Favourite Things

Okay, so a few people have said I'm not posting enough anymore... Fine, I agree and I'll even admit that I'm lacking in the ascerbic wit department lately. So, in an effort to appease Michelle, the 'Blogger Extraordinaire', I give you my top 5 lists (in no particular order).

Alone-time Activities

1. Playing the flute, guitar, and piano
2. Curling up with an awesome book
3. Photography
4. Writing
5. Beating Guitar Hero on Expert... almost.

Activities Whilest Commuting

1. Applying makeup on the bus, without poking my eyes out with the mascara wand or eye pencil
2. Solving killer sudokus and logic problems
3. Reading
4. Listening to music, trying to drown out the other, less considerate ipod users on the bus
5. Sleeping... yes, I sleep on the bus, and no, I've never missed my stop, ever!

Songs

1. Disenchanted - My Chemical Romance
2. Country Roads - John Denver
3. Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring - Bach
4. Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison
5. Mario Takes a Walk - Jesse Cook

Books

1. Anil's Ghost - Michael Ondaatje
2. Dracula - Bram Stoker
3. Microserfs - Douglas Coupland
4. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
5. Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice

Movies

1. Big Trouble in Little China
2. Ghostbusters
3. The Goonies
4. The Court Jester
5. Return of the Jedi

Recipes to Cook or Bake

1. Chicken Bengalia
2. Chocolate Miracle Whip Cake
3. Spaghetti & Meatballs
4. Curried chickpeas with apple and rice
5. Christmas Sugar Cookies

Culture, anyone?

I had a couple of tickets given to me for the Jesse Cook concert at Hamilton Place last Saturday. Originally I was going to take my mom with me. That said, she was working all weekend and by the time I got home from the mall, she was out cold. So I ended up taking my sister with me instead.

I warned her ahead of time that the majority of the music would be completely instrumental. By the time the intermission rolled around, all the music to that point had been purely instrumental, and she turned to me and said, "when is there going to be singing?". The singing came in the second half of the concert. I was really hoping to hear "Fall at Your Feet", but didn't hold my breath, seeing as they'd already performed 2 songs with vocals. Towards the end, they wanted people to get up and dance, and even told them to get up on stage and dance if they wanted to. It was like one big salsa/flamenco/conga line party up there.

After a huge standing ovation an encore, and then another standing ovation, Jesse Cook and the rest of the musicians came back out for a second encore. It was the most amazing performance I've ever witnessed. I got to hear "Fall at Your Feet", completely acoustic, with no microphones either. The entire theatre was silent, and it was an incredibly breathtaking experience.

Shockingly, my sister, the pop-tart music lover that she is, actually enjoyed herself... once the singing and dancing started.

Subways aren't the place to die, dear...

Okay, so Brenda asked me to go to Beachfest with her on the 2nd. I said sure, Chantal Kreviazuk was playing, but more importantly for Brenda, her dream guy Kalan Porter was performing. She also persuaded me to go because David Usher was performing that night for the festival too.



We finally get to Toronto, and I've got our subway to subway to bus route all planned out. I like to be prepared, and know where we're going. We got there at 1pm and should've had plenty of time to get to the festival for Chantal Kreviasuk at 3:00. Everything was working as planned and we were on the University-Spadina line, poised to transfer onto the Bloor line at St. George Station... until an announcement was made saying that there was no access to St. George Station due to an ongoing police investigation.



We got off at Spadina to transfer subway lines, and waited for about 45 minutes for the next subway, until we heard an announcement stating that there was no subway service, due to a police investigation at track level, and that all passengers should go above ground to the shuttle bus service. ~ooh, a police investigation at track level... you know what that means?!? Someone decided to jump in front of a subway during the mid-day rush. I should swear off of taking the subway ever again... my last day working in Toronto, there was an electrical problem at Union station, and I was stuck on the subway between stations for almost 45 minutes.


We ended up taking streetcars for the first time ever... kinda scary, to be honest. I'm still not too sure about waiting in the middle of a road for public transit, while the cars whiz by, dangerously close to where you're standing. We missed the 3:00 performance, but managed to get there for Kalan Porter at 4, so the day wasn't completely bust. I decided to forget about David Usher at 9pm, so we walked from Sunnyside Park to Ontario Place, and then walked around both Ontario Place and the Ex.


