusty layer of white! Running around in the dark, with the white falling silently through the darkness, illuminated by the yellow lamp-lights, was one of the first joys of the winter season. More people were peeking through their curtains and sticking their heads out at the noise we were making, and so more people started coming out into the courtyard to play. When we finally came back from our little excursion in the neighbourhood, back to the rez courtyard, quite a group had gathered, and they took a grand photo right there under the lights and snow. Haha, someone said "Happy Birthday" to me and suddenly the they all started singing Happy Birthday to me *wriggle* There's just some things that makes you feel like the world is a better place, and one of them, I discovered, is hearing a group of mostly strangers suddenly singing Happy Birthday to you in the night (with the first snow descending upon us, a blessing from the sky)...
Chocolate High.
Aftermath of my nightly bday excursion? A chocolate high, and two boxes of chocolate in my cupboard.
The Quays of the Old Port, lit up specially at night, was breathtaking. Walking to the Quays, through the Old Port with the beloved cobblestone streets and trees hung with stringing halos of light, was beautiful.
The rink was pretty busy, the night was clear and the glow of multicoloured lights emanated from the surrounding buildings and played across the ice. Then, the fireworks started at 8pm and it was spectacular- the music was amazing (in my opinion, no matter how flashy fireworks can be, I cannot be impressed without the element of music to bring it out). The fireworks, though, were impressive not because of the music accompanying it, but for itself. I've never seen the wide variety of fireworks as I saw tonight- there were blooms that reminded me of golden wheat, and fountains of stardust that stayed in the air for so long it must have been melting gold, and little streaks of chirping from these tiny light torpedos that flew upwards in every direction. And the way the fireworks lit up the sky and it reflected off the white of the ice landscape? Omg. Nothing like it. It was just happiness in the chill air amidst the bursts of light and sound, and the presence of living, breathing, loving around me.
We skated, and I fell, and I got up with a big-ass bruise. Then 10pm was the shut-down of the rink, and we went walking through the cold to Juliette Chocolate, which was so small and crowded and quaint and there were around 20 of us and it was cold and it seemed like there was no way we'd be able to get in. It closed at 12am today, and it was 10:30pm. We made it though, by admitting us in two separate groups, one first, then the other. The waitresses were SO NICE, as was the waitress at Nickel's from last time, and before as we were debating what we should do since there were too many ppl inside the small place, and we didn't know how long we had to wait, they called me over 'cause the waitress wanted to talk, and whoa rapid French! Hahaa, but I understand most of it- basically about accomodating us and how we're to split into groups of 6 or 7, and have one group in first, and I asked if it's possible to have a time estimate, she said it was crazy (il est fou) to be able to tell how long etc. So yay, I felt happy I could understand her (more or less) hahaha!
So since it took so much to get all the way here, and finally seated and everything, I said to hell with it and ordered the traditional hot milk chocolate, and a crepe of fruit, chocolate, and ice cream. OMG this place is CHOCOLATE HEAVEN. Seriously. And my crepe? I was asked what KIND of chocolate for my crepe (dark, white, milk?) and what kind of ice cream. I mean, "fruit" crepe is pretty general, so I wasn't expecting much, and you wouldn't, really, from a crepe. BUT when it came, it was mindblowing. The fruit on the crepe was totally out of my expectations. It had SO many varieties: pineapples, baby blueberries, raspberries, apples, grapes, omg I don't even know what else, all together and colourful and drizzled with milk chocolate and also over the yellow vanilla icecream in the middle,which made the milk chocolate drizzle harden into this pretty snowflake network of milk chocolate... heaven. And the milk hot chocolate was like melted chocolate in a cup, it was thick and creamy and it reminded me of the time Mme Rainaldi gave us this article to read about chocolate and the Queen of Spain or something loved to drink this Italian hot chocolate or something where it was basically thick, melted chocolate in a cup. OMG. I'm definitely taking you guys there!! I feel like I have some touristy experience I can actually put to use now (I mean, usually people go to school, then home, then school, and occasionally to clubs/pubs.... it's university. So that doesn't leave students that much time to explore every nook and cranny of the city). And then when we left, it was 12:10am and they sang Happy Birthday in English, and in French as we were crossing the street, and then in German haha as we passed into the metro station. Lol.
Oh, p.s. JYT, I did get that "authentic French kiss" (twice, actually)- but from a Mauritian, which sorta counts??
The Quays of the Old Port, lit up specially at night, was breathtaking. Walking to the Quays, through the Old Port with the beloved cobblestone streets and trees hung with stringing halos of light, was beautiful.
The rink was pretty busy, the night was clear and the glow of multicoloured lights emanated from the surrounding buildings and played across the ice. Then, the fireworks started at 8pm and it was spectacular- the music was amazing (in my opinion, no matter how flashy fireworks can be, I cannot be impressed without the element of music to bring it out). The fireworks, though, were impressive not because of the music accompanying it, but for itself. I've never seen the wide variety of fireworks as I saw tonight- there were blooms that reminded me of golden wheat, and fountains of stardust that stayed in the air for so long it must have been melting gold, and little streaks of chirping from these tiny light torpedos that flew upwards in every direction. And the way the fireworks lit up the sky and it reflected off the white of the ice landscape? Omg. Nothing like it. It was just happiness in the chill air amidst the bursts of light and sound, and the presence of living, breathing, loving around me.
We skated, and I fell, and I got up with a big-ass bruise. Then 10pm was the shut-down of the rink, and we went walking through the cold to Juliette Chocolate, which was so small and crowded and quaint and there were around 20 of us and it was cold and it seemed like there was no way we'd be able to get in. It closed at 12am today, and it was 10:30pm. We made it though, by admitting us in two separate groups, one first, then the other. The waitresses were SO NICE, as was the waitress at Nickel's from last time, and before as we were debating what we should do since there were too many ppl inside the small place, and we didn't know how long we had to wait, they called me over 'cause the waitress wanted to talk, and whoa rapid French! Hahaa, but I understand most of it- basically about accomodating us and how we're to split into groups of 6 or 7, and have one group in first, and I asked if it's possible to have a time estimate, she said it was crazy (il est fou) to be able to tell how long etc. So yay, I felt happy I could understand her (more or less) hahaha!
So since it took so much to get all the way here, and finally seated and everything, I said to hell with it and ordered the traditional hot milk chocolate, and a crepe of fruit, chocolate, and ice cream. OMG this place is CHOCOLATE HEAVEN. Seriously. And my crepe? I was asked what KIND of chocolate for my crepe (dark, white, milk?) and what kind of ice cream. I mean, "fruit" crepe is pretty general, so I wasn't expecting much, and you wouldn't, really, from a crepe. BUT when it came, it was mindblowing. The fruit on the crepe was totally out of my expectations. It had SO many varieties: pineapples, baby blueberries, raspberries, apples, grapes, omg I don't even know what else, all together and colourful and drizzled with milk chocolate and also over the yellow vanilla icecream in the middle,which made the milk chocolate drizzle harden into this pretty snowflake network of milk chocolate... heaven. And the milk hot chocolate was like melted chocolate in a cup, it was thick and creamy and it reminded me of the time Mme Rainaldi gave us this article to read about chocolate and the Queen of Spain or something loved to drink this Italian hot chocolate or something where it was basically thick, melted chocolate in a cup. OMG. I'm definitely taking you guys there!! I feel like I have some touristy experience I can actually put to use now (I mean, usually people go to school, then home, then school, and occasionally to clubs/pubs.... it's university. So that doesn't leave students that much time to explore every nook and cranny of the city). And then when we left, it was 12:10am and they sang Happy Birthday in English, and in French as we were crossing the street, and then in German haha as we passed into the metro station. Lol.
Oh, p.s. JYT, I did get that "authentic French kiss" (twice, actually)- but from a Mauritian, which sorta counts??
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Of ice skates, fireworks, and hot chocolate.
Today is December 5th. The day I was officially declared "widowed" on facebook, did no studying for a whole day, and had, for lunch, triple-decker nutella sandwich made for me.
My plans for tonight? Oh, what plans.. Skating and fireworks and chocolate!!!
Where: Quays of the Old Port, metro station Champ-de-mars, then walk down to the Old Port
When: Leaving 6:30pm from [chocolate factory rez]
What: http://www.quaysoftheoldport.com/en/activities/list.aspx
1) Quays of the Old Port Skating Rink
2) Telus Fire on Ice Fireworks by the St. Lawrence(8pm)
3) Juliette Chocolate
http://www.julietteetchocolat.com/chocolat.php
Maps!
(google map) http://www.quaisduvieuxport.com/fr/infos/restauration.aspx
(quay map) http://www.quaysoftheoldport.com/FR/documents/Quays-Old-Port-Map-2009.pdf
hey you know what's funny? watching people fall on the ice in real time! hahaha JK............ rowling! -->
http://www.quaisduvieuxport.com/fr/services/glace.aspx
My plans for tonight? Oh, what plans.. Skating and fireworks and chocolate!!!
Where: Quays of the Old Port, metro station Champ-de-mars, then walk down to the Old Port
When: Leaving 6:30pm from [chocolate factory rez]
What: http://www.quaysoftheoldport.com/en/activities/list.aspx
1) Quays of the Old Port Skating Rink
2) Telus Fire on Ice Fireworks by the St. Lawrence(8pm)
3) Juliette Chocolate
http://www.julietteetchocolat.com/chocolat.php
Maps!
(google map) http://www.quaisduvieuxport.com/fr/infos/restauration.aspx
(quay map) http://www.quaysoftheoldport.com/FR/documents/Quays-Old-Port-Map-2009.pdf
hey you know what's funny? watching people fall on the ice in real time! hahaha JK............ rowling! -->
http://www.quaisduvieuxport.com/fr/services/glace.aspx
Monday, November 30, 2009
White Exit November
Last night I see on facebook the status of "It's snowing!!" and rush to peer squinty-eyed out the living room windows into the night... (I squeal out "Snow!!") where sweeping white was slanting through the air... and then I went to bed happy.
The next morning, my alarm rang at 8:31am (damn Mondays!) and I snoozed it in favour of snuggly back into the soft covers. And then my peaceful procrastination was disturbed by something that never happens- my phone ringing at 8:45am in the morning. I look and it's Any calling me and I text back "Yes?" (you know I don't call people on my phone... 25cents/minute man!) and then 2 seconds later there's knocking on my door. Any says, "Look out the window." and I rush off to my living room window again and see bits of white clinging on patches of grass and on the roofs of buildings and exclaim my delight! I swear I've never woken up so fast before, hahaha!
It was so nice... this was the second snow experience, the first being in October for a few brief hours. I was saying that it better snow an' stick by December, or else I'll be mad at the Mtl weather- and it finally did! However long the hope of a rising snowline lingered, it still melted away with the new snow, leaving bits and pieces of white poking into the landscape here and there. Hopefully this will continue and I can wear those new boots I bought especially for the snow!! I've been wearing my coat I bought at Sports Expert, and I'm pretty happy with it, unnecessary adornments and hidden pockets and all.
So much work this week, but I'm trying to do my best to set a schedule of what's happening so I can have my Anthropology Environment and Culture essay done before my birthday!
Lesse...
Mon.Nov 30- work on essay (1048 words so far!), email School of Environment program advisor for an appointment on Thursday, hopefully.
Tuesday.Dec 1- lunch rendez-vous 11:30am after bio lecture, go look at bio lab exam results
Wednesday.Dec 2-no math tutorial!! Study ass off for last Anthro quiz.
Thursday.Dec 3- IT'S A MONDAY TODAY! Any week with two Mondays just suck by default. Darker Than Black marathon (continuation of last Thursday) with ppl on the 4th floor, celebration of the official end of classes!!!!
Friday.Dec 4- NO SCHOOL! IT'S ENDED!! Aaaaah. Finish Anthro essay, start packing for home <3 check up how I'm going to get to the airport.
Saturday.Dec 5- Will talk about it when it passes. *wink*
+++
OH ON ANOTHER NOTE, the red McGill hoodie (the only McGill wear I wanted and was willing to get because it's AJSD:JSAKD:JAKSD:LJSKLD: expensive) HAS BEEN BOUGHT! TODAY! But curses, something else there caught my eye, and now I have another desire to get that..... but the hoodie costed too much!! It was the most expensive piece of clothing (aside from winter coats) that I've ever bought. UHH. They really do like to suck your wallet dry... in order to reserve rooms at the Holiday Inn for my Biology 111 final exam? (I do not see the equivalent exchange)
The next morning, my alarm rang at 8:31am (damn Mondays!) and I snoozed it in favour of snuggly back into the soft covers. And then my peaceful procrastination was disturbed by something that never happens- my phone ringing at 8:45am in the morning. I look and it's Any calling me and I text back "Yes?" (you know I don't call people on my phone... 25cents/minute man!) and then 2 seconds later there's knocking on my door. Any says, "Look out the window." and I rush off to my living room window again and see bits of white clinging on patches of grass and on the roofs of buildings and exclaim my delight! I swear I've never woken up so fast before, hahaha!
It was so nice... this was the second snow experience, the first being in October for a few brief hours. I was saying that it better snow an' stick by December, or else I'll be mad at the Mtl weather- and it finally did! However long the hope of a rising snowline lingered, it still melted away with the new snow, leaving bits and pieces of white poking into the landscape here and there. Hopefully this will continue and I can wear those new boots I bought especially for the snow!! I've been wearing my coat I bought at Sports Expert, and I'm pretty happy with it, unnecessary adornments and hidden pockets and all.
So much work this week, but I'm trying to do my best to set a schedule of what's happening so I can have my Anthropology Environment and Culture essay done before my birthday!
