Score two for Toronto

I really wasn't homesick this year while I was in Neuch...so it was really hard trying to decide what I missed about Toronto. (Other than family and friends)

Today, I figured out two of those things (after experiencing them again):
1. MEC
2. Greg's Ice Cream (Roasted Marshmallow is my fav with Ginger being quite close behind...)

I'm sure that I will find more things that I missed once I get back into my old Toronto life.

On tap for tomorrow:
1. Yorkville browsing (will purchase a little later)
2. SC2005 (quick hello today, but wasn't enough time to stay longer)
3. White Hot Chocolate (skim milk, no whip) from Second Cup (across the street from the ROM)

Speaking of the ROM, look at my baby! It's growing so fast...I'm so proud.

One point for the Europeans

I like the fact that I don't have to add in how much I have to pay on top of the ticket price for darn PST and GST.
It's annoying (and means that you're actually paying a heck of a lot more than your brain initially thought when it read the price tag)...or maybe after 10 months my brain kind of forgot to automatically add 15% to the ticket price when thinking about how much everything costs.
Meh, I guess it's the same as trying to convert prices in your head.
Still...Switzerland's not as expensive as a lot of people think. Or at least little Neuch isn't. I gotta get used to Canadian prices again.

Lost in Translation

I had high expectiations for Lost in Translation, and is quite often the case, was disappointed after watching it. It was OK I guess, but it didn't blow me away. I could have been tired and wasn't in the right state of mind to watch it, but I found parts of it a little slow. I think that's the point though. That life is slow when you're "lost".
I usually like either super-duper Hollywood movies (because as cliche as they are, at least I know that's what I was getting myself into) or completely the opposite (not sure how to classify the type of movie I like - not Indie perse, which I would consider the opposite of mega-Hollywood), and this movie I guess would classify as the latter, but anyway...it wasn't THAT great.
Okay, the more I think about it, the more I liked it. But at the time, I swear I was bored.
I'm sure there's great discussion about it (or it's known somewhere out there, but I'm way behind on the times)...but what does he whisper in her ear at the end? (Maybe it was audible, but by that point I wasn't paying much attention).

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling

My first book of the summer, and I figured it should be an easy one. I get the feeling that most, if not all of my summer reading books will be pretty light and airy. Not sure how much time I will be able to dedicate to one book, and you know how bad my memory is, and how frustrated I can get.

Anyway, obviously part of the wildly popular Harry Potter series. Book number three, and like the other two, read AFTER watching the movie. I was actually planning on reading this one BEFORE watching the movie (was going to read it last summer - no prospects of being able to watch/rent the movie), but headed off to Switzerland before I could read the book and had no idea when Harry Potter would enter my mind again.
You may have noticed that a previous post shows me watching a whole lot of DVDs all of a sudden in a pretty short span of time (which I never really explained, but still and putting that post off for a little while longer). Harry Potter, Number 3 being one of those DVDs. So I watched it, and enjoyed it.
Just a couple days ago, I got hold of a copy of the book, and read it (quite quickly I might add!). I'm not sure which one I liked better. It was sort of weird because certain things I knew happened in the movie didn't happen exactly in the same order as in the book, so I was waiting for them to happen, or was confused when something else happened first. I don't know. Maybe because I'm pretty visual I enjoyed the film better, or maybe because it was my first experience with the story-line so I was more on the edge of my seat. Nothing to take away from the book though. I really really liked reading it. Enough for me to not want to put the book down. It was really easy to get through the book. I felt like I was being compeled to keep reading, I think mainly because I wanted to get to parts I knew were coming.
Anyway, I definetely enjoyed both the book and the film and I'm looking forward to reading book number 4 this summer (which if I find interesting means that watching the movie first isn't what makes me like reading the book!).

Here's to a great start on lots of summer reading!

Can't get no...satisfaction...

I wonder if it's a character flaw that I will never be satisfied for what I've got. Once I attain a goal which I think will make me happy (which it does - at least for the time being) I always look to the next goal on my list and continue to work towards acheiving that one and all the rest to follow.
Will I ever just sit back and say, "This is enough, and I'm happy with what I've got?".
Not to say that I'm ungrateful for what I've got right now or anything. No way, hopefully you can tell by this blog that I love my life and everything I've had the fortune of being able to experience, but will I reach a point where I don't strive for more?
I'm not sure if I'm explaining exactly what it is that I'm trying to get across, but yeah. I guess that's it.

My first wedding

Congratulations to the FAB bride and groom, I couldn't have asked for a better couple to have as my first wedding to be a part of.

My first bridesmaid duty, and hopefully not a sign of "always a bridesmaid, never a bride" to come. She knew what she was getting herself into, but I was still really really sad that I couldn't be around for the whole year to help with the prep and stuff. I'll never forget the one thing that I am so fortunate to have been able to experience: the dress search.

I KNEW it was the one as soon as she put it on. There was the whole dilemma with that other dress, and I definetely didn't want to sway her eitherway, but this dress was perfect. It was the case of seeing it, and just knowing. I'm glad she decided that it was the right one as well. She was absolutely stunning on the big day. If I had any emotion, I would shed a tear...=)

Seriously though, even though I wasn't around throughout the year, I guess they wouldn't have gotten such International presents otherwise. And seeing as how one special store in Yorkville is now gone, the bride wouldn't have been able to get two FAB pieces (if I do say so myself) otherwise! I hope that they enjoy their gifts as much as I had looking for them and carrying them around on various plane rides! It was stressful looking for the perfect gifts (and heavy), but you're both worth it. I really hope ya'll like 'em!

It was a couple days filled with first experiences (which I love!). I missed the bachelorette (after hearing the stories, maybe a good thing!) so couldn't experience that, but can't have it all. I can't even put into words how great this past weekend was.

Here's to just a few of the countless fabulous moments and memories:
- a good massage experience (to make up for sketchy Budapest)
- a pedicure (still feel sorry for the lady who had to deal with my horrible feet - and remember when I was so terrified to put polish on my nails way back when?)
- 4 parades?!?
- a strapless dress
- the perfect musical selection for everything
- that ridiculous walk that everyone has to do down the aisle
- relaxing and rejoicing in the back room
- stretch limo
- ultimate jet-lag but wouldn't change it for a moment
- busting a move on the dance floor with your best friends
- seeing two faces of utter happiness and full of love

A special Kudos to the make-up guru who did my eyes in such a way that I actually liked! Now that's no simple feat! I should've paid more attention to how it was done! Darn it.

Another special mention to some girls who shaped my university life. A group of highly accomplished and driven young ladies. Can't wait until our next big hurrah! To the future lawyer of the group: we WILL see each other again soon.

I can only hope that if I get married, my wedding will be as perfect and beautiful as theirs!

To the new Mrs: You're fabulous and I love you...

"Home" for the summer

I'm not really sure where I consider home right now, but I'm back in Toronto for most of the summer.
Leading up to my trip home was hectic. Lots of last minute things to get done, but it was fantastic. I'm not going to dwell on my professional life (I said I would never discuss it on my blog - I guess that got shot out the window a long time ago), but I've got to say that it was fabulous being on the other side of a graduation ceremony. I have graduated for the past two years afterall. I KNOW I'm in the right profession. I love what I do. I hope I never lose my love for this job. Ever.
Anyway, I'm back in Canada and have made my list (I'm a list-maker) of "Things to Do this Summer". It's pretty long.
This week I'm hibernating, but next week I'm going to be let loose on the streets of T.O. Watch out, cause here I come!

Encounters with wildlife

Myth: Squirrels do not exist in Switzerland. Throughout this year, everyone that I know (non-Swiss) here believe that squirrels don't exist in Switzerland. Or at least in Neuch. One was even trying to describe such a creature to a local without any success. Must have been the bad French that caused the confusion.

Fact: Yes they do! And I saw one outside my apartment. It was small, scared of people (unlike in crazy K-town/downtown T.O.) and brown (instead of grey - like I'm used to seeing at home). Apparently I was really lucky to see it. I mean, they don't roam freely like at home, they just hang out in the forest here, but my place is almost in the forest, so I was lucky.


Also, a couple nights ago, I was walking home pretty late at night (so it was dark outside), and I saw two little neon green lights beside one of the fountains in my neighbourhood...they were so small they looked like little LED lights that turn on with on/off switches or something. I thought it was weird though, because the fountain doesn't run on electricity and I'd never seen lights on the fountain before, but whatever.
I kept walking home and in the grass I saw more little green lights. I thought that maybe there's some Swiss toy/item that's like a glow stick and some young people just scattered these little pieces all over the place. It just looked neat though (you know me an my star/glowing things/lit up things obsession). Like little green stars on the ground. I was so intrigued...could this be an organism? I used a twig to poke at one, but it didn't move. There was another "one" close by and it moved though. It was so dark that I couldn't see the blades of grass or anything, just a glowing light.
So, I've come to learn that I have an encounter with glowworms, and that I should feel lucky (again), because they only come out in areas which have not been polluted with pesticides and other chemicals. No wonder I've never seen any in T.O. Oh and they're always in pairs. A cute little buggy couple. I wonder if I poked the guy or girl...and if the other one was coming closer to fight me off from taking away his/her lady/man. How sweet.

Four Blondes

Four Blondes, by Candace Bushnell

Thinking that I could use another "easy reading" book, I picked up this "chick-lit" book by the same author of the now super famous Sex and the City.

