I'm boring, that's why I haven't updated!
highlights of my week:
-Going to Ottawa last week and visiting my cousins, and their many kids. It was like being back in NZ, 4 little blond girls, a few toddlers etc.. reminds me of christmas at our house about years ago!
-Getting and reading Harry Potter last sat - it took me 6 or so hours.
-Finding out courstesy of a game called Whoonu? (who knew? in an american accent) That I like making lists better than bunnies. But my little 2nd cousin doesn't. Fun game for kids.
-going for beer multiple times with the CS crew, and planning my trip to Montreal
-making lists, now I know I like it.
Does this count as a list?
umm yeah. So nothing much. Am going to Montreal next week though, so I'm sure I'll have something more interesting to write about soon!
love and hugs,
Tuesday, 24 July 2007
Friday, 6 July 2007
updates again
So.. umm yeah. It's been a while.
My life over the last month in bullet points:
-It was my birthday June 8th. I got:
- A card from dad, mum and from Shineen.
- A dinner and a movie from Shineen
- A book voucher and $100 from shineen
- $200 to spend from Mum(no I havent't bought anything yet... soon I promise!)
- A call from Dad, Mum, and my sis
- An iRewards card from my sister - which means I get 10% off books ALL year! WOo
- I used this book card plus my voucher from Shineen to preorder harry potter. double yay
Other than that it was pretty quiet. Thanks for all the emails though! - The weekend after my birthday, Grant came up from boston to see how awesome Toronto is. On the friday when he arrived we went down to Niagara Falls, because I hadn't been for 7 years, and Grant hadn't been for 20!. It was awesome as always, and I got soaked, as expected. Grant took a whole heap of photos with his new super zoom lense, so I felt like I was hanging out with paparazzi. Very strange. But yeah, considering the day was about 35 degrees, standing in the splash of the falls was pretty nice after a 2 hour drive, and lunch at a great little cafe in St Catherines on the way! Grant's Niagara photos are here: http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/~grant/wp/v/NiagaraFalls/
The rest of the weekend we chilled in Toronto.. went up the CN tower (the tallest in the world apparently) and looked out all over the city and to NY state.. and then went to a festival in little italy and saw lots of yummy food! Sunday we went for a drive up north and saw another lake. Basically, a chilled weekend with lots of sun. Grant has photos here: http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/~grant/wp/v/Toronto/
- After that I started my new job. Basically it was door knocking trying to get sponsers for kids for World vision. The people were cool, but the hours were shite (11am -9pm every day, plus an hours commute each way), and after two 35plus days where I was boiling alive and the resultant asthma of trying to breathe in the humidity and smog, I quit last thursday. Shortest job I've ever had I think - 2 weeks of 4 day weeks! I still haven't even got paid yet, as they pay a week in arrears... lol.
- In the weekend in the middle of my 2 week job, it was pride weekend here in Toronto. So I joined some friends to see the parade on Sunday. OMG, longest parade EVER. Some of it was cool, dancing people in body paint and glitter, other was just plain old commercialised.. the bank float with bank staff in bank t-shirts getting in on it, but it was fun. We arrived after the parade had already started, watched it for an HOUR or more, then gave up (it was HOT) and went for a beer. The parade continued for an hour after that! I was lucky enough to score a free t-shirt that someone threw into the crowd.. everyone was pretty jealous. I would show you a photo of me in the t-shirt, but it has yet to surface from my friend's camera.. so in summary it was green and said "straight, not narrow". Perfect for pride parade anyways.
- Lastly, last weekend I joined Shineen and her friends up at her boyfriend's family cottage on a lake up north-west (don't ask me where exactly I have no idea.. sorry). We had a chilled weekend lying around in the sun and enjoying the lake. Some excellent fireworks were provided by the guys on sunday night (being Canada day) and altogether it was a great time.
- Now, I have to get myself sorted now I don't have to be at work all day every day, and find me some groceries and do my washing! Yay fun. And maybe find another (part time!) job for the next 7 weeks.
