It’s been so long since I’ve written anything. I’ve been busy with school. Turns out my first semester, which was supposed to be easy breezy and full of party time / fun time / do nothing time… isn’t. The elective courses I took actually have work, and by that I mean those darn essays. I’ve [...]

Forget Octomom, Michelle Duggar is having her 19th kid. Yes, that’s right, 19th kid. I remember a few years back I heard the Duggar family had 15 kids and I thought to myself insane thoughts I won’t repeat here. Now, Michelle Duggar is pregnant with her 19th child.
But unlike Octomom, Michelle Duggar is married, and [...]

A brilliant spoof on celebrity designers and the “eco-friendly” trend by Julia Stiles. Thank god that some celebrities like her and Emma Watson agree that just because you’re a celebrity, doesn’t mean you’re a celebrity-designer too (cough cough Ashlee Simpson, Avril Lavigne, and everyone from the Hills).
Julia Stiles Styles

I live a solid hour away from downtown by public trans, and I’m lazy, so I don’t go downtown often… but it’s summer and I’ve been to downtown three times in the past week. Going downtown, I think, makes me feel like I’m going out and exploring summer and taking advantage of the city and [...]

I realize I haven’t written anything for a while. I’ve been having a pretty good summer doing summer type things so I suppose that’s why.
Three days ago I went to my friend’s birthday party at her house, and around midnight I went upstairs to escape the music (which didn’t help much, it wasn’t a very [...]

On this beautiful cloudy day I am sitting in my house, determined to learn how to play guitar.
I have an acoustic one from when I took lessons when I was younger. And then I quit, before making substantial progress. Earlier this summer I put “learning to play guitar” as #12 on my “Super Summer List [...]

The Story of Prisoner F95488 - http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=4300383
” One’s a rising soccer star. The other’s a self-described jealous boyfriend. One had no physical evidence linking him to a rape. The other had matched DNA and teeth marks. One’s black. The other’s white. One was [...]

I got back two days ago, from a camping trip with my family to Ithaca, home of Cornell University, no doubt part of their plan to make me love and aspire to go to Ivy League schools. I left Canada Day and returned on the 4th of July.
Coming back, on Independence Day, we stopped in [...]

Okay wow. I still can’t believe it.
I was on Facebook yesterday, and since I’m a fan of HuffPost, some of their news clips come into my Facebook feed. Yesterday they posted, “TMZ reports Michael Jackson has died,” or something like that.. I didn’t take it seriously, I actually chuckled. I never really trusted TMZ.
But then [...]

Am I going list crazy? But hey, I’m like that. Being the dorky person I am I thought I’d make a nice and official reading list. I figure if I type it out it makes it more official, versus scribbling the names of a few books onto a post it and then sticking it onto [...]

I’m a dork and I can be lame, but I refuse to let summer pass with no accomplishments and/or funny stories. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that I AM DONE EXAMS. And I received my gr 10 piano exam mark, a beautiful 74 and more importantly A PASS.
Anyway, here goes, and I’m just writing [...]

Even though it feels more like spring, with all the rain rain rain around here, summer break is inevitable. I finish my last exam next Monday, but unlike all my other friends with plans and schedules and dates to remember, I have nothing.
Two months of no plans. Not that I’ve never gone through this before, [...]

In the small circle of my closest friends, only one has a pool. This is because where most of us live, people do not have space for pools in their backyard, but she lives far away in what Canada Post deems “rural land” so she is not faced with the same limitations as us. Anyway, [...]

Really, that’s all I want. I want to buy a cheap, plain shirt. Long sleeve, short sleeve, tank top, it doesn’t matter.
But for reasons that I cannot understand, I have difficulty buying this shirt. I cannot find a loosely-fitted/fitted plain shirt under fifteen bucks. Everything out there is either too long, or too tight.
Problems with [...]

I just had an epiphany. Literally, five minutes ago while eating dinner. So I thought I’d make note of it before it slips my mind.
[note: this is a cheesy post about self-improvement and resolutions]
It’s no secret that I love watching teen dramas. One Tree Hill, The O.C., even Dawson’s Creek.
When I watch just minute-long clips [...]

So in the past three weeks of no blog entries, what have I been up to? I’d call it the “work hard play hard” life, but I’ve only had a few intense fun moments and my marks have been lagging… so no. I’ve just been busy.
Anyway, a facebook friend (i.e. some guy I talked to [...]

It feels like forever since I’ve written something here. I checked it and it’s been about two weeks.
Last Sunday I came back from a 7-day student exchange trip in a small town in British Columbia. A small town near Vancouver that screams ‘Hello Suburbia’ with all the picturesque connotations that come with it, including nice [...]

They say that you shouldn’t feel “guilty” for eating junk food. They say that if you feel that kind of guilt after eating certain foods, then the media has really gotten to your head or something and you’re far too obsessed with trying to be a size zero.
“They” is a a few of my friends, [...]

I’m serious. I come home from school and the the first thing I think about is Criminal Minds. And if I can’t control myself to go after more important priorities, I make my way upstairs to the computer and watch an episode or two of Criminal Minds online. I thank those servers in China for [...]

Earth Hour just ended about half an hour ago, and I’m glad that I participated this year. From 8:30 to 9:30, I turned off all the lights in my house.
I first heard about the idea last year, but I didn’t participate in Earth Hour ‘08 because my family had friends over from Calgary and we [...]

