Day of Surprises

Today's theme was surprise. Why?
It's the "anniversary" of a week.
Yes, and it's a cause for celebration! Why?
Because I want to spend as much time with someone as possible. ;)

Sense of Adventure

Where is it when I could have used some?
I could have stayed home longer or introduce someone to my parents.
I am glad that I don't need that sense to plan events of New Year's Eve.

Oceans Eleven was a great movie. Ocean Twelve is great too. I am sure Mr. Ocean and his crew have lots of this sense.

Bloomfield & Picton

I think someone knows where Trenton is, when I saw CFB Trenton. However, does anyone know where Bloomfield and Picton is?
Well, I went to those places today on a Christmas road trip with family.
The "Lake on a Mountain" has a nice view, but I do wish I was somewhere else.
Oh well, Christmas is for family.

Best Christmas Ever

Even though I am only three days into this Christmas holidays,
is has been the BEST Christmas ever. I am so thankful.
The sky is so clear tonight. The night is frigid but nice.
I am so glad I made to choice to head out tonight.
It's just lovely. Merry Christmas!

Feminine Side

It's ironic, but it's during the nastiest weather do I get in touch with my feminine side today. What exactly do I mean? Well, you would have to discover that yourself.

Perhaps you can also get in touch with your feminine / masculine side next time the weather gets nasty. However, you may have to make sure that side exist though, as I know a few of you don't have it. Apparently, it has something to do with your names. Too bad, you were born with them. Perhaps you can change them, I guess.

I am not making much sense, am I? Better sleep now.

Headache & Home

This is the first night I got home for Christmas, and I got a bad headache.
Haven't stayed home long enough for a long time, and haven't had a bad headache for a long time too.
See the pattern? I hope not. I don't want to think.

Ying & Yang

Good and Bad. Heaven and Hell.
I have mixed feelings today.
1 Good news and 1 Bad one.
I am relieved from the stress.
Yet, I am faced with another challenge.
It's also good, in a way. Worrying that something may happen is not a good feeling. However, getting no breaks with stress is not good either.
To make is worse, I still have to worry about something else.
Damn. Just throw them both at me together and let me deal with them now!
Life sucks too much.
Let's just hope this Christmas would be better.

Welcome to Canada

Whenever there is a day like today, the phase always sticks in my mind.

There aren't many countries in the world that can have 2 degrees Celsius one day and -20 the next. Not many countries in the world report wind chill factors at weather broadcasts. Certainly, not many countries that I want to be in that can give me the thrill (or chill) of walking for 30 mins, each way, to church in what feels like -32C.

Dear all, welcome to Canada!

Crazy Day

Yesterday was a crazy day.
These were what I had to do:
1) Combat shopping traffic on a route that would normally take a quarter of the time to complete.
2) Abandon a date after meeting her briefly.
3) Drive 300km in snow or at night.
4) Chase a bus along the terminal for one city block, and still missed it.
5) Missed another train because I didn't know it existed, which could have saved my time.
6) Having some drunk yelling gibberish from their car at me.

However, crazy as it was, I am still thankful, because it could have been a lot worse.

Something bothering me

I am considering a tough decision. It's about something I want to do, but couldn't see how I can pull it off the way it's going. Perhaps the right thing to do is to not do what I am doing, which seems counter-productive. Life sucks too often.

Tempting

One of the reputable bus companies is hiring part time drivers.
2 hour drive for the longest route. Regional transit. 15-26 hours a week. Pretty good pay.

Very tempting...

Buses, Fire Foxes, and Thunderbirds

I couple of interesting sites were nice additions to my study breaks.

As I said before, I want to be a bus driver. Apparently, there is a site for that. DriveaBus .ca Cool.

Then there is Mozilla Fire Fox. Exactly what is it? An internet browser gaining quite some market share lately. For one month ending yesterday, it had 10 Million downloads. What's the best part of it? A lot less likely to be attacked by hackers and viruses, since it not the overly popular market leader. It's simple, easy to use and have nice features like tabbed browsing (also in Netscape), popup blocker (also in IE) and ad blocker (extension to FireFox). It's also suppose to be more secure when using SSL connection. I am using it right now. So far, no major problems, except the need to download another Java Runtime from Sun.

