My Year in Review

1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?
I think I took more risks in 2008. Transferred schools, moved into a house with complete strangers and was somewhat more spontaneous.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn't make new years' resolutions last year, but I have made a bunch for 2009.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope

4. Did anyone close to you die?
I didn't attend any funerals, and I'm pretty sure no one died.

5. What countries did you visit?
I stayed in Canada this year

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
I bought a lot of stuff in 2008, but I would like to have organization in my life.

7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?


8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting into Ryerson, it was my dream school so I was pretty excited about that.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not always being myself, in the end it meant I actually found myself but for a while I wasn't always sure

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I was pretty healthy this year, had some sort of viral thing in october but nothing else.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
That's a hard question. I was pretty materialistic in 2008... so either my Matt & Nat bag, or my Cole Haan shoes.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
I don't really know

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Likewise.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Food, booze and shoes.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Moving to Toronto...

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
Anything from the Mamma Mia soundtrack... good times have been had while singing along to it.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. happier or sadder?
Happier

ii. thinner or fatter?
Thinner... goodbye Frosh weight!

iii. richer or poorer?
richer but not by much.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
I wish I had read more

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
I drank too much last year

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Christmas in Brooks with my grandparents from Ontario.

22. Did you fall in love in 2008?
Nope.

23. How many one-night stands?
anyone that really needs to know that already knows the answer.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
Heroes or Gossip Girl

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I generally don't hate.

26. What was the best book you read this year?
umm.... I read most of Jan Wong's China.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Kings of Leon and Mayday Parade

28. What did you want and get?
I wanted nothing more than to get into Ryerson and got it.

29. What did you want and not get?
I can't ask for a lot.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Sex and the City or Mamma Mia

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 19. I got a birthday shrine from Day & Meg (best present ever), had cupcakes with them, then cake with my floor. Drank a lot... Went to Ollie's and we'll leave it at that.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Moving to Toronto

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
kind of boring... i wore t-shirts and jeans in Ottawa then my work uniform all summer.

34. What kept you sane?
realizing that no matter what my family would support what I did.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I don't really know...

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
The whole coalition government talks

37. Who did you miss?
Everyone in the Calgary, and then since moving ever from Carleton.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
I met a lot of amazing people this year. I don't remember what life was like before Kaitlyn though.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
That you can't be happy unless you treat yourself properly and most of all if you aren't yourself.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
The whole song "The Scene and Herd" by Relient K pretty much sums it up.

Holding Myself Accountable -- New Years Resolution '09

Overall theme -- Be better to myself
This part year I haven't always been treating myself properly.
This year I vow to:

• In my love life, I am entering a douchebag free-zone. No more getting involved with douchebags, and instead doing what is right for me.
  
• Be healthier -- I went veg. in 2007, and don't always eat properly. I need to make more meal plans, stop taking the easy route on meals and try new foods. I also want to become slightly more refined and cut out more animal byproducts. I also want to experiment in vegan baking, and experiment more in the kitchen.
  
• Take more effort in my daily outfits. I get into schlumps when getting dressed and have been working on refining my wardrobe. I want to try taking at least a few daily clothing outfits and incorporating more accessories into my outfits.
• Find an exercise regime that is right for me. Without the motivation of my former bath-roommates in res, I haven't been very good about getting to the gym. I haven't regained my frosh weight, but I haven't been working out at all. This year I want to try and find ways that I will actually work out; I'm part of a curling team on Sundays now, and might try taking a new yoga class once the semester commences.
• Read more. Since I started university (and maybe the last few years of high school) I haven't been reading for myself. Apart from the daily paper and assigned readings I barely crack open a book. I plan on making a list of books I want to read and making myself read more. This will mean turning off my computer earlier at night and using that book light I invested in last year more often.

I think that is pretty much everything, let me know about your new years resolution, and stay posted to see how I do with mine!

"Writing Back" to the Bro Code

Life as I know it is presently back to normal. As I have become obsessed with How I Met Your Mother, and have clearly spent too much time in English class lately, I have decided to "write back" to Barney's Bro Code as it would pertain to girls.

Article 1: Bros before hoes
Article 1: Chicks before dicks

Article 89: The mom of a bro is always off limits but the step mom of a bro is fair game if she initiates it and/or is wearing at least one article of leopard print clothing.
Article 89: I don't really know what the average response is for this, but I would say dads and step dads are ALWAYS off limits.

Article 34: Bro's cannot make eye contact during a devil's three way (two dudes)
Article 34: ... I have no idea how to respond to this one

Unknown Article: No sex with your bro's ex
Unknown Article: No sex with your friend's ex. This should be a rule for all friends, regardless of gender.

Article 29: a bro will in a timely matter alert his bro to the existence of a girl fight
Article 29: A girl should try and keep her friend out of a girl fight, but if one erupts have her back and try and break it up.

Article 87: a bro shall at all times say yes
Article 87: For this one, a girl should be honest unless in most cases. When acting as a wing man, a girl should follow this rule. When asking about appearance then a girl should be honest, unless the truth will greatly upset a friend (i.e. don't tell a girl you don't like her hair if there's nothing that can be done to fix it.)

Article 53: a bro will whenever possible provide his bro with protection
Article 53: a girl will whenever possible provider her girl with protection. This can be in many forms, either in the form of condoms or in the forms of cock-blocking if a friend is too trashed to make a good decision or would possibly be putting herself in danger.

