I hate days like today. BUT tomorrow is Dec 1st.

So I'm officially in "welcome winter" mode. Good thing too, since theres a storm brewing outside. I'm also in "YAY Christmas" mode....and I have been for the past year. Christmas can come early at any time of the year.

Anyhoo, today sucked not because of the weather, but because it was so utterly, fruitlessly, and unbearably unproductive. UGH. Usually, if I'm not doing something I HAVE TO do (i.e. school), I do something I WANT TO do (i.e. some form of happy procrastination...like reading Twilight. More on that later). Today, however, I did neither! I went to the library, typed up some data into Excel, tried to figure out how to approach a paper I have due, and then sat for 2 hours hating life because I had no coffee in me. Seriously, it was a struggle: should I leave my stuff and go get coffee, or should I just take it all with me, or should I just go home? I ended up walking to Starbucks in the rain (with all of my stuff), where I ordered the most yuppie-ish and delicious thing ever: a grande, no-foam, soy, extra-hot (i.e. scalding) caramel latte. Ha, the other day during my break at work, (this is a story tangent; will continue about my day after) the woman in front of me at Starbucks ordered something so yuppie-ish that the barista was like "whoa," and then I ordered the above drink, after which he was like, "today is so challeging, I like it."

Back to today. After Starbucks I decided to walk to Indigo to pass the time since I had to meet some friends and there wasn't enough time to walk all the way back to the library (and study). I was planning on doing some readings, but then I got distracted by the giant display devoted to TWILIGHT. Since I've recently developed an addiction to the books, I couldn't resist and started to read. Twilight, let me tell you, is so addictive. I used to make fun of a co-worker because she would read the books during her breaks. I now understand her obsession, and I complete regret making fun of her. The writing isn't particularly good, but the storyline is. It reels you in.

Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to finish the book in one sitting (I would have, too, had I had a few more hours), because a couple of girls from work and I were getting together to watch GG. Made the trek to UO to pick up DV and meet RB, and then walked to DV's. Her apartment is the nicest. Seriously, an Audrey-themed, beautiful pad. So jeal. Anyway, we made nachos and drank cocktails and watched GG. A pleasant way to end a terrible day. And GG was sooooo good today!

Now I'm home, all snuggly (GREAT WORD) listening to Mariah Carey's Christmas album, i.e. THE Christmas album. So a good way to end the day. And tomorrow is DECEMBER!! My favourite month despite the hell that is school!

You know you love an author when...

...you LITERALLY GASP at the sight of one of their new books. Seriously, I actually gasped out loud in Indigo. I walked to the bookstore mecca between classes today to purchase a gift card for JT, the professor of my dreams. (He's presenting a talk entitled "Bee Brains and Pollen Grains" for EEBU's fall academic seminar this afternoon. I was in charge of getting him an honorarium). As I was slowly making my way to the cash desk, I quickly skimmed the titles on the "New Hot Non-Fiction" shelves. About half way down the bookcase I spotted the name Gladwell; and the info I gathered from the subsequent double-take caused my heart to skip a beat. MALCOLM GLADWELL HAS A NEW BOOK!!!! Click on the picture of the book for more info:Even though I didn't read the synopsis..or pretty much any of the text on the cover of the book other than the title and his name, and even though I have no money, I knew I had to have it needed it. So I bought it with the last remaining funds I had. From what I gather, its about success...? Whatever, I'm sure that it'll be one of my favourite books regardless of what its about. (Yes, I have THAT much faith in Gladwell). I unfortunately have to save reading it until after my last exam; so for now I will place it on a pedestal in my room so that I can glance up at it every time I feel the despair building in my chest during the continuously tedious study sessions that are going to be in abundance within the next few weeks. In the words of Charlie the Unicorn's friends, it will bring me "sweets and joy and joyness."

For fun. And because I already need a break from writing. Even though I've only been here for an hour.

While I do think its futile, I do enjoy reading my horoscope from time to time. I've decided to share it with you all today, courtesy of astrology.com.

"Your energy feels a little odd today, especially when it comes to social matters -- in fact, you may just want to be left alone! You're thinking about some heavy issues, so maybe it's all for the best."