I was disappointed. I actually thought this book was really boring, and I had to flip through most of it to get to anything that seemed remotely interesting.

I finished the book so I'm glad that I got to read another book, but I didn't enjoy it at all. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Easy does it

Over the past three weeks, I've been typing up little thoughts on my computer and saving them for when I was ready to post again. I'm back, and have posted most of my thoughts.
The most important post it yet to come. I haven't finished it yet, partly because "it" isn't over. It'll be a long one, but I'm not quite ready to deal with it yet.

Chocolate trials

Written: Sunday, June 05, 2005 @ 8:18pm

I was having some friends over for dinner, and decided that dessert would be an ice cream sundae extravaganza. Being in the land of all things chocolate, I opened up my cupboard and saw some uneaten chocolate bars and thought that I might be able to turn them into some gourmet chocolate sauce.
Breaking up the bars of chocolate and putting them into a microwavable mug seemed smart enough and everything seemed to be working out alright. I was concerned that I’d burnt the chocolate because it was smoking a little, and when I tasted it, it was a little weird, but I figured it was because of the fact that I’d melted dark chocolate bars. Dark chocolate being something that I’m not too fond of. Adding a little bit of water and sugar made it a lot better.
I decided though, that if I didn’t like it very much, I probably shouldn’t try to serve it to my guests. So, a couple milk chocolate bars later and the same sort of set up, I’m ready to go. Sort of. See, I melted it first, and then had to let it sit around, and so the once solid, now liquid chocolate had become solid again. Luckily enough, as I was busy being a bad hostess and talking on the phone with someone, my friend decided to sit the cup in hot water (double boiler) and liquefy the chocolate again.
It all worked out.
The next day, as we were chatting, we thought it would be fun to use my concoction as a chocolate fondue (something actually non-existant here in fondue land – go figure, the chocolate fondue was thing made up by non-Swiss people).
Let me tell you, this is a bad thing that I was creative one day and decided to melt chocolate. When boredom and my sweet tooth takes over, you better believe if I’ve got some fruit lying around, I’ll be dunking it in chocolate being warmed in a pot of hot water.
Lovely.

Tuesdays with Morrie

Written: Wednesday, May 25, 2005 3:23pm

Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom

Read on recommendation from the same source as usual.

I’d heard of this book before, but had obviously never read it. I think this book may be one of the fastest books I’ve ever read. The pages were just turned so easily, and I didn’t feel like I had to stress out when reading through the story. It just flowed so well, and I didn’t feel like taking any breaks or anything. It must be what people call “an easy read”.
Maybe it’s because I’m still in the stage of “I want to make a difference in people’s lives and be an inspiration” part of my life (a stage that I hope I will never grow out of), but I liked this book.
I really liked the book. And you may have realized it takes a lot for me to actually like something.
I can only hope that I meet someone in life like Morrie (maybe I already have, but just don’t realise – or should I say, cherish it yet), or that I can be a Morrie.
Read the book. I can’t really say much more about it, because it’s just one of those things that for some reason leaves me at peace, without having anything to say.

The Five People You Meet In Heaven

Written: Thursday, May 26, 2005 9:56am

The Five People You Meet In Heaven, by Mitch Albom

Read on recommendation from the same source as usual.

After quickly reading Tuesdays With Morrie, I thought I’d try another book by the same author and give it a whirl.
I read this one just as quickly. It’s another small book with a nice sized font, so don’t think that I’m all of a sudden a reading machine.
I liked this book as well. It was kind of interesting seeing how everything related to each other and how the “journey” of the main character unfolded. Nothing spectacular in terms of plot or anything, just a good read. I’m convinced that everything in life (good or bad – or at least they may seem good or bad at the time) happens for a reason, but often it’s not until something else happens that you realise why the previous event(s) that may have been so tough to deal with happened. Or sometimes you can’t figure out why something happened, but you just know that it’s been another experience chalked up, another battle wound, another learning moment.
Anyway, I say read the book. I enjoyed it.

The Ninth Life of Louis Drax

Written: Wednesday, May 25, 2005 2:10pm

The Ninth Life of Louis Drax, by Liz Jensen

Read on recommendation from what seems to be my book source here in Neuch.

A small book, this one took me a while to get into. I’d started reading it a long time ago, but for quite some time didn’t open it to continue the story. Luckily, once I’d finally started reading again, the story seemed to pick up pace and my reading drought changed (as it always seems to).
With everything in my life, it seems that reading comes in waves. I’ll start getting into a rhythm and I’ll be able to keep reading for quite some time, but then if I stop for whatever reason, it takes me awhile to get started again. In high school I attempted to start running everyday. I kept a running tally of how long it lasted on the wall of the school Yearbook office, but now I forget what it summed up to. 11 days? I have no clue. I forget things easily (another character flaw that I’ve often lamented). Same goes for my attempts at trying to get a six pack. Or running on the treadmill in the basement. Even watching TV while running doesn’t help matters. I think I’m pretty good at controlling myself from seriously porking out on Swiss chocolate. I have resolved to try every single chocolate bar at least once during my stay in Switzerland, but gradually. Although, if I start eating the stuff, I seem to continue for a couple days and then stop again cold turkey. Seems like I either snack on peanut butter constantly or not at all. Does that mean I’m a binger?
Back to the book.
I wasn’t really sure where the plot was going as I started getting into it, which I guess was a good thing, because it kept me interested. Once I started feeling comfortable with the style of the book and I guess starting to understand what the author was trying to do, the rest of the story was pretty predictable.
It’s a neat book I guess. I didn’t LOVE it, but I’d recommend it to others to read.

Drogerist

Written: Saturday, May 21, 2005 @ 3:50pm

There’s a job that is unique to the Swiss Romande region. A droguerist works in a store and gives health advice. So you go into the droguerie and maybe say something like: “boy, has my skin been really itchy lately, and I’ve been really tired as well.” Then the droguerist recommends creams/lotions or vitamins or whatever other remedies that may help to make you feel better. A droguerie also has perfumes. Some believe that a droguerist is the first line of defense. If you have any problem, you go there first and then if they say it’s something serious, you go to a doctor. The droguerist will give you advice but may recommend that you see some kind of specialist. They don’t give medication. They need to know about everything. Nutrition, anatomy, medical issues, sickness, beauty care…it’s sort of like a very knowledgeable salesperson at Shoppers, but they’re not a pharmacist. You know how you see a doctor when you’re sick and want to get better? It’s sort of like you see a droguerist when you’re healthy to maintain your health.

Sort of.

I don’t completely understand what a droguerist is.

Swiss BBQ

Written: Saturday, May 21, 2005 @ 3:28pm

Last night I went to a Swiss BBQ. A friend’s birthday, she had kindly invited me to help her celebrate it (it’s actually today, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY!).
I’m not a camper or anything, so my only experiences with BBQs have been machines in people backyards and the few instances that we’ve BBQed on a permanent grill in a park. This BBQ would be different. In their backyard was a fireplace, and attached to it was a device that you could attach a grill to. It was so fantastic. Not only was the fact that there was a fireplace outdoors appealing (just think of how wonderful it would be to sit outside in front of the fire), but it was really neat to watch the grilling take place.
There was SO much food. Meat, veggies, potatoes, corn on the cob, salads, drinks, mini pizzas, this amazing dried mango that I have to ask where they got it from, ice cream, cake, coffee, champagne, chips and other snacks…it was fantastic.
Although we started snacking at 5:30pm-ish, we didn’t actually start putting anything on the grill until 9pm. By 11pm we were still grilling and eating. I could see the night continuing on for much longer, but I had to get home at a relatively decent time to rest.
I’m quite proud of myself. Of course the whole evening was conducted in French and I’m not very good at mingling and meeting people. I’m actually a really shy person (or at least on first impression). And then when friends get together (youthful friends especially), the chit chat goes faster and faster. I admit that I didn’t follow every single conversation that happened that night, but I think I did pretty well!

Because there was a fire, I was telling people about how we toast marshmallows (because I hadn’t seen any marshmallows here in Switzerland). In candy stores they have marshmallow candies, but not the plain ones for hot chocolate or for toasting. Conveniently enough, there were marshmallows in the house (the multicolored, twisted, candy ones) and so they thought it would be exciting to try to toast them. I was surrounded by a lot of skeptical people. The coals weren’t quite hot enough to toast the marshmallows, and I wasn’t close enough to the fireplace, so a toasting rookie awkwardly stuck some marshmallows on skewers into the fireplace not sure what to expect. I felt so bad for her. She was so confused. I mentioned that the coals probably weren’t hot enough, and we probably needed to get the fire going again. In the meantime, people experimented with tealight candles. Yup, it wasn’t too bad. Mine worked out pretty well I thought. Helpful hint: candy marshmallows lit on fire very quickly. But if you’re a toasting regular, you’ll know this isn’t always a bad thing. Let it char for a bit if you desire and just blow it out. There were a lot of panicked yelps and awkward laughing, because flaming marshmallows wasn’t in their comfort zone. How funny different cultures are. I tried to explain the novelty of s’mores, but I think it was a lost cause. They couldn’t understand why you would mix those three objects together. They also don’t have graham crackers here, so that didn’t really help. Any generic cracker/biscuit still seemed like an odd thing to meld with chocolate and marshmallow. Luckily we didn’t try to make any that night. I didn’t want to think us American/Canadians were too weird or anything. So the toasted marshmallow thing didn’t go over very well. The birthday girl seemed to really like them, but every one else just looked confused. One girl wouldn’t try them. I’ll blame it on the fact that we used the wrong kind of marshmallow, although I’m sure it really doesn’t make that much of a difference.

