Snow, snow, go away.

Today was the first proper snowfall of the season. Ever since I started my degree in this city with its a-typical Canadian climate, I have been counting down the number of winters I would have to suffer through before I could graduate and move far away, ideally to a tropical climate. Today was no different. Maybe because I didn't grow up in a snowy climate (those of you non-Canucks may not realize, but the West Coast really is milder in comparison to the rest of the country in terms of winter weather), I am really horrible at walking on snow and ice. While I see everyone else walking briskly, heels and all, through the snowy conditions, there I am in the background, skidding and slipping all over the place, even though I am wearing my lovely Ralph Lauren winter boots. Every time I leave my flat, I pray it won't be the day I slip on the sidewalk, fall (face first, of course) and slide directly onto the adjacent road where a passsing car with worn tires and a distracted driver won't quite stop in time. This is the reason I sometimes think I am obsessive compulsive...

At least this means I will be able to go snowboarding soon!

In other non-weather related news, I am on a mini-break from mandatory school assignments until December, which I now realize from looking at the calendar, isn't really the far away after all. Still, I am excited that I will be able to focus on other pressing matters, such as my Research project, sleeping properly, working and of course, knitting warm things for this cruel winter.

I am not going home for Christmas this year. This probably isn't news to those of you who know me; I've only been home for this holiday once in 4 years, and I'm not much of a Christmas person anyway. This being said, I have been presented with a number of lovely prospects for the holiday season: my mother may stop in Toronto en route to Greece to visit her parents, and I may be going to NYC some point over the break to visit my lovely friend Hayden, who also is going to be far away from home for Christmas. We actually spent Christmas 2003 together when we couldn't afford to go home then either, so it would be cute if we repeated it this year. Regardless of what happens, I'm sure I will be happy as a clam to be with someone I love, stuffing my face with treats.

On a sidenote, I have been given a supervisory position for a (single) shift at Parliament, which totally isn't a big deal at all, but I am mildly excited since I'm the only new employee who has been given this opportunity. I think it's probably somewhat related to the factI've clocked some serious hours in the few short months I've been there.

Footprinting.

Since I last posted, I have uttered the phrase "I have NO time" countless times. As is the way every fall, Thanksgiving marks the beginning of craziness at uni, and it doesn't end until after exams are finished at Christmas. On top of this though, my job at Parliament keeps me long hours (although I am very grateful!), and volunteering for two different organizations occupies a lot of time as well.

However, as if I didn't have enough to deal with at once, I went ahead and got a second job. The title of my position is Ecological Footprint Research Assistant, and I am working under the supervision of the Director of Climate Change at the University of Toronto. My work is focusing on Radical Roots, a not-for-profit, worker-run collective located on campus who have hired me to help them minimize the environmental and social implications, or the 'ecological footprint', of their activities. Here is a brief newspaper article on the project, for those of you who are interested. Note the reference to me as the to-be-hired work-study student.

I am very excited to be involved in this project as not only is a great experience for me simply in terms of ameliorating my research skills, but also because I think it could potentially make a signficant contribution to the organization's efforts. I must also admit, it may give me a minor advantage when it comes to looking for a 'real job' after I graduate. Or at the very least, it won't hinder me.

All the work has left me with very little time to get my assignments done however, and thus my anxiety level is pretty much constantly in the high range.. I know school should be is priority number one, but I have become so apathetic in my last year that my only concern is finshing.

I took a well-earned break this weekend and went down to the Niagara region to look at the leaves, which were purported by the Weather Network to be "absolutely stunning". Perhaps they were, but the gale-force winds ripped all the leaves from the branches by the time we got down there, and I feel somewhat gipped. At least I got to go dino-golfing in Niagara Falls. On the drive back, we stopped at Balls' Falls (what a name) to admire the waterfalls and old buildings on the property. As you can see in the pictures, it was rather eerie when we were there right before sunset.

Throne Speech and Fainting.

