Books Books Books.

This weather is really making me wonder if mother nature knows the difference between spring and summer. I just want to make it clear to her that most of the rain was suppose to stay in spring... and that now it is officially summer. FYI!

I other news, last night was my brother's high school graduation. I was so proud of him for winning the Art awards ($500 reward for his talent!!) which was presented to him in front of everyone. He is really talented and I know that he deserved that for his hard work this year (in art... not so much in his other studies). Now he is officially a graduate and I wish him much success in his post-secondary studies.

I, on the other hand, am the proud academic of the family who spends all of her free time reading books. Escaping into the works of fiction are helping me make it through the summer. I'm already on my tenth novel of the summer. I'm discovering a true love for historically based fiction novels... as those make up a large portion of my accomplishments, but I am certainly not limiting myself to that particular genre. The list so far is: (in order of which I read)

1. My Anastasia - Sharon Stewart
2. Of mice and men - John Steinbeck
3. The scarlet letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
4. The picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
5. Angela's ashes - Frank McCourt
6. The count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
7. White Oleander - Janet Fitch
8. The secret life of bees - Sue Monk Kidd
9. Night - Elie Wiesel

And now I'm currently reading The kitchen boy - Robert Alexander.

I should update more

I pretty much can assure you that nothing much has happened since my last post that is worthy of mention. There was that one thing... which I hope you know I won't forget... and certainly did not appreciate as I don't think it was deserved. That (and the aftermath) only solidified my views on you.

Work has pretty much been my savior. It allows me to escape and have a few hours of quiet time every morning. Most people would be jealous that I get to work in such a peaceful environment for three hours before our store opens, but nature just doesn't do it for me... the mosquitoes are enough to drive me insane! At least I feel that I am well liked by my fellow employees, despite the fact that I seem to have laid upon them the impression of extreme innocence. I can assure you that this wasn't done on purpose, as I have just realized that this is a common opinion of me. Of course much of it is true, as admit that I am no rebel child, but I know that I'm certainly no saint, and the idea that someone would refrain from swearing in front of me is laughable. I don't know how to change my image at work without doing something drastic. When I asked why people thought that I was like this, the most common answer was due to my extreme responsibility and desire to do things properly. I don't understand why this would make me be seen as so innocent.... and unfortunately those are traits that I would never change about myself. ... So I guess I'm stuck with the image I didn't chose to create. After all, I can always live for the shock value of revealing my true nature to them at just the right moments. He he he.

Catching My Breath

It's hard to say that my summer has been so busy thus far considering I've been primarily doing the same thing - working. However, I feel like I have very few moments to myself and I value them greatly when I do. Yesterday was also a day off for me, and I spent the day baking muffins instead of going out and having fun mostly because I didn't want to spend any money and I also needed a rest. I'm not doing much today except picking up something at the mall with my brother. I personally feel as though I need these days of nothingness to keep me sane! I work all the time and then come home and crash on my bed.... I've got no fun time most days :(. Thus I hope that I'll be up for fun next week!

Spring Weather Sucks!

It's cold outside! Last week was sooo summery and now it's back to normal springiness. This is making my job seem extra painful! I want to go back to school! I didn't even need to start working before I came to this conclusion. Ack! I hate not having a life right now. I work too much, and on my days off (today being pretty much my first one) I have to relax and rest up for another few days of work! I barely even have the energy to go shopping and have any fun. However, I did make it to the mall this morning and finally bough some nice new clothes. Today has been rather productive, despite the fact that I'm tiring myself out instead of relaxing!

Pumpkin Gelato... with wildberries....

My last exam was yesterday... and technically as of tonight I'll be completely done school for this semester because that's when my group project is due. It's kind of a fun project, my friends and I have to build a Wiki using the knowledge we learned from class (basically rewrite the textbook online)... but of course not everyone is like me so many people aren't posting until recently. Last night there was massive postings and I expect tonight to be the same, but I'm sure that I've already done enough to get a good mark, thus - I'M DONE SCHOOL for the semester. Unfortunately I don't want to have to wait all summer for the next semester to come. I'm too happy being in school.... and I don't want to go back to work just yet. Finally the good weather is here - I've been waiting all winter! and now I'm being removed from it! :( You can't imagine how many times I didn't do something because it was too cold out... and now I feel so liberated... but this freedom is so limited. Grrr!

