Quickie Weekend Update

1. Had a Christmas Dinner with my small group from church the Chinese way. Managed to fit 16 people around a 10 person table. No turkey. But I'll take hot & sour soup any day over turkey! We had the gathering at Wu Kong Shanghai Restaurant. Yummy. Had a gift exchange at the end. We put all the presents on the lazy susan (turntable...the one that all chinese restaurants use). Just give it a spin and pick a present;). I got a table runner which I have now transformed into a carpet at the edge of my bed. No more cold hardwood floor for me!

2. Lived through the school's Christmas luncheon/performance. It was actually pretty enjoyable. I had fun eating all the food that the parents brought, dressing and undressing the kiddies in their costumes in record time, and dancing with the kiddies in a mini-parade. Tiring, but fun. And got my first Christmas cards from students. Really felt like a teacher for the first time when I saw "Miss Ruth" on that envelope. I still remember when I wrote Christmas cards for my teachers!

3. FINALLY watched the 4th installment of the Harry Potter series!! Goblet of Fire is amazing, the best one yet so far. This one's definitely more grown up and darker and more serious. They did a great job on condensing the material from the book. They kept real close to the book. And it was a bonus that I got to watch it 5 days before citywide release:) UA rocks! I'll probably see it a second time with my mum. She's a big fan too.

4. Jen's in HK!! Woohoo! Got a call from her last night. Can't wait to meet up with her. It was so surreal talking to her on the phone and realizing that I could actually SEE her now. No longer separated by vast amounts of ocean water. Can't wait to go EAT with her.

5. Didn't go to church in Wanchai this week. So no idea what happened with WTO and road closures. Went to my parent's church for the commissioning of the mission trip to Myanmar. Hope people got to church alright. From the news, seems everything was under control on this last day.

Mission Myanmar

I've been meaning to post this, but I keep forgetting. For those who know me well, you know things tend to slip my mind. I'm going on a mission trip this Christmas!! To Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). I'm both excited and nervous. Excited because this is something I've always wanted to do. Nervous because I don't feel very prepared. My mum is going to so she's kind of my safety net. We were actually last minute additions to the team. They had 2 people drop out and asked if we could do it. And it worked out with me and my mum's schedule. Once again, I can see God's hand at work, his PERFECT TIMING (much better than mine). He's just provided everything for this trip. At first, we weren't sure if we would make it, because we were stuck on the waiting list for a flight there. Despite the Christmas season, we made it onto a flight for Thailand. And when we were stressing about funds for the trip ($6000 HK each), a family friend offered to fully sponsor us!! So now we're all set to go. I'll be in Myanmar from Dec. 24th to Jan. 1st. Much planning still to do. Me and mum will be in charge of teaching English to the kiddies. Please pray for me!

A Normal Sunday Afternoon: WTO and High Tea

CNN International:

Worried about a repeat of the violence which marred previous trade meetings in Cancun and Seattle, police stepped up patrols on Sunday near the Hong Kong Convention Center, the venue of the meeting on the city's famous harbor front.

Work crews have glued down loose pavement stones in the area and welded shut sewer grates to prevent protesters from using them as projectiles. Pedestrian overpasses have been shrouded in mesh so nothing can be thrown onto the streets below.

Just realized the police mean serious business. My church meets usually at either the Convention Centre or China Resources Building (near the CC). I kind of forgot about WTO until today when I saw police crawling all over the place. I reckon I even saw an undercover cop, or maybe I'm just being paranoid. But there were tons of dudes in uniform, mainly in groups of 4 or 5. And they have this "don't mess with me" look all going on. After church, on a "pedestrian overpass shrouded in mesh", I got "bear'd" by a lady cop. Hello! Do I look like a protester? I was wearing PINK! Underground in the MTR, lots of cops in glasses, nerdy looking cops. They had guns and a blue suitcase. Wonder what's in the cases.... Anyhoo, don't really know what to expect this upcoming week, just hope everything remains peaceful and orderly. Hope I'll be able to get through the throngs of protesters to church next week.

After meeting lots of angry faced cops, me and Coco went to the Peninsula for high tea. It was an experience I won't forget soon. High tea in the lobby is awesome especially with all their christmas decorations up. The food was yummy, and everything was just so perfect. The waiters are super polite and everything is just so fancy schmancy. Loved it. Felt so English. It all came at a high price, but it was well worth the splurge.

