Funniest Music Video

While surfing through launch with Nisha, we came across the funniest music video ever made. If we hadn't been laughing so hard through the entire thing, it would have been torture to watch more than five seconds, but we both found it highly amusing. Click on the link and watch "Baby Come Back." Enjoy!

Post-Christmas Post

All right, I've been dry long enough with my posting, and I think it's time to give my fingers some exercise again. Unfortunately, this computer at home doesn't quite come with all the bells and whistles and basic photo software my wonderful school comp does, so the quality of my site has been temporarily downgraded. Christmas was awesome, definitely one of the best I've ever had, for as long as I can remember. Everything couldn't have been more perfect... except I was up till 4am wrapping presents and for the first time, my parents were the ones that had to drag me out of bed.

I promised a telling of whether or not I got everything I wanted on my list. Right, well, for Christmas, I received many a wonderful present. It was pretty much fantastic.... I think the list thing was a great idea!! Must use again in the future.

-Chocolate fondue kit <-- drool (Tony)
-waffle maker <-- invite yourself to breakfast when you're in Edmonton, specially on Sundays (mum and dad)
-bike pump (mum and dad)
-PJ shirt (mum and dad)
-bath salts (mum and dad)
-an orange orangutang <-- some inside joke there (Nisha)
-brown skirt (Nisha)
-book by Mercedes Lackey <-- so good, read it in two days... (Adrian)
-some undecided scent of soap <-- I hope this isn't some sort of hint!! (Ian)
-lots of new kinds of makeup <--I will soon (hopefully) figure out how to use it all (Aunt Linda)
-"Boogie Down" t-shirt <-- lots of comments on that one (Sue)
-Stainless Steel mug & camp book (The Foundation)
-A gigantic giftbasket that had absolutely everything I could think of that a college girl could want (one for Nisha and one for me) <-- That was pretty much fantastic, my jaw dropped a few feet (Jamie... sorry about that!!! Correction made! Don't worry, I waited until Christmas to open them, I swear :P)

And, well, as much as I got spoiled, I have to admit that the best part was giving the gifts!! I had a blast there.
Gifts given:
Adrian - Xbox and Halo II <--my parents paid me back for the xbox, I had the greatest time ever getting my little brother not to figure out that he was getting this, he went absolutely nuts on Christmas (hahaha, so much fun). I made up a huge story about what was in that box...
Dad - Pay it Forward DVD <-- what a sap. All I can say.
Mum - New curtains <-- sounds silly, but she wanted them for forever.
Nisha - Shirt and sandals from Le Chateau
Ian - Trojan Odyssey by Clive Cussler and Mickey Mouse playing cards <-- just hope he hadn't read it yet or got it from someone else. Wanted to get the Nalgene water bottle but places close early on Christmas Eve.
Heather - Gift pack of vanilla lotion, bath gel & bubbles <-- Hez is one of the two sweetest people I can think of on the planet, so she has to get something.
Brenda - A Christmas angel snow globe <-- the other sweetest person on the planet!
Jamie - Em, not really a gift, but a card and a new bracelet, and hopefully I'll get her necklace fixed soon.
Tony - A wine sampling kit <-- haha, no wine included, but my brother's always been one of those kinds of people that wants to be able to distinguish different kinds of wines and establish his own collection.
Mina - An avocado <--Yes, that's right...

For the record, I would like to establish that TWO of my gifts were actually purchased before December 24th. Not bad, eh? Right. That's all I'm going to say. Next up... a post about Boxing Day... expect a thriller!

She's still smiling because she hasn't tried to pull away yet.... 

