two minutes of fame

whew it is hot in here. i could put on the a/c..or i could just go into the cool of our basement...i think i will do the latter once i'm done here... i've got some chicken in the oven, cooking dinner for the bros - whoo! good times:) so i'm finally done my first summer course at ut - it went well, i am glad i took it it was so interesting! soo i had my exam yesterday, then afterwards i met up with iris cuz we had plans to hang out downtown.

our plan was to go to the ROM because iris could get us in for free - perks of working at wonderland! so, we headed down to the ROM, but decided to get some food cuz we were starved. it took us about 20 mins to decide where to eat, that's what we get for being indecisive. we finally settled on harvey's and enjoyed some good old fast food. we went to the ROM after and walked around. we saw so much great stuff - the renaissance section, old school armour and swords etc, um the bat cave (whoo!! my favourite when i was a kid!!), the biodiversity section with all those awesome animals, preserved thanks to those taxidermists, we saw the dinosaurs - i mean, you can't go to the ROM and NOT see the dinosaurs, come on! we were itching to see our favourite exhibit: egypt. we walked around the second floor, where it was supposed to be, and couldn't find it! we asked a guy who worked there and he told us it was in storage - STORAGE!! that's the best exhibit out there! egypt and the greek exhibit was in storage, my two favourite by far. i was disappointed. he told us to come back in the fall. see you then buddy. we left the ROM and took a stroll through yorkville, nothing too interesting. we got some drinks at starbucks and walked around..then we decided to go to muchmusic to see if we could be in the studio audience for muchondemand. we figured it was still early, and we both had no other obligations for the day, so why not?? ha. so we got to the chum city building, and iris pulled open the door, then she froze and was like "ohmigosh, it's rick!!" haha the door was swinging shut, but i pulled it open so we could go in despite iris' starstruck state. we went up to the girl at the desk and asked if we could be in the audeince, and she said sure, then she looked up at us and said with a hint of "sorry-to-tell-you-this" in her voice "you have to be over 16 to be in the audience" then with some skepticism "are you guys over 16?" i think there was a moment there where iris and i just looked at each other and then looked at her like "of course", then we laughed and were like "yepp, we're definitely over 16" and she said "make sure you have some i.d. ready because sometimes they check". so we put our name on the list and that was that. it's not that bad to be thought of as younger than you actually are, i figure if i keep it up, when i'm 40 i'll look like i'm 30. looking forward to that. :) so, we lined up to get inside, then we were ushered into the 'muchenvironment' and turns out that iris and i were sitting FRONT and CENTRE, figures eh? we just wanted to go for the heck of it, and we ended up being right in the middle of the action! they started taping the show, and we were doing the audience thing, then at one point, amanda the vj was sitting in between iris and i and i thought she was just going to do a spiel and then throw it to a video. not so my friend. the director counted down : "5, 4, 3, 2, 1" and amanda turns to me and starts talking

amanda: "hey guys, i'm here with"

me: "abby"
amanda: "what brings you down to toronto today?"
me: "just hangin out with my friend iris..i finished my summer course at ut today!"
amanda: what course was it?
me: "urban planning"
amanda: "how was it?"
me: "pretty good"
amanda: "when do you find out your mark?"
me: "july fifth"
amanda: "well we're all rooting for you!"
me: "thanks"

then she throws it to a video. whoa. what just happened there abby?? well that was my two minutes of fame on muchmusic. so that aired yesterday at 5pm, then again today at noon. i had to watch it - good times. :) anyways, after that it was about 6ish and iris and i couldn't think of anything else to do, so we walked up to union. when we got there it turns out i missed my train by two minutes, literally, so i had to wait around for another hour until another one came - iris and i reminisced over the last year at 88 quebec...it was fun..:) so that was my day yesterday..

ha oh, i saw one of my customers from last summer in t.o. - it's so bizarre to see people who come into your workplace out of context! he was on the other side of the road, but if we were on his side i woulda said hi - he might have been a little freaked out tho, probably won't remember me..! well lucky for him i didn't scare him. :) haha

today i am enjoying my first free day since summer school started. i have dropped the bro to work, got a caramel frap from his work, and came home and have been cooking. i got the chicken in the oven as we speak. i think i'm gonna start reading the books i got from the library - "atlas shrugged", "pay it forward" and "the secret of the chimneys". looking forward to it! whoo!

