Montreal, Baby!

I spent the long Easter weekend in Montreal, which was really nice. On Friday, my friends and I went to a fairly new French bistro called Le St-Urbain. It was really yummy. I had a risotto as I am wont to do in nice restaurants. Some of us also went to the Planetarium before the restaurant, something I hadn't done in years. It's always nice to gaze at the stars. There was a movie about the five great extinctions, which was really interesting.

On Saturday, I spent time with the family. We played Monopoly, and I lost again. I swear, I don't think I've ever won at that game. I also went shopping in the afternoon, and bought a new toaster oven to replace mine that is falling apart. It's all convection ovens out there nowadays. Can't wait to use it!

We went for brunch Sunday at Eggquis, which was really tasty. Then, I spent most of Sunday on the road, driving back to Toronto.

Monday and Tuesday, I was on the road again, in Windsor to go evaluate a patient over there. I stayed at the Hilton, and had a great view on the Michigan River, and Detroit's lakefront silhouette. However, Windsor was cold and rainy.

I'm now back in Toronto and we are having lovely sunny days! I love spring.

While I was in Montreal, I took lovely pictures, which I shall post up soon.

Three-Day Weekend! Woo hoo!

Hit Buffalo on Sunday for a day of shopping, food, and art. We hit all the stores we don't have in Canada. I got cute rain boots from Target! We also went to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery for an exhibit on abstract art, which was super interesting.

Oh, and this is the song I loved from my high school days that I was trying to sing in the car on the way back... It comes complete with cheesy early 90s video!

Place Des Grands Hommes (1989).

Picture Blog

I finally bought a digital camera over the holidays! Yay! So I had a lot of fun taking pictures...

I love winter, and my hometown is so pretty with the snow all around. I took the next two pictures near my high school. The lake you see at the center in those pics has now become an ice skating rink since they've had enough cold days to ensure the ice is thick enough.





In front of my parents' house, we have a lot of snow. However, by the end of the winter, you usually can't see the door at all from the street.



My mom decorates the nicest Xmas tree:



This is my attempt at a little tree in my apartment:

How I Wish I Had Call Display...

This is a typical day at my apartment... I get maybe 6-7 calls, 4 or 5 of them are from telemarketing/survey people. I was waiting for an important call so I couldn't let it go to the machine. So I had to deal with super annoying people always trying to sell me the same crap. I don't need a new credit card/long distance plan/a free trip (yes totally free!)/cell phone plan. Leave me be.

In other news, I had the most amazing weekend. I took time off and it did me so much good. I went to Niagara with some friends. We saw the falls, went wine tasting, visited Fort George, and hung out in Toronto. We had good food, and it was the most relaxed I felt in months. So that was nice,

Also, newsflash: it is apparently the early 90s again and I'm 12 all over again, I listened to The New Kids on The Block new CD and watched the 90210 premiere yesterday. ;) NKOTB impressed me. I mean, I'm not going to start sketching little hearts in my notebook or anything, but what little I heard from their new CD sounds like good pop music. That's good enough by me. As for 90210, I was a regular watcher of the original for the first few seasons... I'm definitely too old for this stuff, but I love that Jessica Walter plays basically an unironic version of Lucille Bluth. Otherwise, it's just like any other teen soap, which basically means I'll have it on if I'm cleaning or really trying to avoid work.

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

I have been quiet around here lately. Haven't had much to say. Things have been busy between my dissertation, teaching, and my part-time job as a psychometrist. I'm going home this weekend for the holidays. I've been in a festive mood for a while. I decorated mid-November this year. I love having all the lights and the tree. It's just so pretty! :) During the break, although I do need to work, I plan to take time to bake, go to the movies, and sleep! :)

I'm bummed out about the TV strike because I had been enjoying The Office and 30 Rock a whole lot this season. Plus I found 2 new shows I love, Chuck and Pushing Daisies. Highly recommend all these shows. Hopefully, the strike shall end soon. I am watching the new game show called Duel on ABC right now though, and kicking serious butt. I would have won all the duels. I guess it sometimes pays off to know a lot of random facts! LOL The host, though, is utterly annoying.

Happy Holidays, everyone! Best wishes to you and your family and friends! :)

Happy Easter Everyone!

Belated wishes, but nevertheless... I came back from Montreal late last night. My day has been a lovefest with the cat, who won't let me leave her sight and who is purring at the lightest touch. I think she wants to make sure I'll never leave her again.

Life is going okay. I took a few days off of work, but I'm getting back in the saddle tomorrow. I feel a little more rested, but I had so much to do; it didn't feel like too much of a vacation. But as I've said many times, as soon as I graduate, I am going backpacking somewhere far away from here for a while. I have a definite need for escape.

My internship is going well though. I still have a lot to learn, and some parts of it have been though, but I enjoy doing therapy even though I am still trying to find my bearings. It's just a lot of readings and practicing what interactions with clients need to look like. It gets me all anxious, as novelty usually does, but amidst the constructive criticism, I have also gotten some positive feedback on my general performance, which is nice. I have been told though by my supervisors that I have very good clinical skills and that my greatest strengths are being able to work with a variety of clients, being patient, explaining complex things in a palatable fashion, and making remarks in a non-threatening fashion. I must say that last one did make me snicker a bit, since if you were to ask my family, they would say that being diplomatic is not always my strong suit with them.

Speaking of my family, why is it that every time I go home, I feel like I am reverting a little bit to my 15-year-old self? I wasn't overly fond of her in the first place! It's as if I forget that my parents know exactly what buttons to push to get me irked or that there are all these little things I really don't miss about living with them like criticizing what time I go to bed at or what I eat or what my skin looks like. Yes, mom, I have an eczema outbreak on my cheeks; thanks, I hadn't noticed! I know they mean well. I do love them. I just wish I got better at handling it, and that it didn't bug me so much. Although if you ask them, they could tell you that I'm overly sensitive. ;)

Oh Kids!

You know your fandom is all grown up when you get caught in fandom wanking... There are actually people online who spend their time commenting on other people's insane fights on the Internet. What a weird and unproductive way to spend your time, not even participating in discussions on topics you like, although I guess making fun of total strangers is probably a hobby to some. The Internet is a strange place...

In other news, I've been back in Toronto for a week. Always a bit challenging to get back in the swing of things after the Holidays, but life is good overall. I am taking down my Christmas tree today, which makes me a bit sad. See you in 11 months, Christmas tree and ornaments and twinkly lights.

I got a lot of music for Christmas. My 2 current addictions: Justin Timberlake's Futuresex/Lovesounds (I know, shameful but it is highly entertaining!) and Ok Go's Oh No!

Family Love Brain Diva

An Arrested Development reference is always appropriate! I'm going home for 10 days, and I can't wait. I'm happy that I get to spend time with family and friends, and I think the feeling is mutual. However, I just realized that I will be stranded as far as the Internet go. I will have to rely on my parents' crappy dial-up connection. My brother moved out and took with him his fancy computer and high-speed connection. It hasn't happened to me in about 4 years to have to rely on such a stupid connection. It makes me think of one of my techie friends who in 1998, had one of the first high-speed connection in Montreal. At the time, I couldn't understand his disdain for dial-up and he told me he couldn't use one anymore because it was too infuriating. Once you've experienced high speed, it is hard to go back. I guess, it will keep me off the computer for a few days! LOL

It is always weird to go back to suburbia as well. I can't walk anywhere. There is no coffee place around the corner. I have to drive at least 10-15 minutes to get anywhere. Wow, I've become such a city girl.