I just have one request of anyone wishing to jump in front of a subway... Could you please re-think your plan... maybe try it at 1 or 2am if you're really serious about it?

The Future of Canada?!?

O
Okay, so yesterday, I get out of work at 5pm, and need to make it to the bus stop at Queen and Main by 5:06 - that's when the Beeline's supposed to be there. I had plans to meet my friend at Eastgate for 5:30ish... I know it was kind of a tight schedule, but at the same time, it really only is a 1/2 hour bus ride across the city. So I'm truckin' it from Locke to Queen, when I get the sense that I should look behind me to see if a bus is approaching. Sure enough, I'm about halfway up the hill when I see a bus at Locke. I couldn't make out whether it was my bus or not, so I decided to speed it up a notch. I get to the corner before my stop, and decide that a jog was in order - just to make it to the stop. All of a sudden, this beat up teal green junker from the late 80s/early 90s drives past slowly, since they were approaching a red light at Queen. A snot-nosed kid, probably 8 years old and weighing about 170 - 180 lbs hangs half way out the rolled-down rear window and points and laughs at me as they're passing.

Usually, I'd just brush the snide comments of a little kid off, seeing as kids typically don't censor their thoughts very well - I know, I was a kid, and brutal honesty always escaped my mouth without much thought. But, this particular event made me extremely angry for several reasons.

There was of course an adult driving the car, presumably the parent of the child, why the HELL wasn't the kid securely fastened into the car?!? Seatbelts aren't there for decoration you know! It's the law! Seatbelts keep people safe, in the car, should an accident happen.

The rear window was wide open, the kid was half way out of the car! That's really safe! What would have happened if a car had passed by as the kid was hanging out? Or... what if the kid fell out of the car as it was moving?? I see criminal negligence charges, and one less annoying kid in the world.

What ever happened to manners? Do parents teach their kids about manners anymore?? Think about it - is it really polite to yell things out the window at pedestrians as you pass by in your car? Ummmm, let me answer this for you NO!!!!!!!

I'm not the smallest person in the world - I don't like to criticize other people about their weight... that'd make me a hypocrite. However, perhaps what this severely overweight child needed was to be out playing or walking or some other physical activity, rather than screaming out the window of a car. It's odd that I'm being made fun of for walking, by a little fat boy. Then again, if the parents failed to buckle the kid's seatbelt, lets them hang out the window, and doesn't teach them manners, I highly doubt that physical activity and a healthy lifestyle for their child ranks high on their list of things to do.

This experience leads me to the question that is troubling many people... Is this kid the future of Canada? If this is any indication of things to come, I do say, we're all in a heap of trouble!

My Day, Including Prostitutes and Potheads... Oh My!

I started out the day at work, which was alright. Had a laughable moment when some guy came into the office to purchase an ad - wanting it to say something about being "hardcore". He then asks us, to define what "hardcore" meant. The answer given was that it meant "doing not so nice things". I couldn't say anything and nearly choked on my drink because I was trying not to laugh.

To be honest, I wanted to intercept with, "according to the google definition search, hardcore is defined as "1. hard-core: intensely loyal; "his hard-core supporters" 2. Hardcore techno is a kind of techno music closely related to the Gabba style. It originated in the early- to mid-1990s in largely industrial or post-industrial cities (Rotterdam, New York City, Newcastle, New South Wales) and simultaneously in commercial dance techno music looking for a harder sound..." wait, those aren't right... "3. hard-core: extremely explicit; "hard-core pornography" Ding, Ding, Ding... if you guessed #3, you're right!"

After work, Danielle and I went to the movies, and saw Live Free or Die Hard, and went for Thai. Movie was awesome, Thai food was great, as usual. At Gore Park, we parted ways. I stood at my bus stop and was approached by this guy around my age. First question was "do you know what time it is?" I answered, and then the next question was "do you know where I can get some pot?" Not the greatest segway, but whatever. Told him I didn't know, since I don't smoke pot. He then proceeded to make small talk until the bus arrived, and then in an offhanded way, tried to get me to go out for drinks with him. I politely declined... really I don't like being picked up at the bus stop on my way home after working and going out. All I want sometimes is to just go home and relax.

