Echappee

Moving Day!

2010-09-10T10:37:00.000-04:00

I had moving day on Monday for university, but this is moving day for this blog!

This is the new link: http://echappee.tumblr.com

Go Go Go!

Trying Hard To Blend In

2010-08-28T20:07:00.000-04:00

A HEADS-UP: I'm not sure why I wrote this but I just thought I should blog about it. There isn't really a point to this, and it's not well thought-out now that I'm reading it over.

Today is Saturday, and Saturday is grocery shopping day. Since we're Chinese, my mom and I always go to the Chinese supermarket. We were walking past while I heard a little boy screaming and crying as if he just found out his favourite batman toy wasn't being sold anymore. (FYI, I'd only cry like that if they stopped making Brie cheese.) His grandmother was holding him and said to him (in Chinese),

"Hush, do you see any other kids crying? Stop it."

Which I found amusing because that's exactly what my mom used to say to me when I cried in public, which I didn't do very often because, again, I'd only cry like that if they stopped making Brie cheese... or if I wasn't allowed to get a Barbie that I really wanted, but I digress.

I don't know if this only happens in the Asian culture, or if it's a worldwide phenomenon, but I feel like this kind of upbringing has contributed to the way I am now. I'm not what you'd call a rebel, and though I've become less shy since coming to Canada, I feel that my Chinese upbringing has basically told me to blend, not be noticed too much, and to not disappoint my parents. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of Asians I know who aren't going into engineering, commerce, or medicine.

What did your parents do when you cried in public as a child? Do you think this has affected your behaviour?

Om Nom Nom

2010-08-25T18:08:00.000-04:00

Behold, Western food that I made. By myself.

Mushrooms + Ragu + oregano + Philly cream cheese. Honestly, it looked better than it tasted, probably because my Western food making abilities aren't up to par... yet.

This is special. BEHOLD THE TOMATOES THAT RULED THEM ALL. I put them beside normal tomatoes for comparison, these things were HUGE (no, that's not what she said) and could have probably won a prize at some country fair. Our relatives grew them in their backyard... I'm wondering what kind of fertilizer they used.

Video Blog, Vlog Number 1

2010-08-19T17:07:00.001-04:00

I'm filing this under Entertainment, because I found myself hilariously entertaining (because I'm awkward) while editing this.

Suggestions are always welcome!

Not At All

2010-08-16T19:19:00.001-04:00

Today, my mom came home looking extremely tired and sweaty, declaring that she needed ice cream at that instant. A freezer check reminded her that unfortunately, she had eaten up all of the Haagen-Dazs chocolate ice cream last night.

"Regina, we are going to get ice cream."

Okay. I'm cool with that.

So we went to the grocery store, and everything was great! We got ice cream, and went to pay for it. In front of us, was an old lady who was trying to open her grocery bag (but couldn't because it had no grip). After about 30 seconds, I decided that maybe she needed help.

"Would you like me to help you?"

Silence.

"Ma'am, would you like me to help you?"

Then she gave me the steeliest glare with her foggy eyes and said: "Not. At. All."

So I left her alone and proceeded to bag my own groceries, saying to myself, "don't take it personally," but I kind of felt like I was slapped in the face.

However, my point is that we're sometimes too proud to let others help us. I wasn't suggesting that she was old and feeble, although she may have taken it that way; I was merely offering my assistance if she needed it. I was, to be honest, a little stunned to receive that kind of reaction, but I digress. I sometimes have this problem of not letting others help me as well, and I've started to realize over the past 6 months or so that it's okay to admit that sometimes teamwork is better than working on projects alone.

So, was I a little miffed that I was treated so rudely?

Yes.

Will I stop offering my assistance?

Not. At. All.

Have you ever had this kind of experience? How did/would you deal with it?

Jobs, Piano, and University

2010-08-07T16:09:00.002-04:00

This is basically my August update, except I thought calling it "August Update" would be boring, hence the title. This post is about - surprisingly - my job, piano, and university. I can't believe there's only one month left of summer! And here's what I'm doing in that one month:

Job

This August, I'm working at the place where my mom works because she really needs some help right now. Their company, which is a cork company, had a massive fire a few weeks ago, which burnt down most of the building. Obviously, this meant that they've had to relocate and basically start all over. My mom is their accountant, so I've just been helping with filing, sorting, and some of the more basic tasks (though I have not had to go and get coffee for anyone...yet).

It's sometimes quite hectic, and at other times, I have absolutely nothing to do. One can only file so many papers and lick so many envelopes! The pay isn't bad, and I work there 3 times a week. I suppose I could work more if I wanted to, but the next topic prevents me from doing that.

Piano aka Death

I have my piano ARCT exam coming up in 2 weeks (not going to pass regardless, but still) and I need to practice like crazy. There is no way I'm passing, but at least I can say that I tried.

University

University stuff has been keeping me busy as well. Lots of stuff to pay for and lots of stuff to buy (university is expensive, to state the obvious) so I'll probably need to go shopping a lot this month. Darn.

I also need to get a laptop, right now I'm thinking a Sony Vaio EB, but if anyone has any suggestions (except for Mac Books because they are bloody expensive) feel free to comment!

I will be in a suite-style dorm in a single room, so I'll get to cook! -- that's probably what I'm most excited for. I'm not sure if I have my priorities straight, but oh well! Eating healthily is important too, right? :P Goal : to avoid the freshman 15.

Anyways, that's my August summed up in a blog post! How about you? What are your plans?

Europe, aka Photo Spam

2010-08-04T13:04:00.001-04:00

I am (yes, you guessed it) back from Europe! It was a wonderful trip and I have taken lots and lots of photos... and I even brought a journal along, mostly to practice my cursive of course.

Picture quality isn't great since I couldn't take my Alpha 200 with me.

It was a tearful goodbye (on my mom's part) at the airport. Once we checked in, it finally hit us: WE'RE GOING TO EUROPE!

We flew from Toronto to Montreal, and then Montreal to Zurich. On the Montreal to Zurich flight, we were upgraded to business class. It was wonderful, you know, because we actually had some leg room. What I'm reading there is my own dinner and breakfast menu; economy class was just "chicken or beef?"

Our final destination was Nice, France. We stayed in Nick's great aunt's flat in Antibes, which is 20 minutes away from Nice. We were also only 10 minutes away from the beach!

We took a day trip to Nice, it was pretty nice! :P We climbed the Colline du Chateau, and this is the amazing view from the top:

There was also a waterfall! ... but no castle (it was destroyed). Uhh... don't mind the muffin top.

Back in Antibes for a rest day: we bought the coolest desserts. This is orange sorbet in a real orange peel:

We were originally planning on going to Marseilles, but... it would have cost us around 100 Euros. Impromptu trip to Monaco it is!

Hi seagull.

Then we spent a week in Italy. Of course, this being a trip that I'm on, things couldn't just go smoothly. Our train to Ventimiglia was delayed an hour because someone had committed suicide on the tracks. :( We arrived in Venice (Ventimiglia -- Milan -- Venice) in the evening. It is a beautiful city.

Waiting in line to go up the bell tower in Piazza San Marco.

*Drools*

à la Audrey, except the opposite hand and with a breadstick instead...

Us with our amazing gondolier! I imagine his name is Marco or Pietro.

The Bridge of Sighs. *sigh* Stupid advertisements... Marco/Pietro told us that they've been up for 3 years now.

I'm on a boat taking pictures of other boats.

Next stop: Rome! First was the Spanish Steps.

Hi Trevi Fountain!

I interrupt all these beautiful things now with a pictures of Nick wearing the Casillas jersey he bought in Venice:

Playing peekaboo in the Colosseum because I can.

He found me.

We had to go back to the hostel in the afternoon because it was extremely hot. That night, we walked to the pantheon. I think it's important to note that Nick is holding Nutella gelato:

Hint for those of you who are planning to go to the Vatican: covered shoulders and covered legs if you want to go into the museums! We didn't know this, so we didn't bring our jeans along (it was 40 degrees outside). Oh well. Anyway, we just took pictures of St. Peter's Basilica:

Best sign ever:

I also found out that my boyfriend is Justin Bieber...

Nutella on the go?! (If you haven't figured this out already, Nutella = Nick's heroin)

First night in Paris: Ben and Jerry's profiteroles mmmm

We then visited the Arc du Triomphe, where I was promptly photobombed:

Who visits Paris without seeing the Eiffel tower?!

Who visits Paris without walking up the Eiffel tower?! (Lots of people, apparently) My thighs hated me that day.

We didn't go inside, but the Louvre was beautiful from the outside as well:

*sputters* I AM WORTH SO MUCH MORE THAN 11 EUROS! HMPH

From Paris, we took a train to Mannheim to visit Nick's aunt and uncle.

They took us to Heidelberg castle, which was beautiful and full of Asian tourists.

Hehe, Nick's uncle is silly

Heidelberg + the river Neckar

This, ladies and gents, is spaghetti ice cream:

Our next destination was Prague. We arrived at the train station at midnight but couldn't get a taxi because our VISA cards weren't working and we didn't have any Czech crowns on us. So guess who got to spend a night at the train station?

We were kicked out from 1am to 3am because they were doing maintenance work. It was kind of cold. And Nick needed to shave.

It was cold.

On the Charles Bridge

Next stop, Munich! Marienplatz.

English gardens:

There was a sign that said "do not feed the animals."

Back in Paris! Waiting in the metro station, how attractive:

Last day in Europe! We're back in Antibes, and hitting the beach.

All in all, it was an amazing vacation that I won't ever forget. What did you do this July?

Leaving On A Jet Plane

2010-07-03T19:52:00.000-04:00

In 16 hours, I will be on a plane flying to Nice, France, via Montreal and Zurich.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Actually, I don't think it's fully hit me yet. I would not be surprised if tomorrow on the plane, I all of a sudden yell out "AHHHHH I'M GOING TO EUROPE!"

So, yes, Nick and I will be in Europe for the next month, with little time for updates and stuff, but I swear this blog will get massively picture-spammed when I get back!

Things I'm hoping for:

FUN FUN FUN IN THE SUN
Not getting burnt (though, I don't get burnt that easily so that should be fine)
Having enough cash for places that won't accept visa
Not getting mugged/having anything stolen from me (especially the passport)
Bringing back more than I took.
Lots of pictures

Wish me luck!

What are your summer plans?

My Dad In A Few Sentences

2010-06-15T20:46:00.000-04:00

Although I have already caught a severe case of Senioritis, I still have the urge to work most days (okay, so I guess it's not as severe as what I've seen in most others...), which is why I haven't blogged in almost a month.

...right now I'm putting off studying for my chemistry exam. Damn you Senioritis.

In other news (what I actually wanted to write about), my dad is in Izmir, Turkey right now on a business trip, so it's just me and my mom at home everyday. We get emails from my dad everyday, and he - English not being his first language - makes a lot of typos and grammatical errors. Here are some of my favourite "dad moments" from him, which I think pretty much sum up his entire character:

My dad understands and cares about my mother: "If it become to 28 degree in toronto, you'd better stay in air condition, take shower , not go grocery store."

He makes friends with buildings and wonders why he sucks at socializing: "I like to walk with colleges and talk to each other during dinner, learn to socialize."

He feels bad for Australia: "I am watching the game right now, Germany beats Austrialia 4-0, what an shame!"

All in all, I love my dad. He won't be with us on Father's Day, which is sad, but he'll be enjoying his time in Turkey! I mean, how can you not when you're staying at a hotel that's 20 minutes away from the waterfront, which looks like this:

Life Update

2010-05-25T20:41:00.004-04:00

So since it is way too hot for me to be energetic right now, I'm going to make a list! Lists are great when you're a lazy bum like me.

Since I last updated, I...

Accepted a university offer of admission! If you're interested, I accepted to The University of Western Ontario for a combined 5-year degree in Honours Biomedical Sciences and Honours Business Administration.
Finally got my peace and quiet after the flooring guys moved out.
Got to wear a dress for the first time this year! YAY SUMMER! (Although, it felt like 35 degrees today and I was not pleased by the afternoon)
Reconnected with an old friend from middle school!
Loved the last couple of weeks!

I can't wait for high school to be over, and I can not wait to go to Europe with Nick in July! We still have so much planning to do regarding what we want to do in each city... we will be visiting Paris, Nice, Antibes, Prague, Munich, Frankfurt, and Rome, so if anyone has any suggestions on what we MUST visit, feel free to comment!

What is the weather like where you live, and what climate do you prefer?

A Love/Hate Relationship With Sawdust

2010-05-15T20:19:00.002-04:00

My house has become an obstacle course. When I wake up in the morning, I ninja myself out of my room by crouching and jumping over a pile of wood... only to trip on a wooden block on the way to the bathroom because I'm chuckling at how stealthy I was.