It’s only been one week since March Break ended and I’m already feeling the boringness of school again. School has never been particularly interesting, but it’s worse than usual right now. My schedule for this semester is not interesting at all.
We’ve been reading Julius Caesar in English. I’ll admit, I like Shakespeare. I have Sonnet [...]

I wish I could write down all the interesting things that my piano teacher says. She’s Russian, and all the time she makes deep statements about life, people, “them,” students, and telemarketers.
During my last lesson, she was telling me how I needed to play this Beethoven song more expressively, and this was a segment of  [...]

It seems like I haven’t written here forever, probably because it’s true. I’m enjoying March  Break. I’ve said this many times, but I think spring has finally arrived, and I mean it this time. I was walkng to my friend’s house the other day and I actually took of my jacket because it was so [...]

At the beginning of the year when I first got my schedule, I was partially disappointed and partially excited to have the bitchy French teacher. After semester one, she decided to take a three month vacation, or so the story goes. Instead, we have a three month substitute.
I don’t love the new teacher or anything, [...]

As every local newsstation repeated about 175 times today (and continues to do so), Toronto turns 175 today! That’s older than Canada itself. Well, obviously.
I love Toronto. I am so happy to live near such a pretty city.

Photo from nomadsland.ning.com

I was watching flipping through the channels last night and saw the funniest thing with commercials.
I was watching Grey’s Anatomy, even though it was a rerun. I was (and still am) a little sick, so I was too lazy to flip through channels or revert to another show during commercials like I usually do. So [...]

I usually like to watch at least one Oscar-nominated film before the Oscars. This year I’ve chosen Clint Eastwood’s “Changeling,” with Angelina Jolie, which I watched yesterday.
I originally wanted to watch it in theatres, but I never really got around it, being the procrastination freak I am. The movie is shot in a muted palette, [...]

I make plans for pretty much every holiday. I follow through with my plans pretty much never.
One of best friends was going to have a party at her place. A small party. Twenty people, max, and they’d all be close old friends. Her house is big. Her parents are out of town. It was [...]

“California woman” is a seemingly vague term, but enter it into Google and the results all refer to the same California woman, Nadya Suleman.
This 33-year-old California woman recently gave birth to octuplets. That means eight. That’s a miracle. My first reaction to this was, “Wow, congratulations!” It’s not every day that someone has eight children.
Then [...]

I shall admit with all the guilt in the world that I have been watching old episodes of the OC, the teenage drama with rich kids in Southern California. There, it’s out there, the revelation that I am absolutely addicted to empty teenage dramas with the rich and disturbed. Hence the reason I became frustrated [...]

Alright, here is the magnificent story of me trying to get to the mall on time. Quite an adventure.
Yesterday I had plans to go shopping at the mall with my friend, at 1. My plans were to take the 12:30 bus, get to the terminal by 12:50, and wait around for a bit. But I [...]

The best part of exam week is when it’s over and you realize you have all this free time on your hands. It’s kind of like the end of the year, except instead of summer you just get a few days to do nothing. No essays to write, tests to study for, or even school [...]

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything on here, and I have a little time now, so I guess I’ll update how I’ve been lately.
Horrible.
I’ve been preoccupied with school, and exam week officially starts tomorrow.
I also had the good luck of having been sick late last week. I skipped class and stayed home to [...]

[click through the above link and it takes you to the paid subscription options and payment page]
The above is a picture is how I learned that Megavideo requires a paid subscription if you want to watch more than two tv show episodes one after another. I didn’t know that. I thought Megavideo was like Youtube [...]

Following up with my late summer and fall photo albums, I’ve now uploaded some winter photos into my photo gallery. Check out the rest of the seasonal photos of Binder Twine in the gallery, too.
These were taken yesterday, when I ventured up to Binder Twine Park, bringing my trusty camera with me to take some [...]

After a series of late night parties, late night television/movie watching, and late night doing-nothings which all basically equal to sleep deprivation (thanks to a great thing we call holiday season), the tiredness finally came to me.
There’s always been something a little weird with my body in which I don’t feel tired until the next [...]

Hello, hello, 2009!
Every year, I make resolutions. And while making resolutions, I realize that I completely forgot about last year’s resolutions.
I don’t expect this year will be much different in that aspect.
However, this year, I will be making better resolutions. More original ones, that is. No more of the ‘get more organized,’ or ‘exercise more.’ [...]

While I love this photo, I can see why some people might not: it isn’t very president-elect-ish. But does it need to be (him being Barack Obama and all)?

If there was a picture of Bush wearing this, well, there wouldn’t be. This is Barack Obama, and as John McCain would say it, “the one.” He’s [...]

An excerpt from a conversation with my mother today at the breakfast table:
My mother:  How concerned do you think Canadians are about… retirement?
Me: I don’t know.
My mother:  With this financial crisis going on, do you think people in general are worried about their retirement?
Me:  Maybe. But they’ll worry more when they actually retire.
My mother: But [...]

Newspaper headlines are shouting job cuts, big company bankruptcies… “biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression” “BAILOUT” “RECESSION”
But say I was the kind of person that doesn’t read the paper, doesn’t watch the news, doesn’t get those headlines.
I wouldn’t know what’s going on, because I can’t feel this so-called recession.
Maybe it’s because I’m a full-time [...]

