Tim says...

Wow, who would've thought my psychology that I learnt in Med Lab would apply to Joanne's last post. She just scored on the highest level of moral reasoning! Good job Joanne! (Girls supposedly score lower than men on avg.)

Joanne says...

~Random rant or expression of confusion~

I get paid over $30/hour just to sit there and stare down 2nd year students for a few hours. Ridiculous, huh? And get this: The Uof T TA union is going on strike for more money. What argument could we possibly bring to the table? As you all know, University of Toronto TAs are the highest paid TAs in the country. Unlike a lot of grad students in the country, TAship is not mandatory. I myself have never been against unions (unlike some members of this blog I'm sure, and very uncharacteristic of an individual who grew up with parents who cursed the Chinese communist government on a daily basis), but even now as part of a union, I find this absolutely ridiculous!! And I've only been here 3 months - there's no way in hell I'm gonna picket out in the -20°C snow!!!

But if it means more $$$ to me in the end...I guess I shouldn't complain? What are your thoughts on this???

Joyce says...

on coffee fasting
I wonder what would the blog activity like if everyone quits coffee until holiday [and quitting tea for viv, video games for steve]. hmmm, we can have prize for:
the craziest post
most number of posts from an individual
most clinically significant withdrawal symptom shown
complete blog disappearance

let's see if we can have Starbucks to sponsor this contest

Joanne says...

Joyce and Viv: Booyah! Girls who don't shave! Gimme five! As a typical Chinese person, I usually don't have much need to shave either. I only wax twice a year out of sheer vanity and paranoia... Haha, I've been wearing skirts all summer and I haven't touched my legs. I think my eyebrows get more attention than my armpits actually...

I think you would have to strap me down in a psychiatric institute and give me insulin injections or something a la "A Beautiful Mind" if I had to be cut off coffee. Hehe, I wonder what Cindy's reaction would be once she sees her papie consume coffee like water...

Stephen says...

GSP clarification: "razor" not "razer". A razer would be someone who destroys buildings, i.e.: razes them. While funny in context, razing is not an economical way of removing leg hair.

It's Wednesday morning, that means I've had the past two days off. Since I don't shave on my days off, it means that I look the most latino now than any other time of the week. Anyone willing to pay for pictures of me as an hombre, please inform me now so that I can have my camera ready for next time. It's too late to catch me this week.

I don't think that girls need to shave, especially for somebody like Joyce or Viv who don't actually grow leg hair (or it's invisible), if you're comfortable with hairy legs, that's fine with me. I haven't shaved my legs in 22 years, so who am I to demand it of others? Faces and armpits, however, should at least be kept in check. Especially armpits, because it reduces smelliness... I think that's all I want to say about personal hygiene.

w00t! Last day of November! Bring it on Christmastime!

NeverGonnaGrowUp says...

karen: i shave in the winter too. only if i'm going clubbing though! and ya when i do i'm always cold too...lol.

i don't think unshaven legs are all that gross! i personally think unshaven armpit is gross-er...

less than 24 hour countdown until i'm in TO. woohoo!

peter: u forgot chris is as hairy as a white guy. if he participates i know he'll win the fastest growth...i mean 5 o'clock shadow is so yesterday, my papie gets 1 o'clock shadow instead! but i object to kissing a mouth full of yuck, so he won't be participating. muhahahaha...

Joyce says...

Pat: I've NEVER shaved my legs. Anyone who's seen me in shorts can attest to the smoothness of them. :p

and.... I call the referee position for coffee fasting contest, and will not be more involved than that.

Pat says...

You know its finals season when EVERYONE posts something random.

And btw... eugh sick. Can the girls never mention not shaving their legs again? I think a better game would be to have a coffee fasting challenge during finals and see who cracks first! .. first loser treats everyone to bbt.
Muahaha.. academic suicide.

vivienne says...

Karen: Can't help you there...I've never shaved before in my life. I inherited the hairless legs gene from my mom. O.o;; Remember that time I talked about my lack of armpit hair....wait...why am I bringing that up again?...

Unknown says...

Hahahaha, I'd pay to get a picture of Stephen looking latino.

Hmmm and I just realized being undernourished and all (hence the skinniness), I'm probably the favorite for least growth or patchiest growth. WOAHAHAHAH....
ok shut up Ben that's nothing to be proud of. Ok Ben, stop talking to yourself.
Ok.

Joanne says...

What, are we saying that while guys are allowed to maintain hairy legs while us females have to subject ourselves to razer cuts or screaming pain (waxing) every week (is that how much we're supposed to shave?). Double standards, I cry!!

No wonder those feminists are mad, haha.

Tim says...

Joyce: Yeah, I seriously thought that was your female prof until I read your post.

Joanne: Oh god, keep your non-shaving to yourself! I nearly puked!

Karen says...

- really?? -

i'm the only one who still shaves during the winter?! viv? cindy? and are we really having this conversation on the internet?! hahahaa. hmmm, must be an evolutionary thing, you guys don't shave in the winter so you'd be warmer? no wonder i'm always cold during winter months!!

re: 410. good to know joanne. esp. since i just spent the last two hours watching saved by the bell and full house re-runs. they play them during the afternoons now!! hehe.

Joyce says...

yeah, Ben, I don't have enough leg hair that requires shaving anyway, and it's winter, who shaves armpit hair? You got yourself a game here.

Peter says...

great, there goes the ONE guy that might've looked decent with facial hair.

UNIVERSAL FORMULA: "asian" - "shaving" =
'nough said...

Joanne says...

Yay! Blog activity!

Stephen: Ooooh...Latino guys *drool.*

BIOC 410ers aka Crazy-People-Who-Didn't-Get-Outta-Honours-
When-They-Still-Had-the-Chance-and-Advanced-Warning: Don't worry too much about the assignment. I believe the standard deviation for the marks of this assignment were low enough for it to mean that spending one night on it will get you roughly the same mark as the keener who's been working on it for 2 weeks. Stupid keeners, even in Grad school I give them a glare...secretly though in case I get beat up...or rather, shot since I'm in Toronto.

Joyce: Oh, he IS quite attractive! But yah, I gotta agree with Stephen on the womanliness. But since I'm bicurious, I guess that's why I found his androgeny attractive.

People who like snow: People here comment when it's raining, but they don't say anything when it's snowing... And I don't get why everyone in Toronto says Vancouver has bad weather because it rains a lot. There's just as much precipitation here, except it's colder so it's snow instead of rain. Dumbasses.

Ben and Karen: I'd totally be up for the no shaving leg hair thing! It's already been months...and I'm so not ashamed of it, I even showed my unshaven legs to a cute guy and had him touch it (ok, it was just an excuse to get a cute guy to touch my legs). SO LET'S BRING IT ON!!!

----------------
post format edited by Joyce to fit the window size for Firefox users

Stephen says...

I hate to be one to rain on a parade (actually, that's a lie, I love it!), Joyce, but I didn't realize that that picture was of a man until I read all of the following posts. Sorry. I thought, perhaps, it was one of your female profs or something.

Hair growth: FUCK NO! There is no bloody way I'm not shaving for a month. I work in retail and need to keep it clean, dammit! Besides, if I don't shave I begin to look latino (seriously, ask Star), and it might freak out the people I work with.

SNOW!!!!!!! Today is the best day ever!!!!! I love snow!!!! Li-Kai and I are having a snowball fight this afternoon! Anyone else in? Call me: 221-5609!

Karen says...

- joyce! -

don't we all wish we had a picture with the man of our dreams! hahahaha. consider yourself lucky!

Karen says...

