Well whadda ya know?

$20,000 later and I am able to "get" a reference they make in Ray. Shmelly and I finally got around to watching this awesome movie on Monday night and when one of the characters (I think he was supposed to be Quincy Jones) commented to Ray that "I'll never go down [South] to be no Jim Crow performer," I just short of sprang to my feet out of excitement, simply because I knew what he meant. All thanks to my "Popular American Music" course, I knew what a Jim Crow performer was and why Quincy Jones didn't want to go down South to be one. Yay, knowledge! My morsel of knowledge did little to enrich the watching experience of the movie, but still, it was nice to know that my tuition fees were not going to waste.

Speaking of academia, for those of you who think it's no fun to read scholarly articles, I would like to direct your attention to the following. I'm going to call this one my Quote of the Moment:

Therefore one is wary of setting into the notion that one has a handle on the historical situation, since that certainty will without a doubt soon be rescinded. Nor is one likely to believe in unequivocally using history for positive social change, which in many cases might be like using a baseball bat to put out a poor stranger in flames.

I had to do a doubletake on this one. "...might be like using a baseball bat to put out a poor stranger in flames"?! That's a great line. C'mon, you've got to give respect to a Ph.D who can write a line like that and get it published in a scholarly journal. When I grow up and finish spending my life-savings on my ed-ju-ma-ca-tion, I want to be able to do that too.

Also, while kind-of, sort-of, not-really on the topic of music, there's something about the scratchiness of songs played from a record that's vintagely-romantic (yet another word to enter into my uniquely personal vocabulary). I was listening to a compilation CD I acquired from that abovementioned course and when I could hear the pops and crackles of the record player over the song, I would be thrown into my own mental time warp. There, I pictured myself in some old-style parlour where there were heavy drapes plunging from ceiling to floor and I was surrounded by such things called "divans" and "settees" and "gramophones" and the one guy to cross my path (and of course ask me to dance) was dressed in vest, tie, and tails. Nothing beats a dance for no reason. (*sigh* --Thoughts of Kate & Leopold. Where is gentlemanly wooing when you need it?)

Song of the Moment: "Till I Get Over You" - Michelle Branch

Every time I feel alone
I can blame it on you
And I do
Oh you got me like a loaded gun
Golden sun
And the sky's so blue
Oh we both know
That we want it
But we both know
You left me no choice

Chaque fois que tu t'en vas
You just bring me down
Je pretends que tout va bien
So I count my tears
Till I get over you

Sometimes I watch the world go by
I wonder what it is like
Oh…To wake up every single day
Smile on your face
You never try

We both know
We can't change it
But we both now
We'll just have to face it

Chaque fois que tu t'en vas
You just bring me down
Je pretends que tout va bien
So I'm counting my tears
Till I get over you

If only I
Could give you up
Would I want to let you out?
From this soulbuzz baby

We both know
That we want it
But we both know
You left me no choice
Chaque fois que tu t'en vas
You just bring me down
Je pretends que tout va bien
Oh so I'm counting my tears
Till I get over you.... oh
Chaque fois que tu t'en vas
Je pretends que tout va bien
Oh we both know
That I'm not over you

I'm not over you

LOST



Lost: one white Tachikara leather volleyball
Last seen: Monday night at Milliken Mills Community Centre during drop-in volleyball
Identifying marks: Inscribed with the owner's chinese name in black permanent marker
*Reward is being offered by not only for the return of the volleyball (though that WOULD be the ideal), but for the ensured ass-whooping of the F--KER who STOLE MY BALL!
...

You can't imagine how RUINED my night was when I found out that someone had STOLEN my ball right out of my pile of stuff while I was ON the COURT playing almost right next to it! I almost BAWLED right there and then, I was so heartbroken. Yes, the ball can be replaced, but the fact is, someone STOLE it from me and in stealing it, stole ALL of the sentimental value that ball had to me! (Yes, it had sentimental value--read here.) ARGH!!!

Home Again

Brodder's home and it's wonderful. The first night back, he was sitting on the couch in the living room, working away using the wireless network on his laptop. I was twenty feet away in the computer room, logging onto MSN to check out the action. Suddenly, a message window popped up to welcome me.

