this is us [rach, sarah, luke and i] walking around spadina/kensington (chinatown/a few marketplace streets selling vintage stuff) a few weeks ago.. hahaha.
haha. =)
just for laughs
something rach put together.. lol.
this is us [rach, sarah, luke and i] walking around spadina/kensington (chinatown/a few marketplace streets selling vintage stuff) a few weeks ago.. hahaha.
haha. =)
this is us [rach, sarah, luke and i] walking around spadina/kensington (chinatown/a few marketplace streets selling vintage stuff) a few weeks ago.. hahaha.
haha. =)
season's greetings!
so first up: merry christmas! =D
xmas this year has kinda been a quiet one. normally my noel season is filled with buzzing throught church, preparing musical items, rushing around to buy gifts for friends and family and then the usual boxing day bash. this year however, being over here in canada has proven to be an incredibly dramatic change away from the norm! although it is kinda fun to be caught up in a new routine and a new xmas environment, i can't help but miss the hustle and bustle of xmas back home. it's also kinda sad coz the little "family" that we formed over here has broken up too, with everyone heading onwards for their travels and whatnot. nevertheless though, it's been fantastic having rach over here - nothing quite brings the warmth and joy like family. hahah. =p
well! the past few days have been mildly eventful. we rented a car over the weekend and roadtripped down to niagara! it was an absolute blast. i'm still a bit bummed that i didn't get to sit on the skywheel, but i gotta admit, the blazing lights and the fun atmostphere on clifton hills really did me over. i love the carnival feel. heck, i just LOVE carnivals period! hahah. oh! and better yet, we drove to a walmart too =p it's quite funny actually. things are super super cheap. hahaha. it's so awesome. ;)
so from fort george and the floral clock, to the falls and the lights festival, saturday was a pretty awesome touring day. after church on sunday, we took a drive all the way up to vaughan mills to hit the massive mall. it was definately worth it. it kinda just reminded me how much i love suburban shopping... hahah. =p we then took an hour-long diversion through the 'burbs to check out the christmas lights and just to "stalk" out the suburban feel of toronto at christmas time. =p
all in all, the weekend was super productive - and we saw some absolutely gorgeous sights too! let me just say. niagara-on-the-lake? a definate must if you're ever in the area! it's beeeeeauuuttiful! =D
so, as usual, here are some happy snaps:
posing crazily with our rental... it's a mazda 3... if you can't tell.
the ever famous prince of wales hotel.
a passerby was nice enough to take the pic for us and not run off with our camera. =D big grin.
rach and me doing an oh snap... just for raph!
what a weird weird town...
"love ya!"
a heart out to mum and dad!
me all by my lonesome.
hahaha. how true. =p not to mention appropriate! ;)
one seven wonder down, six more to go...
hahaha. i love the 24/7 shopping. =p how can you go wrong? ;)
so! lastly! just as i begun, i hope that you all have an incredibly merry merry christmas! and i hope the joy of the season carries on to the new year so that you can start off 2008 on a fresh and joyful note! =D
jyaa,
- pheebs.
xmas this year has kinda been a quiet one. normally my noel season is filled with buzzing throught church, preparing musical items, rushing around to buy gifts for friends and family and then the usual boxing day bash. this year however, being over here in canada has proven to be an incredibly dramatic change away from the norm! although it is kinda fun to be caught up in a new routine and a new xmas environment, i can't help but miss the hustle and bustle of xmas back home. it's also kinda sad coz the little "family" that we formed over here has broken up too, with everyone heading onwards for their travels and whatnot. nevertheless though, it's been fantastic having rach over here - nothing quite brings the warmth and joy like family. hahah. =p
well! the past few days have been mildly eventful. we rented a car over the weekend and roadtripped down to niagara! it was an absolute blast. i'm still a bit bummed that i didn't get to sit on the skywheel, but i gotta admit, the blazing lights and the fun atmostphere on clifton hills really did me over. i love the carnival feel. heck, i just LOVE carnivals period! hahah. oh! and better yet, we drove to a walmart too =p it's quite funny actually. things are super super cheap. hahaha. it's so awesome. ;)
so from fort george and the floral clock, to the falls and the lights festival, saturday was a pretty awesome touring day. after church on sunday, we took a drive all the way up to vaughan mills to hit the massive mall. it was definately worth it. it kinda just reminded me how much i love suburban shopping... hahah. =p we then took an hour-long diversion through the 'burbs to check out the christmas lights and just to "stalk" out the suburban feel of toronto at christmas time. =p
all in all, the weekend was super productive - and we saw some absolutely gorgeous sights too! let me just say. niagara-on-the-lake? a definate must if you're ever in the area! it's beeeeeauuuttiful! =D
so, as usual, here are some happy snaps:
posing crazily with our rental... it's a mazda 3... if you can't tell.
the ever famous prince of wales hotel.
a passerby was nice enough to take the pic for us and not run off with our camera. =D big grin.
rach and me doing an oh snap... just for raph!
what a weird weird town...
"love ya!"
a heart out to mum and dad!
me all by my lonesome.
hahaha. how true. =p not to mention appropriate! ;)
one seven wonder down, six more to go...
hahaha. i love the 24/7 shopping. =p how can you go wrong? ;)
so! lastly! just as i begun, i hope that you all have an incredibly merry merry christmas! and i hope the joy of the season carries on to the new year so that you can start off 2008 on a fresh and joyful note! =D
jyaa,
- pheebs.
haha.
check this out:
this guy is ALWAYS standing on the busy corner of yonge and dundas. and every single time he yells out, he freaks at least one person out - just make sure you listen to the last passerby who walks by and exclaims "good Lord!" there we were though, trying not to be TOO suss about it... but i'm glad i got him on camera, it's definately something that makes toronto, toronto!