Mozilla also has a Thunderbird, an email client, may be I will check it out next time.

Alright, back to study.

Interesting Charmed Quote

Seer: I want to be made human.
Piper: What? Why, in the hell, would a power demon want to be made human?
Seer: Hell being the operative word, as in I live there, and it sucks.

Care

What is care? What is love? Love cause care? Why do I care about someone so much? Does that mean I love her? What is Romantic love? How do I feel it? I feel something. Does that mean I romantically love her? Why, on Earth, do I think about these things just before exams?!

Dogs and Guitars

What do they have in common? Owners of both create as much annoyance to others as possible while providing enjoyment to themselves. Of course, well discipline owners of both can be very considerate to train their dogs well and play guitar only when welcomed. However, many owners failed to be disciplined.

Take my roommate, for example, almost every single day he has to make some noise with his guitars. Sometimes it's great short songs that are good to relax. Sometimes its just annoying fiddling while he studies. Other times is down right 2 hour or more of "band practice" with his friend. You may have noticed the "s"in guitars that I used. Yes, he has both a traditional guitar and an electric one.

Just like he has a German Sheppard and a Pit bull. Both of them bark at anyone other than their owner, and the Pit bull threatens to kill you all the time. Just like the electric guitar that can be heard 3 floors down.

Music to my roommate's ears can be noises to mine. Playmates to owners of dogs can also be monsters to others.

I want to be...

Someone who operates a large fascinating machine. Someone who repeats the same routine, but sometimes changes it. Someone who everybody else should yield to. Someone who controls at least 40 others lives. Someone who uses every single limb to work. Someone who wears sunglasses most of the time. Someone who is the least likely to violate the law. Someone who we call a bus driver. Apparently, it's not that hard to achieve. Dream on...and may happen some day if I dream too much.

Statistics

The art of create something out of meaningless lists of numbers. The art of confusing people with way too many hypothesis and probabilities. The art of naming same things differently so each book looks different than others while talking about the same thing. Who cares that Microsoft Excel doesn't generate a truly random number after 30,000 iterations?! Not an engineer, I must say. Those crazy hardcore statistican, may be. Why, why on earth, should that course be taught by those people?

Efficiency

The result of analysis of my lack of motivation to study is apparently my frustration towards my lack of efficiency. This creates a downward spiral for myself, because the less motivated I am, the less efficient I am, and the more frustrated I am. Silly, right? Try getting yourself to not think about something is apparently very hard. It's time for some brainwashing.

Words from...

...Star Trek! I just explored the Star Trek official website. Being a frequent visitor, I enjoyed reading the various interviews and news about the Star Trek franchise. Apparently the actors, actresses and production crew are very intellengent people. Most of them have acclaimed achievements.

This latest reading made me laugh out hard. When asked what he thinks about sport, Alenxander Siddig (Dr. Bashir, in Deep Space 9), who came from England, replied, "I don't have the faintest idea why 60 men in bullet-proof vests run around and stop each other from running around. "

I share the same feeling for the longest time. I understanding it a bit more in my high school years, but now I am back to this state.

Another interesting fact that I never knew was that Nana Visitor (Major Kira, Deep Space 9) fell in love Alexander Siddig after they met at DS9 and got married while still filming. Even more interesting is that Nana was carrying their son when the story said that she was carrying Kiko and Miles O'Brien's baby. I thought it was fake.

The more you read about it, the more you realize that Star Trek is a great franchise that produces great movies with great themes and brings a lot of people's minds together.

Apple Cinnamon Tea

I had a stressful week. Except for the lunch with m_whiz, which was very nice, everything else was all push push push. Almost every joint and muscle in my body was aching. Therefore, this weekend, I decided that I need to do a few things on top of my 4 assignments due next week to unwind.

I chatted with a few friends, because I wanted to catch up with them. I had a short bike ride when it was warmer yesterday.

To cap it up, I had a cup of Apple Cinnamon Tea today. It was prepared by yet another friend of mine, "Tantina", who worked at Tim Hortons at the university. Her smile was sweet, but her eyes told me that she needed to unwind too. I hope she gets that soon.

I haven't been this calm for a while, and it's time to work again. This time I hope I can finish everything way ahead of time, so that I can prepare for exams.

Assignments and Girlfriends.

