With Love, From Montreal

New Part-Time Job

2009-12-18T10:43:00.001-08:00

Now that I have Operation Condor in the back of my mind, I've been racking my brains for business ventures that could turn my passion into money.

1) I love to plan events. Theme parties are my thing. And I think my friends can count on me to find creative ideas, follow through, and ensure a kick-ass time for everyone. My current event is the biggest and baddest of the year: New Year's Eve Loft Party. So far, the planning is going smoothly and there are definitely many interested people. Every time I've thrown a party, I have tried hyping it throughout all my friends. I think this time, my reputation has preceded me and with very little effort, I have already convinced many of my friends to confirm their attendance (even my friends all the way in Toronto!) It's an awesome, yet nerve-racking feeling because now I definitely have to step up my game. But I am ready for it, baby! We planned the budget to break even. But if we cut corners and if we are clever in our planning, we stand to make a couple hundred bucks. That's how small businesses begin! You saw it happen here first!

2) I love to write. I have slowly been taking my writing more and more seriously. But, I feel I've been talking about it more than I've been actually doing. I'm a failure at deadlines, I have to admit. Especially the ones I set myself! I think with some hard work & courage, I will be able to provide for myself solely with my writing. But to get there, I must establish experience, contacts, and material. Therefore, I have planned for myself a strict part-time writing schedule. It's just like having a second job! I know this will be a difficult task because there is no income involved (yet!) and I have to trust myself to do it all by myself: stay organized, work hard, and keep myself motivated. From experience, I know I am setting myself up for a hard battle against laziness. But today, it is officially my newborn business! And if I don't want my business to go down, I have to keep it afloat no matter what. I'll set myself a daily deadline to blog, a weekly deadline to write an article, and a monthly deadline to write a short story. Very much like how my day job works, I have a whole week to plan for a Wednesday article drop and end-of-month story. Phew. Stay tuned. Please don't let me fail.

One year later

2009-12-13T09:16:00.001-08:00

It has been a bit more than a year since my last post and how true my words below still ring today. It's been a rollercoaster ride. Breakups. Apartment move. School transfer. Drunken nights. And yesterday, my first turkey dinner! I've decided that if I was really serious about writing, I should be doing in every form possible. I used to write in diaries a lot and I stopped for some reason. But I want to start over again, starting today, and without looking back.

So yesterday, I prepared my first turkey dinner. I had a beautiful 6.5-pound handicapped turkey, dijon & celery turkey, two types of cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes (thanks Lan!), cold pasta salad, strawberry & cranberry salad, raspberry cake with super whipped cream, oven-baked apples with bits of walnut and brown sugar, and sauteed vegetables. Oof! Feast of champions! My "fingers" all came out to my neck of ghetto woods to celebrate an imported Holiday.

def'n Finger: Because they say you can count the number of best friends you have on one hand, I consider my best friends as my fingers. Tight knit group of people I've collected throughout the years that have stuck with me throughout obstacles, internal & external.

Although I shouldn't be focusing on past fails, I am somewhat disappointed that I couldn't get through Nanowrimo. So today, I'll focus on writing and accomplishing my goal of 100 short stories.

Operation Condor: Buy a property by June 21, 2010.
Operation 100: Finish 100 short stories by June 21, 2010

Boring Tuesday

2008-12-09T11:12:00.001-08:00

Something I've realized about myself is that I like to start projects but I never find the time to complete them. Or the motivation.

Watermelon Nights Come Back Every Year

2008-04-20T09:32:00.001-07:00

I love this video. Fits the beautiful day we're having.

"Don't be sad when the nights are over...because watermelon nights come back every year"

I have just discovered that whenever I watch the Habs play, they lose. If I don't watch the game, they win.

Should I use my new power for good or for evil!! mwahaha!

New Painting

2008-04-18T10:33:00.001-07:00

I painted someting awesome yesterday.
But I can't show you yet (I'll show you after April 21.)

But here's an interesting video trailer related to painting
and the website about the little girl in the video

and another cool website to peruse

love you all

Can't Sleep

2008-04-17T20:44:00.001-07:00

Apparently, this girl looks like me: Click here.

The funny things you find on the internet

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL DAY IN MONTREAL...

2008-04-17T11:57:00.000-07:00

...tainted by this vomit-inducing news about a girl who purposely got herself pregnant and took pills to provoke miscarriages as often as possible in the name of art.

You know, some people try really hard to have a baby. Respect that. But forget that comment. If we're going to speak about art, I would say you can achieve the same shock value with this piece just by suggesting it, painting it or writing a story about it, or whatever. The artist said they didn't do it to scandalize people, but to open discourse. Coulda done the same thing without the insemination. This is "art" pushed too far. I'm not defending anything about the rights of the foetus and it's not even a question of pro-choice. That's a total other debate. The way this piece was approached and is described, manipulating life like that just for art, feels morally wrong. Definitely not on the same level of being pregnant and making the difficult choice of abortion.

Anyways, it will be forgotten in a few days. Here's something cute to watch. I love the 2nd baby. Can't you just imagine him at 50 laughing the exact same way.

UPDATE: Abortion art piece a hoax? See, now I think it's kind of funny & cool if it's just a hoax. I have no morals against duping people, making them believe anything for the sake of opening a discourse. It proves my point that you can get the same effect without actually doing it.

24,000 words

2008-04-15T20:10:00.000-07:00

I finally got back to my personal writing since classes are done. 24,000 words. 95 pages. One tired Asian girl.
I'm leaving for Vietnam in two weeks. I am so not ready. But it's going to be great and super fun. After this trip, when random people brag about their trip to Vietnam, I'll be able to say: "I went there too, idiot."
I'm also planning a short weekend getaway to Toronto to see some friends. It could be fun, or it could totally tank. Anyways, those are my updates for now. Hug your neighbor!

soupirs

2008-04-14T13:23:00.001-07:00

This is exactly what I've been bitching about for so long.

Okay, almost done work. Off to do my useless assignment.

Interesting Websites

2008-04-11T09:08:00.000-07:00

http://postcardsfromyomomma.com/

and

http://www.webkinz.com/us_en/
(makes me miss the Tamagotchi days. I think i want one)

i am so incredibly bored right now..

UPDATE: Okay, this is interesting: Sacré coréens!

And this is for laughs. In a creepy way, it's funny.

Enjoy!

2008-04-10T12:53:00.000-07:00

This is a glorious email we got at work today. There are just too many unhappy people in the world. If you don't like the newsletter..unsuscribe...that's it. That's all. It's not as if we were charging you to be our client. It's FREE:

STOP THIS
FUCK OFF AND RAM THIS YOUR CUNT DO NOT SUN THIS MOTHER FUCK ER FUCK IN SHIT TO ME HAVE A BAD DAY YOU MOTHER FUCKER

Oh Poo!

2008-04-07T12:18:00.000-07:00

Because you gotta find humor in life: Click here!

Next time you're at the doctor, you can explain specifically what's wrong with you.

Parcours de la flamme olympique à Londres

2008-04-07T11:27:00.000-07:00

From La Presse:

Dans le quartier chinois de Londres, le coeur était plutôt à la fête. Beaucoup de spectateurs du défilé brandissaient des drapeaux chinois et britanniques.

Li Zhongrui tenait un écriteau sur lequel était inscrit «Pas de politique, seulement des Jeux». «Le gouvernement chinois protège la culture tibétaine. Le dalaï-lama avait soumis son peuple à l'esclavage avant sa fuite. La presse occidentale n'en parle pas», a soutenu l'étudiant de Birmingham.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Une personne éduquée, apparemment.