Lesse...
Mon.Nov 30- work on essay (1048 words so far!), email School of Environment program advisor for an appointment on Thursday, hopefully.
Tuesday.Dec 1- lunch rendez-vous 11:30am after bio lecture, go look at bio lab exam results
Wednesday.Dec 2-no math tutorial!! Study ass off for last Anthro quiz.
Thursday.Dec 3- IT'S A MONDAY TODAY! Any week with two Mondays just suck by default. Darker Than Black marathon (continuation of last Thursday) with ppl on the 4th floor, celebration of the official end of classes!!!!
Friday.Dec 4- NO SCHOOL! IT'S ENDED!! Aaaaah. Finish Anthro essay, start packing for home <3 check up how I'm going to get to the airport.
Saturday.Dec 5- Will talk about it when it passes. *wink*
+++
OH ON ANOTHER NOTE, the red McGill hoodie (the only McGill wear I wanted and was willing to get because it's AJSD:JSAKD:JAKSD:LJSKLD: expensive) HAS BEEN BOUGHT! TODAY! But curses, something else there caught my eye, and now I have another desire to get that..... but the hoodie costed too much!! It was the most expensive piece of clothing (aside from winter coats) that I've ever bought. UHH. They really do like to suck your wallet dry... in order to reserve rooms at the Holiday Inn for my Biology 111 final exam? (I do not see the equivalent exchange)
Sunday, November 29, 2009
[Gravity]
GRAVITY [Lyrics]
by Vienna Teng
Hey love
Is that the name you're meant to have
For me to call
Look love
They've given up believing
They've turned aside our stories of the gentle fall
But don't you believe them
Don't you drink their poison too
These are the scars that words have carved
On me
Hey love
That's the name we've long held back
From the core of truth
So don't turn away now
I am turning in revolution
These are the scars that silence carved
On me
This the same place
No, not the same place
This is the same place, love
No, not the same place we've been before
Hey, love
I am a constant satellite
Of your blazing sun
My love
I obey your law of gravity
This is the fate you've carved on me
The law of gravity
This is the fate you've carved on me
===
So this one's the one on the David Letterman Show.. I typed "Lettermen" by accident and had a little laughting fit (random image sent to my head again) that descended into choking and heart-pounding coughs. Aaaaaah I wanna make a gingerbread house! Perhaps I shall propose that idea when I get home! XD
by Vienna Teng
Hey love
Is that the name you're meant to have
For me to call
Look love
They've given up believing
They've turned aside our stories of the gentle fall
But don't you believe them
Don't you drink their poison too
These are the scars that words have carved
On me
Hey love
That's the name we've long held back
From the core of truth
So don't turn away now
I am turning in revolution
These are the scars that silence carved
On me
This the same place
No, not the same place
This is the same place, love
No, not the same place we've been before
Hey, love
I am a constant satellite
Of your blazing sun
My love
I obey your law of gravity
This is the fate you've carved on me
The law of gravity
This is the fate you've carved on me
===
So this one's the one on the David Letterman Show.. I typed "Lettermen" by accident and had a little laughting fit (random image sent to my head again) that descended into choking and heart-pounding coughs. Aaaaaah I wanna make a gingerbread house! Perhaps I shall propose that idea when I get home! XD
Love Story in Reverse [Recessional]
RECESSIONAL [Lyrics]
by Vienna Teng
"It's so beautiful here, " she says,
"This moment now and this moment, now."
And I never thought I would find her here:
Flannel and satin, my four walls transformed.
But she's looking at me, straight to center,
No room at all for any other thought.
And I know I don't want this, oh, I swear I don't want this.
there's a reason not to want this but I forgot.
In the terminal she sleeps on my shoulder,
Hair falling forward, mouth all askew.
Fluorescent announcements beat their wings overhead:
"Passengers missing, we're looking for you."
And she dreams through the noise, her weight against me,
Face pressed into the corduroy grooves.
Maybe it means nothing, maybe it means nothing,
Maybe it means nothing, but I'm afraid to move.
And the words: they're everything and nothing.
I want to search for her in the offhand remarks.
Who are you, taking coffee, no sugar?
Who are you, echoing street signs?
Who are you, the stranger in the shell of a lover,
Dark curtains drawn by the passage of time?
Oh, words, like rain, how sweet the sound.
"Well anyway, " she says, "I'll see you around..."
===
A description of this song as she described it was something like a reverse love song, not in chronological order- which is cool because it sort of parallels the title, "Recessional"... I need to finish the end of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" GAH! The mention of it being one of the inspirations for these lyrics reminded me that Ms. Matthews only showed us a patch of the movie and I can't stand unfinished movies (unless they were terrible)..
by Vienna Teng
"It's so beautiful here, " she says,
"This moment now and this moment, now."
And I never thought I would find her here:
Flannel and satin, my four walls transformed.
But she's looking at me, straight to center,
No room at all for any other thought.
And I know I don't want this, oh, I swear I don't want this.
there's a reason not to want this but I forgot.
In the terminal she sleeps on my shoulder,
Hair falling forward, mouth all askew.
Fluorescent announcements beat their wings overhead:
"Passengers missing, we're looking for you."
And she dreams through the noise, her weight against me,
Face pressed into the corduroy grooves.
Maybe it means nothing, maybe it means nothing,
Maybe it means nothing, but I'm afraid to move.
And the words: they're everything and nothing.
I want to search for her in the offhand remarks.
Who are you, taking coffee, no sugar?
Who are you, echoing street signs?
Who are you, the stranger in the shell of a lover,
Dark curtains drawn by the passage of time?
Oh, words, like rain, how sweet the sound.
"Well anyway, " she says, "I'll see you around..."
===
A description of this song as she described it was something like a reverse love song, not in chronological order- which is cool because it sort of parallels the title, "Recessional"... I need to finish the end of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" GAH! The mention of it being one of the inspirations for these lyrics reminded me that Ms. Matthews only showed us a patch of the movie and I can't stand unfinished movies (unless they were terrible)..
There's a story... [Harbor]
There's a story that she tells associated with each song. I should search around sometime... but I like interpreting the lyrics and guess at what it may mean.
HARBOR [Lyrics]
by Vienna Teng
we're here where the daylight begins
the fog on the streetlight slowly thins
water on water's the way
the safety of shoreline fading away
sail your sea
meet your storm
all I want is to be your harbor
the light in me
will guide you home
all I want is to be your harbor
fear is the brightest of signs
the shape of the boundary you leave behind
so sing all your questions to sleep
the answers are out there in the drowning deep
you've got a journey to make
there's your horizon to chase
so go far beyond where we stand
no matter the distance
I'm holding your hand
===
I think this is her most well known song? ...or actually, I think it was "Gravity"- there was some mention that she sang it on the David Letterman Show..............
This is a soothing song that actually makes me feel the pull of the tide and the wind and the swirl of the ocean..
HARBOR [Lyrics]
by Vienna Teng
we're here where the daylight begins
the fog on the streetlight slowly thins
water on water's the way
the safety of shoreline fading away
sail your sea
meet your storm
all I want is to be your harbor
the light in me
will guide you home
all I want is to be your harbor
fear is the brightest of signs
the shape of the boundary you leave behind
so sing all your questions to sleep
the answers are out there in the drowning deep
you've got a journey to make
there's your horizon to chase
so go far beyond where we stand
no matter the distance
I'm holding your hand
===
I think this is her most well known song? ...or actually, I think it was "Gravity"- there was some mention that she sang it on the David Letterman Show..............
This is a soothing song that actually makes me feel the pull of the tide and the wind and the swirl of the ocean..
I'm sleepless in this dark... [Mission Street]
MISSION STREET [Lyrics]
by Vienna Teng
Mission Street is a striking dark-eyed stranger
Who speaks a language I don't know but long to learn
Its cadences fall endlessly beyond the windowpane
As I sit as though awaiting some return
And my hands are cold tonight
I'm sleepless in this dark
Forgetting what it was I came to find
And it seems that I've been wrong
More than I've been right
More than I've been right
Mission Street calls out to me by name
Then hurries on before I've hardly turned my head
Promises of answers muttered underneath her breath
Like an offering of contraband misread
And my hands are cold tonight
On the strings of this guitar
Looking for the chords of what I've left behind
And it seems that I've been wrong
More than I've been right
More than I've been right
Mission Street is alive at every hour
Like I've never been and feared I may not ever be
A light so steady on the mountains in the distance
A solitude so deep it might awaken me
Well my hands are cold tonight
But the sky is bright with stars
And I'm tearing through the veil that keeps me blind
And it seems the more I'm wrong
The more that I am right
The more that I am right
===
I just *LOVE* lyrics like this SO much.... to me, lyrics in a song is rather important (of course, I'm sort of contradicting myself since I don't like my Japanese/other language songs based on reading the lyics first- I usually have no idea .... hmm.. how does this work then?) Well, I say the music/melody is obviously hugely important too. But I suppose lyrics just add this dimension of *LOVE* that a a mesmerizing sound of a sound doesn't have, but those two are bound together in one song, then *LOVELOVE*. Haha. Well, I've only found two artists that has demonstrated this description:
1) The Hush Sound (band)
Genre: Indie/Alternative pop/rock/Piano rock
2) Vienna Teng
Genre: dunno.. vocal, piano, chambre music
I just started listening to Vienna Teng's songs again, last night, and when it's at night and I'm in that pensive/quiet/calm mood, it's just more evocative. "Mission Street" is one that I'm liking at the moment, but I remember the first song of hers I've ever stumbled across is "Lullaby on a Stormy Night" on some random youtube video. I suppose whether people like her music depends a lot on what type of music they listen to, because the genre is one of those ones that you can't quite classify. I suppose piano/chambre music/alternative?? I don't remember if I've asked if you've heard of Vienna Teng before. Well. Have you?
by Vienna Teng
Mission Street is a striking dark-eyed stranger
Who speaks a language I don't know but long to learn
Its cadences fall endlessly beyond the windowpane
As I sit as though awaiting some return
And my hands are cold tonight
I'm sleepless in this dark
Forgetting what it was I came to find
And it seems that I've been wrong
More than I've been right
More than I've been right
Mission Street calls out to me by name
Then hurries on before I've hardly turned my head
Promises of answers muttered underneath her breath
Like an offering of contraband misread
And my hands are cold tonight
On the strings of this guitar
Looking for the chords of what I've left behind
And it seems that I've been wrong
More than I've been right
More than I've been right
Mission Street is alive at every hour
Like I've never been and feared I may not ever be
A light so steady on the mountains in the distance
A solitude so deep it might awaken me
Well my hands are cold tonight
But the sky is bright with stars
And I'm tearing through the veil that keeps me blind
And it seems the more I'm wrong
The more that I am right
The more that I am right
===
I just *LOVE* lyrics like this SO much.... to me, lyrics in a song is rather important (of course, I'm sort of contradicting myself since I don't like my Japanese/other language songs based on reading the lyics first- I usually have no idea .... hmm.. how does this work then?) Well, I say the music/melody is obviously hugely important too. But I suppose lyrics just add this dimension of *LOVE* that a a mesmerizing sound of a sound doesn't have, but those two are bound together in one song, then *LOVELOVE*. Haha. Well, I've only found two artists that has demonstrated this description:
1) The Hush Sound (band)
Genre: Indie/Alternative pop/rock/Piano rock
2) Vienna Teng
Genre: dunno.. vocal, piano, chambre music
I just started listening to Vienna Teng's songs again, last night, and when it's at night and I'm in that pensive/quiet/calm mood, it's just more evocative. "Mission Street" is one that I'm liking at the moment, but I remember the first song of hers I've ever stumbled across is "Lullaby on a Stormy Night" on some random youtube video. I suppose whether people like her music depends a lot on what type of music they listen to, because the genre is one of those ones that you can't quite classify. I suppose piano/chambre music/alternative?? I don't remember if I've asked if you've heard of Vienna Teng before. Well. Have you?
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Once in university, it becomes possible for one to say...
"I made aspirin today."
Hey, that rhymed!!!
But yeah. Twas a chem lab, and although my sample wasn't exactly pure (it turned purple in the FeCl3 phenol test dammit!) it was still cool!
That being said, it wasn't so cool when I got to be the second last student out of the lab- 30 minutes after the lab was supposed to be finished! I'm so thankful they didn't kick us out- it was quite surprising that they were so lenient and nice enough to wait for us... albeit impatiently. We were waiting for our sample to melt- we were to test the melting point of our made aspirin to see how pure it is (pure aspirin melts at 135 C). Mine was obviously less than that, but the machine was really slow (in a way it wasn't supposed to be)and it was frustrating!
I just realized I typed in the opening sentence "it wasn't so cool". Lol!! It wasn't, in both sense of the term XD
Hey, that rhymed!!!
But yeah. Twas a chem lab, and although my sample wasn't exactly pure (it turned purple in the FeCl3 phenol test dammit!) it was still cool!
That being said, it wasn't so cool when I got to be the second last student out of the lab- 30 minutes after the lab was supposed to be finished! I'm so thankful they didn't kick us out- it was quite surprising that they were so lenient and nice enough to wait for us... albeit impatiently. We were waiting for our sample to melt- we were to test the melting point of our made aspirin to see how pure it is (pure aspirin melts at 135 C). Mine was obviously less than that, but the machine was really slow (in a way it wasn't supposed to be)and it was frustrating!
I just realized I typed in the opening sentence "it wasn't so cool". Lol!! It wasn't, in both sense of the term XD
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Last Two Weekends In Reverse.
