Work Fun on Friday Night

The department where I work at the hospital empties quickly between 5-6 pm, but none so more than Fridays. I was probably the only person left at 5, especially considering it is a 3-day weekend! It is Yom Kippur on Monday and since this is a Jewish hospital, we have the day off. Plus, Sabbath starts Friday at sunset so we are supposed to be leave before then, but since I am not Jewish, I am staying behind to get more work done, but laying low, of course. I have a couple of reports to write and I need access to the files so I need to stay here. I got myself a Starbucks latte, and it is nice and quiet. I have an office that I adore with big windows. Seriously, I couldn't be happier these days even if work is kicking my butt but good.

Oh, dorky me got all excited because I finally got some books I had ordered ages ago from Amazon. One of them is called Geriatric Neuropsychology, and I can't wait to read it. It looks like it will be so helpful. I also got the new edition of one of my work bibles called A Compendium of Neuropsychological Tests. It was like Christmas in September. Oh, and I had also ordered a DVD of a small movie called Lollilove because I am on an everything-Office-related kick and can't help myself when someone dangles a dark comedy in my face. ;) So that is what I will be watching tonight.

Speaking of The Office, they were killing me with the angst this week. It is funny, funny angst, but still... Too many sad/brokenhearted faces. I'll have to come back later to let that all out.

Back to work for me! :)

DVDs and Cooking

I love cooking. I love TV. When I do both at the same time, it is like heaven. I was watching some episodes of the Office from my Season 2 DVDs as I cooked tonight (made an awesome dinner, by the by). Could I love my Office DVDs more? I don't think so, because it would then be very unhealthy. There are about 2 and a half hours of deleted scenes, and they are pretty much all extra awesome. It is too bad the shows aren't longer because so much good stuff ends up on the cutting room floor clearly just because they can't fit them in timewise! The episode "Sexual Harassment" has some delightful deleted scenes. There is one in which Michael Scott compares the HR rep Toby to the devil. Hee. Michael has a irrational hatred of Toby, who is calm, sensible, and low-key. Basically, everything Michael isn't.

There is another scene where Michael suggests fictional harassment scenarios and one of them involves dating Pam, and she says she'd drown herself rather than date him. Hee. The funniest deleted scene though is between Pam and Jim; I couldn't stop giggling for 2 minutes:

Pam: I know we’re having that harassment thing this afternoon...

Jim: Yeah?

Pam: Sometimes when we IM, I send you that little winking face with the lipstick... *She mimics the face.* I realized that might be harassment.

Jim: Yes, it is harassment, and I’m going to be suing the winking face. I’ve hired the angry face as my lawyer, and you should be hearing from him pretty soon.

Pam: Okay.

Jim: Okay. *Jim dings her on IM.*

Steve, That's A Stupid Thing To Say and You're A Stupid Person For Saying It!

I have been MIA for a bit. Life is insane, and I just forget to blog. I'm tired, but it is a good tired.

Last week, as part of their 10 F&%#ing Years retrospective on The Daily Show, there was a segment of the best of Even Stephven, which is one of my favourite recurring segments ever on the show. It features Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert yelling, insulting each other, and fake crying a lot. It makes me laugh so so much:


I'm so happy nice YouTubers exist so I can rewatch these outstanding segments over and over again!

I'll be back later this week to post a bit more about life. :) Hope everyone is good and well!

So Disturbing...

There was a shooting at a school (cegep, which is between high school and university) in downtown Montreal today. I have had shivers up and down my spine all afternoon. It can't help but remind me of the 1989 shooting of 14 women in a Montreal university. I was young then, but it always stayed with me. It was one of the first times I was ever aware incomprehensible acts of hate happened in the world. It is just unbelievably sad. The theme of this week is random acts of hate.

One of Those Memes That Takes Over The Internet!