So the Lieutant Governor of Ontario, James K. Bartleman gave his Throne Speech today at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. This is a pretty big day for Provincial Politics, as it oulines the government's goals for the upcoming session. As such, there were loads of invited guests in the Chamber today; by far more people than are normally there. Anyway, my job today had me posted at the Member's Gallery West (for the Opposition and NDP's invited guests) and everything was going smoothly for the first couple hours. However, about 75 minutes into the L.G.'s speech, I started to feel nauseous. This was quickly followed by sudden and profuse sweating, particularly my face. All the while I'm wondering what the hell was happening to me. I didn't have much time to think about this, as the speech wrapped up and everyone's attention was then focused on the singer performing O Canada in the Speaker's Gallery directly above my head. Well, naturally this is the time everything started going dark for me, and I knew I was about to pass out. So with over 300 pairs of eyes, and several television cameras cast just metres above my head, I slumped to the floor and had to be taken from my post by a Security Guard to the lobby where I was instructed to drink water and stay put until I felt better.

So the judges are still out on whether I actually fainted or not, but regardless, I managed to create some excitiment on one of the most high profile days in Parliament. Apparently, it is quite common for Ushers and Pages to faint in the Chamber and happens several times each session, due to the heat and all the standing still. I am a bit nervous for the next day I work, as I'd rather not have a repeat of today (although I got to sit, paid no less, for that 10 minutes I was recovering, so that was almost worth it.

In other exciting news at work today, Ontario Finance Minister Greg Sorbara announced his resignation Tuesday evening following an RCMP raid of his family's real estate development company and the revelation that the Liberal politician has been named in a warrant. This should be an interesting session...

Vote for Pedro

I am sick. Pathetically, horribly, unhappily ill. Fever, sinus congestion, cough, the works. I am pretty miserable about this, particularly since I wanted to get lots of work done during the week, so I would be able to enjoy the upcoming long weekend (Thanksgiving) without having to worrry about schoolwork. There is still a flicker of hope that I can persevere between now and Friday afternoon and get the majority of it out of the way.

But I'll stop whining, as the reason I got sick was totally worthwhile... I met Pedro on Saturday night! It was a completely surreal event, he was spinning at The Drink at the Guvernment. You can watch the evite here. Anyway, we spotted him standing pretty much alone in the corner of the room before he went on, so we decided to go over to him and just introduce ourselves. He was incredibly modest and down-to-earth, and even a bit flirtatious. We took a couple photos on Ben's phone but the group shot didn't turn out, although I have a really wicked one of him spinning which I will hopefully figure out how to upload. But the late night ended up taking its toll on my body, and here I am, a congested little mess. At least the weather is still lovely!

Places I've Been

create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands

In keeping with everyone else posting this recently, this is my contribution. It is evident that I need to get travelling again soon.

Fraternities suck.

It's nice to see my next door neighbours being recognized in the paper. All summer long, I had to listen to the incessant noise and obnoxiousness of the frats clustered around our apartment, especially since there are no less than 3 frats within 50 meters of our place. It makes no difference that we are 14 stories up; we can hear all the noise as the hot weather has necessitated windows being left open. It is beyond me, and pretty much everyone else in the world beside North Americans, as to why students opt to join these associations. I guess creating an exclusive clique is the only way some people feel any sense of self-worth.

(And stop defiling my people's alphabet with your trashy associations, god damn it!)

To every season, turn, turn, turn...

Holy crap I should start updating more frequently. The past three weeks have been a flurry of activity what with Frosh Week Leadering, classes beginning, my new job starting (which I shall return to shortly) and the whole housing issue, I haven't had the time to sit down and post. I hereby attempt to compensate with a summary of each of these events:

1) Frosh Week: Despite this being my 5th (and last year of university), I have never had the opportunity to be a Frosh Leader until this year. For those of you who have no idea what "Frosh" means, and quite frankly think it is a term for some sort of alcoholic cocktail or skin disorder, it is the "affectionate" term for newly-admitted university students. They could just as easily be called freshers, or froshies, or (can you imagine) new, students. Carrying on, each college at U of T is responsible for organizing some sort of orientation events for the week before school begins so that the kiddies may become more accustomed to the university, and immediately make the (false) association between university and fun which their many, many upcoming years at school will thus disprove. Just kidding. Or am I?

As a Frosh Leader, I was given a group of students to show around the university (and to a lesser extent, the city) and engage with in various 'fun' events, such as foxy boxing, theatre sports and my favourite part, the nighttime boat cruise in Lake Ontario. I had a blast, honestly, because Frosh Week is infinitely better when you are NOT a nervous first year who is desperate to make friends while desperately trying to not look desperate. ..