When I come home from school, I need to literally dance around all the pieces of wood that are in between the front entrance and the snack cupboard. (One day there was a huge stack of wood in front of it, and I nearly had a fit. It was the bag of chips left out on the counter that saved me.)

I should probably explain why there's so much wood in the house. My parents decided that we were going to remove all the carpet in the house and replace it with either hardwood or cork flooring. So that means.. THE ENTIRE SECOND FLOOR, THE STAIRS, AND HALF OF THE MAIN FLOOR. There have been workers here every single day for the past week, and it's still not done.

And don't even talk to me about sawdust.

Having OCD tendencies, I HATE it when things are messy... so you can only imagine what I look like everyday when I come home from school. If you can't, here's an image:

SAWDUST. EVERYWHERE. EVERYTHING SMELLING LIKE SAWDUST. *brain explodes*

I used to LOVE the smell of sawdust, whenever I walked past the woodshop in school, I'd linger there a bit to smell the wood. But now... my relationship with sawdust is like the relationship between a sandwich and a locker.

It has become moldy.

Have home renovations ever given you this much grief?

Time for an Update?

2010-05-05T20:49:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since I put up a new header and footer set, so ...

I decided to do that. [/anticlimax]

After bashing the way giraffes chew, I decided to make it up to them because giraffes are, you know, pretty awesome.

"Regina, your blog has had the same style for a gazillion years!"

I suck at coding in general, which is why I don't care mess with the layout of this too much. Also, Blogger scares me with their codes, because, again, I suck at coding. If there's anyone out there who absolutely can not stand the fact that I never change the coding, and would like to help, please help me :P

I also just noticed how massive the shoe in the footer is. Hehe, get it, it's a footer...? *BADUMCHHH*

Ahem.

In other news, school's the same and I still haven't heard from the program I want to go to yet. :( And just in case there are people wondering, "WHAT HAPPENED TO HER BLOG LIST IN THE SIDE BAR?" It's on a different page... which you can go to via the side bar! I love sidebars.

Anyways, let me know what you think of the giraffe! I'm in a really random mood today.

I Am Bothered By These Things

2010-04-21T20:50:00.005-04:00

Yesterday I was at home with a stomach bug of some sort and not at school, where I should have been. I'm pretty sure it was from the Brie cheese I had the night before, which makes me very sad because I love Brie cheese... and it betrayed me. But anyways, after reading Clem's post about things that bugged her, I remembered that I have wanted to do a post like this for a long time! So since I had some free time...

Chewing in circular motion:

For some reason I absolutely cannot stand this. Most of you probably don't know what I'm talking about, so I'll provide this picture as a reference:

Yes, that is a ~~goat~~ giraffe. But imagine a person chewing like that... opening their mouth every few seconds, making an occasional smacking sound. AUGH. I can't understand why chewing, which involves moving your jaw up and down VERTICALLY, would result in a circular motion. (I'm weird, okay?) Keep your mouth shut, I don't want to see your food.

Condescension:

Now, I sometimes take advice the wrong way and think that the other person is being condescending due to my sensitive nature, and that's entirely my fault. However, when someone is condescending on purpose, it's a reflection of their bad character. Aaaaand, I really don't like it (though I'm sure no one does).

Ripped leggings/tights:

I don't care what anyone says, you will never see me in ripped tights. Ever. I think it's tacky and makes you look not very put together. Maybe it's because I'm one of those people who loves order and cleanliness... I get an urge to mend holes any time I see them.

People who think they're "profound" when they're not:

Actually, you can pretty much replace "profound" with any description... funny, cute, Asian, a giraffe... But really, when all your pictures are of you playing a guitar with your face cut out of the picture, or if you start every response while stroking the non-existent hairs on your chin, you need to have a sit down with your ego. Of course, I'm speaking from experience and I'm definitely not saying that everyone who does this is faking/delusional about their talents. Though, I think this is advice that we can all live by: before you say something, ask yourself "does what I'm about to say actually make sense?" If you don't, you might end up sounding as deep as a puddle.

Do any of these things annoy you (or am I just strange)? Is there anything in particular that annoys you that's not on this list?

Butthurt But Still Awesome

2010-04-05T14:47:00.000-04:00

No worries, I wasn't butthurt as a result of internet dramaz. My butt was, however, quite sore from falling so much last week.

But Regina, why would you choose to fall when you can NOT fall?

Well, because I was trying to ski. And I was ultimate FAILSAUCE.

Nick's family graciously invited me to go skiing with them last weekend, and it was really fun! (Except for the falling bit, obviously). Last Saturday was also Earth Hour day, so we ended up sitting around the kitchen table playing Apples To Apples, which is a really fun game.

Here are some pictures. Fortunately, there aren't any embarrassing ones of me in skiing gear.

Before we left

Milo, such a beautiful cat

The Easter eggs we painted two weeks ago. Mine are the one with the duck and the one with the flower/stem thingy.

Nick's mom made an anniversary cake for us, it was very yummy. (That's not a bullet through the heart by the way, it used to be a candle)

Playing Apples to Apples

Milo again. I had to put this one up because he just looks so FIERCE.

Also, Happy Easter!
Do you celebrate Easter? If so, what do you do?

Disappointment and Decisions

2010-03-30T20:00:00.002-04:00

Especially when the decision involved will plan out the next 4 - 5 years of my life. Right now my thoughts are all jumbled and I'm probably going to sound like an ungrateful brat, but I need to write this down, so here goes:

My parents (more so my mother) have always been there for me, maybe not for much emotional support (they don't seem to be the touchy-feely type), but for school, finances, etc. More often than not, they were the ones that made my decisions for me, because, duh, I was too young to decide to switch schools and stuff. But with a subject like university, MY future is on the line, and MY life should ultimately be MY decision.

They've always been incredibly protective, and they've always been concerned about giving me the best life possible. They've given up so much for me by moving to a whole new country and leaving behind their steady jobs, and I honestly appreciate everything they've done. Honestly. But what I need now more than ever is to think for myself without someone to constantly tell me that I'm wrong and that THEY know what's right for me.

I need this chance to be my own person.

To live life how I want to live it. To make mistakes, and then to learn how to fix them. I don't want security, and as stress-relieving as it is to know how your life will turn out (because that's what they're trying to do; plan out an idiot-proof career for me), I don't want it.

Yes, I do sound like a whiny teenager when I say I wish they'd just back off and let me make my own decisions sometimes, and I know I'll sound like even more of one when I say that my reasons are entirely justified. In the university choosing process, they picked the majority of my choices for me. Before that, they gave me two options: to either go into business or become a doctor (not engineering because "I'm a girl").

They think I'm naive and don't trust me. Today, I told my mom that I was among the first people admitted to Richard Ivey School of Business, and she said, "Oh, are you considering that?" I told her maybe, and she immediately frowned and said "no you're not".

Oh really? I'm not? Then why did I just say that I was?!

My mother first and foremost wants me to become a doctor. (I'm not saying this is the only reason, but her mother stopped her from going to medical school, and she's always regretted listening to her.) Ivey would give me an alternative - business administration, since there is a HIGH chance I won't get into medical school.

However, her problem is that she doesn't think I'll be able to concentrate on school to get the extremely high marks needed for medical school since Nick would be at the same school. She also thinks that the only reason I want to go to that school is because of him. Of course, I realize it's entirely reasonable for her to doubt me, but my problem with her is that after all these years, she still doesn't trust me.

I honestly don't know what I can do to convince her that I want to go to school because of the SCHOOL. Yes, my average did drop from grade 11 to 12, but that's because I felt there was a significant leap in curriculum and the quantity of projects.

I know that I can defy them and go my own way, but I guess what I'm trying to say here is that for ONCE, I'd like to do something for myself without disappointing them.

I'm afraid to disappoint people, and right now I'm so lost that I wish I could just curl into a ball and disappear. Anything to not face this decision right now.

TL; DR: I'm angry because my parents won't let me make my own decisions about university.

Not Dead Yet

2010-03-26T13:44:00.001-04:00

But I know who's trying to kill me.

"Regina, you are paranoid."

Yes, but let me explain. Every year the seniors at my school play a game called "Assassin". You get the name of someone you have to assassinate, and when you kill that person, you have to assassinate the person they were given, and so on and so forth.

How do you "kill" someone?

You have to get them all alone, OR when no one else can hear you. And you tell them that they've been assassinated. Whispering it in their ear is very cheap, so you should say it in a normal tone of voice.

It's actually quite exciting, and I killed my first victim two days ago. Now the next one is going to be tricky, especially because he's already "dead".

Yes, student council screwed up and gave two people the same person to kill. So I'm not really sure what to do now... except wait for them to fix the mistake.

At this moment, my asssassin is waiting for me outside in the atrium... and he just sent one of his buddies to tell me to go out because Nick wants to tell me something in the atrium.

Not. Going. To. Work. I'm hiding in the library right now because it's a safe zone, and I'm not going to go out until school is over and there are a bunch of people out there in the halls.

Anyways, aside from that, I'm going skiing this weekend with Nick and his family! This will be my third time skiing, ever(!), so let's hope I don't come back blue and green all over! :)

Have a good weekend everyone!

March Break and Thoughts on Prom

2010-03-19T21:08:00.004-04:00

Today is the last day of March Break week, and I'm not ready to go back to school. Boo. Here's a list of what I did:

Added 2 new pages to this blog, since Blogger lets you do that now. I added an "about me" page and a "blogs I read" page --> Links are in the sidebar.
Finally watched Avatar. It was great; you can't go wrong with that storyline. I didn't think it was as awesome as everyone hyped it up to be, but it was an enjoyable experience. I also discovered that I get incredibly nauseous when watching action shots in 3D. Wearing 3D glasses on top of regular glasses is pretty uncomfortable too, but I got used to it.
Played piano like crazy.
Planned out some hotel details for my summer trip to France with Nick. So excited!
Went shopping and tried on some dresses for prom. Nick and I also bought each other 1 year anniversary presents. :)

If you are still in school, do you get a break in March? If so, what did you do?

On the note of prom dresses, some people have already purchased theirs, which in my opinion is slightly ridiculous since the event itself is 4 months away! Having said that, I think my friends can tell you that I've been looking at prom dresses online since September (just to get an idea of what I like)... But I didn't go out and try them on until today!

I also proved today that you don't know what looks good unless you try it on. I had been set on buying an A-line dress or an empire waist, but it turns out those just make me look pregnant. Instead, I looked better in the dresses that I had previously deemed too "tight" (probably because the girls modeling the dresses were in very... erm, suggestive positions). I didn't look like a skank! :D

My friends will also tell you that I'm very worried about my hair. I'm not sure what would look good for my face and hair type: I have a heart shaped face and black straight hair that goes down past my shoulders (picture in sidebar). Any suggestions?

I also wouldn't mind suggestions/past-experience-sharing from people who have attended prom. What was yours like? How did you get ready for it?

Boots Boots Boots

2010-03-14T00:03:00.001-05:00

I've been wanting to get a pair of knee-high boots all winter, and two weeks ago I found the perfect pair. They're not knee-highs, but that's okay:

They're from Nine West during their 25% off sale, I bought the last pair. :) These boots are great for me since walking to and from classes would be difficult with high heels.

2010 Olympics

2010-03-04T14:04:00.002-05:00

After 18 days of Olympic games, I have decided that this year's Olympics are like books: you shouldn't judge it by its cover.

"Regina, you are on drugs."

I have a valid reason! See, the opening and closing ceremonies are like the cover, and I think we can all agree that they weren't the greatest. Just like if you were to go to a bookstore to get a book, you would be put off by something that had a cover that looked like this:

However, you'd be more likely to read something that looked like this (not considering the fact that these are in fact two great novels, content-wise):

Or

Having said that, you'd also be more likely to read something by an author you like, or on a subject you like. And that's where the comparison comes in. The Olympics have an incredibly long history and is usually applauded throughout the world. It bring out a great energy in people; it brings out the best in the athletes; it is a way of connecting entire countries, and it's also entertaining to watch! I think that this is the first time that I've been interested in the winter olympics, and I thought the games themselves were great.

However, the opening and closing ceremonies bothered me. I won't get into the details, but I will mention that the closing ceremonies involved plastic blown-up moose prancing in the sky and bands like Nickelback and Simple Plan.

In all, I don't think the "covers" of the olympics were a good representation of the games themselves. All things considered, this olympics will still be very memorable to all Canadians... as well as the Americans in particular. We're sorry we won!

Odd Things at 1:30am

2010-02-28T01:35:00.003-05:00

WARNING: this will be very incoherent, as psychobabble usually is. I apologize for sounding like a maniac/buffoon.

So, it's 1:30 in the morning, and I'm not in bed. (Nick, if you're reading this, I'm sorry! Time flies when you're watching Youtube clips of figure skating!)