=p.
this guy is ALWAYS standing on the busy corner of yonge and dundas. and every single time he yells out, he freaks at least one person out - just make sure you listen to the last passerby who walks by and exclaims "good Lord!" there we were though, trying not to be TOO suss about it... but i'm glad i got him on camera, it's definately something that makes toronto, toronto!
=p.
welcome to canada
okie! so we're all safely back in TO after doing a bit of travelling over the weekend. for rach, sarah, luke and i, we did a three-day tour of eastern canada which included ottawa, montreal, quebec city and kingston. =) so we kinda chose a "bad" weekend to go seeing that eastern canada was hit by one of the worst snow storms that it's seen in 25 years. LOL. just our luck huh? it got reeeeally bad when we were driving from montreal to quebec - it was snowing and blowing so much that you really couldn't see further than maybe 3 or 4 foot ahead! insane! plus, being out in the blowing snow really hurt my skin - it stung like anything! but luckily, we got to the hotel okie, and thank God that everyone on the tour was safe. it's just so sad that there were over 400 accidents by noon that day (sunday) and than quite a few people were killed on the side of the road - one lady was hit by a snowplough truck when she pulled her car over to wipe her windscreen! crazy!
but anyhow, we were stuck on the bus for most of the time. and even though we saw some pretty spectacular sights, i think the highlight of our trip was still our tour guide. =p
so i'm pretty sure that only rach, luke and sarah will get what i mean when i say this, but really, this tour guide was seriously a one of a kind. not only did he collect his tip on the FIRST day of the tour (within the first 2 hours actually), but he actually only whipped out about five facts throughout the whole 3 days. despite his complete lack of candor and his constant bigotry, he would talk throughout the day at completely random times - even though people were obviously sleeping! the funniest thing yet though, was that every single time he turned on his microphone to talk, you would hear this loud *SIGH*, from EVERYONE on the bus... and yet he STILL didn't get the hint, so he carried on talking each time for at least half an hour! he would go on and on about random things. OH! and he kept over-using the phrase "more or less". hahah. like even in instances when it TOTALLY didn't apply, he would still use it! i.e. he once said, "you know, more or less the restauarant there may be open, but we don't know". then this spanish guy sitting behind us said pretty loudly, "hey charlie, what do you mean? the restaurants only gonna be half open?" hahah. okay so it might be a had-to-be-there moment, but still.. it was just rockishly funny. =p oh.. and he used to live in the "wockies"... rather than the "rockies".. hahha. but yeah, here's an example. i really do hope you find it funny, but also empathetic because we had to sit through 3 straight days of it! hahah. =p here's his rant/spin on montreal strip clubs:
video: you can look but no touch
and then, here are just some photos that we took along the way. the scenery was soooo beautiful! i'm really gonna miss the snow hey - even though it is damn miserable being out there IN it. =p
the bus logo for the chogie tour company we went with
luke trying to "have his way" with a statue at parliament hill in ottawa
rach and i NOT making snow angels on a snow hill in ottawa
a snapshot of me successfully dozing off during one of charlie's rants
can i just say, i am SO glad that i brought my pillow. hahah. =p
beacuse of the storm, we were pretty much stuck in the hotel
i think this a pretty classic picture of the both of us, don't cha think? hehe.
the restaurant we had dinner at - the only restaurant open on grand allez.
it was literally 20 steps from our hotel... we had to front the snow storm, cover our faces and run like penguins to get there. hahah.
the chateau frontenac in quebec city - beeeeauuttiful!
look at that snow!!
just to demonstrate just how much it snowed overnight in quebec...
sarah, me, rach and luke picturizing at a toilet stop along the way from quebec to kingston
so beautiful hey! the whole experience is made even more special by the fact that i got to see ottawa, montreal and quebec in the "summertime"... or at least during fall when there wasn't so much snow all around and when the weather was actually okay to wear a t-shirt in! i really miss that weather hey. =p
but yes. it was an awesome three-days with or without charlie. hahahahah. but either way, it's definately an experience that i won't forget anytime soon!
but anyhow, we were stuck on the bus for most of the time. and even though we saw some pretty spectacular sights, i think the highlight of our trip was still our tour guide. =p
so i'm pretty sure that only rach, luke and sarah will get what i mean when i say this, but really, this tour guide was seriously a one of a kind. not only did he collect his tip on the FIRST day of the tour (within the first 2 hours actually), but he actually only whipped out about five facts throughout the whole 3 days. despite his complete lack of candor and his constant bigotry, he would talk throughout the day at completely random times - even though people were obviously sleeping! the funniest thing yet though, was that every single time he turned on his microphone to talk, you would hear this loud *SIGH*, from EVERYONE on the bus... and yet he STILL didn't get the hint, so he carried on talking each time for at least half an hour! he would go on and on about random things. OH! and he kept over-using the phrase "more or less". hahah. like even in instances when it TOTALLY didn't apply, he would still use it! i.e. he once said, "you know, more or less the restauarant there may be open, but we don't know". then this spanish guy sitting behind us said pretty loudly, "hey charlie, what do you mean? the restaurants only gonna be half open?" hahah. okay so it might be a had-to-be-there moment, but still.. it was just rockishly funny. =p oh.. and he used to live in the "wockies"... rather than the "rockies".. hahha. but yeah, here's an example. i really do hope you find it funny, but also empathetic because we had to sit through 3 straight days of it! hahah. =p here's his rant/spin on montreal strip clubs:
video: you can look but no touch
and then, here are just some photos that we took along the way. the scenery was soooo beautiful! i'm really gonna miss the snow hey - even though it is damn miserable being out there IN it. =p
the bus logo for the chogie tour company we went with
luke trying to "have his way" with a statue at parliament hill in ottawa
rach and i NOT making snow angels on a snow hill in ottawa
a snapshot of me successfully dozing off during one of charlie's rants
can i just say, i am SO glad that i brought my pillow. hahah. =p
beacuse of the storm, we were pretty much stuck in the hotel
i think this a pretty classic picture of the both of us, don't cha think? hehe.