Bro - Hi! ;D
Me - Hey! :D
Me - Mother's Day?
Bro - Aw crap.
Me - May 8
Bro - heh
Bro - N wants to have Skinny's birthday party here on the 7th
Me - isn't that nice. doesn't Skinny have his own house?
Shmelly walked by at this point to see who I was chatting with. He realized it was Brodder and shook his head.
Me - Shmelly thinks we're stupid. Tell him we're not
Bro - and all this time, i've been using my lungs like a sucker
Me - never mind your lungs, your LARYNX

Then, the next night, just as I was crawling into bed and getting cozy with a book, Brodder started banging on the wall between our rooms.

Bro - *BANG BANG BANG*
Me - What?!
Bro - *BANG BANG BANG*
Me - WHAT?!
Bro - (muffled through the wall) Come here!
Me - No!
Bro - *BANG BANG BANG*
Me - *sigh*
Like a sucker, I got back OUT of bed and went to his room to see what he wanted. When I got there, he was sitting at his desk, behind his laptop.
Me - What do you want?
Bro - *looks up from his screen* Oh, while you're up, you want to turn off my lights? I'm going to watch BeBop.

That's what life is like when Brodder is home. I think something else funny happened today while we were out for dim sum, but I can't seem to remember. I do remember something else from dim sum though. I had just informed mother that after lunch I was heading to a bridal shower for a friend of mine and Shmelly's. On the topic, mother commented that the restaurant we were in--although equipped with raised stage tables, lights, sound-system and dance floor--was still too crappy for anyone to hold their wedding; she couldn't understand ANYONE wanting to hold their reception there.

Me - Uh, mom? My friend's wedding reception IS going to be here.

Booyah. Brodder and I dissolved into giggles.

The bridal shower later today was interesting. I've never seen anyone come into ownership of SO MUCH lingerie ALL at once. Mind you, this was my first bridal shower ever. I admit that being there made me want to have my own bridal shower someday--that lingerie was NICE!

*Does anyone else also pronouce it "LING-gr-ee" in their head despite knowing better?

A few of the girls there had been worried about conservatism since the bride's mother was going to be present at the shower. Of course it turned out that her mother was the biggest party animal there! Not only was she the first to get at the food and drinks, but she was the running commentary during the whole gift-opening session. One by one as the little nighties and camisoles and sex toys came out, she got more and more excitable.

Bride's mom - Oh look! So many! And so pretty too! One for each day of the week! One for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday...and then wear nothing on Sunday!

Her Chinese accent and broken English made everything THAT much better too.

New job starting for realsies tomorrow. Well, at least as far as I can tell. The last couple of times I've been there I've just been an extra pair of hands without pay. Tomorrow I'll have my own punchcode and a chance at serving my own tables too. How exhilarating! I hope that this job works out. For one thing, the extra cash would be nice, and for the other, I don't want to let Wendikiss down. She got me the job there, and all I want to do is make her proud! Although the place is a bit of a commute for me (it's down at Royal York and Bloor) I actually enjoy the train ride there. I get a chance to read and write and people-watch all the way there. AND I'm pretty much guaranteed a seat on the train no matter which way I'm commuting since I'm pretty much at the ends of the route. AND, if I'm ever early, or wanting to idle after my shift, there's this cute little Second Cup on the corner that has the most perfect seats to sit and write in. Awesome. Far away, but awesome. If anyone's willing to take the time for a visit during my shift, just let me know and I'll send out the directions.

A Mid-night Battle

In the middle of the field, she squinted to see better amongst the bright colours. Armed with a single weapon, she could feel her grip grow slippery with sweat. Her foe was not formidable, but crafty; not only did they have an unusual gift of sight, the numbers were stacked against her. In the beginning, she found she could strike her enemies down with a single blow, but as time wore on and more and more appeared, she started having to deal two blows a piece. Despite her best efforts, some eluded her, causing her more damage than had they gotten a hand on her.

Making slow but steady progress, she found they grew even more creative in their efforts to defeat her: booby traps and explosives started to pop up. If she managed to get past those and continue to deal steady blows to their numbers, they started to sic more soldiers more heavily armed than the ones to fall before them. Looting and pillaging as she continued the battle, money and better weaponry came to her aid in gaining her ever so slight advantages. No matter how well she fared at any one time, there came a point where she felt she was just going in circles, beginning over and over again.