And when it's this early in the morning, I get some really random thoughts, such as:

I have an irrational fear of my hair dryer exploding in my hand, due to the humidity in the bathroom. Someone please give me proof that this isn't possible.
Everyone (read: my relatives) has been telling me that I look skinner, and I don't believe them. But today, I was trying on jeans and ended up wearing a 25, which is 2 sizes down from 2 years ago. I'm still at a healthy weight, but now my mother's going to be shoving food into my mouth. Not that she doesn't already. However, I am going to blame this on vanity sizing. Yes, I am stubborn.
Getting a 102% in Calculus and Vectors seems pretty good right now, but the semester's far from over, and the only direction that mark can go is DOWN. :(
I also have an irrational fear of some crazy killer coming into our house in the evening and murdering everyone in their sleep. I knew it wasn't a good idea for me to watch all those crazy Chinese dramas... when I was 4.
OLYMPICS WOOOOOOO! I'm not cheering for a particular team; I just love it when medals are awarded to those who deserve them the most.
I think, therefore I am - Does that mean that we stop thinking after death? Do we just ...cease to think? Like "omg I'm dying omg om--" ? I've always wondered what happens after death. It's a scary thought. Scarier at 1:32 in the morning. If that's the case, I imagine it would be like a dreamless sleep. But then, we'd just stop... being.

That frightens me immensely. I should stop thinking and go to bed now.

H2O Overload

2010-02-26T20:16:00.001-05:00

Last semester, in the homeostatis unit of biology, someone asked our teacher, "if your bladder is too full, will it explode?"

His cool response was, "Nope, the urine will go back up into your kidneys, and if that gets to be too much then you'll keel over from the pain long before you notice an explosion of any sort."

I thought the last part was a joke.

Today, I went to a medical examination where I had to drink a litre of water an hour before the test. A litre, you say? That doesn't sound like a lot at all.

BELIEVE ME, IT IS.

When I got there, I sat down and waited for my turn; I could feel my bladder filling up quite rapidly. I sighed and said to myself, "Okay, not much longer", I found the nearest bathroom and promised myself I'd make a mad dash after my exam.

Turns out, that last part wasn't a joke. They were 15 minutes behind schedule, and after a long wait I was put in this rather tiny stall and told to change into a long gown thingy. By that time, I couldn't stand up straight because my kidneys were killing me. Since I didn't have enough room in that stall to hunch comfortably, I stood outside, only to get yelled at by one of the technicians for standing outside.

Technician: "EXCUSE ME MA'AM. WAIT IN YOUR STALL UNTIL SOMEONE CALLS YOU."

Me: *whimpers*

And it didn't help that the guy in the next stall decided to start chatting to me. I probably sounded like I was having a tooth pulled.

So I think I was on the verge of tears when they FINALLY called me in. The first thing I did was tell the doctor "MY KIDNEYS ARE KILLING ME". It's a good thing she let me to go the bathroom to empty some of it out, or else something bad would have happened...

Next time, I'm cheating and only drinking half a litre. :(

Confidence and Self-Esteem

2010-02-16T18:58:00.001-05:00

I'll admit it: I've always had low self-esteem. I've always been shy, quiet, and doubtful of my own abilities. That's why I was horrible at presentations in elementary school. Absolutely horrible. I was too quiet, and I stumbled over words a lot. And yes, I used to read entire presentations.

I honestly tried not to, but it didn't work. Somehow my eyes would find their way back to the sheet of paper I was holding in front of me.

Somehow, I grew out of that (presentation-wise, anyway); somewhere between grade 8 and grade 10, I started to be more confident in my presenting skills, and obtained good marks for my projects...

...which is why I was absolutely devastated last semester when I got 75% in both presentations we had to do in biology. Grade 12 biology was a course of many firsts: my first time getting below a final mark of 88% in the course; my first time getting less than an 80% on a presentation; and my first time crying at school.

What went wrong? Apparently, I stumbled over words, was quiet, and read most of my presentation. Sound familiar?

That's why I was shocked when I heard that my team came in 5th place at the provincial level for DECA (a business competition)... which meant that we had the chance to go to the international competition (ICDC).

After that, I gained some more self-confidence... 5th place is pretty darn good for only half an hour of practice the night before. :)

Do you have issues with confidence? If so, how do you deal with them?

Meet the Boyfriend

2010-02-12T21:02:00.000-05:00

This is Nick, and to the left is what he looks like as a cartoon. (Although, I drew this a while back and he's gotten a haircut since then.)

Now, how do I describe him? Well, first off, he's lived in quite a number of places: England, Belgium, the US, South Africa, and Canada. As a result of that, he can speak English, Dutch, Afrikaans, German, and French. He also has the most adorable accent. :)

I feel that this picture is a good representation of what we are like in real life. The black cat (me) sees something shiny far off into the distance, and starts to get up in order to chase it. Meanwhile, the orange cat (him) comes and holds the black cat down because that shiny thing is actually a car.

The first time we met was in Grade 9 when our school was getting ready to go to a music competition. I had only heard stories of the legendary Nicholas before... apparently, he sold his soul to a friend in order to get a cheeseburger... because he was hungry. If you ask him, he will tell you that he merely LENT his soul, but that's not what I heard.

We really got to know each other through our part-time jobs as math tutors at the same location. When we were supposed to be marking, we found out that apart from some of our musical tastes (he likes metal, I like cheesy 90s pop... S Club 7 is awesome, okay?), we were really quite similar!

Nick asked me out in March of last year, after apparently 6 months of deliberation. :P Since then, we have been called "attached at the hip". I will have you know that our hips are not actually attached. He's one of the main reasons my 2009 was so amazing, and I feel that I have become a better person since then. I would say that Nick is one of the most comforting and motivational people I know.

This Valentine's Day, we plan to go out for dinner, and then just snuggle and watch a cheesy movie.

Do you have a significant other? What are your plans for Valentine's Day? Share your stories!

January?

2010-02-01T14:14:00.001-05:00

Where did you go? I can't believe I let an entire month pass by without blogging. Actually, I can, because January was the most stressful month of my life yet.

Since they say a picture is worth a thousand words, here's basically what has happened since the last time I blogged:

I celebrated New Years at a Thai restaurant with my boyfriend (those of you who asked me to tell you more about him... I'm workin' on the blog post. :P)

Spent the night at his house, the lovely Milo posed for pictures

The first day of exams, so naturally, I procrastinated and took pictures

Girls' night. Posing and stuff, because we're cool like that. I'm the one with the awesome hat.

Shiying came over! (This is an old picture because she hates the camera)

In addition to that, I :

applied to university and wrote a bunch of supplementary applications
finished my Model United Nations position paper... and edited and wrote other people's papers.
and got accepted to one of the programs I applied for!
EDIT: For everyone that asked, I got into the Medical Science program at UWO

So all in all, I'd say this is a pretty good start to the new year!

How was your January?

Hello New Decade

2009-12-31T11:19:00.000-05:00

This is the last post of 2009, so it will be extra sappy and nostalgic.

Oh man, it feels like it was the beginning of 2009 just yesterday. So many wonderful things happened this year, like Model United Nations, meeting Dietrich, getting my first boyfriend, visiting New York City with my fellow band dorks.

Oh, and I also turned 17!

Despite my own happiness, I am constantly reminded that not everyone is as lucky as I am to have such a great life. So, what am I going to do about this? To be honest, probably nothing at the moment. Like most others, I'll probably just go on with my life, donate some food and clothing once in a while, nothing monumental. Hopefully, one day when I'm older, I'll be able to give back to the world from which I have taken so much.

For now, I'll just concentrate on making myself a better person. You probably don't recall this (hell, even I forgot), but I had two resolutions for 2009: smile more, and be less shy. I'm proud to say that I have done my best to accomplish those two goals, and yes, I have smiled more and have been more outgoing. I don't think I've been asked "What's wrong" as often, and I have made a conscientious effort to get to know people better.

The goals I had for 2009 can never be fully achieved in my case; I feel that I will always have the opportunity to smile more, and be more social. Therefore, they will remain long term goals. My goals for 2010 are more short term, and they are:

1. Go to bed earlier, preferably before 11:30pm every night.

2. Get into a good university by working hard for a high average.

With that, I wish everyone the best of luck in the upcoming year! Wherever you are tonight, remember that there are 6.7 billion others that are celebrating the same event. Happy new year everyone :)

The Day of Boxes

2009-12-26T14:30:00.000-05:00

Not going shopping this Boxing day since my parents took our relatives from China to downtown Toronto. Ah well... so what did I do?

Naturally... I took out the camera and started taking pictures of myself with my new Armani glasses.

I love them, can't you tell? :P

How do you normally spend your Boxing day?

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T17:25:00.001-05:00

T'was the night before Christmas
and - Bah, I hate poetry.
Also, I'd like to mention
That we don't have a Christmas tree.

Screw political correctness, Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable holiday!

Simplicity Wins

2009-12-22T12:39:00.001-05:00

The first time I tried making a cheesecake, it was a disaster because

a. I was a noob
b. I listened to my mother, who told me to put in an extra egg which made the batter even runnier.

In the end that cheesecake didn't hold up and basically tumbled everywhere.

However, this time, Regina, the baking failure succeeded! *APPLAUSE* I knelt beside the oven for about an hour to make sure that a disaster wouldn't occur. I also left out the blueberry topping because I was too lazy to make it. But the end result was much better than what I had hoped for!

I got the recipe from here, it's pretty easy to make!

Feel free to give me any baking suggestions, I'm incredibly challenged at baking so all advice is welcomed!

Last Day of School!

2009-12-18T12:32:00.000-05:00

... until I have to go back in January, that is.
Let's see, what are my plans for the Christmas break?

Biology - endangered species project
Economics - prepare for debate! Socialism!
English - summative task, again, I have to make a presentation
Study study study
Take the occasional break
Watch cheesy Christmas movies with friends and boyfriend. :)

So, yes, I'll have loads of fun!

What are you plans for Chris- sorry, winter festivities? :)

Twitter

2009-12-11T13:20:00.000-05:00

Twitter accounts are extremely common nowadays; virtually everyone has one. I, however, have not yet jumped on the bandwagon. Why?

1. I don't want to let people know what I'm doing every second of the day

2. I don't want to know what other people are doing every second of the day

3. I don't want people "following" me. *looks around suspiciously*

But Regina, you can set your profile to "private"

Yes, but I'm paranoid, okay? I also don't want to know what my ~fav celebrities~ are doing, or what X, Y, or Z ate that morning. All this stuff can be done on things like forums, and by using status updates on a social network.

But Regina, Twitter IS the new Facebook!

I don't like Facebook either. But I have it. Yes, it's hypocritical, but it's the only way I can contact some people. See, I feel it's okay to have a Twitter account if all your friends have it and it's the ONLY way to contact them. However, if all your friends have Myspace, MSN, Email, Facebook... do you REALLY need to converse with them on multiple networks at the same time?

Okay, you can all yell at me for disliking Twitter now.

Do you have Twitter? If so, what do you use it for?

First Signs of Christmas?

2009-11-30T14:38:00.000-05:00

There are only 25 days until Christmas! I absolutely love this holiday, but this year it seems that people aren't as excited about it. Stores in Canada have been advertising for this holiday since the beginning of November, but I haven't really heard many people talking about it... yet.

So I decided to make a list of all the things I love about Christmas, since my group isn't doing any work for economics right now anyways... I'm sure they won't mind if I slack off, after all, they're on Omegle.

The store decorations and SPARKLES! - I love it when malls have huge pretty christmas trees that are 4 stories tall!
Cookies, nomz, baked goods, YUM! - mmm... nomnomnom. People's baking skills improve at this time of year, that or I just get hungrier.
Advent calendars - I usually eat all the chocolates within a week, but this year I'm going to try to eat only 1 chocolate a day. Funny, 'cause I really don't like chocolate.
The Christmas spirit - people just seem happier at this time of year! Whether it's because they'll be getting presents, or because they'll be able to see their family, Christmas just lifts everyone's spirits!
Rest - as a high school student, I have 2 weeks of vacation at that time and I get to stay up and just sleep.

So what are your favourite things about Christmas?

Don't Stuff My Stocking With Stocks

2009-11-26T18:34:00.001-05:00

One good thing about being so technologically advanced these days is that there are simulations for literally everything, including the stock market. We recently started a stock exchange simulation on Investopedia for a project in my accounting class.

At first, I was incredibly excited at the prospect of being able to play with ~250,000USD~. Not knowing what was really going on (All we were told was: Financial market = bad, Healthcare = lame, Technology = spastic), I, surprisingly, got REALLY into it at the beginning, and my indecisiveness was actually an advantage! I would stare at a stock for a LONG time before I bought it, but in the end, I decided to settle for the safe bets: Google, Microsoft, and Apple. (What can I say? I love my technology!) I know, I know, I invested in BOTH MSFT and AAPL, but hey, I don't care as long as they make me money!