the restaurant we had dinner at - the only restaurant open on grand allez.
it was literally 20 steps from our hotel... we had to front the snow storm, cover our faces and run like penguins to get there. hahah.
the chateau frontenac in quebec city - beeeeauuttiful!
look at that snow!!
just to demonstrate just how much it snowed overnight in quebec...
sarah, me, rach and luke picturizing at a toilet stop along the way from quebec to kingston
so beautiful hey! the whole experience is made even more special by the fact that i got to see ottawa, montreal and quebec in the "summertime"... or at least during fall when there wasn't so much snow all around and when the weather was actually okay to wear a t-shirt in! i really miss that weather hey. =p
but yes. it was an awesome three-days with or without charlie. hahahahah. but either way, it's definately an experience that i won't forget anytime soon!
dinner, drinkin... and yes.. attempted muggage
wow. eventful past couple of days it has been indeed!! the highlight though of course was last night when andrea and i planned a "farewell dinner" for everyone =p now even though some will be here in T.O for another couple of weeks, others are starting to jet off on holidays and whatnot. soooooo. we thought we'd take the opportunity to get everyone together and create some more memories!! and that we did indeed.
so i should probably start by sayin that i finished my exams on friday. hehehe. YAY! ;) hahahaha =p so after crammin for friday's 2 exams and after everyone got through one week of exams, we were all totally ready to go out, let our hair down and have some fun! so in planning dinner, i sent everyone an email which democratically proposed three options (steak and ribs, french and japanese), of which french won overwhelmingly - to andrea's delight i might add. hahah. =p
so here's a recollection of what happened:
we met at our place at 6, even though us girls were still getting ready and after about half an hour, we were on our way to the restaurant. we had a little scare when we got separated at bloor, but we all made it to islington (which is the SECOND LAST STOP on the east-west line...) in one piece! after a little debate over which direction to walk in whilst freezin our toots off on the corner of the intersection, thanks to luke's handy dandy google map pic on his mobile, we found the restaurant okay and were seated in no time. it took us a while to order our food - and corbin was a HUGE help (fyi, he's a culinary student at george brown) by translating all the frenchy jibberish. =p after our appetiserz (which yes, included escargot, but no, didn't include the frogs legs =p), i gotta say that dinner was just o-kay. but dessert ROCKED. hahah.
but the most happenin part of the night didn't start until AFTER dinner... see, most of us wanted to go get some drinks, so we ended up hoppin off at spadina and we wound up walking past bathurst until we hit a martini bar called "insomnia". it was sweeeeeeeeet. the atmosphere inside was so goooooood - i loved the loud and bass-y music, and loved even more the fact that there were so many people there, yet we managed to get a table to seat us all and that we could still hear each other talking! it was absolutely perfect! and the martini blends were freakin awesome too. =D
so carolyn, xinying and chris left early... but not too long after, the rest of us decided to head back coz the subway stops at 1:30. so we settled the bill and took off towards the subway station. we saw a TD on the way, so corbin stopped to draw some money. now when he went it, luke went in with him and there were these two asian guys in there. they were pretty scrawny too. from the outside where sarah, kev and i were standing and lookin through the glass, it seemed like luke was having a fun chat just jokin around with the guys...
but once they came out, it became pretty obvious that they weren't joking around. the two guys started hassling luke for money, tellin him to give them a 20. they started pushing and elbowing him towards the wall, stopping him from walking to join the rest of us... from where sarah and i were - we couldn't hear what they were saying, but their actions were really clear. after luke refused to give them any money, they started to get rough. kev went in to get luke out, but ended up gettin pulled in instead. so eventually, a few headlocks, punches and a bleeding nose later, a pedestrian guy on a bike got in and broke it up after sarah and i kept screaming out to the guys to stop the fighting.
so obviously, the two asian guys ran off - there were way too many onlookers by then. and so luke called the cops. about 5 minutes after that, the cops came took a police report and took all of our details. oh, and luke and kev had to go with them to drive down the street as a preliminary search for the two guys, just in case they were still in the area. afterwards, we ended up cabbing it home - coz by then it was wayyy past 1:30am and we SO weren't about to walk 40 minutes in the -5 degree chill.
CRAZY hey! and what a way to end the evening!! i suppose that my experience to toronto has been completed... hahah. =p even though it was a bad thing to happen, i'm glad that the guys are okay... but more importantly, i'm so glad that the guys were there!! i think i'm WAY too scared to go out on my own now... =S
anyway, the whole night we were totally camera happy - we got quite a few good ones too. =)) have a look!
the bunch of us at the primrose
L-R: xinying|me|sophia|carolyn|luke|sarah|corbin|andrea
corbin and me on the subway
kev pimping it =p
L-R: andrea|me|kev|carolyn|sophia|xinying
and hahah to even it out: here's sarah "pimping" it ;)
L-R: corbin|luke|sarah|chris|alex
hahaha. guess what it is.......... it's slugs! i mean.... snails... =p
but hey.. it was better than i expected.. hahah. yum yum!
mmm here's my meal: veal tenderloin with mushroon saucce.. yummmmm. =p
annnnddd. here's my dessert! profiteroles: they were worth every single penny!!
awww how picturesque! such a facebook pose. haha.
my freakin awesome sour apple martini! bugger.
i forgot to take a pic of my sour lemon drop one... that was sooooo goooooood!
mmm. the SCENE of the crime!!
haha. and proof of the coppers. =p
that's kev gettin out after their lil "joy ride"...
so yeah! all in all, it was a pretty eventful night! from the food, the company and even to the muggage. thank God everyone's okay!
it's amazing how things like this happen! it's all quite surreal, yet... i think i still feel a tad bit unsafe walking around downtown - and i feel as if some creepy people are gonna jump out at any second! believe me, i totally wasn't expecting it from those two guys - they looked so decent and normal... and they weren't THAT plastered either... really, i guess it's so true that you can't judge a book by its cover... nor people by their normalcy of attire.
but yes yes. i think i'll sleep well tonight knowing that i've got guy friends here who are butch enough to defend us girls... hahahaha. =p
mmm. what a way to say farewell to toronto. hahaha.
mmm okie. i'm off now!
