why does packing take so long?

i always seriously underestimate how long it takes me to pack. when i was packing to move to toronto, the night before leaving, i literally did not sleep. i was packing all night. but that was packing up my life to move to a different city. tonight, i'm just packing for a 6 day visit back home, and yet, it is still taking me way longer than i imagined. to my defence, i didn't get home from work until 11 pm.

i guess it doesn't help that i started talking on the phone when i got home instead of packing. but it was long distance, so i couldn't really cut that short. i'm pretty much done now, except for the little stuff i still need to use in the morning, but there's only about 2 more hours until i have to wake up and get ready to leave, so i might as well not sleep.

nothing better to pass time than watching some OC episodes.

boxing day shooting

yup, that's right, boxing day shooting, not shopping.

there was a shooting in downtown toronto, right outside eaton centre yesterday, which killed an innocent bystander, and wounded a bunch more. now this is kinda scary for me for a few reasons:

1. i love shopping.
2. i live downtown.
3. i live 10-15 minutes away from eaton centre.
4. this was a totally random shooting, so it could happen anytime, anywhere.

toronto is having a huge problem with gun violence this year. on a day-to-day basis, i don't really think about it because it's one of those things you can't really control, so there's no use worrying about it. but when it happens closer to home, it's a little more concerning. oh toronto. maybe i need to get a bullet proof vest.

on a more positive note, i'm going home in two days. yeah! pretty excited about it. i started a to-do list for myself too. and i'm going to take advantage of shopping without paying PST. one reason why alberta is good. seeing friends and family will be nice too. i'm even looking forward to seeing my nieces, bacon and poppy. (http://mattrosanna.blogspot.com) but if either of them pee on me, it's over.

4th annual christmas eve brunch

every year, for the past 4 years, my friends and i go to brunch together during christmas. it was technically a christmas eve thing, but we're not picky with the actual date. it's sort of our tradition. this year, i couldn't make it because i'm stuck in toronto, and everyone's back home in edmonton. and when i'm back in edmonton next week, almost everyone is gone. so this is the picture they sent me of the empty seat saved for me (or that's just the way it worked out with the table). it kind of makes me sad that i missed out on this tradition because i'm the most hardcore about keeping it alive, and it's rare to get everyone together, especially these days.

growing up sucks for the reason that we now have grown up responsibilities. but it's these traditions that keep us together, and they become more precious each time. next year, i'm so there and ordering the biggest meal ever to make up for missing out on it this year.

instead, i went to a friend's house and played poker on christmas eve. it was fun, and i hadn't played in a long time. and it was with all edmonton people too, so it was just like being at home. never ceases to amaze me how many edmontonians live in toronto.

why i love seth cohen

exhibit a:

in season two, when comparing himself to zach....

"he's like a thoroughbred, and i'm a monkey...with cymbals."

hilarious.

merry christmas to the "homeless"

tonight i went to a christmas dinner at a friend's house. he organized a dinner for all the people who don't have family in toronto, so we would have a christmas dinner. it was really nice to get together, and even nicer to celebrate a family holiday with my adopted family. we even had a secret santa so it'd be just like a real christmas. it was fun.

and for christmas day, i think i'm getting together with some of the people again and we'll do a dinner and a movie. i'm looking forward to it. i'm glad i have people to spend time with during this time of year in a new city, especially since both my roommates are already back in edmonton for the holidays.

merry soon-to-be christmas to all and see you soon in edmonton.

cashier for life

i worked all weekend and it was mad crazy at the store. 2nd last weekend before christmas and we bring back a popular promotion we haven't had in ages, so it was even busier than we might have expected. i basically was a cashier or a bagger all weekend, and it was awesome. i definitely don't mind doing monotonous work for a few days, and i love being on cash. when i was little, i used to want to be a cashier when i grew up because i loved pressing buttons. i still love pushing buttons, but i don't want to be a cashier when i grow up.

i'm a pretty cheerful person, so the customers were appreciative of my demeanour. and i'm fast, so people are in and out in a flash, if they're lucky enough to get me as their cashier. if there was an olympic event for cashier skills, i'd win gold.

if i could make a comfortable living being a cashier, and by comfortable, i mean making enough money to support the lifestyle i have and want to have, i'd be a cashier for life. but so would everyone else.

so for all you people still christmas shopping, be nice to the cashier because chances are, they've had a few crabby customers before you. and people aren't paid enough to take your shit.

i am being brainwashed

there must be something in the toronto smog because i have a lower tolerance for other people's shit. i think i'm becoming more cynical and negative for my liking.