OMG

2008-04-03T22:52:00.000-07:00

Oh my god, my brother's going to buy a condo with his girlfriend.

THAT'S HUGE!

VIETNAM BANS PET HAMSTERS

2008-04-03T12:49:00.001-07:00

http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Vietnam_bans_pet_hamsters

Their reason to ban hamsters is because they are usually imported illegally and unchecked for diseases.

But I know why....HAMSTERS ARE EVIL! At least, mine was.

My New Celebrity Crush

2008-03-30T19:12:00.001-07:00

I watched "Across the Universe" and I have a celebrity crush on Jim Sturgess, who plays Jude in the movie. There's something about him, his casualness I guess. Watch this clip and agree or disagree with me. I've Just Seen A Face - the Beatles.

On another note, I'm thinking of going to study in Paris for a semester at Paris IV near la Sorbonne. Not for next winter but the winter after that. To study Catalan. We'll see.

FINAL EXAM WEEK BEGINNING

2008-03-29T15:28:00.000-07:00

Urgh. That's how I feel. I feel Urgh.

On the upside, I found Crayola's Washable Markers in "Multicultural colors." Remember when you were a kid and you had to either draw faces pink or brown? Crayola now came up with 8 colors to mimic a range of skin tones. Obviously, it doesn't cover all the colors, but I think it's a wonderful attempt and it makes it so much easier to color people.

Also, I don't remember if I posted these in my Kitchen Appliances wishlist, but here are other items I want:

TGIF

2008-03-28T09:53:00.001-07:00

This is how I have fun at work: I sent the same kind of feedback we receive to innocent websites:
All-access Pass for Atlantic Canada. If you try to book, well, you can't!

So pretending to be mad about that, I sent them an e-mail:

dEAR sIGNATURE aTTRACTIONS,

i WOULD LIKE TO BOOK THE ALL-ACCESS PASS FOR ATLANTIC CANADA, BUT I CAN'T!
aLTHOUGH IT SAYS "bUY pASS nOW", IT DOESN'T WORK.
pLEASE HELP ME. mY MOM HAS NEVER BEEN TO ATLANTIC CANADA AND I REALLY WANT HER TO SEE BEAUTIFUL THINGS.
tHANK YOU.

and they replied back:

Hello: Thank you so much for your interst (sic) in visiting us in Atlantic Canada.
Unfortunately, the All Access Pass you are trying to buy is no longer
available. We are in the process of getting this year's up and running.
Pleae (sic), keep checking the website for the new Pass. We hope you come to
Atlantic Canada and see all the beautiful things there are to see here. If
you wish to send me your address I can send you last year's brochure. We
have four new sites this year and our new brochure is in production.

Linda MacLean
Administrative Assistant

That made my day. Yes, I should find something better to do.

Boring Thursday

2008-03-27T09:26:00.000-07:00

I wrote enough to reach 19,000 words yesterday. As of today, I am 11,000 words behind. No worries. I'll get through them slowly but surely. To be fair, like every Wednesdays, I had a long day yesterday.

Horrifying news of the day

and to end on a good note, my new love: I'm a computer geek

Mention drôle

2008-03-26T09:53:00.000-07:00

Article banal dans la Presse à propos des "Célibataires qui ruinent la planète" pcq ils consomment plus qu'un ménage de 4 bla bla bla...

La journaliste finit avec:

Dans cette optique, il est permis de croire que les sites internet de rencontre pour âmes esseulées peuvent jouer un rôle insoupçonné dans la lutte contre les gaz à effet de serre et autres menaces à l'avenir de la planète. À la condition, toutefois, que leurs participants en viennent à trouver l'âme soeur et à faire vie commune.

Je te laisse le plaisir de lire ça

UPDATE: Sacrés coréens ;-)

Thank You Jules

2008-03-25T10:28:00.001-07:00

I wrote 2500 words today. Okay, no I cheated. I copy-pasted a very interesting conversation with a 2am-Jasmine in Korea. However, I only copy-pasted the good stuff and I removed all the "jasmine says" and stuff, so it should still count toward my novel! I even left the "if it tastes like strawberries, it's probably not strawberries comment", it's genius! So there, only 7500 left to do today.

Website of the day: http://www.spamispoetry.com/ because SPAM is poetry.

Side note: I have raised $1.35 with Ethicle so far just with Searches. You can do it too: www.ethicle.com.

Happy Bunny Day

2008-03-24T13:28:00.000-07:00

Here I am on Easter Monday completely bored at work because I'm all alone in the office (Apparently didn't get the memo that people were only coming in after lunchtime. Funny how we're only 5 and the message still doesn't get through.)
Bought myself some Korean Pine Tree seeds. Am currently growing a Korean Pine. With love and patience and a million weeks, I'll have a tree that I can hug. And talk to. And laugh with.

Website of the day: www.jimmyjanesays.com . I like her drawings, but I would like to give her a self-confidence boost in the form of a pill or something. She sounds like an insecure person who makes jokes and hopes really hard that people laugh with her and not at her. Big Hug!

I'm still behind 8000 words. We calculated that if only 100 words were good in every crappy 2000 words I write, I'll have to write 1 million words to get a decent 50,000 novel. If that doesn't depress a budding writer, I don't know what will! But don't worry about me, I got enough crazy in me to sustain 1 million words.

Catching Up

2008-03-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

Until today, I hadn't written anything since Monday. So technically, I had 10,000 words to write today in order to catch up and stay on schedule. So far, I've written 5000 words and it wasn't too painful. I took short naps all day so I might have the energy to keep on writing and actually finish 10,000 words today. It takes some effort, a little dose of crazy, and a sombrero (my current writing hat.)

This hat looks looks exactly like the one I'm wearing right now. If you too want to become a writer, get a sombrero, pronto!

Listening to "Imagine" by John Lennon also makes you want to write.

Funny Read from Moby.com

2008-03-22T12:49:00.000-07:00

From moby.com

March 13, 2008

i had forgotten about this letter...
someone sent it to a nutty right-wing talk show host who claimed
that homosexuality was, according to the bible, an abomination.
this letter nicely puts it in o.t perspective.
and it's really funny.
which is good.
cos people like funny.
right.
moby

Dear Dr. Laura,

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind him that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states homosexuality to be an abomination. End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to best follow them.

a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

e) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an Abomination (Lev 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

g) Lev 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev 19:27. How should they die?

i) I know from Lev 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev 24:10-16) Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your devoted disciple and adoring fan.
www-users.cs.york.ac.uk

China/Tibet Conflict

2008-03-20T16:55:00.000-07:00

I'm disgusted with what's happening in China/Tibet.
Chinese people can't even get the real facts about what's happening in their own country. The media is portraying the tibetan supporters as criminals. Blaming the Dalai Lama. According to La Presse:

Les Chinois qui veulent comparer les informations nationales avec celles des médias étrangers doivent s'armer de courage et de patience. Les reportages présentés par la chaîne américaine CNN ou par la française TV5 sont frappés de black-out. Dès qu'il est question de l'actuelle crise tibétaine, le téléspectateur se retrouve devant un écran noir. Même chose sur internet.

I know it's a common practice in a communist country to only give one view of the politics of the country, obviously in their favour. You can also argue that media can also be one-sided in the States as well, in some way. But not like this. How many people have died? According to the Chinese government, 16. 16? My ass.