Anyways, today I went packed a bit and went out with my roommate for a walk downtown. In September she had walk around the whole market looking for a certain gelato place, which we never found, so today we were on a mission to locate it. We had to ask two people, but it was worth it. I had pumpkin and wildberry (super stranger combo I know)... they both tasted really good... just not so great together! lol.

Tonight Heather, Alex and Craig are coming over to help me empty my fridge. he he... got get rid of the last of my smirnoff before I go home! Lol, I clearly need help with this task. Should be a last night.

Ma Chambre est Tellement Vide!

If you can't tell by the title, I'm studying for my french exam now... slash, I totally should be studying for my French exam now. lol. But studying isn't much fun... so I've probably been checking facebook today more than I've cracked open by textbook. shame.
So let me tell you what I've been up to lately. School ended for me on Thursday and I two of my classes were canceled that day, so I only had to go to one! I spent Friday morning writing my first exam (I think it went quite well!) and chilled a bit in the afternoon (what a change!) Then my roommate Meaghan and I went out Friday night to see the movie "21". We both loved the movie, but were probably more shocked that not only did we actually get in to see it (last time was a failed attempt as it was sold out), but that we actually stayed out late! Lol! Then yesterday, we went out with our friend Leslie, whom we haven't seen much this semester, for bubble tea! Yum! Afterwards I contemplated going out with Meaghan and our friend Vicky to a really nice club downtown. I knew it was probably not too bad of an idea, even though I do have my French exam tomorrow. So Vicky brought a bunch of her friends over to our apartment and then we drove down to the club. We were quite dressed up - in dresses and sandals (despite the horribly cold weather) - so we weren't about to walk it even though it's super close! The place we went to was really nice... you could even straighten your hair in the bathroom with a straightener they provided (I thought it was a little gross, but still a really neat idea). We had some drinks and danced the night away... then ended up at our favorite dinner for a 1-2am snack. lol. It's days/nights like that I know I'm going to miss.
Of course I woke up this morning (rather late) feeling just fine... except for the looming feeling of the need to study. Soo.... I SHOULD totally get back to that.

471

wow. so much for posting sooner. It's been well over a month... so I guess that means you can never trust me when it comes to post promises. Anyways, I guess I'm posting more again because I'm super stressed. I think that I post more when I'm stressed.
Last friday, I went out with two friends to see a movie. That same day I had gone to a special sushi lunch with another friend. I have to admit that I never do anything like that... really, I have NO life here! lol. Anyways, today my roommate and I tried to go see the movie 21... but when we got there, it was sold out. :( It's kind of ironic because the last time we went to the movies together (The Bee movie) it was also sold out. Strange seeing as how we go to a huge movie theater. Honestly though, whenever we do try to have a life, we fail. I think the universe is trying to tell me something.

Another "Back To Blonde" Post

Haircut today... no need to tell you how ridicously I over paid for it... but for two hours in a spa like setting, it's almost worth it! So, just as I wanted, I'm back to being a blonde. The color isn't as strong as last time (Thankfully!) and the cut is on the short side (which was needed because I am a cruel to my hair). I'll post a picture when I get back to school cuz I didn't bring home my webcam.

Freedom and Boredom Walk Hand in Hand

HEY!! It's officially reading week! YAH!! I'm still up here in snowy Ottawa, but I'll be home soon! Just like last year I thought it would be a great plan to stay up here for a bit before returning home so that I can get as much stuff done as possible (thus not having to bring tons of books home with me) but once again I find myself with few assignments I feel like starting. I just handed in this week a whole ton of stuff, and the week after reading week is serious midterm time... but it's too early to study now... lol.
Big NEWS! Today is the first day I EVER changed a light bulb ALL BY MY SELF!! That's RIGHT! I even went to the store myself to buy the replacements! Okay, I know I'm like 20 and something like this should have happened years ago... but spoiled little me just did it now. PLUS I didn't even hurt myself (no electrical shock or anything!) Impressive, eh?!