It was yet another wonderful experience. Seeing how a different culture runs a BBQ, what kinds of foods they eat, spending time outside relaxing and chatting and meeting new people, seeing the sky suddenly become dark, candles and of course the obligatory 15 minutes of rain and the mad dash to save everything from being soaked. The is what life is all about. New experiences.

Movies watched

Started compiling list on Saturday, May 21, 2005 @ 4:53pm

DVDs watched since Friday, May 13th

Ray (DVD extras)
The Incredibles (+ extras)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (+ extras)
Shrek 2 (+ extras)
Uptown Girls
Bowling for Columbine (+ extras)
Some recent episode of Joey and Will & Grace
The Aviator
The Best of Friends, Vol. 1
The Best of Friends, Vol. 2
Dirty Pretty Things (+ extras)
The Best of Friends, Vol. 3 (+ extras)
Friends – Season 2, Disc 1
Friends – Season 2, Disc 2 (+ extras)
Friends – Season 2, Disc 3 (+ extras)
Friends – Season 2, Disc 4 (+ extras)
The Best of Friends – Season 3
Shallow Hal (+ extras)
In America (+ extras) …a fabulous film! Watch it…
Pirates of the Carribean (+ extras)
Malcolm X
Sideways (+ extras)

On the mend

Will update with many posts soon once I get myself organized.
It's been an interesting 2 and a half weeks.

Another movie

Last night, I watched Ray. I didn’t know anything about Ray Charles’ life, except for that he was an incredible musician. I was also expecting great things from Jamie Foxx, as I knew he won the Academy Award for this film.
Wow, his life was incredible. I didn’t like the character for basically all of the movie, and I wished that the movie continued on to show more of Ray Charles’ life. More of the stuff closer to present day. More of the stuff after some of the hardships.
I was impressed at Jamie Foxx’s amazing ability to portray Ray’s character. The mannerisms, the whole fact that he had to portray someone with a disability, and of course there’s the whole thing about the piano playing. I love when actors have amazing hidden talents that you never would have suspected. I mean, going to college on a piano scholarship?!? Coolio.
It was a pretty good movie all in all (I’m too picky). The acting was great, but I didn’t like the graphics that they put in every so often. I also felt like it dragged a little bit (could have been the state of mind I was in at the time I was watching it). Like it was going on too much about the same themes. But at the same time, as mentioned before, I wish it would have continued on longer. LOVED the character portrayal. Great casting for all parts. Liked certain nuances, like the fading in slowly from blackout when the sound of the new scene has started (like being blind).
Sorry for the vagueness. I’m trying not to ruin anything for those few who haven’t seen it yet. If you’re one of those people, change that.

A day away

Only a 45-60 minute train ride away is Bern, the capital of Switzerland. When feeling like you need a little bit of a change, or just a day away from Neuch (it's a fab town, but it's always nice to do something a little different every so often) Bern is the perfect place to go.
Berne (the French spelling, "Bern" is the English/German spelling) was actually the first city I revisited from my original travels here in '97. It was pretty exciting remembering certain things from my time here all those years ago.
Bern has a pretty big market compared to Neuch. One half is food stuffs and the other side is crafts and gift ideas. And then there's a whole lot of stores too. It's nice to see a little bit of variety every so often. One big attraction of Bern for many people I know is, disappointingly, the Starbucks (I'm a Second Cup girl, as you all know). The town itself is beautiful as well. I love just walking around and breathing in the air and seeing the sights and sounds of the city.
I love discovering cities by walking around, so I spent a lot of time wandering around myself yesterday. I didn't mind the alone time, I actually enjoyed it, because all week long I'm around people, and sometimes you just need some time to unwind and be completely at peace with yourself. I took the train in with people (only because I happened to bump into them at the train station), then planned to meet them later that day after we'd gone off to do our separate things, and met another group for lunch (and then split up again afterwards).
The one thing I don't like about Bern is that stores close at 4pm on Saturdays. TOO early! Alas, you deal with what you get.
Which means, after everything closes at 4pm, and you're too tired from walking around all day to do anything else, you sit and have a coffee/dessert before going to watch a movie (more selection in Bern compared to Neuch).

Yesterday, we decided to watch The Interpreter. How long ago did this one come out in Canada? We saw the original English version (with German and French subtitles), and because I don't make too much of attempt to stay in the loop with the world of entertainment, I had no idea what the movie was about. I tried to ask about it, but no one else seemed to know that much. Slightly annoying, because I usually like going into movies knowing exactly what's going on (not that I want to know how the movie's going to end, but just what the plot line is and stuff). Oh well, it's something that I'll just have to get used to I guess.
I actually enjoyed the movie (except for the last 10 minutes or so). It was pretty exciting. I've never really seen anything with Nicole Kidman in it (yes, not even Moulin Rouge - shame on me), but I've seen Sean Penn before in some stuff and I really enjoy his acting/movies, so this was (I guess) another reason I was willing to watch a movie that I knew nothing about. I'm sure everyone does this to some extent, but I love guessing what's going to happen in movies. I don't watch that many movies, but the last one that was worth predicting that I saw was Ocean's Twelve, and I pretty much predicted the whole thing. How boring. This one gave me a little bit of a harder time. I could decide which way the story was going to go, and for some things I'd guessed right, but for a couple other things, I just wasn't sure how the director/writer/whoever was going to keep going. I just couldn't read the director/writer/whoever well enough. Anyway, bottom line is that for picky movie watcher me, weighing out the pros and cons of the movie, overall, I would say that I enjoyed the experience!

Week 2 of Spring Break

After a fantastic week with Habitat, I was really sad to leave, but we had to continue on with our itinerary and meet another group in Athens, Greece.

We arrived Saturday late afternoon, and were bussed off to the most extravagant hotel that I've ever stayed at. The Hotel Imperial was out of control. What a change from Beius. It was actually laughable. That evening, we were taken to downtown Athens, and had a chance to walk around. I was in awe. We walked all around the base of the Acropolis, and I just couldn't believe I was there. The Parthenon was lit up, and we walked by the Amphitheatre of Dionysus among other things. The weather was gorgeous, and I had such a wonderful time. It was another truly satisfying moment. We rode the metro home and it was gorgeous. It was all new for the Olympics, so who knows what it's going to look like in a couple years, but still, for now, it was pretty immaculate.

Sunday morning, we went to visit the ruins of Delphi. Now that I could see some ancient ruins up close, I was in even more awe than the night before. I couldn't believe how these structures had been built and what life must have been like back then. Thousands of years prior, there were people walking the same paths and going about their daily lives. (Okay, not "regular" everyday life there, more like worshiping Gods and Goddesses in that particular area.) I really wanted to walk right up to the columns and touch them, for I couldn't believe what I was actually seeing, but we weren't allowed to get too close. It was indescribable. Everyone MUST visit Greece if they get then chance. Lunch was our first experience to sample real Greek food, and boy, was it fantastic. A small group of us ordered every appetizer on the menu, along with a couple other things and shared everything. Incredible. We were SO lucky to have someone Greek travelling with us. He could talk with the locals, and find out the best places to go, to eat, to see. It's always good to have an insider who speaks the language. It gets you in.

That evening, we went back downtown and walked in wonderment yet again. I love cities that are lit up with lights. It's the whole "sparkly" obsession thing I think. There were apartments with balconies that looked out to the Acropolis. How I'd love to sit on one of those balconies and dream.

The next morning, we pack everything up and head to Piraeus to board The Emerald for my first cruise ever. It sounded like a good time. I'm excited to see my little room (a little disturbing that the life jackets are placed on your bed as a reminder of the risk that you're taking), and explore the boat. After we depart, we run through the standard emergency simulation. Kind of interesting to see how it was "supposed" to happen if something serious did occur. I wonder how effective it would be.
We cruise almost all day and arrive to our first stop in Mykonos. What a wonderful port to start at. They had just what I was waiting for. Blue and white buildings. It was absolutely exquisite. So picturesque. Just as the word suggests, it was exactly how I'd imagined Greece would be after seeing pictures in books and on TV. We didn't have much time onshore, but we explored a bit and then found a little eatery to sample some more Greek delights. I wish we could have stayed there longer.
We reboarded (and are scanned in every time so that the crew doesn't leave anyone behind) and settled down for the night.