And they did. So I started to get more adventurous and bought shares of other companies. Companies that I had never heard of. Thinking to myself "ah, what the heck, it's just a game", I bought a bunch of other shares, although in moderation.

That moderation there ended up saving me. When I lost, I didn't lose as much, but when I won, I didn't win as much either. Still, I was making a profit. By the end of that day, I was at the top of the leader board in my class!

And then, as usual, Regina did stupid things.

I won't go into the details, but I ended up losing a thousand or so bucks on Telecom Brazil due to the 20 minute delay in the Investopedia system. I also made some other bad investments, but luckily I was able to gain at least some of it back by short-selling. We have another 3 weeks of this simulation, so who knows? Maybe I'll do better next week. :P

Anyways, I guess what I've learned from these few days is this:

Do a lot a research before deciding to invest in a stock. Analyze their graphs and make SMART predictions.
Don't be afraid to take some risks; you lose some, you win some. That's life. What matters is that you win more than you lose.
I suck at predicting stocks, but not as much as I thought I did.
GOOGLE = GOOD.
I don't want to ever invest in stocks in my life. Ever. The last few days almost gave me a heart attack, and I'd rather invest my money in something that I KNOW is going to give me a return, such as savings bonds and GICs.

The stock market is generally doing quite well as everyone is getting ready for the Christmas season.

TL;DR: I don't like the stock market.

What has been your or your family's experience with the stock market? Are you a risk taker, or do you like to play things safe?

Do You Like Green Eggs and Ham?

2009-11-23T16:38:00.000-05:00

I like ~~green~~ eggs and ham. In fact, I find that whenever I get home and feel hungry, I go to the fridge and grab a couple of eggs. And then I throw in whatever else I want/can find.

So here's what I made today:

I'm not a great cook, and it doesn't look that appetizing, but it was really good! (Though I suppose that's only because I was starving) It's eggs with tomato and king oyster mushrooms.

Omnomnom.

And it's incredibly easy to make!

Chop up a tomato and some mushrooms and throw them into a pan with cream cheese and butter.
Once the tomatoes are soft, throw in beaten eggs with milk.
Flip it a bit and pour it into a utensil once it's the right texture.
Add salt, pepper, ketchup, etc.

And voilà!

However, I'm tired of making the same kind of eggs. Suggestions, anyone?

Bach Drowned Some Kittens Yesterday

2009-11-19T16:21:00.002-05:00

Why? Because some of his Prelude and Fugues were performed by teens unfit to correctly interpret his music.

Yes, I was one of them.

And here's a picture of me looking like a dork with my second place award.

... at first I was afraid, I was petrified

I always feel that no one can quite master Bach, because... well, it's Bach. His music is somehow different; with romantic music, it's all about interpretation and there's more room for creativity. But with Bach... it either sounds right, or it doesn't. And only Bach can perform the hell out of his pieces.

That's why I was so worried last night. Although, I wasn't worried about being bad necessarily - I was worried about being worse than everyone else. I couldn't get to sleep last night at all because this was my first piano competition in 5 years. I woke up in the middle of the night, restless, and said to myself: Okay. Screw sleep, I'm going to get up now. And then I decided this wasn't such a brilliant plan, because the clock kindly informed me that it was only 3 am.

I'm also amazed how competition can bring out one's true nature. As we all sat down, one girl started asking everyone what they were playing. Then, this conversation happened:

Annoying girl: (to the girl who is to play last) You know, you're lucky to be going last, because then you can see how everyone else played and play better than them.

me: Er... how? What if you're just not good enough?

Annoying girl: ...well then, you SUCK.

me: *thinking* who shoved a stick up your ass?

*facepalm* FYI: you're not going to magically perform better by being the last to play.

Of course, I'm quite happy with second place, considering the girl who won was in university and only beat me by 1%. :) Maybe next year.

Maybe. :)

Have you had any experiences with competitions, if so, how nervous were you?

LEAVES!

2009-11-08T19:47:00.002-05:00

Autumn: it's the season that makes me very very indecisive, especially because it itself is incredibly indecisive. (Oh hey, I was born in October... suddenly my inability to decide makes so much sense!)

On one hand, fall is great because:

1. Temperature-wise: it's not boiling, but not ridiculously cold either.

2. LEAVES! I've never jumped into a pile of leaves before, but I hear that it's great fun and really really want to do it one day! (Hopefully this year before it starts to snow; although Kaylee says they've already gotten the first snow fall of the year, so I'm not sure how long it'll be before we get it too...)

3. Back to school! I know I know, many would not see this as a good thing, but after 2 months of vegetation, I was eager to go back to school and have a scheduled life once again.

On the other hand... fall fails because:

1. Temperature-wise: It doesn't know what it wants to be! It's like "okay, so today I'll be extremely warm and tomorrow I'll make everyone wish they were wearing boots and a parka! Haha, I'm such a trickster!" FYI, you're not. I don't think anyone finds it funny to catch another cold every time we seem to get better from the previous cold. *shakes fist at sky*

2. Fall means... that winter is coming up. I hate winter with a passion (see new header, also, feedback would be great!) because I can't ski and I despise the cold. And because my parents insist on keeping our house at 66 degrees fahrenheit. *Shivers*

So, to sum it all up, I can't decide whether or not I like the most indecisive season of them all. How about you? What are your thoughts on autumn?

One Year Older!

2009-10-22T20:43:00.001-04:00

It's ma birfday! *toothy grin*

So this is what I've gotten so far:

I'm pretty sure these are the best gloves I've ever had. Ever. They were from Shiying

The agenda wasn't a birthday present but I got it as a gift for myself, because I really wanted a nice planner. And when I saw that one, I had to have it.

So far my birthday's been pretty good :) I haven't really done anything major, but I'll be going out tomorrow and I'm pretty sure I'll get more awesome presents, so I'll post those once I get pictures of them!

EDIT:

So here's what I got from my boyfriend and his family!

They know me too well: I got an ADORABLE E. Coli plushie (k, I'm probably the only one who thinks that E. Coli is adorable...) and an ecofriendly lunchbag in a spectacular pattern. Also, there's a duckie flashlight attached to it, just in case I ever need to dig around in my bag for my keys in the dark! So practical. :)

Grace In Small Things #8

2009-10-12T20:04:00.002-04:00

I haven't done a GIST post in so long! To compensate, I shall list 10 things instead of the regular 5. Sounds good? Good.

Sitting beside the lake and enjoying the breeze on a hot summer day
Taking the time to cook a "snack" for myself.
Eating it. Omnomnom
Watching awesome youtube videos (like this one)
Glee!!
Beatles Rockband
Turkey turkey turkey
Watching videos of my boyfriend when he was little; he had the cutest British accent ever!
The new season of House
Waking up at 11 on a Sunday morning

I'm off to watch House! Also, happy Canadian Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians out there! :D

Me? Me?! Me!

2009-09-29T20:26:00.000-04:00

So it's time to start applying to university scholarships.

The question:
"Describe your involvement...", "How have you contributed...?", "Describe yourself in 400 word--"

The dilemma
I. DON'T. KNOW.

I have enough trouble writing intros about myself on my past domains (and even the one in the sidebar --> is horrible)... the thing is, I have trouble putting my thoughts down on paper. I struggle to find the words that represent EXACTLY what I'm trying to get across. In fact, it took me 4 minutes to write that sentence.

That's not even the main issue though. My main issue with this is the fact that I hate talking about myself. I don't like talking about my accomplishments, the clubs I'm in, and basically just promoting myself in general. Of course, I realize that they need to, well, KNOW you before they give you the scholarship, but I feel like I would be boasting, because compared to many others, I haven't really done that much. And the thing is I have to make it seem extremely hardcore.

I also find descriptions written by oneself to be, well, I guess the word I'm looking for here is something close to untrustworthy. You can't lie about marks (well, maybe), but you can certainly lie about accomplishments. Scholarship applications don't require any proof that you are in fact, for example, the president of a youth charity or the treasurer of the student council. Experiences can be fabricated.

Most scholarships ask for reference letters from close adults, which I think is an excellent idea. I personally believe that my accomplishments aren't impressive, but to have an honest adult vouch for me would give me more credibility.

Yes, I am in fact filling out a scholarship application form right now, and I still have no idea what to say...

What has been your experience with writing personal statements? Do you have any advice for me in filling out scholarship applications?

Need A Pick-Me-Up?

2009-09-25T17:40:00.001-04:00

Plinky prompted again, because I'm unimaginative.

"List the worst pickup lines you've heard (or can think of)."

Personally, I love reading pickup lines and rolling my eyes at them. Here are my favourites:

"Are you from Tennessee? 'Cause you're the only ten I see. *ba-dum-chh*"

"I wish I were a derivative so I could lie tangent to your curves. (Math pickup lines are the greatest)"

"If I were a function you would be my asymptote."

...I'm such a cheeseball.

"My name is Justin. Justincredible."

And this is the lamest one I've read:

"Hey, so I see you're a girl..."

Care to share your favourite ones? Or just ones that you find ridiculous/hilarious? :P

New School Year

2009-09-13T19:47:00.005-04:00

Grade 12 started for me on September 8th. My new year... began with a trip to the main office to talk with my principal about my schedule, which was absolutely ridiculous. I had: accounting, international business, economics, and English first semester, and biology, chemistry, calculus & vectors, and French the next. But being the awesome person that he is, my principal changed up those courses right on the spot! The only downside is that I have to eat lunch at 9:24am during the first semester, but I think it's worth it. After all, everything has an opportunity cost!

Speaking of opportunity costs (see? I'm learning something in economics!), I was forced by my parents to give up my job at Kumon, so I can "focus on my studies" more. However, I didn't trade in my time at Kumon for more studying. Instead, I come home now on Tuesdays and Fridays to make dinner. This annoys me slightly, as I enjoyed working at Kumon a lot despite the few brats that went there.

I don't think I've talked about Link, the grade 9 orientation program at our school. Honestly, I'm pretty sure most of the niners would rather just go to class than spend an entire morning with some embarrassing seniors, but I had a lot of fun!

The shirts we had to wear are awful, but at least I didn't have any trouble picking out something to wear!

My final year of high school is for sure going to be tough and different. On top of the work load, there's always that nagging voice in the back of my mind that goes "pick a university! pick a university!"

If you're still in school, how is the new year for you? And if you've already completed high school, do you have any advice for a struggling senior trying to make the right decisions? :D

Shanghai, Part Three

2009-08-27T12:29:00.004-04:00

There are many excellent aspects of Shanghai, but one of my favourites is all the shopping! What I like about the malls in Shanghai is the fact that they have basically everything you need compacted into an average of 5 stories with at least 30 stores on each level. I love shopping, but I hate walking long distances to get to stores.

Here is the majority of my haul (click for larger image):

I absolutely love everything I bought, but I think my favourite has to be the Wacom Bamboo Tablet (which isn't pictured here, I just threw in the pen).

My second favourite thing is definitely the small turtle keychain thing, here's a closeup:

I've named it after my own turtle, Happy. :P

From the above pictures, you can also see that I got a lot of pens and pencils. I absolutely love shopping for stationery (which is why I love back-to-school shopping).

Lastly, I'd just like to share this gorgeous item of clothing with you all:

I can't wait to wear it! :D :D

So in conclusion, I love shopping, especially in Shanghai. Do you have any particular places/stores that you love?

Shanghai, Part Two

2009-08-19T11:22:00.003-04:00

Or "Meet The Family".

Since I'm lazy, I will make a list to make this easier:

Grandma(maternal): My grandma looked a lot older this time. I guess it was expected since for the past two years, she's gone to the hospital every single day to deliver food/meds to my grandpa, who had a stroke and a heart attack two years ago.

Grandpa: From what I heard from my uncle, he's doing a lot better than he was a year ago. He can now get up, communicate, and eat all by himself. He's taken a lot of meds, and also had to have a third of his heart removed, but I'm so glad he's getting better now.

Grandmother(paternal): I'm sad that I only got to see her once during my entire trip, but she looks okay and is still very healthy for a 76 year old.

Uncle and Aunt: They took us shopping basically everywhere. Due to the huge changes in Shanghai (because of next year's Expo, they're basically rebuilding all the streets), we needed guides to take us places that my mom would have otherwise known if it wasn't for all the reconstruction.

Cousin: My only first cousin. He's 12 this year and his parents are thinking of sending him to Canada for university, so my mom and I helped him practise his English. An avid gamer, he is basically surgically attached to his PSP. His favourite game? NBA Live 08. My cousin is also a little brand crazy and only wears Nike and Adidas, although he does love his Louis Vuitton bag. Other pasttimes include stealing and trying on his dad's Ray Bans and leather coat while humming the Mission Impossible theme song:

Those were the only people that I saw everyday, so I'll stop the list there. Also, the dragon-thingy from the previous post was a sword, so congrats to Kathleen for getting it right!

