these are the days of our lives...

i finally have a minute to rest. yesterday, my mom and bro came to kingston to move me out of my apartment and back home to mississauga - they got to my place fairly early, and we spent the morning/afternoon cleaning up the place and packing the car. while we were there, the two girls that had bought my desk and couch came by to pick up the stuff. except they didn't have a car. they were planning to walk back to campus with the stuff! so we saw this other girl moving out with her uhaul, so my mom went over to ask if they would mind helping these girls out. [note to the ban righ girls - the girl moving out was ashley. my mom asked her if she was moving her daughter out hahahahahahahahhahahaha] they said no, and left with their unnecessarily MASSIVE truck. anyways, we couldn't stick around to help those girls, and ultimately i think they walked their stuff back to res...so we got back into 'sauga in the evening, unloaded the car, and came in for a litle rest. we weren't home for long before mom and i headed out to value village to pick up a couple pairs of shorts for me to wear on the construction site in ecuador. then we beelined it to walmart to get some toothpaste, mosquito repellent and other such necessities. the preparations for ecuador had begun!!

today was a whirlwind of a day - mom and i headed out again, with a mission. i dropped off some resumes at various places in the mall and around oakville, we went to the dollar store, whole foods, longos, sobeys and business depot before we came home to drop off all the stuff we picked up...and then we were off again! to square one. we left home at about 430, hoping to get there in enough time to find me a dress for convocation in june (the mall closes at 6pm on saturdays). we ended up driving up and down burnamthorpe road trying to find it, cuz i missed the exit that would've taken us straight there. but we finally got there at about 5pm, and we found a parking spot within two minutes! a miracle, really. we walked into the mall and stopped in a few dress shops, but i didn't see anything that particularly struck me. we wandered into laura petites, and browsed their racks - mom picked up a dress and was like 'how about this one?' so i went to the dressing room and it was PERFECT! the first dress i tried on was the one i bought! it's not that easy to find a dress that fits so nicely, but man, this time i was good to go. i purchased the dress before it hit 5:30! now that's success! we wandered the mall for another little while, and stopped by this kiosk that was selling 'sacha' cosmetics. we wondered if it was the same 'sacha' that we know from trinidad, and lo and behold, it is! there is now another cosmetic line available in canada for us ladies of colour :) it's fabulous! anyways, so we came home, dress in hand and we started to pack my suitcase for ecuador. a few hours later, we have finished packing my suitcase and my carryon. i had a shower and flopped on the couch at about 930 after a crazy busy day, and now i'm here, filling you all in on the busyness.

i'm getting more and more excited about ecuador - i'm flying out on monday at 730pm. whooo!! i can't wait! so you won't hear from me for three weeks, but i'll be sure to post sometime after i arrive home.

so i guess i'm gonna get outta here for now, and you'll hear from me when i get back! later folks :)

goodbyes...

it's my last day in kingston...we went around campus today taking pictures at various places, which was definitely good times...but now i think it's hitting me that i'm leaving. leaving, and not coming back...! tonight i have to finish packing everything. which includes taking pictures down from walls and putting all my remaining possessions in boxes and bags. i think shanghe and grace are comin over later to hang out for a while..and i'm heading down to the merchant with sarah, adam and jess to listen to some music and to chill..it'll be the last time i'll see these folks for a while. gahh...this is sad...but i guess i just gotta suck it up...it's already 7:20 and i haven't packed anything else yet. i gotta get crackin...peace out folks. see ya later ktown.

the end is five days away

so i guess this is it...the beginning of the end. this weekend i've started saying goodbyes to people i've known over the last four years at queen's. friday night, we had a felicity marathon at our place, so a few girls came over and we watched hours of felicity, ate pizza, sighed over eli and ben - all in true girl fashion :) at the end of the night, i said my goodbyes to michelle, the first of the geo crew to head home.

on saturday i went to a ban righ 4 reunion - everyone that is still here came out and we sat around second cup chatting and laughing, a group bonded by the experience of living together during our first year of university. the late nights, water fights, music playing, movie watching...a year we won't soon forget. we got together and it was awesome to hear everyone's plans for next year - we're all going off in different directions, but we'll always be connected through that shared memory of first year.

last night i went to dinner at brandon's house with some folks. dinner was fantastic, and again, goodbyes were said to some.