What is the relationship between assignments and girlfriends? To my friend, they are very similar. Now, that's his fatal flaw.

The guy with the gas station flower in my last blog was just dumped by his girlfriend.

You can't get a penalty of 10% if you do certain things 1 day too late, nor can you expect a marking scheme from her. You can't just sit and do nothing when there seems to be nothing special.
After you failed, you shouldn't complain that you did not do anything wrong, but should, rather, think about what you failed to do.

Finally, if you treat you girlfriend (or boyfriend) as a series of tasks, then you are better off not to be together. Why? Cause you don't love her (him) enough.

Sounds like a relationship expert, eh?
I am single. Go figure!

Flowers

Where would you think is the best place to buy flowers for your special someone? Florist? Grocery Store? Okay, how about the last place you would buy? Convenient store?

What about Gas Station?!

Ironically, that's where a friend of mine bought one single flower and won the heart of his new sweet girlfriend.

I guess, it really doesn't matter where. It's the heart that matters.
Next time, may be I should try the plastic ones in the dollar store.

My Housemate's Lucky Night

My housemate was making out with someone. He had been making this rhythmic knocking noise since 2:30am. I hope he enjoyed it. The lady got nice shoes. Sitting in the foyer, they look classy. Alcohol was in the air. The rhythm paused every so often. I heard my housemate said "Yeah, babe." He must enjoyed it.

I heard drawer opening and closing, and then... door opening?! My door was already opened, he walked by, fully dressed. Am I missing something?

"You got a guest?" I asked. He said no. Huh?! Where did those shoes come from? More importantly, where did the noise come from? Why "Yeah, babe"?

Apparently, he was tapping his foot while listening to rock music on headphones, and he enjoyed it. What about the shoes? Oh, perhaps it's my other housemates' girlfriend sleeping over after clubbing. Perhaps it's just me feeling too lonely.

I smell like...

Hum... I put on a new scent today. Perhaps it's not the most popular scent that one would assoicate with people. Now I am so glad that I got rid of it, or so I hope.
Actually, I bet that if I can convince companies like Channel to put their logo on it, they may make some money out of the "alternative lifestyle" group.

What scent was it? Concrete. Yes, I actually smelled like concrete.

That came from spending 3.5 hours in a lab with exploding concrete. Perhaps next time I should find a lab with exploding roses.

Convocation 4A00

What? A course for Convocation? Well, apparently, I think it's a good idea.
It's more than just a ceremony. It's a milestone, a chance to look back and a chance to look ahead.

I think we may need some guidance at that stage. It's quite a transition. All of a sudden, we run out of things to do. We are no longer tied by the thosands of work assigned for us, each worth some % of courses. All of a sudden, we are free! Free of anything to do. I hope you still have some hobbies, or else you need to redevelope some. Time finally slows down for a while. It's a good time to think about what you wish to do for the rest of your bright future.

Perhaps, more immediately, what you want to do in the next few months. Will it be travel around the world? Will it be working as hard as possible to pay off OSAP? Will it be to get married with your other half? Or, will it be, sit back and relax?
Anyhow, a little help from a course would help.

Actually, perhaps, Reinstatement 2A00 should be offered too. It could have been helpful. I just hope I never again have the need to take that though.

I am either Deb or Flo

Got this from m_whiz's blogspot.


Deb and Flo!

Which 'Finding Nemo' Character are you most like?


Well, I am don't have a twin, but I do wish to have siblings, which is why I do call two people my sisters. This thing is kinda accurate, I guess.

It's Freezing, Literally

This morning, I woke up and saw the big fat zero on my computer's WeatherEye (online thermometer) and remembered that the forcast called for snow today. Just for fun, I changed my MSN Messenger name to Ready for Snow? A little while later after class, my friend told me he saw my name change and wondered why at the time, but when he got out a felt that chilly dots on his face, he knew.

It's kind of early for the first snow fall, don't you think? Well, not really, I guess. However, I know my British exchange student friends would disagree. "We wore either a sweater or a coat." They said,."Never both!"

"Layers, my friends, layers, and hats too." I told them. I missed the snow, actually, believe it or not. "-4" now my WeatherEye says, now that's too cold.