As you may have heard, a few weeks/months ago, Linens-n-things, the bed/bath/kitchen/etc. store, filed for Chapter 11, aka bankruptcy or something similar to that. And now, that has recently been reflected in the huge “GOING OUT OF BUSINESS” signs in all the Linens-n-things stores I have seen lately.
I have been waiting for Linens-n-things to go [...]

Taken from the front page of Huffington Post at 10:25pm on Dec. 11. Aka as of writing.
Photo is linked to a New York Times article about a study that says white-collar unemployment is spreading in New York, and it goes beyond Wall Street. Damn it, these are people with impressive university degrees and tons of [...]

Out there, there are supporters of our current Liberal Party leader, Stephane Dion.
I’m not one of them.
And so, the news that Mr. Dion is expected to resign in the upcoming week makes me quite happy. I am a Liberal Party girl at heart. Never been a big fan of Stephen Harper, or conservatives in general. [...]

It’s been a while since I’ve last written something, so to fill in the blanks in the simplest way possible, last week, my laptop crashed. Now, it’s working again. Yipee.
A slightly more elaborative description would be that for some reason (virus, perhaps?), my laptop could not start past the ‘Welcome’ screen of Windows XP, though [...]

“That’s gay.” “Don’t be gay.” “Are you gay?” “That’s the gayest thing I’ve ever heard.”
I hear those phrases and similar ones on a daily basis and let me tell you, it pisses me off like hell. As the popular Facebook group can tell you,
The word “gay” is NOT a synonym of “stupid”!
At one point, I [...]

This winter, something new will be happening in Times Square (other than, of course, New Years). As you may have heard, Times Square will be getting its very first environmentally friendly billboard, powered 100% by wind and sun.

As you likely already know, Times Square is a one of many world famous New York landmarks featured [...]

Kanye West, please shut up.
Okay, I don’t mean that completely, Kanye West’s music isn’t so bad. Actually, I suppose a lot of people like his stuff considering the number of Grammys he’s won.
But if it’s not about music, Kanye, stay quiet or try saying something somewhatly intelligent.
Kanye West, just yesterday, said he’s the “voice of [...]

I am happy.
I am ready for change in America.
And I am hoping that people will stop making unfunny jokes about Obama getting assassinated.
Here’s a funny picture, of people from “Obama, Japan.” Apparently, Obama means “Little Beach” in Japanese. What a coincidence, a Japanese town and the American president-to-be having the same name.
The election hype that [...]

Note: This post was written at 7:21pm ET
The wait is over, and election day is here.
I personally support Obama, but in general I love watching political elections and analyses on TV. While some are saying that the race will be called early, I think it’ll go until midnight at least. If it weren’t for a [...]

Have you ever thought about how many products you wear on you every day? How many of them have scents? What, really, is the point of something having a scent if it’s just going to be thrown into the mix anyway?
Earlier today I passed by one of those warehouse sales, and having a little spare [...]

My Starbucks coupon for “free oatmeal” is going to expire in a matter of days.
Since I’m pretty sure that Starbucks only offers their breakfast oatmeal during breakfast hours which is naturally during the morning, and I never have time in the mornings to go there, I decided to snatch an opportunity yesterday. Everyone knows that [...]

I should have been studying last night, but I really do love being a part of election hype (and thus, I will be spending more study-time watching the Obama-McCain debate tonight) so I decided to go to the results party of my riding’s (Liberal) Member of Parliament, Maurizio Bevilacqua .
While he did win, Harper gained [...]

I was doing even more StumbleUpon-ing and found this. By Andrew Moore . Taken in Bosnia.
It love it. I love how intense and bright the colors are. It’s just so real, yet pretty, yet unfortunate.

I was StumbleUpon-ing earlier today and I came by this site dedicated to stopping Walmart and other big box stores from checking receipts at the exit . I haven’t been to a Walmart in who knows how long, but I do go to Costco regularly and they have a similar practice.
I’ve always found it [...]

After my previous post about my dislike for the big, baggy Roots sweatpants I consistently see girls (and guys) wearing to class, I decided to make a whole post about the clothing choices that I see around school.
1. The big, baggy sweatpants. See the link above. I don’t mind normal sweatpants, but don’t get the [...]

The title says it all.
But I will elaborate.
[I am not trying to be the fashion police here. I don't own a huge closet. I hardly even shop. Please read to the end of the post]
At my high school, many girls like to wear sweatpants. I’m actually okay with that, perfectly okay. I’m okay with pretty [...]

I’ll admit I’m not the best goal setter. I get new long term goals all the time. Way too often. I wouldn’t say I "forget" about them. I just don’t exactly make it a priority.
Well, here’s my latest one, and I really hope it lasts. Because it doesn’t sound too hard.
Rent and watch a movie [...]

On a nature walk this weekend, I couldn’t help but think about all my mosquito bites: The ones I had prior to my three-hour adventure, the freshly bitten ones, and the ones I knew I would get from the mosquitoes presently buzzing around me. (Note to self: Bring bug spray next time)
I earned myself no [...]

I have, most recently at the Chicago Board of Trade.

It was on a recent weekend visit to Chicago (right after my trip to Yellowstone). My first time there, I thought I’d go check out the Chicago Board of Trade, or CBOT, where agricultural commodities are traded everyday. As a child, I had watched my dad trade these. I didn’t understand what futures were or how they worked, but I understood he was losing money. Childhood memories really stick with you, eh.

I was extremely excited to see the trading floor, and see with my own eyes all the fascinating hand signals (practically a sign language!) that they use to communicate. It’s almost like how you see it on popular culture, for example this year’s comedy “What Happens in Vegas.”