Okay, so I'm feeling pretty crappy at the moment, because I'm still coughing away. I missed last Thursday (missed school, I mean), since it was one of my beautiful Thursdays in which I have only 1 class: Biology. Of course, this week, it's one of those ugly Thursdays in which I have a 2.5 hour Chemistry lab in the afternoon. I also stayed home on Monday (yesterday) because I was coughing everywhere too. And instead of getting work done, I felt bad and tired out and ended up .....procrastinating.... well, watching stuff on my laptop, and sleeping.
I can't skip any more school this week though, because I had a bio lab today, and my chem one this Thursday, not to mention the math quiz I have to study for tomorrow. Aaargh. So much stuff yet to do.
I went off track and started talking about weekdays, instead of weekends. =(
Okay, starting with this past weekend. On Saturday, I went to THE Montreal Eaton Mall and shopped with a friend. There was something going on in a lot of the stores called "Amis et familles" or something, and those stores had EVERYTHING 50% off! There were so many surprising sales at the mall that day, and it's unexpected, because I expected everything to be expensive... I'm talking about Eaton Mall and two other connected malls and shops that make up the downtown shopping district. Well, lucky for us, 'cause we bought stuff! I went to Forever XII for the first time too- my sister was semi-excited for it when we passed by the soon-to-be opened Forever XII at Metrotown this summmer. How surprising that when I came here, it had JUST opened up too! Anyways, we wandered up to to the 5th floor, and guess what? Those adverts about the "Body Expo" (remember how they had it at Science World a few years back? I never went...)- we found out that it was actually right IN the mall, on the 5th floor! Crazy! I thought it would be in an exhibition centre or something! I wonder if 15$ is expensive?? How much was entrance to Science World??
Anyways, Saturday night, I got back and me and other ppl were to watch Aladdin that night. I went to Any's apartment and we cupcake'd XD And then we went to McDonald's (first time since I came here, haha) and bought food (well, dinner). Then we all watched Aladdin, then The Emperor's New Groove! Aaaah, the nostalgia! Seriously, if you HAVEN"T seen the Emperor's New Groove, watch it! It's the only animated show that made me laugh the most the first time I watched it! So funny!
Okay, last last weekend, Any and Shri and I went to this amazing diner-like ...diner? called "Nickels" downtown. It was crazy inside! The decor and seats- well, everything- was fashioned like a diner, the ones you see on tv where friends go and have milkshakes in a booth with checked floors? Amazing. What was more amazing was that we were there to have this apparently amazing Reeses cups cake that was sitting in the display window by the cash, and in the display case stood cakes. Not just cakes. I swear, these were magical cakes. And among the various cakes (Cheesecake, layered cakes, cakes with strawberries in it, ....) there was a chocolate cake. The chocolate cake was the tallest/biggest chocolate cake I've ever seen in my life. It must've reached from my wrist to my elbow! Now, don't say that's small, because imagine a REAL chocolate cake. That you could bake. I mean, this cake would never have fit in my oven, it was so tall. O.O
Anyways, that night, I consumed enough calories to last me 2 months. And the waitress was SO.NICE. She was young and smiling and polite and she was so human.
Oh, forgot to mention, before that, we went to this "Tokyo Sushi" place where the waiter spoke Mandarin instead of Japanese. Aside from the very slow (therefore bad) service, the all-you-can-order for lunch was only around 13$!! That's amazing! And the food (however slowly it came) was good! ......Get this. I ordered salmon and mango sushi. I did. =O
Hahahahaaaaaaaaa.
I can't skip any more school this week though, because I had a bio lab today, and my chem one this Thursday, not to mention the math quiz I have to study for tomorrow. Aaargh. So much stuff yet to do.
I went off track and started talking about weekdays, instead of weekends. =(
Okay, starting with this past weekend. On Saturday, I went to THE Montreal Eaton Mall and shopped with a friend. There was something going on in a lot of the stores called "Amis et familles" or something, and those stores had EVERYTHING 50% off! There were so many surprising sales at the mall that day, and it's unexpected, because I expected everything to be expensive... I'm talking about Eaton Mall and two other connected malls and shops that make up the downtown shopping district. Well, lucky for us, 'cause we bought stuff! I went to Forever XII for the first time too- my sister was semi-excited for it when we passed by the soon-to-be opened Forever XII at Metrotown this summmer. How surprising that when I came here, it had JUST opened up too! Anyways, we wandered up to to the 5th floor, and guess what? Those adverts about the "Body Expo" (remember how they had it at Science World a few years back? I never went...)- we found out that it was actually right IN the mall, on the 5th floor! Crazy! I thought it would be in an exhibition centre or something! I wonder if 15$ is expensive?? How much was entrance to Science World??
Anyways, Saturday night, I got back and me and other ppl were to watch Aladdin that night. I went to Any's apartment and we cupcake'd XD And then we went to McDonald's (first time since I came here, haha) and bought food (well, dinner). Then we all watched Aladdin, then The Emperor's New Groove! Aaaah, the nostalgia! Seriously, if you HAVEN"T seen the Emperor's New Groove, watch it! It's the only animated show that made me laugh the most the first time I watched it! So funny!
Okay, last last weekend, Any and Shri and I went to this amazing diner-like ...diner? called "Nickels" downtown. It was crazy inside! The decor and seats- well, everything- was fashioned like a diner, the ones you see on tv where friends go and have milkshakes in a booth with checked floors? Amazing. What was more amazing was that we were there to have this apparently amazing Reeses cups cake that was sitting in the display window by the cash, and in the display case stood cakes. Not just cakes. I swear, these were magical cakes. And among the various cakes (Cheesecake, layered cakes, cakes with strawberries in it, ....) there was a chocolate cake. The chocolate cake was the tallest/biggest chocolate cake I've ever seen in my life. It must've reached from my wrist to my elbow! Now, don't say that's small, because imagine a REAL chocolate cake. That you could bake. I mean, this cake would never have fit in my oven, it was so tall. O.O
Anyways, that night, I consumed enough calories to last me 2 months. And the waitress was SO.NICE. She was young and smiling and polite and she was so human.
Oh, forgot to mention, before that, we went to this "Tokyo Sushi" place where the waiter spoke Mandarin instead of Japanese. Aside from the very slow (therefore bad) service, the all-you-can-order for lunch was only around 13$!! That's amazing! And the food (however slowly it came) was good! ......Get this. I ordered salmon and mango sushi. I did. =O
Hahahahaaaaaaaaa.
Friday, November 13, 2009
A Turtle Dream.
So my (non-French)roomie texts me today after I get home:
[We should totally get a pet turtle!]
..and so the turtle dream was born.
OMG I've always wanted a turtle! The small tiny ones that ppl have told me about!! But at the pet stores at home I rarely see the turtle section and when I do, there's only about 2 medium ones in the tank, and they're so much bigger than my imagined "tiny" turtles... Ahhh.. I know nothing about pet turtles! And so there're many many issues I know I'm not considering right now, such as how long a turtle can be kept in the tank, how to clean the tank, what to feed it (I have no idea!!)......
A turtle dream... -wistful sigh-
[We should totally get a pet turtle!]
..and so the turtle dream was born.
OMG I've always wanted a turtle! The small tiny ones that ppl have told me about!! But at the pet stores at home I rarely see the turtle section and when I do, there's only about 2 medium ones in the tank, and they're so much bigger than my imagined "tiny" turtles... Ahhh.. I know nothing about pet turtles! And so there're many many issues I know I'm not considering right now, such as how long a turtle can be kept in the tank, how to clean the tank, what to feed it (I have no idea!!)......
A turtle dream... -wistful sigh-
So the first time I bought meat...
was also nearly the last time. (Since it's been about 2 months since my first time (hahhaa the meat I'm talking about the meat!))
It was around the second week of September, and I bought a tiny slice of fish and a tiny half of chicken breast, and put it in the fridge. The sign above the meat section suggested eating these items around 5-7 days (depending on what type of meat/fish you bought). I had left it there for barely under 1 week.. or was it 1 week and 2 days? Anyways, I took it out and noticed it sort of smelled. After throwing it away (lots of sadness, yes) I didn't buy any raw meat/fish again ...until today!!! Wow. It's now November.
ARGH I'm so stupid. Regarding the fish/meat, I should've realized the way to do things is to wash the meat/fish under cold water and then put it in ziplock bags, then stick it in the freezer. That was the way to go. Unfortunately, that first time I totally went off that road and it ended all mucky and mushy and stinky. So today, after coming home, I diligently washed the meat/fish I bought(I discovered that I didn't like that cold, slimy feeling all over my hands and I understand why some people are propelled to be vegetarian/vegans -- I admire vegans). I went through the steps and froze the fish and chicken breast. I still haven't had the desire to buy red meat, because I think starting off with non-bloody is also the way to go =0
I haven't been eating meat at home anyways, and so the only meat I've been getting is at school, and I don't have to cook that!
Now there's no pressure to eat the meat within 5 days- it can keep in the freezer for weeks.. months....... wow, that's a lot of time!
It was around the second week of September, and I bought a tiny slice of fish and a tiny half of chicken breast, and put it in the fridge. The sign above the meat section suggested eating these items around 5-7 days (depending on what type of meat/fish you bought). I had left it there for barely under 1 week.. or was it 1 week and 2 days? Anyways, I took it out and noticed it sort of smelled. After throwing it away (lots of sadness, yes) I didn't buy any raw meat/fish again ...until today!!! Wow. It's now November.
ARGH I'm so stupid. Regarding the fish/meat, I should've realized the way to do things is to wash the meat/fish under cold water and then put it in ziplock bags, then stick it in the freezer. That was the way to go. Unfortunately, that first time I totally went off that road and it ended all mucky and mushy and stinky. So today, after coming home, I diligently washed the meat/fish I bought(I discovered that I didn't like that cold, slimy feeling all over my hands and I understand why some people are propelled to be vegetarian/vegans -- I admire vegans). I went through the steps and froze the fish and chicken breast. I still haven't had the desire to buy red meat, because I think starting off with non-bloody is also the way to go =0
I haven't been eating meat at home anyways, and so the only meat I've been getting is at school, and I don't have to cook that!
Now there's no pressure to eat the meat within 5 days- it can keep in the freezer for weeks.. months....... wow, that's a lot of time!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
So I'm Hacking Away...
..in my room. Doing stupid math assignment (called Webwork). It started about 2 days ago, I started coughing. And I was really thirsty even after drinking water and my throat is itchy and when the cough comes out (trying not to move and startle my diaphragm) it's a terrible, achy kind of cough that comes from that region at the base of my neck, inside, and not my throat. Ugh.
Anyways, so I'm hacking away in my room, and someone knocks on my door, and it turns out to be Rah (again, the rest of the name chopped off haha) offers me half a Subway cookie. That was really nice of him, since I like cookies and while not exactly healthy, especially at around 10 at night, I was a bit worn and disgruntled. And then there was another knock, this time at the apartment door, and it was Any and she surprised me by giving me a styrofoam container with half of that heavenly Java Java cake we had on Sunday! Turns out she was invited to dinner by some ppl (relatives?) and they "forced" dessert on her haha. So Any and I stood in the kitchen and took in one spoonful each of my roommate's cough syrup. It was disgusting. Then Any left and my roomie and I attacked the half of a Java Java cake at nearly 11pm. Sinfully delish. Haha.
So today, since I only had 1 biology lecture, I debated with myself and decided to stay homek, after waking up and finding the cough hasn't gone away. Of course, I had more than 1 biology lecture planned for today.. If I stay home for the whole day, I'd also be missing an important lunch rendez-vous, an Essay Writing workshop I wanted to go to, and a World Vision meeting that I really need to go to at 7pm. Dammit. Of inconveniences and unfinished Webwork.
Anyways, so I'm hacking away in my room, and someone knocks on my door, and it turns out to be Rah (again, the rest of the name chopped off haha) offers me half a Subway cookie. That was really nice of him, since I like cookies and while not exactly healthy, especially at around 10 at night, I was a bit worn and disgruntled. And then there was another knock, this time at the apartment door, and it was Any and she surprised me by giving me a styrofoam container with half of that heavenly Java Java cake we had on Sunday! Turns out she was invited to dinner by some ppl (relatives?) and they "forced" dessert on her haha. So Any and I stood in the kitchen and took in one spoonful each of my roommate's cough syrup. It was disgusting. Then Any left and my roomie and I attacked the half of a Java Java cake at nearly 11pm. Sinfully delish. Haha.
So today, since I only had 1 biology lecture, I debated with myself and decided to stay homek, after waking up and finding the cough hasn't gone away. Of course, I had more than 1 biology lecture planned for today.. If I stay home for the whole day, I'd also be missing an important lunch rendez-vous, an Essay Writing workshop I wanted to go to, and a World Vision meeting that I really need to go to at 7pm. Dammit. Of inconveniences and unfinished Webwork.
PFK Whaaaaaaaaaaat?!
So it was really funny that I learned the PFK (Poulet Frit Kentucky) here in Quebec which stands for KFC is unique only to Quebec. It's crazy how they want to hold onto their Quebecois/French culture and identity so much that they translated PFK. Now, this would've been fine and it does make total sense to translate stuff into French, except this:
What do they call it in France?
KFC.
Hahahahaha. I'm thinking, well, France already has their culture and everything established- they have no need to assert their identity and French-ness... XD
What do they call it in France?
KFC.
Hahahahaha. I'm thinking, well, France already has their culture and everything established- they have no need to assert their identity and French-ness... XD
Sunday, November 8, 2009
What to make of this?
So I go on fb this morning and I see that I have 1 message in my inbox. Okay. I click on it, and the message is from this guy "Oki longtenletterlastname" and the subject title says "hai". It says just this:
[Hai,iam oki.can us friendly,sorry i can not speak english,iam from indonesia,nice look your photo]
I sit there completely blank-faced....... "wth?!"