the other day, i was waiting in line for a coffee, and out of the corner of my eye, i saw this other woman off to the side. it looked like she was budding into the line, so i didn't make eye contact with her and just ordered when i got to the counter. as it turned out, the people before her were lining up incorrectly, so she was too, but she wasn't trying to bud in. i felt kinda bad about assuming she in the wrong. the edmonton me would have probably just let her bud into line, whether or not i was there before her, but not the toronto me.

than today, i was waiting for the subway, and this group of three came up and stood right in front of me. and not a normal distance in front of me, like a foot in front of me. when the guy reached over to hug one of the girls, i had to move my head because they were that close that i was scared his arm would hit my face. the subway platform is like over 200 metres long, but they decide to stand right in front of me. i moved to the side, and even rolled my eyes!

maybe it's because i'm working in a store during the christmas season and it's making me crazy because everyone's stressed out when trying to finish their christmas shopping. or maybe living in toronto just does this to a person. i told someone at work that i'm from edmonton, and he said "no wonder you're so homely." i kinda took offense to it, at first, but i rather be homely than a bitch. i can't wait to get home and wash the toronto snobbery off of me.

or maybe i was just a pushover before.

a little bit of 'A' and a little bit of 'B'.

who do you look like?

http://www.myheritage.com/FP/Company/tryFaceRecognition.php?s=1&u=g0&lang=EN

i heard about this website on CBC: The Hour (one of my favourite shows because i enjoy george stroumbolopoulos's way of delivering the news), but wasn't paying attention to get the website address. but my roommate got it in an email and forwarded it to me.

so you have to upload a picture of yourself, and the site will tell you what celebrities they think you look like. it's so fun and addictive. i ran a few different pictures of myself and here are the names i recognized:

picture 1:
shannen doherty 60%
zhang ziyi 55%
liza minnelli 53%
monica lewinsky 52% (wtf!)
keith moon 49%
lucille ball 42%

picture 2: (apparently i look like a man in this pic!)
stephen fry 60%
kim il sung 60%
guillermo coria 45%
yao ming 40%
audrey hepburn 39%
zhang ziyi 38%

picture 3:
ninet tayeb 69% (an israeli pop star)
angelina jolie 47% (where's my brad pitt?)
hilary rodham clinton 46%
drew barrymore 45%

picture 4:
drew barrymore 68%
madonna 67%
beyonce knowles 58%
lucy liu 50%
liv tyler 50%
henrik larsson 50% (a swedish footballer)
carrie-anne moss 48%
jennifer connelly 46%
zhang ziyi 45%

i don't know what kind of technology they're using or what they actually analyze because i don't think i look anything like any of these people they say i do; except the chinese connection to yao ming and zhang ziyi. nonetheless, it's fun. do this for yourself and see who you're suppose to look like.

chivalry is not dead

i believe in equal pay and all that, but other than that, i'm not a feminist to any extent of the word. i remember my english 101 prof was a hardcore feminist, she'd call her husband her partner, which made me think she was a lesbian. but it turned out she wasn't. i remember she was against being referred to as a lady because she somehow thought it was condescending, but i like being called a lady.

and chivalry should never end. i have a friend who would open car doors for girls, and not just dates either. it's not necessary, but the gesture is thoughtful. i was walking around downtown toronto with another friend one day, and he would automatically walk on the outside of the sidewalk. i didn't really notice until he had done it a few times. again, i thought the gesture was thoughtful.

even when i'm getting on the subway, and guys let me go on first, i appreciate it because i won't be the one getting squished by the closing doors.

there are fundamental differences between males and females, and there's nothing wrong with acknowledging it. so to all the boys who read this blog, chivalry is always appreciated.

i'm no athlete, but i can dress like one

these are just a few of the olympic items i've gotten so far. the jacket has canada written on the right sleeve, you can kind of see it. and the scarf has the colours of the olympic rings. i actually got the scarf from my secret santa from work. it wasn't really a secret. he came up to me and told me he got my name and asked what i wanted. so i thought about it, and i told him i wanted the olympic scarf. later on, he told me we didn't have any left, but i saw one on the mannequin, so i think he got this from the mannequin. now the poor little boy mannequin is without a scarf, but i'll be wearing it with pride.

i also bought a t-shirt, and will buy a hoodie as well. i'm afraid i might be overdoing it with the canada pride, but i love this stuff.

2006 winter olympics - feb 10-26 - torino, italy

go canada go

i am kirsten

according to this quiz (http://quizfarm.com/test.php?q_id=121), the OC character i am most like is kirsten. but it's actually tied between kirsten and julie, and i had to answer a tie breaking question. so i could have been the slutty mother who slept with her daughter's ex-boyfriend and then married a grandpa. but instead, i'm the alcoholic mother. Here are my test results...