Realizing she had been fighting these men for hours--right into the wee hours of the morning, she could feel how sore and stiff she had become and decided that the battle must end there and then. Putting forth her best effort, she rushed them with all the experience she had and all the best manuvers she could put to them. Alas, she was defeated and finally had to retreat, but deep inside, she knew that it was not the last time she would come down to face the evil army known as Tontie.
...

Corny? Yeah, that's what you get after playing so many endless hours of THIS stupid game. Who the hell comes up with this stuff? If only they could make learning as addictive...

The best kind of tip you could give

Work was OK today. My feet are still tingling because closing went for almost an hour later than usual since people decided they'd like to sit and talk the afternoon hours away in an already closed restaurant. But that's okay, I'm home now.

My day started off slowly as there was a blackout in my half of the restaurant and of the 11 tables in my section, 3 of them had lights on by them. And my section of course was in the back today, the farthest tables from the windows. Figures. Anyone who DID come sit with me, I tried convincing them that the lights were down to create a romantic ambiance. I don't think anyone really bought it though. I had about 3 people in one hour come and sit with me and I was totally regretting the fact that I hadn't brought either my books or my journal with me for that whole time. But, after the lights came back on, it was all good.

There came a family of six who sat in my section; mom, dad, two daughters, a son in-law, and a biological son who came late (why you need such detail, I know not). Serving them was a breeze as everyone was so cool and easy going; biological son actually kept me there at the table sometimes, cracking jokes and being a fun goof. Once, when I went to check on them and ask them if I could get them anything, he made a comment something to the effect of: "No, the service here is so great, it makes me want to sit here and stay the whole day!"

Anyway, due to his comment, when I noticed them all rise to leave, I passed them and mentioned (mostly to BioSon):

"Hey, where are you all going? I thought you were going to stay all day with me!" They all chuckled and continued gathering their belongings to move on. Finally, as they filed passed me, I waited until BioSon was in earshot and muttered audibly under my breath "Traitor." To my surprise, he grinned and walked right up to me, wielding a folded napkin.

"Here," he handed the napkin to me, "in case maybe you'd be interested in a coffee sometime." And with that, he walked out of the restaurant without giving me anytime to (politely) accept (or reject) his offer. I was flattered, to say the least. Now THAT'S something to leave for your waitress.

The second tip of the same fashion came from the table next to BioSon's, shortly after. It was a married couple sitting there, and they had caught the whole scene. The Wife stopped me and asked me whether or not I was going to call him. I told her I couldn't and why, and she sympathized, joking that she should take the number off my hands because "he was cute!" With the lines of communication open and easy between us now, we carried on casual conversation as much as my serving obligations could allow. The thing that she said to me later though, absolutely made my day.

"Excuse me," she asked me as I brought her a coffee, "but I hope you don't mind me asking; what is your ethnicity?"

"Oh, I don't mind at all. I'm Chinese. 100% Chinese."

"Oh, see, my husband and I weren't sure. But we were just curious because we were talking and we think you are absolutely gorgeous."

Talk about making my day. If that Wife had given me HER number, I definitely would have made it a point to call her after a line like that. Shmelly or no Shmelly. ;)

The other girl I was closing with today, PhotoShoot, was telling me that I was "turning on the charm" today. I have no idea what she was talking about, but by the end of the day, I had those two conversations already mentioned, a compliment (made to both PhotoShoot and I) about the great quality of service, a personal invitation to stay in Boca, Florida, and many other smiles and personal introductions.

Sure, servers live or die by the tips they make, but I personally would rather these other kinds of gratuity any day.

p.s. if anyone wants the number of BioSon, who's cute in a John Corbett-esque sort of way, let me know; I kept the number to remind Shmelly that I've still got it.

Like Chandler's piece of gum from Jill Goodacre

Yes, my solitary rollerblade this afternoon was perfection. With the rays of the afternoon sun still stretching high across the sky I donned my rollerblades, pocketed my MP3 player, and set off for some fresh air and alone time. It was just warm enough not to be cold, but just cool enough not to be hot. I'm not sure, but I think I was out and about for about an hour, just leisurely winding my way down the streets of my neighbourhood. Talk about relaxing.