Nisha's First Time

I'm not sure if I've ever laughed so hard before in my life. I probably have, but this one was one of the more hilarious things I've ever witnessed. My roomate Nisha, from Germany, decided it was time one of her many first "Canadian" experiences, the famous "Sticking of Tongue to a Cold Metal Pole". I really think there should be an expression for doing this, I don't think I've met a Canadian who hasn't done it. I also don't know any Canadian who's done it more than once. There should be a fetish out there for sticking tongues to poles, but I haven't met anybody who has, and it would make sense to move them to, say, Peru, for their own safety. But yesterday, while waiting for the bus, she expressed her desire to stick her tongue to a pole "Like in Dumb and Dumber!!!" (Oh, I think she might kill me for this, but I really can't help it!!) and I explained to her that she really doesn't want to, because it really hurts. She actually thought it would take a good five minutes until it would stick, and that it would peel off easily, kind of like velcro to velcro. I explained it doesn't exactly happen that way. But she still wanted to. She was actually going to stick the entire thing to the pole, but I convinced her that she could still get the same great experience by only sticking the tip. I also asked if I could take a picture... lol... so here it is. And for the record, there is still a little piece of her shriveled tongue stuck to the pole and it won't come off until spring. Gee, that sounds awfully nice.

Christmas List

I have now added a new christmas wish list on the sidebar, please check it out, if you want to get me anything!!!
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Christmas Holidays, at last!!!

Oh geez. I hate macs, which is where I am writing this post from. I just deleted an entire post while trying to copy and paste it elsewhere, because it was a massive post, and I thought it would suck if it didn't end up publishing. Then I forgot that you have to press the little apple button instead of ctrl, and there isn't an "undo". Crud. Ah, the folly. It hurts. Right, well, here is pretty much what I was going to say.
As of today I am finished my finals. Those who have finals still most likely don't really care. Those that who have alreay finished their finals probably don't really care either. So, basically, I could stop writing right about now and nobody would really care at all (Gee I live a sad life). Anyways... just had to say, the major thought that occurred to me while I was handing in my ecology final was, well, gee, that's it? I honestly felt like I was cheated out of all the huge finals stress and burnout that everybody else (including myself) seems to experience every term. Mostly it's because i didn't kill myself or freak out when I realized that I knew absolutely nothing (either before finals or during). How rare. Righto.
So now I'm heading home to Dawson Creek, which I have a few mixed feelings about. For one, I'm not at the point where the main thought on my mind is "ESCAPE!!!" like I normally am after finishing a round of finals. Don't get me wrong, I really love Dawson Creek in the winter. I love watching the snow falling, either from the living room window, or outside at night while looking up at the sky. I love sledding on our driveway, and skidooing at my cousin's, and snowboarding at PK or even Bear Mountain, and I love walking down the road I live on outside of town that hasn't changed for as long as I can remember (except they paved it... AFTER I went to university WITH my rollerblades, buggers). I miss my DC friends an awful lot, so it'll be fantastic to see them all again. And Christmas makes it that much better.
However, I am really loving school right now. For one thing, freedom. At what other point in your life can you be completely free to do whatever you like, whenever you like? I can hop on my bike and basically go anywhere I feel like, anytime... and there's lots of awesome places that are easy to get to if I do want to! The house I live in couldn't be any better (even without the chimney). I love being able to go to class or a lab and laugh and talk and moan with friends and be one of those annoying people that the profs have to wait for to start the class. I love being able to walk around campus and run into five or six friends almost every day (even though I had to stalk those six friends until I knew their schedules by heart... I mean, just kiddin) and spend ten minutes talking about absolutely nothing and everything. Where else can you play almost any sport at any time of the day, volunteer for the people you really want to help, have crazy peanut butter wars and dance-offs in your own home (aka, Nisha and me, every night), and have a blast every day with the most amazing people and greatest friends you'll ever make in your life. I can go to class, finish a laboratory, make a play-doh boat with a six year old, go for a swim, see some friends, go to work (for the greatest all-round university athletics teams in Canada!), and party it up in a club all on a single Friday. College is absolutely the ideal lifestyle, and I am definitely loving it... which is probably for the best since I'm likely to be here for a while. Mebbe I'll change my mind next term when I hate my classes or my roomates are driving me crazy or I'm twenty times busier than any sane person should be. But right now, I'm in my happy spot.
Okay, and finally, I have some random thoughts and occurences that happened while writing my finals:
-"Well, it's a good thing that these scan-tron sheets are such a nice blue-green colour. Otherwise, I might end up feeling twingy about having to see them every time I write an exam. Like if they were an sick yellow-green colour... I would probably have bad dreams about being forced to write multiple choice exams and fill out the little circles on ugly paper..." (Yes, this thought actually did go through my head).
-The main gym looks so incredibly different when it's set up for exams, it's really weird. For instance, the contrast between the Can-Am games, v-ball players on the floor with the nets set up, crazy music and a thousand fans making insane noise, and now it's a bunch or mats on the floor and just rows and rows of endless desks and poor students scribbling away madly. Strange to think how just a few weeks ago I was selling beer at a B-ball game in that exact same spot where that proctor is giving my a funny look.
Next thought:
-"Why is that proctor giving me a funny look?"
-During my physiology exam, the girl sitting next to me had her desk fall apart, and she was trapped underneath it, and they had to call the fire department and the ambulance to get her out and she barely made it out alive.
-Okay, the part with the ambulance and the fire truck didn't exactly happen, but it would have been cool. And her desk actually did fall apart on top of her.
-Also, during my physio exam, one of the multiple choice questions asked which person's blood type would be best to use, if a person with type B blood, Rhesus negative had to have an emergency transfusion. And one of the possible answers was a person with type B, Rhesus negative blood. I asked the professor if it was a trick question.
-I am the epitome of the type of person you wouldn't want to sit next to during an exam. I tend to munch on very noisy snacks in the middle of the exam (once I have to read a question more than three times, I decide it's time for "the break"). Today it was an apple, and before it was carrots. Last term, it was animal crackers.... and there ended up being a story about the buffalo-type animal attacking the camel before the extinctionator demolished them and returned to her physics formula sheet.