Here’s the embarrassing part. Everybody…

Last week, I had the pleasure of spending a few days in Yellowstone National Park, in Wyoming. It was the first national park in the world, as explorers in the 1860s saw this place and decided they wanted it to be protected. Now I understand why.

The park has a long list of attractions. Hiking trails. Biking trails. Fishing spots. Mountains. Waterfalls. Wildlife. And then there are the geothermal features, including geyers, hot springs, fumaroles and mud pots.

(It’s okay if you have no idea what a fumarole is.)

Yellowstone is truly one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, and not only because it’s beauty is all the work of nature. Here are some photos I took - unedited - from my point-and-shoot camera.

Are you one of those people that really want to garden and/or create a garden, but don’t really have much space to do so? Do you hate how little space your back yard, front yard, apartment balcony, and/or terrace has? Well, that’s okay, because a little space can go a long way when you know how to use it properly.

Here are some tips to making it work:

Grow vertically.

Many people overlook the space above the ground. Even if you’re working with the smallest backyard, a garden with height can give the illusion that it’s bigger than it actually is…

It was so hot yesterday, I was willing to spend even more time under the sun walking to my local Starbucks to cool down with a nice and cold frappuccino. Only to find:

“Temporarily Closed. Please enjoy your favorite beverage at another one of our locations.”

WHAT? I walk all the way in that grueling heat for a closed sign? I peeked through the window and it looked like they’re getting renovations done…

It’s hot, it’s sunny, it’s summer. If you’re like me, spending summer in the neighborhood this year, then you’ll need to know what’s going on in your neighborhood… or else you won’t be able to take good advantage of this time of year’s weather. You don’t want the summer to pass you by, do you?

So this summer - check out your city’s website for local neighborhood concerts. I did, so I got to spend my Canada Day at a FREE neighborhood park concert featuring Jully Black.

The great thing about these type of concerts is that you can go with old friends, new friends, kids, your partner, the whole family… pretty much anybody. Bring a lawn chair or a towel to sit on, some food (or you can buy it), a soccer ball or something for the kids, and everybody has fun! You may even meet new people.

For me, thanks to the flyers in the mail, I found out that there would be a Canada Day concert at a Mackenzie Glen District Park in Maple (it’s okay if you don’t know where that is) about a 10 minute drive from my house. And unlike previous neighborhood concerts, there would be no tributes to the ’80s.

It’s hot, it’s sunny, it’s summer. If you’re like me, spending summer in the neighborhood this year, then you’ll need to know what’s going on in your neighborhood… or else you won’t be able to take good advantage of this time of year’s weather. You don’t want the summer to pass you by, do you?

So this summer - check out your city’s website for local neighborhood concerts. I did, so I got to spend my Canada Day at a FREE neighborhood park concert featuring Jully Black.

The great thing about these type of concerts is that you can go with old friends, new friends, kids, your partner, the whole family… pretty much anybody. Bring a lawn chair or a towel to sit on, some food (or you can buy it), a soccer ball or something for the kids, and everybody has fun! You may even meet new people.

For me, thanks to the flyers in the mail, I found out that there would be a Canada Day concert at a Mackenzie Glen District Park in Maple (it’s okay if you don’t know where that is) about a 10 minute drive from my house. And unlike previous neighborhood concerts, there would be no tributes to the ’80s.

It was so hot yesterday, I was willing to spend even more time under the sun walking to my local Starbucks to cool down with a nice and cold frappuccino. Only to find:

“Temporarily Closed. Please enjoy your favorite beverage at another one of our locations.”

WHAT? I walk all the way in that grueling heat for a closed sign? I peeked through the window and it looked like they’re getting renovations done…

I have, most recently at the Chicago Board of Trade.

It was on a recent weekend visit to Chicago (right after my trip to Yellowstone). My first time there, I thought I’d go check out the Chicago Board of Trade, or CBOT, where agricultural commodities are traded everyday. As a child, I had watched my dad trade these. I didn’t understand what futures were or how they worked, but I understood he was losing money. Childhood memories really stick with you, eh.

I was extremely excited to see the trading floor, and see with my own eyes all the fascinating hand signals (practically a sign language!) that they use to communicate. It’s almost like how you see it on popular culture, for example this year’s comedy “What Happens in Vegas.”

Here’s the embarrassing part. Everybody…

On a nature walk this weekend, I couldn’t help but think about all my mosquito bites: The ones I had prior to my three-hour adventure, the freshly bitten ones, and the ones I knew I would get from the mosquitoes presently buzzing around me. (Note to self: Bring bug spray next time)
I earned myself no [...]

I’ll admit I’m not the best goal setter. I get new long term goals all the time. Way too often. I wouldn’t say I "forget" about them. I just don’t exactly make it a priority.
Well, here’s my latest one, and I really hope it lasts. Because it doesn’t sound too hard.
Rent and watch a movie [...]

I was StumbleUpon-ing earlier today and I came by this site dedicated to stopping Walmart and other big box stores from checking receipts at the exit . I haven’t been to a Walmart in who knows how long, but I do go to Costco regularly and they have a similar practice.
I’ve always found it [...]

My Starbucks coupon for “free oatmeal” is going to expire in a matter of days.
Since I’m pretty sure that Starbucks only offers their breakfast oatmeal during breakfast hours which is naturally during the morning, and I never have time in the mornings to go there, I decided to snatch an opportunity yesterday. Everyone knows that [...]