- TYPO -

hahahahahahha. nobody would believe that i'd suggest something like that ben...i mean...EWWWWWWWWWWWWW. =P

i was telling ben that it'd be fun for the girls to WATCH. came out something totally different. i blame it on this morning's 'biochem honours freak out session' hosted by gary wong...has me all wired. hehehee.

i'm not working on my 410 term paper either...muahahahaha.

Unknown says...

Actually, by Karen's suggestion (typo), here's a challenge to the girls...

NO SHAVING ARMPIT AND LEG HAIR!!!

AHAHHAHAH

Unknown says...

Completely random thought cuz I just don't want to start my 410 assignment:

does the guys in the group wanna do a beard/mustache growing competition?
How it works:
Last shave: before midnight of Nov 30.
Rules: No shaves between Dec 1 and Dec 22 just before dinner (or after doesnt matter... in fact i think it'll be more interesting if everyone shows up with a huge peice of dead squirrel -ie facial hair - on their chin - guys only... PLEASE - unless girls really want in on this... on approval basis)
Any shaving in that time period disqualifies you
On the 22nd, take a picture, and present the awards:
Longest Growth
Least Growth
Patchiest Growth
Ugliest Growth
Curliest Growth
Most Creative Growth
etc.

haha I'm so bored... anyone in?

Joyce says...

Under what circumstance would I become so shy that I was verbally incapable of saying all the stuff that I had been rehearsing in my head? That's right, I met the man of my dream, Joshua Bell, again! And I thought I'd be more mature than last time [gr. 12] and carry out a decent conversation with him. Instead, the signing process is done with minimum verbal interaction, and maximum grin/simle/shaky hands from my side. Oh well... he seems like a shy person too... I'm telling myself that.

vivienne says...

Oh, I missed this contest thing in the 432 where they were having a competition about the origins of the name of the paper. The winning entry was this:

"Nineteen years ago, a fresh-faced, eager student by the name of Dan Anderson began his first semester at UBC. Vancouver was a world apart from his hometown of Stumpfuck Alabama, and Dan was determined to prove to everyone that this young "carpet-bagger" could excel in science. He studied late into the night in the science lounge. Dan was a very organized, clean student who frequently complained of the level of cleanliness in the lounge. His complaints usually ended with the phrase "The floor's dirty, too." With his southern drawl, it sounded like "Flah stirty too." This became a running joke within the council. Any messes or spills became known as "432s." At the first newspaper meeting later that year, Dan showed up, eager to display his writing talent. As soon as Dan sat down, the newspaper committee immediately realized that here was only one possible name for their paper. It became forever known as The 432."

Hope you guys enjoyed that bit of campus humor.

vivienne says...

Steve: I'm never one to usurp anybody. :) I'll just be your...GSP-in-training!Yeah, that's it! Btw, it's apparently, not apparantly. (from your last post) ;)

Mwahahaah...last week of school, guys! *dances*

Stephen says...

Hmmm... Apparantly I've missed a lot in the last week. Vivienne has usurped my position as GSP, I'm going to mexico (news to me...), and Joanne can't find thermal underwear in Ontario.

Here's the deal: I'm not going out of town. Star's parents are coming into town on the 22nd, so that night's out for us. In fact, Star and I are planning to have a Christmukkah party here where we'll have dinner, latkes, and games. I'm still trying to sort a date out, but you're all invited and I'l keep you all posted.

Thermal underwear can be bought at most camping retailers, or army surplus stores. I would recommend Lifa brand. It's a little pricier than other brands, but well worth it when it's -35 and you're toasty warm. Call around and ask for it, they also make undertops as well (AKA: long-sleeved thermal goodness).

vivienne says...

Dammit Tim! It's YOU'RE, not your! You're a UBC graduate--get your grammar straight at least! :p

Tim says...

Karen: It's fitting how YOUR the one to complain about food portions, or did you forget how Pat and I made fun of you the night of Harry Potter ;-)
Hopefully I won't need to remind you hehehe...j/k

Karen says...

- for the next month -

"i have a new philosophy. i'm only going to dread one day at a time." (charles schulz, whose birthday is today, as charlie brown.)

PS: they SAY it's going to snow in vancouver late next week...

Joanne says...

Chris: So jealous of your thermal underwear!! Where did you get it and how much? I'm looking into buying a pair (although all the Ontarians are laughing at me...)

Karen says...

- food portions -

hehehe. it has been brought to our attention today that food portions at the rugby club is a little on the smaller side. i sorta forgot about that when i recommended the restaurant to viv. and so if there are any problems with that, it's better that i mention that now than we have discontent people at x'mas time. and it's not exactly a formal dress place either. so...speak now or forever hold your peace. =P

viv, *thumbs up*. thanks again for taking director's chair this year. =)

Christopher says...

Sounds great!

Thanks alot Viv for organizing this!

Man its freezing here. It was -14 a few days ago.... I dont know if this suffering is worth the quality of education. The only thing that brings me happiness now is thermal underwear.

vivienne says...

Steve and Star are out of town by then. ^-^ Don't worry, I didn't forget them; Steve left me a message about it earlier.

Um...I already booked the Rugby Club as there weren't any oppositions to it (except Gordon. ;D) for 7:00 PM, December 22nd, for 15 seats. I can add maximum of 5 more seats. I think the restaurant is nice and trendy, and not too expensive (some of us have smaller purses ^^;) and it's all about being with friends in the end right? so I hope I have made the right choice by booking it before all the restaurants are booked out.

Will post updates regarding after-dinner party as soon I get the details. Other than that, have a nice weekend everybody!

vivienne says...

Steve and Star are out of town by then. ^-^ Don't worry, I didn't forget them; Steve left me a message about it earlier.

Um...I already booked the Rugby Club as there weren't any oppositions to it (except Gordon. ;D) for 7:00 PM, December 22nd, for 15 seats. I can add maximum of 5 more seats. I think the restaurant is nice and trendy, and not too expensive (some of us have smaller purses ^^;) and it's all about being with friends in the end right? so I hope I have made the right choice by booking it before all the restaurants are booked out.

Will post updates regarding after-dinner party as soon I get the details. Other than that, have a nice weekend everybody!

Gordon says...

Don't forget Steve and Star (or are they heading to Mexico for the 100th time?)

I kinda like Joanne's idea about dressing up or atleast...semi-dressing up. The Rugby Club seems more like a place where u'd go for alcohol instead of dinner (since the food is not cheap and not that great)... maybe that can be a post-dinner thing instead?

Anyhow, thanks viv for organizing this!

Joanne says...

...Come on! You guys don't get snow in Vancouver!

vivienne says...

Okay, okay...no drunkiness then. I'm just preparing it for you guys ahead of time because that's always how things end up. :p You know who you are.

Anyhow, for those of you who are objecting to my selection of restaurants, Ben and Karen suggested The Rugby Club for our dining needs. I'm booking the place tomorrow, as it's getting close to Christmas. Any better suggestions, post them up ASAP before I finalize it. I'm booking it for 15 seats.

As this whole sleepover thing isn't working out, it's probably not gonna happen, due to lack of actual sleeping space. Cindy: would you still be adverse to having us staying over if we're sober? (the only drinking done will be at the restaurant, and with our young superior metabolism, it'll be long gone by the time we get to your house.) Or Ben: can you get back to me about it ASAP?

The only reason I'm proposing a sleepover is to eliminate the problem of having to find rides home (in the snow, at night) AND also to maximize our bonding time.

Chris, Pete, Joanne: Thanks for the quick feedback! :D

Gordon & Karen: I'm not posting my email on line. :p However, I'll msg you with it once I'm home. Karen already knows it.

Anyhow, finalizing our list: Gordon, Leo, Tim, Joanne, Karen, Joyce, Ben, Chris, Cindy, Peter, Pat, Gary, Jason, Christina (?), and myself. If I missed anyone, you can smack me for it!