Things You Might Not Know About Me

1) What's your middle name? I don't have one.
2) How big is your bed? Double
3) What are you listening to right now? The sounds of cars driving down the street.
4) What are the last 4 digits in your cell phone number? Don't have a cell.
5) What was the last thing you ate? Coffee & Ritz crackers. I need food. LOL
6) Last person you hugged? How sad is it that I don't remember?
7) How is the weather right now? Cool but sunny
8) Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? My mom this morning.
9) What is the first thing you notice in the opposite sex? Height and smile.
10) Favorite type of food? Lots. Thai and Mexican probably.
11) Do you want children? You bet.
12) Do you drink? Yep, occasionally.
13) Ever get so drunk you don't remember the entire night? No.
14) Hair color? Brown.
15) Eye color? Greenish-brown
16) Do you wear contacts/glasses? Yes.
17) Favorite holiday? Hands down, Christmas.
18) Favorite Season? Fall.
19) Have you ever cried over a girl/boy? Ugh, yes.
20) Last movie you watched? 13 Going On 30 on TV last night.
21) What books are you reading? I was reading "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men", but I had to return it to the library before I was finished with it. Otherwise, mostly work stuff.
22) Piercings? Just my ears.
23) Favorite Movie? Too many to name. Top 5 (which changes all the time): Roman Holidays, Monty Python and The Holy Grail, When Harry Met Sally, Dirty Dancing, and This Is Spinal Tap.
24) Favorite college football team? Pass.
25) What were you doing before filling this out? I was on the phone with my mom.
26) Any pets? Yes, a cat.
27) Dogs or cats? Cats
28) Favorite Flower? Daisies
29) Have you ever loved someone? I love people, but been truly crazy in love? Not really.
30) Who would you like to see right now? All my friends and family back home.
31) Have you ever fired a gun? No. I'm so clumsy, I'd be a public menace with a gun!
32) Do you like to travel by plane? I do.
33) Right-handed or Left-handed? Left-handed.
34) If you could go to any place right now where would you go? Home or somewhere in Europe.
35) Are you missing someone? Yeah, I do miss home and the people there.
36) Do you have a tattoo? Nope.
37) Do you still watch cartoons on Saturday mornings? I watch cartoons, but not on Saturday mornings! Hee.
38) Are you hiding something from someone? Aren't we always not 100% truthful with someone somewhere?
39) Are you 18? Not so much.
40) What is the wallpaper on your cellphone? Dude, I told you. I don't have a cellphone.
41) Did you get enough sleep last night? Didn't sleep much, but I'm not tired.
42) First thing you thought about this morning? Coffee as always! LOL And strangely I had a craving for hashbrowns, which I haven't eaten in years. Weird.
43) What do you have handy at your bedside? My lamp and the case for my glasses.
44) Grilled or fried? Grilled.
45) What makes you unique? My me-ness. LOL
46) Are you afraid of the dark? Not afraid, but not necessarily crazy about it either.
47) Favourite hangout? My apartment. Or coffee shops.
48) 3 things you can't live without? Besides the people I love? Coffee, my laptop, and books.
49) Favourite song? Wow, one? That is tough. My Top 5: "All You Need is Love" by The Beatles, "Like A Prayer" by Madonna, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2, "Tupelo Honey" by Van Morrison, and "Terms (Path of Thorns)" by Sarah McLachlan.
50) What are you afraid of? Fire although that has gotten better with age.
51) Are you a giver or a taker? I am more of a giver than a taker.
52) What are your nicknames? Gen and Geny.
53) What is your dad's middle name? He doesn't have one.
54) What is your mother's middle name? Ditto.
55) Stuck on a desert island with only one thing, what would it be? My iPod or my laptop. It would pass the time.
56) Favourite TV commercials? I love infomercials.
57) First thing you'd save in a fire? My cat.
58) What's your favorite color? Purple.
59) What things do you always take with you? My purse, which is my treasure bag.
60) What did you want to be when you were a kid? A teacher.
61) What do you usually do when the clock turns 11:11? Nothing. What should I do?
62) The color of your bedsheet? Lilac.
63) What do you think about before going to bed? As a child, I used to make myself fall asleep by telling myself fairytales. Nowadays, I think about the next day. Nothing too exciting.

Sad News

Émilie Mondor, a Canadian Olympic runner, died in a car accident last night. She was 25. She went to the same high school as I did, and she was 2 grades behind me. I didn't know her personally, but I remember that she used to win most track and field events at the school's olympics every year. She was the pride of the high school and her every move was followed by the local paper. So sad for someone so young to pass away.

Personality Test, Baby!

Costa and McCrae developed a way of conceptualizing personality as breaking down into 5 main dimensions: Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. This is also known as the NEO-AC model (AC are at the end because they were added afterwards). The acronym we use in Intro to Psych though is OCEAN. Easy enough to remember all the dimensions that way. Anyway, so someone devised a little personality test based on that. Kiddo is to blame for linking me to it. ;) Now, this is not a standardized questionnaire like I like them ;), but it is fun nonetheless. Here are my results:


My Personality

Neuroticism	71
Extraversion	20
Openness To Experience	43
Agreeableness	88
Conscientiousness	66

Test Yourself Compare Yourself View Full Report

You are introverted, reserved, and quiet with a preference for solitude and solitary activities. Your socializing tends to be restricted to a few close friends. You can be very easily upset, even by what most people consider the normal demands of living. People consider you to be extremely sensitive and emotional. A desire for tradition does not prevent you from trying new things. Your thinking is neither simple nor complex. To others you appear to be a well-educated person but not an intellectual. You have a strong interest in others' needs and well-being. You are pleasant, sympathetic, and cooperative. You are reasonably reliable, organized, and self-controlled.

I think that describes me quite well. Although I'd like to think I'm not extremely emotional, but whatever. ;) I'm still impressed.

I Want A Chef's Knife!

Most of you know my love of kitchen utensils and appliances. I'm getting really frustrated with my crappy knives. Really, really frustrated. I was trying to cut some fish last night, and it was an exercise in patience. I have been looking at chef's knives, but today, I decided to go investigate a bit further in stores. It turns out that the kind of 8" chef's knife that I'd like is priced for at least 130$. Hard to justify such a purchase. So I decided that to justify spending 130$ on a knife, I would use it as a reward to myself to help move along the thesis. LOL Hence, I shall buy myself a chef's knife only when I have completed a full first draft of my thesis. That should get me writing fast. LOL After successfully defending my thesis, even if I'm broke, I'm getting a Cusinart! Kitchen stuff= good bribery for me.

In other news, I got to see a swarm of police cars close the intersection I was crossing on Thursday. The policemen were saying a man in a car said he had a bomb strapped to him. Lovely. It turned out not to be the case, thank God.

Besides that, I started my clinical internship yesterday. Very exciting stuff. It is going to be so much fun. :)