~jyaaa.
so i should probably start by sayin that i finished my exams on friday. hehehe. YAY! ;) hahahaha =p so after crammin for friday's 2 exams and after everyone got through one week of exams, we were all totally ready to go out, let our hair down and have some fun! so in planning dinner, i sent everyone an email which democratically proposed three options (steak and ribs, french and japanese), of which french won overwhelmingly - to andrea's delight i might add. hahah. =p
so here's a recollection of what happened:
we met at our place at 6, even though us girls were still getting ready and after about half an hour, we were on our way to the restaurant. we had a little scare when we got separated at bloor, but we all made it to islington (which is the SECOND LAST STOP on the east-west line...) in one piece! after a little debate over which direction to walk in whilst freezin our toots off on the corner of the intersection, thanks to luke's handy dandy google map pic on his mobile, we found the restaurant okay and were seated in no time. it took us a while to order our food - and corbin was a HUGE help (fyi, he's a culinary student at george brown) by translating all the frenchy jibberish. =p after our appetiserz (which yes, included escargot, but no, didn't include the frogs legs =p), i gotta say that dinner was just o-kay. but dessert ROCKED. hahah.
but the most happenin part of the night didn't start until AFTER dinner... see, most of us wanted to go get some drinks, so we ended up hoppin off at spadina and we wound up walking past bathurst until we hit a martini bar called "insomnia". it was sweeeeeeeeet. the atmosphere inside was so goooooood - i loved the loud and bass-y music, and loved even more the fact that there were so many people there, yet we managed to get a table to seat us all and that we could still hear each other talking! it was absolutely perfect! and the martini blends were freakin awesome too. =D
so carolyn, xinying and chris left early... but not too long after, the rest of us decided to head back coz the subway stops at 1:30. so we settled the bill and took off towards the subway station. we saw a TD on the way, so corbin stopped to draw some money. now when he went it, luke went in with him and there were these two asian guys in there. they were pretty scrawny too. from the outside where sarah, kev and i were standing and lookin through the glass, it seemed like luke was having a fun chat just jokin around with the guys...
but once they came out, it became pretty obvious that they weren't joking around. the two guys started hassling luke for money, tellin him to give them a 20. they started pushing and elbowing him towards the wall, stopping him from walking to join the rest of us... from where sarah and i were - we couldn't hear what they were saying, but their actions were really clear. after luke refused to give them any money, they started to get rough. kev went in to get luke out, but ended up gettin pulled in instead. so eventually, a few headlocks, punches and a bleeding nose later, a pedestrian guy on a bike got in and broke it up after sarah and i kept screaming out to the guys to stop the fighting.
so obviously, the two asian guys ran off - there were way too many onlookers by then. and so luke called the cops. about 5 minutes after that, the cops came took a police report and took all of our details. oh, and luke and kev had to go with them to drive down the street as a preliminary search for the two guys, just in case they were still in the area. afterwards, we ended up cabbing it home - coz by then it was wayyy past 1:30am and we SO weren't about to walk 40 minutes in the -5 degree chill.
CRAZY hey! and what a way to end the evening!! i suppose that my experience to toronto has been completed... hahah. =p even though it was a bad thing to happen, i'm glad that the guys are okay... but more importantly, i'm so glad that the guys were there!! i think i'm WAY too scared to go out on my own now... =S
anyway, the whole night we were totally camera happy - we got quite a few good ones too. =)) have a look!
the bunch of us at the primrose
L-R: xinying|me|sophia|carolyn|luke|sarah|corbin|andrea
corbin and me on the subway
kev pimping it =p
L-R: andrea|me|kev|carolyn|sophia|xinying
and hahah to even it out: here's sarah "pimping" it ;)
L-R: corbin|luke|sarah|chris|alex
hahaha. guess what it is.......... it's slugs! i mean.... snails... =p
but hey.. it was better than i expected.. hahah. yum yum!
mmm here's my meal: veal tenderloin with mushroon saucce.. yummmmm. =p
annnnddd. here's my dessert! profiteroles: they were worth every single penny!!
awww how picturesque! such a facebook pose. haha.
my freakin awesome sour apple martini! bugger.
i forgot to take a pic of my sour lemon drop one... that was sooooo goooooood!
mmm. the SCENE of the crime!!
haha. and proof of the coppers. =p
that's kev gettin out after their lil "joy ride"...
so yeah! all in all, it was a pretty eventful night! from the food, the company and even to the muggage. thank God everyone's okay!
it's amazing how things like this happen! it's all quite surreal, yet... i think i still feel a tad bit unsafe walking around downtown - and i feel as if some creepy people are gonna jump out at any second! believe me, i totally wasn't expecting it from those two guys - they looked so decent and normal... and they weren't THAT plastered either... really, i guess it's so true that you can't judge a book by its cover... nor people by their normalcy of attire.
but yes yes. i think i'll sleep well tonight knowing that i've got guy friends here who are butch enough to defend us girls... hahahaha. =p
mmm. what a way to say farewell to toronto. hahaha.
mmm okie. i'm off now!