i'm definitely going to miss this place, and everyone here...the best days are when you're on campus and bump into like five people you know, so you stand around and chat and catch up...it' so awesome to have this community of people that is there at your fingertips - friends live no more than 20 minutes away, invitations to hang out are made at all sorts of hours, impromptu sleepovers often happen, downtown is a short walk away, there's always someone to hang out with (not always stuff to do though!), church is packed with people you know, there is a wealth of christian fellowship, never a shortage of tim horton's runs or jumbo video perusing, spontaneous dance parties in our apartment are actually quite frequent, i could go on forever. i guess i shouldn't get too nostalgic too soon...there's still five more days ahead to really enjoy kingston and my people here :) and it's gonna be incredible.

the parental visit.

my parents came up yesterday to take home some of the stuff i had packed up already. we loaded boxes of books, clothes, miscellaneous items and my keyboard all into our little ford focus. it's a trooper, that car. this is the parentals and i on the front steps of my apartment, takin the last few things to the car. my bookshelves and closet are now substantially...empty. it's kind of sad.. and the place where my keyboard was is now vacant, and my room feels imcomplete! but i refuse to take down pictures etc until the very last day i'm here. that'll be weird...anyways, among the final packing up, i was putting my winter coat and other winter accessories into a bag when i came across my tam. i have never worn it - ever. so iris and i decided to take pictures with our tams.

what you see below is what resulted from: iris+abby+tams+digital camera with a self timer.

STEP. 

oh. my. gosh. 

watch yo back 

poppin da collas 

she asked the question before she took the picture and then captured our reactions through that picture. the looks on our faces are priceless. one of the funniest moments in life.

the picture that prompted the infamous question: "are you guys international students??"  

and the award for "question of the year" goes to....

last night, i met up with jess, sarah, alli and adam at bubble tea - we hung out there for a while before deciding to head over to sarah's place. but first, we needed to stop into A&P to pick up a few things. jess had her camera and was taking pictures in the grocery store as we picked up various food items. we had all congregated in the cereal aisle, and were each contemplating which box of cereal we should buy when jess said, "let's take a picture here!" so we each grab a box of cereal and squish together for a group shot. then jess wanted to be in the picture, so she asked a random girl in the aisle if she would mind taking our picture. [keep in mind: jess=half asian; alli=asian; sarah=asian; me=brown; and adam=white] so we all grab different cereal boxes and gather together for the picture. the girl holding jess' camera looks at us and says "are you guys international students??" my mouth literally dropped open, and we all burst out in hysteric laughter. it was a hilarious moment, mixed with a little bit of "is she for real??"-ness. that's one for the books. thanks for the memories queen's, you're one of a kind.

my life in boxes...

so, today i started packing. i've got two more weeks in kingston (EVER) and my last exam isn't for another week and a half. i decided to balance out the sleeping, packing, getting together with people and studying over the course of these two weeks as opposed to cramming each activity into a two day slot. i'm glad i started to pack early - i went through two years worth of class notes and miscellaneous papers on my bookshelves only to end up with eight empty binders and a medium sized box filled with two stacks of paper. i filled three small boxes with various texbooks, two shelves of books remaining. it's a lengthy process, moving.

today, along with packing, i visited shanghe at the library, and joce at the IPO, and did various domestic activities - i went to the grocery store for some food (all i had in the fridge was butter and sour cream), i cooked lunch, washed the dishes in the sink, packed, cleaned up the mess that all the sorting created, did laundry, folded and put away clothes, and i just ate a fudgesicle. all in all, i'd say a fairly productive day, and it's only 7:30pm.

i can't help but think: exactly two weeks from today, i will be completely moved out of kingston, and on a plane heading to ecuador. it's still surreal.

normalcy resumes.

with my academic foe, papers and my first exam behind me, i can breathe again. regular eating and sleeping patterns will commence and life as we know it will be swell.

i've been terrible about reading my bible over the last few weeks and i need to get back into gear. this weekend is easter - my favourite occasion in the year, i'd say. it's an amazing time to remember what and why i believe what i do! Jesus dying on the cross and rising again is one of those fundamental truths on which the christian faith is based - and i love celebrating it! i guess along with my lack of bible reading etc, i have allowed myself to become anxious about hearing back from ryerson. i've taken it out of God's hands and removed his peace and security from my mind. in my heart, i know that whatever happens is all part of God's plan - whether i get in or not, but in my head, i'm building up the anticipation so much that if i don't get in, it's gonna be the worst thing in the world. and let's face it - it's not. so i guess this weekend i just need to refocus my heart and mind, and remember that it's not up to me. God is faithful.

an evening tres interessant

so last night, i'm coming to stauffer after eating a lovely dinner at dong nai (to celebrate shanghe's birthday) and i've got my leftovers in my hand. it's about 10:45 pm, and iris, shanghe and i stroll into the library ready to buckle down and work until 2am. just as i step through the door, the 'security guard' at the door says 'excuse me ma'am' so i turn around.