Have you ever thought about how many products you wear on you every day? How many of them have scents? What, really, is the point of something having a scent if it’s just going to be thrown into the mix anyway?
Earlier today I passed by one of those warehouse sales, and having a little spare [...]

Note: This post was written at 7:21pm ET
The wait is over, and election day is here.
I personally support Obama, but in general I love watching political elections and analyses on TV. While some are saying that the race will be called early, I think it’ll go until midnight at least. If it weren’t for a [...]

This winter, something new will be happening in Times Square (other than, of course, New Years). As you may have heard, Times Square will be getting its very first environmentally friendly billboard, powered 100% by wind and sun.

As you likely already know, Times Square is a one of many world famous New York landmarks featured [...]

It’s been a while since I’ve last written something, so to fill in the blanks in the simplest way possible, last week, my laptop crashed. Now, it’s working again. Yipee.
A slightly more elaborative description would be that for some reason (virus, perhaps?), my laptop could not start past the ‘Welcome’ screen of Windows XP, though [...]

As you may have heard, a few weeks/months ago, Linens-n-things, the bed/bath/kitchen/etc. store, filed for Chapter 11, aka bankruptcy or something similar to that. And now, that has recently been reflected in the huge “GOING OUT OF BUSINESS” signs in all the Linens-n-things stores I have seen lately.
I have been waiting for Linens-n-things to go [...]

Newspaper headlines are shouting job cuts, big company bankruptcies… “biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression” “BAILOUT” “RECESSION”
But say I was the kind of person that doesn’t read the paper, doesn’t watch the news, doesn’t get those headlines.
I wouldn’t know what’s going on, because I can’t feel this so-called recession.
Maybe it’s because I’m a full-time [...]

An excerpt from a conversation with my mother today at the breakfast table:
My mother:  How concerned do you think Canadians are about… retirement?
Me: I don’t know.
My mother:  With this financial crisis going on, do you think people in general are worried about their retirement?
Me:  Maybe. But they’ll worry more when they actually retire.
My mother: But [...]

Hello, hello, 2009!
Every year, I make resolutions. And while making resolutions, I realize that I completely forgot about last year’s resolutions.
I don’t expect this year will be much different in that aspect.
However, this year, I will be making better resolutions. More original ones, that is. No more of the ‘get more organized,’ or ‘exercise more.’ [...]

After a series of late night parties, late night television/movie watching, and late night doing-nothings which all basically equal to sleep deprivation (thanks to a great thing we call holiday season), the tiredness finally came to me.
There’s always been something a little weird with my body in which I don’t feel tired until the next [...]

Following up with my late summer and fall photo albums, I’ve now uploaded some winter photos into my photo gallery. Check out the rest of the seasonal photos of Binder Twine in the gallery, too.
These were taken yesterday, when I ventured up to Binder Twine Park, bringing my trusty camera with me to take some [...]

[click through the above link and it takes you to the paid subscription options and payment page]
The above is a picture is how I learned that Megavideo requires a paid subscription if you want to watch more than two tv show episodes one after another. I didn’t know that. I thought Megavideo was like Youtube [...]

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything on here, and I have a little time now, so I guess I’ll update how I’ve been lately.
Horrible.
I’ve been preoccupied with school, and exam week officially starts tomorrow.
I also had the good luck of having been sick late last week. I skipped class and stayed home to [...]

The best part of exam week is when it’s over and you realize you have all this free time on your hands. It’s kind of like the end of the year, except instead of summer you just get a few days to do nothing. No essays to write, tests to study for, or even school [...]

Alright, here is the magnificent story of me trying to get to the mall on time. Quite an adventure.
Yesterday I had plans to go shopping at the mall with my friend, at 1. My plans were to take the 12:30 bus, get to the terminal by 12:50, and wait around for a bit. But I [...]

I shall admit with all the guilt in the world that I have been watching old episodes of the OC, the teenage drama with rich kids in Southern California. There, it’s out there, the revelation that I am absolutely addicted to empty teenage dramas with the rich and disturbed. Hence the reason I became frustrated [...]

I was watching flipping through the channels last night and saw the funniest thing with commercials.
I was watching Grey’s Anatomy, even though it was a rerun. I was (and still am) a little sick, so I was too lazy to flip through channels or revert to another show during commercials like I usually do. So [...]

I wish I could write down all the interesting things that my piano teacher says. She’s Russian, and all the time she makes deep statements about life, people, “them,” students, and telemarketers.
During my last lesson, she was telling me how I needed to play this Beethoven song more expressively, and this was a segment of  [...]

It’s only been one week since March Break ended and I’m already feeling the boringness of school again. School has never been particularly interesting, but it’s worse than usual right now. My schedule for this semester is not interesting at all.
We’ve been reading Julius Caesar in English. I’ll admit, I like Shakespeare. I have Sonnet [...]

I’m serious. I come home from school and the the first thing I think about is Criminal Minds. And if I can’t control myself to go after more important priorities, I make my way upstairs to the computer and watch an episode or two of Criminal Minds online. I thank those servers in China for [...]

It feels like forever since I’ve written something here. I checked it and it’s been about two weeks.
Last Sunday I came back from a 7-day student exchange trip in a small town in British Columbia. A small town near Vancouver that screams ‘Hello Suburbia’ with all the picturesque connotations that come with it, including nice [...]