Baking Carrot Muffins

Yummy! I'm in the middle of baking carrot muffins right now... and smells really good in the apartment now. :) I actually have nothing to do today, well, not "nothing" but there isn't anything pressing enough that I feel like doing. I worked really hard yesterday to get all my essays out of the way for fun on Saturday night. he he. Last night I ended up going out with Heather, her boyfriend Alex, and Craig to play pool, air hockey, and fooze ball. Then we went to a local pub to get food and drinks. We didn't know that it was karaoke night there, but that ended up being lots of fun. I've never heard hard metal renditions of "eensy weensy spider" nor "B-I-N-G-O"... they were hilarious! lol. It's not how we planned the evening to go, but it was still fun.
I sunk TWO balls in pool last night! Craig, Heather and I teamed up against Alex for two games... he beat us the first time, but we developped strategy by the second round and took home the victory!! yah! lol. Craig kicked my ass in air hockey, and Heather kicked my ass in some video game, but I still had fun. lol.
Hope this last week of school goes well! :)

Last Chance Look

Today I officially started my "get back to blonde" campaign. lol. I'm planning to get some highlights when I go back home for reading week, but I have restarted my use of blonde shampoos today. So basically what you see now is natural, and the blonde is on it's way back!

I wish I could say that I'm loving this weather, but really it's just making everything slushy and gross! Sadly all the ice sculptures up here in Ottawa are melting too... let's hope they can do something to fix that! Worse though, is that it's suppose to be getting colder! icks! I don't want any more snow! Early spring made a very brief appearance, but seems to be going back into hiding when you look at the forecast.

Stressville!

Although I could theoretically could have gotten more homework done on Saturday, by Sunday afternoon I felt like I shouldn't continue any further in case I learn something important this week in class that will help me with my many essays. I got a good start on my biggest essay of this bunch due next week, but I didn't know how to format it, so I decided to stop before I did something wrong, but it's at least 1/3 done. I have two other ones due around at the same time, neither of which I could have started yet... which frustrates me cuz I wanted to get all of them done this weekend. This week is going to be really bad. Plus this coming weekend Maggie is coming up and I'm going to want to hang out with her... but I'm really going to be screwed that weekend... having to write two essays by Monday and one for Tuesday is horrible. But hey, I can't say that I didn't try to get them done... for one of them I don't even have the topic yet!

HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY!!

I woke up at 7:30am to see the groundhog report, but after an hour and a half of news all I got was that Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter. I was pretty bummed out, lol. Then finally some time before lunch I discovered that Wiarton Willie, along with most of the other groundhogs predicted an early spring. I was very happy. Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy groundhog day! You are soo sweet!!
Then Craig invited me out for "groundhog" tails (aka beaver tails)... followed by a walk downtown into some of the cute stores. Then he convinces me to go to the lululemon warehouse sale. I wanted to go since Thursday, but I knew I was too weak not to spend money there and thought it was best to stay away. Well, I went... and only got one thing! But I saved like 50%! yah! So all in all it was a pretty good groundhog day... especially since we are going to have an EARLY SPRING!! :) :)

POST 464 - Too Much Homework!

I knew this semester was going to be bad in terms of reading and assignments... especially when compared to the last one, but I feel seriously stressed. I'm no good at writing long French essays.... hell, I'm no good at writing short English ones either!
I'm finding it hard to keep up in certain courses, and it's certainly not because I am having fun instead. I just have the unfortunate luck of having teachers that give too much homework! grrr! I don't know what is worse, February being filled with many short projects, or March filled with fewer but much more challenging ones. I'M GOING CRAZY!

On a brighter note, this Saturday is my favorite holiday of the year... so you better all celebrate in spirit with me! lol. I can't wait to find out if spring will be early, or if I'll have to suffer through more winter. I'm quite excited! Although I know I have to spend most of the day doing projects. boo.

I'm also not excited about the upcoming reading week. I have too much to do then that it's being split between here and home... so my time at home is already filling up with appointments. grrr... btw, who ever heard of a saturday morning dentist appointment?!?!?! I have doubts that it can go well.

Le Weekend

HEY! It's the end of my second weekend back, and I have much more to say about this one. Friday after the gym I got a tiny bit of homework done, followed by a nice little nap, then Heather came over and we started to get ready for a night out. We straightened out hair, had a few drinks (this time I kept up with her!!), then we headed out to our (previously) favorite club. We get there and dance the night away. :) At the end of the night however the service got really bad, it took us probably over ten minutes to get a bottle of water, and then 15 minutes or more to get our coats back. GRRR!! So we are pretty much through with that place (... even though we got in without paying the cover... he he).