You scored as Kirsten.

You are a perfectionist. Be weary of being too rigid and limiting your openness to varied experiences. Neat freaks are just as irrational as slobs. A half messy person is, in fact, the ideal. Optimal evolution (according to the research) is dependent on a sufficient amount of random variation and being overly regimented inhibits variation.

Kirsten 83%
Julie 83%
Sandy 67%
Summer 45%
Luke 45%
Jimmy 44%
Caleb 33%
Anna 28%
Seth 22%
Oliver 22%
Marissa 17%
Ryan 11%
Hailey 6%

sugar mama

this is our candy table in the living room of my apartment. my roommates and i all contribute to it, and we all eat it. the tube thing has halloween candy in it. and the two almost empty plastic containers in the top left corner are my contributions. sour peach rings and coke bottles. my favourites. almost as much selection as your neighbourhood 7-11. this is just the common food too, i have my own stash in my cupboards, so my sweet tooth is always satisfied.

this is our fridge. none of us really cook, so this picture is a pretty accurate look at our fridge on a regular basis. janine just made that pie though, and i had the first piece. there's a tonne of condiments, sauces, and juice. one time, there was a sale on tropicana at the grocery store, so we all stocked up on it. there were 7 cartons of juice, and 2 cartons of milk in the fridge. the middle section was basically all full of drinks. out of the three of us, i might be the one who makes the most effort into cooking, when i actually do it. which is sad to say because everyone knows i don't cook very often. it just takes so much time to cook, especially after work. i have a whole new respect for my mom.

and this is our freezer. stocked full of ready-made food. it has chicken fingers, fries, hashbrowns, perogies, meat pies, pizzas, frozen vegetables, ice cream, and this and that. this stuff is obviously the easiest to make, and we're all guilty of relying on it too much. for awhile, it was so full, we couldn't even buy anything to put into the freezer anymore, and now we've restocked it back to that level. i haven't even been able to buy anymore hashbrowns, and i rely on that for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

my new year's resolution should be to cook more often. i'd be healthier and save way more money. but i don't believe in new year's resolutions. i need to learn how to put more variety into my meals. oh well, it'll come with time.

first there was apple.....

just saw on the news that gwenyth paltrow is pregnant again. not only is she lucky enough to be married to chris martin (of coldplay, for any of you who didn't know) and have his first child, now she's prego again. yes, i know they're married, and regular married couples have kids, i still don't like her. i don't know what it is, but i've never really been a fan of gwenyth, even before she was dating chris martin, and marrying him didn't help her case either. but i guess she could care less what i think. i just hope they don't name the next child after a fruit.

work is good

i got some good news today. my training program has been revised and now we will be completing our training program in june, instead of december! i think they're doing this because the company needs to start changing now, and can't really wait any longer for us to finish training. they want us in our real roles quicker. it's great because i thought an 18 month training program was too long, and this way, we can actually start doing stuff and making an impact.

as a part of this change, we also start our training in home office earlier than anticipated. basically, after the crazy christmas shopping season, we make the move to the office. i actually have enjoyed my store placement thus far, so this information didn't excite me as much as some of the other trainees who don't like their store.

speaking of the store. i will be making the move from ladieswear to housewares. it was quite the shock, but as my store manager put it, it's a compliment to me that they think i can handle the move and that they trust me to move to a busy department during the busiest time of the year and lead it. it'll be challenging, but i'm up for it.

seems like everything is going well so far for me in my professional life. that's not to say that i don't get frustrated, overwhelmed, tired, and a myriad of other things either. oh wait, is there a double negative in that sentence?

anyways, all in all, it's all good. there's more i can say, but there's just too much explaining involved, and i bet most of you are bored and have already stopped reading halfway through this post.

on another note......

i'm coming home for new years! i asked if i could take some time off after christmas, and they gave it to me! so i fly in on dec 29th, and fly back on jan 3rd. it's not much time, but it's better than nothing. at first, when i thought i wouldn't get to go home during christmas, i was ok with it. but the more i thought about it, the more i wanted to go home. both my roommates would be gone, so i'd be home alone, and everyone is going home, so i didn't want to be the only one not there. i'm probably going to still not be able to catch some people because we'll be home at different times and some people may be going away, but either way, it'll be good to be home.

(sorry if this post doesn't make sense, is boring, or all over the place because i was watching OC, CSI, and ER while writing this. seems like i only watch shows with acronym titles)