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And so that concludes my one week adventure stateside... Back to school now. It looks intense as it always is with summer programs. But we found out today that we're getting Thursday's off so that is pretty awesome.

My first week back has been a bit hectic. I arrived back in Toronto on Monday morning about 6am. It was really interesting driving into the city as the sun came up. It seems so small compared to New York, and I have to admit the CN Tower did look very impressive with the dawn gleaming off of it.

If school started any earlier I would have made it on Monday, but my body shut down at 8am and that was me done. Tuesday I was really grumpy and irritable (thanks to those who put up with me!) and realised that I was just still very very tired.

Today is Thursday, I feel pretty damn perky about my situation. This week I got a letter from my brother! Thanks Don!!! My mum is coming to visit in exactly one week- at this time I'll be en route to the airport.

It looks like I'll have one awesome class this semester, The History of Architecture- Aces!!! The textbook looks awesome but it's over $100 and I think I learned my lesson the first Art History Degree... watch out for the shiny textbooks!

Hope I'll be hearing from y'all soon (hey I was in the US for a week, I had to have picked up something!!).
Hugs
This is me on the deck of the "landing" a restaurant in New Hope- it was really nice! I heart vacation (and my new shoes- yep I was wearing them!)

I heart New York

Tuesday of my holiday I went into New York City to meet up with Terrance. I have to say New York is pretty freaking awesome. I didn't have much time there so I just walked around Times Square (not so squarish- in your European town square sense), Madison Ave, Park Ave, Broadway.

And I bought shoes on Madison Ave!!! I'm not sure it get any better than this?! And they are perfect, exactly what I wanted. I leeeerv them. (I know it's weird to be this attached to your shoes, but hey I don't have a pet or a husband)

The City is just so amazing, I felt really safe all the time- and the people watching is out of this world. I cannot wait to go back to celebrate my thirtieth in June. I'm positively giddy actually. Chelsea and Laura are flying out from Victoria to meet up with me and Robert and Valerie will be coming in too. It should be great, I heard about this champagne bar "Bubbles" which I'll have to check out in honour of my friend Briana who turns thirty the week before me- (always older but never wiser... ;-> ).

The day after New York Valerie and I headed out to check out Philadelphia. It's pretty neat, I love all the public art work around these big cities. At this one building they had giant monopoly pieces all around. Although I couldn't find the shoe or the iron (the ones I usually was- que'lle surprise- I know).

The rest of the week was pretty mellow, which was so wonderful and what I needed. I did get to go into a Macy's and drool over the many many many nice things- I did shop in the Old Navy- yep it's more ghetto but hey I'm po. Best find were a really nice soft cream sweater with snaps and a hood for $3.97 and underwears with Tucans saying I love you to each other. Because if your underwear can't be ridiculous- what have you got??

SHADFest 2007- it's effical and fresh yo!

Hello from stateside!!

Well school is finally done and I managed to pass all my classes! Surprisingly math was one of my higher marks, beating out even english. Weird I know. I don't quite get it either.

Right now I am in Pennsylvania staying with Valerie and Robert who have quite graciously allowed me to come down for the week between classes. Getting here was slightly mammoth, I haven't been on an overnight bus for quite some time.

It's been a great mix of action packed adventure and relaxation this week thus far. Saturday was slightly zombieish although we did managed to head to New Hope and check out SHADFEST!!!!! That's right once a year these fish called Shad do something very very special and New Hope and Lumberville get down and PAR-TAY. I dont' know what the fish do but it's got to be pretty damn special.

Sunday was nice and mellow as well- we were all pretty tired, but Val and Rob bought a BBQ so we were able to have a stinking awesome dinner that night.

This is a post-holidaium post so I'll break it up/break it down into parts.

Examine yourself....

Well it's been quite some time since I last posted- nothing like another bout of exams to make me do all the things I have been putting off.