~jyaaa.
'tis the season to be jolly
wow. mmmm. getting into christmas mode! and.. CAN YOU BELIEVE that it's already december! OMG. now tell me.. WHERE has the time gone?
i could've sworn that it was just last week that i just got to toronto and just started classes... and now, classes are over and i'm 4 days from finishing this semester! it's totally unbelievable.
so anyway. now i'm 1 exam down and 2 more to go. bad luck for me however, both of them are on friday morning. good news however, by 2pm on friday - i'll officially be done! =D whoop dee do.
alrighty so this weekend was pretty funny. i totally procrastinated (as per usual), and so thursday, friday and saturday was pretty much spent doing nothing. lol. sunday however i did do a lot of my politics exam which is definately a good thing (even if it is full of crap). but yes. friday night - thanks to luke, we went to natrel and did more figure skating... the skating i liked, the cold...? i don't think so! it was abt -13 degs by the time we were out there.. and the wind chill made it a heck of a lot worse. butttttttttt. after about and hour or so of freezin my ass off, it actually got better. hahah. but yeah, it was a nice night. =)
so yeah, after skating we ended up at teashop 168, played pick-up sticks (which i'm amazed no one else has done before...!!) and then somehow "accidentily" ended up grocery shopping.. haha. thennn, we ended up at our place where corbin made a kick ass salad, and nhan taught us how to play viet style big 2... pretty funny.. lol. anyway, here's some pics:
L-R: kev|corbin|andrea|sarah|nhan|me|luke
just the bunch of us eating dinner before going out skating
L-R: luke|andrea|nhan|me|corbin
us aussies... with andrea's elbow in a preeeeeeety awkward place... but hey, you don't see luke complainin right...? ;)
nhan teaching me how to play viet big 2... watta whacked game. but yet so good.
mmm. saturday night was a major snow storm! well. maybe not a storm.. but it sure did snow a lot!! so on sunday morning when i woke up and went downstairs to walk to church - the whole street was covered with snow!! all the gates and sidewalks and all were just packed with white fluffy snow! it was pretty cool.. hahah except the fact that the church congregation was pretty much halved because of all the people who couldn't make it because they were snowed in... LOL. but yes.. so later on when sarah and i were headed to uni to get some work down we brought our cameras along and went a little camera happy hahah.. but with good reason of course! check it out:
a REAL snow woman! she's got boobs and everything! hahahah.
but sadly no.... i didn't make this one..
the ryerson quad - look at the pines! how beautiful!!
sarah and the snow on the road...
and then... the piles of ploughed snow.
a look down mutual street - i walk this stretch pretty much everyday..
and yet, it was totally revelatory to see the snow..
amazing hey.. it was really the first time that i've seen THAT much snow. totally amazing. =D i think that after witnessing a white christmas like this, things are gonna feel sooooo different back in perth! hahah. but either way, it's definately a whole new experience... i'm not sure if i could live here in toronto though, long term i mean. it's a bit too slushy and cold for me... =p are you glad to hear that mum? hahahah!
mmm okie. i need to be off now! gonna have a few study days for the next couple of days. ;) otherwise come friday morning - i'm totally screwed. lol.
soooo peace out. and stay warm. =D
i could've sworn that it was just last week that i just got to toronto and just started classes... and now, classes are over and i'm 4 days from finishing this semester! it's totally unbelievable.
so anyway. now i'm 1 exam down and 2 more to go. bad luck for me however, both of them are on friday morning. good news however, by 2pm on friday - i'll officially be done! =D whoop dee do.
alrighty so this weekend was pretty funny. i totally procrastinated (as per usual), and so thursday, friday and saturday was pretty much spent doing nothing. lol. sunday however i did do a lot of my politics exam which is definately a good thing (even if it is full of crap). but yes. friday night - thanks to luke, we went to natrel and did more figure skating... the skating i liked, the cold...? i don't think so! it was abt -13 degs by the time we were out there.. and the wind chill made it a heck of a lot worse. butttttttttt. after about and hour or so of freezin my ass off, it actually got better. hahah. but yeah, it was a nice night. =)
so yeah, after skating we ended up at teashop 168, played pick-up sticks (which i'm amazed no one else has done before...!!) and then somehow "accidentily" ended up grocery shopping.. haha. thennn, we ended up at our place where corbin made a kick ass salad, and nhan taught us how to play viet style big 2... pretty funny.. lol. anyway, here's some pics:
L-R: kev|corbin|andrea|sarah|nhan|me|luke
just the bunch of us eating dinner before going out skating
L-R: luke|andrea|nhan|me|corbin
us aussies... with andrea's elbow in a preeeeeeety awkward place... but hey, you don't see luke complainin right...? ;)
nhan teaching me how to play viet big 2... watta whacked game. but yet so good.
mmm. saturday night was a major snow storm! well. maybe not a storm.. but it sure did snow a lot!! so on sunday morning when i woke up and went downstairs to walk to church - the whole street was covered with snow!! all the gates and sidewalks and all were just packed with white fluffy snow! it was pretty cool.. hahah except the fact that the church congregation was pretty much halved because of all the people who couldn't make it because they were snowed in... LOL. but yes.. so later on when sarah and i were headed to uni to get some work down we brought our cameras along and went a little camera happy hahah.. but with good reason of course! check it out:
a REAL snow woman! she's got boobs and everything! hahahah.
but sadly no.... i didn't make this one..
the ryerson quad - look at the pines! how beautiful!!
sarah and the snow on the road...
and then... the piles of ploughed snow.
a look down mutual street - i walk this stretch pretty much everyday..
and yet, it was totally revelatory to see the snow..