So obviously, I have no idea who this guy is and naturally I click on his name (and his profile picture, btw, is a lilypad floating on the water with no lily on it) and it shows absolutely nothing except that he has 3 friends. 3 friends. Either he's a newbie, or ............. well... suspicion!!
In a fit of paranoia, I go to my settings>privacy and make sure everything was friends locked. I'm confused about the Profile setting- what exactly does it show? My dp, my name, anything else? Because only my Profile and Basic Info was no "friends only", I think it was some networks and friends.
What am I supposed to reply?! My friend immediately said "You have a stalker hitting on you!" aaaaaaaaaaah creepy but I'm wondering how the hell did he come across me since he's from Indonesia?! Unless he's part of the McGill network, which would be really creepy. But- Indonesia! Don't get why he'd send such a random message to a random person........
The other reason I came up with was that he really likes trees? I like trees! ... and then my friend mentions "tree fetish" and that just completely turned me off...
my sushi.
[Hai,iam oki.can us friendly,sorry i can not speak english,iam from indonesia,nice look your photo]
I sit there completely blank-faced....... "wth?!"
So obviously, I have no idea who this guy is and naturally I click on his name (and his profile picture, btw, is a lilypad floating on the water with no lily on it) and it shows absolutely nothing except that he has 3 friends. 3 friends. Either he's a newbie, or ............. well... suspicion!!
In a fit of paranoia, I go to my settings>privacy and make sure everything was friends locked. I'm confused about the Profile setting- what exactly does it show? My dp, my name, anything else? Because only my Profile and Basic Info was no "friends only", I think it was some networks and friends.
What am I supposed to reply?! My friend immediately said "You have a stalker hitting on you!" aaaaaaaaaaah creepy but I'm wondering how the hell did he come across me since he's from Indonesia?! Unless he's part of the McGill network, which would be really creepy. But- Indonesia! Don't get why he'd send such a random message to a random person........
The other reason I came up with was that he really likes trees? I like trees! ... and then my friend mentions "tree fetish" and that just completely turned me off...
my sushi.
Flying Home.
Coming home for winter breakkkk! My final plane tickets!
(I'm squirming with jealousy at your super early let offs)
Dec 21, 2009~ Monday
Pierre Trudeau Airport, MTL- 4:30pm ---> Pearson Airport, TO 5:45pm
Pearson Airport, TO- 7pm ---> Vancouver Airport- 9:08pm
aaaaaand going back (barely 2 weeks?!)
Jan 5, 2010~ Tuesday
Vancouver Airport- 8am ---> Calgary Airport 10:19am
Calgary Airport ---> Pierre Trudeau Airport, MTL- 6:06pm
(I'm squirming with jealousy at your super early let offs)
Dec 21, 2009~ Monday
Pierre Trudeau Airport, MTL- 4:30pm ---> Pearson Airport, TO 5:45pm
Pearson Airport, TO- 7pm ---> Vancouver Airport- 9:08pm
aaaaaand going back (barely 2 weeks?!)
Jan 5, 2010~ Tuesday
Vancouver Airport- 8am ---> Calgary Airport 10:19am
Calgary Airport ---> Pierre Trudeau Airport, MTL- 6:06pm
Saturday, November 7, 2009
A Saturday Morning.
Just saw this on fb this morning- "Nous allons a 5min en voiture. We'll be there around 3:45. So OK we meet you at Roddick gate at 12:20."
Am I confused, or am I confused?! O.O
Okay yeah I'll study math like crazy before I leave for the metro at 11:55am.
I need oatmeal first...... I can't believe I've still been eating oatmeal for breakfast... since forever! And I haven't gotten sick of it yet! It's the power of Quaker- aaahhh!!
+++
OH I forgot to mention- two days ago, my French roomie tells me, "Oh, I forgot to tell you, I'm going to New York this weekend."
Me: Whaaaaaaaaaaa-?! (it's the beginning of November!)
So yeah- her and her really close friend who she hangs with all the time (girl who lives in the apartment right across from ours- I'm thinking they placed them on the same floor, with neighbouring apartments on purpose) are going to NY by plane on Friday. I assume they're coming back Sunday night. But wow, only for a weekend to visit some friends, and I think their tickets were around 100$ if you count one-way! Which apparently is an okay deal? For a flight of about 1 hour to a popular destination?
Am I confused, or am I confused?! O.O
Okay yeah I'll study math like crazy before I leave for the metro at 11:55am.
I need oatmeal first...... I can't believe I've still been eating oatmeal for breakfast... since forever! And I haven't gotten sick of it yet! It's the power of Quaker- aaahhh!!
+++
OH I forgot to mention- two days ago, my French roomie tells me, "Oh, I forgot to tell you, I'm going to New York this weekend."
Me: Whaaaaaaaaaaa-?! (it's the beginning of November!)
So yeah- her and her really close friend who she hangs with all the time (girl who lives in the apartment right across from ours- I'm thinking they placed them on the same floor, with neighbouring apartments on purpose) are going to NY by plane on Friday. I assume they're coming back Sunday night. But wow, only for a weekend to visit some friends, and I think their tickets were around 100$ if you count one-way! Which apparently is an okay deal? For a flight of about 1 hour to a popular destination?
Friday, November 6, 2009
On The Verge of Weekend.
Random stuff. This morning, in my Anthropology class, I was just chatting with my friend Any and I said "marshmallow" three times in succession. And then right after saying that I paused and said, "Why did I say that?" It totally creeped myself out. It had no relevance to what we were talking about before..... but I talked about that after, and Shri concluded that there were aliens sending us marshmallow signals into our minds today. (btw, ppls names here aren't their full/real names)
I met another Chocolate Factory Rez person today, this girl who happened upon her friend whom I was talking to outside the rez. Her name was Tan, but she pronounced it more like "Dan". Anyways, we chatted and I asked her where she was from, and she said Thailand. Now, I thought I knew another person at rez from Thailand, since it brought a wave of familiarity to me when she said it, but then nothing came up, and it was weird. Then as I climbed the stairs to the 2nd floor, it hit me and twas freaky! Because that familiarity was from the scariest movie I've ever seen, that Thai movie that longlegs (AHH) made me watch! If you type in "The Shutter" on Youtube, it comes up in its entirety, split into around 8 parts, I think. FREAKY. The main character's name was "Tun". AAAAAHHHHHHH I was so paranoid after that.
Tomorrow is Saturday. I have to do my math assignment and get cracking on starting my Anthropology essay, wroth 40% of my mark. But I'm also going to McGill at 1pm. I don't know why. O.0 right?? But I seriously don't know why! This guy that I met from a mutual friend, with whom we have lunch with on alternate Thursdays, texted me a week back inviting me to his house/place/residence because something's cool was going on, and my mutual friend will be there too. I didn't go, since I was super busy and it was too short a notice. And then he invited me again. (Another bad timing, decline) Then again, and now I'm really curious about what the hell it is he's so excited about showing me. Well so after fb-ing etc. I say I can go this Saturday and it's good, and then just yesterday he messages back,"Samedi on se retrouve devant McGill et on va y aller en voiture, ça ira plus vite !"(we go there by car, it'll be very quick). He's from France, that's why there's it's in French. Now I'm like "?!" why the hell do we need a car? Because I was so curious he replies, "But the thing is a way of making money outside the university as a part time "job". It's just so you can see this opportunity ! :) " I stare at the message but nothing comes to mind. I hope I won't be super disappointed tmr, wherever we end up going. (If there's no sign of me 2 days after Saturday, consider me kidnapped? XP)
Oooh, apparently it's McGill's openhouse on Sunday. I didn't know that, but I was told before that that there would be a McGill grad/programs/departments showing and information display, so I'm planning to go there with Ani. Now it's turned into a sushi+cheesecake adventure after we're done going to that thing. Shri was the one who found a coupon for 40 pc of sushi for 25$. *excited*!! The cheesecake was Ani's thing. She said, "I went to heaven multiple times" of this "peanut butter chocolate cheesecake" or somethingmajig. O.O I said we must try it, 'cause damn. I want to experience going to heaven multiple times. (So if there's no sign of me on Sunday, assume I've gone to heaven)
I met another Chocolate Factory Rez person today, this girl who happened upon her friend whom I was talking to outside the rez. Her name was Tan, but she pronounced it more like "Dan". Anyways, we chatted and I asked her where she was from, and she said Thailand. Now, I thought I knew another person at rez from Thailand, since it brought a wave of familiarity to me when she said it, but then nothing came up, and it was weird. Then as I climbed the stairs to the 2nd floor, it hit me and twas freaky! Because that familiarity was from the scariest movie I've ever seen, that Thai movie that longlegs (AHH) made me watch! If you type in "The Shutter" on Youtube, it comes up in its entirety, split into around 8 parts, I think. FREAKY. The main character's name was "Tun". AAAAAHHHHHHH I was so paranoid after that.
Tomorrow is Saturday. I have to do my math assignment and get cracking on starting my Anthropology essay, wroth 40% of my mark. But I'm also going to McGill at 1pm. I don't know why. O.0 right?? But I seriously don't know why! This guy that I met from a mutual friend, with whom we have lunch with on alternate Thursdays, texted me a week back inviting me to his house/place/residence because something's cool was going on, and my mutual friend will be there too. I didn't go, since I was super busy and it was too short a notice. And then he invited me again. (Another bad timing, decline) Then again, and now I'm really curious about what the hell it is he's so excited about showing me. Well so after fb-ing etc. I say I can go this Saturday and it's good, and then just yesterday he messages back,"Samedi on se retrouve devant McGill et on va y aller en voiture, ça ira plus vite !"(we go there by car, it'll be very quick). He's from France, that's why there's it's in French. Now I'm like "?!" why the hell do we need a car? Because I was so curious he replies, "But the thing is a way of making money outside the university as a part time "job". It's just so you can see this opportunity ! :) " I stare at the message but nothing comes to mind. I hope I won't be super disappointed tmr, wherever we end up going. (If there's no sign of me 2 days after Saturday, consider me kidnapped? XP)
Oooh, apparently it's McGill's openhouse on Sunday. I didn't know that, but I was told before that that there would be a McGill grad/programs/departments showing and information display, so I'm planning to go there with Ani. Now it's turned into a sushi+cheesecake adventure after we're done going to that thing. Shri was the one who found a coupon for 40 pc of sushi for 25$. *excited*!! The cheesecake was Ani's thing. She said, "I went to heaven multiple times" of this "peanut butter chocolate cheesecake" or somethingmajig. O.O I said we must try it, 'cause damn. I want to experience going to heaven multiple times. (So if there's no sign of me on Sunday, assume I've gone to heaven)
Thursday, November 5, 2009
I Feel Crisis In The Tide.
But it's a small and insignificant one compared to other real crises.
I'm going to see my advisor tomorrow, and then I'll continue with this post either feeling like I've let loose half of the sack of lumpy potatoes draped over my back, or like I've become a donkey with a life-sentence in the goods transportation business somewhere in the Middle East.
==
I'm back, and the sack has fallen.
Damn, my advisor is good. Hahahaa.
I had to wait almost 2 hours though, dammit! I was tempted to turned my number 9 into a number 6 and just skip the line XD but I'd feel so guilty afterwards...
Anyways, the end results of the meeting helped me realize and decide on some things:
-I'm sticking on the path towards the Interfaculty of Environment, within Arts&Science (BA&Sc.)
-I don't think I even need the follow-up Chem 120 next term.
-Math is over after first year (U0), and I just need a statistics course which I can take anytime in the remaining 3 years.
-Basically, most of my science credits will come from Biology and Geography.
-No Physics. =]
-I can't believe being in the (not real) faculty of Arts&Science is so perfect for me! I mean, if I had decided to go into Science, I would have been forced to take all the Sciences, etc. no matter what I wanted to get into.
During the meeting, I brought up one of my chief concerns, again, since the first advisor I saw in the before school began wasn't my real "assigned" advisor. Which was Physics. Simply, I looked at all those areas listed under the Environment program and asked if it would be a problem for any of the courses. Of course, I expected a definite yes, for at least for one of the courses listed- but he surprised me by saying no, not at all and at that moment I was thinking OMGIloveyou.
Then he looked at my courses for 2nd term, and he said, "And you don't really need the Chem 120" which was surprising since I didn't even asked anything pertaining to Chem, since I thought it was a no-duh-of-course-you-need-it course, but when he actually said that, it blew my mind. Because it means that it's true what he's saying, that it is not even needed in the courses listed for my program, that it's legit and OMG no chemistry? Taking it away is like taking the third leg away from the foundational support of the imagined "science chair" I have in my mind- Biology, Chemistry, Physics.
I've been taking sciences forever, throughout elementary and high school, it seems. So leaving any of it behind makes me feel scared. I mean, after that, I'm at a loss at what to take, since university offers so many courses that seem strange and wonderful and completely new, and it's gone into unfamiliar territory. Am I ready to explore it? Well, from the looks of it, I've already wandered off the main road. Anthropology. Environment (next year, U1). Geography- a new science, which I am excited and hopeful about (will this be my science, along with biology?). French (hopefully in U1!).
I'm going to see my advisor tomorrow, and then I'll continue with this post either feeling like I've let loose half of the sack of lumpy potatoes draped over my back, or like I've become a donkey with a life-sentence in the goods transportation business somewhere in the Middle East.
==
I'm back, and the sack has fallen.
Damn, my advisor is good. Hahahaa.
I had to wait almost 2 hours though, dammit! I was tempted to turned my number 9 into a number 6 and just skip the line XD but I'd feel so guilty afterwards...