This isn't the first time a guy has approached me and asked where to buy pot... perhaps this is THE new pickup line I'm not aware of? Or... am I just a beacon for all the potheads and lost souls, wherever I may travel?

Holy Flaming Car, Batman!

Yesterday was a very busy day for me. To sum it up, I went to work, left early for an appointment, went shopping and then decided to visit my sister at work, before heading home.

At 7:30, I decided to head home, and started walking to the closest bus stop, near the train station. I'm approaching the cross walk, and I hear the sound of tires squealing. I looked, and saw a car narrowly miss a bus, lose control and crash head-on into the corner of the overpass/bridge where the trains come into the station. What did the bus driver do? Well, he just kept on going, and didn't even stop for a moment. If I would've seen the bus number, I would've reported the driver for not remaining at the scene.

The driver gets out of the car, and quickly gets away from it, since the crumpled hood of the car is steaming and smoking. He then, in a total stroke of genious, goes back to the car to retrieve his sandals. By this time, I'm standing at the bus stop, and notice that where there was just smoke, there's now the beginning of flames under the hood of the car. I place a call to 911 to report the fire, and was told that they were already responding to a possible car fire. I stressed that it wasn't just a possible car fire anymore, that there were now flames rising above the hood.

Needless to say, since I'd witnessed the accident, I had to stay and tell the police what I saw. So, I got to sit in the back of a police car for the first time ever. Not really an experience I'd like to do ever again. I'm a short one, and my knees were touching the barrier wall between the front and back seat. Because I didn't see the colour of the light, since I was just paying attention to the crosswalk signals, my account of the events wasn't documented.

It's accidents such as this, that make me very glad that I'm environmentally friendly and take the bus.

Working Downtown

Okay, so some of you are familiar with working downtown in a larger city. It has its perks and its downfalls. The two biggest perks are that I'm close to shopping and restaurants, and that all the busses run to and from the "downtown hub".

Now for the downside!


This morning, I'm standing at the bus stop (in front of a nudie movie place), listening to my music and minding my own business. All of a sudden, I feel someone tap me on my shoulder, so I turn around. It's this lady in her early 60s trying to force a watchtower publication on me. I politely declined, when really, I felt like blowing up and screaming at her that I don't force my beliefs on people and I don't want her stupid magazine, so leave me the f&;*% alone!



Yesterday, I'm walking from my work to downtown, and all of a sudden I get a whiff of super-heated urine as this lady is approaching me to ask for directions. Sure enough, the front of her pants are soaked. Ewwwwwwwwww! I held my breath while I pointed out where she should be going. Thankfully she was going in the opposite direction from me, so I was assured she wouldn't become my newest bus bus buddy.



I knew that at some point I wouldn't be able to avoid talking to people during my daily commute, but why do I always seem to attract the fanatical religious ones or the gross ones?!?

Buyer's Regret?!?

Last weekend, I took my mom and Brandy to see the Phantom. I purchased the tickets back in December, and gave them as Christmas gifts. Really, it was kind of a selfish gift in a way, since I was buying a ticket for myself, no matter what. Needless to say, everyone enjoyed the performance.

However, during the performance, I found myself going off on a tangent of thought.... not really something I should've been doing during an artistic performance, but hey, it happens. I could see the orchestra clearly, from my seat, and focussed in on the flautists. At that moment, sheer and utter disappointment flooded over me - I so wanted to be down there, in the pit, playing my heart out for all to hear. I decided to let it go, and enjoy the performance, but that little voice has creeped back into my head.

It got me thinking about where I am now and what I'm doing, and it's a far cry from where I thought I'd be. I always thought that some day I'd have an artistic career, preferably in music. Instead, here I am, behind a desk all day long, processing payroll, and doing all the mundane tasks that HR Assistants get stuck doing, and it's sucking the life and creativity right out of me.