Lobby at the Pen

Me and Co

Scones, sandwiches, desserts, oh my!

Movie Rant

I finally will have the pleasure of seeing Harry Potter on the 17th!! And the added bonus is that its a lot sooner than I expected. Because I thought the release date was on the 22nd. But apparently it starts playing on the 16th at UA:). Me and another teacher from work have it all planned out already. Christmas concert at school on 17th, Harry Potter afterwards. Sounds good to me!

I was checking out Ada's xanga, and all the movies she wants to see are the same ones on my movie list (and yes, I actually do have a movie list). King Kong looks incredible, they already released a dvd here about the making of the film. Tempted to watch it, but I'm afraid it'll have spoilers. Narnia, all the featurettes done on it look awesome. It looks like WETA's done another great job. And despite the bad reviews for Geisha, I still really want to see it. Supposedly a big controversy in China regarding the whole Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh are CHINESE playing JAPANESE thing. They might possibly cut the sex scene between Ziyi and Ken Watanabe's character. Hence, release date might be even later;( Fingers crossed.

Counting down the days till Harry Potter...

X-3

The X-Men 3 announcement trailer is up!! It looks awesome, can't wait. Loved the first 2 films, and this one looks even better. They've added another blue dude to the cast -Beast! And you'll never guess who it is. Have a lookie................................................... Give up? It's FRASIER!!! And yea, I prefer him in blue over the suit;)

From Chinese Opera to Batman

Finally visited the Heritage Museum in Shatin!! Considering it's a 20 minute walk from my flat, its about time. There's tons to see from live Chinese opera performances to ancient art to fancy dishes from way back dynasties and even a kid's gallery filled with ancient to semi-modern toys and collectibles. I'll definitely go back and revisit, som much more I want to check out there. Anyhoo, here are some of the shots from my visit:) Enjoy!

Gorgeous flowers and sunshine on the way there

Storks?!...in the sewage/river?

Pretty lady

Pretty lady II

More shots to come, computer's slow, must go to bed. TO be continued...

Bus Caroling

Went bus caroling for the very first time with my church. IIt's a tradition for them every year. At first I wasn't really sure what they meant by "bus caroling". I was imagining people sticking their heads out the window and singing at the top of their lungs;). It turned out to be a neat event. I love Christmas songs, so it was just that much more fun for me! The church rented 2 open-roofed double decker buses. Alot of the people on the streets were amused seeing a bunch of people singing at the top of our lungs, but I think they enjoyed it too. Put a smile on my face as well as theirs. I'll definitely do this again next year! Instead of me telling you all about it, I'll let the photos sum up the night.

Me and Coco with our cool fobby classes;)

Drive by shot of a humongus Christmas tree

Getting ready to SING!

Aahh...the wind in my hair

First time being in cross harbour tunnel in an open-roofed bus....lovely fumes

Diligently singing and waving to passerbys

Going thru the tunnel a SECOND time...this time we're smart, cover our faces with the carols!

The city that just doesn't sleep

I sleep a LOT in a city where people never seem to sleep. How do people manage to survive hitting the sack at 3am then waking up at 6am for work, and do it all over again the next day?! I have no clue. My nightly average is 8-9 hours!! I know, that's alot, but I can't function without AT LEAST that amount of sleep. And since I'm cutting back on coffee, that's the least I can do.

This photo is the view from my room. No matter how dark the sky gets, the lights of the city act as a giant nightlight to guide my feet during a middle of the night pottybreak.

Breaking news of the day: My boss made me fill in for another teacher who wasn't feeling well. I don't mind helping out. BUT teaching the kiddies how to WRITE CHINESE isn't really my forte. The boss just said to match their writing to the teacher's example. Okay....... So now I know how to write 'I see a lion' in chinese. Maybe the boss will have me teaching mandarin next.