Work today started early and lasted long (though not long enough for me to still be downtown when Squiggly called for some QT, or when mom called to offer a ride home) and although I was exhausted by the time I got home, I forewent my chance for a nap, deciding that I just couldn't let that sun go to waste. I pat myself on the back for such decisiveness. Anyone feel free to join in next time?

Take THIS too!

Muahahahaha! Rather than going out and being active this afternoon, I have taken the last few hours of "me" time to fix my wonky blog's archives...all the way back to the BEGINNING!!! I didn't read it all, but some of that stuff I wrote was fun. I feel like I could watch myself grow over the years as I scanned through some of the stuff I had to say.

*sentimental moment*

Anyway, now there are pictures and legible font colours as far back as you care to search. Although I know you didn't care in the first place, there you have it! Tada!

Springing to Conclusions

Haha! Take THAT exams! (Guess who's done today?)

Spring seems to finally be here. You know what that means?

Nope, not April showers.

Nope, not May flowers either.

Break-ups!

Haha. Yup. With Spring comes change and that--according to mine and Señorita's unofficial findings yesterday--means people start hittin' the rocks in relationships around now. Who can blame nature? No one's at fault. Just think about it. We've all just gone through a whole winter of staying indoors with nothing new to do, and for those of us in relationships, that mostly likely means we did a lot of staring at our "others" all the time. Not that this is such a bad thing; not many of us tend to date those we find unattractive.

Anyway. Now that the weather's warming up and the sun's out, we're all dying of cabin fever to get out and do something NEW. And if that means hanging out a little too much with new, refreshingly different people, then that's what that means. Just think back (or not) to how many break ups you've experienced (yours or someone else's) that took place around this time of year. See? Again, it's nobody's fault. It's just what we're programmed to desire. Hell, today's the first friday of nice weather and I'm off on my own while Shmelly's out golfing somewhere.

So, for those of you who suddenly feel antsy and stuff, it's okay. For those of you who find yourself so antsy you meet new and different people, that's okay too. For those of you who find yourself breaking up to go and find new and different people, that's okay too--you can't mope and say I didn't tell you so. And as for you people who make it through this Spring, still together with that "other" of wintertime, I salute you! And now I'm off to go enjoy this weather myself!

Where are my Fingers?!

One exam down, two to go. I suppose that three exams in three days isn't SO bad, but I can already feel my brain starting to react adversely to the sight of literature...even this literature. That sucks.

My exam today started at 2pm, guess who got there at 2:10pm? Ah well. I sat myself right down and dove right in. Three exam booklets, two hours and fifteen minutes later, I was exhausted and brain dead and I could no longer feel the fingers on my right hand, despite my having used my favourite ergonomic chunky pen. As soon as I scrawled my final closing remark, I flipped the book shut (I never read back over my exams--it's all do or die by then in my eyes), cringed as I realized I still had yet to fill in all the information blanks on three booklets, and then hopped my way down the stairs to the front of the lecture hall and handed my stuff in, collecting all my other work and never looking back on my way out.

Sitting here, I can calculate that I have just under 15.5 hours until I have to do it all over again. Therefore, I know I should continue on with my studying, but I think I'm going to take some alone time and head out into the sun for some fresh air before it sets completely. It's so hard to do the important stuff when you know in a few days you won't have to worry about it anymore for the whole summer. Bah. Now where are my rollerblades? I mean, I can't feel my fingers anyway, what's the use in trying to get them to write any more notes for today?
...

Song of the Moment: "Thank You In Advance" - Boyz II Men

Sitting here with a drink in my hand
Your presence I can't ignore
I must admit I like watching you dance
But it seems like I've seen this before
Girl, you look like my first wife
Though I've never been married before
So I kiss your hand and tell you "Thank you"
You turn and ask me what for

For our first kiss on next week
For when we make love in six weeks
For the ring you wore proudly three months from now
For when you said "I do" next March
And for those beautiful children of ours
Yes, I know it might sound strange cuz we just met
But I thank you in advance

Hi, my name is Shawn
Tell me your name
Although I know the last one
It's funny that we're shaking hands
Wait a minute, I know this hand
It's the same hand I'll hold in front of a minister
Same hand when you're havin' my son and his sister
I don't mean to sound so bold and forward
But I thank you in advance

It's like I came back in time to tell you thank you
You're as beautiful then as you are now
Look in the mirror, there is a picture
Of you and the man you love

For our first kiss on next week
For when we make love in six weeks
For the ring you wore proudly three months from now
For when you said "I do" next March
And for those beautiful children of ours
Yes, I know it might sound strange cuz we just met
But I thank you in advance
...