Hmmm..kind of true, kind of not--just like EVERY horoscope. It depends on which way you spin it.
Let's see what they have to say about Sagittarius in general:

"Sagittarius is symbolized by the Archer. You're impulsive and inquisitive, needing travel and constant exposure to new foods, people, landscapes and things to do. Change is one thing you can't do without; you are a truth-seeker, and will go to the ends of the earth to find answers!"

What do you think? Sound like me?

New gig.

So I have exciting news: I'm going to be a writer for a campus fashion journal/magazine! I think it'll be fun. Definitely a welcome change from the misery that is science writing. Anyhoo, we'll see where it takes me.

In other news: Can you believe that December is NEXT WEEK?!?!!!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?! WHERE DID NOVEMBER GO?!?!!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! WTF?!!!!
I'm obviously in denial. School is almost over, a million causes for celebration are coming up (my birthday included..), and FEB is like 2 months away (Feb = BARBADOS!). You must be wondering then, why are you in denial? Shouldn't you be happy that time is flying by? Well, in fact, no. HALF THE YEAR IS OVER. And with the year's end comes the pending question, "What am I doing with my life?!" (Seriously, though, what am I doing?). Sigh. Too many questions and so little time. Or should I say a lot of time; its just not going slow enough.

Pratt, comme d'habitude

Once again, I've found myself on a cold, blistering Sunday in Pratt; on my computer, writing a paper. Or in this case, trying to understand the data that I'm writing this paper on.

This 'weekend' was rather enjoyable. On Wednesday night I went to JH's school choir's version of Faust. Obviously in French. I surprisingly understood a lot of it. Hooray! Not all is lost. That said, I'm going through a French phase...once again. I really want to go to France. Summer? Thursday was blah, but on Friday a group of us went to karaoke for ES' birthday celebration. SO MUCH FUN. SOOOO MUCH FUN. I had to work from 8-4 yesterday, and afterwards I wandered around the mall with CB while she searched for presents. And today (and tonight) I'm here.

Snowflakes are falling on my head.

In practically the course of a few hours it went from being breezy, beautiful autumn to a winter wonderland. "Blarghz," I say! It totally caught me off guard, and now I'm sad about it. As much as I like snow, the half a foot of it thats on the ground (and the two extra feet of it we'll probably get in the next month or so) means that instead of wearing these: I'm wearing these for the next four months:

Woe is me!

I need to move someplace where fall is long and theres rarely snow. Any ideas?

unorganized-ness: worst feeling in the world

I've been feeling so unorganized these past few days; I don't know what to do. I admit that I'm a bit rough around the edges, and usually never more than an organized mess..however, right now I feel like all control is lost. And I hate it. With the impending truck-loads of work due in the next couple of weeks, I'm panicking. And I hate how I don't know what happened...it was only a few weeks ago when I was on top of school work--ahead, even.

I'm not going to say that its due to this blog. I think its done me good.
Part of it, I think, is my lack of motivation.
But how can I be motivated when I don't even know what I'm striving for?? What is it that I'm trying to achieve? I don't have a clue. I'm having trouble focusing on what I'm doing right now since I don't know what comes next. And its not that I need to see whats years ahead of me; I know that it doesn't matter right now. Its just that I've always believed that I was on the right path...and that no matter what happened, it would all work out. But right now I'm questioning it. It feels like I'm going in the wrong direction. I need to stop and focus.

Hocus pocus.

Focus.

Focus.

Update: Quantum of Solace

SOOOOOOOOO GOOD!

Rain, rain go away.

I usually don't mind rain, but I must say, this weather sucks.

That said, it is the perfect day to be holed up in Pratt...a la Julia Stiles' character in The Prince and Me lol. And if I recall, it was raining on the day she was studying in this library as well. Coincidence? No. This library is my study place of choice...mainly because it has my lighting of choice. I'm sooo affected by lighting. If the lighting isn't optimal, then I can't study. I'm not the only one, right? For example, the reason why I can't study in Robarts, other than the fact that it feels like a jail, is because of the lighting. Its not that it isn't bright (its almost like being in the dentist's chair at times); its just so unnatural...and the wall-to-wall cherry red carpet does not help it to be less so.

Pratt, on the other hand, is so light and airy. Its like studying outside, inside. And I mean, look at the view:

Dear John Baird,

My Ecology seminar is soooooo good. Probably the best class I've ever taken at UofT...and I've taken some pretty awesome classes (recall 1-week 'course' in Panama; various courses involving fishing, animal-seeking, and swimming, aka accidental fall into river/ocean/stream).