Even school didn't work out the way I thought it would. I graduated with an English degree, and then went on for my HRM Certificate. I always thought I'd graduate with a Music degree and then go on to be a music teacher, a performer, or a conductor... ah, such lofty aspirations I once had.

So I'm experiencing a sort of buyer's regret over how things have unfolded thus far. Arrrrgh! How expensive this regret is, too... Just when I thought I had it all figured out, I end up re-analyzing my situation and realizing it's not really where I want to be.

Quasi-Celebrities and Nudity!

Okay, that title got your attention, right?? I don't have a whole lot to report today, other than the following.

My brush with Quasi-Celebrity Fame: walking past Mike Bullard in the Yonge Eglinton Centre. Whoo whee, I didn't think I could contain my excitement any longer.

Note to the old naked guy in the window at the Double Tree Hotel... Yes, when the blinds are open, people can see you... even when it's starting to get dark out. The general population has no desire to see your wrinkly old bum or meat & two veg. It's just not right. However, I had to chuckle when I saw this guy, since Wes told me he saw a naked dude in the window across from his work, and had "gouged" his eyes out in response. An over-reaction, maybe, but funny all the same. I wonder if he used a spork... I compared notes with Wes, 4 windows over, and 4 down, it was the same guy!

Alright, that's all I've got. Really, how could I top a Quasi-Celeb & Nudity with anything else?

In My Absence...

I've been absent from my blog for quite some time, basically because I spend too much time in transit between home & work, and by the time I get home, I want to just crash. Also, I find that on weekends, if I'm not out with my friends, my family knows how to keep me quite busy as well.

Hell, I hadn't even updated when I got my co-op job back in September. Speaking of which, some details...

I was hired as the HR Assistant for this not for profit insurance company, owned by the church of England. How weird this must seem for everyone... me, working at an establishment owned by the church. I too, thought I would burst into flames... Surprisingly though, there's less religious tension at this job than there was at the depot. Originally, my contract was to expire on December 31 ('06), but I got an unofficial extension through until the end of March. Of course, this means my rate of pay remained unchanges, and that I would also remain ineligible for the paid benefits. The only reason why I agreed to stay is for the experience.

Even now, I doubt why I opted to stay, when I could've extracted myself cleanly from all the problems, back in December. Everything seems so unorganized, there's no communication, and the lines of authority are completely messed up beyond belief. It's pretty bad when you have to ask the GM for approval, before you can order a clock for the lunch room... At this point, even if they were to offer me a full time, salaried position, I would decline.

Thus, my job search begins again

Parachutes R' us??

Just an update on the clifhanger...

Well, I needed that parachute after all. Those rocks hurt!

The Curse of the Depot

Does the House always win? It seems as if the answer to this question is yes... The house, being the depot, of course.

So last week was fairly eventful in terms of "The Great Depot Escape." I had an interview on Tuesday, and then the same place called me back for another interview on Wednesday. I was calm, collected, and super-prepared for both the interviews, and I left with a smile on my face thinking, "yes, I think I've finally done it." Or... so I'd thought. I even wrote a brief thank you email to the last group of interviewers, as it was really great to be called back. That said, the rest of the week goes by, nothing from them... Holiday on Monday, so of course nothing then. Then, on Tuesday morning (today), I get an email back, saying that while they really liked me, and were impressed with my qualifications, something came up in their office, which might make them no longer need the position I had applied for. I also got a promise that one of them would be contacting me today, to let me know for sure.

CRAP, CRAP & MORE CRAP! My future is on the edge of a cliff yet again... and the depot is at the bottom where all the sharp rocks live -- Anyone got a parachute?

Job Hunting is Hard Work

Condemned to wallow in misery @ the Depot?

So this job/co-op job search is going nowhere... FAST! I've applied for close to 50 jobs, had one interview, and that's it. The co-op site tells you when you're rejected, and I'm finding I have a huge problem with it. Apparently NO is the hardest word I've had to deal with ever. It just seems like I'm going through the same viscious cycle yet again - School, apply for jobs, more school, apply for more jobs... I just want to get on with the rest of my life, maybe get a little apartment all to myself. I really didn't think that was too much to ask for - apparently, I'm wrong on this too. I know if I don't get a co-op during the fall term, I can postpone it, but don't want to postpone my co-op term until January... I'd rather kill myself than continue working at the Depot for that long.