Saturday I wake up at a pretty decent time considering Friday's activities... got much more homework done than expected, then at night Craig came over for a dance party!! :) Unfortunately next time I think I'm going to have to download some new music, but is there anything worse than the stuff I've already got??! lol. What's more dancy than the chicken dance song?!?! lol. So we ended up pretty much watching every Britney Spears music video she ever made and critiquing them. he he.

Today I went to the gym with Craig for my first (and only) Yoga class. Craig said it was fun, but my roommate had warned me otherwise. I knew it probably wasn't for me, but I had promised to at least try it once. Well, never again am I doing that! Half way through I wanted to throw up! I know I don't have the strength to do all those moves, and the whole thing was the farthest thing from relaxation I have ever had! I somehow managed to make it back home even though I still felt so sick to my stomach, and then I took a nice long nap.

Kittie update: both cats seem to be well adjusted now to my apartment, however neither of them really seem to like me all that much. They rarely snuggle up to me and refuse to sit with me for long. However, when Heather comes over one of them seems to love her very much. They are very strange. lol.

Cat Lady

I'm back in Ottawa now (woot! Semester 2!). That vacation had many highs and lows... I like going home, but often I just wish myself back here. lol. Anyways, as of last night my roommate and I are co-babysitting two cats for a friend of her's. One of them is still in hiding from me (supposedly the male cat), but the female velvety-black cat is much more brave and has even ventured into my room and let me pat her. :) lol. I have never really spent much time with cats before, causing me to be more of a dog person, but I think that I really do like cats. Since I was born I was always around dogs, but now is my chance to see which one I like better. Plus, fortunately my roommate knows how to take care of them, so I'm not going to be able to kill them :) :).
Last night was Heather's birthday dinner (happy belated Heather!). So we all went out to celebrate. In the afternoon we went shopping at the mall, mostly looking for dresses... because dress shopping is completely different from regular clothes shopping!!!!! Plus I have a wedding to go to in (quite) a few months, so it won't hurt to start looking now. That was lots of fun, but I actually didn't find a single one that both came in my size and was pretty. I'm looking for one that can be used for multi purposes.
Saturday night I was suppose to go see Macbeth with Craig, but we couldn't get tickets :(. Then I was suppose to go see a movie with Meaghan and Vicky, but I ended up at Heather's for some pre-birthday cake. yummy!

So that was my first weekend back. I'm pretty sure the rest will be filled with much more studying - didn't do any at all this weekend! meh. I'm still rewarding myself for last semesters marks! lol.

Holidays

My holidays are almost over. It feels strange not having been overly productive these past few weeks, but I actually had nothing I could have done. I don't have any books or even course outlines yet. So... basically I have been trying to relax. But of course I'm not very good at that and somehow found things to stress me out. I'm partially packed, living out of my suitcase still... I never really unpacked actually... although I did take everything out of the suitcase I came here with to switch it for a bigger one. ha ha... that was after christmas when I realized I would never make it home again with all my new stuff and the old stuff. lol.
New years was alright. I stayed home and hung out with my brother. We ordered pizza and rented a movie. It wasn't anything special... I actually had a very hard time staying awake. It's lame, but I've been going to bed before eleven (sometimes quite a bit before eleven). At least I know I'm not missing much.
Christmas was alright too. I'm happy with the nice stuff I got, and was pleased to see the family again. At least I didn't get "how's school going?" all the much... and I don't remember hearing any follow up questions to my response. Is it possible people finally get tired of asking that question? lol.

Happy New Year!!

Hope this one is a good one for everyone!

So this is Christmas...

I'm hiding up here in my room tonight. There's a bunch of old people downstairs right now, and I'm so not in the mood to make small talk about school and such. My only ally has deserted me. boo. The next few days aren't going to be super fun either. For the next three days in fact I'm going to have to deal with the family and perhaps my parents' friends. ick!
-I just deleted the rest of this post an hour after I wrote it.

Snow at my Window

It's strange that back at school my computer's internet only works in certain parts of the house while at home it works everywhere, thus making it more likely that I'll be able to be near my webcam, which I don't like having attached to my computer.

Anyways, so that's what I look like now... in pretty serious need of a haircut if you ask me. It is however my preference to get haircuts done after christmas so that I don't end up with terrible hair for the pictures and for family visits. *how vain*... but honestly, I like knowing what I can and cannot do with my hair, but if I get my haircut before christmas then I may not know how to get it the way I like it. I suppose you could say I'm not brave enough to give it a chance, which is totally true, but in this family one does try to look there best at all times.