I just love how its almost 'anything goes'. For example, on Thursday, we started the class with a discussion on Prochilodus, a genus of detrital-eating fish found in South America. Prochilodus is an important genus in the ecosystem because of its ability to harvest nutrients from sediments when other fish cannot. It not only plays a large role in the food web, but also it has an important role as an ecosystem engineer (i.e. it physically alters the environment). However Prochilodus is being over-fished in S.A. because of its large size and therefore its numbers are declining. In class on Thursday we discussed the implications of losing this genus from the environment....and this in turn led to a discussion on conservation. Which led to a conversation on politics...then to the economy...until one point, one of my classmates said, "So we're not talking about ecology anymore," and my prof responded, "You noticed?! This is the type of conversation we should be having over beer." Ha, so now we're all going out for beer before exams to talk about everything we're not supposed to talk about in class. But back to the subject: this class rocks.

And its not just because its so small. I think what it boils down to is the fact that we're all learning from each other--not just being told something by the prof. Everyone in the class is so knowledgeable/passionate about Ecology and when we have discussions, they're actually meaningful and worthwhile. Discussions in this class actually give me hope. We all know we can save the environment, but only in this class, have I felt like we will.

John Baird, you really need to come to class.

I've been in Makeup 101 for the past 7 years.

There are only a few stores that can hold my attention span long enough for me to completely lose track of time and cause me to get distracted by everything in sight. One of these stores is Sephora.

As someone who rarely uses makeup, Sephora, at first didn't attract me. When the first one opened in Toronto, I cringed at the thought of going in it because, "the smell will give me a headache." Time passed, and somehow I managed to become immune to the scent that I now know and love. With my new immunity came curiosity, and eventually I ventured into, what I shall call, the beauty black hole.

Seriously, everytime I go into Sephora I stay there for what seems like hours. They have everything!!! And the people who work there are so helpful and nice. And it smells good. And its colorful. And you can try everything. And get samples. Sigh.

Update: AND they give you free stuff for your birthday!

All the excitement you could ever need; in 2 hours.

The new James Bond flick comes out tomorrow!!!!!!!! YAY! Ha, I surprisingly can't find a friend to go see it with, so my dad said that he'd take me.

Get ready for this!

Good nights mean good mornings.

Last night, I went out with OH to Sneaks after a meeting at school. I was shocked to learn that she had never been to Sneaks before. Its like a Toronto institution in my mind. Nevertheless, it was a jolly old time. (Note: add jolly to 'good word' list. Alongside 'plump' and all palindromes).

Also, check out some of the awesome pics from Vogue's feature on the designers competing for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award. So pretty!

A floral suit!!

Medicine

Cooties.

I'm getting sick. And its making me feel tired and frustrated.
Go away influenza, go away.

Summertime.

Even though its November I'm already thinking about what the summer will bring. I want to travel to a far off land...but where? One option is to just pick a place and go. No school, no tours...just my backpack and I. Although that is definitely something I've always dreamed of doing (and I suppose, I did get a taste of this out east a couple of summers ago), I'm not sure if I actually want to do it this summer. And to be honest, I'm not sure I even want to do an ecology/outdoorsy related trip either. As much as I love animals and the environment, I want to meet people next summer, and experience a new culture. France is sounding like a good option right now. I am considering doing a summer abroad course through school. That way, I can brush up on my french, gain another credit that can be used towards a french teachable and then have the option to travel before/after the course.

I really hope I go somewhere.

I'm getting restless.

On a less serious note:

Pics of the day:

America has voted for change.

I was actually moved to tears by Obama's speech presence last night. I've never been one to feel passionate about politics, so this kind of shocked me. I think what really got to me was watching this whole thing with my dad. For most of the night, he kept saying rhetorically, "Can you believe it? Can you believe it!?!?!" And when Obama came onto the stage, the look on my dad's face was priceless/unforgettable/ingrained in my memory forever.