The next morning, I awoke to the sight of a new port. Kusadasi, Turkey. Another country visited. We disembarked and rode a bus to another site of ancient ruins, of course. Ephesus was pretty impressive. To think how advanced they were thousands of years ago was incredible. The toilet/sewer system was the best! On the way back to the boat, we shopped in the local bazaar, and boy are those Turkish salesmen aggressive. Selling fakes is quite normal in Europe, but never have I witnessed that a bag/shoes/shirt/whatever is fake to be a selling feature! They just don't let up. It's pretty crazy! Some of the fakes were pretty impressive, but I just couldn't bring myself to buy any of it. I'm not a fake person, so I don't want any fake merchandise. Only the real deal for me. I have issues with fakes. The cake topper was what I can only call a "commission stop". We were led into a Turkish Rug Factory (I can say I've seen authentic Turkish rugs now) and the owner and his henchmen proceeded to wine and dine us (okay, apple tea and Turkish Delights) into buying his wares. I could stop laughing. It was actually appalling how blatantly they were trying to make money off of us (even though this was supposed to be an educational stop). I wonder how much commission the tour company got from us visiting the store. I have to say that some of the rugs were very beautiful, but definitely not worth the money (even after bargaining them down). And the whole idea of buying a rug from that place creeped me out. I couldn't believe it. The owner talked for a good half hour about the different rugs as his crew elegantly rolled out various examples on the floor such that by the end of the talk, the floor was a couple inches higher than when we had come in. It was like they choreographed which rugs would be rolled out when, in what manner, and where they would be strategically placed to ensure maximal selling potential. It was just all so wrong.

Back on the boat to cruise to Patmos. A long trek up the hill to see a monastery and some place with some serious Catholic significance (sorry, it all got a little over my head), but the best part of the stop was seeing all of the lemon trees in everyone's gardens. I wanted to take one, but my conscience won out. I'd never seen a lemon tree before! Of course the obligatory pre-dinner stop (which was actually enough food to cover dinner, but this way I could justify eating a second dinner on board to myself - all meals were included onboard the ship) where we sampled perhaps the best calamari I've ever eaten (that's a pretty big statement coming from me).

A full day in Rhodes, which I was quite dismayed in. The medieval town wasn't all too exciting, and it wasn't warm enough for the visit to the beach to be enjoyable. Shouldn't complain too much. I was in Greece! The one cool thing though was seeing jellyfish in the water. Wanted to touch them, but for obvious reasons, I didn't. Part of my group witnessed a cat getting run over by a car. That's not too great. By the time I could walk over to it, an elderly gentleman had pulled it away. There was a lot of blood still left, and what looked like a liver left on the street (sorry, that stuff doesn't gross me out...it's actually kind of cool...yes, I'm a cat lover and owner, sorry if that's disturbing). Speaking of cats, they're all over the place in Greece. They literally take over the streets (well, not when there are cars involved - sorry, sick sense of humour). They're pretty cute and stuff, but I wonder if there's any attempt at controlling the population. I guess the Greeks don't have The Price is Right (har har har). I digress.

Next day is Heraklion and the last day of our cruise. I'm a little tour guided out by this point. I feel like I've seen all of the ruins I can take for awhile (unless they were REALLY spectacular), but we trudge on to Knossos. I actually didn't like this one, because they'd tried to reconstruct the palace, and it just looked too fake. And we didn't get ANY time at all to walk around the town. It was just a stop to see the ruins and then back on board. I was getting a little tired of "cruise life" (see rant below).

We cruise during the day and arrive to Santorini late afternoon. This is our last stop before going back to Athens, and boy did they save the best for last. I wanted to stay there forever. Santorini is up on a cliff, so you either had to take a cable bar (boring!) up...or...ride a donkey! So fun! I felt bad for the donkey's doing all the work (oh, I forgot the option of walking up along the same path as the donkey's), but it was an experience. I hope they're treated well. This was the ultimate. Blue and white buildings. Blue sea. Blue sky that just got bluer as night descended. Shops with ethnic wares. Culture and life everywhere you turned. The last big Greek feast of the trip. Potentially the best (HUGE shrimp!). Lots of Ouzo was imbibed during this trip. (It smelled like black licorice.) I didn't want to reboard the ship.

Friday morning we had some last minute time to discover Athens. This was the day that we trekked up to the Acropolis and walked around and saw the Parthenon from up close. Again...a state of awe. I just couldn't believe that people had built and used this thing. Lots of touristy snaps taken. Driving/walking along the streets of Athens, you could see that the streets were lined with orange trees. After my excitement of seeing lemon trees, this was still pretty exciting. I wondered if the fruit were fair game to passerbyers, but apparently the oranges are inedible as they are of the sour variety. I was a little confused by that. Why not benefit all by planting a species that is edible. That would be so fun! We got to see the original Olympic stadium that was renovated for the recent 2004 Summer Games. It made me wish I could participate in the Olympics. It would be another incredible experience. Alas, I'm SURE that dream cannot come true. I wish I had more time to shop (there was so much to see and do), and I'm disappointed that I did not buy any souvenirs from the trip. I just didn't fall in love with anything I saw. I was hoping to get an oil painting of blue and white buildings overlooking the gorgeous blue sea, but for some reason I was convinced not to. I don't regret it much. I really didn't fall in love with anything, so there's nothing to regret. I did see a cute bag and a hat that I liked, but nothing fabulous. My souvenir was the many pictures I took along with the fantastic food that I ate. I'm ashamed to say that in all of my Torontonian existence, I've never been to Taste of the Danforth, but I think after this trip I'll have to go to see how it stacks up to the real deal. I also brought some Greek pastries back with me to Neuch (for myself, and as a gift to some friends), and they were delicious, but they were SO messy. So messy in fact, that all of the honey leaked all over my stuff on the plane. Not fun. But worth it. Delicious.

What an incredible two weeks it was. I can't believe how fortunate I am, and wish that you could all be here to share my utter bliss with me.


***************
I'm not sure what I think about cruises themselves. I loved living on a boat. It was something new and exciting. Just like at a hotel, you didn't have to worry about anything. Meals were taken care of (and the pounds were waiting to be packed on), you could ask receptions for anything you needed. There was some entertainment on board, and you could sit and soak up the sun.
I guess it was the timing of our cruise, but the weather was just weird. Everyone got sick after a week onboard. When the sun was out, it was so incredibly hot, but when it went away, it was so incredibly cold. And then there was thing called wind. Being on the water, of course it would be there, but it was bitterly cold. We were lucky in that it didn't rain much (I think only one day), but it was still really difficult to decide what to wear. Layers was the best solution, but even still, it was a little bit annoying.
And then there's the whole idea of cruising itself. We cruised more than we were docked. I realise that this is due to the geographical location of the various ports, but I felt very useless sitting (or more often, napping, because I had nothing else to do) onboard, waiting to arrive to the next port. Sure, we cruised every night to get to the next place, so that was fine, but I really didn't like the days (almost all of them) that hours during the day were spent travelling from one place to another so that we could visit two ports in a day. I would have rather visited less places, but stayed at each one longer. The cruise was more quantity over quality, and the ports that we stayed at the longest seemed like the wrong ones. Sure, it was a good opportunity to get a taste for what Greece has to offer, and like most trips so far this year, I want to go back, and now I know where I want to visit again, but while onboard, I was a little perturbed. This is the same reason I don't like going on tours. You have to stay with the group and do whatever is on the group itinerary. I feel like there's never enough time to explore the things that I really want to see. Sure, tours take you to all the right places, and let you see things that you probably wouldn't see on your own, but the extra time just isn't there.
For something like the Caribbean, maybe it would be better, because there's not as much to see (more scenery and beaches to lounge at), but for Greece, I didn't feel like a cruise was the right venue. I must admit it was so relaxing and enjoyable to lie on the deck and look out to an endless blue sea with islands popping up every so often, but after awhile the wind was really cold. I'm convinced that had it been in the summer, I would have enjoyed the cruise that much more.
Maybe also if we were on a more bling ship, it would be more interesting, but while the liner had all the amenities, it wasn't THAT impressive. Also, the crew left a lot to be desired. There were a couple very friendly and helpful crew members, but I unfortunately have to say that the majority of the staff that I met were most unpleasant. I was not the only one complaining either.
Well, it was yet another experience. You can learn something from everything.

Curious crisps

Forget the standards of BBQ and Sour Cream and Onion, Europe definetely has some unique flavours when it comes to chips/crisps:

Much like with carbonated beverages, I am a sampler. I think it's important to try everything at least once (sometimes it works out and you try something really really good, other times it's crappy - see some previous posts - and you just end up spending a LOT of money on plain, oh okay, refreshing, fresh alp glacier water).

For instance:

In Switzerland:
(of course there's regular chips)
Paprika replaces BBQ
Provence replaces Sour Cream and Onion
and then there's
Bacon
Roasted Chicken

Doritos:
Americano replaces Cool Ranch
(the standard Nachos Cheese)
Mexican Taco
there's some other ones, but I forget what they are

England was kooky:
(regular)
Walkers Nobby's Thick Ridge Cut Chip Shop - Salt 'n' Vinegar
Walker's Sensations - Slow Roasted Lamb and Mint
Walker's Sensations - Thai Sweet Chili
The Real McCoy's Ridge Cut Potato Chips Specials - Thai Sweet Chicken
Walker's Sensations - Oven Roasted Chicken and Thyme
Walker's - Cheese & Onion
Walker's - Prawn Cocktail

I saw but didn't try:
Walker's Sensations - Four Cheese and Red Onion
Walker's Sensations Oriental Crackers - Peking Spare Rib & Five Spice
Walker's Sensations Oriental Crackers - Tangy Malaysian Chutney
The Real McCoy's Specials - Peppered Rib Eye Steak

Everything tasted as they should have. Except the Prawn Cocktail. That one tasted a bit like Ketchup chips. So I didn't like the lamb one, because I don't like the taste of lamb. It was so weird...they've got the flavours down to a T...which is also a little bit weird that they can pack a whole meat and veggie thing into a seasoning.