Finally, I have bought tickets to Europe! I leave here August 25, am in London August 26, fly to Valencia Aug 27, ready to throw tomatoes on Aug 29th! Anyone want to come with me?
Tuesday, 26 June 2007
Updates
Hey peeps. I got a job working door to door for a charity, trying to sign people up to help. I only get paid for working 1-9, but I usually am expected to be there around 11am, and I finish back in the office around 9:30. So I leave home at 10am or so, and don't get back until 10:45 or so at night. It's tiring. The job is hot and hard, and I'm useless at it. I fully expect to be fired in a few weeks, but no matter, a few weeks is all I need to finance the rest of my time here I think. At pay of $8 an hour, 7.5 hours a day, 5 days a week, that's about $300 a week (depending on how much I get taxed). So 4 weeks should be enough I think! When it's 35+ outside, 2 weeks is too much, but I'll try and last!
In other news, I booked my tickets to Europe on Sat. I leave here August 25, and get back to Vancouver for Christmas on Dec 5. Yay!
In other news, I booked my tickets to Europe on Sat. I leave here August 25, and get back to Vancouver for Christmas on Dec 5. Yay!
Thursday, 14 June 2007
accents
A while back, there was an 'intrepid journey'( or something else like that) where Paul Henry went to the north of Norway to meet a guy that takes people out to fish for north atlantic salmon up in the artic almost.
Anyways, when Paul was in Norway he came said something like (I paraphrase):
"All the norwegian men are very slick. They dress well. In fact, it looks like they're all gay".
He then proceeds to crack up and say things like - oh you can't keep that, I can't say that. It was quite funny.
My point? The toronto-ian accent is odd. Like New york accent with a lifting, twangy sound (to my ear) which rises and falls quite often. On the girls it sounds like they are all 17 and so eager to talk. On the guys - well, honestly? It sounds like they are all gay.
*giggles*
Anyways, when Paul was in Norway he came said something like (I paraphrase):
"All the norwegian men are very slick. They dress well. In fact, it looks like they're all gay".
He then proceeds to crack up and say things like - oh you can't keep that, I can't say that. It was quite funny.
My point? The toronto-ian accent is odd. Like New york accent with a lifting, twangy sound (to my ear) which rises and falls quite often. On the girls it sounds like they are all 17 and so eager to talk. On the guys - well, honestly? It sounds like they are all gay.
*giggles*
Friday, 8 June 2007
Birthdays
It's my birthday! Well I figure I get a 2 day birthday, because it was yesterday I was born oh so long ago, and today is the actual date in North America. (I live in the past)
oh, and there's a cute boy sitting next to me at the library. Good start to a day. Makes a difference to the smelly people that usually sit next to me!
oh, and there's a cute boy sitting next to me at the library. Good start to a day. Makes a difference to the smelly people that usually sit next to me!
Wednesday, 6 June 2007
Newfoundland!
At the last minute on tuesday last week, I decided to hop in a car with a guy offering a ride to St John's, NL. The route we took can be seen here.
Basically, it was a 3200km drive. We drove from Wed evening until Thursday night, then jumped on a 7 hour ferry to Newfoundland. Then we drove up to a place called Robert's Arms and stayed the night there. Finally on Saturday we drove through Newfoundland to St John's.
OMG, the drive was so nice. Upper Quebec is gorgeous, and so is Nova Scotia. (New Brunswick was ok, but not as pretty). There were a lot of old farmhouses, and wells, and barns, and basically a lot of pretty places with friendly people that was a change from the brown brick of Ontario. I had fun looking at the scenery, the old churches and the farms. Oh, and the ferry was the best ever, I think if I didn't know better I would have thought we didn't move the whole time. This compared to the last ferry I went on in NZ, with 10m swells and nearly the entire (overly full easter crowd) passenger group throwing up. Even my iron stomach was forced to go outside and look at the waves after an hour of extreme motion. But the ferry to Newfoundland - great! Although less to do, so I'm glad we went overnight and I could sleep. During the day it must be boring as.