Joanne says...

Sigh...alright, no drunken stupor. *weep* I'll just make all my Christmas desserts with rum and eggnog, hehe.

I concur (haha, I've always wanted to use that word) with Chris on the StoneGrill business. It's VERY expensive, and I heard it isn't that good as well. The only novelty is that you eat off a rock, and I can do that when I go camping. Speaking of which, is there good camping in Ontario... We did all-you-can-eat hot pot for last year's Secret Santa (I want to know if that's happening as well, and if out-of-BCers are included...) so we can make it a tradition...or we can try...oh hell, anything is better than Toronto food. Just give me dinner, dammit!

But if we want to dress up, can we go some place nicer? 8P.

Christopher says...

Hrm, I think I'm gonna have to pass on hosting the party at my place. I don't think my parents would appreciate me coming back and trashing their basement I don't think they are paying for my expensive flight for that. I'm actually not that big a fan of a sleepover. Christmas is a precious time and spending a night in a drunken stupor doesn't quite sound as appealing as it may have been.

As for the restaurant, how about we do some all you can eat hotpot? (Btw Stone Grill is hella expensive and there are a ton of better restaurants at that price range, even some that actually cook your food for you.)

Peter says...

yes i'm alive. i think maybe we should consider making this a dry event (i.e. sober)... i realize this may sound weird coming from me, but i don't see why we neccessarily have to have alcohol to make things fun... anyone share my sentiments?

ok back into the abyss that is my last term of undergrad

Gordon says...

What about Gage? Do we know anyone living there now? We did have a BLAST that one year for the halloween party (well...the ones who didn't spend the whole night in the washroom =P...ah..the memories).

Anyway, is that possible? I doubt any sane parents would want their house trashed by drunken (was gonna say teens) 20-something-year-olds. If not... we can always have a nice civilized evening with dinner, secret santas (are we doing that this yr?) and of course....MAFIA (or not...but wow, haven't played that in ages).

Btw vivienne...what IS your email address? I have like 5 here in my address book...PICK ONE! Thanks =)

Joyce says...

STONE GRILL!!!!!

Alternative to cindy or chris's house could be apt or rez apt of people living on/off campus. Ben? Gary?

can't wait to go back!!

vivienne says...

All: The party WAS supposed to be at Pat's place, except he has prior engagements, so that's scratched out. Now, as Cindy has mentioned her concerns about her carpet/furniture (totally understandable), I'm not sure if we still wanna do the drinking thing...I'm going to be sending out emails sometime this week for the party after I can finalize the sleepover spot.

Alternatives: Chris' place? (Chris, would your parents be okay with us using your basement overnight?) -OR- not drinking (or at least very very very moderate drinking) but staying at Cindy's house?

Also, I'm thinking of making it semi-formal since this can accomodate those who wish to dress up and those who don't wish to dress up. LOL. Just wear something nice and presentable.

Restaurant: Macaroni Grill or Stonegrill on Granville island? (never tried the place myself, but it seems interesting.

Joanne says...

...I thought it was at Pat's place?

NeverGonnaGrowUp says...

hey guys...
about that dec 22 party

i overheard somewhere that it's being held at my place???

ok. i have to say this before the whole party thing gets out of hand: i am not comfortable having drunken people at my place. when i talked to vivienne online about this before, i voiced my concern over my mom's carpet and my dad's furniture and she agreed to look into other alternatives first. bottom line: i don't want alcohol at my place because there is no telling how fast someone will get drunk, and i know i won't be drunk (and i refuse to be drunk) and i also know i don't want to be babysitting.

i know ur probably all disappointed ATM, but i need to draw a line and spell out my comfort zone. can you please look into holding the drinking/sleepover party somewhere else? please?

Joyce says...

was going to post this last week

new low in my career as a student
1) wall paper consists of biochemical pathways drawn on letter sized paper
2) microwaved dumplings at 2 am. [hey, i followed the instruction on the back of the packaging.]

oh, and I got my creative zen micro!
It totally goes with my cellphone!

It's kinda annoying that all of my gadgets have overlapping functions: cellphone with a soso camera, PDA with crappy mp3 playing function, mp3 player with some basic PDA functions [calendar, tasks and contacts]. Hopefully few years later we will have a super portable machine that has everything of top qualities.
[and this is just a filler to fill this space beside the pic]

Christopher says...

I guess there is no way around missing either Li-Kai or the Biochemists. Considering that it is being held at Pat's place and the fact he is a biochemist, suggests that we can still have the party as scheduled on the 22nd, and then the non/former biochemists amung us can have an outing with Li-Kai earlier on. Double the fun!

Joyce says...

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

*breathe*

AHHHHHHHHHH

Joanne says...

Vivienne (I spelled your name right this time!): Don't worry, you've got company. I used to do that with Unreal Tournament, except this first person shooter was abused DURING exams, not after (post exam stress is usually alleviated by frivolous spending at a local mall). The game was nice in that it allowed me to name my opponents after those harbingers of stress and repetitively decapitate them with a flak cannon thanks to a kill count set to 100, muahaha.

Cindy: I haven't talked to Li-Kai in so long! Gotta catch up with that guy, but since it's my first night back, chances are my parents would want me home for dinner...and probably stay home (I strongly doubt my absence these past few months would make them more lax with me - nay, I think they'll be stricter than ever. So any plans, please make them now so I can run it by for their approval ahead of time. Yeesh, I have a mortgage but I still have a curfew...). But I'll try to convince them to let me out at night. But perhaps we can do something midday? I'm up for drinking anytime, in fact, in my opinion, I believe certain exceptions apply to the holiday season....such as the acceptable hour for getting hammered should be pushed back from 5pm to anytime after 10am. But then again, this is coming from a girl who drank on 5 separate nights last week....

Karen says...

- hp4 -

steve: have you/star seen it yet?? is it not the most super awesome movie ever??

to others who may care (few of you, i know): movie was SO good that i'm just waiting for an excuse to see it a second time. so if you're straddling the fence, let me knock you right over. =P "to & to" give it 2 thumbs up. (i'm going to ignore how i totally just walked myself into that fingers/toes joke. hahahaha.)

Karen says...

- oh dec. 19th, 20th and 21st -

we were JUST talking about it today and have no idea how we're ever gonna survive that. but in regards to LI-KAI, i don't see why people NOT in our sad, sad, biochem/physiology predicament should NOT go out and have ANOTHER night of drinking fun. hehe. more power to you guys. otherwise li-kai would miss out on all the festivities. just try to not remind us about it when that time comes.

vivienne says...

Karen: you got my email right. ;)

Cindy: The 20th WOULD be a good idea, except that the biochem'ers have an exam on that day as well as an exam on the next day. I doubt very much that they're willing to go out.

I got my Gamecube copy of Resident Evil 4! on the weekend! HAAHAHA It's so awesome...nothing like using a laser-directed shotgun to blow off freaky humanoids situated in a backwards Spanish village! The pure joy of seeing the blood pouring out from the corpses' necks when I blow their heads off. :)

Am I scaring anyone yet? Don't worry...this is therapy for PESS (post-examination stress syndrome). I simply mentally graft my prof's head onto the zombies, and INSTANT GRATIFICATION.

Joanne says...

DAMN YOU PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES WITH DRUGS IN PHASE III TRIALS WHO WON'T GIVE THE DRUG OUT FOR OTHER STUDIES IN FEAR OF COUNTERINDICATIONS.

It just goes to show that it ultimately boils down to the dollars and cents.