The ridge cut chips were so good. They were really thick chips, so you felt like you were really getting a lot in your tummy. You could say that they were hearty chips.

Please visit:
Walker's Sensations for other ingenius flavours. Or why not just visit Walker's in general. It's astounding! (I wonder if these flavours would fly in Canada?)

Movie delay in Neuch

Last night I went to see Vanity Fair. It just came out recently. It gives you an idea of how behind we are here in Neuch. How long ago did it come out in Canada?
It was in a cute little theatre that reminded me of the Screening Room in Kingston. Good memories from there. Like, fab friends who brought pieces of licorice for all!
We watched the original version with French and German subtitles. I guess it takes awhile for them to translate it eh? I wonder how much longer it would take for them to dub it?
Million Dollar Baby just came out as well. Coming soon is Shall We Dance?. There's hype for the next Star Wars as well.

Two stores in London

I was also excited to visit two stores in London which remind me of my childhood:

Marks & Spencer
Boots

I didn't get to visit the former, but I did visit the latter...to look for blister remedies (no 2nd Skin unfortunately). I have two wicked blisters on the arches of my feet from playing ultimate. What a fab sport. Darn the combination of cutting when you've got a really fast guy covering you and silly orthotics.


***
In my ballet hair kit, I still have the first gel I bought for my exams. Boots Hair Gel. The ghetto stuff which gives you helmet hair. It's pink. It came in lots of different colours, but did the same thing, so mom told me just to pick out my favorite colour. I had an "indecisive moment" (a frequent occurence in stores), but after some careful analysis, I picked pink. It wasn't even a Boots store on its own. In what is now called "CentrePoint Mall", there used to be a Woolco. It was in there. I never use it anymore, but I still keep it in my kit for memories sake.

London

This past Tuesday, I went on a day trip to London. I was so excited for this trip because I had never been there before, and had heard so many fabulous things about it. I had a couple goals (being the ever so goal oriented person I am) for the trip. In no particular order:

1. Be really touristy and see the major Londony things
2. Shop
3. Have tea and crumpets, or scones, or little tiny sandwiches with the crust cut off
4. See a musical
5. Ride the Underground
and of course:
6. Buy a Burberry scarf.

You may know that I have been planning goal #6 for quite some time. A cashmere, typical brown Burberry plaid, thick, wrap around your neck to give lots of warmth. Not the wrap around once. I mean the one with volume...no, that's not the right word. The one that piles around your neck...oh nevermind. I wanted a scarf. A costly scarf. It would be my belated present to myself for my fabulous current existence.

Anyway, little do I realise that I would only have a limited amount of time to do goals #2-#6. See, Herstmonceux Castle is a good 3 hours away from London...and then there's the time added on to it because of rush hour traffic. It didn't help that our bus broke down, so we had to wait another hour for a new bus.
Then we go on a super rushed bus tour of London. Buckingham Palace (the Queen was in), for a quick photo opp (no changing of the guard that day - rainy), driving past Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, the British Museum, the London Eye, Westminister Abbey, Big Ben, the Thames River...basically everything. And we drove by a HUGE Burberry store...but we kept driving. We didn't have time to stop and walk around on our own.

We had a quick stop for lunch in Covent Gardens, where I realised that things in London are EXPENSIVE!!! The prices seemed normal if they were in CHF or in Canadian dollars, but then with the conversion...jeez. I bought cookies from Ben's Cookies. Heavenly. You MUST try them. I had time to pop into the gift shop at the Royal Opera House (read: the same place that the Royal Ballet performs) and I didn't want to leave. It was fabulous. It also had the same ballet pencil cases that I got in a little stationary shop in Yorkville. The overpriced pencil case that I justified purchasing because I needed a "judging pencil case". Right. I forget the company, but I'll figure it out soon I'm sure.

We went for a walk around the Tower of London and boy do the Royals have a lot of bling. The guards in their get up are surprisingly friendly. They were mingling with the tourists and stuff. And the ones who are supposed to stand without moving do move. At least they were smiling when we were talking to them. We didn't see anyone wearing the big bear fur hats. Oh well.

By the time we were let loose, it was 6:45pm. We were to meet back again at 9:15pm. Luckily, we were dropped off just beside the big Burberry store that I'd seen earlier. Unluckily, it was already closed. I looked in the window in dismay, but noticed that there was another store close by on Oxford St. I knew stores would close at 7pm or so, but as much as I wanted to get my scarf, I wanted to figure out if I could still see a show. I knew that most shows started at 7:30pm, so I figured that none would be over by 9:30pm (the LATEST I figured I could be late), but who knows, maybe I'd get lucky somehow. I quickly went to the half-price booth, and the only show that would be over by the required time was The Vagina Monologues at the Wyndham Theatre. How exciting! I had wanted to see the annual student production of The Vagina Monologues at university, but for some reason, I never ended up going, but here was my chance. Sure, it wasn't a musical, but it was darn better than nothing. So I got tickets (2nd row!), and we were off to go shopping.

Back to Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Street (not much time until the 7:45pm start time) and as it happened, only enough time to go into two stores (not even London-chic stores at that - Mango and Zara), and then a quick dash to see TopShop from the outside, and by this time, I've already given up on the scarf, because I know that I'm going to be late for the show. On the way to TopShop, I notice the other Burberry store, and for a moment there's a glimmer of hope. Quickly squashed because it too is closed. Alas. Oh yeah, there was a huge Apple store too. HUGE. (I'm excited to visit Yorkdale and see all of the new and exciting stores there.)
Anyway, we actually run to the theatre, and go in just as they're closing the doors. The theatre was fabulous. A small and cozy venue. The show was fabulous. SO funny, I recommend everyone (women AND men alike) see the show at least once. There are tons of Vagina Monologues all over, so there's no excuse. Turns out the Sharon and Aimee Osbourne were supposed to be in it, but due to some "personal illnesses" they pulled out. Right. Sharon would have been hilarious! Still, the three ladies on stage were so funny, and it was time well spent. A funny ending to the night. At 9:30pm, we're eyeing our watches, because we're still sitting in the theatre as the show has not ended. I'm starting to get antsy, but there's nothing we can do about it. See...there's a lady on stage having an orgasm. And it's been going on for about five minutes, and it doesn't seem like she's coming (no pun intended) to an end anytime soon. I mean, we have to leave, but how rude would we be for standing up and leaving in the middle of her orgasm? So, we sit there awkwardly, hoping that she finishes soon, but all the meanwhile, laughing hysterically. So she finishes her thing, and we rush out of the theatre (the show hasn't ended yet...I hate leaving a show early), and we're late to meet our group...but what else could we have done?!?

So yeah...I only really fulfilled goal #1, and sort of half assed at that. I don't even consider myself to have visited London, because of the lack of stuff that we did. I didn't really get any souvenirs (just a couple postcards). I did see some things, and I have an idea of what to do next time, and where to go, so I did get something out of the trip, but not enough to warrant it being a "first experience in London".
The whole time I was there though, I was in awe. Complete awe. I was actually giddy. It was a fantastic city (from what I could tell), with so much going for it. There's just so much to do and see there. The fact that so many of the museums there are free is just an added bonus. I've already started to look into when I can do next. Even though I will be here for at least another year (although going home for the summer eats away a lot of precious travel time) my time here seems so limited. Which brings me back to my confusion of my not so distant future. It seems like I always get so confused after a trip.


********************
I'm not even sad about not getting the scarf, because I know it was out of my hands. By the time I could make my move, the store was closed, so it wasn't even like I had to chance to buy it...or chicken out for that matter. Some people I was with were sad for me...others said it was a sign. Funny how I've got people discussing this famed purchase, and all that's involved with it. At Gatwick Airport on the way home, there was a Burberry store. I was alone (which was nice after being with people all week) and I went in to eye the merchandise. Probably Tax Free at that, but I decided that it wasn't the right venue. When I bumped into my group, they quickly mentioned to me that there was a Burberry here, and asked if I was going to buy the scarf. Then they started to discuss the pros and cons of buying the scarf there and then. I wasn't even really part of the conversation. It was kind of funny how important this scarf was to them...because they knew how important it was to me. (I just realised that I never really talked about why this scarf is so important to me, but I guess that's not important to you blog-readers.)

Underground public transport = fun

I've ridden on the metro/subway/whatever they call 'em in the following cities:
- Toronto
- Paris
- Montreal
- Brussels
- Vienna
- Milan
- Budapest
- Athens

The TTC is fine for getting to wherever you need it to go, but I really think they should expand the subway lines, cause riding metros in other cities just makes Toronto look bad...and I love the subway. I love sitting/standing/leaning in crowded TTC cars, and rushing up/down the escalator with the rest of the commuters. Hearing the arpeggiated chord before the door closes. People watching. Feeling anonymous. So many things I love, but it's just two lines (sorry, I still don't count the Sheppard line - give me a little bit more time).

There Are No Shortcuts

There Are No Shortcuts, by Rafe Esquith

Read after leaving it on my bookcase since June 2003.