Newfoundland itself is amazing, there's only one real city and all the rest of the islanders live in little 'bay towns'. They are traditionally all fishermen. We had a lot of fish and chips on the way over to St John's. And it was cold! We came through the centre of the island, and it snowed while we were driving. Insane, snow in June. Hello - it's summer?
St John's was awesome. I had such a good time. We stayed with these mexican students. They were great.
On saturday night they had a party for some guy's birthday and I had a good night chatting to all of their crazy international friends. I think there were only two people who were orginally from newfoundland, but it was fun. Sunday I walked all around downtown St John's in the morning while waiting for everyone to wake up! St John's is gorgeous. It's like someone took all the quaint houses in Te Aro and the Terrace, you know all the villas, and made a whole town of them. And then painted them bright colours. It, again, was freezing cold, like a sunny wellington winter day (but in summer!), but the town is beautiful. I enjoyed all the hills around town.
That afternoon, we drove up to Signal hill (apparently where Marconi sent the first transatlantic telegraph signal) and saw icebergs out to sea, as well as views over the harbour. At night we had a huge BBQ, with homemade tortillas, shish kebabs (one of their friends is Pakistani so it was real fusion cuisine!) and shrimp. The kebabs were soo yum, ugh.. the food.. making me hungry again! I flew back to toronto monday morning
Anyway, St John's is gorgeous. I recommend everyone go visit sometime, and driving through Nova Scotia is beautiful too. I took lots of photos, and as soon as I work out how to get them of my camera when I don't have a computer, I'll post them.
Basically, it was a 3200km drive. We drove from Wed evening until Thursday night, then jumped on a 7 hour ferry to Newfoundland. Then we drove up to a place called Robert's Arms and stayed the night there. Finally on Saturday we drove through Newfoundland to St John's.
OMG, the drive was so nice. Upper Quebec is gorgeous, and so is Nova Scotia. (New Brunswick was ok, but not as pretty). There were a lot of old farmhouses, and wells, and barns, and basically a lot of pretty places with friendly people that was a change from the brown brick of Ontario. I had fun looking at the scenery, the old churches and the farms. Oh, and the ferry was the best ever, I think if I didn't know better I would have thought we didn't move the whole time. This compared to the last ferry I went on in NZ, with 10m swells and nearly the entire (overly full easter crowd) passenger group throwing up. Even my iron stomach was forced to go outside and look at the waves after an hour of extreme motion. But the ferry to Newfoundland - great! Although less to do, so I'm glad we went overnight and I could sleep. During the day it must be boring as.
Newfoundland itself is amazing, there's only one real city and all the rest of the islanders live in little 'bay towns'. They are traditionally all fishermen. We had a lot of fish and chips on the way over to St John's. And it was cold! We came through the centre of the island, and it snowed while we were driving. Insane, snow in June. Hello - it's summer?
St John's was awesome. I had such a good time. We stayed with these mexican students. They were great.
On saturday night they had a party for some guy's birthday and I had a good night chatting to all of their crazy international friends. I think there were only two people who were orginally from newfoundland, but it was fun. Sunday I walked all around downtown St John's in the morning while waiting for everyone to wake up! St John's is gorgeous. It's like someone took all the quaint houses in Te Aro and the Terrace, you know all the villas, and made a whole town of them. And then painted them bright colours. It, again, was freezing cold, like a sunny wellington winter day (but in summer!), but the town is beautiful. I enjoyed all the hills around town.
That afternoon, we drove up to Signal hill (apparently where Marconi sent the first transatlantic telegraph signal) and saw icebergs out to sea, as well as views over the harbour. At night we had a huge BBQ, with homemade tortillas, shish kebabs (one of their friends is Pakistani so it was real fusion cuisine!) and shrimp. The kebabs were soo yum, ugh.. the food.. making me hungry again! I flew back to toronto monday morning
Anyway, St John's is gorgeous. I recommend everyone go visit sometime, and driving through Nova Scotia is beautiful too. I took lots of photos, and as soon as I work out how to get them of my camera when I don't have a computer, I'll post them.