So in the past three weeks of no blog entries, what have I been up to? I’d call it the “work hard play hard” life, but I’ve only had a few intense fun moments and my marks have been lagging… so no. I’ve just been busy.
Anyway, a facebook friend (i.e. some guy I talked to [...]

I just had an epiphany. Literally, five minutes ago while eating dinner. So I thought I’d make note of it before it slips my mind.
[note: this is a cheesy post about self-improvement and resolutions]
It’s no secret that I love watching teen dramas. One Tree Hill, The O.C., even Dawson’s Creek.
When I watch just minute-long clips [...]

Really, that’s all I want. I want to buy a cheap, plain shirt. Long sleeve, short sleeve, tank top, it doesn’t matter.
But for reasons that I cannot understand, I have difficulty buying this shirt. I cannot find a loosely-fitted/fitted plain shirt under fifteen bucks. Everything out there is either too long, or too tight.
Problems with [...]

In the small circle of my closest friends, only one has a pool. This is because where most of us live, people do not have space for pools in their backyard, but she lives far away in what Canada Post deems “rural land” so she is not faced with the same limitations as us. Anyway, [...]

Even though it feels more like spring, with all the rain rain rain around here, summer break is inevitable. I finish my last exam next Monday, but unlike all my other friends with plans and schedules and dates to remember, I have nothing.
Two months of no plans. Not that I’ve never gone through this before, [...]

Okay wow. I still can’t believe it.
I was on Facebook yesterday, and since I’m a fan of HuffPost, some of their news clips come into my Facebook feed. Yesterday they posted, “TMZ reports Michael Jackson has died,” or something like that.. I didn’t take it seriously, I actually chuckled. I never really trusted TMZ.
But then [...]

The Story of Prisoner F95488 - http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=4300383
” One’s a rising soccer star. The other’s a self-described jealous boyfriend. One had no physical evidence linking him to a rape. The other had matched DNA and teeth marks. One’s black. The other’s white. One was [...]

On this beautiful cloudy day I am sitting in my house, determined to learn how to play guitar.
I have an acoustic one from when I took lessons when I was younger. And then I quit, before making substantial progress. Earlier this summer I put “learning to play guitar” as #12 on my “Super Summer List [...]

I realize I haven’t written anything for a while. I’ve been having a pretty good summer doing summer type things so I suppose that’s why.
Three days ago I went to my friend’s birthday party at her house, and around midnight I went upstairs to escape the music (which didn’t help much, it wasn’t a very [...]

Forget Octomom, Michelle Duggar is having her 19th kid. Yes, that’s right, 19th kid. I remember a few years back I heard the Duggar family had 15 kids and I thought to myself insane thoughts I won’t repeat here. Now, Michelle Duggar is pregnant with her 19th child.
But unlike Octomom, Michelle Duggar is married, and [...]

It’s hot, it’s sunny, it’s summer. If you’re like me, spending summer in the neighborhood this year, then you’ll need to know what’s going on in your neighborhood… or else you won’t be able to take good advantage of this time of year’s weather. You don’t want the summer to pass you by, do you?

So this summer - check out your city’s website for local neighborhood concerts. I did, so I got to spend my Canada Day at a FREE neighborhood park concert featuring Jully Black.

The great thing about these type of concerts is that you can go with old friends, new friends, kids, your partner, the whole family… pretty much anybody. Bring a lawn chair or a towel to sit on, some food (or you can buy it), a soccer ball or something for the kids, and everybody has fun! You may even meet new people.

For me, thanks to the flyers in the mail, I found out that there would be a Canada Day concert at a Mackenzie Glen District Park in Maple (it’s okay if you don’t know where that is) about a 10 minute drive from my house. And unlike previous neighborhood concerts, there would be no tributes to the ’80s.

I should have been studying last night, but I really do love being a part of election hype (and thus, I will be spending more study-time watching the Obama-McCain debate tonight) so I decided to go to the results party of my riding’s (Liberal) Member of Parliament, Maurizio Bevilacqua .
While he did win, Harper gained [...]

Note: This post was written at 7:21pm ET
The wait is over, and election day is here.
I personally support Obama, but in general I love watching political elections and analyses on TV. While some are saying that the race will be called early, I think it’ll go until midnight at least. If it weren’t for a [...]

As every local newsstation repeated about 175 times today (and continues to do so), Toronto turns 175 today! That’s older than Canada itself. Well, obviously.
I love Toronto. I am so happy to live near such a pretty city.

Photo from nomadsland.ning.com

Earth Hour just ended about half an hour ago, and I’m glad that I participated this year. From 8:30 to 9:30, I turned off all the lights in my house.
I first heard about the idea last year, but I didn’t participate in Earth Hour ‘08 because my family had friends over from Calgary and we [...]

Okay wow. I still can’t believe it.
I was on Facebook yesterday, and since I’m a fan of HuffPost, some of their news clips come into my Facebook feed. Yesterday they posted, “TMZ reports Michael Jackson has died,” or something like that.. I didn’t take it seriously, I actually chuckled. I never really trusted TMZ.
But then [...]

Are you one of those people that really want to garden and/or create a garden, but don’t really have much space to do so? Do you hate how little space your back yard, front yard, apartment balcony, and/or terrace has? Well, that’s okay, because a little space can go a long way when you know how to use it properly.

Here are some tips to making it work:

Grow vertically.