This book, written by a Los Angeles teacher, was, I dunno...interesting. Sort of. I guess what he was saying wasn't anything new or spectacular to me. I think (or at least, hope) most teachers go into the profession because they want to make a difference and do the right thing, and at least in their B.Ed. year (or equivalent) they are inspired to do just that. Over time, for the most part that I've been exposed to, I notice that teachers seem to care less and less. Like they're just going through the paces. That they're getting tired of doing new and exciting things. Of course there are exceptions to this, and luckily some of the teachers I'd had over the years fall into this category.
Anyway, the author was telling a little bit about his career, what he tries to do in his class, the lessons that he tries to instill in his students. It sounds pretty impressive, what he gets his students to accomplish in grade 5, students from a "rough" part of town. So as vague as I sometimes try to be on this blog, I think I've said a couple times by accident, or it's basically obvious that I'm a teacher. And I'd like to hope that I'm still pretty driven to be creative, be the best person I can possibly be, inspire my students to be better, push my students to their limits, try to learn about myself through my students, etc etc etc, so maybe that's why this book didn't have that much of an effect on me. I mean, because the author's trying to inspire teachers to do something better, but I'm still at the point that I want to accomplish all of these things anyway. Unfortunately I didn't feel like I learned many little hints about how I can be as accomplished as the author, accept I seemed to get the vibe that he really didn't care about what administrators think. I got the vibe that he always pushed the limits, risked getting fired for doing certain things...and that he is encouraging others to follow suit. I'm not too sure if I want to do that right now. That was the point though, that teachers should take risks, and fight the system, and do whatever had to be done, but realistically, I don't think it can happen right now. Maybe that's not true, maybe I'm just too scared to do it, but I'm happy with that. I still think that I'm making a little bit of a difference. I think courage takes time to grow, and maybe after a little while, I'll feel more comfortable pushing the envelope. His accomplishments do sound impressive, but something about the book just left me uneasy. I don't know if it was that he was really boasting about what he does in his book (I guess the whole point of the book was for him to talk about himself as a teacher), or the "breaking of the rules" thing that I mentioned before. I don't know. It wasn't completely horrible, but the book didn't blow me away.
It was/is nice to know that there are other people out there who are trying to make a difference. To try to make a difference in the future generation.

Another book read. I'm on a roll!

Weird feeling

I'm currently typing from my residence room at Herstmonceux Castle. I'm having freaky flashbacks to first year university. Plain grey carpet. Drab cutains on the windows. Two beds. Two desks. Two chairs. Two bookcases above the desks. Two armoires. Two bedside tables. Two bulletin boards.
Well, it's a little different I guess. I was in a single room.

Week 1 of Spring Break

Here in Europe, we don’t have March Break like most school in Canada do. Instead we have two weeks of holiday around Easter time (think back your History classes…it makes sense).
The first week of the break, I volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, because I really wanted to experience something like it. I’d never done anything like that before, and if I do say so myself, I like to grow as much as possible as an individual. I would be on the trip with 12 other people, and I thought it would be really interesting working in a small group, doing something that I’d never done before, and being in an area that I’d never traveled to (Eastern Europe).
I was nervous, but also excited before we went. I really had no idea what to expect from the experience (including lots of factors that I don’t really want to get into over the very public internet).
Due to the placement of the Easter holidays this year, we didn’t go straight to our building area (Beius, Romania). Instead, we spent a weekend in Budapest, Hungary seeing the sights, and building up even more anticipation for what we going about the experience.

Budapest was alright I suppose. We had a nice little adventure getting from the airport to the hotel, because we decided that we couldn’t afford the airport taxi service. Instead, we took the bus/metro. We must have looked pretty funny (the 13 of us) with our HUGE suitcases (we’d packed for two weeks), speaking no Hungarian, looking very confused. We made it though, and it really wasn’t too bad. It was FUN!
That weekend, was grey. The whole weekend was grey and rainy. I think that really influenced my perception of the city. Sure there were things to see, but as I’ve said many times before, you’ve got the cathedral, the open square, the train station, the opera house, the parliament, the pedestrian street (ok, I added in a couple extra things)…they’re all the same in each of the European cities. I did enjoy it though, because for most of the time, I wandered alone, feeling very anonymous. The buildings really were beautiful, and unfortunately I didn’t have a chance to go into any of them, nor any of the museums, because I decided to use my time seeing quantity (over quality). That’s what next time is for. I always feel like my first time in a city is to scope out the situation. To get a taste for the area, get my bearings, and then when I return, I’ll really know where to go, what I want to do, etc.
While we were there, the Spring Festival was happening. In one of the main squares, there were booths set up, with vendors selling food, craft items…a stage was set up with performances…there were tables and chairs set up to sit, watch, eat, relax…what an amazing atmosphere!
One interesting experience. A couple of us decide that we should go probably the most famous Spa in Budapest. This would be my first spa experience, so I was really excited. I thought that I should really go all out and get some kind of special massage or something. When we arrive, we find out that they are not doing any more special treatments that day, because the Spa is too busy (it was Easter Sunday). Okay, fine. So we grudgingly decide to just pay our entry for the “hot spring bath”. We weren’t going to leave without saying that we’d done something at this place. So we go in…which was a whole experience in itself, because I have to say that the sales people were NOT very friendly (yelling orders at us, pushing us here, there). Then we casually ask if we can still get a massage. Here comes the sketch. Under her breath, the lady says yes, and discretely beckons us to follow her into, yup, the back room. It’s dirty, and ghetto looking. Ultra sketch. There are five of us, and five massage therapists, so all seems fine. The lady asks us to pay her ___ amount in cash. The amount per person is slightly more than what we would have had to pay if we bought tickets. We have to go back to changeroom to get our money, but we’re skeptical, so we don’t really had it over quite yet. One person I was with gave the lady her share of the money. Once we all reassemble in the massage room, she repeats the cost, and we compile our money (less the one girl who’s already paid) and put it on the table in front of her. She counts it and says we’re short. We tell her, no, that’s because on girl’s already paid. “Oh yes”, she says, and proceeds to pull out the bills that had been given to her. But there’s a problem, because the bills don’t total the amount that she was given. Some coins are missing. We point this out and she says that she was only given bills. How curious that when the lady walks around, we can hear something clinking in her pocket. One of us has been pulled away by a masseuse to start her massage, and we soon see her inching her way back to us. She was thoroughly creeped out by the masseuse. The rest of us, and getting really sketched out, because the room’s creepy, the ladies are creepy, and they’re trying to pocket our money!!! We decide not to continue any longer, we grab our money and run (well, okay, walk very quickly) out the room to the sound of the ladies yelling after us not to leave, that they want to give us massages! *shudder* So we just go to the hot spring bath and soak ourselves in salty, hot water. I forget what temperature it was…it was written on the wall though. There were two pools in the room. One was a couple degrees colder than the other. Most were in the hotter pool. So we sat there and chatted. It wasn’t anything special at all. It really reminded me of the videos and texts that I’d seen/used in my high school Latin classes (about the Roman bathhouses). The tiled mosaics. The people sitting in the pool chatting. The people sitting on the ledge chatting. There were ladies with bathing suits on, and some without. Ahhh…European life. *shudder* It was yet another experience that I don’t regret (you can always benefit SOMEHOW by each experience), but I will never do it again. Sketchy.
One night we ate dinner at the little Festival Square. The food was delicious. It was Hungarian, but it really wasn’t anything special. A stir fry of meat, vegetables and potatoes, with some kind of spice. I would be eating goulash on a different day, so I wasn’t concerned. There is a dessert and I also forget the name of. It’s a pastry that they bake over hot coals on this spit sort-of contraption. The pastry is a hollow tube of doughy goodness. You can get it just with sugar, or with cinnamon, or vanilla…yummy.
Budapest is gorgeous at night. All of the major monuments are light up with lights…dare I say, it’s almost as gorgeous as Paris at night? It really is beautiful. The lights, the impressive monuments and buildings lining the Danube. That’s right, the Danube (anyone all of a sudden hear Strauss in their head?). Wonderful.

Monday morning, we’re picked up by someone from Habitat Beius. We sit in a van for, oh, 5 hours to get to our destination. Then, cause of the time difference, we didn’t actually get to Beius until 6 hours after we’d left Hungary. We were pretty exhausted once we got there. Just in time for dinner! While in Beius, we would be working with a school group from Dublin, Ireland. Hooray for fun accents! They were pretty perky when they met us at dinner, but we were all zombies after the drive, so it was a pretty odd meeting (for both parties).
Our accommodations while we were there would be at a local family’s home. We had the house all to ourselves. It was really fun! There were multiple beds crammed into each room. Good vibes, and good times!
The daily routine for the week was pretty structured. Wake-up at whatever time in order to be at breakfast (all meals were at a local restaurant – 15 minute walk) for 7:30am. Get on bus to arrive at building site for 8:30am. Work. Short, 15min morning break with snacks/tea/coffee sometime that’s convenient. Lunch from noon to 1pm. Back on site until 6pm with another short afternoon break with snacks/tea/coffee whenever convenient. Bussed back home. Dinner at 8:30pm. Sleep as much as possible and repeat. It was utterly fantastic.
Building was incredible. On the first day, we arrived to a plot of land that had nothing. We started from scratch (well, okay, there was a little bit of foundation there). We started by building the frames for the roof. Then the walls. It was absolutely incredible watching the first wall be put up. When it was lying on its side, I was a little confused as to what it was that we were trying to do…but as soon as it went up…wow. It was a wall. All four of them were put up, then the roof as well. It was amazing. Of course they didn’t have any cranes or anything helping to raise the roof up onto the walls. Lots of people helping lift…lots of people working together. It was incredible. I can’t even describe in more detail how amazing it was…I guess it was yet another once in a lifetime experiences that I’m so thankful for, and that I would strongly urge everyone to try for themselves. After the skeleton of the house was set up, we put styrofoam on the walls, concrete stuff and some netting...roof tiles were put up…insulation was put in the house, walls to divide up the room…by the time we left it really did look like a little house. We knew the group that would be going in just after we left, and they did a little work on the house as well. They didn’t finish it (because of other stuff that was going on), but they added paint and stucco to the walls and window frames and stuff.
Anyway, I’d tell you about Beius and how great the town was an stuff, but the problem is that we didn’t really get to see much of it. We got a chance to eat at a local restaurant for all of our meals (as mentioned before), walk around a little bit, be driven through the town, see some ethnic dancing and musical acts, but that’s about it. We had some visits to local places on our itinerary, but we decided to scrap those plans to build more hours. Due to the placement of the Easter weekend, we could only build for 3.5 days MAX. We wanted to do more. We wanted to help more. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out that way. Still, I’m grateful for being able to do something. To help somehow. To experience the wonderfulness that is Habitat. I was REALLY REALLY sad to be leaving. It was one of the best (if not the best – I don’t even want to have to decide on my favorite thing of the year so far) experiences thus far in my big European adventure.

