real life unfolds...

I think I'm starting to pick up on Na's bad habit.  I especially do it during class or when I'm doing readings.

posted by: amh at 11:04 | link | comments |

Weekend Highlights

1. Missing: Ability to make snarky/sarcastic comments/disses quickly and wittily. Being in Loo forced me to suppress it, but now I think I've suppressed it so much and it's buried so deep that I can't find it anymore!!! I need it back!!!

2. House has been cooking up a crazy Asian storm. Aside from the normal food goodness, this weekend we went all out. Yesterday there was wintermelon soup (with salty egg, pork and mushrooms) as well as preserved egg pork congee (pay dan sow yook jook)...and today we had pork chops, choy sum and curry chicken with potatoes - all of this made from scratch!!!!!! (Well, the curry paste was bought but we knew how to use it and we cooked everything else!)

3. I don't dislike Hilary Duff anymore. After having watched Parent Trap, Freaky Friday, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (over the course of the past few years) and especially after watching a few episodes of the Lizzie Maguire Show with my brother a couple of years ago, I liked Lindsay Lohan more than Hilary Duff. But as I was marking a couple of practice exams today, I watched the Lizzie Maguire movie (Multi-tasking!). I must admit at the beginning she was quite irritating but at the end the movie got better. Oddly, I really liked the song/performance at the end of the movie. So now I can say that at least I don't dislike her anymore....and maybe, just maybe, I might even respect her.

Side note: If you liked Bring It On, you'll like Blue Crush. It's the same actress as the one in Win a Date with Tad Hamilton.

4. Midterm season is kicking in. I've reduced my movie watching recently but as it kicks into high swing, I think I will have to cut them out completely. I've been sacrificing sleep to watch my beloved movies provided a la CaptB but I think I'll be needing my brain to operate at full capacity. Sigh... That said, I should use what I do have left and get back to the books now.

posted by: amh at 22:35 | link | comments (1) |

Long weekend over all was good.  I got to hang out with my family ... instead of helping my dad do this year's inventory count, I got to help my mom pick the flowers that we planted in our front yard this year; a plethora of begonias and petunias. We also had a great family dinner at Marche for my sister's second birthday celebration then helped my parents pack for their trap.  Hmm... what else happened... I helped a friend dye her hair red, watched Love Actually again for the second time that weekend then came back to the loo....  I've learned that I get little to no work done whenever I go home on the weekends.  There's just so much other things to do or enjoy when I'm back home...

Side note: Fantasia won! Yippee!!!  Diana was just a little too uh.. cheery for me... constantly... so Pollyanna that it was irritating sometimes.. plus while Fantasia messed up by choosing to sing K-Ci and Jojo's All My Life for the first performance of her finale, at least she was in tune.   Diana on the other hand hit a couple too many sour notes throughout her three songs .....

Anyway, I just got back from watching the documentary "Supersize Me" where this guy ate nothing but McDonald's for a whole month.  He gained 24.5 pounds, 9 of which was in the first 5 days.  And it took him a total of 14 months to lose all of that weight he gained.  His cholestoral and triglyceride levels shot up and his liver was headed towards liver failure if he had kept continuing his experiment.  The movie was nauseating yet educating.  Will I stop eating McDonalds forever?  Probably not.  Will I think twice before ordering and think about my portion sizes from now on? Definitely...

posted by: amh at 00:05 | link | comments |

So far the long weekend has been pretty good... got my hair cut, highlighted and complimented... spent a day just running errands and such with my mom... I missed doing little things like that...

Had a good meal (mmmmm...medium rare rack of lamb, potatoes au gratin, and asparagus!!!) with good friends for two big birthdays (21 and 25!!!).... Watched Love Actually again after that... I forgot how much I really loved this movie.  I mean I knew I loved it but I think I forgot how much.  It moves pretty quickly and because there's so many different stories, there's always something interesting to watch.  Plus all of the stories have something that you can relate/connect with or have some sort of deeper meaning... Granted I didn't bawl as much as I did the first time I watched the movie in theatres (for example, that scene with Emma Thompson crying in the bedroom - just listen to the lyrics of the song and how it parallels the the situation that her character is in), but I think that's because of all the interruptions.  After everyone left, I watched all of the bonus features and additional scenes and such.  There's a lot of cute scenes that didn't make it into the movie; some do add a little bit more depth to the stories but I don't think the movie suffers THAT much for their absence... and some were just plain funny, like Bernie's Christmas wish for visible flatulence.... hahahaha

Anyway, I think I've forgotten how much work drains you...Quite a few ppl had to leave early for work-related reasons and those that didn't were exhausted because of working....Man, if we get so tired this easily now, what happens when we get older and have more familial responsibilities? Maybe that's why parents generally go to sleep so early....Speaking of which, I think I'll join the rest of civilization and sleep as well... nite...

posted by: amh at 03:08 | link | comments |

Wah remember those days when I begged Mel to update.. now ppl are telling me to update! I guess at least it's good to know somebody's reading this page...