Anyways, the end results of the meeting helped me realize and decide on some things:
-I'm sticking on the path towards the Interfaculty of Environment, within Arts&Science (BA&Sc.)
-I don't think I even need the follow-up Chem 120 next term.
-Math is over after first year (U0), and I just need a statistics course which I can take anytime in the remaining 3 years.
-Basically, most of my science credits will come from Biology and Geography.
-No Physics. =]
-I can't believe being in the (not real) faculty of Arts&Science is so perfect for me! I mean, if I had decided to go into Science, I would have been forced to take all the Sciences, etc. no matter what I wanted to get into.
During the meeting, I brought up one of my chief concerns, again, since the first advisor I saw in the before school began wasn't my real "assigned" advisor. Which was Physics. Simply, I looked at all those areas listed under the Environment program and asked if it would be a problem for any of the courses. Of course, I expected a definite yes, for at least for one of the courses listed- but he surprised me by saying no, not at all and at that moment I was thinking OMGIloveyou.
Then he looked at my courses for 2nd term, and he said, "And you don't really need the Chem 120" which was surprising since I didn't even asked anything pertaining to Chem, since I thought it was a no-duh-of-course-you-need-it course, but when he actually said that, it blew my mind. Because it means that it's true what he's saying, that it is not even needed in the courses listed for my program, that it's legit and OMG no chemistry? Taking it away is like taking the third leg away from the foundational support of the imagined "science chair" I have in my mind- Biology, Chemistry, Physics.
I've been taking sciences forever, throughout elementary and high school, it seems. So leaving any of it behind makes me feel scared. I mean, after that, I'm at a loss at what to take, since university offers so many courses that seem strange and wonderful and completely new, and it's gone into unfamiliar territory. Am I ready to explore it? Well, from the looks of it, I've already wandered off the main road. Anthropology. Environment (next year, U1). Geography- a new science, which I am excited and hopeful about (will this be my science, along with biology?). French (hopefully in U1!).
Of Swears and Smoking, en francais.
So after chatting with my French roomie, I've learned a few more things.
Ever heard of how they said the worse swear words you can say in French are somehow related to religion? For example, a huge no-no bad word is "Christ". I can't say whether or not I knew this or not, but my roomie told me it was a Quebecois thing. A Canadian thing. One unique one is "tarbernac". So this is not the case in France.
Some more common ones in France come from the English equivalents, y'know, the usual English swears. Such as pute, merde
-putain is bad, so is pute (er.. "slut"), merde, zut
Another thing- we ended up talking about smoking, and I was ranting about how every.single.school.day I have at least one second-hand smoke experience (AAARGH) and I was coming up with reasons for why so many people smoke in Quebec- the Frrrench/European way of life, the view of pleasures, of fine wine and smoking, and she said, "Oh don't go to Paris, everyone smokes there". Conflict!! Because I do very muchly want to go to France. Oh well, maybe I'll go during winter season wearing a full ski/face mask. And promptly suffocate anyway. Which is the bigger evil: choking on cloth, or choking on deadly smoke chemicals?
So I shall conclude with that's why so many people smoke in Quebec.
Damn it all.
Ever heard of how they said the worse swear words you can say in French are somehow related to religion? For example, a huge no-no bad word is "Christ". I can't say whether or not I knew this or not, but my roomie told me it was a Quebecois thing. A Canadian thing. One unique one is "tarbernac". So this is not the case in France.
Some more common ones in France come from the English equivalents, y'know, the usual English swears. Such as pute, merde
-putain is bad, so is pute (er.. "slut"), merde, zut
Another thing- we ended up talking about smoking, and I was ranting about how every.single.school.day I have at least one second-hand smoke experience (AAARGH) and I was coming up with reasons for why so many people smoke in Quebec- the Frrrench/European way of life, the view of pleasures, of fine wine and smoking, and she said, "Oh don't go to Paris, everyone smokes there". Conflict!! Because I do very muchly want to go to France. Oh well, maybe I'll go during winter season wearing a full ski/face mask. And promptly suffocate anyway. Which is the bigger evil: choking on cloth, or choking on deadly smoke chemicals?
So I shall conclude with that's why so many people smoke in Quebec.
Damn it all.
QWC
QWC ++
Saturday, October 25th, 2009
Location: Middlebury College (Yes, they founded Muggle Quidditch), Vermont
Friday night++
Remember my roomie's French friends arriving? Then I went to a friend's rez to sleep because the bus leaves 5am and the freaking metro isn't open that early for me to go to campus from my rez. It's a morose fact that I brought my math notes along with me to study- ah, in a life of a university student.. Anyways, my friend's rez was a MORE house, which I've never gone to before! I'm making it a goal to visit ALL of the McGill rezes- I'm missing the Greenbriar apartments, and that's it =) The MORE house was really interesting- it looks like a tall house on the outside, when inside are stairs stopping every so often at a narrow hallway, or door, and omg the stairs were SO narrow it rivaled the ones in my grandparents' house in Taipei. Then my friend and I chatted and ended up Youtubing random videos and songs, and then we studied. I ended up going to bed at almost 2am in the morning- what's the point, if I have to wake up at 4:30am? I slept anyways.
Saturday 4-freaking-30-AM.++
I stagger down University Street (wow, how original, given that it's the long street bordering the right side of campus) in the dark, punctuated by the yellow of the streetlights filtering through the trees, which were not yet bare. It's dark, and so of course I'm a little paranoid.
Arrive at the Milton Gates, and I see just ONE person standing there. I'm thinking, where is everyone, it's 5am already.. I hesitate, but decide- to hell with it! - to ask if she's here for the Quidditch World Cup too. Thank god she said yes and all was good (my hesitation was, I didn't want to be the crazy fool who, at 5am in the morning, goes up to random people on the street and inquire, "'Scuse me, but are you going to the Quidditch World Cup?" and watch them run away thinking "Wtf is Quidditch?!")
Funny thing is, she wasn't even from McGill, let alone the team! She told me she came all the way from Carleton University (Ontario), which instantly made for interesting conversation. How did she end up at McGill at 5am in the morning? She is a HP fan who goes on Mugglenet.com ....and couldn't find a way to get to the QWC (it was actually impossible without driving there yourself), and the only way was to go with us.
Then my Chocolate Factory Rez buddies arrived by taxi (one of them was my roomie), and more ppl showed up. Just when I thought everything was being as normal as possible and we were going to board the bus and be on our merry way, a hamster showed up. Or more specifically, Hamtaro. Seriously. This girl wearing a hamster suit (like a halloween full body costume) came up and when asked why she was wearing a hamster suit, she replied, "It's 5 in the morning, so I'm allowed to wear anything I want." I was the only one who piped out, "Hamtaro!!" though.. and she said she had a Pikachu suit too! Hahaa.
Bus Ride++ Mtl, Quebec - Middlebury, Vermont ++
Most of everyone talked, then slept all the way to the border. Then the border guy came up and checked our passports (wish we could go back to the days a Canadian citizenship was sufficient), and then the hamster girl was called down. Took a while; we were wondering/fearing/worrying, and then she came back in the bus and said, "Does anyone have $6? I'm Dutch..... so apparently I have to pay?" Hahahaa so weird right? She was made to fill in some paperwork and the money was some sort of processing fee. *sigh* Border security is really anal sometimes.
The sun began rising then, and when I woke up again in Vermont, it was breathtaking (earlier post).
Arriving in Middlebury, I finally saw... people! cars! houses and a college! ...but still the trees were there =)
It was crazy. When we got off the bus I could see the throng of people, and it was obvious they were Quidditch teams from other colleges. All the teams had capes. McGill had the red t-shirts, white cape colour scheme, and we all paraded into the field, walking past a lot of spectators, some reporters, and picture-takers. Excitement! P.s. the campus was beautiful.
By the way, in case you were mistaken- I did NOT play. I came as a spectator, because I didn't try out of the team that will be playing at the QWC. Anyways, we were the only Canadian team- but the farthest team that came (when they did the welcoming speech and intro of the teams) was Texas A&M!! I'm not entirely sure how they came all the way up here..
"Oh, CANADAAAA, Our Home And Native Land..."
We probably stood out a lot, since we were the only Canadian team (they joked, international, out-of-the-country..) but much of it was probably due to us. Especially when we (I'm going to refer to the McGill group as "we" although I wasn't playing) start singing the Canadian national anthem in the pre-game.
What I found the most ridiculous, comical thing ever- the McGill team, they were chanting,
"Où est le fromage, OU EST LE FROMAGE!"
It was so ridiculous I couldn't quite understand them at first. But it was catchy. Really catchy. Alluring. So much that I sort of fell in love with it. I will occasionally say it under my breath. (Wonder if we were playing on our Canadian pride with all that French?)
We did VERY well- even better than last year, I was told. Here are the college teams who participated, although Yale, for some reason, decided not to show. Boo.
Boston University
Chestnut Hill College
Emerson College
Green Mountain College
Harvard University
Ive's Pond Quidditch Club
Lafayette College
Louisiana State University
McGill University
Middlebury University
Moravian college
St. Lawrence Univeristy
Syracuse University
Texas A&M University
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
University of Pittsburgh
University of Vermont
Vassar College Villanova University
Virginia Commonwealth University
The final game was between Middlebury and Emerson. Guess who won? Middlebury. They've won every year, and they won every single game this QWC. We could have made it so much higher, if only we hadn't had to play Middlebury before then. Because we lost to them, and we were out at that point. But we were on a winning streak too! We didn't get to play Harvard, but they were out of the game before us...
Quidditch was intense. The program brochure had on it "Third Annual intercollegiate Quidditch World Cup"- man, and the logo underneath. My eyes bugged out when I saw it. It was very much muddy and wet and slippery and rugby-like and rough and intense.
There were fields A, B, C, D, but the two main fields had these two most amazing, hilarious commentators ever. They weren't Lee Jordans, but they were epic on a Muggle scale. Seriously, I don't know how I can show this, so I won't, but just youtube Quidditch World Cup commentators or something, and listen! I had a lot of laughs listening to them banter.
There was a capella -"Mamajamas A Capella" among the intermission performances. I was SO upset when the girl from Carleton came up to me near the end and asked if we heard them sing "The Mysterious Ticking Noise". My heart shrivelled up and stuffed itself in a walnut shell when I heard that. If only I had heard it! AAAAAAAHHH I curse myself for missing it. She said they were amazing, (I heard their earlier performances, and they were good) and that they sounded JUST LIKE it. Here's the link, in case you haven't heard this AMAZING vid= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx1XIm6q4r4
It would've made my WEEK. No, it would've made a whole MONTH, if I had managed to hear it! *cries* It would've been the most epic..... (trails off mournfully)
We had free lunch AND dinner at the Middlebury Cafeteria. Let me say this: After having experienced their cafeteria food, I can feel the weight of the tuition they must pay in my tummy. It was all fresh, cooked food in a buffet style. At McGill, the meal cards are used and each individual item has a cost, whereas this, this was basically all-you-can-eat with wonderful variety. Of course, someone's comment was met with "Well, that that's why they're obese and we're not" during the line-up for food. By the way, there was ice-cream too. Self-serve. XP They had pretty much everything-including "Teas of the World", hot chocolate, and an array of toppings for your icecream, which I didn't use..
They have an amazing Vermont view from their cafeteria too. It truly is a beautiful campus and the buildings were quite unique- they exterior was some kind of patterned stone and the architecture made the buildings box-like. Sounds ugly, right? And it was strange, when I saw it, but it actually succeeded in looking good.
It was on the way home that it wasn't so fun. Ugh. It was cold. And I was tired and it was dark and at the freaking border more than one person got called down and I swear were were waiting for an hour. The biggest problem was that this girl apparently didn't have her study permit and they were going to make her go home !? which was just stupid and ridiculous. Anyways, problem was resolved in a strange and unexpected way and everyone on the bus was allowed to pass. Stopped at a convenience store for a break and this guy bought back a bunch of American "wonders" that he said we had to try. Then it got a bit more lively and strange things and conversations happened, including man-on-man action (it is what it is and what you think it is and what you don't want to think it is all in one), lunch porn ("let me undress your sandwich"), and other unmentionables.
It was past 11pm when we arrived back at the Milton Gates. Ugh, it was very bad timing. And we had to metro back too! (only us with that long-distance rez, but we love it anyways)
It was an adventure, all right! =)
Travel List cross-off- Vermont.
Next stopppp...... ___________
===
Here are the rules of the game: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quidditch
The article the girl I met from Carleton wrote for her school paper (the article was her other purpose for coming to the QWC)- http://www.charlatan.ca/content/taking-quidditch-air-field
I was watching one of the final games when they went to take the picture.
Saturday, October 25th, 2009
Location: Middlebury College (Yes, they founded Muggle Quidditch), Vermont
Friday night++
Remember my roomie's French friends arriving? Then I went to a friend's rez to sleep because the bus leaves 5am and the freaking metro isn't open that early for me to go to campus from my rez. It's a morose fact that I brought my math notes along with me to study- ah, in a life of a university student.. Anyways, my friend's rez was a MORE house, which I've never gone to before! I'm making it a goal to visit ALL of the McGill rezes- I'm missing the Greenbriar apartments, and that's it =) The MORE house was really interesting- it looks like a tall house on the outside, when inside are stairs stopping every so often at a narrow hallway, or door, and omg the stairs were SO narrow it rivaled the ones in my grandparents' house in Taipei. Then my friend and I chatted and ended up Youtubing random videos and songs, and then we studied. I ended up going to bed at almost 2am in the morning- what's the point, if I have to wake up at 4:30am? I slept anyways.