Wednesday, 30 May 2007
things that make me happy
Things that make me happy:
-Sun
-Tim Horton's Apple Fritters
-Nestle Drumsticks (chocolate chunk) - this is icecream, like a trumpet really. Soo yum.
-Hot guys in the swimming pool
-Sun
-Colouring in discovery charts and deciding to do WhatEver It Takes (WEIT)
-Stepping outside my comfort zone and contacting a guy who is driving to St John's today
-Going on random road trips with people I hardly know to interesting places
-Being somewhere I can drive for 4 days and still be in the same country! (google says it's only 36 hours, but that's non stop, and not including the ferry I'm assuming) Map here
-Sun
-Mum worrying too much!
Ok, so in case you didn't get the above, I'm off to Newfoundland today. I think. I'm waiting for a phone call to tell me when. Back monday.
p.s. - I didn't mean to be rude below, I just got pissed off at the rude old lady. In fact, at the other pool I go to , there's only 2 lanes, and everyone in the slow lane can swim. It just seems to be this one pool that attracts leisure people that just want to float in the lane swims. Yesterday there was a lady in a pink flowery bikini! Coming to a lane swim. How odd.
Saturday, 26 May 2007
Where I come from slow swimming lane means slow SWIMMING
Canada is a continent. New Zealand is an island.
Where I grew up, everyone learned to swim at primary(elementary) school. Often, we weren't great, but that's what we did at school in summer, swam. We had learn to swim classes, then as we got older we had short units where we learnt such water sports as kayaking, played waterpolo, did diving, learnt life saving and generally did stuff in pools. It was part of physical education, the 6 weeks we weren't doing tennis, or gymnastics, or soccer etc.
I suck at swimming. Seriously. I last swam when I was at primary school. In 1995. That was the last time I had to swim in a pool, and apart from a disastrous interview as a lifeguard when I was 19 (they loved me until they saw me swim), I haven't done laps since. My swimming was restricted to jumping waves at the beach (which often involves swimming accidentally) and floating on my back in the sea in summer. The salt makes it easier to float.
This summer, as there is no beach, I decided to go to the local pool. I bought a swimsuit and goggles.
It appears in Canada the slow lane is not for those that swim slowly. I managed to catch up with people when I was doing my slowest backstroke. I ran into people when I used only my arms and no legs. I'm pretty sure my 7 year old sister could swim faster than these people. In fact, my 4 year old brother with floating arm bands on could beat them.
In Canada, the slow swim lane isn't for slow swimmers. It's for people that can't swim. Angry ones too. Old ladies that float along and say in a mean tone of voice when I accidentally bump into them (i was going backwards! I can't see!) and AFTER I apologise, "This is the slow lane you know".
Um yeah. I know. I just thought it was a swimming lane. For those who can actually swim.
I guess I might try the 'medium' lane.
Where I grew up, everyone learned to swim at primary(elementary) school. Often, we weren't great, but that's what we did at school in summer, swam. We had learn to swim classes, then as we got older we had short units where we learnt such water sports as kayaking, played waterpolo, did diving, learnt life saving and generally did stuff in pools. It was part of physical education, the 6 weeks we weren't doing tennis, or gymnastics, or soccer etc.
I suck at swimming. Seriously. I last swam when I was at primary school. In 1995. That was the last time I had to swim in a pool, and apart from a disastrous interview as a lifeguard when I was 19 (they loved me until they saw me swim), I haven't done laps since. My swimming was restricted to jumping waves at the beach (which often involves swimming accidentally) and floating on my back in the sea in summer. The salt makes it easier to float.
This summer, as there is no beach, I decided to go to the local pool. I bought a swimsuit and goggles.
It appears in Canada the slow lane is not for those that swim slowly. I managed to catch up with people when I was doing my slowest backstroke. I ran into people when I used only my arms and no legs. I'm pretty sure my 7 year old sister could swim faster than these people. In fact, my 4 year old brother with floating arm bands on could beat them.