I think I found my newest pair of black sandals... at Aldo no less... I was SO surprised that something there fit my feet... Let's just see if I can break these in enough that they won't give me blisters...

Why is it that food tastes better when someone else is cooking for you? Why does washing your hair also feel better when someone else is doing it for you (e.g. hairdresser)?

Enough random thoughts for today...

posted by: amh at 23:06 | link | comments |

Sorry it's been a while since the last time I posted but technically I'm still staying within my promise to post at least once a week.. Anyhoo, what's happened since the last time I posted ... Did a ton of work (I'm trying to actually stay on top of all of my work this term), did a little shopping, watched a ton of movies (50 First Dates, Mean Girls, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Under the Tuscan Sun, Jersey Girl)... How did I do all of this you ask? I sacrificed a lot of sleep that's how...Been running on everything from 3 to 7 hours of sleep (I think I only got the latter once these past two weeks) ... I think it's the inconsistency in the sleep pattern that's making me even more tired. And now I can't sleep at normal times anymore, hence this current posting at 1AM. Why do I do all of this you ask? My theory is the more I study, the more "fun" stuff I have to do to give my brain a break and keep my sanity. And by keeping on top of all of my work, I'm doing more studying, which in turn requires more brain rest activities...

Here's some quick tv thoughts to address those lovely postings in my msg depot.

Alias: Finale this Sunday! Supposed to be very very interesting...that's all I'll say ... don't want to spoil it for y'all

Bachelor: I don't normally watch this show but hearing about this Trish made me catch a couple episodes...I heard he chose Jess in the finale? The child bride? The girl is the same age as Bern! Given the success rates of the relationships resulting from the Bachelor in comparison to those resulting from the Bachelorette, I wonder how these guys make their decisions and how sincere they really are throughout this whole thing...

Friends: Finale was good even though I knew everything that was going to happen... Rachel and Ross were supposed to get engaged though... I think that scene got cut out in editing...

ER: Finale was good as always... The show always delivers a consistent quality performance... gotta love that show...

American Idol: LATOYA LONDON!!! How did she get kicked off...Jasmine is sweet and all but she hasn't been performing well lately... Latoya was the best!!! Sigh...

Last, but not least, One Tree Hill: WOW! they really packed a whole load of surprises into that season finale. Brooke possibly lying to Peyton? Haley and Nathan getting married? Whitey's deteriorating health? Lucas leaving? Keith and Deb? Dan's heart attack? I think Haley and Nathan getting married as well as the Brooke/Peyton storyline were the biggest surprises to me.. the ones I'm most interested in seeing play out in the next season... Lucas isn't going to leave... he's like the main character, the reason the basis upon which the premise of the whole show started... he'll be back...But Brooke? I really don't know if she's lying or not? Her forgiving of Peyton did seem a little premature and too easy by tv standards That said, her getting revenge on Peyton does make sense then and it would make for good tv when Peyton finds out about Brooke's betrayal... But then again, good tv would also happen when Nikki finds out that Peyton and Brooke both backstabbed her... Peyton and Brooke were always fun as friends...But then again, they need some way to bring Jake back onto the show and Nikki heading to Savannah would probably send Jake and Jenny scurrying back to Tree Hill...ooooooh.. the drama, the drama...

OK, that's enuf tv for now... the past weekend was fun.. found something good to buy at Winners FOR ONCE... I don't generally have the patience for that store but being "stuck" there with 3 other girls forces you to look around.

Side note: Lesson of the Day - When you're decorating a person's room as a birthday surprise, make sure you know for sure when she's coming back so she doesn't happen to come back when you're only 80% finished... oh my the scrambling and screeching that went on...but it turned out well...

Oh, one of my housemates had an interesting "deep" thought this weekend that I thought I'd share with you all.. Well, either I share it or Mel will... Anyway, because of my housemate's comment, I'll never be able to look at a plate of homefries the same way again and I think you shouldn't be able to either... Here's the revelation: A homefry (is that the correct singular verson of homefries?) is like a zit - crispy and greasy on the outside, filled with white mushy stuff on the inside. As I said, I will never be able to look at a plate of homefries the same way again.

It's been about two and a half weeks with my new housemates (Mel, CaptB, J and Min) and life at the house has been quite fun, pleasant and clean. We generally cook dinner and try and eat together, dishes get washed, no washroom squabbles have occurred (yet).. and we've had many a fun DDR game, tv-watching, sharing/discussions, study sessions...my housemates are fun, funny ...(look-), sweet, all around great girls... but then again it's only the first couple weeks and things haven't even peaked in terms of studying intensity .. so who knows.. check-in again in a month or so and it could be crazy.. the house could be the new set of Mean Girls or it could just be girls gone wild...Anyway, I think I'm going to do just a little bit of work while the house is quiet before I head to bed... Long weekend yippee! Got ppl to see, inventory to count, UFE study materials to debrief, classwork to prepare/finish and sleep to catch up on but through it all at least I'll get to spend time with my family...