Part Three will be up after I take some more pictures. :)

Shanghai, Part One

2009-08-14T11:41:00.004-04:00

After being tired, sick, and jetlagged for 2 days, I woke up this morning and said to myself, "I WILL blog about Shanghai today!" So, here I am! Part One will deal with mostly the events of the trip and my thoughts on them. Of course, this post will be accompanied by the numerous pictures I took.

Before I left, I packed a journal so that I can write everything that happened in it to make sure I don't forget. Therefore I will be using it to write this post, because my memory is horrible.

When we arrived at our old house, I immediately felt like a giant. The furniture was miniature, and seemed like it belonged to the set of Alice in Wonderland. Not surprisingly, my grandma still has a random picture I drew when I was like, five.

We didn't stay there for long though, my uncle insisted that we stay at his apartment for a while. Apparently, "a while" meant for the rest of our trip. I'm not complaining though, because I had complete access to his computer! Yay for technology! He also had some pretty neat things in his house, such as these items:

E-cookies for whoever can guess what this is/does:

The lamp has no switch, it just lights up when you tap it, and I love the style of the phone:

Here are some views if you look out the apartment, which is on the 14th floor:

Can you say "light pollution" ?

We didn't really go anywhere except for the hospital and shopping (which will both be in separate posts). The only other place we went to is Suzhou, which is where my grandpa and great-grandma's graves are located.

Where did all the tall buildings go?! You can tell we weren't in Shanghai anymore:

This is the entrance to where my grandpa is buried. Since it's on a mountain, it's a really long and steep climb, in 37 degrees Celsius weather, with plenty of mosquitoes to keep you company:

So, that pretty much sums up all the places I visited. Get ready for Shanghai, Part Two! I don't know what it'll be about yet, but I don't think it'll have this many pictures.

A Quick Update From China

2009-07-28T10:03:00.000-04:00

I managed to get on the interwebz from my uncle's computer, therefore I thought I'd post what I've done so far:

-Shopping, shopping shopping. I'll post pictures of the things I bought (and there are a LOT) once I get back to Canada.

-Visiting my grandpa in the hospital almost everyday. He's doing a lot better nowadays. When I first walked in, he didn't immediately recognize me, but when he did, he started to cry. :(

-Was forced to get two moles removed by my family by laser surgery. Apparently they grew in a bad place and had to be removed... now I have two holes in my face.

-Bummed around and watched pirated DVDs. I managed to get all the seasons of House for 15 RMB, which is $2.50 Canadian. :P

That's all for now, hope you're all enjoying your summers! It's not boiling hot in China right now, surprisingly, today's high is only 28 degrees Celsius!

Off to Shanghai!

2009-07-18T19:43:00.005-04:00

Well, it's exactly what the title says: I'm going to Shanghai! Yep, I'll be fried alive daily out in the streets of Shanghai for 3 weeks.

I won't be able to blog there because Blogger is blocked in China, and I haven't written any posts in advance because... well, I'm lazy. :P

Things are quite hectic at the moment. Since my dad's not going with me and my mom, I had to bake him 4 loaves of bread and a dozen muffins to make sure he doesn't starve. I also still need to pack all my clothes and toiletries, but I can't pack the latter until tomorrow morning after I've brushed my teeth and stuff.

I'm going back mostly just to visit family; my grandpa's been in the hospital for a while (about two years now) and I also haven't seen my other relatives in about 3 years.

Anyway, I come back on August 11th, so I'll see you all then!

Also, I'm interested in knowing what you've done/are planning to do this summer. :)

Plinky: Name A Movie That Frightens You

2009-07-15T10:07:00.005-04:00

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The original was probably the scariest movie of my childhood; the new one was also quite frightening. Here's why:

The Original

Keep in mind that I watched this when I was like, seven years old. In Willy Wonka's factory, bad things happened to every single one of the children except for Charlie, who was of course the protagonist, so he basically had no faults. I knew I wasn't perfect; I was a greedy, ambitious and most of all bitchy child, kind of a cross between Veruca and Violet. As a result, the seven-year-old me thought to myself, "Oh my god I'm going to drown in a bucket of melted chocolate."

No, it did not make me want to be a better person.

Another reason why I was terrified is this:

Why hello, old man... *wiggles eyebrows*

They're orange, with green hair, and HUGE white eyebrows! They're mutated carrots! Nevermind my seven-year-old self, I STILL think they're scary, especially the one on the bottom left.

Lastly, there's a creepy scene that I remember to this day even though I only saw the movie once: when Willy Wonka (played by Gene Wilder) takes them on the boat trip and you see a whole bunch of images in between a rainbow of colours. It seems that everyone on that boat is scared out of their wits... except for Charlie and his grandpa of course. And Willy... he's just creepily staring at all of them.

Well, I wasn't amused.

The Remake

Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka. 'Nuff said. *Runs away from screaming fan boys/girls*

As awesome as Johnny Depp was in Pirates of the Caribbean, to me, he was a creep in this movie.

*shudders*

So, what are your opinions on Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory?

Stuff Regina Likes

2009-07-12T17:58:00.004-04:00

... because I'm materialistic like that... not. Jeez guys, I'm Buddhist.

Photo paper: Oh my god, it's so shiny and perfect in every way. Good photo paper always makes photos look better than they originally were. Not to mention they make the memories captured on film so much nicer. :)

The sun: Or more specifically, lying in the sun and then getting that warm tingly feeling afterwards. It usually means that I got slightly burnt, but it seems like a good trade-off to me. Plus, I don't get burnt that easily, so I don't have to deal with gross peeling skin at all.

Eating outside: Especially by a body of water. Like this one:

Despite the large amount of people, I still had a pretty good time eating and basking outside in the sun. Oh, but you know what sucks? The fact that my mother thought it was too cold for me to go into the water. *shakes fist*

me: do you see all the people that are out there in the water?
her: they're all crazy.

Cute animals: His name is Chip.

Need I say more?

Grace In Small Things #7

2009-07-11T19:05:00.003-04:00

The smell of the air in the morning

Orange juice

Writing words of encouragement on post-it notes and sticking them in random places

Calibri and Cambria

Leaving pennies on the ground

I Am As Deep As The Aral Sea

2009-07-09T13:37:00.005-04:00

While talking to my dad today, he said something (in Shanghainese of course) along the lines of:

"You can't treat the refrigerator like a safe; sooner or later all the food's going to go bad anyways."

...and that when I had an epiphany! My heart is a refrigerator!

No, really, think about it! I'm not talking about your heart being physically able pump blood and stuff, but instead about it acting like a safe to harbour the secrets, grief, and annoyances that you keep to yourself.

All of it accumulates, much like food, until you can't put more in. And if you don't take some out, they'll go bad and stink up the rest of the place. So, I guess my point is: it's not healthy to not have a way of letting out the suppressed anger, grief, or sadness.

I suppose I should really take my own advice, but I don't like to burden others with my anxiety. *Sigh* I find it helps if I blog about whatever's troubling me. :)

How do you manage your anger/sadness?

Up!

2009-07-07T09:17:00.005-04:00

Rating: 5/5

Up, directed by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson, tells a touching story of a 78-year-old widower, Carl Fredricksen, who travels to South America to fulfill his lifelong dream by tying thousands of balloons to his house.

When I first saw the trailer for it, I thought, "This is going to be just another hilarious comedy." But I had forgotten that it's Pixar, not Dreamworks, and Pixar never disappoints.

The story goes beyond Carl's wish to go to South America, and delves deeper into the human aspect of guilt. I ~~won't~~ will try not to spoil the plot, so I'll start of by saying this: I cried three times during that movie. It starts of very sweet and cute: a young Carl is at the movie theatre watching a documentary about his favourite explorer. On the way back home, he meets a little girl named Ellie, who he later marries. She is also a wilderness enthusiast and makes him promise (he crossed his heart!) to take her to South America one day.

Fast forward a few decades: Ellie is dead, and Carl is anguished at the fact that he hadn't kept his promise. So he ties thousands of balloons to his house, and off he goes to South America!

Pixar is great at storytelling; Carl Fredricksen's actions were so believable, that I truly felt like I was there with him. Every little detail was explained in the end; every loose end tied up, just like the balloons to Carl's house.

In all, this was a great concept which bloomed into an amazing story with some original laughs and real heartfelt moments. Just as a sidenote, I think my favourite character would have to be Dug, the friendly dog, just because I can relate to him the most. He's friendly, very absentminded, and gets distracted very easi - SQUIRREL! I would recommend this movie to anyone, because there's something in it for everyone.

Also, if you're like me and you like listening to the soundtrack during the movie, it is absolutely superb as well. :)

So, if you've seen it already, what were your thoughts? And if you haven't yet, what are you waiting for?!

Summer Project #1 : Done

2009-07-03T11:34:00.004-04:00

In my previous post, I said that my first summer project would be to make a decent fruit sculpture. While making dinner, I decided to tackle the tomato rose. That's like saying you're going to do a magnificent painting and then end up painting something like this; interesting and nice to look at, but not exactly the most difficult challenge.

Well, anyways, here's my result on my first try:

I was pretty proud of it actually, because I originally thought that there was no way I'd get it right on the first try, but it looks decent! I think I'll tackle the swan apple soon.

Let me know what you think!

Thoughts

2009-07-02T13:55:00.004-04:00

I get to pick up my report card tomorrow... *holds breath* I'm actually incredibly nervous for this, since I know my marks have dropped since midterm.

Sitting on the floor and listening to music all by yourself is very relaxing on a hot summer day.

First summer project: make a decent fruit sculpture. I'm sure my mom won't mind a dozen tomatoes or apples being used for artistic purposes. :P

While cleaning out my closet today, I realized just how OCD I am. Now my tops are organized in order of sleeve lengths, and my bottoms are organized in order of length as well. I thought about doing it by colour, but this way I'll be able to see everything.

I've also realized that I've done absolutely nothing to impact anyone/anything in my entire sixteen years of life. It's true that I have my entire life ahead of me to do just that, but that shouldn't be my mindset. I need to get off my lazy ass and actually do something.

Detroit

2009-06-30T15:52:00.006-04:00

I went to Detroit with Shiying and her family this weekend, the main reason being that she had an extra ticket to an Offspring concert and nobody else to go with her. Now, to put it quite bluntly, I don't listen to the Offspring. At all. The dude just can't sing. But I thought, "ah, what the heck. I don't have anything better to do anyways."

...have you ever agreed to do something you thought would be mediocre, only to realize in the middle of it that you were having an amazing time?

Well, the concert freaking rocked.

First on was a band called Time Again. They were... energetic. Nobody really stood up and sang along or anything because most people were here for the next two bands. Still, they were amusing to listen to. Not my kind of music, but that's okay.

Next up were the Dropkick Murphys. Wooooooww. Here's a picture of their backdrop:

Is that sick, or is that sick? This is the first band I've heard of that combined Celtic folk stuff with punk rock, and it was really, really awesome.

Lastly, the Offspring. At the point, we decided to get out of our seats and head down to the stage area. We were literally a metre away from the stage, and my ears died that night. But, I've gotta say, although I don't like their music, the Offspring are amazing performers. Not to mention the lead guitarist's name is Noodles:

However, being a metre away from the stage always means being in the same area with the drunken and sweaty guys who are trying to get everyone to mosh but failing due to the fact that there are SEATS nailed to the ground. (In the end, one guy actually tore one off...)

We also wandered around on the streets of downtown Detroit. On four separate occasions, random guys asked us to take pictures of them. It seems downtown is just overrun with these kind of people, because other than them, there was practically nobody on the streets. One of those people asked us to give him a call. He did this while talking to someone on his cellphone. -facepalm-

The next day, we did what we do best. Shopping. At the biggest outlet mall I've ever been to. Being the nerd that I am, I spent a great deal of time in Borders, but still managed to get a few nice pieces of clothing.

All in all, this was a pretty fun trip! I can't say Detroit would be my first pick for a vacation destination, but it was better than I thought it would be! To conclude this excessively long post, here's a picture of me and Shiying being crazy as usual:

It's hard to take self portraits with a huge-ass DSLR camera.

Grace In Small Things #6

2009-06-30T15:43:00.003-04:00

Getting letters, regardless of their lengths :)

Rain, rain, rain

Being able to vegetate all day and not worry about school

Outlet malls.

Watching Pixar/Dreamworks movies :)

Coughing Up A Storm

2009-06-21T16:54:00.003-04:00

Yes, I am sick. Again.

I always get sick during exam time, which isn't good since I have three left to do. During these weeks, I get so stressed out that my immune system basically just goes, "Okay, bye!" and leaves me to fend off those nasty bugs by myself.

*Sigh* I need to go get more Kleenex.

Any suggestions on how to relieve stress?