..I remember my Frosh week, and how nervous I was. As someone who had just flown across the country for school without knowing a single person in the city, let alone the school, I was coming to, I was very anxious about meeting people, which I pulled off as a sort of aloofness, otherwise known as "too-cool-for-school syndrome". Luckily, people saw through this facade and I made a load of friends early on, but not everyone is fortunate to live on campus during their first year. I hope I was able to make some sort of positive impact on my frosh. Lord knows my co-leader didn't have a clue what was happening most of the time. But that's a whole new issue.

2) Beginning o' classes: Indeed, they began yet again. This semester, among other classes, I am taking two 'technical' courses, both Geography-relevant: Introduction to GIS and a Statistics course. I hope to keep on the ball enough that when I do run into trouble with these classes, I have enough time to focus on figuring it out before deadlines. We'll see about this. I will keep you informed of my progress in Stats, bearing in mind that this is the mandatory course I dropped last fall because it sent shivers down my spine. I must successfully complete it this time however, so wish me luck!

3) New job: My position as a Legislative Student Usher at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario began. The job duties aren't exactly rocket science: make sure the rules of the House are enforced in whatever capacity necessary, maintaining acceptable visitor conduct in the galleries, and in general being a servant of the house. This sometimes entails being an abuse-receptacle for the MPPs who think they have transcended humanity and taken on divine form. Hands-down the best part of the job is the cool I.D. badge that only myself, the MPPs and a handful of other support staff have, which grants us access the the chamber floor of Parliament. I have included a photo of it at the beginning of this post. Note the word "Chamber" on my pass, further testament to my awesomness.

4) Housing issues: The most sensitive of the four issues, I would rather not get into the details of this one online. Sufficie it to say that my monthly rent will be much, much higher every month than I ever thought.

City Councilman Unearths Magical Zoning Amulet

Once again, the Onion has hit paydirt with this article. Given that the profession of 'geographer' does not actually exist, the Onion has constructed a pretty convincing argument for becoming a zoning by-lawist, or 'urban planner' if you will. My favourite part of the article is the pictures. Amulets rule.

Old job. New job.

So I officially quit my job a couple weeks ago. For those who don't know - and I must state that I did make some effort to keep the name of the company on the downlow - I worked at the Gap. Its redeeming features were its location on Queen St. West, not to mention the surprising coolness of my coworkers (which I attribute wholy to the neighbourhood), and I did put in a good year there. However, the time came to get out of a job that was destroying my soul and sense of self-worth...

...so naturally, I picked the soul-redeeming field of Provincial politics instead. As of September, I will be a peon at Queen's Park! I got the job several months back, and since then I have spent great amounts of time contemplating what, exactly, the duties of my position as a Legislative Assembly Usher entail. I know Queen's Park hosts a program where elementary school children (Grade 7, I think) are ushers for a 6-week period, but I am quite certain my job necessitates a little, although likely not much, more intellect and responsibility than that of a 12 year-old. If anyone can tell me what tasks they think my job will have me doing, I am very enthused to hear about it in the comments area.

Summer school is now officially over. I swear to god, I thought it would never end. This isn't to say that I didn't thoroughly enjoy the subject of the class, as World Religions is one of the more captivating fields offered at UofT (it's no neuropsychology!), but taking a condensed course during the summer months when all you really want to do is eat good food, drink cocktails and just wander the city was a real struggle. I just need to keep the steam going for another 8 months and then I'm out. Eye on the prize.

Not to mention there have been some other unexpected developments this summer which I would rather not get into in blog-form. However, suffice it to say it's hard to study when you are in the midst of readjusting your life.

Now it's just hanging out without purpose until I fly home on Monday (where rest assured, I plan to do much more slacking and lounging!). Anyone in reading this from Vancouver, I want to get together while I'm there! E-mail me.

Lists are neat.

So apparently I don't post enough. This is probably because I don't feel like I ever do anything particularly interesting to write about. But since you asked for it, here is an itemized list of what I have done lately:

- Slept a mere 45 minutes after a long night of dancing, because we had to get up and go dance some more. The second time on a boat.