Hello

2008-03-19T20:02:00.000-07:00

FreeRice.com: Fun, Useful, and Educational! It's so FUE! There you go, I just invented a word. I still haven't written my 4000 words. I'm a bit tired. I might nap and get working on it cos I don't want to lag behind.

Something to Think About

2008-03-18T21:43:00.001-07:00

Si je peux avoir l'horaire de cours souhaité pour l'année prochaine, je vais finir mon majeure en anglais l'année prochaine. J'ai deux options après: prendre mes crédits de l'UdM et partir avec mon diplôme ou finir mon majeure en espagnol aussi. Something to think about.
Malheureusement, je n'ai pas fait mes 2000 mots today. J'ai un travail à remettre. Boo.. mais je promets d'écrire 4000 mots demain. Ce n'est pas le temps de se relâcher!

Free Tibet

2008-03-18T09:27:00.000-07:00

Le Dalaï Lama:

«Ne commettez pas de violences, c'est mal. La violence est contraire à la nature humaine. La violence est presque un suicide. Même si un millier de Tibétains sacrifiaient leur vie, cela n'y ferait rien, a-t-il déclaré. Si les passions des deux côtés s'apaisent, nous pourrons travailler»

I wish world leaders were buddhists. They would understand.

Fun Fact of the Day

2008-03-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

According to Wikipedia:

A professional writer usually writes an average of 500-1000 words per day. Stephen King stated he writes an average of 2000 words per day, every day.

I can be as cool as Stephen King. I am as cool as Stephen King. I think I'm less creepy :-)

My reward: Picture of Stephen King looking creepy.

UPDATE: Just finished my 2000 words. I'm down to exactly 10,000 words in 5 days. I'm so excited. Je jubile.

My reward: A make-believe trip to beautiful Istanbul

Quiet Sunday

2008-03-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

Here's what I learned to do on Adobe Illustrator. It didn't take me too long this time. Don't we make a happy couple?! On lulu.com, I can print a photo book with tweaked effect like that. So I guess all I need is to take better pictures.

UPDATE: Just finished another 2000 words. I'm up to 8014. The last 2000 words I wrote in an hour. So I think it's safe to say that I'll be able to continue with this every day. The challenge is not too hard so far. Imagine, in a month, I'll have 60,000 words. That's a short novel. So I'll be able to keep going and going. Okay, my reward for tonight:

Baby monkey falling asleep

That looked like me before before taking my long Sunday nap. haha I'm not saying I'm as cute as a baby monkey. But, that looked like me right before I was K.O.

Lazy Saturday

2008-03-15T13:27:00.000-07:00

This is what I learned to do today on Adobe Illustrator. This took me way too long. I like him cos his left eye is bigger than the right eye. There's stunned excitement.

Awesome website of the day: www.notcom.com and www.notcom.org

and another kitchen toy i want, the HANDPRESSO, pour répondre à ton commentaire sur la popularité des espresso maker: www.handpresso.fr

Wrote 2016 words yesterday. Going strong.

And just for fun, this is a picture of my blog.

et l'effet miroir encore.

vive les blogs dans un blog dans un blog

UPDATE: Yay! J'ai réussi à écrire mes 2000 mots pour aujourd'hui. Ça fait déjà 6000 mots en 3 jours. This is really fun! i encourage you to do it. It's a really shitty draft. But the idea of the exercise is to just write without thinking rationally. And sometimes, amazing gems come out of it that I can use in my story. Here's my reward for today: She looks a lot like a My Little Pony I had when I was a kid (minus the cash register. What's up with that?)
I remember when I took her out of the box, she had a funky plastic smell. I tried washing it out with water. Finally, I decided to use windex (cos I saw my mom clean everything with windex). I put a lot in her hair cos I thought it would be cool to give her a wash like at the hairdresser. But then, it smelled like cleaner for a long time after that.

CHALLENGE!

2008-03-13T20:19:00.000-07:00

Mon défi: Vomir 2000 mots sur papier par jour. Pendant un mois? 2 mois? On verra. Le but, c'est que je sois stricte avec moi-même et que je sorte toutes les idées que j'ai en tête. Peut-être qu'un roman sortira de tout ça. Ou peut-être rien. Mais au moins, j'essaye. Et devinez quoi? J'ai écris 2002 mots aujourd'hui :-)

Ma récompense: a ZORSE!
Me semble qu'un 13 mars, c'est une journée dégueu pour commencer un nouveau projet. J'ai sommeil. Bisous canadiens que j'envoie en Corée.

Yay! It's Thursday!

2008-03-13T11:03:00.001-07:00

Here's the interesting website of the day: http://www.nanowrimo.org/

Every November, thousands of people around the world fix themselves with the same goal of writing a novel of 50,000 words in 30 days. "Quantity over quality" they say. Last year, a bit more than 9000 people managed to finish their novel. What do you gain? Personal satisfaction because you wrote a friggin' novel! It's also good because they're raising money to build libraries all over the world and they help fund reading programs. I love it! I wanna be a WriMo Too!

Still At Work

2008-03-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

Still bored at work blogging, chatting, surfing the net, doing all that I'm not supposed to be doing. I keep eating too! Here's a mini-poem for you:

Don't Look Up

Snow falls.
Snow melts.
Ice melts.
Ice falls.
On my head, I fear.

Lazy Activism

2008-03-07T10:39:00.003-08:00

This Makes So Much Sense!! Wonderful website: www.ethicle.com . Make it your homepage now! A cent is donated to a charity organizations of your choice for each Google search you do. It's as easy as doing what you do every day but on that website!! Good karma for every day of your life.

Sexy Kitchen Appliances

2008-03-07T08:34:00.001-08:00

Here are a few kitchen items I desperately want AND I DON'T KNOW WHY!
First off, who can resist THE MARGARATOR!! It's sexy-looking and it has a sexy name! My birthday's on November 9.

Do you miss the Biodôme?

2008-03-02T20:44:00.000-08:00

Nous sommes allés à la Clair de Lune au Biodôme, which basically means that it was open till 8:30pm so you get to see the cool transition between day and night when they turn the lights off. That is the worst run-on sentence I've ever written.
Nothing exciting to report. Biodôme is that good thing you can rely on to never change. It's been the same since elementary school AND THAT'S WHY I LOVE IT!!

Le jour après la nuit blanche

2008-03-02T08:20:00.000-08:00

La nuit blanche n'est rien sans toi ni Jimmy. Au moins, j'ai pu aller manger avec JimBitch la veille pis ct bien. Il va être en congé les 2 semaines que tu reviens, c'est génial, non?

Alors voici un compte-rendu de ma nuit blanche.
J'avais été invité à venir écouter mon amie chanter dans un building de gens trop-artistes. Elle m'avait bien donné l'adresse. Cependant, elle avait omis de me dire à quelle étage! Alors, j'ai dû visiter plusieurs galleries d'art poche puis de prestations de théâtre trop-contemporain-à-mon-goût. Finalement, jl'ai même pas trouvé. Je suis donc partie l'exposition au musée d'art contemporain pis peut-être que mon esprit était trop rationnel hier, mais j'ai trouvé ça poche. Scuse-moi, mais une sculpture ou des objets banals sont retenus par du duct tape, je ne suis pas impressionnée.