Those Boyz can woo me anyday.

Famous Last Words

Remember how the last thing I said in my last post was that I had exams? Exams that I had to be studying for? Yeah, well, guess what I'm doing here?

So Boyz II Men this weekend was AWESOME. The three of them (minus Michael McCary, due to sickness, I believe) did an outstanding job. All of their songs brought back so many memories and warm fuzzy feelings of days gone by. They totally played to the audience (of perhaps 20 000+ people) and easily won all of us over. Even those of us "twenty-five years old and upper". Haha.

The only thing that I wish could have been different about the concert was that I wish that I'd gotten to watch it with Señorita--not just because she'd had better seats than me, but so that we could have been all mushy and weepy together. I mean, I KNEW that she was being all mushy and weepy without me from a distance, but I wanted to be there WITH her. We're such losers. And if I'd been sitting with her I'd have been right there with her on the mad dash to the stage in hopes of grabbing up one of those precious roses those boys were handing out. However, had I been there with her, we probably would have knocked each other off our respective chairs while standing on them to dance high up to the encore number of "Motownphilly". Since we weren't together, she just managed to poke some other guy in the eye in her frenzied fervor of dancing. Still good times.

Also, had I been seated with her I might also have been loitering around long enough to have been able to snag a covert autograph and personal meeting with Wanya Morris as he snuck out the doors of the concert hall. Again, Lucky Bitch. She's just lucky that she's MY Señorita. Otherwise, there might have to be some asskickin' going on.

In other news, I hacked off a foot of my hair this weekend, and the only person to notice without having to be told or prompted was Peru. That could be attributed to the fact that Peru lives with me and might have known I was busy getting my hair cut in the salon in the basement, but still. She's the only one to really notice. But I don't blame most of those that I came across for not noticing. #1, they were mostly men that I interacted with in the past 2 days...and when do men EVER notice these things? and #2, most of these men are volleyball friends who usually only see me on the courts with my hair lashed back into a ponytail of sorts. So, all is still well. However, now that you all know, you have no excuse to not notice anymore.

I went to go donate blood with Boobin today down at the Manulife Centre. The plan had been that I'd study down at the reference library until about 4:30pm when he'd get off work and Shmelly'd get off school and then together we'd make our way over to the Donation Clinic. Of course neither of them stick to the plan. Shmelly got off school by 2:45pm today and so he met me down at the library by 3:00pm. Speculating that I still had an hour and a half at least before getting to give my blood, I decided to grab a bite to build up some energy.

While Shmelly and I were in the midst of eating and arguing whether or not it was good for me to be eating so close to donation time, Boobin phoned to tell us he was off work early. It was 3:30pm by then. After eating my potentially harmful lunch, we headed over to the clinic to see how long the wait would be since we hadn't been able to book an appointment. The whole way there I was worrying myself about the whole procedure; wondering if I'd be a suitable candidate, whether my late lunch was going to have any effect on my candidacy, and whether or not I'd actually be able to braven up for the task. Turns out we didn't have to wait at all...the clinic closed before we even got there. Boogers. So we're going to have to try some other time...and after all that preparation gone awry, too.

Alright, back to the books. Or over to the couch to veg in front of the boob tube for a while...whichever.

Song of the Moment: "I Do" - Boyz II Men

I'm telling the world...here and now
That I'm gonna love you and love you, I take this vow
You captured my heart...long ago
Still there are some critical things...that you should know

Do I give all I am to be now and forever your man?
Do I take you to be without question the woman for me?
Do I promise you?
I do
Do I promise you?
I do

This love has been worth...waiting for
'Cause love doesn't matter to me...if it's not yours
As we become one...through and through
I dedicate all my life...to loving you

To have and to hold, while passions unfold
I promise a life you won't regret
For better or worse, no one can reverse
The way that I've felt since we met
And you ain't seen nothing yet

Do I give all I am to be now and forever your man?
Do I take you to be without question the woman for me?
Do I swear all my life we'll be happy as husband and wife?
Do I promise you?
Do I promise you?
Do I promise you?
I Do
Do I promise you?
I Do
...

