a/c

aaaaahh, feel that cool refreshing breeze...yes folks, it's true, we are currently among the ranks of the privileged - today we had our air conditioner installed. gone are the days of mugginess and sleeping in the basement. we welcome the cool air, it's actually fabulous...but it is not to be taken for granted, it is definitely a luxury which few can afford. so in this time of heat, i am thankful that we are able to enjoy these cooler temperatures in our oasis from the heat...

back to school...ALREADY!

can you believe it? i'm heading downtown to ryerson tomorrow to buy the textbooks for the course i'm taking in august. just two more weeks of my summer before the gruelling routine of classes start. well, in this case...class - it's just one course for now. soon will begin the early morning commutes from bronte to union station, then a nice walk down to ryerson, the full days on campus, the long nights spent reading, studying and working on assignments...and i'm actually genuinely excited about it! that's a nice feeling. but i seriously can't believe that the summer has gone by this quickly. it's august, and relative to summers in the past, this one has been kind of uneventful! i've hardly taken in any of the festivals downtown toronto, and i've spent a lot of my time at home...! which in itself isn't a bad thing, of course. with all of this comes the readjustment to life at home, which i think played a large part in the way my summer turned out. with the move, settling into a new place, getting used to the area, it took a lot of time that i would've spent doing other things. but all in all, it's been a good summer! i went to ecuador, had 2 jobs, moved to a new house, hung out with friends and family...can't complain at all.

on another note.. i met up with one of my friends this evening - we were really close in middle and high school, but since we've been in university, i haven't seen her! so it was about 4 years since we last saw each other...i dropped by her place today and we spent about an hour and a half chatting, it was wonderful. i find some of the people i am closest with are my friends who i don't get to see that often - but when we do see each other, we pick up right where we left off, with no awkwardness or strange pauses. it's usually just circumstances that have kept us apart, so those chances we do get to spend together are pretty great times.. :) aaanywho, i just wanted to type a little on here, keep y'all up to date..but i should be heading since i've got an early morning to head down to ryerson. keep it real.

needlesly dull post saved by funny commercial!

i was going to post what i had written when i realized it was kind of dull and not reflective at all of the abby you know. so, i scrapped it. and instead decided that you should all watch this video online.

click on the crab commercial at the bottom.

and that's all she wrote.

chao :)

I helped Jose tie the rebar together to make the grid (yes, the rebar in the picture), filled the space between the grid and the wood platform beneath it with broken brick and was captured in this picture helping to pour cement! we were working on the floor for the bathrooms in the cabins at the camp. 

my horse Benito and I. we trekked through the Andes together, we had a good time, he and I :) 

me with our host family in Bastion. they graciously provided a room and meals for us for our last weekend in Ecuador. 

four years, many late nights and adventures later, we finally graduated! my roommate Iris and I at her convocation 

Iris' convocation (the day before mine) - our parents finally meet! 

going up to be HOODED! :) 

Shar and I at convocation 

my bro, Matt and I at my convocation.  

pictures!

just because i haven't had my own computer up and running for the last little while, i haven't had the chance to upload pictures here! but now that it's all set up, i decided i'd post a few snapshots of my trip on here (and one random picture from our last days at queen's..)

Nikki, Kristen, Ruth, Adrienne, Bernice and I at Pearson Intl Airport 

the campsite, where we worked for three weeks 

Shar, Jeremy and I at the campsite 

Sara, Kristen and I 

most of the girls from the team 

Jose, going into his house 

Bastion (a suburb of Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador) 

Graduates of Queen's University :) 

cars and rain, rain and cars, rain, car, rain, car...gahh!

okay, so it's less a rant, and more a ... well... i'm baffled. it seems that every time, and i mean EVERY time we leave the house and go on the highway there is traffic. it's weird. no matter what time it is, what day it is, there is traffic! can you explain the saturday early afternoon traffic? or how about the sunday traffic, at NOON?? it's crazy, simply madness.

now about the rain. my plans for the weekend were rained out. two separate sets of plans, each forfeited because of the rain. and the worst part is - by the time i got home, or shortly thereafter, the rain STOPPED! my saturday plans to see janelle sing at the jazz festival were rained out by this freakishly powerful rainstorm - the heavens really opened up on that one. i chatted with her later that evening and she said the rain gave way to nice blue skies and she had a wonderful performance. sunday's plans of heading to the harbourfront to see jess and some other friends to celebrate her birthday were brought to a halt when the skies darkened, the thunder rolled, the lightning struck and the rains poured. i got myself off the train platform and headed homeward bound where i stayed inside for the remainder of the afternoon. our power went, so i took a well needed nap only to wake later and hear of the beautiful weather down at the harbourfront.

so what in the world is going on?!? i'm simply baffled.

note to self:

i have a beef with rain AND traffic, but seeing as i am about to leave home (IN THE RAIN) and drive my mom to a meeting/run errands, this rant will be posted at a later hour. but keep your eyes open. it's coming.

i haven't written in here in forever. since i last wrote:

- i went to ecuador and had an amazing time (some pictures posted on facebook)

- i graduated from Queen's (best moment of the ceremony: "RISE, bachelor of arts" me, in my head: 'yesSIR! yeeeah!')

- celebrated my convocation with the fam at paradiso (probably my new favourite restaurant in oakville, it is FANTASTIC! the food is simply amazing)

- we moved from clarkson to bronte (we're now all the way across town and slowly getting used to it and loving it)

- i got a job at Laura/Laura Petites in oakville place (my personal version of 'what not to wear')

- i became unemployed shortly thereafter because renovations on the store were unexpectedly moved up a month (disappointment...)

- i paid my tuition deposit for ryerson (my days as a student continue...)

- i got another job during this reno time at the store (dare you ask...yes...i'm at TH again. but as long as it brings in some bling, i'm alright with it)

- i'm taking my final road test tomorrow (i've been practicing my parallel parking and backing into spots over the last few days...moment of truth, tomorrow 1:45-2:15.)