- Wrote an essay that I should've spent at least a couple weeks on, in a matter of hours. For me, this is quite an accomplishment.

- Went to Welland/Niagara Falls/Niagara-on-the-Lake/Buffalo for the long weekend. Highlights include mocking the poor sod risking his life on a tight rope in Niagara Falls - no one was watching him at all - , and the constant gorgefest Ben and I partook in; the searing indigestion was completely worth it.

- Hosted a Newcastlian. One of Edd's mates, Geordie, has been visiting for a couple weeks from Gateshead so the boys have been touring around. Apparently the Ontario Science Centre sucks.

- Have *not* worked. Nearly every shift I've had for the past 3 weeks has been cut entirely. Although I enjoy not having to spend my time doing mindless tasks for hours on end, I am also devoid of monies. This is going to become increasingly problematic over the next few weeks.

- Booked my flight home to Vancouver. I arrive August 22 and depart September 2. I initially intended to stay longer but I have obligations, such as Frosh Leadering and feeding my cat, which beckon me back here sooner.

I'm sure that there is a lot more trivial stuff I have done as of late, but this, sadly, is la creme de la creme. However, there is hope, as this weekend is the Taste of the Danforth and I plan to get their asap and start ingesting as much tzatziki and pitas as possible in polite company.

Mo-lester's fun and games.

So it was my 23rd birthday the other day, and we had a bit of a party. I had a great night, and would like to thank everyone who came for making it one of the most memorable birthdays of my young life. A special thank you to the Ontario Police for turning up and threatening an $800 dollar fine for noise violation. And a big thank you to the neighbours for submitting numerous complaints to the building management, and for the subsequent half dozen apology letters I've been asked to write.

Moving swiftly along, there are some photos of the debauchery here.

I have a cat.

I have a cat. Her name is Nelly (or as I call her, Smelly Retardo) and she is cool. She was going to have kittens until the other day, when she decided that she wasn't pregnant but rather in heat. Awesome-o. Here are some pictures of my cat.

Hecticity encore.

Ok, there's a lot of news in my life, but I'll post on that another time. For now, I present you a few photos from one of my best nights in Toronto to date (thanks to Kat for visiting and for the photos!!).

This was an all night event held at the Guvernment, where Sasha and Steve Lawler went head to head, both indoors and outside, till being shut down at 10 am on the roof-top bar. What a mad night.

Me and Kat overexposed inside the Guvernment....

Ben and Jimmy drumming to the music... Wherever there's a party, drums aren't far behind.

*The* Sasha, and Steve Lawler (not necessarily in that order) at Sky Bar, approximately 9 am, Sunday morning before they were shut down by the police.

The fetish performance which provided visual entertainment.

Kat, Jimmy, and Krista at Sky Bar (on top of the Guv) come morning time...

Another update.

See? I promised to update! Quiz went much smoother than expected, another case of my scholastic hypochondria getting the better of me beforehand. Now I have a million and one readings to get to, but I think I've earned the break... Plus I have no desk to study at, and sitting on the floor for hours reading is giving me a hump... No jokes about this, Hamish. I know where you would take it ... or do I?

I am thinking of going home for a couple weeks at the end of August for a visit... My sister and her boyfriend, Trevor, will hopefully be out at the same time, thereby equating to an extravaganza of family-ness. I also would like to see friends from high school, including one plump cat that I have recently been informed has gone on a diet.

Other than that, not much has happened since I updated this afternoon...

Post-relocation.

So moving went well. Heather's mum helped me move; I couldn't have done it without her. So a big thank you to her. However, the place is still very much in boxes, particularly my bedroom, since I have yet to order furniture. That's a long story in itself which I will spare you. I hope that everything will be unpacked and relatively organized by next week because ...

Kat arrives! How very exciting to have a Kiwi in my home! She has been in the New England area helping her brother and sister-in-law with their whippet(s) for the past couple months, and will be coming up to Toronto for a week's visit! Good times. I have to pretend I have a social life and don't sit at home every night in my room while she's here, since NZers seem to be much more social than me.... Poor thing is coming into 35 degree heat too.

I have a quiz tonight for my Religions class so I should get to studying. Will update more soon.