Ensuite, je suis allée au Musée McCord et ct vraiment trippant. Ils organisaient un bal masqué et ils avaient préparé pleins de table ou on pouvait confectionner notre propre masque. Ensuite, ils nous apprenaient les pas des danses victoriennes. Et ils te donnaient un "dance card" pis les hommes devaient demander ta permission pour une danse pis fallait que tu y inscrives l'heure. Pis sur place, il y avait une exposition sur la mode féminine. Ct très joli. J'ai inséré la photo de mon masque pour toi. Ct bien amusant. Je pense prendre le bal masqué comme thème pour ma prochaine fête pis faire la même chose ou tlm peut préparer son masque. On verra bien.

Ensuite, je suis allée à la Bibliothèque Nationale pcq il y avait l'auteur Stéphane Dompierre qui faisait une BD géante en direct. Ct bien amusant aussi. Ensuite, on voulait voir une pièce de théâtre à objets court sur le thème du ti-chaperon rouge, mais la présentation de 1h était complète. Il aurait fallu attendre jusqu'à 2h..en file. NO way. On est donc allé sur Mont-Royal au Patrô Vys pour regarder plusieurs films courts. Ça m'a donné envie d'écrire des scénarios de films courts pis les tourner de façon amateur comme on faisait à Dawson. Haha...good times..Stupid rhonda stole my tape. Entk...c'était ça ma soirée. Bisous

Sunny Day

2008-02-28T07:41:00.000-08:00

It's a Sunny Day today! I'm in a good mood. But it might also be because it's THE END OF FEBRUARY. And also because tomorrow, it will be February 29. Since it doesn't happen every year, there has to be something special about that day. I have HIGH expectations!! Don't disappoint me, Month-Of-February!

Jasmine, how about we plan our EuroTrip for the year 2012! It gives us both the time to finish our things and gather our shit together. I'm so serious! Okay, half-serious, but I want it really badly! Imagine, a 2-month adventure in Europe! We can do it! Reviens vite!

I have no big amazing news to announce for now. I am starting to write a novel. And in my head, it's the best goddamn masterpiece ever. But I guess I have to actually write it in order for it to be acclaimed a masterpiece. It'll mostly be a gathering of short stories about the same characters, sans nécessairement que les histoires se suivent. It's a lot of all the ideas I've had before that I never pushed. At least this way, I can write a bunch of stories and how my character fits into that world. And then I can select which stories can be tied in together. Anyways, I'm projecting way too far now.

It'll be written in English because I started writing it that way. I wrote about 20 pages so far (a lot of it is brainstorming though, so I don't know if that counts.) Somedays, I feel like dropping everything and actually write full-time. But I live in the real world. Real people can't do that. Or not yet.

Ok, back to work.

This is for Jasmine

2008-02-24T08:37:00.000-08:00

Here's the BEST UPDATE IN THE WORLD!
No, really it is!!
Ok, seriously, the month of February was rough. Aside from working full-time, school full-time, and the play, I think I felt many dark moments. It happens every February. I think it's the lack of sun. Had two weird anxiety crisis (or crises?). That scared me a little bit. Someone told me maybe I should go see someone. That scares me even more. It helped talking to my friends. It even helps to talk to random strangers in my class. People can be nice sometimes, I shouldn't judge them too much.
It's better now. We're getting more sun. The play's over, so I have my weekends again. The play was such an incredible experience. I got to know all these women so well. It was like group therapy every week. I think that helped a lot to get through February.
I make it sound really horrible. But some days, it just felt that way.
School's not bad. Right now, I'm debating going back to teaching. At l'UQAM. Haha My goal is to hit up every university in Montreal. jk. It'd be nice to finish my degree, just to get my summer's off and travel. I am just annoyed at the uselessness of Teacher's college. It makes me go crazy what a waste of time it is. Aw well, I guess I have to get through it eventually. Everyone has to. Wish I wasn't so against it. I want to start a school in my basement with my own philosophy of education. Maybe one day.
So what to do now? Finish the English major? Finish the teaching thing?
Job's going well. So far, they seem to be very satisfied with what I have to bring. What annoys me is that one of the other editors is taking a sick leave for a month...and who gets stuck with extra work? Yours truly. That's the only part that really sucks cos I hate having to do someone else's job when I'm trying so hard so that no one has to do mine. Anyways.
I really want to travel. We got the Vietnam trip lining up. That's gonna be fun. What I really want to do is a trip all around Europe. Hey Jasmine, once you're done with Korea, wanna do a backpacking trip with me to Europe? ;-) I gotta go to Istanbul!!! Is Turkey in Europe? or like Eurasia? Anyways, we need to go. Aw man, come back to Montreal soon!! We can move in together or something!!!

I just cut my hair. Unfortunately, these pictures do not reflect them at their best. More coming soon. And that's a picture of an 8 days old elephant...HE'S SO CUTE!! I call him Norman. Oh, and that's also a picture of my gorgeous boyfriend (who's crouching down so that we can be in the same picture frame! I either look 6 foot tall or he looks 5'2" short) So yeah, he's the guy I want to marry and have 10 million babies with :-) haha He's awesome. Like a really tall teddy bear. This is us going to the Centre des sciences in the Old Port, being science nerds. It was fun! Then, we went back to his place and watched a Horrible Movie: "The Heartbreak kid" I'm gonna have to put Ben Stiller on my black list along with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman if he keeps doing horrible movies like this. It was great to spend a quiet night with him.

Cheesy but true, new year, new beginning...

2007-12-26T21:12:00.001-08:00

I got the job as web content editor for a travel publisher in the Old Port. I am beyond excited. It means I'll have a real job, real salary. I'll be able to save up, buy car, buy house, whatever. I'll be able to stay in Montreal with my sweetie...and gain the experience I need to pursue my career. And I don't even need to drop school! It's so wonderful! I am so happy and excited that I'm not even mad that they waited this long to tell me.

The Big Jump

2007-12-19T21:42:00.000-08:00

After tomorrow, I might have a big decision to take. Maybe I'm going too far too fast already thinking of the choice I'll have to take. Actually, the choice is pretty easy when it'll be offered to me. I have a very good feeling about it. I don't want to talk about it yet so I won't jinx it. It would mean making the jump from studying and bullshit jobs to the actual job market. I'm so excited thinking about it.

Extremely Normal

2007-11-29T23:39:00.000-08:00

Mise à jour sur ma vie:

J'ai toujours été assez certaine de ne pas être faite pour suivre le conventionnel. J'ai bien essayé. Plusieurs fois même. Et à chaque fois, j'ai toujours refusé, délaissé, contourné ou démotivé. Pourquoi me battais-je toutes ces années contre mon inconventionalisme? C'est sûr que je ne vais pas trouver un programme adapté rien qu'à moi à l'université! C'est sûr qu'il n'y a pas d'emploi qui répond à mes attentes et à mes rêves sur le marché du travail existant! C'est tout à fait normal d'être complètement à côté de ce qui est normal, de ce qui se dit moyenne. Après tout, comme mon amoureux le dit si bien, je suis une extrême normale! Exceptionnelle parmi tant d'autres. Je m'adapte assez bien dans la société pour ne pas être complètement ridicule et étrange, mais je ne fais définitivement pas partie de "la grosse colonne" si j'avais à représenter le monde entier sous formes de graphique à colonnes. Je fais partie plutôt d'une des deux extrêmes. Peut-être les deux en mêmes temps. Entk, en somme, j'ai décidé d'être une écrivaine de profession qui fait pleins d'autres choses en même temps.