Finally, those reading my posts might notice that I make a lot of rambling, run-on sentences. This is completely, 100% deliberate, because I think in run-on sentence mode and I like to write the way I think. I also do this because I am thankfully not in English any more and I now feel free to abuse the privelege to write as poorly as I want and I don't have to care. Ahh, that feels so good. Sweet release!

Poor Santa. Pictures are such an easy way to post.  

The Sky is Falling!

Right, I'm just going to start off this post by saying that I don't feel very good. I was pretty sick last night and a bit better this morning, but I decided against going to church to spare others from my green face. So I go downstairs and study some of my ecology since I have a test tomorrow, still feeling pretty crappy, when suddenly the bright beautiful morning takes a turn for the worse. The sun goes behind the clouds, and everything gets really windy and spooky. I'm sitting in the littler dining room, when suddenly the house sounds like it's crashing down and when I look out the window, I see a bunch of objects fly off the roof. Nisha rushes in, and we look out the window, and there's a big pile of bricks outside. Our landlords are in Hawaii for their son's wedding, so we can't exactly call them up and explain that our house is falling apart. But I go back to studying, and we get a neighbour that comes over and lets us know our chimney just fell apart. So, we go take a look at it, and sure enough, there's about a half a chimney on our roof, and the part that's left has kinda fallen on top of the chimney pipe. Still, not much we can do, I go back inside and keep studying. And then we get another neighbour, who comes over to let us know that our chimney is broken. But then she asks if it might have some carbon monoxide implications or something like that, and we kind of laugh it off. But now I'm not sure if I feel sick because I feel sick or if I'm going to pass out and die due to carbon monoxide poisoning. So yes, that's my story. Maybe I should have toughed it out and went to church anyways, I think I might just be getting smitten here, I'm certainly not getting a lot of studying done. Grrr. Well, should probably get back to work.
Oh yes, and last night, I went to a friend of a friend's barbeque (those friends of friends are great for that) and the steak was amazing, the video games were the greatest, I was starting to go through withdrawal, I miss my PS so bad ( Not sure if the friend of a friend had it out for me though, nobody else felt sick, as far as I know!)

Chocolate: More than a want. More than a need.

Email from friend that is so very true.