Saturday 4-freaking-30-AM.++
I stagger down University Street (wow, how original, given that it's the long street bordering the right side of campus) in the dark, punctuated by the yellow of the streetlights filtering through the trees, which were not yet bare. It's dark, and so of course I'm a little paranoid.
Arrive at the Milton Gates, and I see just ONE person standing there. I'm thinking, where is everyone, it's 5am already.. I hesitate, but decide- to hell with it! - to ask if she's here for the Quidditch World Cup too. Thank god she said yes and all was good (my hesitation was, I didn't want to be the crazy fool who, at 5am in the morning, goes up to random people on the street and inquire, "'Scuse me, but are you going to the Quidditch World Cup?" and watch them run away thinking "Wtf is Quidditch?!")
Funny thing is, she wasn't even from McGill, let alone the team! She told me she came all the way from Carleton University (Ontario), which instantly made for interesting conversation. How did she end up at McGill at 5am in the morning? She is a HP fan who goes on Mugglenet.com ....and couldn't find a way to get to the QWC (it was actually impossible without driving there yourself), and the only way was to go with us.
Then my Chocolate Factory Rez buddies arrived by taxi (one of them was my roomie), and more ppl showed up. Just when I thought everything was being as normal as possible and we were going to board the bus and be on our merry way, a hamster showed up. Or more specifically, Hamtaro. Seriously. This girl wearing a hamster suit (like a halloween full body costume) came up and when asked why she was wearing a hamster suit, she replied, "It's 5 in the morning, so I'm allowed to wear anything I want." I was the only one who piped out, "Hamtaro!!" though.. and she said she had a Pikachu suit too! Hahaa.
Bus Ride++ Mtl, Quebec - Middlebury, Vermont ++
Most of everyone talked, then slept all the way to the border. Then the border guy came up and checked our passports (wish we could go back to the days a Canadian citizenship was sufficient), and then the hamster girl was called down. Took a while; we were wondering/fearing/worrying, and then she came back in the bus and said, "Does anyone have $6? I'm Dutch..... so apparently I have to pay?" Hahahaa so weird right? She was made to fill in some paperwork and the money was some sort of processing fee. *sigh* Border security is really anal sometimes.
The sun began rising then, and when I woke up again in Vermont, it was breathtaking (earlier post).
Arriving in Middlebury, I finally saw... people! cars! houses and a college! ...but still the trees were there =)
It was crazy. When we got off the bus I could see the throng of people, and it was obvious they were Quidditch teams from other colleges. All the teams had capes. McGill had the red t-shirts, white cape colour scheme, and we all paraded into the field, walking past a lot of spectators, some reporters, and picture-takers. Excitement! P.s. the campus was beautiful.
By the way, in case you were mistaken- I did NOT play. I came as a spectator, because I didn't try out of the team that will be playing at the QWC. Anyways, we were the only Canadian team- but the farthest team that came (when they did the welcoming speech and intro of the teams) was Texas A&M!! I'm not entirely sure how they came all the way up here..
"Oh, CANADAAAA, Our Home And Native Land..."
We probably stood out a lot, since we were the only Canadian team (they joked, international, out-of-the-country..) but much of it was probably due to us. Especially when we (I'm going to refer to the McGill group as "we" although I wasn't playing) start singing the Canadian national anthem in the pre-game.
What I found the most ridiculous, comical thing ever- the McGill team, they were chanting,
"Où est le fromage, OU EST LE FROMAGE!"
It was so ridiculous I couldn't quite understand them at first. But it was catchy. Really catchy. Alluring. So much that I sort of fell in love with it. I will occasionally say it under my breath. (Wonder if we were playing on our Canadian pride with all that French?)
We did VERY well- even better than last year, I was told. Here are the college teams who participated, although Yale, for some reason, decided not to show. Boo.
Boston University
Chestnut Hill College
Emerson College
Green Mountain College
Harvard University
Ive's Pond Quidditch Club
Lafayette College
Louisiana State University
McGill University
Middlebury University
Moravian college
St. Lawrence Univeristy
Syracuse University
Texas A&M University
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
University of Pittsburgh
University of Vermont
Vassar College Villanova University
Virginia Commonwealth University
The final game was between Middlebury and Emerson. Guess who won? Middlebury. They've won every year, and they won every single game this QWC. We could have made it so much higher, if only we hadn't had to play Middlebury before then. Because we lost to them, and we were out at that point. But we were on a winning streak too! We didn't get to play Harvard, but they were out of the game before us...
Quidditch was intense. The program brochure had on it "Third Annual intercollegiate Quidditch World Cup"- man, and the logo underneath. My eyes bugged out when I saw it. It was very much muddy and wet and slippery and rugby-like and rough and intense.
There were fields A, B, C, D, but the two main fields had these two most amazing, hilarious commentators ever. They weren't Lee Jordans, but they were epic on a Muggle scale. Seriously, I don't know how I can show this, so I won't, but just youtube Quidditch World Cup commentators or something, and listen! I had a lot of laughs listening to them banter.
There was a capella -"Mamajamas A Capella" among the intermission performances. I was SO upset when the girl from Carleton came up to me near the end and asked if we heard them sing "The Mysterious Ticking Noise". My heart shrivelled up and stuffed itself in a walnut shell when I heard that. If only I had heard it! AAAAAAAHHH I curse myself for missing it. She said they were amazing, (I heard their earlier performances, and they were good) and that they sounded JUST LIKE it. Here's the link, in case you haven't heard this AMAZING vid= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx1XIm6q4r4
It would've made my WEEK. No, it would've made a whole MONTH, if I had managed to hear it! *cries* It would've been the most epic..... (trails off mournfully)
We had free lunch AND dinner at the Middlebury Cafeteria. Let me say this: After having experienced their cafeteria food, I can feel the weight of the tuition they must pay in my tummy. It was all fresh, cooked food in a buffet style. At McGill, the meal cards are used and each individual item has a cost, whereas this, this was basically all-you-can-eat with wonderful variety. Of course, someone's comment was met with "Well, that that's why they're obese and we're not" during the line-up for food. By the way, there was ice-cream too. Self-serve. XP They had pretty much everything-including "Teas of the World", hot chocolate, and an array of toppings for your icecream, which I didn't use..
They have an amazing Vermont view from their cafeteria too. It truly is a beautiful campus and the buildings were quite unique- they exterior was some kind of patterned stone and the architecture made the buildings box-like. Sounds ugly, right? And it was strange, when I saw it, but it actually succeeded in looking good.
It was on the way home that it wasn't so fun. Ugh. It was cold. And I was tired and it was dark and at the freaking border more than one person got called down and I swear were were waiting for an hour. The biggest problem was that this girl apparently didn't have her study permit and they were going to make her go home !? which was just stupid and ridiculous. Anyways, problem was resolved in a strange and unexpected way and everyone on the bus was allowed to pass. Stopped at a convenience store for a break and this guy bought back a bunch of American "wonders" that he said we had to try. Then it got a bit more lively and strange things and conversations happened, including man-on-man action (it is what it is and what you think it is and what you don't want to think it is all in one), lunch porn ("let me undress your sandwich"), and other unmentionables.
It was past 11pm when we arrived back at the Milton Gates. Ugh, it was very bad timing. And we had to metro back too! (only us with that long-distance rez, but we love it anyways)
It was an adventure, all right! =)
Travel List cross-off- Vermont.
Next stopppp...... ___________
===
Here are the rules of the game: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quidditch
The article the girl I met from Carleton wrote for her school paper (the article was her other purpose for coming to the QWC)- http://www.charlatan.ca/content/taking-quidditch-air-field
I was watching one of the final games when they went to take the picture.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
And The World Was Set Aflame With Trees.
Before I write about the QWC, I have to tell you that I have never seen as beautiful a fall as I have seen in Vermont.
When I woke up in the early morning, with the sun's rays sweeping with thin fingers across the landscape, it was to beauty. Startling shades of rich, warm gold and vivid reds bled all over the subdued green of the hilly mountains. It seemed like Vermont was composed of just endless fields and pastures set in front of small mountains blanketed by forest; I did not see anything else until I got through Middlebury. It was so peaceful, and there were no other cars, no other sign of humans or houses, or even a faint whiff of city save the stretch of road we were travelling on- endlessly past the rolling hills and merging of greenredbrowngoldorangeredgold. A blend I'd never get tired of watching. I didn't even expect to experience a setting such as this anytime in my future. But it came upon me anyways, so gradual and gentle, like warm water's ascent, like dawn, like a realization.
The trees. God, the trees. I was in too much awe to be excited (such a cheap, mundane word compared to what I was feeling)- there was just so. much. colour.
The sky was the kind of light blue you'd imagine if you were to picture the setting for "Spring arrived that morning, with a string of birds in tow."
I have the landscape recorded in my mind, the way it flashed its glory past my window, and I wished my window was cleaner and the bus was slower so I could stick my head out the window and let the wind tangle my hair into a great mess while I soak up the sun and the chill and the colours too vivid to be real- but they were real. I could prove it to you, if only I could touch it.
When I woke up in the early morning, with the sun's rays sweeping with thin fingers across the landscape, it was to beauty. Startling shades of rich, warm gold and vivid reds bled all over the subdued green of the hilly mountains. It seemed like Vermont was composed of just endless fields and pastures set in front of small mountains blanketed by forest; I did not see anything else until I got through Middlebury. It was so peaceful, and there were no other cars, no other sign of humans or houses, or even a faint whiff of city save the stretch of road we were travelling on- endlessly past the rolling hills and merging of greenredbrowngoldorangeredgold. A blend I'd never get tired of watching. I didn't even expect to experience a setting such as this anytime in my future. But it came upon me anyways, so gradual and gentle, like warm water's ascent, like dawn, like a realization.
The trees. God, the trees. I was in too much awe to be excited (such a cheap, mundane word compared to what I was feeling)- there was just so. much. colour.
The sky was the kind of light blue you'd imagine if you were to picture the setting for "Spring arrived that morning, with a string of birds in tow."
I have the landscape recorded in my mind, the way it flashed its glory past my window, and I wished my window was cleaner and the bus was slower so I could stick my head out the window and let the wind tangle my hair into a great mess while I soak up the sun and the chill and the colours too vivid to be real- but they were real. I could prove it to you, if only I could touch it.
The Woman On The €0.10.
I did go through 6 mornings of the "Oh--yeah. There're two guys sleeping together on the couch bed in my living room. Now, I shall try not to wake them while I go make oatmeal in the kitchen."
Hahaha. It's all good. Then one morning (I think it was the Wednesday), I saw that scattered and piled on the table and floor of the living room ...... were books. Of course, seeing books light a fire in my blood and I inevitably let them draw me in... there were random (Arts!!) novels, a bit old looking etc. Anyways, the morning when I discovered the books also happened to be the morning one of the guys on the couch bed stirred. By the time I'd finished my breakfast, the shorter, dark curly-haired guy (oh I guess it's no harm to reveal that his name's Baptiste-- so French, eh?) had gotten up and I greeted him good morning etc. He was very nice, and we talked and I showed him the most AWESOME POSTER I EVER BOUGHT (from the McGill poster sale a while back), and basically on the poster there was this woman in the corner and he told me that was on the back of an euro coin. Which was very exciting and interesting. And he pulled out some coins from his pocket and showed me! Twas very cool, and while I was looking at it he said to me that I could have it! Yay- you know where that's going! My coin collection back home! €0.10 .. It was a really shiny one too~
I'm excited to show you guys the poster sometime. I almost mistook it for the work of MC Escher, but after a bit of googling, it turned out to be a tribute done purposely in the style of MC Escher- it's damn cool! I don't want to describe it because it'll be too hard, but it's basically like a mish-mash of art. It's all thrown together, so it gives an I-Spy feel of it, and what impressed me was that I asked him to look for the different pieces of art in the poster, and he recognized and identified so much of it. Turns out, he knows a lot of this because his mother's an artist. This just keeps getting Frencher, doesn't it? I mean, one of my cliche images of France is an artist with those droopy artist hats (what are they called again, JYT? The hat you wanted?) on a balcony with the Eiffel Tower (grey, strong, solid) right behind, with a Parigot style singing wafting up along with fresh bread from the street below. I'm aware how cliche this scene is.
Oh no, I got sidetracked again. I meant to tell you about the woman on the edge of the poster, who was on the euro coin.
Wikipedia::
[The French design by Laurent Jorio depicts a sower in a field with a rising sun behind her. The image is taken from the previous one French franc coin designed by Louis Oscar Roty. Oscar Roty's art nouveau design reset the global trend, breaking from traditional static portraits to a full body, strident figure sowing the seeds of good fortune. For the euro coins, Jorio added hatching each side representing the French flag with the year to the left and the letters RF (République française) to the right.]
Another cool thing I skylights has learned about the €0.10 coin while reading Wikipedia-
[The reverse side of the coin depends on the issuing country. All have to include twelve stars (in most cases a circle around the edge), the engravers initials and the year of issue. New designs also have to include the name or initials of the issuing country.]
So obviously, the issuing country of my coin is France. Teeheehee.