Thursday was my last day of classes! Hurrah, one semester down! It also coincided with a visit from my friend Pili, whom I met in Victoria but now resides in Sydney, Australia working in high finance. She's fancy! We had a great evening Thursday, we chatted with our LeMar via web cam, and then went out for yummy pasta dinner, with wine... Friday we got off to a lazy start and headed out to our church- and by church I do mean the Bata Shoe Museum. It was pretty neat and they had this great Rococco exhibit on. I am developing quite the penchant for yellow silk hmmm.

Afterwards we lunched at Pho Hung and went for a wander around China town and Kensington Market- the market is really great. I had been there once before in January, but now that the weather is warmer and all the shops have half moved to the streets it's much more fun. We even stopped and watched hippies play on their drums and some smellies dancing in the street- made me think of Victoria... and then we walked quickly away.

There are some amazing food shops in the area and Pili bought almost ten dollars worth of Mexican candy...!

And really that was that! It was a very fun day, I miss having girlfriends about where we can wander the shops and look at things and such.

The previous week and weekend was full of schooling and Terrance visiting, that was really great fun. (ha well the visiting part, school... not so much). But I got all my presentations done and did well on them so yay. I have am now learning to work with PowerPoint, it's kind of fun. And I'd always take a presentation over a paper- hands down any day of the week. Now if only we could do presentations instead of exams. That would be tops!

For Easter weekend I went out to Belleville to hang out with my grandma and my uncle. That was really nice, I took the slow bus out there and actually it was really beautiful driving through all the boonies at about sunset. My uncle made the most amazing turkey dinner on Saturday night, it was awesome and so nice to eat a dinner that was made by family again. Hopefully when my mum comes to visit she'll make me dinner (wink wink, nudge nudge). Due to the weekend and the very strange hours of the bus service I didn't get to spend as much time there as I wanted to. And while I was there it snowed- an Easter miracle!!!

But I do think that Spring has sprung; yesterday I didn't even wear a sweater downtown, never mind a jacket and mitts! The sun is shining and at 11am it is already a terrific 17degrees. Today is devoted to studying as soon as I get it a bit more together. And happily it will be studying outside in the sunshine!

This week is full of exams- three on Monday whooo hoooo and finishing up assignments by Friday. I hope to be hopping on a bus and heading down to Pennsylvania to visit Val and Rob for the week that I am off and heading into NYC as well for maybe a day or something. This time I hope to check out Philly and well just hang out in general. Val and Robert have quite the personal gym going on in their house and Val and I are going to do some working out. Maybe go for a couple of runs. I am looking forward to going for runs in High Park once it's all bloomy and parky.

So I suppose that is all for now- I could go on... but really should study.

I got a pressssssent!

Yeah- I gots me a coool new sweater! My mum made it, she's the best and you are allll jealous I know it! I was really grumpy today and then I came home to this pressie! I believe my luck changed cause I picked up a pennie. (man that was a lot of exclamation points!)

Things are going well here at the centre of the world. Had a very nice weekend, friend was visiting from out of town and that was lovely. Had to work like a dog to get this massive drafting project done. But I got it done and handed in Friday morning- whew. So the weekend was free and clear for good times.

It was sunny today! Huroooo apparently it's going to be in the late teens on Thursday so take that West Coast!!! Hopefully it will be sunny and then I will call all of you at 8am (EST-natch) and let you know how awesome it is here. Maybe I'll wear my flipflops...

Really not much else has been going on. After all the wonderful excitement of last weekend it's good to get back into a routine. School is staring to heat up a bit.

Huh- well there was a slight delay in posting the past post- as it's now the weekend again. Sunday to be exact. Actually even worse it's sunday evening and I have a test tomorrow. So I have been studying and cleaning and taking some very odd photos when I can't handle the studying or the cleaning anymore.

Yet another project due this week- will be doing that for the rest of the evening and tomorrow and tomorrow night and tues morning!

Right going to actually post this as opposed to resaving draft in manner of many of my emails.