amazing hey.. it was really the first time that i've seen THAT much snow. totally amazing. =D i think that after witnessing a white christmas like this, things are gonna feel sooooo different back in perth! hahah. but either way, it's definately a whole new experience... i'm not sure if i could live here in toronto though, long term i mean. it's a bit too slushy and cold for me... =p are you glad to hear that mum? hahahah!
mmm okie. i need to be off now! gonna have a few study days for the next couple of days. ;) otherwise come friday morning - i'm totally screwed. lol.
soooo peace out. and stay warm. =D
oh back to high school...
hahah. okie. so a few days ago, andrea came home with three cheap ass dvds from pac mall. =p AND high school musical just happened to be one of them... so now i'm listening to zac efron and vanessa hudgens on repeat! hahaha. so i thought i'd do a lil youtubing and share it all with you. =p
these two are from the high school musical 2 - which i'm yet to watch. haha.
gotta find my own way
you are the music in me
looks like there's not as much dancing and prancing in the 2nd one.. but hmm i'll just have to wait and see. =) sweet huh. if only real life were like that. hahah. life in music - that'd be the day. ;)
these two are from the high school musical 2 - which i'm yet to watch. haha.
gotta find my own way
you are the music in me
looks like there's not as much dancing and prancing in the 2nd one.. but hmm i'll just have to wait and see. =) sweet huh. if only real life were like that. hahah. life in music - that'd be the day. ;)
*what have we done?*
yes yes. so on friday, i so proudly fulfilled my civic duties and... voted in the federal election! and no.. i really don't care if you think that i'm a nutter for WANTING to cast my vote. LOL.
so anyway, upon taking a trek up to the australian consulate general office, i realized something imperative: most australians really don't know their rights! once i got to the office, the first thing some guy said to us (luke and me) was "haha oh. you guys don't want to get fined either huh?" okay. so yes NO we don't want to get fined. but more importantly! if you're overseas - you don't NEED to vote. so really, there he was, wasting a trip and voting for nothing - because really, if you're overseas and you get fined, you just send the fine back with a tick in the box saying that you were indeed overseas, and then you don't have to pay it! and no.. it doesn't go on your record either. LOL.
well, here's some quick snaps of the vacant office which they used to hold the election here in toronto:
*i am.... you are... we are AUSTRALIAN*. tear. getting all patriotic.
the ladies at the electoral roll desk... man... so snotty.
only two you ask? i guess tt's just a reflection of how many ppl they were expecting!
and alas... my pre-poll envelope.. sorry. had to blur out my address for the safety of my family...
now from the looks of the office - aren't you glad that taxpayers money ISN'T going towards making australians abroad feel at home? but hey. at least they could afford to get a flag! ;)
so anyway! when rach called me at 6:50am, and said two words which funnily enough - didn't really make me feel anything. "rudd won". lol. then for the next two hours i tossed and turned and dreamt about the severity and the implications of the electoral outcome.
-begin rant-
what really burns me is how so many people vote in elections without knowing the exact political consequence of where they're putting their vote! and not only that, but it seems that irrespective of political consequence are the pertinent social and economic consequences which people also disregard! and you know what, i don't blame them. i mean, it's not exactly a realistic wish nor expectation to have people research each candidate in their electorate as well as party platform/policies before heading into the election to cast their vote. instead, the australian public is largely reliant upon all of the bipartisan propaganda which infiltrates the mass media - just look at the net, tv, radio, newspapers - everywhere. believe what you hear? i think not.
so i'm really interested to see where the Labor government takes Australia in the next 3 years. coz i look back and realize... hell yeah, Labor has a really bad run with money. based on trend, they overcompensate on social policy and provisions so they lax it out by "improving" social conditions. just think back to the 1970s. we got so sick of mcmahon and the bad run of luck with the liberals that we kicked them out and voted in the whitlam govt, who face it - made so many promises that it was hard not to be attracted. bcoz of whitlam we made diplomatic relations with china, gave indigenous people mabo's title and claim to their own land, made university free, cut the voting age to 18 and most importantly abolished the white australian policy. then what happened with whitlam? it all went awry when he got booted out bcoz of crazy spending and a conniving opposition leader. the trend goes on too. after that little scare (aka. the constitutional crisis) we got sick of fraser, dumped him and voted in hawke who then got kicked out by his fellow-Labor mate keating. ah that's politics for you.
long story short, we may have gotten sick of howard... but it isn't all just roses and ice cream. just for the record, here's my prediction:
labor will stick to their social policy inclination. heck, you might even see a couple of tax cuts along the way (that's kevin rudd bribing us, but hey, i'm gonna pay less so i'm not complaining). and then since we're pulling out troops and signing the kyoto protocol, spending is bound to increase in social policy areas. we'll have cleaner water, "better" education, more free stuff and heck, probably an elevated welfare state. let's just wait for the eggs of income tax, IR and workplace reforms to hatch. but once all that is done, i can see a cloud of four letters = d.e.b.t.
after the hawke/keating government, we were left with a $96 billion dollar debt - which was left to the liberals to clean up. what do you think we'll be left with after rudd is through? but i don't want to forget to mention the risk of having voted for a dude who won the labor leadership at 49-39 (beazley) less than 12 months ago. because rudd could potentially meet a hiccup along the way - after all, we did elect him for a longer term as prime minister than he's actually been leader of the labor party. funny isn't it?
either way, when things lax out, everyone's gonna love it. but i'll say it now, 10 years from now when ppl in our generation are working in career type jobs with plus salaries and benefits? we'll feel the pinch then when we realize that the labour government has abhorrently increased expenditure, created a debt which needs to be cleaned up, and so we'll vote for liberals to come and work their magic. and let's not forget this: once we do this? face it - we'll be welcomed back into the world of complacency. we'll complain. we'll get affluent. and yup, it'll be howard all over again.