I don't really care much for the concept of race, however tonight, I feel particularly inclined to discuss it. I'll be honest with you, I hate the concept of race. I don't hate very many things, so this is a big deal. For years its been a word that I've always attached negative associations with. Why does it matter that your skin is black/white/yellow/red/brown/etc.? Why does it matter that you and a whole other bunch of people are different from others based on common, genetically linked, physical characteristics?? Didn't we all come from the same ancestor anyway?
Well, yes, yes we did.

But even though we are the same species, and we all came from one common ancestor, the fact that a (half-)black man was elected president of the United States is still BIG news. I guess for me, its not that big of a deal. I got over the concept of race being a dividing factor practically at birth when I probabaly looked up at my parents, saw that they weren't the same colour, and thought that that was normal. To my dad, however, as I learned from his reaction tonight, it is a big deal. Which is why I cried.

As some of you know, my parents' families didn't agree to the union between my mom and dad because my dad is black and my mom is asian. And to be honest with you, I sometimes get the hint that they don't still agree with it. Even after all of these years. (And this really hurts me, seeing as how I'm the product of said union.)

And as some of you may not know, my dad used to be a pharmacist back in Trinidad. When he immigrated to Canada, he went into a pharmacy to try to get an apprenticeship with the pharmacist while he went to school. The white man looked at my dad's black skin and said that he'd never be a pharmacist and that he couldn't give him a job. And with that, my dad became a chef.

If my dad had the example of a black US president back then, I think that things may have turned out differently for him. And that's why Obama in the White House is such a good thing. For all those kids out there who think the odds are against them, they now have the perfect role model.

And with this, I leave you with a cute quote by (apparently) Jay-Z:
"Rosa Parks sat so that Martin Luther King could walk. Martin Luther King walked, so that Obama could run. Obama is running so that we all can fly."

Glued to the television.

Right now, I'm sitting in my living room with my parents watching the U.S. Presidential Election. It's so exciting! After almost two years of campaigning, it all comes down to tonight.

Looks like Obama will win. Obama just won.

And, in light of this fact, I will state something I never in my life have ever thought I would ever state:

I wish I was an American tonight.

I hope that in the near future (as in, four years from now), someone will run in a Canadian election who will make me feel this way about our country. But as I wait out the next four years wishing I could flee south of the border, and although I feel like Canadians have taken a step back by voting conservatively again, I'll remember that for the past 141 years Canada has only taken steps forward. We've always been ahead, and its now its time to let the others catch up.

Things I like besides my friends:

Rejoice!

I'm feeling quite good right now. My behaviour lab report is now due next Monday...as opposed to this Wednesday and I just had a good conversation with a friend who I had been thinking about this weekend.

I had been thinking about a few good friends this past weekend; however they're all relatively difficult to get a hold of (ie. don't live in this city/country/continent; don't have a phone; aren't home for the weekend; are moving; etc.) so I didn't get to talk with them. I was feeling quite bummed about that--you know that feeling that you get when you have exciting news and you call your friend to tell them excitedly the exciting news only to get a busy tone or have them not pick up? Well, that's sort of what I was feeling...Until today! I spoke to OH about her weekend jaunt to Montreal, to JH about the move to her new place, and I also heard from AS, whose past time of watching Harry Potter clips on Youtube I find amusing.

I like my friends.

Swamped.

I have so much school work to do! Not to mention that I am the slowest essay writer ever. I'm a pretty good writer, it just takes me a million years to formulate the perfect paragraph. Which I suppose is the problem--I'm too meticulous when it comes to paper-writing. Nonetheless, kind of regretting going out last night. It was still amusing though. EP knows what I mean lol.

And finally, a vow of sorts: I promise this blog will not turn into one of those cliched fashion blogs.

It may, however, turn into 'Project Document-All-That-I-Like-and-Think-is-Beautiful.'

To get the ball rolling:

(Add this bathing suit to the previous Christmas wishlist.)

Last night's party

The Halloween shindig chez MB and WK was enjoyable. Its always good to get together with friends you don't see often. As always, drama ensued and thus made the party less enjoyable for some.

Work today was rough. Twas soooo busy. I can't imagine what the holidays will be like.

Speaking of the holidays, is it wierd that I want to put up the tree already? Is the first week of November too early? (Don't answer that.) I'm so very excited for December!

My unrealistic Christmas wishlist:

Yes, that's right, I want the Eiffel tower for Christmas.

Please read this Santa.

Have a happy Saturday!