I splurged on 6 Rob Munsch books yesterday. English books in HK are always overpriced. I went to Page One at Festival Walk. And it annoyed me sooooooo much that almost all their books were shrinkwrapped. Which makes me miss Chapters even more. I was stupid, and didn't bring my kiddy books to HK, left it all at my aunt's place in TO. Although I don't think I could have lifted the suitcase at that point. I should petition to Chapters to open a store here;)

Finally finished The Silmarillion. Slow read at the beginning. Get's interesting when names I know start popping up (Elrond, Luthien, Galadriel, Gandalf, etc.) This book was pretty much how the "world" was created (lots of parallels to the biblical creation), and the early history of Valinor and Middle Earth. Interesting to read about the first dark lord (before Sauron). Not bad at all. It's Tolkien, what do you expect?;)

Back to Work

My voice is back, kinda weak still, can't talk for too long before it gets sore. But the principal let me cut back a little on teaching this week. Afraid I'll lose it again (my voice, not my mind). I'm learning to use my voice in the classroom. I'm just happy to be able to speak again:) Who knew? Since I'm not much of a talker. More to post later. Really tired today. Getting into the Christmas mood already. And looking forward to everyone that'll be in HK this holiday!!:)

Sick AGAIN

My immune system is shot. Either that or there's some killer germs at school. Well, I don't feel sick this time. I feel totally normal except I've lost my voice and got a lot of "tam". When I say lost my voice, I mean really, as in I can't speak even if I tried. The most I can do is whisper. And the doc says no talking (not even whispering) for 2 days. The boss was nice enough to give me 2 days off work. It was pretty hilarious, my mum had to call in sick for me because I had no voice. I felt like a little kiddy again, having mum call the school;) There were a few times when I forgot that I had no voice. The phone rings, I pick up, automatic reflex. I would whisper hello and the person on the other end would sound totally confused. Eventually, I just stopped picking up. Anyhoo, I've been doing a lot of writing and reading. It's nice to have a break and not talk to anyone. But I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow, back to work, where I'm allowed to break my vow of silence;).

How I spent my birthday...

Every month, there's a Birthday celebration day at our school. This was for September kiddies. Since my birthday was in Sept, they decided to take a shot of me too hehe....see the red eggs? Brings back the memories. I still remember we got red eggs way back when I was in kindy. Although they have much cooler gifts now!

Love

Life is about learning to love.

Love is an act of the will.

Tourist at home

I just got an email from my baby cousin Esther back in Canada. She sounds so GROWN UP already!! Still can't believe she's already in gr. 5!! She was writing how she missed me and told me to hurry back to Canada. Man, that really got me, made me miss Canada and the people there that much more. Who knew I was so attached? I've done my fair share of complaining about snow, snow, and snow. But now that I'm here in HK, 30 degree weather, I'm kind of missing the snow! Well not really that much, but lots of other things, mostly the people though. I spend a lot more time with people in Canada than HK. People are more laidback in Canada and are more willing to invest time in others. I miss just hanging out with people and doing nothing. It's so different here. Everyone's always on the go, rushing off to somewhere, rushing, rushing, rushing. OK, I kind of wandered off on a tangent there. What I'm trying to say is that I always MISS things after they're gone (or I'm gone). That's why I've decided to appreciate the HERE and NOW. HK is my home for now, and I plan on exploring and experiencing this great city. I'm going to be a tourist from now on, do something new everyweek.

Tired of all the gossip

Oh man, I'm going nuts working in an all girls atmosphere. I guess it was nice for a while...girl talk and all. But there's just way too much gossip. Girls are hostile and never forget a grudge. I guess I don't like myself being so gossipy, but it's just so hard to catch myself. Half the time, I don't even realize I'm doing it. So my new motto is to 'walk away' once the gossip starts up. Starting tomorrow. Wish me luck!;) Actually, there is a NET teacher that comes in Mondays who's a guy. But that's a pretty weak ratio of 1:14 girls. Ah well, I'll deal, as usual. I think I'm just having a bad week. But there's ALWAYS things to be thankful for. Like the summer weather we're getting, 28C today! I'm still wearing my flip flops everywhere:) Yes, even to work.

Hooked on Lost

I finally got around to watching 'Lost'. And it was sooooo awesome. I'm hooked now. Watched the whole of season 1 in 2 days time. I'm bad that way. Absolutely no self-control;p. The plots pretty weird at times, but it works, znd it just hooks you. I had to stop in the middle of episodes when I wanted a break, because the end of the each episode is such a cliffhanger. I guess this show is my new '24';) And just watching Dominic Monaghan (former hobbit) is fun. He'll always remind me of Merry the hobbit. Hurley is also such a cutie pie. Hilarious character, the things that come out of his mouth! So watch it if you haven't.