-end rant-
so anyway, upon taking a trek up to the australian consulate general office, i realized something imperative: most australians really don't know their rights! once i got to the office, the first thing some guy said to us (luke and me) was "haha oh. you guys don't want to get fined either huh?" okay. so yes NO we don't want to get fined. but more importantly! if you're overseas - you don't NEED to vote. so really, there he was, wasting a trip and voting for nothing - because really, if you're overseas and you get fined, you just send the fine back with a tick in the box saying that you were indeed overseas, and then you don't have to pay it! and no.. it doesn't go on your record either. LOL.
well, here's some quick snaps of the vacant office which they used to hold the election here in toronto:
*i am.... you are... we are AUSTRALIAN*. tear. getting all patriotic.
the ladies at the electoral roll desk... man... so snotty.
only two you ask? i guess tt's just a reflection of how many ppl they were expecting!
and alas... my pre-poll envelope.. sorry. had to blur out my address for the safety of my family...
now from the looks of the office - aren't you glad that taxpayers money ISN'T going towards making australians abroad feel at home? but hey. at least they could afford to get a flag! ;)
so anyway! when rach called me at 6:50am, and said two words which funnily enough - didn't really make me feel anything. "rudd won". lol. then for the next two hours i tossed and turned and dreamt about the severity and the implications of the electoral outcome.
-begin rant-
what really burns me is how so many people vote in elections without knowing the exact political consequence of where they're putting their vote! and not only that, but it seems that irrespective of political consequence are the pertinent social and economic consequences which people also disregard! and you know what, i don't blame them. i mean, it's not exactly a realistic wish nor expectation to have people research each candidate in their electorate as well as party platform/policies before heading into the election to cast their vote. instead, the australian public is largely reliant upon all of the bipartisan propaganda which infiltrates the mass media - just look at the net, tv, radio, newspapers - everywhere. believe what you hear? i think not.
so i'm really interested to see where the Labor government takes Australia in the next 3 years. coz i look back and realize... hell yeah, Labor has a really bad run with money. based on trend, they overcompensate on social policy and provisions so they lax it out by "improving" social conditions. just think back to the 1970s. we got so sick of mcmahon and the bad run of luck with the liberals that we kicked them out and voted in the whitlam govt, who face it - made so many promises that it was hard not to be attracted. bcoz of whitlam we made diplomatic relations with china, gave indigenous people mabo's title and claim to their own land, made university free, cut the voting age to 18 and most importantly abolished the white australian policy. then what happened with whitlam? it all went awry when he got booted out bcoz of crazy spending and a conniving opposition leader. the trend goes on too. after that little scare (aka. the constitutional crisis) we got sick of fraser, dumped him and voted in hawke who then got kicked out by his fellow-Labor mate keating. ah that's politics for you.
long story short, we may have gotten sick of howard... but it isn't all just roses and ice cream. just for the record, here's my prediction:
labor will stick to their social policy inclination. heck, you might even see a couple of tax cuts along the way (that's kevin rudd bribing us, but hey, i'm gonna pay less so i'm not complaining). and then since we're pulling out troops and signing the kyoto protocol, spending is bound to increase in social policy areas. we'll have cleaner water, "better" education, more free stuff and heck, probably an elevated welfare state. let's just wait for the eggs of income tax, IR and workplace reforms to hatch. but once all that is done, i can see a cloud of four letters = d.e.b.t.
after the hawke/keating government, we were left with a $96 billion dollar debt - which was left to the liberals to clean up. what do you think we'll be left with after rudd is through? but i don't want to forget to mention the risk of having voted for a dude who won the labor leadership at 49-39 (beazley) less than 12 months ago. because rudd could potentially meet a hiccup along the way - after all, we did elect him for a longer term as prime minister than he's actually been leader of the labor party. funny isn't it?
either way, when things lax out, everyone's gonna love it. but i'll say it now, 10 years from now when ppl in our generation are working in career type jobs with plus salaries and benefits? we'll feel the pinch then when we realize that the labour government has abhorrently increased expenditure, created a debt which needs to be cleaned up, and so we'll vote for liberals to come and work their magic. and let's not forget this: once we do this? face it - we'll be welcomed back into the world of complacency. we'll complain. we'll get affluent. and yup, it'll be howard all over again.
-end rant-
*contentment lies in...*
okay. i think i'm a youtube freak now. LOL.
first up i gotta say. i'm super super sore. lol. and for the first time in forever - i actually bruised! LOL. but yeah. i'm sooooo tired. hahhahahah.
but more importantly!!
so tonight the girls and i (plus alex) hit mod club to go watch elliot yamin! i was also pleasantly suprized by the talent filled bands/artists who were touring with him. the last goodnight and josh hoge - they were awesome too! hahaha but seriously, elliot yamin? WAYY better live! hahhahaha. =p
first though, here's some happy snaps of us:
sarah, andrea and moi
xinying, sarah, me, carolyn, andrea, alex
me with josh hoge
so okay, i know the vids are crappy quality. but, i had to reduce them =( regardless, you get the point! hahaha. and oh. watch the vids, then think 20 times better! coz them live - is FREAKIN AWESOME!!! =p
josh hoge: sunshine
elliot yamin: wait for you
elliot yamin: one word
elliot yamin: find a way
elliot yamin: i don't know what this song is called!
awesome huh.
okie. heading off for another contented sleep.
and oh. just an extra note of what i've learned today? speaking your mind really does help!! i'm glad i called home and i'm glad that everything's crystal clear. =)
ookieeee! toodles!