Videos

I have a few things I want to write about but am busy getting my assignments done. I am finished the first draft of my English essay (!!!) which was what I set out to do last week. I am also in the finishing stages of preparing to write my big question assignment. So I will write more when I have the time, but I thought I'd leave a few video clips to fill time until I post again (because I know that no one has anything better to do than read my blog.)




This is one of my favourite Motion City Soundtrack songs, and I think it sounds amazing acoustic.



I am currently watching season 2 of How I Met Your Mother. It is an amazing show and I highly recommend it to anyone.



Gilmore Girls is my favourite show ever, so here is a clip of funny Gilmore Girls moments. Enjoy until I am no longer stressed by homework.

things i love thursday

• Coffee - Near the end of semester I always drink insane amounts of coffee to get me through all of my assignments. This time of year it's very easy with Starbucks Holiday drinks which are one of my favourite parts about Christmas. The Gingersnap Latte and the Espresso Truffle are both very delicious, and I would highly recommend trying either of them.
  
• Playlists - I am currently working on assignments and getting ready to buckle down and start studying for my final exam. I have included a weekly playlist in hopes of spreading my favourite tunes of the week.
• Oatmeal - I have always been a big fan of breakfast, but never a fan of oatmeal. However, this week I decided that I needed a new breakfast food so I decided to buy a box, and I am now hooked! I bought the flavoured instant oatmeal, but have been adding brown sugar and dried fruit to it for a little extra taste.
• Reinventing my wardrobe - I've recently bought a few new sweaters that were a lot different than things presently in my wardrobe and it has brought new life to my outfits. I was getting really bored with my clothes so having a few new items makes things more interesting.
• Haircuts - I went and got my haircut yesterday and it has really perked up my mood. My hair was getting long and the ends were getting dry and having life back in my hair has made me feel like myself again. I prefer having short hair and don't think I'll try growing it out for a long time. I feel like I have a new spring in my step and can't stop playing with it. It also helps that my haircut cost $14.70 because I went to the hair school at Dufferin Mall.
  

Weekly Resolutions -- Week 1

I decided in an attempt myself to write more often I would start making weekly resolutions like Gala from iCiNG was doing for a while. Additionally, maybe if I put a list of weekly goals I might actually accomplish something because it is down in writing.

Write!
I don't want to put a frequency on this, as there are days that I have a lot of class that involves writing so it would be unreasonable to force myself to write on those days unless of course I chose to do so.

Finish English Essay
So I know I shouldn't put homework on this, but I want to finish this essay this week so I can focus on Info. and Vis. assignments next week. I just need to buckle down and work on it but I am lacking motivation.

Wake up earlier
I have been running late for school and everything lately, so I am going to try and wake up earlier in the morning. I tried to cut out computer time in the morning so as not to be constantly late, but I like to check things in the morning. Therefore the only way to have more time in the morning is to create more time.

Work out
I have been going to the gym 1-2 times a week for the last few weeks and am really needing to up my frequency. I think I am going swimming on Wednesday so that is one workout out of the way. I feel better when I work out, and want to remain in the shape I am in, so need to workout.

Migr@tions

Last night I went to the CBC Radio Canada Migr@tions Film Screening with a group of girls from JHR. We watched a series of short films that are part of the Migr@tions film contest. The contest is a multimedia competition about immigration. The films deal with the issues immigrants face on an everyday basis -- particularly the hidden issues that the average person will not see.

The idea of losing or questioning ones identity was prevalent in the films. I especially related to the film, "A Reggae Girl." The film revolves around a part-Jamaican girl who struggles with her identity while pursuing her goals in soccer. She talks about going to Jamaica and not quite being Jamaican, but how she also didn't feel like she was a Canadian. I think struggling with identity when you are of multiple racial backgrounds is something that is easy to relate to.

I'm half Chinese and very proud of that. The only thing is, I don't really look Asian. People don't always believe that I am half, or just assume that I am white. I identify with my background so much that the fact people don't realize it is hard. It's not that I want to be labeled, but I do want to feel like I don't have to constantly explain myself. I've spent so much of my life trying to identify who I am, and relate to my past. Trying to reconnect with the history of my paternal grandparents is one of the most important things to me because they are no longer around. It's hard for people to understand how important the Chinese culture is to me when they do not even realize that I am part Chinese.

I am not an immigrant. Not even close; even my father was born in Canada. My grandfather was born in China, in a small farming community. He was born into a family that like many others was struggling financially. He came to Canada with nothing, but managed to build an amazing life here. A large part of the reason I am in university is because he saved money to provide for his family and he wanted my brother and I to be educated. I owe a lot to him, more than I could have ever expressed while he was still alive. I've always said that my grandfather was my hero, and to this day it remains true. He is a part of me.

It was through the experiences my grandfather had that I could truly appreciate the films. I urge people to check out the competition, as well as other Radio Canada International projects.



Migr@tions Website

The Coffee Shop Soundtrack

Should I write myself out of the history books
And mark a place in time for every chance you took?

-- Coffee Shop Soundtrack by All Time Low

I haven't been writing lately and it has begun to bother me. I'm afraid of losing my voice, and so I decided it was time to start fresh. A new blog, a new beginning. I want to be able to write again, and this is my attempt at it.