The Hormone Hostage knows that there are days in the month when all a man has to do is open his mouth and he takes his life in his own hands.
This is a handy guide that should be as common as a driver's license in the wallet of every husband, boyfriend, or significant other!

DANGEROUS: What's for dinner?
SAFER: Can I help you with dinner?
SAFEST: Where would you like to go for dinner?
ULTRA SAFE: Have some chocolate.

DANGEROUS: Are you wearing that?
SAFER: Wow, you look good in brown.
SAFEST: WOW! Look at you!
ULTRA SAFE: Have some chocolate.

DANGEROUS: What are you so worked up about?
SAFER: Could we be overreacting?
SAFEST: Here's my paycheck.
ULTRA SAFE: Have some chocolate.

DANGEROUS: Should you be eating that?
SAFER: You know, there are a lot of apples left.
SAFEST: Can I get you a glass of wine with that?
ULTRA SAFE: Have some chocolate.

DANGEROUS: What did you do all day?
SAFER: I hope you didn't over-do it today.
SAFEST: I've always loved you in that robe!
ULTRA SAFE: Have some more chocolate.

13 Things PMS Stands For:
1. Pass My Shotgun
2. Psychotic Mood Shift
3. Perpetual Munching Spree
4. Puffy Mid-Section
5. People Make me Sick
6. Provide Me with Sweets
7. Pardon My Sobbing
8. Pimples May Surface
9. Pass My Sweatpants
10. Pissy Mood Syndrome
11. Plainly; Men Suck
12. Pack My Stuff

And my favorite one...
13. Potential Murder Suspect

In our house, we have had many a discussion as to just how important chocolate is. The conclusion is, according to the experts, chocolate is better than sex, in most cases. Like, if you were to have a pepto-bismol coated chocolate, that would be an exception to the rule.

And to finish off this web log with a quick moment of truth:
Chocolate is what men prayed to God for to deliver them from women. Amen.

I Hate the University.

ARGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!! I just got my cell biology mark back, I got 67.9% in the class and if I had gotten 68.0% I would have a B-, but I am sitting with a C+ instead. That's the difference between 2.3 and 2.7 on the GPA scale, all for 0.1% difference. When I saw that I went outside and attacked the porch deck with my shoe. Now my shoe is well broken in and I feel less of a physical need to show my anger. But today I think the curve sucks big time. People who got a 60 overall in the class are sitting in the same spot I am. My mark on the final for the class was a 75% and I thought I did so much better than that. Sick. So, today, I am going to be majorly pissed off with the world in general and the University in particular. Anyways, I am going to go be grumpy and do grumpy people things now. Grrr.

Haha, that tickles... I mean, ouch!! It hurts!!!  

Donating Blood - Don't Read if You Have a Queasy Stomach!!!