Other news, work has been brutal this past week. The turnover rate at this school is crazy, not a very nice atmosphere to work in. I've only been there 2 months, and 4 teachers have quit. So, in turn I've been thinking about looking for another job. Mulling over the possibilities. I really have it in my heart to volunteer somewhere, or work in China, or many other ideas swirling in my head. But then I think, do I really want to quit so early on? Give up so fast? So I'm kind of deciding right now whether I should stick it out for another couple of months or quit. Aargh! I don't like making decisions. These 2 months have gone by so fast, but at the same time, I feel as if I've been here forever. A bit confused at the moment on what my next move should be.

Oh, and my book of the moment is The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien. I've been reading everyday on the one hour commute to work. It's a slow read. But interesting to know the history behind LOTR. It's kind of the Genesis LOTR's story.

New Goblet of Fire TV Spot

Check it out! TONS of new scenes here!

I finally watched The Nightmare before Christmas. It's crazy, where does Tim Burton get this stuff from? I wish I had an imagination like that. But then maybe not, maybe you have to be a bit crazy. Or maybe we're all a little bit crazy? Tim Burton's hair's certainly crazy (saw it on Ada's xanga). Overall, I liked the film. Loved the songs! They're stuck in my head. Have to watch it again though to catch all the things I might have missed. And I had NO IDEA that Tim Burton wasn't the director!!! Some guy called Henry Selick (who also directed James and the Giant Peach). But Tim Burton wrote the story and produced it also. So that's my rant about it. Can't wait to see Corpse Bride now. Doesn't come out until Oct. 27 here though;p.

And I've entered a Harry Potter contest:) If I win, I'll get to go to the PREMIERE in London!!! Let's not get my hopes though;) But I find it funny picturing myself asking my boss to give me time off to go to the premiere of Harry Potter!

Waiting...

I'm still waiting for my voice to come back. I've half lost my voice. I had a throat infection last week, and its left me without my normal voice. I've got a nice manly voice now. And its hard because I haven't been able to give my voice rest since I'm still teaching everyday. Just yesterday, I was teaching the kiddies a new song. After I sang through the song once, one kiddie burst out saying that I sounded terrible! I couldn't help saying that's because I sounded like a man. Me and the kiddies had a good laugh. That's until I started coughing and hacking while the kiddies managed to change their expressions to concern and worry;). Hopefully, my voice won't remain like this forever!

3 Reunions and a Wedding

I've always loved attending weddings. I still remember my cousin Winxie's wedding from July. Soooooo beautiful and romantic. I'll try not to get too sappy;). And just this past Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending another wedding. This is my FIRST "friend" getting married! It was so exciting. I've known Joe for a long time and actually hadn't seen him for a long while too. So it was really cool to see him get married. Their wedding was so personalized and beautiful. They did things their way and really made it their own. There was a live band playing in the church which was neat. At the end, they sang a song, as husband and wife, for the guests to conclude the ceremony as a thank you. Real sweet.

And then I FINALLY got to see Ruth (the other Ruth) and Terrence. They're my buddies from Guelph:) So surreal seeing them here in HK. It's just nice to see a familiar face from back "home". It was just like the old times, lots of eating and chatting and shopping. Actually my first time shopping with Terrence. Hopefully will get to see them again before they leave.

To finish off the long weekend, met up with Denise and Gid!! Also buddies from Canada. It was awesome to see so many people that I haven't seen in a while again.

Me, Mum, and Mickey

I went to the HK Disneyland on National Day (a public holiday) expecting to be crushed by the crowds and stuck in the neverending lineups. I guess you could say I wasn't really looking forward to it. But to my surprise I really enjoyed the day with my mum! The crowds weren't that bad. Apparently lots of people went to Ocean Park too. The most we had to lineup for was 1 hour, with other rides averaging in at around 20 min. The food was cheaper than I expected, and we managed to make it through the entire park without totally exhausting ourselves. The highlights were Space Mountain (a tamed down version), the 3-D movie consisting of all my fav disney songs;), and the best was a live performance of Lion King (broadway style, but condensed into 30 min.). I must say I hugely admire the constant peppiness of the staff despite 30 degree tropical weather (especially felt sorry for the ones in character costumes). All the staff was SUPER nice and smiley (their faces must be in pain from all the smiling). I guess Disneyland is a magical place after all (I'm not being sarcastic).

Randomness

Quick update:

1. I'm sick.
2. The kiddies are getting more rowdy as they get to know me better.
3. Ruth (the other Ruth) is in HK!:) Still have yet to see her, after Japan.
4. I regularly go to bed at 10:30/11pm nowadays.
5. Spending too much money, money that's not mine.
6. Getting my first paycheck on the 29th!!
7. Will start teaching piano next week.
8. Plans of taking violin lessons.
9. Enjoying the cool weather in typhoon season.
10. Just wanted to make it to number ten;)

Couldn't resist...