Many people overlook the space above the ground. Even if you’re working with the smallest backyard, a garden with height can give the illusion that it’s bigger than it actually is…

I was doing even more StumbleUpon-ing and found this. By Andrew Moore . Taken in Bosnia.
It love it. I love how intense and bright the colors are. It’s just so real, yet pretty, yet unfortunate.

I am happy.
I am ready for change in America.
And I am hoping that people will stop making unfunny jokes about Obama getting assassinated.
Here’s a funny picture, of people from “Obama, Japan.” Apparently, Obama means “Little Beach” in Japanese. What a coincidence, a Japanese town and the American president-to-be having the same name.
The election hype that [...]

Taken from the front page of Huffington Post at 10:25pm on Dec. 11. Aka as of writing.
Photo is linked to a New York Times article about a study that says white-collar unemployment is spreading in New York, and it goes beyond Wall Street. Damn it, these are people with impressive university degrees and tons of [...]

While I love this photo, I can see why some people might not: it isn’t very president-elect-ish. But does it need to be (him being Barack Obama and all)?

If there was a picture of Bush wearing this, well, there wouldn’t be. This is Barack Obama, and as John McCain would say it, “the one.” He’s [...]

I make plans for pretty much every holiday. I follow through with my plans pretty much never.
One of best friends was going to have a party at her place. A small party. Twenty people, max, and they’d all be close old friends. Her house is big. Her parents are out of town. It was [...]

As every local newsstation repeated about 175 times today (and continues to do so), Toronto turns 175 today! That’s older than Canada itself. Well, obviously.
I love Toronto. I am so happy to live near such a pretty city.

Photo from nomadsland.ning.com

So in the past three weeks of no blog entries, what have I been up to? I’d call it the “work hard play hard” life, but I’ve only had a few intense fun moments and my marks have been lagging… so no. I’ve just been busy.
Anyway, a facebook friend (i.e. some guy I talked to [...]

A brilliant spoof on celebrity designers and the “eco-friendly” trend by Julia Stiles. Thank god that some celebrities like her and Emma Watson agree that just because you’re a celebrity, doesn’t mean you’re a celebrity-designer too (cough cough Ashlee Simpson, Avril Lavigne, and everyone from the Hills).
Julia Stiles Styles

The title says it all.
But I will elaborate.
[I am not trying to be the fashion police here. I don't own a huge closet. I hardly even shop. Please read to the end of the post]
At my high school, many girls like to wear sweatpants. I’m actually okay with that, perfectly okay. I’m okay with pretty [...]

After my previous post about my dislike for the big, baggy Roots sweatpants I consistently see girls (and guys) wearing to class, I decided to make a whole post about the clothing choices that I see around school.
1. The big, baggy sweatpants. See the link above. I don’t mind normal sweatpants, but don’t get the [...]

I was StumbleUpon-ing earlier today and I came by this site dedicated to stopping Walmart and other big box stores from checking receipts at the exit . I haven’t been to a Walmart in who knows how long, but I do go to Costco regularly and they have a similar practice.
I’ve always found it [...]

Kanye West, please shut up.
Okay, I don’t mean that completely, Kanye West’s music isn’t so bad. Actually, I suppose a lot of people like his stuff considering the number of Grammys he’s won.
But if it’s not about music, Kanye, stay quiet or try saying something somewhatly intelligent.
Kanye West, just yesterday, said he’s the “voice of [...]

“That’s gay.” “Don’t be gay.” “Are you gay?” “That’s the gayest thing I’ve ever heard.”
I hear those phrases and similar ones on a daily basis and let me tell you, it pisses me off like hell. As the popular Facebook group can tell you,
The word “gay” is NOT a synonym of “stupid”!
At one point, I [...]

Alright, here is the magnificent story of me trying to get to the mall on time. Quite an adventure.
Yesterday I had plans to go shopping at the mall with my friend, at 1. My plans were to take the 12:30 bus, get to the terminal by 12:50, and wait around for a bit. But I [...]

“California woman” is a seemingly vague term, but enter it into Google and the results all refer to the same California woman, Nadya Suleman.
This 33-year-old California woman recently gave birth to octuplets. That means eight. That’s a miracle. My first reaction to this was, “Wow, congratulations!” It’s not every day that someone has eight children.
Then [...]

I usually like to watch at least one Oscar-nominated film before the Oscars. This year I’ve chosen Clint Eastwood’s “Changeling,” with Angelina Jolie, which I watched yesterday.
I originally wanted to watch it in theatres, but I never really got around it, being the procrastination freak I am. The movie is shot in a muted palette, [...]

They say that you shouldn’t feel “guilty” for eating junk food. They say that if you feel that kind of guilt after eating certain foods, then the media has really gotten to your head or something and you’re far too obsessed with trying to be a size zero.
“They” is a a few of my friends, [...]

Forget Octomom, Michelle Duggar is having her 19th kid. Yes, that’s right, 19th kid. I remember a few years back I heard the Duggar family had 15 kids and I thought to myself insane thoughts I won’t repeat here. Now, Michelle Duggar is pregnant with her 19th child.
But unlike Octomom, Michelle Duggar is married, and [...]

Following up with my late summer and fall photo albums, I’ve now uploaded some winter photos into my photo gallery. Check out the rest of the seasonal photos of Binder Twine in the gallery, too.
These were taken yesterday, when I ventured up to Binder Twine Park, bringing my trusty camera with me to take some [...]