Someone's Watching Over Us

Yesterday, a few orchestrated coincidences happened. At a volunteer service in my university, I worked a shift I signed up just a few days ago. I haven't been working for them for a month, but I suddenly had the urge to sign up that day. I qualify to work for two positions there. One of a manager type and one of a worker type. Normally, I sign up for manager type, but not yesterday.

At first, it seemed like just another typical shift with the manager looking for someone to replace another worker who didn't show up. This service shares an office with another service that provides first aid. The volunteers of the other service don't always stay in the office, but they did yesterday.

All of a sudden, the manager of our service had a medical emergency. The volunteers of the other service, of course, kicked into action and provided first aid. As for me, I immediately took over as the manager. The person seemed to be okay at first, so the other service wanted the person to get some rest, and so that was what happened. It so happened that the executive on call for emergencies for our service was not reachable yesterday, so I dragged in another one.

However, before the exec arrived, the volunteers of the other service needed to leave for other reasons. At the time, the person in trouble seemed fine, so they left. A little bit later, however, the person didn't feel so good. I was about to walk out of the office to look for the volunteers, when one of them returned. Shortly after, the rest of them returned too. Once again, they took care of the person. At the same time, I cleared the office of people so they can do their work. The executive showed up afterwards and took over as manager. The person seemed okay afterwards, and returned home with friends.

What is remarkable is the amount of coincidences that took place. If I wasn't there, no one can take over so quickly. With the added difficulties, the other workers would have trouble handling the situations. If volunteers of the other service wasn't there at first, the person probably would not receive the care needed so soon. Later on, the volunteers returned just as I figured out the person needed help again. It looks like someone was watching over us, especially the person in trouble. The person had no history of the problem. It could be a lot worse had the person been alone somewhere else.

Simple Life

A little while ago, someone special published her blog about her new found simple life. She enjoyed it. I envy her. These days, I have been so busy and had so much in my head that I want everything to just PAUSE and give me some room.

I would appreciate a few months of simple life. No, not Paris Hilton style. Just simple, straight forward, and even repetative tasks everyday will be perfect. You may think I got that with my summer jobs. No, I had shift work that threw off my schedule. My tasks were hardly simple too.

I really need to recharge. Now I understand why people work their ass off on part time and summer jobs then take a while off for backpacking.

I wish I can do the same too. Yeah, I will keep daydreaming.

Relationship & Love

Love is a wonderful thing. Relationship is even more so. Are they the same? May be not. Is the one you love the most always the one you have a relationship with? Chances are: probably not. How often do you ask yourself what should I do with your relationship? Where is it going? Then sometimes, you may end up with questions with answers that create even more questions.

Have you realized that some times you are looking for the wrong answers? For example: "Where is this relationship going?" Well, does it matter? Yes, you may think, it's your future! Let me tell you this: You are in the present. These days, how far ahead can you see? Who can say, for sure, what you would end up doing in the next year? When you asked yourself that question, you are probably thinking a few years ahead, based on the current circumstances. You never know. How many times have things turn out not as expected? Moreover, love can make people change. You should not expect it, but it happens.

The question you should be asking is how much do you love your partner. Once you are sure you love each other, everything else takes a back seat. Breaking up always hurts. Breaking up because of what you think may happen and not because of your change of heart, really hurts. You still love each other, but you break up because you are afraid that you may not have a future. Why? Why make yourself suffer?

Love affects relationship. It should never be the other way around.

Break Away

This is a song that I like these days. Break Away by Kelly Clarkson. Not only the lyrics and her voice are nice, but it also gives me some encouragement. This is rare these days, considering most songs are about love.

It doesn't surprise me that the song is co-written by Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson. Avril is one of my most respected artists. Her "I am just an ordinary person" attitude is great. She writes all of her own songs. Her songs are expressive of her views of the current social situations.

Of course, Kelly Clarkson is known of her win in American Idol. Her performance is exceptional.

Break Away has a well-rounded performer like Kelly matching with a song writer/singer like Avril. No wonder it sounds so good.

Daydreams

Daydreams means idle and pleasant thoughts. I name this blog this way because I wish to publish my pleasant thoughts, but I do realize that I may be sharing more than those. Nevertheless, I do like sharing my thoughts. Hope you enjoy them.

Come here whenever you've time to idle, okay?
Leave a comment or two. Share you thoughts too.