How Outgoing Are You? - Regina evaluates herself

2009-06-14T16:05:00.006-04:00

"You are 36% outgoing! Now send this result to all your friends!" ...no, this isn't another Facebook quiz...but man those things are addicting. Did you know that I was secretly a Shao-lin monk? Neither did I. Anyways, remember my New Year's resolutions? I only had two this year, and they were to smile more and become less shy. It's been half a year already, so I thought I'd evaluate myself.

Smiling more
...I'll really have to ask my friends about this one, but in my own opinion, I've been smiling a lot more lately. Since the beginning of February, there has been a little voice at the back of my head that says 'pull up the corners of your mouth!' whenever I forget. Strangely, I find that this forced smiling actually brightens my mood! In addition to that, I've also been a lot happier since January because of certain people in my life :P . Goodbye high school drama! Regina is done with you forevarrr! Well, hopefully, I really don't want to have a repeat of last year again... and no, it's too stupid/ridiculous to post on the interwebz.

But anyways, I think I've been successful so far with this resolution, so I'll give myself half a check mark for that one!

Oh! You know what else makes me smile? MLIG, it's like the equivalent of watching chick flicks, for people (namely, me) who don't like chick flicks!

Becoming less shy
Still workin' on it. Needless to say, I'm less shy around my friends because, well, they're my FRIENDS. But in the past six months, I think I've gotten better at talking to random people. K, no, I don't go up to strangers on the street and ask them how they're doing (although, that would be an interesting experiment...), but I'm actually waving to people in the hallways now! In addition to that, I burst out into song at random times of the day. It's like my brain suddenly decided that it didn't CARE if it was embarrassed in public! This might be a bit embarrassing for my friends... but they'll have to deal with it. :P

...and that's a VERY liberating feeling.

So, in all, I think I still have a along way to go, but I'm going to keep working on it. You'll see, one day, I'll run down the streets of Toronto screaming "I LOVE EVERYBODY!!!!"

Did you set any resolutions? If so, which ones have you achieved?

Grace In Small Things #5

2009-06-14T16:02:00.002-04:00

I can't believe I forgot to do this last week. *headdesk*

Soaking in the sun during lunch

Finally being able to wear shorts! Yay summer!

Reading and relaxing on a nice Sunday afternoon

Ice cream, omnomnom

The fact that there are only two more weeks of school left

Awwww

2009-06-13T22:11:00.001-04:00

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the reason my boyfriend is better than yours.

Esprit Lifts My Esprit

2009-06-11T18:23:00.009-04:00

I figured it's time to discuss my obsession: Esprit.

No, I don't spend all my time on their website. Yes, I do go into every Esprit store I see. No, I don't buy everything I try on. Yes, I love the majority of their clothing. And yes, this is my absolute most favourite store in the whole wide world.

...other than Chapters, but we're strictly talking about clothing today.

Now, I'm going to do something I don't normally do, and that is gush about fabric. OH MY GOODNESS they have the cutest clothes ever. They're almost all made of 100% cotton, so they're very comfortable; they're durable; and most importantly, they're classics that you can mix and match.

Here are some of my favourites that I decided to incorporate into different outfits (yes, I am putting off homework):

As you can see, the clothes aren't overly revealing, fancy, or grungy. They're designed for everyday people, but again, they're SO CUTE. Also, while browsing their online stores today, I realized that the UK stores have much nicer things than the US... I might just have to take a trip there someday. :P

How about you? Are there any stores that you absolutely LOVE and must always go into?

Busy ^10

2009-06-07T17:19:00.005-04:00

The next three weeks are going to be the busiest weeks of the entire year for me. *Gets out my planner, which I can't live without* I have (in this order) :

Chemistry in-class RAT (Rich Assessment Task) for three days

An informational meeting for DECA

Chemistry unit test. But it's on hydrocarbons, so it doesn't really count.

Accounting test

Math in-class RAT

Physics in-class RAT for two days

Exams, exams, exams.

More exams.

Exam review day. Ack, do not wantz.

Hanging out with friends

Birthday party

Driving, driving, driving.

Driving test.

China!

Holy mother of pearl...

But man, I love being busy.

I Haz Idea?

2009-06-03T18:51:00.003-04:00

I was sitting in math class, doodling in my agenda while the teacher took up review questions... *starts dozing off*

That led me to accidentally draw a curved backwards S-shaped line, which then led to the creation of these:

They're kittyvases! (I hope no one has thought of these yet...) I rarely get actual creative ideas, but this was one of them. Personally, I think they're quite cute. :) C'mon, who doesn't love kitties?

I guess math is innovative... in an odd way. Have you ever made anything awesome purely by accident?

Grace In Small Things #4

2009-05-31T16:01:00.002-04:00

The scent of oranges and lemons.

Water. It's amazing.

Dipping your feet into the lake for the first time this year. It was freezing cold, but worth it.

A good book.

A father who doesn't freak out when I'm driving.

Possibly the Girliest Shoes on This Planet

2009-05-30T14:27:00.004-04:00

Oh look! Regina's blogging two days in a row? Is it because she

a. loves to write all of a sudden?

b. actually has something important to write down?

c. is bored and avoiding doing work?

If you guessed c, congrats! You get a cookie! (Though not from me, 'cause I don't know how to bake them)

But anyways, today, my mom decided to drag me up at 7:30 in the morning to go shopping with her. And... we found this pair of shoes:

This is (and will be) probably the girliest pair of shoes I will ever own. It's pink, flowery, has heels (only about two inches though, since I fail at walking in high heels), and sparkles. Maybe it's just me, but I'm kind of scared to wear something this girly in public. It might start screaming "LOOK AT THIS GIRL'S FEET! THEY SPARKLE!"

Observations

2009-05-29T09:34:00.003-04:00

It is 9:41 right now, and I'm starving already.

People (including me) are gloomier when the weather is sucking. Come on, Mother Nature, it's almost June. For goodness sake, is it too much to ask for a little bit of sunshine!?

Periods in the computer labs are completely useless. I see people playing Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, going on Facebook, and other sites that my near-sightedness does not allow me to see clearly.

There are 14 computers along this side of the wall. 6 of them are working. Yes, I tried all of them.

I am so bored. I am so bored. I am so bored.

And hungry.

This Is Not How I Roll

2009-05-24T13:57:00.004-04:00

I went to a surprise party yesterday at a rollerskating rink for a friend who is moving to Hong Kong next year. I've roller-skated once before for about five minutes until I fell and decided to give up; so, needless to say, I was quite nervous to put on a pair of skates. A combination of my awkwardness, lack of experience and poor coordination, I was easily the most challenged person there.

Luckily, the whole event turned out much better than I thought it would have, thanks to my very supportive (literally, I can't count the number of times I almost fell) boyfriend as well as my friends who grabbed onto me to make sure I didn't fall.

I only fell twice! :D And I'll have two bruises by tomorrow.

Unfortunately, I didn't bring a camera, so I'll post a picture of my awkwardness after everyone puts their photos on Facebook. EDIT: AWKWARD PICTURE OF ME IS UP! I'm the one that's struggling in the yellow top.

So, what has been your experience with rollerskating/rollerblading?

Also, it's Sunday, which means ... Grace In Small Things!

Singing along to ABBA

Sand in my toes

The sound of birds chirping away early in the morning

The soft squishy texture of Brie cheese

Knowing that your friends have your back. (Or just knowing that you have friends :P )

Grace In Small Things #2

2009-05-17T19:57:00.002-04:00

An almost empty movie theatre. Silence is golden.

Cards with puns or cheesy messages

A clear blue sky

Rhyming couplets. Thanks Dr. Seuss

Singing along to Norah Jones

Also, why has everyone stopped blogging? :( I need more blogs to read; if you know of a good one, let me know!

Overcoming my fear of...

2009-05-16T19:03:00.004-04:00

Wearing the colour yellow.

Now, I love the colour itself because it's just so bright and sunny, but I've always had a fear of wearing yellow because it makes me look hideous. I'm pretty sure the first time I wore something yellow, someone told me that I looked like a banana.

Don't we all have colours that we would never wear? Well, mine is was yellow.

That ~~all~~ sort of changed today. I was shopping for something to wear to a party whose theme was "bright and tight", which was... a bit of a problem because

a. I don't do tight. At all.

b. Or bright.

But alas, I had to find something to wear. After much encouragement from one of the ladies at the store, I tried this on:

And guess what? It didn't look that bad. AND it was bright and tight!

So there we go, I hope to completely overcome my fear of wearing yellow someday, but this was a significant step for me.

Grace In Small Things #1

2009-05-09T15:32:00.002-04:00

I stumbled across this neat concept first on Chanel's blog, and then was linked to it again on Snark : Grace In Small Things.

From their website:

"Why?
Grace in Small Things exists because we are choosing not to allow the noisiness of life to rob us of the time and energy to be mindful of ourselves and those we love and to recognize the grace that exists in small things."

One of my resolutions this year was to be more cheerful, so I thought I'd try this out! Of course, I'm way too lazy to do this everyday, so it'll probably be once every week.

A warm homemade muffin for breakfast

Giant hailstorm; it took me totally by surprise

The sun coming out shortly after the storm

Tylenol cold, so my nose isn't as stuffed up

Being able to walk barefoot now since it's starting to get warmer

Who's The Bravest Of Them All?

2009-05-06T20:09:00.002-04:00

I attended the No Limits Conference today in Toronto; it's coordinated by the association of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. For me, it did a lot more than just provide in-depth information about the CA profession; it opened my eyes to what kind of personality you must have to be successful in that area.

Anyways, accounting doesn't usually interest the general public; what I really wanted to talk about was a question asked by the MC today (who was, by the way, awesome. Go Sunjay!).

Who is the bravest person in history?

Apparently he asks this during every presentation, and the strangest answer that he decided to share with us was some guy who said, "The first guy to try... MILK!"

...WHAT?!

"Think about it, one day, this guy just said to his buddy, 'hey, see that wild animal over there? See those things hanging from it? Well... I'm going to go over there. And squeeze them. And then, I'll drink whatever comes out of them.'"

Now, I can't really imagine it happening like that, but my point is, someone was creative enough to think of it. (I'm not sure what was influencing them at the time, but that's not important...) And that, I envy.

It's interesting how differently a question can be perceived, and I envy the people who can think outside the box. If I were to answer that question, I would have probably said the first group of people to come to North America from across the ocean.

So, I'd like to ask the same question: Who do you think was the bravest person in history?

Things Are Blooming Now

2009-05-04T19:21:00.004-04:00

Lame title, but I wasn't sure how else I could put it. It's FINALLY getting warmer. It's about time.

(click for bigger view)

I Love New York

2009-04-24T21:08:00.006-04:00

(Click for a better image)

My trip to New York City was absolutely amazing. The weather was great, and I really needed a change of atmosphere. I loved the bright lights in Time Square that made me forget it was night time; the beauty and calmness of Central Park; and the bustling streets during the day.

One of the highlights of the trip was definitely visiting Central Park. I found it incredible that amidst the busy and crowded city, there was a place where people can just relax and get away from everything. As we walked more towards the centre of the park, the outside noise disappeared completely. Sound engineering ftw!

I could have honestly stayed at the New York Public Library all day if I had the time, because it was just that incredible. Guarded by two marble lions named 'Patience' and 'Fortitude' (surprisingly, I didn't take any photos of them), it's yet another peaceful and quiet place in this busy city.

This was the best trip that I've taken in a long time, and now it's back to school and the same routine every. single. day. I uploaded some more photos (the ones that turned out slightly better than the rest... since my camera skills are teh suck) onto my dA account. (No, I will not get a Flickr account; I have way too many accounts to keep track of already. :P )

Off to New York!

2009-04-15T18:56:00.003-04:00

I'm going to New York tomorrow with the school band (band geeks ftw!) until Monday. I'm so excited right now that it's all I can think about. We'll be doing most of the touristy stuff, such as:

Visiting the Empire State building

Getting a tour of Radio City Music Hall

Going to Time Square

Watching a musical on Broadway

Seeing the Statue of Liberty

Lots of shopping

Other not-so-touristy things include:

Competing in the "Festivals of Music" competition at Montclair State University in NJ and awards ceremony at Planet Hollywood.

Listening to the New York Philharmonic Orchestra perform at the Lincoln Centre (yes, I am Canadian and will spell it with -re). They'll be playing Ravel's Concerto in G Major and Schubert's Symphony No 9 "Great".

So for the next five days I'll look like the typical nerdy tourist with my gigantic camera and backpack. But it'll be fun so I don't really care. :P Now I've gotta go and finish packing!

What to Expect at a Chinese Get-together:

2009-04-12T18:19:00.003-04:00

If you're of normal height, expect all your relatives to comment on how tall you are and how you just never seem to stop growing.

Expect everyone to talk at the same time about the same thing. Very loudly. But the conversation will still somehow manage to make sense to everyone.