NeverGonnaGrowUp says...

received a call from li kai last night, a very pleasant surprise to say the least...(calls from friends are always pleasant, lol)

but it was brought to my attention that he is leaving for tw on the 21st of dec, and his exam finishes on the 20th at 3pm or so. is anyone up for doing something on the 20th just for him?

i would have suggested that we move the PC social to accomodate li kai but i wouldnt be able to do a lot on the 20th because i have another engagement with another party on the same night. therefore the "things" we're gonna do on the 20th is probably short and simple, like a dinner or some drinking and chatting. i would like to attend the other engagement if possible but i can leave early or arrive late lol. so let me know, guys.

Stephen says...

All right, time for my weekly email check and bloggings. My weekend has begun (I get Mondays and Tuesdays off)! Now that I finally sit here to write, I realize that I have nothing to say...

Cindy: Mi tienda es en Avenida 10 Oeste entre Discovery y Trimble, se llama Enda B (Vendemos principalmente DKNY, pero tenemos otras lineas también - La tienda de DKNY en Granville es asociado con nosotros). Por favor, vengan y miren. Creo que el marque de DKNY Jeans está económico para ti.

Joanne says...

...looks like we're all in suspense to find out Vivienne's primary email address...

Allow me to take advantage of this current void in blog posts to talk to myself.

-A day of discovery in Toronto-
Because the weather was so damn nice today, I had to go for a 3 hour walk.

A Park!
A pretty darn big one on Shaw street between Dundas St W and Queen St W. Really pretty with all the autumn colours strewn across the fields and the perfect setting for a romantic walk with my own Mr. Darcy. But of course I'm still a sad sad single girl so I had to make do with the random dog that came up to me, licked me, and then walked away. At least I can finally get away from all the concrete.

The quiet life
I admit, I hate where I live. Sure, it's nice and close to where I work and study so even when it's -7 degrees (which by the way, I'm already complaining about. My native Ontarian lab members say they'll have to kick me back to BC come February if I keep this up), I won't be freezing my ass off. But it's sooooo soul-draining! And walking around Little Italy and the Queen West neighbourhoods, seeing all the cute little >100 year-old houses and art deco lofts with their tree-lined streets, I realized that *yes, I'm about to say this* living 5 minutes away from a big ass mall is overrated.

Damn good brioche
A heavenly moist brioche can be found at Clafouti in the Queen West neighbourhood.

Restaurants of King West
What restaurants? For a place that harbours the best restaurants in the city, you think it the restaurants would be crammed together and look something like well, Robson Street or the South Granville Slope. Instead they're dispersed through a bunch of warehouses and loading docks and will be missed if you happen to blink while strolling by.

Cheap clothes
Cheap designer clothes like Paul Frank, Penguin, Diesel, and Gas can be found at "Five" on Spadina Ave and Adelaide St. 7 and Citizens of Humanity jeans sell for only $120!! (Ok, it sounds expensive but try to remember that these jeans usually retail for at least $275 a pair...either way, I still can't afford to buy them, but it's good to know for future reference!). But it makes me wonder what Boxing Day sales would bring...

The Conscious shopper
Did you know that you can buy a week's worth of groceries in Chinatown for under $20? Anyhow, I gave up trying to decide on my favourite grocer among the many in Chinatown and have resorted to buying vegetables from the old Chinese ladies freezing their butts off on the sidewalks. Chances are, these vegetables are home grown which means: no pesticides! And I'll be helping these seniors out who are probably relying on these sales as a major source of their income. Plus, they don't hit on me like the male provisioners at the other produce stores.

Marching bands
After watching the Santa Claus parade, I have a strong urge to take up the French horn and join a marching band. At least I'd have an excuse to wear a tacky costume...

Karen says...

- once and for all -

VIVIENNE: let's settle this here and now. what IS your primary email address?? =P

NeverGonnaGrowUp says...

time to start a routine of some sort so i can regain some direction in my life. that is for january onwards of course, since i only have 2 weeks here and i'm supposedly swamped by applications and applications. darned applications...

joanne: wheeeeeeeeee!

Joanne says...

Cindy: Weeeee!!! WE CAN GO SHOPPING!!

NeverGonnaGrowUp says...

and the self indulgent conversation cindy has with herself continues...TORONTO, HERE I COME! (Nov 30 to Dec 17 to be exact)

joanne: heeheee really? big ass? no wonder i thought they were hot :)

viv: thats just too cute...

vivienne says...

In my Biology class, my prof was talking about predation and different predators and somehow tapeworms were brought up. So she explained how she went to google up pictures of tapeworms, and she found this instead.

"Making parasites fun for kids!"

Joanne says...

Cindy, I got your postcard! It looks sooooo pretty....well, these women in the pictures have some pretty big butts (yes, even over here in TO, I'm still all about the ass).

NeverGonnaGrowUp says...

my hammock i sent from costa rica is hoooooome! (i couldn't fit it in my lugguage) lol. i bought the hammock for 12USD and postage was 8USD, a total of 20USD for a hammock. SUCH a good deal! (hammocks cost 200+ CAD here) albeit mine is a sitting hammock which means you can't lie down flat on it, but if u're tiny (like joyce) you probably could anyways...

i only bought mine for sitting purposes anyhow. (plus, the laying down one cost double the amount. i went cheap LOL). can't wait til the summer is here so i can finally use it!

steve: hmm, donde esta su tienda? solo por mi curiosidad...no pienso que Chris o mis padres me quieren ir a compras porque no tengo sensibilidad...haha...

Stephen says...

25 % off everything at my shop this weekend. Come in before then and I can honour it for you in advance! Not that too many people on this blog can afford $600 DKNY evening dresses anyways...

Joanne says...

Oh never mind, it's back! Hehe.

Joanne says...

What happened to the sidebar and footer?!?!?!

Stephen says...

Cindy: Ahora que lo pienso, te acuerdo.

Street Fighter has arrived! Please do come by for a beat down!

Joyce says...

i was tracking my MP3 player's shippment on the UPS website, and found the package was sent from Ontario, CA, US. I thought the warehouse was in Canada and the UPS people were dumb enough to include Canada as part of U.S.. Out of curiosity, I googled "ontario california" and found out that there's a city of Ontario in California. This, totally makes "Ontario, CA, US" legitimate. Don't know why, but I smell irony here.

lalalala insanity rocks

NeverGonnaGrowUp says...

i think joyce was doing a crescendo...LOL

getting my costa rica pix on CD tomorrow and will be posting it on my imagestation soon! so excited! (even tho the picture quality wasnt all that great)

also just heard that a petty cash account cannot be set up in my SJA division. u mean i gotta wait 4 months to receive an reimbursement on my 4 dollar photocopying? that really sucks.

steve: hmm, ensenar los otros espanol? no gracias, prefiero que tenemos lengua secreto entre nosotros. entonces estamos especiales y intelligentes!

Stephen says...

Why do the letters get bigger? Isn't the emphatic part of "AAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!" usually the beginning, when you have the most breath?

Cindy: No te preocupes. Yo no creo que pueda acordarme cuando son los cumpleaños de todos. Creo también que necesitamos enseñar los otros hablar español. Pero, si no les enseñamos, podemos ridiculizarles sin reproche (¡Bromeando!).

Joyce says...

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

NeverGonnaGrowUp says...

steve: perdon! el unico dia cuando no estaba en fronte de la computadora, pierdo su cumpleano! feliz cumpleano steve y star!

lol, ah, thanks joanne! i didn't know right hand rings exist! now i want both right AND left rings!

Stephen says...

My bad. Sidebar's fixed. Continue giving me praise.

Stephen says...

Awww... Thanks everyone! That's really sweet! Yes, we do have the same initials. In case anyone's curious, Star's the older one (by two hours).

Gordon: Our number has not changed. It's still 604-221-5609.