alright well i better go check on my chicken. posse out.

got nuthin

exam time is upon us folks. well, more specifically, upon me. tuesday is the showdown. 10-12pm. and i will rock it, guaranteed. :)

not much has been goin down over here, i've been studying for my exam this past week. still looking for a job :| i am thinking that if my boss will allow me, i might go back to the job i had last summer. we'll see if that pans out.

wow, i wish i had more exciting news to report. i got nuthin.

oh! i saw two people from high school today! that was exciting - people i hadn't seen in ages. one girl i hadn't seen since grade 10, and the other since commencement. it was good times chatting and catching up.

aight that's it, i'm ending this here. i mean here. okay. now. i'm stopping now i promise. okay. bye.

mraz jams

mm mraz is so soothing. let's admit it, he's great - i mean, that voice is just amazing! he is so good live - it kinda sucked that i didn't get to see him this year, but tickets to his show cost more than i could afford at the time. peace and i were gonna make it an annual mraz-fest, but that plan was scratched. boo. last year was a story! ha! good times...it all worked out in the end:) i subsitute his live show for the songs from my computer - every night he gives a different show, every set is excellent:) he entertains me as i write this entry.

i am finishing up my midterm assignment - it is due on tuesday, and worth 40%! eep! it's been pretty interesting so far- i've been researching the house i live in, and my community, how it all relates to planning. juicy stuff.

polling is going well so far - one more day my friends. then i will be unemployed once again! whoo! :) it's okay, i hope to find something soon...soon...but get this - i get to count the ballots we have collected over these three days on the nite of the real elections! whoo!! that's gonna be exciting - we'll get to see who our electors voted for! hey a reminder to all you kids out there, go and VOTE on JUNE 28th! do the research you need to, and get your behind to your polling station to select a candidate! if you can't do it on the 28th, advanced polls are open tomorrow from 12-8pm, so go then!

hey, if anyone's free the week of june 29th let me know - i get a couple days off in between classes, we can hang out! if i'm not employed by then...even if i am, well hang out anyways.

sorry if this post was scattered - it mirrors the state of my mind at the moment.

poll clerk am i

i went to training today - i am going to be a poll clerk for the upcoming elections! how exciting is that?? i am working the advanced polls, for people who are voting before the actual election day. i'll keep you posted and let you know how that goes. i'm working this friday, saturday and monday.

my lasagne is in the oven as we speak. good thing too. i was all done my lasagne and ready to put it in the oven - all it needed was a piece of foil to cover it. i pulled open our kitchen drawer that holds all those goodies, saran wrap, foil, sandwich bags and waxed paper. i was shocked to find NO foil!!! now normally this would not be so shocking, however i lacked a vehicle to run to the supermarket, i had no cash so i couldn't go to the convenience store down the street. i was in a slight predicament. i even called two of my friends who live nearby to see if they were home, and if by chance they had foil in their house. no luck. i deliberated what to do: go to the convenience store and sing for a roll of foil? or try the neighbours? i decided to go with the latter, and went across the street to the neighbours house. i felt like one one of those neighbours you read about in stories, the ones who come over to borrow a cup of sugar. except this time it was foil. the girl was very nice and allowed me to take as much foil as i wanted, she seemed eager to make sure i had enough, "you can take more!" she said. cute. i said my thank you's and trotted back over the street to cover my prize lasagne and stuck it in the oven. only fifteen more minutes till it's done.

transition from low density to medium/high density

it's been a couple of days since my last post. i suppose i've been kept busy. today i went to the halton region planning department to obtain some information pertinent to my midterm assignment for my urban planning course. i am loving it. this. urban planning. it is simply excellent! so many interesting aspects of the subject... it's all very new to me however, and i am still learning lots about it. oakville is a great place to be when learning about this stuff - there are so many developments, residential, commercial etc that are applications of what i am learning in class! it helps too that the prof has been using the development of north oakville as an example throughout the course. go oakville! i'm learning to appreciate it in new ways.