The phrases "You didn't have to cook this much!" and "How will we ever finish all of this?" regardless of the amount of food present.

Lots of discussions starting with "When I was a little boy/girl..."

If there are teenagers present, expect the typical "So, which university/program do you want to get into?"

Private school vs. public school debates.

Moms exchanging recipes for American dishes (which they somehow manage to alter to make it more Asian.)

Discussions about the following topics: university, school, good grades, your kids, other people's kids, China, communism, the economic recession, money, how to make more money, taxes, the government, the "old days", marriages and divorces, technology.

Expect to leave at around 1 am the next morning.

Say Hi To Pikachu!

2009-04-04T20:18:00.003-04:00

As much as I want to kill myself over how horribly I bombed the last physics test, this car has made the educational part of physics quite enjoyable. I mean, look at it! It's Pikachu! How can anyone not be cheered up by Pikachu? :)

I Am Bored

2009-03-29T23:41:00.002-04:00

And what does Regina do when she's bored? She makes lists (because she sucks at organizing her thoughts into coherent paragraphs)!

The next time I buy sheet music, I'll definitely check to make sure the fingering (get your head out of the gutters) is written in there. Searching for a copy of the music on the Internet and copying down the fingering for a 10 page long piece is not how I want to spend my evening.

Vacuuming is fun, but I hate the sound bugs make when they get sucked into the vacuum. *CRUNCH*

Techno seems to make me do things so much faster. It lets me get ready faster in the morning, it makes me walk faster to the bus stop, and it also made me chop vegetables faster today... which made me almost chop off my fingers.

I don't have any French courses this semester, so my reading/pronunciation is now even worse than it was before. Must. read. French. novels.

End of March Break

2009-03-22T18:17:00.005-04:00

It's the end of another March break, and just like during all the others ones, I've done nothing productive! Just so I can bore myself to tears yet again, I think I'll write down what I did everyday.

And then I might applaud myself for being so awesomely lazy.

Saturday: Got up at 7 to go get a blood test, the line was freaking long so my mom and I left. Went shopping.

Sunday: Driving lesson in the morning. Went to a Buddhist temple in the afternoon. Walked around the neighbourhood for 2 hours and took lots of photos. Worked on a physics project in the afternoon.

Monday: Walked Toby and got ambushed by another friend. Now I might have done something el-- oh, wait, that's all.

Tuesday: Driving lesson in the morning, walked Toby right after. Had a visit from Shiying in the afternoon.

Wednesday: Usual routine - wake up, sit on my lazy ass all day, go back to sleep.

Thursday: Usual routine, again. Almost died from boredom (I ended up watching Zoey101, someone hit me over the head with a paddle). However, chocolate is once again on my list of things that I like to eat.

Friday: Went downtown with a couple of friends in the afternoon; first time down at the lake since last summer! Saw The Reader in the evening.

Saturday: Attempt number 2 at getting a blood test, waited around 4 hours.

Sunday: Driving lesson in the morning, went swimming in the afternoon.

And there's my March break! I know, I lead an exciting life. And as much as I love relaxing, I'm relieved to go back to school again tomorrow. If you also had a week off of school, how was it? I hope you were more productive than I was!

Just Ignore Me

2009-03-21T18:40:00.006-04:00

One thing that has bothered me for the longest time is when a friend:

a. deliberately ignores me

or

b. acts like I don't exist.

For me, a friendship is based on truthfulness, personality, and common interests. In that order. To be honest, I couldn't care less if someone had none of the same interests as me as long as they were a genuinely good person. But of course, high school has an unwritten law that decrees "you're judged based on who your friends are", which is probably the most hypocritical thing I've ever come across.

It's like saying, "I love my friends... but only the ones that my other friends won't make fun of me for".

What I hate is how different some of my friends can be around different groups of people. Of course, I'm not saying that I act the same around everyone, because it's in our nature to adapt and please those around us; however, I don't compromise friendships just to get an approval. To be frank, I honestly don't care what others think of my choice of friends.

I guess I can understand why some of my friends deliberately choose to do a. or b. since 1. I'm not exactly at the top of the food chain and 2. I might be different than who they usually hang out with. But seriously, isn't high school about meeting new people and forming unexpected friendships? (Yes, it's cheesy, but I'd like maintain my high school friendships with my real friends.) To those people who are guilty of doing a and/or b (and you know who you are): with all due respect, grow a spine and be your own person.

Sometimes I consider dropping those friendships because they make me frustrated, but people change, and I guess I'm still waiting for those friends of mine to change. The bottom line is: if you're too embarrassed to hang out with me, then just spit it out; I probably already know how you feel.

My (Non-Existant) Sports Bio

2009-03-17T19:35:00.002-04:00

Yesterday's Plinky Prompt (which I'm using today because I can't think of an answer to today's prompt) : Congratulations! You're going to be featured in the next issue of 'Sports Illustrated.' How does your bio read?

" Meet the most nonathletic person alive! Can't be bothered to get off her lazy ass to do anything that might improve her health. Resolutions are pointless because they're never kept; lack of sports will be regretted in the future."

What would yours say?

I Spy Spring!

2009-03-16T10:32:00.002-04:00

It reached a high of 9 degrees celsius yesterday and the weather was altogether fantastic! I'm hoping mother nature keeps this up for the next week or so, because I am so sick and tired of winter.

When I came back from my 2-hour walk yesterday (took lots of photos :D ), my mom was outside beaming at what looked like an ordinary patch of dirt. Upon closer inspection, I realized that she was looking at this:

"Come look at the roses!" She said.

...what roses?

"Oh, you mean those little buds sticking out of the ground?"

A Walk Through Rattray Marsh

2009-03-11T22:56:00.003-04:00

'Ello! It's Dietrich again with an update from my memory stick. Regina recently went on a walk through Rattray Marsh and decided to take me with her. I'd say she had lots of fun; after all, with me around, how can she not? *crickets* Pah. You guys have no sense of humour.

Anyway, here were some of the more interesting things we saw along the way:
(Click for bigger image)

Apparently somebody thought this was Sparta.

Bridge to...? (Any place but Terabithia)

Any suggestions/comments/feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Words That Sound Weird In My Head When Put Together

2009-03-05T19:57:00.004-05:00

For some reason, I tend to think about the most random things whenever I'm in the bathroom. For example, I was brushing my teeth one morning, and suddenly "baby carrots" popped into my head. I had never thought about it before, but then suddenly an image of a pointy orange baby popped into my head. I wonder if the person who created Cabbage Patch Dolls was thinking the same thing...

+ = ?

It's not just "baby carrots" that sound weird to me, other common nouns such as "earphones" and "dining table" (a table that dines?) also seem strange in my head.

Are there any common nouns that make you say to yourself, "...well, that sounds unusual" ?

Plinky

2009-03-03T20:00:00.002-05:00

Blogger just introduced me to an interesting new project of theirs called plinky, it's basically a website that gives you prompts for when you run out of things to blog about... SO, I decided to give it a try.

Today's prompt was: Are you a handywoman or handyman?

I think I'm decent with tools and such, but I wouldn't call myself a handywoman. I like hammering nails and using electrical equipment to cut stuff because it's stress-relieving (yeah, I'm strange).
However, I'm really klutzy, so I don't think I should really be trusted with tools...

How about you? Are you a handyman/handywoman?

10 People in 10 Words or Less

2009-03-01T22:08:00.003-05:00

I've done posts in the past where I picked a few people that I interacted with on a daily basis and wrote about them. So here's basically the same thing, except in ten words or less. Because I'm lazy. And not creative. But mostly just lazy.

Contractions count as single words! :P

Pick something and stick to it, you'll like it eventually.

I wish I could know you better without seeming creepy.

I feel awkward around you, our conversations are so pointless.

You are a mystery that I just can not solve.

Does anyone know the real you?

Why can't you be more like *insert name here*?

I've never met someone who is so dependent on others.

Grow up, the world does not revolve around you.

Why don't you trust me?

You make me happy with your radiance, thanks so much

And because I ran out of people to talk about, one of these is about me. If you guess right you'll get an e-cookie :D

What's My Name?

2009-02-28T12:21:00.002-05:00

How good are you at remembering names? Do you instantly connect a name with a face, or do you have to think really hard just to come up with the first letter? A lot of people apparently have trouble with this... or maybe it's just MY name that's hard to remember (/I'm forgettable). Here are just some of the things that happened to me (all on the same day) that leads me to believe so:

At lunch, someone sat down at the same table where I was sitting and asked, "Sorry, but who ARE you?" even though I told him last week when he asked the same question. I don't think he has short term memory loss, so I guess I must be a forgettable person.

At work, a kid came up to me and said, "Hey Natalie, I'm done my classwork." (I work at Kumon and I have to mark their classwork.) Natalie?! That's not even CLOSE to my name, and that boy has been coming to Kumon for at least two months.

Again, at work, I got called "Georgina" (which is I guess closer to my name than Natalie...) by my boss. It's one thing to be called by another name by a student, but it's an entirely different situation when the woman who gives me my pay cheques gets my name wrong. *Crawls back under rock*

So, how often do people mess up YOUR name?

Dietrich

2009-02-22T10:41:00.006-05:00

"Hello, I'm Dietrich, Regina's new Sony Alpha200 camera. And I am awesome. I apologize for taking over her life, but it's not my fault I'm so addicting.

Here's a picture she took with me yesterday:

Aye aye aye, that girl has a lot to learn."

To: The Kids Playing Hockey On My Street

2009-02-20T20:13:00.004-05:00

I don't know if anyone's ever told you this, but it's NOT a good idea to set up your nets in the middle of the street because, you know, there are these dangerous moving things called CARS that can run you over. Yeah, trust me, those things can go really fast and they might just kill you if the driver ~~wants to~~ screws up.

Let's ignore that for a minute though, and concentrate on what is perhaps a more pressing issue: do you have the faintest clue what manners are? C'mon, I'm sure your parents must have mentioned that word a few times before. It means NOT shouting at the person driving in a car marked "DRIVING SCHOOL" while they're trying to manoeuvre through the freaking obstacle course you set up with your nets and piles of jackets.

Of course, a bunch of 10-year-old boys are also challenging ~~targets~~ obstacles for an inexperienced driver during her first driving lesson. And contrary to your beliefs, yelling "GO ALREADY!", "GTFO", and other more inappropriate things are not going to make me drive any faster. What someone with an actual brain would have done was walk over to the curb and wait until the car has passed. But instead, you all continued to stand there and yell.

The next time you decide to yell profanities at a stranger, make sure they're not operating a vehicle that can run over your pathetic little bodies.

Things I Learned This Week

2009-02-15T13:17:00.005-05:00

Jimmy Neutron was named after James Chadwick, who discovered the neutron. I love chemistry class. He is my hero. And I dug up a really old picture of me and Jimmy Neutron because I'm such a loser. Oh, the good ol' days.

Driving is boring... but that's because I only drove in circles in a parking lot. Watch out world, 'cause Regina will get to drive on real roads tomorrow! Let's all hope I don't crash into anyone/anything.

When my head feels like it's about to explode, I shouldn't let my mom feed me a copious amount of herbal meds, because a. they will not work, and b. she bought them about 5 years ago.

Juice + cheese = Blehhhh.

I always get sick on long weekends. To anyone that's living in Ontario: have a good Family day tomorrow!

I Don't Like Chocolate

2009-02-14T11:53:00.004-05:00

Why wait until one specific day of the year to show how much you care for that special someone? This has basically turned into an obligation in this society: "Oh shoot, gotta go pick up a generic box of chocolates or else she'll kill me" or "Gah, forgot to get a cheesy tie for him!" (I don't like chocolate, so I don't like getting them, but it might be different for others)

Now, I'm not opposed to this whole deal, but it's ridiculous how much companies make from this. It's great that people are showing their appreciation for each other, but I saw Valentine's Day-related things go up in early JANUARY. Is that really necessary? And you know what? It's not just this holiday that guilt-trips you into getting a present for someone - Mother's Day and Father's Day are the same. It's that one day of the year when you feel the NEED to get them something. People should show their appreciation to their parents on a daily basis, and that doesn't necessarily mean buying them gifts. An expensive present isn't going to make up for you being a brat the other 364 days of the year.

Back to the topic, if you're single and okay with it like me, this day is just another normal day. If you're single but you don't want to be, just stay home and watch Disney movies or something. If you're happily "anchored" (Yes, my Facebook is set on pirate-speak), I hope this will be a good day for you.

Oh, I leave you with these V-day cards since they're hilariously nerdy and cheesy.

Classes

2009-02-12T18:21:00.004-05:00

I guess I have what is commonly known as writer's block, but since I don't really consider myself a writer, I think I'll change the term to "blogger's block" instead.