Joanne: Email or post your contact info because we still owe you for Bard on the Beach. stephennap@gmail.com

Karen says...

- the sidebar -

x'mas party on the 20th!? hahahaha. night before bioc410 exam...GREAT time to get drunk and party. i'm having a nervous breakdown just thinking about it. i believe for now, its tentatively night of 21st or 22nd since pat may not be able to make it on the 22nd as it was originally planned.

Joanne says...

Happy 22nd to Stephen and Star Nap!

You guys are just like Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas - they have the same birthday as well. But different last names...

Christopher: Medical doctors in other countries for some reason think it's essential to their career to go do medical research abroad and Canada happens to be a nice friendly place to do it (it's too difficult to obtain a visa for the States). And PIs love to hire these individuals because they come from another country, know no one here, and so they work like mad until the wee hours of the night. Consequently, about 80% of the postdoctoral fellows on my floor are foreign doctors and I get ALLLLLLL the medical attention I want! 8). It's so cool having them drop by while you're transferring, ask how you're doing, tell you that you should really take a rest... Sigh, no wonder women want to marry doctors, lol. (Yes, as you can tell I'm totally missing my mom's attention.) As for domestic doctors, I'll be playing poker and monopoly and getting drunk with a bunch of residents tomorrow night. Alcohol!!!!

My ring finger, yes. Actually when my friend saw my injury, he said, "Yeesh Joanne, I know you're afraid of committment but this is just getting ridiculous."
Oh well, I'm fine with right hand rings. They have bigger diamonds and look cooler anyhow, haha.

Hail/frozen rain/snow was pelting down on me last night. Yes, it's finally time to take out my coats...

Christopher says...

Happy Birthday Steve and Star!

Joanne: Ouch, thats horrible. Hope that gets better soon. Atleast you got to know some plastic surgeons. Also, why foreign doctors?

Joyce: Actually it reminds me of that whole Wendy's Chili episode. I demand a law suit and a media circus!

Karen says...

- lest we forget -

DOUBLE HAPPY BIRTHDAY to STEVE & STAR.
all the best you guys. =) how awesome is that...to have the same birthday as your spouse??

ps: joanne, hope your left ring finger gets mended. cindy, i was just thinking the same thing, the wedding ring, the wedding ring! joyce, doesn't the finger chopping remind you of some CSI episode??

pps: joyce, i change my mind. you've gotten me all confused...now i can't decide which colour i like best. hahahha.

NeverGonnaGrowUp says...

oh, and sorry to hear about ur culinary accident, joanne...

hope u regain use of ur trustly ring finger soon. u need it for the diamonds!

NeverGonnaGrowUp says...

um...not sure if my 2 cent matters
but i'd probably go for black, just cuz silver is too popular and red might clash with ur clothes...

Joyce says...

Discussion time!
I can't decide between a silver Zen Micro by Creative or a red one. And now black seems not bad either. The red one is a bit brighter than I want, but still not too bad under normal lighting. [think all the time spent on Google.....]
click here to see all the colours
This is a red one
This is a silver one
you two cents will be much appreciated.

p.s. by now, you guys probably all know that i'm NOT a pink person.

Gordon says...

Steve: what's your new number?

Joanne says...

On Monday night I thought I'd put my culinary skills to test and prepare braised ox tail with fall root vegetables. I had a Pinot Noir ready for deglazing and went out especially to buy some bay leaves and star anise to add aroma. Alas, my mind wandered while I was chopping up carrots and that's how I severed the top 0.3cm of my left ring finger off, along with the capillaries and nerve endings.

NeverGonnaGrowUp says...

what happened to your other hand, joanne? how did your finger get hurt? from THE LAB?

Joanne says...

Oh! Back to the crappy day contests!

So on Tuesday, after being in the Emergency of Toronto General Hospital until 2am, I woke up at 7am to prepare for my day's experiments despite doctor's orders to not do anything (but my hamsters were cannulated and fasted the day before - I had to continue!) So evidently blood collection, an intraperitoneal injection and oral gavage is well, next to impossible on an awake hamster (dammit neuroendocrine system! I just want to put him under isoflurane!) with ONE HAND. And after struggling for 3 hours, having the hamster bite me, scratch me, and poo on me, in the end the jugular catheter slipped out and it was all for nought.

Two surgeries scheduled for today - they had to be cancelled because of this finger. Bah.

Oh and apparently I've been bleeding for the past 3 days...can we say lightheaded?

But good news is I had 2 foreign plastic surgeons and a pediatrician on my floor tend to my finger wound yesterday. Now THAT's what I call healthcare! Haha.

Joyce says...

totally not my day today...

there's the monthly leg-weakening ordeal.
Then my printer went bezzeerk on me before class, and I had to go to class w/o print out notes and late.
JUST as I decided to put in order for the Creative Zen Micro I've been eyeing for weeks, the colour I want at the cheapest site is out of stock. I checked last night, and it was still in stock. BAHHH.

hmm.. oh well, this is still better than getting 3 paper cuts a day.

haha, and my school offers free flu shots to students and staffs. heck, I'd rather bet on my immune system.

NeverGonnaGrowUp says...

got my pix from costa rica developed. awfully disappointed in the quality and the pictures themselves. the colors were so so off, and the photos just don't capture anythiing. my 2 months over in CR is not even comparable to the crappy 9 rolls of film.

so disappointed. im gonna just ask for my friends to post their digital photos online i guess...*sigh*. should have taken more pictures. and shouldnt have cheaped out with film on sale.

from now on i am walking around with my camera. better yet, im buying a digital for x'mas. ARGH. so mad.

NeverGonnaGrowUp says...

had such a good workout in my abs yesterday from laughing. lol. basically i was in the CPR-C recert class and the people in it were just having a ball.

we had people making farting sounds when blowing into the annie dolls, or people losing a fight with little timmy (the child), and every time baby bob suffocates, chokes or gets electricuted, it's always my fault...(ya well, u always pick on the superintendent right?)

dont get me wrong, we are serious, professional first aid attendants! but it's maybe the combination of instructor was funny, the people were being immature, and that i am so immature myself and rusty with my first aid that we had a hilarious, fun-filled class. i love my division!

oh well. i know its so random and unrelated to anybody else but i just had to share.

Stephen says...

Cindy: ¨Vos¨estaba robado de italiano. Despues de la guerra mundial segunda, muchas imigrantes de Italia les mudaban a Argentina. Entonces, porque los idiomas son muy similares, la gente empiezaban usar expresiones y construciones italianos. En Argentina, el español es muy extraño, se usa estructuras italianos con vocabulario español. Es como un idioma único. No sé por qué se usa ¨vos¨en Costa Rica, pero creo que es lo mismo como Argentina.

w00t! Finally ordered Street Fighter for PS2! Birthday beatdowns to commence shortly!

NeverGonnaGrowUp says...

why grey ones only?

i think i like them all :)

Joanne says...

Mmmm...boxer shorts...yes, very nice on a guy. Especially grey ones.

NeverGonnaGrowUp says...

steve: es la verdad, en costa rica no usamos la forma de "tu". en costa rica, un otra pronombre curioso es "vos". es diferente de "vosotros". pienso que "vos" significa "tu". (no aprendi la conjugacion de "vos" pero mi maestra de espanol en costa rica me dijo.) los costaricansenses pueden entender si usted usa "tu", porque en nicaragua y guatemala, "tu" esta usado. entonces, pienso que es importante para mi que aprender la forma de "tu", porque en otra partes del mundo, "tu" esta comun. quiero aprender la conjugacion de tu, y conjugacion de peterito, imperfecto, futuro, y etc etc etc tambien, por favor!

nice new colors, btw. lol.