Long weekend and a crick in the neck

2007-10-11T14:01:00.001-07:00

Mes travaux en anglais ne sont pas encore à la hauteur de mes attentes (ni celles des profs dans l'fond). J'ai encore des problèmes avec mes run-on sentences. À me méfier.
À part ça, je m'adapte assez bien à l'environnement Concordia.
Il y a mon cours d'espagnol que je délaisse un peu trop ces temps-ci.
Mais, je pense que mon corps est en train de me dire de relaxer un peu.
Un torticolis sérieux qui exige que je prenne des pulules qui me knock out pendant des heures.
Me voici donc chez nous à prendre ça relax, en pensant à mon cabbage.

First Month Over

2007-10-04T11:21:00.000-07:00

So I thought I missed flying. But I think I miss traveling the most. Many friends of mine have traveled, moved to other countries. And I think that's what I want to do. At the same time, I don't want to stop studying. Easy, you would say, go study in another country. But no, it's the money. Anyways, I'm going to check on student exchange, but they don't have my spain. Can I study English Literature in Paris??!

Has it been more than a month?

2007-09-16T18:23:00.000-07:00

Here I am. Back in my room I have always felt detached from, in this house that never touched me, with my folks who don't quite understand me. But they try. I guess there's something to be said about that. Like I was saying to Jasmine, it took a change of school, a change of job just so that I wouldn't be too bored. I'm still bored. Just not as much as if I had stayed at UdM, working still at Mexx...
The thing is, I'm not even a thrill seeker. I actually crave the down time, those moments when you can just sit in your chair listening to some fucking good music and read a book. If I was a painting, you would just see the outline of a girl sitting in the middle of the page seemingly listening to music with a smile and just the white canvas all around her. You can sorta see shapes and colors starting to form behind her, but she's the one actually painting them. That's what I want. A complete blank canvas to start over on, something that's all mine and not dependent on the past and social obligations.
I'm in one of those moods again.

Paris Paris

2007-08-08T08:45:00.000-07:00

Paris, c'est beau, mais Paris c'est à partager avec quelqu'un. On dirait que c'est pire d'être toute seule à Paris que d'être toute seule n'importe où d'autre. L'hôtel était chiteux. J'ai pas mangé de la bouffe française pis j'ai dormi pas mal tout le long. Mais bon, j'y retourne bientôt anyways. Je ferai Château Versailles, Montmartre et musée du Louvre.

Montreal, Halifax, Ottawa, Nassau Pairing

2007-08-05T11:08:00.000-07:00

My month of August began with a crazy 3-day pairing
Toronto to Montreal
Montreal to Halifax.
Layover in Halifax and it was GORGEOUS! i want to live there now...
The next day, I did:
Halifax to Toronto
Toronto to Ottawa
Ottawa to Halifax
and then I think
Halifax to Ottawa again.
Anyways, somehow I ended up in downtown Ottawa.

The next day, super early flight to Toronto.
Then, Toronto to Nassau, Bahamas...
and then sadly and happily at the same time, straight back to Toronto.

I had a wonderful crew.
I worked the galley most ways.
I am now a pro.

It's so good (and not good) to be home. (with my food gone and all and the doors always open in the middle of the night, it,s not always a good feeling to go back)
I was reluctant (and excited) to go straight back to work.

But you know what, they really need me in Paris, so I really gotta go.

Halifax and Winnipeg

2007-07-31T07:10:00.000-07:00

Pretty much immediately after I got back from Germany, I was called to do a Winnipeg flight with one of my roommates. Excited, we jump in the company cab. 5 minutes later, they called me back and said: "never mind, we changed aircraft, we're putting you on ready reserve". Stupid me forget to tell them I'm already in the cab and hung up. 2 seconds later, they call my roommate sitting next to me. Tells her the same thing and she was smart enough to say that we were already in the cab, how were we supposed to get back home. So they gave us airport standby, which is not bad sometimes cos you can end up with some kickass flights.
Our kickass flights? She got Winnipeg at a later time.
I got a layover in Halifax, and then back to Toronto, then to Winnipeg, then to Toronto.
At least I had great company and a great in-charge.
I was so tired when I got home, I did the groceries, ate, and slept for 12 hours.

Yeah, Air Canada, that's all I can talk about...sighs

My German Vacation

2007-07-28T21:26:00.001-07:00

Back from Germany since yesterday. I had a blast. Wish I could have stayed longer to visit. But I'm also glad to be back (running away from a potential marriage to some German-Vietnamese doctor is a good reason to get back. I can't believe I was set up by my own family! Lan, you would have a good laugh!) Anyways, I'm definitely going to start planning a 4-month European backpacking trip! I love to travel, see new places, I think that was pretty obvious by my current occupation! I don't want this summer to end. I miss everyone back home and abroad.

Mon deuxième outre-mers

2007-07-22T04:05:00.000-07:00

[Texte intégral d'un e-mail que j'ai envoyé à mes amis du training d'air canada]

Salut les amis,

Je n'ai pas volé souvent, mais j'ai eu des !@#$% de bons vols jusqu'à date :)
Je reviens de Hong Kong. C'est à croire que CrewSched pense que je suis Chinoise ou qqchose. Non non, je ne me plains pas. J'ai appris à dire Chicken en cantonais et en mandarin quand même. Pis j'ai jamais aussi bien mimé de ma vie!! Peut-être que je devrais envisager une nouvelle carrière; gants blancs, col roulé noir...

En somme, ça beaucoup mieux été que le vol PEK (crew BEAUCOUP plus sympathique! Quelle différence!) Les passagers étaient super super sages. Je me suis faite un chum sur le vol pour aller et un chum pour le vol de retour. Le premier s'appellait Tommy, il avait 10 mois. Et le deuxième s'appellait Johnny, ou qqchose comme ça et il avait environ 1 an et demi. ILS ÉTAIENT TELLEMENT CUTE!!!!!!!! Ils venaient toujours me voir dans la galley pour me faire des gros gros sourires!! Johnny me suivait avec ses deux petits toutous pendant que je faisais mon service. Miam!

Mes cups o'noodles sont finalement devenues seconde nature, nous nous sommes réconciliés.
[Service que j'ai détesté lors de mon vol à Beijing] On peut même dire que moi et l'autre nouvelle FA, on était plus rapide pour le pick-up que ceux qui faisaient l'allée droite. entk, on leur a bien montré que même si on était nouvelles, on travaillait fort! J'ai même une photo où j'ai réussi à toute rentrer les coupe de nouilles ET les boîtes à sandwiches dans un trolley....with space to spare! (le truc, c'est domper tout le contenu des boîtes à sandwiches dans un bodybag enfoui dans la première moitié du trolley, vider le "jus" des nouilles dans un bac à glace à domper dans toilettes et empiler les boîtes!! Toute propre et beau, pas de baguettes qui revolent nulle part! On m'avait pas dit ça la première fois!!! Quel exploit! Ça méritait une photo :) (voir photo ci-jointe)

Hôtel superbe (un des meilleurs parmi les overseas selon ce que le in-charge m'a dit). Ils font même le service de dry cleaning gratuitement (tee hee...Catherine, finalement, mon dry cleaning pour le mois est fait!) Les marchés sont bien vivants! Le métro est full efficace! Le sac "Chanel" pour Marie-Michèle a failli me coûter ma vie!!! Une histoire bien trop longue à insérer ici, mais bon, sachez que ct toute une aventure, mais que du plaisir!!! Il n'y a pas de taxe à HK. Aspect très intéressant durant le shopping. Maman a un nouveau cellulaire! Ne mangez pas le sushi ici. Apparemment, le poisson n'est pas bien conservé. Pis attention aux petits stands de bouffe qui font frire des brochettes de n'importe quoi sur les coins de rue, ç'a l'air bon...c'est bon..mais ça peut vous causer des malaises au ventre :-s