Saw the Boyz II Men concert this past Saturday. While I sat up with the risers with Shmelly et al., Señorita got to sit right down on the floor with another posse (lucky bitch). The concert was, needless to say, AWESOME. My first one ever, and was it ever worth it! The boyz--men--put on a great performance, encouraging the audience to "feel" the music ("If the dude in front of you feels it so much that he's got to stand up and sway, don't punch him out or yell at him...just get up and sway with him"), giving out roses to eager female fans during "I'll Make Love to You", and singing "A Song for Momma" over cell phones passed to them to fans' bewildered mothers on the other line. SO good...but exams prevail, so more later.

But "C" is for "Cookie"

I can't believe it. I heard on the radio this morning that Sesame Street's beloved Cookie Monster was being forced to clean up his act. The producers believe that they are changing with the times by getting Cookie Monster to start eating healthier. That sucks. Apparently this is their response to the increase in child obesity. So now, rather than him singing that great line: "C" is for "Cookie," that's good enough for me, he'll be singing something to the tune of: "C" is for "Cookies," which are a "sometimes" food. How Awful.

I think that if I happen to hear the new rendition of the song, I might have to shed a tear.

So Cookie Monster will be seen eating fewer cookies and more fruits and vegetables--a move that I think defeats the whole purpose of his name and character, and furthermore, I think it undermines his entire image and popularity rating. I bet some other muppet paid off someone high up there to put this scheme into motion, hoping to bring down Cookie Monster, thereby creating an opportunity for him to be noticed. Possibly someone like Forgetful Jones or Sherlock Hemlock...suddenly they're not so cute and cuddly anymore are they? Well that's what we get when they start eating VEGETABLES! *sigh*

I can't believe I'm saying this, but Whatever happened to the good ol' days?

Ending in E-Motion

So, what do you think of the new look? Not bad, huh? However, if you click back into the archives a bit, you'll notice that the pages start to get all screwy with funny coloured text and the links all missing whenever there are big pictures. But, whatever; these first few pages look alright and you guys aren't ACTUALLY going to scroll back to READ anything from the past ANYWAY. :p

YAY! Guess who got a new job today?! Starting April 18th, I will be working for Wendikiss at a place called Applejacks over on Bloor at Royal York. Exciting! I went in for an interview today at 4pm with the manager after having given Wendikiss my resume last week. He showed up a half hour late, hadn't read my resume yet, but still hired me on the spot...I don't even know if he knows my name! But that's alright...already I'm all excited to work at this new place--it looks really nice and like it'd be a lot of fun. I mean, I'll still be working over at the Easy, but I've got to be able to afford my relationship SOMEHOW, right? ;)

After my job interview and grabbing a bite to eat at the restaurant, Boobin met up with Shmelly and I and we all headed over to Healey's for Boobin's stand-up night. We had a TON of time to kill so we stopped off to explore Honest Ed's for the first time in ages. That store is AWESOME. Not only is it gimongous, but it's chock full of CRAP! And it's CHEAP crap too! Although I managed to keep my impulsive shopping to a minimum--although the talking Homer Simpson bottle opener was REALLY tempting, as were the 29 cent toques--I DID manage to get all twisted and turned about inside that we got a bit disoriented by the time we cashed out. But it was all good and fun. I think it's something I'd want to take a day to do again thoroughly, rather than just randomly running amongst the merchandise as we did today. Anyone game to go with me? :D

Huge sigh of relief: I handed in my last essay for this term today. I feel like this HUGE weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I personally think that the essay itself was pretty weak, but that's what you get from me when there are no texts to source from and there are no topics to guide me. It's the worst when at the beginning of the class, the prof tells you that your essay is going to be "about anything." It may indeed seem very liberal and freeing to hear, but trust me, it's not. :S

However, with my final papers out of the way, I can now sleep in and read my waking hours away in preparation for my finals: three in three days. Yay. I can't tell you how thrilled I am...*groan* Speaking of reading and sleeping, I think I'll go do a bit of both now. XO