With nothing else to talk about, I guess I'll summarize my courses now that it's been two weeks into the new semester already (time flies when you're punching numbers constantly into a calculator all day):

Physics: I'm liking this class, but it's probably going to get a lot more difficult. I'm so glad I have an awesome teacher though; in his spare time, he set up a multi-point interactive Whiteboard using a Wiimote in our classroom! What I'm REALLY looking forward to in this class is the optics unit; cow eyeball dissection!

Chemistry: I've always loved chemistry because everything just seems to make sense in my head, and although the first unit is a bit slow, things should start to pick up soon. Again, I have a really good teacher, so I'm confident that this course is going to be one of my better ones.

Lunch: Shut up, this IS a course. :P They should probably change this to "Homework Session", since that's all everyone does (well, my friends at least) anyway.

Accounting: This is kind of a joke right now, the material is so easy that anyone with common sense can figure it out. However, although this is a boring course, I like it because it's the one class in which I never get homework. :P

Advanced Functions: Fast-tracking is awesome, especially if you have lots of friends in the same class as you. The teacher is awesome and although he's not the strict kind (like the one I had last semester, who was equally awesome), he still manages to control the classes pretty well. I'm not used to his way of teaching yet, but I'm sure I'll adapt.

BTW, Don't forget to celebrate 1234567890 Day, which is tomorrow!

Model United Nations

2009-02-08T16:18:00.005-05:00

So the reason I haven't blogged in nearly a week is the fact that last week was spent researching and making final notes for the Model United Nations conference. Did I have a life at all last week? No (although I ~~never~~ rarely do anyway). Was it worth it? Absolutely.

I had a pretty small role this year as the delegate from Chile in SOCHUM, also known as the third committee. To be honest, I would have liked to be on a crisis committee, simply because it would have been more interesting, but I'm actually glad I wasn't this year since I am the worst public speaker/debater ever.

The first day was pretty boring to be honest, but the second day picked up momentum as we were given a (fake) crisis during the first committee session. It turned out that there was a exodus in one of the villages in Sudan. Now, I was sitting at the very back on the second day, so I could see exactly what was going on: the Sudanese delegate passed several notes to his friend that read "WHAT SHOULD I DO?!?!" and at one point he left the room to talk with his teacher. Clearly, he thought he was screwed. Eventually, we passed a resolution on this crisis and got back to the topic at hand: child soldiers.

Here are some other memorable moments (you probably won't find them that funny, but after sitting there for nearly 8 hours, these were hilarious):

The delegate from Rwanda's cellphone rang, and the Chair looked at him and said, "While the Chair is glad that the delegate from Rwanda has the financial means to afford a cellular device, we would like for him and all delegates who have this luxury to turn it off."

Russia: We do not agree with this, blah blah blah
Canada: Do you have an idea as to how to solve this then?
Russia: ...No, but that's why we urge all delegates to ponder this issue.

Israel: And we can just chop their heads off! ... so to speak.

Just to make things more interesting, the Chair went up to the delegate from China and told him to motion to censure Poland.

The delegate from the US then asked if anybody had valid reasons to censure Poland; the Chair then said, "Once again, the USA is a killjoy in this UN committee".

Poland then declared itself "Polreandstine", and was therefore able to talk again.

China proposed to send all the Palestinians to "Polreandstine" to end the current conflict in the Gaza strip.

Iraq then told China to test this plan out on the Tibetans. (BURN)

Now that MUN is done, I honestly have no idea what to do with my free time anymore. Any suggestions for new hobbies/activities to do so that I don't die of boredom?

I've Just Seen A Face

2009-02-02T17:04:00.003-05:00

I've never noticed this in my parents' room before:

IT'S A FACE! *laughs goofily while others facepalm*

For more faces in random places, you should visit Faces In Places ! And if you ever find a face in a weird place, you can just upload and submit it on Flickr. I'm too lazy to get a Flickr account, which is why I'm just posting the picture here.

Clothes vs. Books

2009-01-30T21:46:00.004-05:00

Also titled: Yes, I am a dork, why do you ask? :P

If I could spend an entire day buying clothes OR buying books, I'd probably choose the latter. Don't get me wrong, I love shopping for clothing, but I could never spend 5 hours at a clothing store the way I can at a book store. (Plus, book stores usually have really awesome stationery :P )

Here are some reasons why I like buying books more than clothes:

Books can be reread dozens of times, and if you're like me, then the plot never really gets boring for you if the book is genuinely good. Unlike books, clothing gets old fast.

With age, good books become classics while clothes become ... rags?

In relation to the previous point, GOOD books have the ability to transport you to any time period. If you read a book from the seventies (with the exception of books by Judy Blume), it'll feel like you're actually there - experiencing what the characters are experiencing. In comparison, if you wear a piece of clothing from the seventies... let's just say nothing from that decade should ever make a comeback.

Like I said before, I do enjoy clothes shopping, but I prefer going to a book store rather than the nearest clothing store. How about you, clothes or books?

A Day At Home

2009-01-28T12:07:00.005-05:00

After a pretty stressful semester and four exams, I can finally rest today because I DON'T HAVE TO BE ANYWHERE! As much as I love being busy, having a quiet day to myself at home is really nice after all that chaos.

So I actually decided to make myself breakfast this morning (yes, I eat a lot) :

This was awesome since I haven't had breakfast in ages. And yes, the red blob is ketchup. I'll definitely be fuelled up to tackle the snow later:

Oh joy...

What do you usually eat for breakfast?

If I Wanted To Skate, I’d Go To A Rink

2009-01-25T14:35:00.002-05:00

I was just walking down my street to go get the mail, you know, everyday ordinary stuff. It doesn't take very long, but it took me 5 minutes today just to get to the mailbox. Why? Because my idiotic neighbours didn't shovel their part of the sidewalk, hence why it turned into a long strip of ice. This wouldn't be as much of a problem if the snow hadn't melted and then froze again, but it's Canada.

The first thing I thought was, "Oh crap, my boots have no grip, how am I supposed to get the mail now?" And so I shuffled across the ice, completely ignoring the people in the cars driving by that were snickering to themselves.

No, I did not fall.

And this brings me to my point: Being a part of any neighbourhood means doing your part to keep this community safe. Elders and children walk up and down these streets everyday, so I think everyone should make sure their part of the sidewalk is easily accessible.

It's not like I was an idiot who was wearing sandals in the winter; I was wearing proper boots and STILL found it hard to walk across the ice... now there's a surprise. If I wanted to slide across a sheet of ice, I'd go to a rink where there would be people to help me when I fall and/or get injured.

It doesn't MATTER if you get driven everywhere; not everyone drives and people need to start being more considerate. The funny thing is, my neighbours have two little girls who play outside all the time. Wouldn't they want their children to be safe and, you know, NOT fall flat on their faces?

And although the sidewalk gets shovelled occasionally by those sidewalk-shoveling cars, it is ultimately YOUR responsibility to make sure your part of the sidewalk is clean enough for others to walk on.

I honestly hope that these people fall on their own sidewalk.

tl;dr - People should shovel their sidewalks so others don't fall and get injured.

It's Exam Week

2009-01-23T22:24:00.003-05:00

Hooray, this means I am completely devoid of these things for at least a week:

a. a social life - who has time for friends when you have loads of review?

b. enough sleep - although this wasn't the case this year because I fell asleep at 8pm, and as a result, didn't study!

c. fashion sense - thick baggy sweaters ftw, I do not want my hands getting cold during an exam.

Here's my exam schedule:

Thursday, Jan. 22 : English - done, much easier than I expected it to be.

Friday, Jan. 23 : Biology - done, easier than I thought it would be, but not as easy as I would have liked it to be. :P

Monday, Jan. 26 : Math - My teacher gave us at least 15 pages of review to do, I think I'll be fine.

Tuesday, Jan. 27 : French - We're allowed to bring a dictionary and a Bescherelle, and the teacher gave us the essay topic already, so clearly there isn't a point to this exam at all.

I'm going to prepare for math by (duh) doing the review sheets, and I don't know how I can study for French, but I'll probably end up spending three hours reviewing the different novels and works we covered.

If you also have exams at this time of year, good luck to you!

Zombie invasion?

2009-01-19T23:14:00.002-05:00

Last night, I had a dream (shocking, I know). And usually, I always forget my dreams, but this one was so weird, yet hilarious, that I forced myself to remember it just so I could write it down. And it went a little something like this:

I was in school, and all of a sudden, there was a giant explosion. I, for some reason, then decided to go for a stroll amidst the explosion and somehow ended up in the forest behind my school. I love dreams, for the sole reason that I can FLY in them. So, that's what I decided to do next; I flew above the city and noticed that there were (yes, you guessed it) ZOMBIES everywhere! So then I flew back to the school (which by this time had turned into a secret underground lab/lair, strangely enough, some of my friends were in there playing Rock Band...) to get weapons to destroy these zombies.

Have I mentioned that I love to fly in my dreams? Well, the only thing that beats that is flying AND killing zombies at the same time. There's me, stealthily popping out from behind a giant tree and --- okay, I won't go into details.

At last, we were down to only one zombie (obviously the most powerful one). It was up to me to find it. I approached it from behind (quite stealthily of course), and it conveniently turned around. IT WAS KATY PERRY IN ZOMBIE FORM (actually, she just looked the same...)!

And that's when I woke up, laughing.

Spreading Some Cuteness

2009-01-17T12:02:00.003-05:00

This is Hector the rabbit, he looks kind of soulless, but that's only due to my poor bunny-drawing skills. Trust me, he does have a soul, and a carrot.

Anyways, this is my contribution to the Draw A Bunny meme, and I think you should participate too! There are so many depressing things going on right now that I think we all need some joy in our lives. And drawing bunnies are the best way to go! :D

Things I Know (about myself and the world)

2009-01-14T19:40:00.006-05:00

About Myself:

1. I hold grudges (but then again, which girl doesn't?)

2. I'm terrible at interpreting hidden/subliminal messages. Oh, and sarcasm.

3. I'm afraid of letting others down.

4. As a result of number 3, I basically have an inability to say no.

5. I'm very self-critical, so when I say I did something badly, I mean it.

About The World:

1. Fairness has nothing to do with anything.

... that pretty much sums up everything.

5 Songs That You Wouldn’t Expect On My iPod

2009-01-11T14:51:00.003-05:00

C’mon, don’t tell me you don’t secretly feel guilty about having certain songs on your iPod. There’s gotta be at least one song that makes you go, “I hope my friends don’t find out I listen to THIS.” And if “this” is Miley Cyrus, please dunk your head in a sink of cold water and then slap yourself across the face a few times. Anyway, the songs below aren’t ones that I’m necessary “ashamed” of, but if my friends scrolled through my playlists, they’d certainly be shocked that I have these (even though most of them know that I have some pretty strange stuff on my iPod). I tried to include as many genres as possible. Now, why didn't I add a classical piece? Simple, because my real friends know I'm a not-so-secret Mozart and Chopin fan girl.

5. DotA - Basshunter
Okay, I LOVE techno, but most people don't know that. This song is just so catchy, even though I had to Google the lyrics to find out what he was singing about. The only reason this is on the list is because of those lyrics, because this song is actually about dotA, or "Defence of the Ancients", which is related to Warcraft III. Don't ask me how, just wiki it. And yes, I consider Warcraft very, VERY lame.

4. Forever - Chris Brown
Hip-hop, Regina? Really? Yes, this is probably one of the only mainstream songs I like. Why? Because of this line: "All you've gotta do is watch me/ look what I can do with my feet." What can you do with your feet (other than dance), Chris Brown? (Youtube wouldn't let me post the actual music video, so if you really want to, look it up on Youtube because it's so entertaining.)

3. Christmas Don't Be Late - Alvin And The Chipmunks
This is such a classic, and my Christmas wouldn't be complete without it. Chipmunks, squeaky voices, need I say more? Actually, I probably should. Maybe the reason I like this is because I miss my childhood, or maybe I just like to hear what people sound like on helium. Either way, this song makes me happy/want a hoola hoop.

2. Underwater Friends - Dethklok
...er, yeah.

1. You're Gonna Miss This - Trace Adkins
Yes, I know this is by the same man who sang the atrocity known as "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk", but for some reason this song really speaks to me. I guess it's because this song reminds me that we all have to grow up some day. And yeah, I'm gonna miss it. :( Did I mention that he came second on The Apprentice?

So, do you have any songs that are completely out of your character? 'Fess up. :P

Why Do I Feel Cold All The Time?

2009-01-09T20:39:00.002-05:00

My body temperature is always below normal and my hands are always freezing. Sure, I can blame all of that on the fact that it's winter here in Canada, but I think I'm the only one with constantly cold hands. When I go to reach for something in my fridge, it feels WARM compared to my hands.

And suddenly, I had an epiphany: it's because deep down, I'm a mean and cold-hearted bitch. :P