Mon vol de retour a coincidé avec la sortie du livre Harry Potter. Ct bien comique de voir une bonne vingtaine de gens dans l'avion lisant le même même livre (moi et mon in-charge lisions le même livre aussi). Certains passagers avaient quasiment entamé tout le livre rendu à la fin du vol. Ils me narguaient en faisant semblant de dévoiler la fin...Ct bien comique! Ct comme un moment historique...."où étiez-vous le 11 septembre..", mais plutôt "où étiez-vous à la sortie du dernier livre harry potter?" Ma réponse: "dans les airs sur un vol partant de hong Kong!!!")
[Jasmine, je suis rendue au chapitre 15]

Il faisait très très chaud et humide là-bas. Au début, je disais à n'importe qui qui voulait m'entendre que j'allais m'acheter un condo là-bas..forget that! Bien trop chaud!! Je vais me contenter d'une belle maison à San Francisco pis un beach house en Caroline du Sud. Bons vols à tous! J'espère vous croisez un de ces jours! Appellez-moi, j'ai beaucoup de temps libres! 514-999-5474

Je vous aime!

-An-

Retour à Montréal

2007-07-16T20:35:00.000-07:00

Décision rapide hier soir à 11h pm après mes 2 verres de vin: Je reviens à Montréal pour mes 4 jours de congé....en auto!
Après le luxe de l'avion (en J class en plus), c'est un peu difficile d'embarquer pour 6h30 de route. Mais bon, on l'a fait. Judith, tu remercieras ton ami de ma part pis tu y présenteras mes excuses pcq j'ai vraiment pas pu tougher la jasette pour la dernière heure.
J'ai vu Harry Potter en Imax (avec les lunettes 3D)
Je suis trop fan de l'histoire pour dire que j'ai adoré le film. Mais ct bien fait pareil. J'ai vraiment hâte de voir les suites.
mais surtout..JAI HÂTE DE LIRE LE DERNIER LIVRE!!

4ème journée sur appel sans appel

2007-07-15T10:52:00.000-07:00

Osti que c long!!!!!!!
Je me sens enfermée dans cette maison!!
Je pense que je vais m'esquiver pour aller voir Harry Potter ou bien pour aller magasiner.
Jasmine, c'est la première fois que j'utilise le mot « s'esquiver. » C beau non?
Une chance qu'on a des passes pour voyager partout pcq disons que mon été n'aurait pas été fameux fameux. Demain, destination St-John's. Si possible, je voudrais pouvoir dire que j'ai visité un peu toutes les provinces du Canada. Au moins ça.
Pis le 25...FRANKFURT!!
Entk, on s'essayera.

Oops!

2007-07-13T10:06:00.001-07:00

C'est bien moi! Quand qqchose d'intéressant m'arrive finalement, j'oublie d'updater mon blog.

Alors du nouveau: mes premiers vols m'ont amenée à Calgary, Vancouver, San Francisco et ct quoi déjà? Ah oui. Beijing. BEIJING, BITCHES!! hahah J'ai gardé le meilleur en dernier. Ct hallucinant se promener sur une rue pis se dire: "ayoye, je suis à Beijing"

Voici les photos. Vous vous rendez compte que je me suis promenée en Chine toute seule?? Que j'ai pris le métro toute seule?? hahaha question de faire peur à ma petite mère poule..

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3578&l=78294&amp;id=514142911
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3574&l=cc538&id=514142911
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3579&l=8462c&id=514142911
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3580&l=ec33e&id=514142911

Entk. J'ai encore pleins de problèmes à l'école. J'ai appliqué à d'autres programmes dans d'autres écoles pcq l'UdM me fait chier. J'en ai pas encore parlé à mes parents, mais je pense que tout parent peut quand même être soulagé que leur enfant ne lâche pas complètement l'école, qui persiste et qui a le courage de se poser des questions, d'essayer et de faire des erreurs. Je vise toujours pour l'avenir et j'optimise toutes mes possibilités. Mes nouveaux choix peuvent tout de même m'amener vers l'enseignement si je découvre que c'est réellement ça que je veux faire. Ne vous inquiétez donc surtout pas pour moi. Si je le voulais vraiment, je pourrais tout faire. Si je ne semble pas réussir à l'UdM, c'est peut-être pcq il y a qqchose qui ne marche pas et il faudra finalement que je trouve ce qui marche réellement pour moi. J'ai l'air de sortir pleins d'excuses pour justifier mon choix, mais je suis jeune, osti que j'ai tout le temps pour y penser!
Au pire, j'aurai toujours une job assurée quasiment à vie..with Air Canada. hahahaha
I'm covered.

sighs

2007-06-27T08:27:00.000-07:00

Okay toujours rien, mais j'ai reçu la confirmation que j'ai bien 3 jours de congé , donc, je serai au courant de mes prochains vols que le vendredi soir à minuit et 01minute. Pathétique.
Au moins, je pourrai relaxer. For now.

2nd day being on RESERVE

2007-06-26T13:37:00.001-07:00

Life of a flight attendant is not as glamourous as it sounds. Well, except for my friends who are in Tel Aviv, London, Havana and stuff.
I'm the only one in the house who hasn't been drafted yet.
My picture won't rotate. Il rotate pas.

Still in Toronto

2007-06-25T00:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, I finally asked. I'm not IN Mississauga, more like, North York, or whatever. Anyways, it's fucking 4am and I can't sleep. I'm not sure I'm going to like this on-call shindig. Hopefully, they'll have something juicy for me tomorrow. Call me crew sched, call me!
Went out for a taste of Toronto nightlife yesterday at Picadelli Circus, and well, let's just say I won't be finding my soulmate here.
Hanging out a bit with the non-AC roommates. The AC ones and I are having a blast.
Fuck, I can hear birds chirping. That ain't right. I want to sleep!!
I miss my bed.

Back in Toronto

2007-06-23T07:50:00.000-07:00

Gruesome plane and airport day to get back to Toronto, but at least, we got to land in Calgary! Get that off my list!
I have a bunch of things to do tonight. Let's do it!

Links to san Fran pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3223&l=6ee50&id=514142911
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3224&l=4af4c&id=514142911

La meilleure guide au monde!

2007-06-20T20:02:00.000-07:00

Voici des photos de San Francisco. Y'en a beaucoup d'autres. Mais bon, à quoi sert un nain de jardin si on prend pas de photo.
Voici des photos de la vue de notre "hôtel". Pas le 4* mais pas trop miteux. Couverture fleurie un must. On est super bien située, proche du chinatown (qui pue), proche du downtown. On a marché le Golden Gate Bridge 2 fois aujourd'hui (allez-retour) pis on a fait le beau bord de l'eau. Jvous dis, les photos vont vous faire baver!
Pis juste pour vous dire...surtout à Trâm Anh qui me croit pas...mais je me suis vraiment pas perdue! Même que j'étais la référence pour nous retrouver. Pourquoi les rues en dehors de Montréal sont plus faciles pour se retrouver?? Entk..promis promis + de photos bientôt. Oh, devinez qui a volez en Business class??? Yours truly. On était très excitée ce matin. L'alcool était gratuit, mais à 9h du matin, umm..ordinaire. Ah, je viens de découvrir que le pain que je viens d'acheter est un peu pourrie. Fan-tas-tique.