Awww.......they're all grown up, my little babies.

Goblet of Fire full trailer OUT NOW!!!

Oh my goodness! Harry Potter geeks, listen up. The full trailer is out and it looks amazing!:) Check it out at http://movies.aol.com/movie_exclusive_harry_potter_goblet_clip. I watched it 3 times already and there's something new everytime. I was a big dork and kept pausing it to check out all the new characters more closely. It's got me so excited now. But it doesn't come out until Dec. 22 in HK. Oh well, it'll be a nice Christmas present! Go, NOW and watch it, if you haven't already done so!

Miss Tiger

Tiger - in chinese, that's what the kiddies call me at school. I've resigned to the fact that my name is impossible to pronounce for most chinese people. But its pretty funny hearing all versions of my name being pronounced (some being Miss Loo and Miss Roo). The kiddies are adorable but very challenging also. I can't begin to count the number of times I say 'sit down' and 'stop hitting' each day. I'm getting used to the environment, and the busyness of life here in HK. So if my last posting sounded a tad negative, it really isn't all that bad. Not exactly great yet, but hoping it will be. Tomorrow night is our Autumn Festival Night, a school event of performances, food and games. Looking forward to it. I'm glad I get to spend autumn fest here in HK, because it means getting to eat LOADS of mooncake. Our family gets a lot from church people, so I've had everything from the traditional ones, to the weird nutty ones, to the frozen all flavour ones. And the kiddies at school made mooncakes, so got to enjoy those too! Yummy:) I'm a big fan of mooncakes in case you haven't noticed. My favourite part is the yolk and the crust. It would be awesome if they could make mooncakes out of JUST yolk and crust. That would be lovely. And muffin tops too. I adore muffin tops. Haven't had a muffin in a long time (don't ask why I just started talking about muffins). Don't like the bottom part that much. So maybe one day, I'll have to open a muffin top shop (hint hint Lok)....to be continued.

No Longer a Professional Bum

YAY! I finally got a job:) I'm now an English Teacher at Tseung Kwan O Alliance Kindergarten. It all happened really fast. I had the interview with the principal on Wednesday. Then I started working the next day Thursday. They were in a huge hurry to hire since their English Teacher suddenly quit on them (school had already started). So long story short, I've already worked 3 days (thurs, friday, sat). I don't think I've ever been this tired in my life. But I'm learning ALOT about the HK school system, dealing with 30 kindergarteners...and much more valuable lessons. Hopefully I'll get used to the hectic hours, yesterday, we all worked from 8:30am-9pm. It was parents meeting sorta deal but on a larger scale. About 150 parents and I had to give a speech! Remember, this was only my 2nd day on the job. I was pretty terrified...you know me and public speaking. But in the end I did ok, didn't throw up or faint or anything like that;) Today, our school participated in an expo to promote our school. We handed out about 400 copies of our brochure in 4 hours! HK people are so efficient! The teachers at the school are also around my age, 20 somethings so its easy to get along with them.
Hope I'll get used to all this very soon. Got to build up my stamina to work with these kids. Who knew kindergarteners could be such a handful? One kid pinched me on the butt on day 2. As challenging as this job is, I hope it will be just as rewarding.

And although I was full of complaints, overwhelmed, totally exhausted and a bit depressed after the first day of work, I really took comfort in this verse (thanks to Carmen!).

"For I know the plans I have for you", God says, " plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" Jeremiah 29:11

The Big 2-2

During my birthday dinner with family and a bunch of relatives, they asked me how old I was turning. AND they added as an aside if I would mind saying my age out loud. I'm not THAT old! Not old enough to be embarrassed of mentioning my age at least. Actually I don't think I'll ever feel weird about telling people how old I am. In fact, I like this number, 22, easy to remember! And for the record, I'm looking forward to turning 50 or half a centurian;)

My birthday was pretty uneventful, I actually forgot it was my birthday until someone asked for the date (that was around 1pm). However, this birthday was extra-special because I got to spend it with my Dad, Mum, and brother. The whole family together. Hasn't happened ever since I went off to uni. And it might not happen again for a while. Because who knows where I'll be next year. All in all, getting to this birthday has been an interesting journey and THAT's what it's all about.