After leaving Beius, we head back to Budapest for a night, and stay at the same hostel (which wasn’t too sketchy – yeehaw!) as the next group that’s coming in. It was so nice to see them, tell them about how wonderful the experience was for us (and will be for them), and spend another night in Budapest eating good food, and staring at gorgeous lights.

I’ve ranted long enough. Just know that I would highly recommend getting involved with Habitat for Humanity. I enjoyed every moment of the trip. I learned a lot about myself. I learned a lot about others. I had a lot of fun. I met a lot of people. I also used a power drill!

Paris with a friend

A friend of mine came to visit about a month ago. It was the first time I'd hosted someone who wasn't related to me.
I was excited to have some company and have an excuse to travel more...too bad this thing called work kept getting in the way. At least we got to go out at night, or just crash at my place and veg and stuff. It's nice to have company.
We knew that we wanted to go to a different country for a weekend. It was a decision between Germany and France. We were leaning towards Germany, and had basically decided on going to Frankfurt, but at the last minute over a fondue and some curling (no joke), we decided to scrap that idea and go to Paris instead.
I DON'T REGRET THE DECISION FOR A SECOND.
It no secret that I LOVE Paris. There's just something really magical about that city. It'd be my third trip, but the first for my friend. How exciting to be able to go to Paris with someone who hasn't been before!
So, going into this trip, I knew we'd have to be the ultimate tourists. Every major monument would have to be visited, or at least seen from a distance. It really is impossible to see everything in Paris in just a weekend, no matter how hard you try. Paris just has too much to see.
We lucked out with a great hotel. For the first night, we got upgraded to a suite. So Fab. It was in a pretty convenient location (everything's convenient if it's near a Metro station) with some great character.
We shopped on the Champs-Elysees (I hadn't done that since '97 - which I only remember going into some huge perfume store...unless the store I went in has closed, I've deduced that it must have been the fabulous Sephora...and having a drink at Planet Hollywood) and I must say that we were both a little disappointed. Louis Vuitton was under renovation, but I'm sure that wouldn't have made a difference either way (I'm not a fan of the cherries with faces on them. Just doesn't scream: classy, to me). Alas.
Another highlight, seeing the Eiffel Tower sparkle (again). We just sat on a wall beside the Seine and stared happily. We had the perfect view. Not too close, not too far.
Tuileries was gorgeous. I was jealous of those who lucked out and were lounging on a vacant chair. I want to go back again during the warmer half of the year to enjoy this Fab garden. I had flashes of "The Da Vinci Code" while there.
Many sighs of happiness on this trip.
Thanks to great company. Come back again soon!

******

Potential purchases that I chickened out of:
- pink linen bucket hat
- Spring green/blue oversized cloth hobo
- bold necklace

Makes me melt

Beautiful eyes that twinkle and look into my soul. Crinkly corners that make me too nervous to look up. The perfect fit. A smile that sends my heart racing. The right shirt. Height. A popped collar. Something chic like a scarf or bag. Yum.

Junior World Challenge Cup 2005 for juniors

I never really wrote too much about this event, but it was held here in Neuchatel in March. Since my arrival, I had been looking forward to this competition, because it's no secret that I'm in LOVE with figure skating.
It would be my second international competition that I'd attended. That's right, I'm so obsessed, yet I'd only seen one other international skating competition. Also synchronized skating (a little peculiar since I wasn't exposed to the world of synchro - seriously - until late spring of 2003). It was NAISSC 2004 at the Hershey's Centre. I intend to attend more international competitions in the future. I've already invested in a major one in 2006.
Anyway, I love figure skating and have really missed it this year. Sure I've kept up my skills and skated often here, but there's just something missing. Some may know that a very important thing about figure skating is weighing quite heavily in my mind when I think about whether or not I will be returning to Canada in the near future.

Back to the competition, I wanted to be as involved with the event as possible. Obviously I wouldn't be a participant, but I asked to volunteer during the competition and of course I would be attending the event as a spectator as well.
I was asked to be the announcer for extra practices for the competition. I enthusiastically got to watch some of the world's top Junior teams practice and absorb their techniques, styles and strategies.
I was also the announcer for the official Free Program practices, which was also very interesting. I learned a lot from watching all of the skaters and coaches in action.
I was fortunate enough to meet and work with the Organizing Committee of the competition as well as some members of the ISU.
The competition itself was superb. I won't go into any details for the fear that I will never stop typing, and because there is so much controversy in figure skating (har har har).
I REALLY MISSED SKATING. What I wouldn't do to go out there and stroke around with the girls (and a couple boys). It was tough being in the stands, but it gave me more big dreams for the future. Again, unrealistic ones, but in my blissful existence, I don't mind conjuring up these dreams.
For me, the highlight of the competition was being fortunate enough to sit behind the judges and encountering the COPs system for the first time. I learned a lot from talking to other experts in the field and seeing the system being used first hand. I have to reiterate how much I learned from this competition. It was incredible.

I was also proud and excited to be surrounded by a strong Canadian contingent. I have some connections to the teams that represented Canada at the competition and spent quite a lot of time with them. Not only did it give me good "Canadiana" and "Skating" fixes, but also some non-describable moments that I will never forget.

I am proud to say that Canadian Juniors are a force to be reckoned with. Gold Ice won a bronze medal at this event, and just behind them in fourth was black ice. Congratulations!

It was yet another experience that I'll never forget!

Shopaholic & Sister

Shopaholic & Sister, by Sophie Kinsella

Before going to Habitat, I was warned that I would probably get really bored at nights, so I should bring a good book…or five. I went to the library hoping to find some of the Harry Potter series (I’d had success reading the first two), but to no avail. I thought I’d probably want to read something really light while in Romania, so I looked for anything girly. I found one such book. Shopaholic & Sister. Perfect. Something I’ve been told is ridiculously easy to read.
I’m so proud of myself. I finished this book in three sittings. A little bit of reading on the plane from Budapest to Zurich, sometime on the train from Zurich to Neuchâtel, and the last parts of it, earlier today. It was SO easy to read!
It wasn’t serious, is wasn’t enthralling, but after finishing the book, I’m not left with any negative feelings towards it. Maybe because I wasn’t expecting anything big out of it, maybe because the whole way though, the intensity was at the same level (non-existent). I felt like I was just reading. Not for any important reason, but just to pass time, and fill my mind with words. It was just so easy to finish. I think it’d be a pretty good type of book to read in small doses, because the story line isn’t anything that needs to flow or anything.
I think this is the type of book that I should read for a little while, until I get into the swing of reading again. Maybe after I get used to action of reading, I can start up on “real” books again.
Right now, all I want is to read more. I think I’m going for quantity over quality at the moment. Chick lit, here I come!

Oracle Night

Oracle Night, by Paul Auster

Read by recommendation, this was my first book after the For Whom the Bell Tolls roadblock. I think I like stories that have an “interesting” plot, whatever that means. Oracle Night’s a pretty short book, which made it a little less daunting.
It took me awhile to get started with the book, whether it be because I had company over for awhile, so my normal times that I could sneak a couple pages in here and there were taken up by entertaining or the sheer fact that I was out of my “reading regime”. Anyway, at some point I finally got around to reading the book. It was a slow process.
Yet again, as with most of the books that I’ve been reading I started to get a little bored by the end. I was having problems with the fact that I couldn’t sit down for a long period of time and read a substantial part of the book. It was the old problem of getting frustrated because I didn’t remember what had happened in the story previously.
At the beginning of the novel, I was a little thrown off by the “footnotes” that were in the story. I had to keep flipping back and forward to make sure that I’d read all of the footnotes and main story lines. After awhile though, I thought the footnotes were kind of neat, creating a different twist to a normal story.
The middle of the story seemed to be pretty interesting, but like I mentioned before, the end started to drag on. I was expecting something great to happen, but in the end it just fizzled.
Yet again, a book that was just OK. A little bit intriguing with the footnote additions, but in the end, nothing too spectacular. I still don’t know how to describe the type of books that I like.
At least I’m reading again.