Downtown Toronto

2007-06-18T20:44:00.001-07:00

Great walking tour: more tomorrow.

1st morning

2007-06-18T08:29:00.001-07:00

It's not what you think Jasmine......or is it ;-)

Here's how the maid left my bed:

Helllooooooo Misssissauugga

2007-06-17T18:19:00.000-07:00

So here I am in my hotel room. Love you all.

Moving Day

2007-06-17T08:11:00.001-07:00

Okay, mes affaires veulent pas fitter dans la valise!!! I am so nervous right now.
I'm so afraid of forgetting something. J'ai une peur atroce que ma mère va fouiller ma chambre quand je vais être partie. hahaha Okay, il me reste 3h30 avant d'aller à l'aéroport! OÙ SONT MES BAS??

Graduation day

2007-06-16T01:17:00.000-07:00

I'm so fucking sad.
It's 4am and it just hit me..
that not only am i leaving everyone..family friends...
but i might not even get to see everyone from my training..
i am sad....everything's changing...

In-doc flight

2007-06-13T09:01:00.001-07:00

Today's my in-doc flight (vol de familiarisation). All 5 classes are flying to Ottawa (my fear!! I have a fear of being stuck with Ottawa-Toronto flights all summer. I'd be happy going anywhere, even if it's just domestic...but not Ottawa, please!) It's so exciting. After Thursday, it's pretty much over, and then Friday the graduation and the big partying!

I know you don't read my blog, but if chances you are, let's both swallow our pride, forget what was said and not said, and just so we can be able to rely on the friendship we had. Like you said, I guess it's only two months. I'll stop making a big deal out of it if you'll just talk to me normally without analyzing what was said and done before. Thank you.

And cryptic message to you too!! :-)

Going to Disney World on Tuesday with Catherine in Orlando. We agreed: one day at Magic Kingdom and one day at the beach. It's so fabulous having travel privileges. I cannot wait!!!
Taking pictures with Mickey Mouse, Pinocchio (like the one I took when I was 7). Anyways, I have to conquer my fear of the witch in the Snow White ride.

On a completely different note, I want one!!

Last Week of Training

2007-06-10T18:24:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while. The big news: got my uniform, passed all the qualifications, graduation on Friday, and flying out to Toronto on Sunday.
This week has been hard physically and emotionally.
I don't know how I'll deal with the time difference since I already suffer from a light difficulty sleeping, but I guess I'll just have to deal.
I'm sorry I couldn't make extra time for some people.
It's only 2 months. I shouldn't fuss too much.
But for sure I'll miss everybody.
Regarde-le!!!! ENVAHISSEUR D'ESPACE!! La madame devrait dire: "Monsieur, je suis déjà assise dans une position peu comfortable et dans une robe fleurie. SVP, pouvez-vous NE PAS ENVAHIR MA BULLE AVEC VOS SALES JAMBES!!"
Doesn't he look like Paul Newman? (I was also thinking Richard Dreyfuss cos I always confuse those two actors, so I almost said Richard Newman. A quick google and IMDB revealed there isn't any Richard Newman famous actor in Hollywood)

I did it!

2007-05-27T18:16:00.000-07:00

Bon, c'est faite. J'ai les cheveux ultra-courts.
From my brother: "T'as quasiment les cheveux plus courts que moi"
I don't know if that's a good thing or not, but I did it, no looking back now. Thank you Son Thien. Thank you for watching a video while cutting my hair.
That always makes me feel good.

I Wish I Was In...Quebec City

2007-05-26T22:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, now I'm thinking I'm gonna go for really really short hair:

I really like the Audrey Hepburn Look. And I'm sure I could pull it off.
Hmm..I don't know..I don't know...

Training Day 20

2007-05-26T15:31:00.000-07:00

Last night, first official partying with my future roommates. Stayed over their hotel room. Met some weird young kids and some weird Quebec chicks. Today, we spent the day at LaRonde and it was very very fun! I am now exhausted out of my mind. Must sleep. Yes, still cutting my hair. Qu'est-ce que vous pensez de cette coupe-là? Ça se fait-tu bien sans trop freaker mes cheveux?

Training Day 19

2007-05-24T22:28:00.000-07:00

Okay, c'est décidé, je me coupe les cheveux!!! Short. I don't know what style yet. Mais je suis pus capable d'avoir à me licher les cheveux chaque jour pendant 1/2 heure!

Training day 15, 16, 17, 18

2007-05-24T10:12:00.000-07:00

Ah..oops...c'est ça que j'avais oublié de faire!
Bon update:
J'ai officiellement complété la moitié de mon training!! Wahoooo!!!
Jai finalement glissé down the glissière très à pic.
CEPENDANT, l'expérience n'était pas aussi joyeuse qu'on pourrait le penser parce le rubber de la glissière contre MES BEAUX SHOES blancs...ont créé une réaction bizarre....c'est-à-dire, la glissade a comme brûlé mes souliers...!! oui oui..brûlé sur le côté.
Bon, c'est pas super dramatique, mais quand ton soulier est super shiny pis que là, tout à coup, il y a un petit patch de shiny qui n'est plus là, c'est plate.!!
JASMINE, IM SORRY!!!
stupid slide.
Vraiment. Pas. Aimé.

R.I.P. WHITEY (Whitney pour les intimes)

Training Day 13 & 14

2007-05-17T23:55:00.000-07:00

So I had zero connection yesterday and until a few hours ago.
I am ashamed. I have joined Facebook. Yes, it's true. Damn it. Just to get to the Air Canada pictures. And I don't even know how.
Anyways, so yeah, Jasmine, your shoes are a hit!!!
Almost 3 weeks done.
Love you all.

Training Day 12

2007-05-15T22:25:00.000-07:00

Look how cute my luggage is!!!
The one on the bottom left is called Billy Wheelie.
The one on top is Juan.
and the shy one in the back is Paula.

I have to bring Juan to training everyday from now on. Tee hee.
You prolly can't see, but they all have the Air Canada logo on them.
And inside each suitcase, it's written Air Canada everywhere.
So cute.

Training Day 11

2007-05-15T07:22:00.000-07:00

I kicked ass yesterday during the evacuation exercises. We had to yell out loud while pretending to be in an emergency landing situation. It was a big adrenaline rush. I felt so alive! And everyone was surprised that I could yell that loudly. The instructor said it felt like I had been doing that for the past 10 years. Anyways, fun fun fun. Just to show you that you can trust me on a plane. Lil Momma will take care of you.

Training Day 10 + weekend

2007-05-13T19:17:00.000-07:00

Favourite photos of the weekend

Training Day 9

2007-05-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

I was so excited at first to get the papers from school telling me my schedule for the next year (my graduating year). I thought she had fit everything in a year, but I realize now that she split everything in two years. AIN'T NO WAY I'm doing an extra year just because she won't fit everything in my schedule. Anyways, I'm a bit stressed out about that.
I'm in a good rythmn with the training. I'm just a bit sad I can't fully enjoy the warm weather with friends on a terrasse or something and just lazying around eating ice cream. It sucks to put everything on hold.
This is where I'll be staying this summer: www.academywestwood.com in Etobicoke. That's Flight Attendant Land for ya.

Training Day 8

2007-05-10T08:46:00.000-07:00

Already almost the end of the week. I think I'll be amazed every week of this training because it's going by so fast! The training is as intense, but I think I'm managing it better now.
By the way, don't fool around in plane bathrooms, IT'S NOT CLEAN.