This is a post about how I started my day. This morning I woke up (well, technically this afternoon, but who's counting) and ate a breakfast of rice pudding I made sometime yesterday. About the time I decided I should actually go do something productive, I thought to myself, gee, I feel like donating some blood today. I'll go do that. So, I looked up Canada Blood Services, called their number (1-888-2-donate) and made myself an appointment for 3 o'clock today. Next, off I go on my bike (quick random comment - the roads SUCKED today. Sick dirt sludge mania. I'm going to have to spend an hour cleaning my gears and shocks tonight) and stop at the clinic on my way to school. I got there about 45 min early, so I read my brochure thinger, sat down and drank some apple juice. Then I remembered that I forgot to drink lots of water, so I managed to force myself to drink a couple liters of water (I have lowish blood pressure and small veins, so nurses won't take my blood unless I drink a ton of water beforehand to increase my B.P.). The clinic was all decked out in cool Christmas decorations and there was a guy there making balloon animals for everyone. I sat and did some studying til 3, and then I went and answered the questionaire (no, no AIDS or HIV, yes, I feel well, no, I'm not on steroids, etc).
Did you know that if you spend three months (total, not consecutive!!) or more in France/the U.K. since 1980, or five years in Europe you're not eligible to donate? Crazy. There's lots of questions about sex and SARS after that but you're not allowed to answer them by yourself. Then they do a quick hemoglobin test, mine was probably the best it's been in a long time. I think having vitamin C and iron-rich foods together, and not having calcium and iron rich foods together payed off this time! (yes, that's the nutrition geek in me). Next they take you in the "screening room" where they ask you lots of the other questions, take your blood pressure and temperature (you can see the complete list of questions they ask here) and then get you to put a yes or no sticker (basically a barcode) on the page while they're out of the room. This is so if you decide you're blood's not safe you don't have to be worried about backing out, you can still go through and give your blood but it won't be used if the barcode is negative. Anyways, your blood is tested for viral STD's and West Nile regardless every time after they take it, and any positive results are mailed to the donator. All in all, I think it's an effective screening process and Canada's most likely the safest place in the world to recieve blood from or donate blood.
The actual part where I donate's pretty boring. I get nervous when I think about needles, but once I actually see it and they use it, I'm fine. There's only one vein out of both of my arms they ever have actually been able to use and it's super tiny and at a funny angle (hence the drinking of water). Usually they're super cautious when they decide where and at what angle to put it in, but today the RN just kinda pushed it in without feeling my arm for very long, and it was at the wrong angle, and nothing was coming out. So she said "Oh, I'm so sorry. This is going to hurt a bit." and then turned the needle a bit more sideways and pushed it in further. Ouch!! It took about five minutes for them to collect 500 mL (about a coke bottle's worth). Then I have to give up my squeeze ball and just relax in the chair for a few minutes to recover. The first time I donated I ended up getting faint after they pulled the needle out, but I guess that's normal for first-timers. After that I went and had some more apple juice and they gave me a cookie by George (you can also have soup or fruit salad or sandwiches, or other stuff to drink, basically whatever you want, but I wasn't really hungry). So, this was my third time and I got a free pen and little pin. Pretty cool. Except then my arm hurt all afternoon and it was hard to write notes while I was studying. That's the not cool part.
I'm not sure why, but I really love to donate blood and I think everyone else who doesn't have a fear of needles should definitely do the same. The people at the clinics are fabulous, the cookies are wonderful, and the balloons are fun. They treat you really well because they want you to come back with more. lol. That reminds me. I think the logo, or the "catch phrase", for Canadian blood services really sucks - "Blood. It's in you to give." I think that's probably the worst thing ever to try and convince people to donate. It sounds repulsive. Like, we're just little humans out there having our bodies produce biological products for the masses. Makes me think of the Matrix or something.
Well, for anyone that cares to know, my blood type is B+, so I'm one of the rarer types. Not like it really matters, because all of the types have their advantages for donation, for example, if you have O- you might have really good blood cells to use (international donor) but your plasma is only usable with "O" types. And if you have, say, AB+ blood, your blood cells might be harder to give to patients (only other AB+ blood types) but your plasma can be used for anyone. Plasma and blood cells are both really important anyways, but plasma tends to be used a bit more and they have "plasma donators" who donate their plasma only by having their RBC's returned to their body, and that way they can donate more often. Oh yeah, and people without the Rhesus factor ("negative" blood types) also tend to be rarer and women are usually tested to make sure they have the Rh factor when they're pregnant, otherwise if their baby had Rh negative blood it would cause the mother to make antibodies against the Rh factor (unless a vaccination is given after birth) that will attack the next Rh+ baby she has (hemolytic disease in the baby). That's the biology geek coming out in me.
Right, okay I think I've wasted enough of everybody's time!! Good thing I can't donate for another 56 days I think. Going to Calgary tomorrow!! Woo-hoo!! Good night to all, and to all a good night.