now that my fondness for oakville is being rekindled, it turns out that we have recently acquired a property in mississauga. luckily for us, it's only ten minutes away from where we live now, so we're generally in the same area. we've just crossed the border from oakville into mississauga. so, we're spending the last few months here in our oakville house, our home of the last nine or so years. sad as it is, i think we've all learned to adjust with moving quite well...while we will miss our house, our respective bedrooms, the kitchen, summer garden parties, birthday party memories, we know that there is something else in store, and this season of our lives has passed. i can't say that i'll miss the sounds of our neighbours to the back gleefully jumping into their pool on those hot summer days though! haha soon enough we'll be jumping into a pool we can call our own - as well as all those other people who live in our condo building :)

get caught reading

i loved mystery books as a kid. from encyclopedia brown to enid blyton (the famous/fabulous?? five) to nancy drew, i think i read them all. nancy drew was by far my favourite. oh memories of going into the library at maple grove public school and seeing the shelves lined with every single copy of the nancy drew series - the pink hardcover ones, of course. i stopped reading mysteries a while back, the reason unknown, however going to the oakville library has renewed my zeal for these treasures. i do enjoy a good agatha christie novel - i borrowed one last thursday, so i could have a book to read on the train when i go to school. well, friday came, and friday went, and i had read the whole book. they are so engrossing, i could hardly put it down! (i do highly recommend agatha, she's quite the author, and is sure to keep you guessing until the end. talented woman indeed.) so, yesterday i had to make my way back to the library to get another book or two - i decided against a mystery book for the train simply because they are best read at once. i chose to borrow "le divorce" and "the nanny diaries" instead. i read "the nanny diaries" last summer, but enjoyed it so much i thought i'd read it again. girls, it is a fun read - entertaining for sure - the story follows a college student who works as a nanny for a rich new york family, her adventures and mishaps recorded in a manner that makes you want to keep turning those pages. i started "le divorce" on the train ride home from school today - a movie based on the book came out a while ago and is on video and dvd now i believe. i decided against watching the movie and chose to stretch my imagination by reading the book. so far, so good. i'm looking forward to reading more, and am restraining myself from picking it up at home and reading it all. save it for the train ride abbs.

posting numero uno

so, this blogging thing has piqued my interest to the point that - well, here i am, posting in my very own weblog. i figure, while i continue to hunt down a suitable job, or any job for that matter, i can entertain myself (and maybe some others who wish to read this) with this weblog.

i can finally proudly say that i have been successful in eating an entire meal with chopsticks - a feat which i wasn't sure i could accomplish. i must admit however that halfway through the meal my hand developed amnesia and forgot the function of fingers - i tried to keep the chopsticks in my hands, but they were adament and quite successful in their attempt for freedom as my numb hand released them onto my napkin. i took a break from my meal for a few minutes, had a drink of tea, and resumed eating, pleased to find that my hand had remembered its purpose. surprisingly, i finished my meal before my dad, a seasoned chop-stick user.

this past friday, my parents and i decided to go downtown oakville to starbucks - we were dropping off some dinner for my brother, and wanted to enjoy some of what starbucks has to offer. so, my mom and i dropped off my dad at starbucks while we circled around downtown, up and down streets in search of an empty parking spot. finally, we spotted on on lakeshore, in the heart of downtown, in front of a church - not too far away from our destination. i pulled up next to the car parked in front of the empty space and began my parallel parking into the spot - there i was, easing in, then i felt it : back right tire against the curb. okay abby, try again - deep breath - okay, easing up next to the car again, slowly pulling in - curb! oh man, this was embarassing - i was holding up at least seven cars on lakeshore, every driver's eyes fixed on this red ford focus, attempting to catch a glimpse of this driver who clearly could not parallel park. my mom is sitting in the passenger seat, clearly a little embarassed - here abbs, let me do it. i quickly agreed, and leapt out of the drivers seat, while mom came around to my door - oh the shame, i ran to the sidewalk, hoping the shade of the tree would shade my embarassment! i laughed - nervous laughter mixed with the humour of the situation. i stood and watched as mom pulled into the spot perfectly. as she straightened up, the couple sitting in their car behind us rolled down their windows and said with a smile "hey, it's okay!" oh man, i had no idea they were sitting there directly behind me observing my terrible parking job - or rather, non-parking job. mom got out of the car, and we laughed all the way to starbucks, where i shared the story with my dad who was wondering where we were, and my brother who was on break. phew, another thing to add to my list of things to do: practice parallel parking. i just hope no one i knew was in that line up of cars i caused. :)