Hahaha. It's all good. Then one morning (I think it was the Wednesday), I saw that scattered and piled on the table and floor of the living room ...... were books. Of course, seeing books light a fire in my blood and I inevitably let them draw me in... there were random (Arts!!) novels, a bit old looking etc. Anyways, the morning when I discovered the books also happened to be the morning one of the guys on the couch bed stirred. By the time I'd finished my breakfast, the shorter, dark curly-haired guy (oh I guess it's no harm to reveal that his name's Baptiste-- so French, eh?) had gotten up and I greeted him good morning etc. He was very nice, and we talked and I showed him the most AWESOME POSTER I EVER BOUGHT (from the McGill poster sale a while back), and basically on the poster there was this woman in the corner and he told me that was on the back of an euro coin. Which was very exciting and interesting. And he pulled out some coins from his pocket and showed me! Twas very cool, and while I was looking at it he said to me that I could have it! Yay- you know where that's going! My coin collection back home! €0.10 .. It was a really shiny one too~
I'm excited to show you guys the poster sometime. I almost mistook it for the work of MC Escher, but after a bit of googling, it turned out to be a tribute done purposely in the style of MC Escher- it's damn cool! I don't want to describe it because it'll be too hard, but it's basically like a mish-mash of art. It's all thrown together, so it gives an I-Spy feel of it, and what impressed me was that I asked him to look for the different pieces of art in the poster, and he recognized and identified so much of it. Turns out, he knows a lot of this because his mother's an artist. This just keeps getting Frencher, doesn't it? I mean, one of my cliche images of France is an artist with those droopy artist hats (what are they called again, JYT? The hat you wanted?) on a balcony with the Eiffel Tower (grey, strong, solid) right behind, with a Parigot style singing wafting up along with fresh bread from the street below. I'm aware how cliche this scene is.
Oh no, I got sidetracked again. I meant to tell you about the woman on the edge of the poster, who was on the euro coin.
Wikipedia::
[The French design by Laurent Jorio depicts a sower in a field with a rising sun behind her. The image is taken from the previous one French franc coin designed by Louis Oscar Roty. Oscar Roty's art nouveau design reset the global trend, breaking from traditional static portraits to a full body, strident figure sowing the seeds of good fortune. For the euro coins, Jorio added hatching each side representing the French flag with the year to the left and the letters RF (République française) to the right.]
Another cool thing I skylights has learned about the €0.10 coin while reading Wikipedia-
[The reverse side of the coin depends on the issuing country. All have to include twelve stars (in most cases a circle around the edge), the engravers initials and the year of issue. New designs also have to include the name or initials of the issuing country.]
So obviously, the issuing country of my coin is France. Teeheehee.
There Was Only One Couch Bed.
Okay, so I've been back from the QWC and it was an amazing, eye-opening adventure, that was for sure! But more on that after this post. This is a little after-post, of the morning after my return from the QWC.
Monday. I get up, bleary-eyed, at 8:30am because I leave around 9:00am for my 9:35am Anthro class. I do my morning schtuff, y'know, brushing my teeth, dress, NOT make my bed, search for my shoes...I manage to find my shoes, but I also manage to trip over my backpack which I'd left lying haphazardly on the ground the night before, with its guts spilling out in the form of loose lecture slides half-pinned throughout a submerged black binder, 1/3 of my pencil case (the end with the kitty head!) peeking out of the front pocket, my cellphone lying out on the ground, having made a full 3/3 of its way out of the front pocket (beating the pencil case by 2/3), and all of the sections of my backpack completely unzipped, all gaping black slitted against the light blue exterior and baring rows of zipper-teeth. Grrr.
Then I look at the time and oh-shoot-I-gotta-get-breakfast and I stumble out to the hallway, past my two roomie's doors into the living room space which is connected to the dining table area which leads into the kitchen. I didn't make it straight to the kitchen though. Because I made an abrupt stop when I arrived at the living room and was suddenly reminded that I had met 2 French guys before I had left on Saturday, and that their departure was not until the end of the week.
I did not see the blue couch bed in the living room suffused in daylight. Instead, I saw a large red blanket over two lumps. Two very close lumps. Unmoving and obscured, and covered by a very red blanket which was also covering the blue-ness of the couch bed. Utter silence.
I tip-toed into the kitchen and made my oatmeal, as quietly as I could, while I as attacked by a random scenario image. I don't think it would have been very comfortable for me to eat at the kitchen table, which is basically part of the living room. Imagine waking up the morning after sleeping with your (guy) friend, and the first thing you see when you open your eyes is a girl sitting at the kitchen table looking right back at you holding up a spoon of oatmeal towards her mouth. (No innuendo/double meanings intended. XP)
It would just be awkward and creepy. Although I find the scenario funny in an awkward and comical way. I hid -stayed- in the kitchen and had my breakfast.
Monday. I get up, bleary-eyed, at 8:30am because I leave around 9:00am for my 9:35am Anthro class. I do my morning schtuff, y'know, brushing my teeth, dress, NOT make my bed, search for my shoes...I manage to find my shoes, but I also manage to trip over my backpack which I'd left lying haphazardly on the ground the night before, with its guts spilling out in the form of loose lecture slides half-pinned throughout a submerged black binder, 1/3 of my pencil case (the end with the kitty head!) peeking out of the front pocket, my cellphone lying out on the ground, having made a full 3/3 of its way out of the front pocket (beating the pencil case by 2/3), and all of the sections of my backpack completely unzipped, all gaping black slitted against the light blue exterior and baring rows of zipper-teeth. Grrr.
Then I look at the time and oh-shoot-I-gotta-get-breakfast and I stumble out to the hallway, past my two roomie's doors into the living room space which is connected to the dining table area which leads into the kitchen. I didn't make it straight to the kitchen though. Because I made an abrupt stop when I arrived at the living room and was suddenly reminded that I had met 2 French guys before I had left on Saturday, and that their departure was not until the end of the week.
I did not see the blue couch bed in the living room suffused in daylight. Instead, I saw a large red blanket over two lumps. Two very close lumps. Unmoving and obscured, and covered by a very red blanket which was also covering the blue-ness of the couch bed. Utter silence.
I tip-toed into the kitchen and made my oatmeal, as quietly as I could, while I as attacked by a random scenario image. I don't think it would have been very comfortable for me to eat at the kitchen table, which is basically part of the living room. Imagine waking up the morning after sleeping with your (guy) friend, and the first thing you see when you open your eyes is a girl sitting at the kitchen table looking right back at you holding up a spoon of oatmeal towards her mouth. (No innuendo/double meanings intended. XP)
It would just be awkward and creepy. Although I find the scenario funny in an awkward and comical way. I hid -stayed- in the kitchen and had my breakfast.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Two Guests, One Couch Bed, and Five Days.
Hahaha the funniest thing happened; my French roommate, and her friend who lives in the apartment across the hall, just came in with two guy friends, who will be staying here for 5 days. My other roomie is out (at a random concert thing) and I'm getting ready to go out myself, to my friend's for an overnight stay somewhere by campus, and I hear the front doors open and alors, a flood of francais. I go out to meet them in the semi-dark hallway (god, our apartment STILL needs those 2 missing lamps!!) and so my roomie introduces them to me, and the first thing one guy says to me is, "Bonjour", and I say it too, and then he leans down (very tall guy) towards me, the same time I hear my roomie say "No, no!" frantic-like, immediately halting him from kissing me on the cheek as greeting. I was like, "No, haha it's okay"- I'm guessing she thought I'd be confused/freaked out about what he was doing, but when she freaked it all sort of froze and I was thinking "Oh (insert roomie's name)..! You just made it awkwaaaaaaaaard." Since his lean-down motion ground to a halt mere centimeters away from me. Then we ended up hugging (awkwardly) in greeting instead, lol. It was hilarious though!! I mean, my mind was going, "Oh. He's going to kiss me," when he leaned down. LOL! Oh my, I'd better get going!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Worlddd Cup
... erm, I don't remember if I already said this, but it's Vermont this Sunday for me, for I am going to see the Quiddiitch Worldd Cuuupp! I'll have to get up awful early though (Milton Gates @ 5:00am).... panda-eyes again.
Here are the What Where When Who's for QWC 2009!!
http://www.collegequidditch.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=169&Itemid=119
To watch it LIVE, go to www.collegequidditch.com I wonder if they'll flash past me when they film? Haha.
I'm so *excited* right now!!! I have to leave my good ol' Chocolate Factory Rez in 40 minutes to go to a friend's rez (a MORE house, which is a house-like rez with kitchens like mine, but theirs is actually a house-like rez) to stay for the night, because the metro doesn't open until around 6am, and I have to be at the Milton Gates by 5am, because the bus leaves at 5:30am, and they ain't waiting! I shall take pictures!!!
Here are the What Where When Who's for QWC 2009!!
http://www.collegequidditch.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=169&Itemid=119
To watch it LIVE, go to www.collegequidditch.com I wonder if they'll flash past me when they film? Haha.
I'm so *excited* right now!!! I have to leave my good ol' Chocolate Factory Rez in 40 minutes to go to a friend's rez (a MORE house, which is a house-like rez with kitchens like mine, but theirs is actually a house-like rez) to stay for the night, because the metro doesn't open until around 6am, and I have to be at the Milton Gates by 5am, because the bus leaves at 5:30am, and they ain't waiting! I shall take pictures!!!
HOUSE Marathon.
My friend had downloaded all the House Season 6 Episodes, up-to-date, and last weekend I did a House marathon with her. Aww.. it made me get excited about House again! WILSONNN!!!!!!!
It was an extremely satisfying night, which ended with my going to bed at around 2am in the morning. Hahaha............ yea.
This is what I looked like the next day: =,=
It was an extremely satisfying night, which ended with my going to bed at around 2am in the morning. Hahaha............ yea.
This is what I looked like the next day: =,=
Of Sushi Cravings and Skipping.
So I had a sushi craving on Wednesday, after my anxiety inducing Anthropology quiz (which is not to be snubbed, because it's worth 15% of my grade) after my Sri Lankan friend brought up her intense desire to go get sushi(which snowballed into this ridiculous, laughter-inducing, fb conversation sitting right next to each other in the computer lab that lasted for an hour). Now, since my sushi craving made itself known, a monster with teeth of forks scraping insistently at my stomach walls, I found myself in a dilemma. Either ignore that sushi craving (monster still going scrape,scrape,scrape) and go to my 12:35 chem lecture, or comply with the wants of my sushi craving and go get sushi with my friend.
Judging by the title, I bet you can guess which one I picked.
My sushi craving was partly to blame!- and the monster was subdued. For now. I ended up meeting another Chocolate Factory Rez person (meeting people is an infinite process at university), and us three went off down the yellow brick road that was neither yellow nor made of brick, but led away from my chem lecture and down through the Roddick Gates and down Rue de College, and up to the front doors of the Sushi Shop. We ate, and had chocolate Pocky to finish.
I missed out on some chem knowledge that I knew I would not have been able to absorb because I was too tired and wipe-out, but I learned from my new aquaintance (who's from Japan) that avocado in sushi is a purely western thing, and that seeing fruit sushi "is an insult to sushi". I supposed I sort of knew avocado wasn't a Japanese thing, but it doesn't taste that bad! I ended up with 6 free pieces of avocado rolls from my two avocado-disliking friends. I shall watch my online Chem Lecture Recordings soon.
On fruit sushi- I've never seen it before! I should've taken a picture! But whatever- it was roll sushi, and in it was strawberry and perhaps peach or something and it was colourful and it blew my mind. My Japanese friend and I spent some time just staring the clear plastic box of what I call fruit sushi.
Judging by the title, I bet you can guess which one I picked.
My sushi craving was partly to blame!- and the monster was subdued. For now. I ended up meeting another Chocolate Factory Rez person (meeting people is an infinite process at university), and us three went off down the yellow brick road that was neither yellow nor made of brick, but led away from my chem lecture and down through the Roddick Gates and down Rue de College, and up to the front doors of the Sushi Shop. We ate, and had chocolate Pocky to finish.
I missed out on some chem knowledge that I knew I would not have been able to absorb because I was too tired and wipe-out, but I learned from my new aquaintance (who's from Japan) that avocado in sushi is a purely western thing, and that seeing fruit sushi "is an insult to sushi". I supposed I sort of knew avocado wasn't a Japanese thing, but it doesn't taste that bad! I ended up with 6 free pieces of avocado rolls from my two avocado-disliking friends. I shall watch my online Chem Lecture Recordings soon.
On fruit sushi- I've never seen it before! I should've taken a picture! But whatever- it was roll sushi, and in it was strawberry and perhaps peach or something and it was colourful and it blew my mind. My Japanese friend and I spent some time just staring the clear plastic box of what I call fruit sushi.
A Worm to Remember.
My first dissection in Bio lab this week. It was the earthworm (Annelida) and I would've done it in grade 11 biology had I not gone off to do something I couldn't remember....... reichiru missed it too... was it some math contest?
I find that I muchly prefer live earthworms than dead ones. I haven't touched a live earthworm in years- I wonder why.. maybe I've started spending less time in the garden?- and so it was nostalgic to watch my worm feel its way around on my palm. I used to pick earthworms up from sidewalks or pavements and search for grass patches to deposit them on, because I was scared they'd get run over, or squished, or dried by the sun, or get so uncomfortable trying to find their way on the gritty concrete.
Anyways, I had to put my earthworm back in the container of dirt because it was time to dissect a dead one. And ugh it was so creepy! I approached a plastic rectangular tub with "Dirty Pipettes" scribbled on it, but inside was a bunch of long, pale, and perfectly straight worms floating in what looked like water, but it smelled so bad! How do they get the worms to be so straight?! Like pipecleaners! And I had to reach into the liquid with gloves on, and pick one out. It felt rubbery and it was still straight (it could bend naturally, like Twizzlers, though)..... anyways, it still smelled bad throughout the whole dissection.\
There're a few more dissections coming up, ending with a rat for the last bio lab of this term. I'm not quite sure what I feel about that right now..... I mean, I've touched and seen many dead rats and mice in various states, and I've even cut them up, along with quails aplenty. Damn, volunteering at OWL really desensitized me to them...