Stephen says...

Cindy: ¿Verdad? ¿No tienen ¨tu¨ en Costa Rica? ¡Que curiosidad! Pues, mi español tiene un acento muy mexicano, y estoy interesado oir tu acento costariqueño. Si quieres, puedo usar sóla la conjugación de ¨Ud.¨, pero es seguro que me olvidará en el futuro. También, si quieres, puedo enseñarte las conjugaciónes otra vez.

Viv: Star and I will not be able to make it to the Christmas party. Sunny and Scott (Star's parents for those who've forgotten) are coming into town from Winnipeg that night, and I think partying can be ruled out.

As for sexiness, women look best in women's underwear. Male underwear has its charms on a cute girl, but nothing beats underwear that's made for women to show off women.

As for men's underwear, boxer-briefs are the way to go. Tighty whities (or any other colour for that matter) look gross regardless of one's build (although we all know who usually wears them... ugh). Boxers, while comfortable, are really baggy, making the wearer look like they're fourteen years old, and are very visible through any respectable clothing (i.e.: not jeans or sweatpants). Boxer-briefs look stylish, fit well under clothing, and (if you've got it) show yourself off nicely. Yet, even if you haven't got it, they still look respectable and are comfortable. Can anyone really respect someone while mentally picturing them in tighty whities? Didn't think so.

Joyce says...

What's sexy
Girl in nothing but the guy's shirt, preferably a french cuffed dress shirt.
Think Angelina Jolie in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, in one of the post-coital scence when she's sitting on the kitchen floor. sigh, poor Jen, poor poor Jen...

no wonder the guy I hung out with thought I was a lesbian....

vivienne says...

You know what's NOT sexy? When guys wear women's underwear....it's supposed to be a fetish, right? At least between couples? But geez...I don't see how it's sexy 'cause men have...well, apparatus that doesn't FIT in women's underwear....-_-;

Steve: Thanks for the cool Christmas-y colored highlight!

Karen: Input noted.

Rest: Msg me, email me or blog any other input about the party...it's YOUR party, I'm just the one working out the details. ;) Expect a summary of ideas and vote email at the end of the month.

NeverGonnaGrowUp says...

steve: mi vieje era muy divertido, gracias. estrano mis amigos costaricansenses mucho y quiero visitarlos en el futuro. claro que si, vamos hablar en espanol! usted puede ayudarme en mentenado mi espanol. que bueno! (en costa rica no usamos el pronombre "tu" y entonces no recuerdo como conjugo en forma de "tu")

joanne: ok, so i know u asked for the guys' opinion, but i find girls sexier in guys' underwear than their own. LOL.

Karen says...

- on the frisbee front -

oops. almost forgot. for ex-neutrinos/stack on me members, etc, the neutrinos team this season has been undefeated! (and this is unprecedented according to hiu!). we have playoffs which we don't know if we'll be able to have enough people but yay! thought i'd extend the good news to people who would have/will be playing with us again. =)

Karen says...

- male undergarments and x'mas dinners -

i was just reading this thing last week where they were saying how 60% of males in north america still stick to tighty whities. which i found surprising cuz i always thought boxers were more popular... and i believe there are 'fashionable' male underwear out there...lace and all! your options are limitless chris! =P oooohhh...how come that sounds so wrong... heh heh....hmmph.

so christmas party! viv, (oh fabulous organizer), perhaps we should do a vote on whether or not to have secret santa? i know we were sorta against it when we were first talking about it but since then after talking to other people in this group, people seem in favour and perhaps it would be nice to keep tradition??

Christopher says...

Ah for once I agree with Stephen. Thats much better than a vacation!

I don't think male underwear can be sexy. They really need to come out with nicer underwear for guys.

Just finish my anatomy exam and my prof paid for two thousand dollars worth of wine. So I'm slightly soused right now. Fun stuff. Stupid leprosy.

Joanne says...

OOhhh!! Speaking of sexy underwear, I bought the CUTEST pair at Calvin Klein underwear. I just want to take a picture of them (not ON me of course) and show it to everyone because they're soooo pretty and I got it on sale! But posting pictures of underwear on this blog might be inappropriate.

So yah guys, what's sexier? If your girlfriend wears ultra-feminine panties or YOUR underwear?

Stephen says...

Viv: It is done.

I know. It's a sad state of affairs when our most populated, and capital, province doesn't celebrate a holiday celebrated by the rest of the country. Even more so when it's a holiday dedicated to veterans. Fucking Ontario....

Arguing doesn't make a relationship spicy, sexy underwear makes a relationship spicy. That's all I have to say.

Cindy: ¡Bienvenidos! ¿Cómo estaba tu viaje? ¿Aprendiste mucho? ¿Recuerdaste tu español? No he hablado español hace unos meses y le extraño. ¡Entonces, hablame mucho en español!

Joanne says...

I just discovered something rather alarming:

ONTARIO DOESN'T TAKE REMEMBRANCE DAY OFF

What's WRONG with these people????

Joanne says...

http://www.theweathernetwork.ca/weather/cities/can/Pages/CAON0696.htm

I KNEW there was a reason I left Vancouver, haha. The sky now? CRYSTAL CLEAR...well, allowing for the smog... Actually, the high winds suck though. I find myself literally stuck in one spot on the sidewalk because F(w) > F(Joanne's walking), causing a negative deceleration.

But I still think arguing is part of a healthy relationship! If one person kind of sits there and doesn't retort the other's suggestions, then it indicates there's a power relationship. On the other hand, if there is arguing, then that means both parties are comfortable enough to express and stand up for their own opinions to each other.

Peter says...

Don't y'all just LOOOVE vancouver in november?

vivienne says...

Steve, Pat, or Joyce: My Christmas party planning details are stuck at the bottom of the blog (after Joanne's pics). Is it alright to put it in the sidebar? It's the first event put up by us Vancouverites! Hahah.....sad.

Christopher says...

Heya Patrick, count me in for the 22nd! Sounds like a blast.

Joanne: You are absolutely right that arguing about social matters that resonate strongly with either partner is dangerous. Discussions about more abstract matters serves to expand the minds of both debaters, as well as draw attention to some less known pressing matters in our small world. Shouldn't we all be mature enough to be able to take a step back and see both sides of an issue? We aren't Republicans after all, blindly following the 'old' way and our 'glorious' leader without question. It is this blind attempt to avoid all discussion of social issues that allows politicians to continue to do nothing even in the face of absolute disaster.

As for arguing to prevent your partner from making a horrible mistake. This may sound noble and a positive application of arguing, but it often doesnt turn out that way. You are free and encouraged to attempt to dissuade them from making a poor decision, but after that decision is made it is fruitless to keep pursuing it. Even if you are sure that that person is making a horrible decision you are often better off just letting the mistake be made and being there to console her/him after. If you keep pressing, you just further convince your partner to procede and often leaves a bad taste in both mouthes.

I think the problem is that you may be mistaking communication for arguing. Good communication is essential in any relationship (monogamous, polyamorous, extra terrestrial or whatever. Actually for extra terrestrial relationships having a large arsenal is also an effective communication tool). You can truly care for someone and give them advice about their lives without ever having an argument. If you really must have an argument let it be about something that eventually can be ignored as opposed to something you wake up to each morning. (Although you can probably do that too, judging from the surprising amount of unhappy parents I know)

NeverGonnaGrowUp says...