In Canada, the slow swim lane isn't for slow swimmers. It's for people that can't swim. Angry ones too. Old ladies that float along and say in a mean tone of voice when I accidentally bump into them (i was going backwards! I can't see!) and AFTER I apologise, "This is the slow lane you know".
Um yeah. I know. I just thought it was a swimming lane. For those who can actually swim.
I guess I might try the 'medium' lane.
Detroit
Last weekend was a long weekend. Not that I work, but hey. I have friends that do. So, ANYWAY, for the long weekend we decided to rent a car and drive to Detroit. Why Detroit you say? (and believe me, a lot of people did say why. Or - "don't get shot"). Mostly because this cool couple we met a few weeks back live there, plus it's only 5 hours drive.
Detroit was.. insane. It's like dead city. I'm glad I went there, just to see, but seriously I can see why people say Why?! We lasted a day and a half and then went back to Canada for the monday of the long weekend. Windsor just looks so nice and shiny when you look at it from detroit! I have no idea why everyone doesn't just live there. The thing that freaked me out the most was the fact that everywhere you looked there were thousands of parked cars downtown, and no people. It's a downtown of 4 million people, with 6 lane roads through the middle of it. No public ransport, and well lots of roads. Some parts of the downtown area look nice, and then you tun a corner and you are faced with abandoned, vandalised, skyscrapers. It's like, it used to be prosperous once, and then everyone left. Or went underground or something. Odd. Apparently most of the people live and work north of the city, unlike most cities I have ever been in, there is nothing happening in the downtown area.
We went looking for food DOWNTOWN on monday and there would have been more people out in a small town suburb on a sunday. I was so confused... where are the 4 million people who apparently live there? I think it could be an awesome st for an apocolypse movie.
Oh well, now I've been. It was an experience. Although, in favour of Detroit, on Sunday we went to the Eastern arkets and they were way interesting, with lots of cool stuff to buy and awesome live bands jammig in every corner. Pics later.
Detroit was.. insane. It's like dead city. I'm glad I went there, just to see, but seriously I can see why people say Why?! We lasted a day and a half and then went back to Canada for the monday of the long weekend. Windsor just looks so nice and shiny when you look at it from detroit! I have no idea why everyone doesn't just live there. The thing that freaked me out the most was the fact that everywhere you looked there were thousands of parked cars downtown, and no people. It's a downtown of 4 million people, with 6 lane roads through the middle of it. No public ransport, and well lots of roads. Some parts of the downtown area look nice, and then you tun a corner and you are faced with abandoned, vandalised, skyscrapers. It's like, it used to be prosperous once, and then everyone left. Or went underground or something. Odd. Apparently most of the people live and work north of the city, unlike most cities I have ever been in, there is nothing happening in the downtown area.
We went looking for food DOWNTOWN on monday and there would have been more people out in a small town suburb on a sunday. I was so confused... where are the 4 million people who apparently live there? I think it could be an awesome st for an apocolypse movie.
Oh well, now I've been. It was an experience. Although, in favour of Detroit, on Sunday we went to the Eastern arkets and they were way interesting, with lots of cool stuff to buy and awesome live bands jammig in every corner. Pics later.
Friday, 25 May 2007
Jobless
I'm still jobless. I signed up at a temp agency last week, but htey haven't got me any jobs yet. Despite it being a week and a half. Despite her assuring me that I would probably get work soon.
And she doesn't reply to emails either.
So yeah, I have an interview at another place on Tuesday morning. Fingers crossed this will actually get me some work!
Apart from that, I am just chilling at home, enjoying the heat and reading. I wish our place had a balcony.
And she doesn't reply to emails either.
So yeah, I have an interview at another place on Tuesday morning. Fingers crossed this will actually get me some work!
Apart from that, I am just chilling at home, enjoying the heat and reading. I wish our place had a balcony.
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