On another note, I'm glad for high school Bio 11 and 12... The first 10 lectures, which was what the midterm was on, was practically Bio 11 all over again. Almost everything on these lectures was covered in high school. Protists, bacteria, fungi, plants (algae, ferns, gymnosperms, angiosperms), plant life cycles, transport, and structure, evolution...... What do the people at UBC learn in first year bio, I wonder?
I find that I muchly prefer live earthworms than dead ones. I haven't touched a live earthworm in years- I wonder why.. maybe I've started spending less time in the garden?- and so it was nostalgic to watch my worm feel its way around on my palm. I used to pick earthworms up from sidewalks or pavements and search for grass patches to deposit them on, because I was scared they'd get run over, or squished, or dried by the sun, or get so uncomfortable trying to find their way on the gritty concrete.
Anyways, I had to put my earthworm back in the container of dirt because it was time to dissect a dead one. And ugh it was so creepy! I approached a plastic rectangular tub with "Dirty Pipettes" scribbled on it, but inside was a bunch of long, pale, and perfectly straight worms floating in what looked like water, but it smelled so bad! How do they get the worms to be so straight?! Like pipecleaners! And I had to reach into the liquid with gloves on, and pick one out. It felt rubbery and it was still straight (it could bend naturally, like Twizzlers, though)..... anyways, it still smelled bad throughout the whole dissection.\
There're a few more dissections coming up, ending with a rat for the last bio lab of this term. I'm not quite sure what I feel about that right now..... I mean, I've touched and seen many dead rats and mice in various states, and I've even cut them up, along with quails aplenty. Damn, volunteering at OWL really desensitized me to them...
On another note, I'm glad for high school Bio 11 and 12... The first 10 lectures, which was what the midterm was on, was practically Bio 11 all over again. Almost everything on these lectures was covered in high school. Protists, bacteria, fungi, plants (algae, ferns, gymnosperms, angiosperms), plant life cycles, transport, and structure, evolution...... What do the people at UBC learn in first year bio, I wonder?
Keep On Swimming, Swimming, Swimming....
The McConnell Engineering has the CUTEST wall murals EVER!!!!!!!
The Power of Chicken Noodle Soup.
Now, remember that basic experiment involving a lightbulb, a beaker, water, and salt? The teacher would stick the wire end or whatever was attached to the lightbulb into a beaker of water. Nothing happens to the lightbulb. Then salt would be dumped in, and the conductivity tester lowered into the beaker again- and voila, the bulb lights up! This is an experiment showing conductivity of ions.
A few days ago, however, my chem prof pulled out a real packet of Lipton Chicken Noodle Soup in lecture. On the lecture slide projected showed the list of ingredients, in order, starting from the top, with the first two being..
Noodles
Salt
...... I don't think the rest matters much at the moment. Because I can feel the burn of salt on my tongue just by thinking about it.
Now, he proceeds to do the lightbulb experiment just like the one I described above. Beaker+water= lightbulb doesn't light up. Okaaay. (unsurprised) Beaker+water+quite a substantial amount of table salt= the lightbulb gives off a weak yellow glow. Okaaay. (not impressed) The chem prof reaches behind the podium and whips out another beaker, filled with LIQUID LIPTON CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP. WHOA. Unexpected!! (fully attentive)
Says he, holding the lightbulb appartus poised over the beaker+chicken noodle soup, "I think you better put on some sunglasses," in his Parisian accent. And promptly sticks it into the beaker.
Dude, it was like someone had turned on the lights! It felt like that blazing lightbulb lit up that darkened auditorium of capacity 700 ppl- comparing this with the beaker+water+salt, it felt as if the former lightbulb barely gave off any light! You might have heard that Chicken Noodle Soup is good for you. I can say with absolute conviction, Not this. You do not want this in your body.
And if chicken soup is good for your soul, I bet Lipton's will shrivel yours up like a prune. Baked and dried, man, baked and dried.
Ahhh, Chemistry lectures are pretty interesting and amusing right now, especially with this professor.
A few days ago, however, my chem prof pulled out a real packet of Lipton Chicken Noodle Soup in lecture. On the lecture slide projected showed the list of ingredients, in order, starting from the top, with the first two being..
Noodles
Salt
...... I don't think the rest matters much at the moment. Because I can feel the burn of salt on my tongue just by thinking about it.
Now, he proceeds to do the lightbulb experiment just like the one I described above. Beaker+water= lightbulb doesn't light up. Okaaay. (unsurprised) Beaker+water+quite a substantial amount of table salt= the lightbulb gives off a weak yellow glow. Okaaay. (not impressed) The chem prof reaches behind the podium and whips out another beaker, filled with LIQUID LIPTON CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP. WHOA. Unexpected!! (fully attentive)
Says he, holding the lightbulb appartus poised over the beaker+chicken noodle soup, "I think you better put on some sunglasses," in his Parisian accent. And promptly sticks it into the beaker.
Dude, it was like someone had turned on the lights! It felt like that blazing lightbulb lit up that darkened auditorium of capacity 700 ppl- comparing this with the beaker+water+salt, it felt as if the former lightbulb barely gave off any light! You might have heard that Chicken Noodle Soup is good for you. I can say with absolute conviction, Not this. You do not want this in your body.
And if chicken soup is good for your soul, I bet Lipton's will shrivel yours up like a prune. Baked and dried, man, baked and dried.
Ahhh, Chemistry lectures are pretty interesting and amusing right now, especially with this professor.
Giraffes or Graphs?
I wrote about my dilemma over choosing Economics or Anthropology:Environment and Culture some time ago. It was late at night, and my friend and I had followed the beautiful sound of a guitar down the hall, and we ended up talking to our floor fellow and her friend. Somehow, and I don't remember how, I got talking about my Anthropology class and my Econ/Anthro decision the day before class Add/Drop period, and my floor fellow's friend suddenly said, "It's either giraffes or graphs!"-- Hahaaa I thought it was the best in-a-nutshell phrase ever!
(the giraffes came from how my first experience of Anthro was watching a continuation of a film in which the Kalahari Sand Peoples of Africa poisoned, tracked, and killed a giraffe. Twas very graphic in the butchering of it.)
HAHA. okay, I just realized I wrote "graphic". Graphically Graphed by Giraffes. XD
(the giraffes came from how my first experience of Anthro was watching a continuation of a film in which the Kalahari Sand Peoples of Africa poisoned, tracked, and killed a giraffe. Twas very graphic in the butchering of it.)
HAHA. okay, I just realized I wrote "graphic". Graphically Graphed by Giraffes. XD
Friday, October 16, 2009
En Francais..
Studying in my neighbour's flat across the hall yesterday was pretty awesome... I think the way university is for me right now is a pile of homework and assignment bricks piled up as time goes by, but there are always cracks in between, stuffed with chocolate chips, marshmallows, and random tufts of pink cotton candy that make it really fun. It's a good mix (although I'd prefer that they lay off the bricks for a while), and there's always something to be discovered, to laugh about, to explore. I haven't laughed as much during normal times than during my "study evenings" ..
So yesterday we were speaking bits of French 'cause my friend had a French exam coming up, which reminded me of J'Explore last summer =( My Torontoian friend was telling me about something that happened during Nuit Blanche in Toronto last year, and the friend we were having teach us French to told me that "J'ai fait nuit blanche" means to pull an all-nighter!
Revelation!!!! It totally makes sense now, because Nuit Blanche goes till really really late (supposedly some kind of art exhibition festival) and also I suppose that the translation "white night" is like treating the "night" as if it's the (white) day-time = all-nighter!
Randoms.
Je suis bouleversée= really really confused
Je suis perdu(e)= I'm lost (physically, or as in "I'm lost in the conversation")
chaussures= used in France French
souliers= muchly a Quebecois word, as with "char" for car rather than "auto"
So yesterday we were speaking bits of French 'cause my friend had a French exam coming up, which reminded me of J'Explore last summer =( My Torontoian friend was telling me about something that happened during Nuit Blanche in Toronto last year, and the friend we were having teach us French to told me that "J'ai fait nuit blanche" means to pull an all-nighter!
Revelation!!!! It totally makes sense now, because Nuit Blanche goes till really really late (supposedly some kind of art exhibition festival) and also I suppose that the translation "white night" is like treating the "night" as if it's the (white) day-time = all-nighter!
Randoms.
Je suis bouleversée= really really confused
Je suis perdu(e)= I'm lost (physically, or as in "I'm lost in the conversation")
chaussures= used in France French
souliers= muchly a Quebecois word, as with "char" for car rather than "auto"
Wait, WHO?!
I was told this morning, while walking to school, that Bill Clinton was going to be here today. I was like, "huh?!" O.O
"Former U.S. president Bill Clinton is applauded after giving an adress, during a ceremony where he recieved an honorary doctorate for a lifetime of outstanding leadership from McGill university, at Centre Mont-Royal in Montreal, Friday Oct. 16, 2009."
Guess it's true. This feels like that time when a few of us were volunteering at the Vancouver Children's Festival, and Kenneth Oppel (Silverwing Trilogy, etc.) was there too, in one of the tents, to talk about his book and give autographs. Ahh... WHYYY?!?!
...and George W. Bush is coming to Montreal Oct 22.... seems like he's been giving lots of speeches (gets paid $$$$$$) in Canada. Lots of booos to be heard about that. Perhaps he's trying to escape from some angry people back home?
"Former U.S. president Bill Clinton is applauded after giving an adress, during a ceremony where he recieved an honorary doctorate for a lifetime of outstanding leadership from McGill university, at Centre Mont-Royal in Montreal, Friday Oct. 16, 2009."
Guess it's true. This feels like that time when a few of us were volunteering at the Vancouver Children's Festival, and Kenneth Oppel (Silverwing Trilogy, etc.) was there too, in one of the tents, to talk about his book and give autographs. Ahh... WHYYY?!?!
...and George W. Bush is coming to Montreal Oct 22.... seems like he's been giving lots of speeches (gets paid $$$$$$) in Canada. Lots of booos to be heard about that. Perhaps he's trying to escape from some angry people back home?
Monday, October 12, 2009
Tidbit Discoveries........
So I didn't really know anyone in my Anthropology class when I transferred in, but I met someone the very first day! Haha, I had gotten lost trying to find the room it was in, and when I thought I found it, I asked this girl just to be sure. And so boom- une nouvelle amie! Anyways, it was one of the moments when I realized I am really lacking in world geography...... I need to memorize the world map poster I bought for that very purpose, soon! Anyways, I sort of drew a blank when I asked her where she was from, and she replied, "Mauritius."
Now I know! I was having her tell me about Creole, and I asked my friend roomie about Creole and Quebecois French, and she affirmed that she can't understand either.
Creole was interesting to hear about though- she gave me a demo..
English: We're in the SSMU building.
French: Nous sommes dans le bâtiment SSMU.
Creole: Nous dans bâtiment SSMU.
Creole's missing so many words! It's like jargon, as she described it.
I had an earlier convo about Quebecois French though, and my roomie said it was so archaic.. such as they say "le char" for the word "car", instead of "l'auto" (this is in her experience, so of course I bet "auto" is used often too).... I didn't know that! "Char" would mean something like a "chariot"-- thus, the archaism.
Btw, the SSMU building is of the Students Society of McGill University, and it's quite a popular building- there's a Tiki-Ming and Culture on the second flour, where I go eat sometimes (a mini- foodcourt), and there's a Cafe Supreme and Liquid Nutrition on the first floor, and SSMU houses all the clubs and organization offices (thus, the HQ)... Many club meetings, or presentations and gatherings make use of this building so it's quite awesome! The best ever was were mon nouvelle amie and I were talking, the SSMU lounge by the entrance.. more people are asleep in there than awake! It's a room of couches. Big, squashy, jumbo, heavenly couches that'll melt your bones when you sink down in them, where single couches can fit 2 people and people dream, sprawled lengthwise upon the bouncy cushions....... It's so nice for the peace and the atmosphere's reallll relaxed. *sigh* I love that place =)
It maybe interesting to note that none of the people I've met so far, who watches/reads anime/manga are Asian. I've got Kenyan, Sri Lankan, and Mauritian .......
Now I know! I was having her tell me about Creole, and I asked my friend roomie about Creole and Quebecois French, and she affirmed that she can't understand either.
Creole was interesting to hear about though- she gave me a demo..
English: We're in the SSMU building.
French: Nous sommes dans le bâtiment SSMU.
Creole: Nous dans bâtiment SSMU.
Creole's missing so many words! It's like jargon, as she described it.
I had an earlier convo about Quebecois French though, and my roomie said it was so archaic.. such as they say "le char" for the word "car", instead of "l'auto" (this is in her experience, so of course I bet "auto" is used often too).... I didn't know that! "Char" would mean something like a "chariot"-- thus, the archaism.
Btw, the SSMU building is of the Students Society of McGill University, and it's quite a popular building- there's a Tiki-Ming and Culture on the second flour, where I go eat sometimes (a mini- foodcourt), and there's a Cafe Supreme and Liquid Nutrition on the first floor, and SSMU houses all the clubs and organization offices (thus, the HQ)... Many club meetings, or presentations and gatherings make use of this building so it's quite awesome! The best ever was were mon nouvelle amie and I were talking, the SSMU lounge by the entrance.. more people are asleep in there than awake! It's a room of couches. Big, squashy, jumbo, heavenly couches that'll melt your bones when you sink down in them, where single couches can fit 2 people and people dream, sprawled lengthwise upon the bouncy cushions....... It's so nice for the peace and the atmosphere's reallll relaxed. *sigh* I love that place =)
It maybe interesting to note that none of the people I've met so far, who watches/reads anime/manga are Asian. I've got Kenyan, Sri Lankan, and Mauritian .......
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