*cindy tries hard to open her red swollen eyes from crying for over 3 days and realizes she missed Joyce's birthday by 2 days*

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO JOYCE!

and to answer Joyce's question, i'm in vancouver now, arrived last night at 630pm after waking at 3am costa rica time (which is the equivalent of vancouver 1am). Started unpacking too, and couldn't help but cry again when I unpacked...*sigh*. I miss Costa Rica. Also I gotta give credits to myself for having survived not having a television for 2 months.

anyhow, on a positive note, now that I am home I can check and post on the blog regularly now. My mom's here so I still can't watch TV, but I have plenty to do that I cannot afford to watch the TV anyways.

as for arguing between couple, chris, did I mention that when we argue about social issues i also want to kick your ass really hard? surely that's no good for the relationship. I think i agree with Joanne more that arguing is sign of caring, given it's not too frequent.

as for dec 22, sounds good so far. not sure about sleepover because i am not sure if my mom would be here to prevent me, but dressing up and drinking sounds good to me. (no, i'm still not a big drinker, but i can damm right finish my smirnoff ice in 2 hours)

anyhow, my apologies for random choppy thoughts. my head is spinning cuz for once i have non-salsa music in my ears...oh, sweet, sweet american pop! did i mention all the clubs in costa rica play salsa? on the other hand i can imitate salsa now, haha...

Joanne says...

Vivienne: Sorry about that 8(. Does it make you feel better to know that I spell my sister's name wrong too?

vivienne says...

Joanne: 'Tis a truly sad day when you realize that your friend can't even spell your name properly. >.<; And yes, I'm booking your 22nd. Mark it in your organizer, my fashionable friend.

Joanne says...

AAAAGGGGHHHH. The Solitary Insanity continues. Look at what three hours alone in the Bloor/Yorkville area did to me:

Yes, that's TWO Holt Renfrew bags you see there. One of them is pretty big you say? Yar, there's a shoe box inside. OK OK. I admit, it's actually a boot box. Believe it or not, the most difficult purchase were the ones from Calvin Klein Underwear. I'm 21, and I still can't decide what kinda panties I want.

Chris: GOODY!!!!! COMPANY!!! How about Monday night? I expect to be working my ass off until 11pm on Tuesday, so I need a pre-destresser. Or Wednesday, in which case it will be a post-destresser. You choose the place.

Well, not antagonize each other kind of arguing. But arguing over social issues...if each person has strongly different social beliefs, that can also be a major source of friction. Sure, it may not pertain to the couple pragmatically, but never underestimate the subversive force of different principles... Plus, arguing is sometimes a sign that you truly care for a person. Think about it - sometimes apathy is the biggest diss. By arguing, you're showing that you give a damn that your significant other could possibly be making a horrible, no good decision that can possibly ruin their lives. Of course loving someone is accepting them for who they are and what they value, but sometimes people are just misguided and you want what's best for them because they're important to you.

Vivian: If you book my time now, the 22nd WILL be free 8P. WWEEEEEEEEEEE. Can't wait. But I'm only taking one course...so can I volunteer to take extra shots? A dress-up dinner! I can use my fanatical walking, stairmastering and yogaing to slip into that BCBG dress of mine again. Speaking of which...

I attended my first class, and I have concluded that YOGA IS HARD. Like, I was sweating!!!! A LOT. And all this time I thought I had awesome core muscles from all my dragonboating - nope, I was wrong! I can't do ANY of the moves. Man, the body is not supposed to be positioned like that. Most of the time I found myself twisted in positions so weird that I couldn't check out that hot blond in her tight Lululemon outfit. And you guys think I have big biceps? You should check out the arms on my Yoga instructor. I bet she can punch guys really hard.

vivienne says...

Pre-planning for the Christmas party

I have the privilege of planning this year's Phish and Chips Christmas party (actually, my last exam is on the 14th, so hence the reason) and the preliminary outline is that it's gonna be on the 22nd of December, at Pat's Place, with a sleepover designed especially for those who wish to partake in our drinking scheme consisting of drinking a shot for every 5% we lose in a course. (This accumulates to probably over 10 shots per person--haha, festive fun ensues.)

I'm thinking of formal attire at a restaurant for dinner, and then staying over at Pat's in PJs and watching old 60's movies (a la Gozilla, Gone with the Wind, anything old school--idea from Ben) until we fall asleep and/or from drunkiness.

Will the date be OK for Chris, Gordon, Joanne and Joyce? You guys are back by then, I think, but you might have other things to do while in Van? Any other suggestions?

Christopher says...

Joanne: If you're that bored, after monday just give me a shout. My next exam isnt for a month after this one! Plenty of things to do, see and eat. Yay for tourism!

On a side note, I just got my camera back from Canon and I would like to applaud them for having above average tech support, they repaired my camera for free (well I had to ship it to them) despite the lack of receipt or warranty. (Granted it was their misdesign that caused the problem.

Christmas time! Woohoo, we are almost there. Mere inches away.
No clue what I'll be doing, but its gotta be better than -20 degree weather here in Toronto.

As for fights in relationships, its terribly overrated and not much fun. Two people who know each other intimately also know where to strike for maximum effect. Plus, most likely you'll be arguing about things that can't or won't be changed. If you really must argue about something, do it about some social issue or something a little farther away from home. And if you really need some excitement then go on vacation or something lol.

Joanne says...

Sigh, I'm at home alone on a Friday night. It's funny. Sometimes you wish that your friends would just go home and there are times when you can't help but feel hopelessly alone...

So let's share some random thoughts...

I was looking through the billions of junk mail I get a week and came across a 50% off Botox deal. I was staring at that line for what must be at least 3 minutes until I realized that I was seriously contemplating it. But not as seriously as the microdermabrasion for $99 deal right below it. These are signs that solitude is getting to me.

I'll be in Vancouver for my winter vacation! But chances are I won't be back at all for summer...so plan something fun while I'm there!! WHAT ABOUT NEW YEAR'S EVE??? Oh man, I can't wait to come back. If this city can look depressing on a sunny day, I'd hate to think of it during the winter... Gordon, Joyce, and Chris: we should have a little party at the airport on the 2nd, haha.

But if the girl is always right, the relationship gets boring. I'm sure most of you would agree that a relationship needs some sort of argument to keep the fires burning, right?

Peter says...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOYCE... ur one of the few ppl who actually has ur bday in my palm and PC organizer, but for some reason i didn't check it last nite, and i had no idea it was so close to ur bday when we chatted... -.-

what are all of you planning to do for ur winter break?

Joyce says...

oh, and I forgot ...

Over lunch...
Joyce: So, Lans, what's your secret to a long lasting relationship
Lans: [without hesitation and thinking] she's ALWAYS right.

guys, write down Lans' answer and put it on your wall.

Stephen says...

Happy Birthday Joyce! From past experience, you should always tell random people around the city that it's your birthday (use a driver's licence as proof) and see what kind of free stuff you can get. Especially from food vendors!

Karen - What's up? Where was the reminder earlier this week that Joyce's birthday was coming up? You're falling off the horse! No more studying for you! Priorities, woman, priorities!

---

Two minutes later...

Oh yeah, new rant. I tried to link the original article, but I don't have a Globe and Mail Online subscription.

Joyce says...

some stuff i thought i'd share
some cool people i've met:
- Lans and Sandy: they've been a couple since high school, got in Berkeley together, and now both are my classmates. 7 years, SEVEN!!!!
- Seyako: she was a computer programmer working for Meryl Linch, and now my classmate.

physiological/psychological state reflecting the consequence of procastination and its subsquent cramming
- a headrush and could not see anything but black for 5 seconds when standing up after exam
- finding the sunshine through the poluted NY air hurting my small nocturnal eyes
- ability to fall right into sleep after studying even with a quad tall americano in my circulation [i left about 1/5 of the cup to chugg it before the exam.]
- obssession of using point form and sentence fragment

Thnx Chris and Karen! Good luck on your exams!
Chris: bah, I hate Liebgott.. and don't want to read Grays. it just has too many words!
Cindy: are you back in Vancouver yet?