It seems like I haven’t written here forever, probably because it’s true. I’m enjoying March  Break. I’ve said this many times, but I think spring has finally arrived, and I mean it this time. I was walkng to my friend’s house the other day and I actually took of my jacket because it was so [...]

Last week, I had the pleasure of spending a few days in Yellowstone National Park, in Wyoming. It was the first national park in the world, as explorers in the 1860s saw this place and decided they wanted it to be protected. Now I understand why.

The park has a long list of attractions. Hiking trails. Biking trails. Fishing spots. Mountains. Waterfalls. Wildlife. And then there are the geothermal features, including geyers, hot springs, fumaroles and mud pots.

(It’s okay if you have no idea what a fumarole is.)

Yellowstone is truly one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, and not only because it’s beauty is all the work of nature. Here are some photos I took - unedited - from my point-and-shoot camera.

I have, most recently at the Chicago Board of Trade.

It was on a recent weekend visit to Chicago (right after my trip to Yellowstone). My first time there, I thought I’d go check out the Chicago Board of Trade, or CBOT, where agricultural commodities are traded everyday. As a child, I had watched my dad trade these. I didn’t understand what futures were or how they worked, but I understood he was losing money. Childhood memories really stick with you, eh.

I was extremely excited to see the trading floor, and see with my own eyes all the fascinating hand signals (practically a sign language!) that they use to communicate. It’s almost like how you see it on popular culture, for example this year’s comedy “What Happens in Vegas.”

Here’s the embarrassing part. Everybody…

Following up with my late summer and fall photo albums, I’ve now uploaded some winter photos into my photo gallery. Check out the rest of the seasonal photos of Binder Twine in the gallery, too.
These were taken yesterday, when I ventured up to Binder Twine Park, bringing my trusty camera with me to take some [...]

I should have been studying last night, but I really do love being a part of election hype (and thus, I will be spending more study-time watching the Obama-McCain debate tonight) so I decided to go to the results party of my riding’s (Liberal) Member of Parliament, Maurizio Bevilacqua .
While he did win, Harper gained [...]

Note: This post was written at 7:21pm ET
The wait is over, and election day is here.
I personally support Obama, but in general I love watching political elections and analyses on TV. While some are saying that the race will be called early, I think it’ll go until midnight at least. If it weren’t for a [...]

I am happy.
I am ready for change in America.
And I am hoping that people will stop making unfunny jokes about Obama getting assassinated.
Here’s a funny picture, of people from “Obama, Japan.” Apparently, Obama means “Little Beach” in Japanese. What a coincidence, a Japanese town and the American president-to-be having the same name.
The election hype that [...]

Out there, there are supporters of our current Liberal Party leader, Stephane Dion.
I’m not one of them.
And so, the news that Mr. Dion is expected to resign in the upcoming week makes me quite happy. I am a Liberal Party girl at heart. Never been a big fan of Stephen Harper, or conservatives in general. [...]

At the beginning of the year when I first got my schedule, I was partially disappointed and partially excited to have the bitchy French teacher. After semester one, she decided to take a three month vacation, or so the story goes. Instead, we have a three month substitute.
I don’t love the new teacher or anything, [...]

It’s only been one week since March Break ended and I’m already feeling the boringness of school again. School has never been particularly interesting, but it’s worse than usual right now. My schedule for this semester is not interesting at all.
We’ve been reading Julius Caesar in English. I’ll admit, I like Shakespeare. I have Sonnet [...]

Even though it feels more like spring, with all the rain rain rain around here, summer break is inevitable. I finish my last exam next Monday, but unlike all my other friends with plans and schedules and dates to remember, I have nothing.
Two months of no plans. Not that I’ve never gone through this before, [...]

It’s been so long since I’ve written anything. I’ve been busy with school. Turns out my first semester, which was supposed to be easy breezy and full of party time / fun time / do nothing time… isn’t. The elective courses I took actually have work, and by that I mean those darn essays. I’ve [...]

I’m a dork and I can be lame, but I refuse to let summer pass with no accomplishments and/or funny stories. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that I AM DONE EXAMS. And I received my gr 10 piano exam mark, a beautiful 74 and more importantly A PASS.
Anyway, here goes, and I’m just writing [...]

Am I going list crazy? But hey, I’m like that. Being the dorky person I am I thought I’d make a nice and official reading list. I figure if I type it out it makes it more official, versus scribbling the names of a few books onto a post it and then sticking it onto [...]

I got back two days ago, from a camping trip with my family to Ithaca, home of Cornell University, no doubt part of their plan to make me love and aspire to go to Ivy League schools. I left Canada Day and returned on the 4th of July.
Coming back, on Independence Day, we stopped in [...]

On this beautiful cloudy day I am sitting in my house, determined to learn how to play guitar.
I have an acoustic one from when I took lessons when I was younger. And then I quit, before making substantial progress. Earlier this summer I put “learning to play guitar” as #12 on my “Super Summer List [...]

I realize I haven’t written anything for a while. I’ve been having a pretty good summer doing summer type things so I suppose that’s why.
Three days ago I went to my friend’s birthday party at her house, and around midnight I went upstairs to escape the music (which didn’t help much, it wasn’t a very [...]

I live a solid hour away from downtown by public trans, and I’m lazy, so I don’t go downtown often… but it’s summer and I’ve been to downtown three times in the past week. Going downtown, I think, makes me feel like I’m going out and exploring summer and taking advantage of the city and [...]