On to another totally different topic. Enoch (my bro) went back to Canada today. I went with him to the airport. We sat a Pacific Coffee for a while. I felt so ripped off by their $30 drinks ($5 cdn). I miss Timmy's and William's. Anyhow, I'll get back to Enoch now. I can't believe I won't be seeing him for a whole year. It's just weird, after spending last year with him in Guelph. It's like our roles have been reversed. Me stay in HK while he flies back to Can. I'll miss him more than I know.

And last but not least, a bit of randomness will I throw in: we bought 2 of these Ikea chairs today. And I put them together all by myself:) And I actually had fun....go figure.

Back to lovely tropical weather...

I lost a whole day in the air. Wednesday to be specific. I left Toronto Tuesday night and arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday morning. It was a weird flight. I slept straight through the entire flight except when I got sick and had to run to the washroom (twice=p). I usually fell queasy when I fly, but I haven't actually been sick in a long time. So this was weird #1. Weird #2 was that I didn't watch any of the in-flight movies (I usally watch all of them). I only was awake to watch half of "Monster In-Law". Nothing special. My flight got in a whole hour early. Awesome because I was back on solid ground 1 hour early! Not so great because I had no money to call my dad to tell him to come earlier. But the hour wait only made me happier to see my dad when he finally got there. As I gave my dad a bear hug, someone tapped me on the shoulder, and there was mum! I was so surprised, thought she had to work. Cool surprise. Then we went "yum cha" because I hadn't eaten anything for the last 20 hours (not a big fan of airplane food). I love the feeling I get everytime being back on land and eating good food after the loooong flights between TO and HK.

I haven't had much jet lag since I slept so long on the plane. But I woke up at 7am today. For those who don't know, my family just moved flats. Only to the building over. The house is a mess right now, and I've taken on the challenge of chucking things we don't need or haven't used in 10 years. I was cleaning out the kitchen stuff today and found tea leaves that had expired in 2001!! Let's just say my parents are packrats and don't like throwing anything out. I guess I'm just as bad with having a lot of things. Basically, my possessions are split up into 3 locations. My brother's house in Guelph, my aunt's house in TO, and a lot of things here in HK. So I've decided not to buy anything unless I absolutely need it. Because I honestly have too much JUNK!

Other than that, I've been job searching and will be sending a few resumes right after I finish posting this. Hopefully I'll find something soon. Desperately need some income! Off to send some now.

Hooked already?!

I promised myself I would not obsess over this online journaling thing. And so far, I've been posting pretty much everyday....uh oh. Well, I'm only really posting because I had something terribly important to share. I had dinner with Lok and Jen last night and they gave me some going away presents (thanks girlies!). The first card I opened nearly killed me by bringing on an almost-heart-attack. Out popped a paper butterfly that fluttered and flopped about (doesn't sound nearly as scarey now). It's the ones that you get from Hallmark and wind up. I had a delayed reaction, took me about 2 seconds before I started screaming. For those who don't know, I'm mortally afraid of bugs, that includes butterflies too since they're insects. I'm glad I provided Jen and Lok with some entertainment, they can relive that moment over and over for a while. Something to remember me by, my wimpy screaming induced by a paper butterfly.

Gotta love Tolkien

"All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost......"

J.R.R. Tolkien

Piggy's got green eyes!

freaky....

Packing up once AGAIN

Packing day today. Leaving for HK on the 30th. Must say that I'm feeling bittersweet (thanks Jen for the word)about leaving T.O. and Guelph. My last 4 years were spent here in Guelph/TO, the longest I've been at one school. I will miss Guelph and all the people in it...despite all my grumbling and complaining of poo smells (gotten quite used to it). I've fallen in love with the darned place and now I don't want to leave. Yet my feelings are contradicting me because I kind of feel restless, ready for an adventure elsewhere in this world. So many places waiting for me to, beckoning to me. I'm thankful for the summer that I've spent in T.O. Lots of special moments to cherish for a long while. I can't begin to list them here. Anyhoo, I'm just testing out this whole "online journaling" thing. Yes, yes, I know I'm very behind in technology and a bit oldfashioned about writing with a pen on actual paper;) But I wanted to start this journal up more as a way of keeping in touch with people that I won't get to see for a while. Hopefully this will help keep all you people updated about me! Now I really got to get back to packing, got to figure out how to fit all my books into the suitcases without going over the weight limit!

And there you go. My first online journal. DONE!