Hugs
M

Breakfast At Mitzi's

This past weekend my friend Jen was in town from Montreal. It was so great to see her (and the added bonus of having a house guest is the house gets cleaned) and hang out. We met up Saturday afternoon downtown and walked around and looked at the various porn available to us on Bloor St. There was diamond porn- Tiffany's, yoga porn- Lululemon, shoe porn (my fave!)- Nine West, way too fancy porn- Chanel, kitchen porn- Williams-Sonoma. It was delightful... After that we dined at a pub near the school of Music with a bunch of the opera peoples. It was fun, but those singing types certainly know how to project their voices.

Jen and I headed home and chatted for bit before bed. Had a bit of a lazy Sunday morning and then met up with her friends Kristen and Ashley for brunch at Mitzi's. This is definitely the best brunch I have had here. AND I had the scrambled eggs... I know I know. I was as shocked as you all. AND the even weirder thing was I then wanted the pancake. But it's a great little spot in Roncensvales, tiny kind of reminded me of Cup of Joes. Still have not had a good benny here though.

After brunch Jen and I window shopped and such along the village. Big news! I bought my first purse in Toronto. And yes- it is a big deal! It's a matt and natt gray clutch- so cute! Jen took off in the afternoon and I came back to get it together for school today.

Hmm well I could make this post much more exciting but I am slightly distracted and I really have to get prepped for tomorrow. So I'll say adieu. The pics are of Jen(short brown hair) & Ashley and Kirsten & me.

Holy Snapping Ars*holes

Title courtesy of Brandy Shaw's mum- Marcy. Don't really know what it means but it gets the point across. And that point is- IT'S COLD. Today when I left I checked my widgets (which is a fancy mac thing and I pity all your who don't know what it is) and it was -21. This does not factor in the windchill or anything!

I had to go to a copy centre before class and it was about a ten minute walk from the bus stop- wheee! The only way I can explain the cold when you breath in is that if tastes like you have just swallowed a bunch of sea water and makes you want to throw up just as much. But it's sunny! Hard to feel bad when it's sunny. I am actually generally terribly giddy.

Whee well I have gotten the marks back from one midterm and one assignment. In my math midterm I got 70%! Which may not seem like much but I say it's beyond respectable. Considering the agony that I (and my family) had to go through the first time I did Math 12- this is much less painless. Probably the only time my parents are happy to be very far away from me. So I think this may be fridge worthy! (Yes I am a nerd and put my grades on the fridge- so- you wanna fight about it?)

I also got my first drafting assignment back and I got 96%!! Wheee. Very excited about that because I didn't think I did as well as I could have. (and yes dad next time I'll get 100- don't worry!) I really want to put this one on the fridge but it's too big. Oh well.

Ok small rant. I was on the bus on the way home from school and had to sit between two people, fine- at least I get to sit! However one of the people beside me is sitting there with her legs wide open essentially taking up as much space as possible. Now I am not sure if she has a chip on her shoulder for the way bigger people are treated in the world and decided to take a stand (or sit) right there and then on the bus. I myself am bigger than "normal" and generally find it appalling the way people are treated on the basis of there size. (however that's a different rant for a different day) But to do this on a very full bus is just rude. I don't care what your size is- crowded public transit is all about making yourself smaller so everyone can fit. Finally about 3/4 of the way through the ride she got a clue-maybe she felt the resentment wafting off of me. And that was that.

Thanks! Other than that I am very positive! Happy and giddy. I also made a a friend at school. And nope, she is neither married and I suspect she does not own a cottage at the lake. But she's super nice, in one of my classes, but ahead of me in the program, although younger than me in years. Anyhoo that was exciting, we had lunch on Monday and are doing a group project together so hopefully we'll hang out.

Welll, I have to make dinner. Have not yet figured out how to get someone to do that for me as I am living on my own. Oh Valerie and Robert are probably in Mexico as we speak. Lucky lucky devils!