'sg' says curtly: what's in the box?
i reply nicely: oh, just leftovers from dinner!
'sg' says rudely: SMELLY leftovers? what, like french fries and hamburgers?
i reply, a little shocked: no, just noodles...they don't smell cuz my food is cold now
'sg' snaps: open the box
i open it up and show it to her.
'sg': well you can't take that in there. there's no way.
i reply, miffed at her tone: oh...
'sg': leave it on the other side of that counter.
me: umm..can't i just leave it with you then on this side, so you could keep an eye on it?
'sg' rudely says: no. you think i want to keep your smelly leftovers?
me (can't believe this is happening): whoa...

so i put the box on the counter and then walked away. what the heck was that about?! rudeness at stauffer - it's not attractive.

anyways, so i get to a computer and start getting my stuff ready to write my paper. i thought i would pull an all nighter (haven't done it since 2nd year!) so that i could get this paper done. i work till 2am, then leave with shanghe and iris to head home. at home, i continue to write, and i'd had about five pages out of ten done before i start to type incoherent mumbo jumbo. that was 4am and i went to bed. i slept till about 7am this morning, got up and had the paper done by 9:45am. phew.

i was gonna take a nap when i was done, but instead decided to plow through. so here i am, at stauffer, with my notes printed off for my exam tomorrow, running on three hours of sleep and one large coffee. this is going to be an interesting next little while. but, i know with God's strength, i can do all things.

i am just glad that all the madness is over before easter weekend. i love easter. i'm going to the passion play on friday night, and then church on sunday, and i'm looking forward to it. as for now, however, medical geography beckons.

oOooh bOwLiNg!

these are a few pictures from our bowling night out on saturday. for me, it was much needed after spending an entire day at stauffer. gah. definitely some good times. i love bowling.

for more pictures, go to chris' website.

you are the ball...be the ball...i am the ball 

bowler extrodinaire...?? 

clara! 

chia and ram. 

who is your academic foe?

i have met my academic foe in elie kedourie. i have to read his book 'nationalism' and write a ten page book review on it, and let me tell you - it's been one of the more difficult and dare i say..boring..reads i've encountered. there is a reason i am studying geography - because i like to see how things play out on the landscape, and how it affects us, our environments etc. i steered away from sociology in first year and ventured into the realms of geography, and have not looked back since. let's just say, for me, it's what's best. i don't do well with the abstract concepts of knowledge, self-determination and categorical imperatives. but alas, elie kedourie has bombarded me with such terms and concepts and i am forced to wrap my unwilling mind around it. it's difficult, after four years of being taught to think one way, to just switch gears! there's currently a battle in my head when i read this book - one part of my brain is desperately trying to understand, while the other part is kicking and screaming at the thought of these new sociological constructs refusing to let them in. yesterday was tough, but i barrelled through about forty pages. today, somehow i think the part of my brain that is revolting is slowly giving up, because i am breaking through to understanding what this man is trying to say. it's been a good day for elie and i, but it is not yet over. there stands two more chapters between myself and victory over elie. and i'm off to conquer.

no more teachers, no more books.... well, not yet.

it's me. i'm back. a lot has happened since i last posted: i handed in my paper, went to the culture show and jam, finished another assignment, got back the paper i handed in, finished classes at queen's (forEVER!!), lived at stauffer, bought food from the beaver truck, and now i'm just here.

classes are officially over, and it's exam time. i wish i had the luxury of taking it easy and enjoying these last few weeks here in kingston with friends, instead it's like a mad dash to the finish line. i guess that's how it's gonna be for most people though. anyways, i am thinkin that i need to get outta this apartment and head to stauffer for some quality reading/essay-writing time. catch ya on the flipside.