Mistakes

Okay, here I am complaining about my friends. We all have them, the ones that are nice enough people and great friends, but who make mistakes. And not that mistakes are bad things, I make enough for almost all of my friends combined. But at least I am continually creative in thinking up new ones. But my complaint is for those who make the same mistakes over and over again, know that what they're doing isn't helping them, but won't stop doing it. And then they cry or complain about it over and over again. Of course I feel for them but I can't help anyone if they won't help themselves. So, if you have a problem, and it consistently comes from the same mistake, instead of trying to give me a concussion by making me bang my head against a wall, try an effective psychology idea. Have a time out. And then suck it up because if you have strength to complain you have strength enough to fix your own problems. So that's my vent for today. And hopefully I won't end up with this coming back to haunt me next time I whine a bit. Oh yes, and this isn't for those that are just grumpy or have new and interesting problems. I'm totally and completely open to that. I can't just use my own material after all. Also, notice the time. This post may make no sense when you read it, I was tired two and a half hours ago but then I forgot and stayed up late watching part of Mrs. Doubtfire. Ahh, the classics. Right. This is what happens when I get msg'd by the same people with problems at 2 am, I post in irritated mode. Need some sleep now.

Yup, life is good and all is well.

It could be easily confused for a female swimmer. Breastroke and fly can give you some pretty buff shoulders. 

Oops

Hmm, just thought I'd share this wonderful story with everyone. Yesterday night, after I finished swimming, I was talking to this one other girl with the Master's swim club and we were discussing stroke technique and such, and then we said cya and all that. Then she went into the girl's change room and I put some of the equipment away, and went into the changeroom too. Except as I was walking through, I thought to myself, wait a second, this changeroom doesn't look quite right. It's rather backwards. At which point I realized I was in the guy's shower room. And so, I run back out the way I came in and the lifeguard that sees me leave (he's a guy) gives me one of those looks like I just stepped off another planet. Anyways, that's my embarrassing story for the day. You see, I was only confused by the signs on the doors because girls can't wear dresses when they're swimming.

It's even satisfying to peel them, in ways that just regular oranges could never satisfy.  

Mandarin Oranges

Have you ever had an insatiable craving?
Today I was craving mandarin oranges. Someone was peeling one while I was in ETLC today, and as soon as I smelled it, it just made me go... mmm... mandarin oranges. They just smell so good when they're being peeled. Random thought: I also like the smell of bubble gum when someone just starts to chew some.... mmm bubble gum. So today, after work, Safeway had a special on: if you buy one box of oranges, you get a second one free. I was already going to buy one box, so I said, what the hey? and rode home with my two boxes of oranges. I guess I was pretty hungry when I got home, I didn't get a chance to eat before work. So I ate two, and then I thought, gee, I am craving them so bad, and I really want more. I think what I'll do is just have some more until the craving goes away, and that way I'll knock it out and get sick of them, so the craving will go away. Nip it in the bud, if you will. Better to do it that way than to let the craving last for the next month, right? Not like I'm going to run out of oranges. Fourteen oranges later..... still craving oranges. So much for that theory. Yeah. So basically, the moral of this story is that you can keep on going long after you think you're finished. Wonder what kind of strange chemical imbalances I have in my system now. I have no clue what direction I'll take if I ever get pregnant some day. Maybe my cravings will go away and I will for once eat like a normal human being.

Absent-minded

Today I am very happy. I think that it's mostly because it's December 2nd here in Edmonton, and there is no snow... in fact, it is raining outside. Not sure why rain has the ability to make me so happy, especially when I do like snow... maybe it's because I can still ride my bicycle to school just as easily as I did in October. Actually, easier. October had snow. Second, except for one small online discussion to complete, I have just finished all of the assignments, presentations, reports, essays, etc. etc. that are due for the entire term. Ah, sweet release. Classes end next Wednesday, and for the next three weeks until I go home for Christmas, I can spend it studying like a madman, working, doing a bit of volunteer work, going to many a Christmas party, writing a few exams, and above all, swimming. Haven't been able to swim every day for so long. Life is good. And I am just going to sit here and appreciate it because I know my next term is likely to be h_ll on wheels. So, that's basically what my post is about today. I am happy and appreciating how nice it is to be happy.
And, finally, to the greatest mum in the world: Happy Birthday!!!!