Interviews, Fun?!? Not really, just a near death experience.

Wooo! Interviews are fun, and stuff like that. Transit, not so fun.

Okay, so yesterday's interview went quite well. It wasn't the most challenging interview I'd ever done, but the questions were very relevant and well thought out. I managed to refer to my portfolio for a couple of items, to back up what I was saying, but I didn't want to go through the entire thing. There just wasn't time for that, nor did the interviewers want to sit there and just be bored to death by pretentiousness. The items I did use, suprisingly, were from my graphic design section... I didn't really expect to rely on those items, but they asked for a time in which I used my creativity to solve a problem. What's more creative than creating posters as a way to increase sales/business?

Getting to the interview was pretty easy. I left at 8:45 from my house, because I wanted some time at the GO station to relax and enjoy a muffin & juice. The trip included 1 HSR bus, GO Transit to Long Branch, and then one Mississauga bus. I managed to get to the company about 50 minutes early for my interview... Mississauga transit's trip planner calculated that it'd take approximately 20 minutes to walk down Courtneypark Drive, from Dixie Rd (where the bus let me off). I don't know how slow they expect people to walk, but it was a 10 minute walk, even wearing a pair of heels.

Getting home should have been just as easy... just reverse the order of transit systems. It was, until my bus got into an accident at Dixie & Bloor. The bus had stopped (at a bus stop), let people on and off, and then, I heard a huge bang. 2 cars collided with each other behind the bus, and because of their impact, they rear ended the bus, hopped the curb, and smashed into a fence. No one on the bus was hurt... the bumper, and lights on the back of the bus had seen better days though. The bus driver has to get everyone off the bus, and he's like, "there'll be another bus" but didn't say when. The drivers of both cars were a bit banged up though, seeing as they'd both impacted the bus, as well as each other.

I made friends with the lady who sat in front of me, and told her I wasn't familiar with the area, and wondered if there was another way to get back to Long Branch GO. She told me to follow her, that she wasn't about to wait for the next Dixie Rd. bus either, that she usually gets off at Bloor anyways. She told me to follow her, and that she'd get me on the right busses to get me home sometime sooner than waiting for the next bus.

I ended up taking the Bloor bus to the Islington subway/bus station, had to pay another fare of $2.75 to use the TTC, and took a bus from there back to Long Branch. There's no direct GO trains from Long Branch to Hamilton, plus my stomach was growling and a headache was beginning... I'd only eaten the muffin, so I decided to get off at Oakville, and buy something to eat. I should have been home by 5 pm (without the accident), but instead I was just getting the train at Oakville station at that time.

In total, 4 different transit systems in one day was interesting, but not very fun.

Sick + Summer = Bummer

Sickness in the middle of Summer?

Apparently it is fully possible for me to get sick at any time, regardless of the season. So far, I've called in sick 2 days this week, and I know that no matter what, I can't afford to be off tomorrow. I have to work. No question about it. While under normal circumstances, I would love to have enjoyed my days off, I instead, have found myself sleeping all day, not eating solid foods, and having a hard time just being awake in general. Overworked? Quite possibly that's why I'm sick.

A Closet Full of Nothing

What to wear, what to wear....?!?

Alrighty, so I've finally got an interview for a co-op position. My newest conundrum is arriving at an appropriate interview attire decision. I'm undecided as to how dressy I want to go, so I have a few options...

1. Wear my simple black dress (one I wore to a prom)with my longer pin-stripe jacket. The long jacket is the only option with this, as there are slits on either side of the knee length dress. Good: it's a tried and true combination. Bad: it's the middle of summer, and I'll die of heat exahaution.
2. Wear my new black skirt with the tulle trim, a black shirt, and my white beaded jacket. Good: the skirt is totally appropriate, might not die in the heat. Bad: not sure if this look actually works.
3. Wear my strapless dress I wore to my Uni. Grad, along with the same white beaded jacket I'd worn with it. Good: I looked good in the outfit back in April '05. Bad: the dress is a floral print... quite bold actually. Doesn't scream formality.