Christopher says...

Happy Birthday Joyce!

Karen says...

- to a dear, dear friend far, far away -

Happy Birthday Joyce.

vivienne says...

LOL...you can tell how much Karen hates Biochem 402 (or just biochem in general) by the fact that she's already looking forward to Christmas.....

Biochem 402'ers: Good luck guys! Breathe, Ben, breathe!

Karen says...

- it's all down hill from here -

have yourself...a merry little christmas...
let your heart...be liiighhtt...
from now on...our troubles will be out of siiiggghhttt...

have yourself...a merry little christmas...
make the yule-tide gaaayyy...
from now on...our troubles will be miles awwwaaayyyy...

here we are as in olden days...happy golden days...of yore...
faithful friends who are dear to us...
gather near to us...once mooorreee...

---

with midterms and finals breathing down our backs...it's always nice to have someone tell me my troubles are miles awwwaaaaay. =)

52 days til christmas.
30 days til end of term 1.
15 days til harry potter 4.
1 til we rock bioc 402. muahahahahaha.

merry super early x'mas guys!!

Joyce says...

I love New York!!!
Last time I saw Joshua Bell performing was back in grade 12, and now I get three different performances from Dec to Feb. WHEEEE... on top of that, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center all offer $10 student rush tickets [for the Met Opera is $25]. mwahaha, $10 and listen to tons of world class performers.

anyway... just want to share.

vivienne says...

OMG!!! Did you guys watch the Minnesota vs. Vancouver game today? Well, the last ten minutes anyway!!! SO EXCITING! I swear I was still shaking for five minutes after it ended!!!!

GO CANUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And more specifically, GO ALEX AULD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

vivienne says...

Cindy: Why did my postcard take so much longer than Karen's to get here? LOL Anyhow, got your postcard in great shape; the churches look beautiful there. Can't really read the spanish you put on it....-_-; but oh, well, you can translate it for me when you get back. Thanks for the postcard! ^-^

Joanne says...

Actually, it can be argued that muffins have enough fat content to be considered cakes. (Except for the really healthy low fat ones sold at the Farmer's Market every Saturday - Man, I just LOVE St. Lawrence Market!) Bread actually doesn't have fat as an ingredient so muffins should techincally be called cupcakes. But then as one article somewhere pointed out: all the coffee shops would go bankrupt.

NeverGonnaGrowUp says...

ok, so again i am blatantly ignoring everybody´s posts and insights because i just dont have the time to read. anybody writing a crib sheet version of the whole debate?

count down to vancouver continues. last day at the senior´s day care centre yesterday, cried like a river. last day at the special ed school today, didnt cry at all (because i am going back tomorrow. then i will cry). thur and fri i am spending at the medical clinic and hopefully there will be more patients for me to get my hands on some needles.

will begin to pack after using the internet today. and dinner plans are all booked for me this week cuz my friends and i always eat out before someone leaves CR and sadly enough this week it is me. my friends promise to dedicate a bottle of smirnoff ice to an empty seat when they are allowed to drink on weekends...but just in general im sad to leave. gonna miss everything here...sigh.

back to discussion of the controversies in the REAL world.

Stephen says...

Heh, nice intuition Joanne! I can't believe you knit. It always seems really hard to do. Can you actually knit garments or only in a straight line (I hear that that'a a common issue among knitters)? As long as you're not mixing the green and the brown in the same scarf, that sounds like you're all set for the seasons!

Maybe you can coordinate your scarves to your lab coat. You know, chocolate brown to match old potassium permanganate stains... Just a thought.

Joanne says...

Just to rub in my fashion intuition and know how: Before Stephen made his post about chocolate brown and green, I went shopping on West Queens Street West (there are two wests because these are entirely different shopping districts along Queen Street West, and yes, it's a long long walk out there) on Sunday, and stopped by at Ronmi's Wool to pick up some worst for a scarf to crochet (yes, I have an old ladies' hobby). Guess what colours in extra soft merino wool I picked out! Precisely. Chocolate brown and green. Nice coinkydink eh? (Am I too perky? Get this, I just spent 12 hours at the lab - standing and pipetting. Not waiting around for incubations.)

Ah, since I live by a University and 5 hospitals within a 3km (about 2 miles) radius (Sadly, when I leave my place at 8am, 80% of my floor is already out), scrubs, lab coats, suits, and just plain scrubby clothes are also the norm. I had to walk out 30 minutes to make my other fashion observations...well...Eaton Centre is three blocks away...nevermind. The other day, I walked into the elevator, and I had the exact same outfit as the other grad student. The grad student was a guy...

Sadly, when I leave my place at 8am, 80% of my floor is already out.

Stephen says...

All right, to follow up (and finish) with my issues on feminism:

As for the adman who worked his was to the top, there are plenty of more qualified and ruthless people waiting to take his place. It's a VERY cutthroat industry (many of my customers are in PR, and I can tell just by talking to them) where people are just waiting for you to fuck up. There's no forgiveness, and there's a lot of backstabbing. I'm sure that this guy has his share of conquests while climbing the corporate ladder, and now it's someone else's turn (I bet there were at least 100 people who laughed with joy when his comments went public). Part of the game is being schizophrenic: keep your opinions to yourself, and dish out the opinions of the masses.

Now, speaking of males versus females in med, yes, most learning is problem-based now, which has been statistically proven to be a female strong point. Guess what? That's what medicine is. Some old lady comes in and says "my knee hurts", and you have to do something about it. Just because women are better at it doesn't mean men can't do it, it just means that you shouldn't be so surprised when there are more female med students and doctors. Men make great doctors too, don't get me wrong, I'm just saying that there's only one shitty female doctor for every five shitty male ones. And by the way, females seducing males is sooooo rare (it was a movie, Mr.s Robinson isn't real), and it takes two to tango. Men still need to agree to take their clothes off and have sex with women.

Now, back to fashion.

Joanne: good observation about the fleece. It's completely useless in the prairies because we need something with more substance to keep us warm (what could a centimetre of fleece really do to keep you warm in -40?). Fleeces just make another layer under a coat, and you would be better off saving that layer for something warmer, like a sweater.

Browns are in this year in all shades, chocolate brown, however, is this years big colour for fall and winter. Also velvet is back again. Skirts, blazers (men's and women's), pants (forget it guys - no man should own velvet pants), and camisoles. Spring will see a revival of greens, so buy now! It really does pay to have an inside scoop on this kind of thing... Just don't tell anyone how I know.

Joyce says...

note to self: give up future son so another woman can raise that little unappreciative bastard.
I'm kidding, guys. relax.

Fashion Report from N.Y. midtown.
Well, I haven't done proper window shopping for this fall yet, and spent 90% of the time in rez and school. I'll just report what I've been observing when I take that 1.5 blocks walk to and from school everyday. Mind you I live in an area with a dental school, med school, and three hospitals within 5 block radius. Here's my observation:
scrubs
srucbs
white coat
suit
scrubs

next: styles of my classmates

Peter says...

i may be hallucinating, but did tim just post something meaningful? i think he's attempting to communicate something important this time. this is one for the books.

but seriously, tim, i feel the same way. but i realized it about two years ago. for one thing, i've gained insight into my dad's weaknesses, fears and darkest moments. he is, in my eyes, no longer a towering giant but a frail yet impressively noble man. it's weird, but i find myself respecting him immensely as a result. i also find that my dad can understand me alot better than mom can, even though she tries very hard to see what makes me tick. but that's just a gender thing, it's kind of expected.

note: i'm making a point of refusing to join the feminism debate. don't wanna get wrapped up in it. fun to read tho.