- pheebs.
first up i gotta say. i'm super super sore. lol. and for the first time in forever - i actually bruised! LOL. but yeah. i'm sooooo tired. hahhahahah.
but more importantly!!
so tonight the girls and i (plus alex) hit mod club to go watch elliot yamin! i was also pleasantly suprized by the talent filled bands/artists who were touring with him. the last goodnight and josh hoge - they were awesome too! hahaha but seriously, elliot yamin? WAYY better live! hahhahaha. =p
first though, here's some happy snaps of us:
sarah, andrea and moi
xinying, sarah, me, carolyn, andrea, alex
me with josh hoge
so okay, i know the vids are crappy quality. but, i had to reduce them =( regardless, you get the point! hahaha. and oh. watch the vids, then think 20 times better! coz them live - is FREAKIN AWESOME!!! =p
josh hoge: sunshine
elliot yamin: wait for you
elliot yamin: one word
elliot yamin: find a way
elliot yamin: i don't know what this song is called!
awesome huh.
okie. heading off for another contented sleep.
and oh. just an extra note of what i've learned today? speaking your mind really does help!! i'm glad i called home and i'm glad that everything's crystal clear. =)
ookieeee! toodles!
- pheebs.
okie. no joke. i had one of the most AMAZING days today!! hahah. so the day started off on a dodgy note with me not waking up becoz of my stupid alarm (yes... AGAIN)!!! buttt. it was all washed away by a reeeeally therapeutic morning shower. =D and then, andrea, sarah and i did devotions - which was a really really good start to our day out! =D
after devotions, xinying and carolyn joined us and we got on our way to the santa parade! okiee. now in all honesty? i've seen better. but it still was pretty cute seeing all the little kids and the parents get all excited about it all. AND it was a nice change to be watchin a parade in freezing cold weather as opposed to the sweltering heat that we normally have back home in oz. sooo. after freezing our bums off for a good 2 hours, we decided to split and head off on a walk. xinying went to watch a marlies game (ice hockey) whilst andrea headed back to the primrose to... get socks? hahah. and so carolyn, sarah and i hit bloor. after a while, andrea joined us again and we did even more shopping! i found some killer heels - woot. and the girls found a few things too (although i don't think they bought much!). after our shopping adventure, we headed to dinner at natural sushi. this time we totally ordered right. hahaha. yum yum yum! i think i totally soothed my salmon craving. hahah. =p after a really really apetizing dinner, we impulsively decided to go ice-skating!!!
okay so those of you who know me well, yup you'd realize that this has been one of my dreams since i watched the mighty ducks for the very first time! this puts it in the ballpark area of when i was 8-9 years old?? hahha. so yes. i gotta say. it was AWESOME!!! hahha. loved it loved it loved it! and i'm soooooo going back again. haha. my only regret now is that i didn't bring my own skates over.. otherwise it would've been a totally complete experience. but oh well! it was good nonetheless. and yes, one more dream has finally been fulfilled!!
okay. well i've uploaded heaps and heaps of pics! enjoy! =D
the five of us
at the parade... a little bit early for xmas don't cha think?
here's dinner. beasty heyyyy. =p
sarah, carolyn and andrea gettin jetted up ready to rock'n'roll.
me, carolyn and sarah @ natrel
me out on the ice
doing the tango... yes we're such posers.
me and andrea posing somemore...
the classic 1990s pose...
me and andrea showing our satisfaction after skating!
me - meditating? hahaha. random whim.
hahaha. posers... but yes... we're starjumpin on the jetty.. =p just to show our "high"-ness after skating... hahahah.
hahah. such fun huh! =p i gotta say... this probably has been one of the best days yet! thanks girls!!! =D i reeeeeally don't know what i'd do without ya!
so yes.. i'm definately sleeping contented tonight. hahah.
peace.
- pheebs.
after devotions, xinying and carolyn joined us and we got on our way to the santa parade! okiee. now in all honesty? i've seen better. but it still was pretty cute seeing all the little kids and the parents get all excited about it all. AND it was a nice change to be watchin a parade in freezing cold weather as opposed to the sweltering heat that we normally have back home in oz. sooo. after freezing our bums off for a good 2 hours, we decided to split and head off on a walk. xinying went to watch a marlies game (ice hockey) whilst andrea headed back to the primrose to... get socks? hahah. and so carolyn, sarah and i hit bloor. after a while, andrea joined us again and we did even more shopping! i found some killer heels - woot. and the girls found a few things too (although i don't think they bought much!). after our shopping adventure, we headed to dinner at natural sushi. this time we totally ordered right. hahaha. yum yum yum! i think i totally soothed my salmon craving. hahah. =p after a really really apetizing dinner, we impulsively decided to go ice-skating!!!
okay so those of you who know me well, yup you'd realize that this has been one of my dreams since i watched the mighty ducks for the very first time! this puts it in the ballpark area of when i was 8-9 years old?? hahha. so yes. i gotta say. it was AWESOME!!! hahha. loved it loved it loved it! and i'm soooooo going back again. haha. my only regret now is that i didn't bring my own skates over.. otherwise it would've been a totally complete experience. but oh well! it was good nonetheless. and yes, one more dream has finally been fulfilled!!
okay. well i've uploaded heaps and heaps of pics! enjoy! =D
the five of us
at the parade... a little bit early for xmas don't cha think?
here's dinner. beasty heyyyy. =p
sarah, carolyn and andrea gettin jetted up ready to rock'n'roll.
me, carolyn and sarah @ natrel
me out on the ice
doing the tango... yes we're such posers.
me and andrea posing somemore...
the classic 1990s pose...
me and andrea showing our satisfaction after skating!
me - meditating? hahaha. random whim.
hahaha. posers... but yes... we're starjumpin on the jetty.. =p just to show our "high"-ness after skating... hahahah.
hahah. such fun huh! =p i gotta say... this probably has been one of the best days yet! thanks girls!!! =D i reeeeeally don't know what i'd do without ya!
so yes.. i'm definately sleeping contented tonight. hahah.
peace.
- pheebs.
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