Garrr! Sometimes being a girl sucks. At least I know which shoes I'm going to wear.

Depressed? Why yes, I am...

While I'm usually pretty good with disappointments, seeing as I've been dealt my fair share thus far in life, today's disappointments really got me down. Like usual, I put all my hopes on one particular job posting, and thought I had a really decent chance for it... or at least an interview. I'd also applied for another job at the same time, although I wasn't as attracted to the position. Today, I check the postings, and my applications and note that the less desirable job said NO to an interview. I thought, alright, good - I don't have to waste my energy with that one... I just had to wait on the other posting. Less than 10 minutes pass, and I get my answer on the job I really wanted... a big, fat NO. To make things sting even more, as luck would have it, my classmate beside me, was one of the 3 chosen ones for the interviews. I managed not to get upset at my own circumstance, and I'm truly happy that they decided to interview her - she's totally competent, and she really wants the positon too.

While I wasn't really upset earlier in the day, the more time I've had to think about it, the more upset I'm actually feeling. (I know this is derived from my irrational fear of being stuck at the Depot for all eternity.) Although I know I'm being way too hard on myself by saying this, but being shut down twice within a span of a few minutes, makes me feel as though I'm never going to be quite good enough for any other job. It also doesn't make me want to put myself out there again, and potentially get slammed with another fury of "NOs"

Perhaps a good long bath, a bit of crying, to vent my frustration is the key to getting over this mental block I've now put in place.

Dr. Phil, eat your heart out!

Move over Dr. Phil... Captain Obvious is putting you out of business... well, maybe.

I'd like to believe that part of my charm is my ability to listen, and give proper, sound advice when people ask for it. I try not to judge... honestly - it's not my decision to say what's right and what's wrong for someone else, but I will give my opinion, when asked. I'm quite used to the typical, "how do I know if he/she likes me" kind of advice, but lately, people have been asking things that go beyond my circle of knowledge and experience. That said, I think I've dealt with these queries as unbiased and politely as I possibly can.

Without naming names and going into too many details, I've been asked by several people, for advice on their sex lives... something which I would never proclaim to be an expert on, unlike Sue the sex lady, or Dr. Ruth, for example. I think it's hard to be an expert on a subject when you've just barely scratched the surface, based on your own personal experience. I realise I'm approachable, definitely a forward-thinking feminist, and that I'm a good source of advice (usually) - so I'm wondering, does this make up for my own so-called lack of experience? There's definately some situations that have been brought to my attention, that I know I wouldn't like to be in myself, but is that really enough for me to go on? On one hand, yes I do think that more "experience" (as I put it), would be nice to have, eventually, and would be beneficial when giving advice on said topic, but on the other hand, I'm quite comfortable with my experience status at this point in my life.

Cheating!!!

Low-down dirty cheaters... I say make 'em walk the plank! Yaaaaar, Matey!

So if you can't tell by the obvious title, I've had an encounter with a Cheating, Two-faced liar... albeit, not a guy, but a classmate. You'd think that in a post-graduate programme, that all the students would be honest, and would be more mature than grade school students, but nooooo, that assumption would be wrong. There's this one girl in my class who (on numerous occasions) has been caught cheating by another classmate. We've brought it to our instructors' attention, but it seems as if nothing is going to be done about it. This makes me very angry because it makes my education that I'm getting (and paying for) seem worthless, since the cheating has gone un-punished. The worst part of the situation is that this girl just brags the entire time about getting super-high marks. Garrrrrrr! I just know that if I ever attempted cheating, I'd be kicked out of school so fast it'd make my head spin, and the imaginary parrot on my shoulder would no longer have a home...

Blarrrrrgh! just about sums it up.

Blarrrrrgh!

I'm beyond tired today - haven't been sleeping right, and I'm not sure why. Perhaps stress is playing a large part in it. I'm still worried about my finances... how I'm going to afford the next 2 months - school, busses, bills, other expenses, and ultimately getting a new job (or actually a co-op job).... Worrying sucks!