Training Day 7

2007-05-08T22:55:00.000-07:00

Imagine a raft full of people with lifevests, and imagine the only girl who couldn't pop up the lifejackets? Me. The big retard loser had to blow up her lifevests herself. So, it's possible I might not stay at the apartment I found as previously intended. I found 5 girls to share an apartment with. I think it'll be cheaper that way. Anyways, my hair is tired. More later.

Training Day 6

2007-05-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

I HAVE FINALLY FOUND OUT THE SECRET TO OPENING A LOCKED BATHROOM DOOR FROM THE OUTSIDE ON A PLANE....and I am unable to divulge that secret!! IT'S INTENSE!!
And, I finally know what's inside the closet...AND YOU HAVE NO IDEA. Seriously. No idea. It's bananas!

Hairstyle of the day: Single right-sided French braid twisted into a knot.

Training Day 5

2007-05-04T22:13:00.000-07:00

Question corner time with your favorite future flight attendant!

Question: Do stewardesses get to have a parachute? how about the pilots? And if they do... why dont the passengers get any?

-Too shy to skydive-

Answer: No one has parachutes on big planes. Because, as my instructor would say, you could have your parachute on, but once you open the door and jump out, YOU'LL GET SUCKED IN THE MOTOR! Didn't you see the Incredibles? Why superheroes shouldn't have capes? Anyways. So no.

I will like to thank my friendly reader, possibly my only reader, for her wonderful questions & support! I'll get you a mini Air Canada plane ;-)

Another fun reality anecdote from my instructor. In a cluster of 3 seats on either side of the row, there is only one EXTRA oxygen mask (for example, for the baby who's sitting on his mother's lap). My instructor said that once on a flight, a mother and father were sitting together, each with one baby on their lap on the same side of the same row. The father refused to be moved to the other side of the row as obligated by the safety rules. Therefore, to convince him, my instructor said: "Sir, if you want to sit next to your wife, you will have to decide which one of your babies you want to see die!"

Moral of the story: Always listen to the friendly flight attendant. They are looking out for your safety.

Hairstyle of the day: French braids/Heidi look. Preparation time shortened down to 15min. Score!

Training Day 4

2007-05-03T21:57:00.000-07:00

Wow! Almost a week done already! Are you happy? I'm happy! You know that smiley lady on the plane showing you the exit doors, how to use the life jacket and how to use the oxygen mask? That was me today! Yes, yes, we practiced and practiced, and I only made one mistake in my exam (the type of mistake that won't accidentally kill anybody). I love these exams, and don't ask me why, but it makes me feel like I'm in the Harry Potter world, you know, where they have practical exams and they have to wave their wand and say: "Expecto patronum". All you HP-haters, you don't know what you're missing.
I shouldn't be mentioning my hair anymore in writing, but here are pictures of the Gel Helmet I managed to do. NO HAIR OUT OF PLACE. These pictures were taken a few minutes ago. It is currently 1am. The helmet lasted about 12hours:

Yes, I am a loser who takes pictures of herself. Look Jasmine, behind me, those are BRAND NEW tickets!!!!

Quiz time boys and girls!
Question: How many bobby pins does it take to make a helmet?
Answer: A lot. Some big ones, Some small ones. And 2 clips.

Question: How many do you break while attempting to make a gel helmet?
Answer: One.

Training Day 3

2007-05-02T22:56:00.000-07:00

I have learned a moral lesson today: everything you do in life, whether you enjoy it or not, is extra knowledge you have acquired that can be incredibly useful in the future. For example, I slumped three years at RONA, frequently making annoying public announcements on the intercom, and finally today, I got to put it into practice from a plane. Mama, watch me grow.
I have also learned from my female colleagues how to tie my hair into a French twist (Air Canada is very strict on flight attendant's hairstyle, as previously discussed for Training Day 2). I have just tried it, and it WORKS! Therefore, good news, I am definitely keeping my hair long, said the girl obsessed with keeping her hair long.
And last but not least, I have learned that not only MIRA dogs are allowed to accompany passengers, but also trained monkeys! haha MONKEYS! I'm definitely stuffing meeself a monkey in my rolling suitcase! The world is my oye-ster.

Training Day 2

2007-05-02T10:55:00.000-07:00

Life in the stimulator is fun! Your girl can now open a plane exit door for evacuation, thank you very much. And I have finally found a solution to the hair restriction. I WILL NOT cut my long hair, but I will fasten it in a beautiful braided bun... until I find something better to do with it. I have to remind myself that cutting my hair never brought me no good!
I have nothing more to report except that I'll be in Toronto at the latest June 17. So if you miss me now, you'll miss me more in June.

Training Day 1

2007-05-01T11:24:00.000-07:00

This first day of training could have fooled me into thinking that my finals weren't done on Friday after all. At least, it's great to finally be sitting in a class full of passionate and dynamic people. I love my education peeps, but they ain't always this peppy. Anyways, I had the guts and the strength to wake up at 5h30 this morning to read the gazillion pages for 4 o'clock today. My 28-page homework took me forever but it's now done. Today will be our first training in the simulator. Mmmm...stimulator...I need some stimulating if I'm going to last till midnight without coffee. Hey, three years undergrad with not much coffee...I can do 7 weeks of training!! Mmmm....stimulator....
So they asked me what I wanted on my nametag. Of course, I wanted to say Princess Consuela Banana Hammock.
But sadly, my choices were:
Khanh-An
Khanh-An Chau
Chau
K.A. Chau

I was going to write my full name, but one of the woman flight attendant told us that with your full name, eager male customers can find out at which hotel you're staying.
[creepy voice] "I've got something for you" And Lan knows how many weirdos I meet in a day. So cross out last name, and call me Khanh-An please.

Best Summer In The Making...

2007-03-16T14:44:00.000-07:00

The job:
Air Canada Flight attendant

The First interview:
March 5th at the Hyatt Hotel
Highlights:
Classified myself level 2 Spanish which doesn't add much to the job, but is definitely a high personal level of satisfaction.
Gracias Senor Miranda!

The Second interview: March 8th at the Hyatt Hotel, "the 8:30 group"
Highlights:
Met some awesome people! Hope to have them as colleagues!!

The Medical exam: March 15th at the Air Canada Head Office
(in a dark dark corner of the Industrial Park)
Highlights:
Well, none really. Medical exams are never fun.

The Job offer: March 16th
Highlights: Being hired!!!

I am going to be flying all over the world this summer!

"I believe in fairy tales" - Walt Disney

Prison Party

2007-02-26T19:23:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, I had a prison supper party. And I'll say, the best way to cure a mild depression is to surround yourself with the very best of people, your kindred spirits. We had such great fun. They came all that way just for me and my party. I couldn't be more grateful.

Beginning of a story

2006-07-14T17:35:00.000-07:00

So I figured today, Friday July 14 2006, would be a good day to start my blog. What will be the subject of my blog? What is my story? Here's my inspiration. Last night, out of the blue, my friend Willy invited me to walk around the Just For Laughs festival to check out the street theater. I had spent the whole day at home avoiding the outside heat by watching TV. And I'll tell you honestly my current situation: I am a student on her summer vacation unemployed and broke. There was not much I felt like doing. Walking around a festival is, however, quite free of charge. So I got dressed and ready and met with my friend downtown. I enjoyed the whole evening. I had great laughs. And the whole outing reminded me how much I love the city of Montreal and the people I call my friends. Therefore, this blog is about my love for Montreal and that love I will share with you. Bienvenue à Montréal, bisous.