A belated birthday wish to Glup and a happy birthday to my girls, Bern/Mel/Vida!!!

posted by: amh at 01:10 | link | comments |

"They say they built the train tracks over the Alps between Vienna and Venice before there was a train that could make the trip.  They built it anyway.  They knew one day the train would come.  Any arbitrary turning along the way and I would be elsewhere. I would be different.""What are four walls anyway? They are what they contain. The house protect the dreamer.  Unthinkably good things can happen. Even late in the game. It's such a surprise."

posted by: amh at 02:09 | link | comments |

I finally got around to updating my planner and consolidating all the schedules for each course's workload and it's looking like this summer is going to be crrazy-busy-work... sigh... this is seriously the beginning of the rest of my life...

I'm so pissed at my sandals. I bought these sandals last year after looking for the perfect black pair for like a year. I wore them all last summer through all my various trips and such, and they were fine for like 80% of the summer. Then towards the end of last summer, when I wore the sandals for longer than a few hours, the straps would start to dig into the sides of my feet and cause blisters but as long as I didn't do any prolonged long-distance walking in them (e.g. walking to the Taste of the Danforth) they were fine. Then today, the first day of absolutely beautiful weather, I whip out my sandals and slide them onto my perfectly toenail-painted feet. Not even 10 minutes into my walk to class though, I can start to feel my feet throb a little and my calves ache. I walk a little bit slower to lessen the pain thinking it's just adjustment pains being as I'm not used to walking with flat shoes. When I get home from class, I discover a blister, which I continue to dismiss as adjustment pains, so I just put a bandaid over it to protect it. Later in the afternoon I head back out to campus to my next class. Not even 5 minutes into that walk, I'm hobbling cuz my feet are KILLING ME. I manage to make it to class hobbling and in much, much, much pain. Thankfully I got a ride home after class, where I discovered the several more blisters. Needless to say though, unless I can get my feet to go on a diet or something, these sandals are kaput. Grrr.. so annoying.. the hunt of the perfect sandal has started again...

posted by: amh at 17:32 | link | comments (1) |

Yesterday was a good day... slept in a little then headed over with Mel and Bren for a $3 breakfast of eggs, sausage, toast and potato wedges... mmmmmm...can just feel my arteries clogging... then we did some hardcore-ish studying in the kitchen before cooking a yum dinner of salmon and asparagus...We took a little break and watched Kill Bill Vol 1. Now I know why ppl were telling me that it wasn't really my kind of movie...talk about no plot and pure (practically) violence... mel and I didn't watch during a lot of parts. However, I did find the direction/cinematography/whatever-it's-called to be quite interesting.... the use of the anime cartoon to describe O-Ren Ishii's history, the black and white filming, the scenes shot in silhouette, the scenes shot through the staircase or from above as ppl travelled through the building...interesting.... but yes very bloody...not necessarily realistically bloody cuz i don't think your body spews out jets of blood like a fountain when an appendage is cut off but then again a scalping wasn't something I particularly enjoyed watching either (I didn't turn my head away fast enough to avoid watching it...)

The night finished off with some more studying, some good girl talk and my introduction to Playstation's DDR... I haven't felt that silly/stupid yet had such a workout and as much fun in a long time. I have very little eye-feet coordination but it was fun nonetheless... we played til our calves and feet were like burning-tingling....I think this is going to be a good term...

posted by: amh at 12:09 | link | comments (1) |

Set up internet at the house finally... Then we (mel, bren and I) went out for like an hour and a half to a bbq and when we come back internet was down again... Our router stopped working...granted we had fried it already...when we (bren and I) first tried to set up the router pre-bbq it made a loud popping sound mid-setup and smoke started coming out of it and it started smelling.... we thought maybe it was a faulty router so we tried again with another one and lo and behold the same thing happened again... Thus after frying two routers we decided it would probably be helpful to read and listen to the instructions.  Who knew you were supposed to plug in your router into a surge protected bar and turn everything off first....so now we have two burnt out routers (I think both are permanently kaput right now - they stink... bad...) and the internet only functions on one computer...ain't life in loo grand?

posted by: amh at 21:02 | link | comments |

Have gone back down the rabbit hole... Good news though - internet is finally set up... yay!!! It's funny there were so many things that I was planning on writing here but I've forgotten much of it already.  Getting settled with new roomies - they're quite fun and one makes you especially really want to work (hopefully she'll be a good influence).  Have had one party so far.  Started out as "let's watch friends series finale together as a house" to a party of 15 with nachos supreme, spinach dip, chips, hor d'oeuvres, fruit, a cake with strawberries and peaches.. and ALL made from scratch... mmmm.....Friends was good .. even though I'd read a spoiler 2 months before and knew what was going to happen.  I'm going to collect all the seasons of Friends so this is your formal notice... if you dont' know what to get me for my birthday from now on, get me a season of Friends on DVD... I got the collector's ediction farewell commemorative from Shoppers today too.... flipping through the pictures, reading the captions, reading the farewell interviews... I can't believe it's been 10 years that I've watched this show.... I'm gonna miss it... I know it's probably going to outlive me in syndication but I'm still gonna miss it...

Time to go out now... will post more later...

posted by: amh at 18:00 | link | comments |

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