Next adventure looming

Tomorrow morning I will be getting on a bus, then a train, and then a plane on route to Budapest, Hungary. I will be there for two days, then go to Beius, Romania to help build houses for five days. Afterwards, I will return to Budapest for a night and fly to Athens, Greece. After two days in Athens I will be boarding a boat to cruise for four days around the Mediterranean, visiting Greek islands and making a stop in Turkey. I will return back to Neuchatel after this two week adventure and force myself to continue on with my dream life.

Booyah.

No updates until my return.

Paris Metro

Back from a weekend in Paris.
I LOVE Paris.
There's just something special about that city.
It's my third trip and I love the place even more than the first time I went.

I will write about the trip at some later time, but the point of this post is to say that I love the Metro.

Why? Because...
- It's quick
- I can drift
- It's a game
- It has lines that still run on wheels
- It has multiple pink lines
- It takes me from point A to point B
- I'm Amelie
- It's not confusing
- I feel anonymous
- It gets you anywhere
- It makes nice noises
- I can get serenaded

I want to do this with the Metro. I'm intrigued by this. And like this.

I can't wait to use the London Underground.

Still experimenting

A couple days ago, I cracked open a can of San Pellegrino Chino. I'd bought it in Milan the first time I'd been there, because I thought the can looked really cool. For some reason, I didn't open it until now. I think I initially wanted to keep it unopened, but I've realised that it really it's THAT difficult for me to go back to Italy to buy another can to leave unopened, so I thought I should probably give this stuff a try.
It's just pop, but a flavour that they don't have in Canada. It tasted yucky. Chinotto is "a small bitter citrus fruit similar to an orange giving an extraordinary distinctive bitter/sweet taste". It also gave a tinny aftertaste. A friend brought up the fact that I probably didn't really enjoy the taste of Chinotto because I didn't grow up drinking it, and he wondered if someone who had never drank Coke before wouldn't like the taste of it if they drank it later in life. I guess that's the same thing with me and strong cheeses. The only cheese I grew up eating was the yummy processed cheese slices (I really do like eating them), a couple Baby Bells here and there, a Laughing Cow triangle or two and of course any generic mozzarellas they put on pizzas or pastas.
So that's the Chino story.

I also tried Carpe Diem a healthy drink with ginko and good stuff like that. I should have clued in when the ingredients said something about fermented stuff. The only drinks that I've tried that include fermented stuff are alcoholic, and I don't like the taste of those. This stuff wasn't alcoholic, so I didn't mind trying it. It was all herbal and supposed to be good for you and stuff. Well, I don't like it. It tastes like something's gone bad (duh, it's been fermented). So I think I'll try it again. Oh, and the fact that the first time I went on the website, the quote they had was: "Don't reach for the stars, but seize this moment" (there are a couple different quotes that they cycle through) makes me dislike the drink even more. Of course you should enjoy the moment, but they're dissing people who reach for the stars!!! That's just pure-D wrong.
Ugh.

Sometimes experimenting with weird drinks works well, others, you just move on to the next and make mental notes.

Last day of skating for the season

The Swiss don't believe in ice time over the spring in summer. At least in the non-major skating centres.
It sucks.

Last night was my last night of skating for the season with the CPNS...they have their final gala this Sunday, and then the ice is taken out. The arena's used for concerts, conventions, when not booked it sits there. Using less energy and spending less money than if there was ice in there. I noticed that one of the concerts coming up is the 2005 Star Academy tour. That's right, Star Academy. Star Academy may be bigger here than American Idol is at home.
It was a fantastic night of skating. I don't know if the ice was nicer because they recently had the Junior Challenge Cup 2005, but the ice was so smooth and fast. I felt like I was flying out there.
My jumps were amazing, and I did a 2T2T.
I stroked around for a good 15 minutes at the end. Just doing crosscuts, and Russian stroking and stuff. It just felt nice to skate. I did lots of spirals too. I love spirals.
I'm so glad I skated well for the last day out. I walked out of the rink feeling 10ft tall. I was so happy, and just felt so, I don't know...good. Yet again, I got that great feeling that I can't seem to put into words.

I think it's SO important that everyone has something that makes them as happy as skating makes me feel.

I will never be mouled out

This week at the caf, it's Moules et Frites week. Mmmm..mussels from Brussels...
The caf has theme weeks every so often (just like most cafs do around the world). One week was rosti week, this week it's moules week!!! (I get very enthusiastic about seafood)
You may think that moules at a cafe would be a little sketch, but they're delicious!!!

They even give you four different kinds of moules to choose from.
1. Mariniere (plain)
2. Poulete (cream sauce)
3. Curry (uh...curry)
4. I forget (tomato sauce)

And they give you a BUNCH!!!
It's fantastic!
I've had moules everyday so far, and by no means am I getting sick of them. One of the lovely ladies there laughs at me because I love them so much, but I really do LOVE seafood that much. I do miss seafood. At home, we eat a fair amount of seafood, and here I don't cook it for myself, so anytime I get the chance to eat some, I jump on it!

Anyway, I can't believe I'm eating moules et frites in a cafeteria and enjoying them immensely. What a fabulous week.

Golden Gaels logos are everywhere...sort of

Someone I know was wearing a zip up sweatshirt with the Golden Gaels logo on it. Or so I though. When I asked her where she got it from (I knew she wasn't a student or alumni), she said that she'd actually bought it in Bern! Strange! She bought it only because it said something about Canada on it (it was a sweatshirt with three patches on it).
On closer examination, I noticed something odd about the logo. It didn't say "Golden Gaels", but "Golden Goalies". Hmmm...something wasn't right.
And below the crest was something about "Kingston, Canada", but there was also another city in there, that I didn't recognize (and that I can't seem to recall right now).
So it this sweater just like "Lido Dido 7-Op"? Or like the classics of "Panaphonic" and "Sorny"?
I didn't think Queen's Athletics was popular enough for Europeans to have knock offs for.
Weird.

Florence and Siena

Last Tuesday (the one before yesterday) was a Cantonal holiday. The equivalent of a provincial holiday.
We took advantage of the long weekend by going to Florence and Siena.
Florence was just like all the other European cities that I've been talking about (with the necessary components to make it indeed "European"), so I won't get too much into that part of it. I will mention that for some reason, I was expecting the Duomo to look like the Duomo in Milan (gothic in style), but I was a little thrown off by the fact that this one was made out of red, green and white marble (symbolic colours). It reminded me of one of those 3-D puzzles.
I was disappointed in the lack of shopping that Florence had to offer, or should I say, the lack of affordable shopping it had. Does every Italian city have it's own Via Montenapoleone district?
The famed leather market was kind of fun. Bartering is definitely an art form, and it's interesting to see different people make their deals. True personalities really come out when haggling for the best possible price that you can (or are willing to) get. The people who are shy seemed to settle more, whereas the aggressive one either got amazing deals, or just didn't get anything at all. You know how alcohol sometimes brings out ones true character, I think the same can be said for bargaining. When bargaining, sometimes I get caught up in the moment, and then don't end up buying anything because I think that I'll be able to get a better deal elsewhere, or don't want to eat my words when I tell a vendor that "I won't buy it unless you give it to me for x amount." I hate eating my words. They never taste good. I was eyeing a fabulous "monk bag". I liked the pastel purple one (think Easter egg shade). The leather was SO soft. Mmmm...baby lamb...(animal activist, don't go all crazy on me, I just say it how it is.) I liked the suede one. I just didn't want to spend the money on it. I can always go back if I really change my mind. I'm sure it'll still be there.
Ponte Vecchio was crazy. The jewelry stores were too busy with bling. Since there was so much quantity that they wanted to display in their windows, everything just looked gaudy. My taste in bags shows that I enjoy a good amount of "gaud" every so often, but this was a little extreme even for me.
Speaking of gaudy things and jewelry, I did buy one silly thing this weekend. A gaudy pink bracelet. Unfortunately it's not in the same style as my belt and bag (that would be TOO much), but it's got big pink baubles on it. It was more expensive than I would have wanted to spend on such a juvenile looking piece, but it was in a little boutique, so I wanted to support the designers...and heck, I fell in love with it, so why do I need to justify it?
Meals were crazy. I was recently going over the pictures I took from the weekend, and I'm convinced, that my face is fatter than it is now. I didn't realise that food can go to your face that fast. I was shocked. Actually, disgusted. Still, the food was worth it (for the weekend). Lunches and dinners were 4+ courses long. Man alive that food was good. I can't even describe it. It was just FAN-tastic! I did reach my food tolerance limit on the last day though. I just wasn't hungry anymore. I don't know how the Italians do it.
I'd heard about how there's random body parts in different churches, and how you could see these random parts. On our day trip to Siena, I saw two. St. Catherine's head and one of her fingers. Apparently Catholics like to have something to pray to, and that's why they've got her finger and head in this one specific church. I think I would have been more interested in seeing them if they weren't covered in wax (the skin/colouring and such). Seeing bones would have made me like the authenticity of it more. Also, the display of her head was far enough away that I couldn't see the little details of her face (or it could just be that I'm pretty much legally blind). Oh well, it was an experience in itself. I'd never seen anything like it.
The statue of David was really impressive. It was a lot bigger than I expected it to be. I also liked "The Prisoners". All of Michelangelo's works blew me away. How such a hard material could be chiseled into such beautiful shapes. How someone could understand form and dimensions SO well that models weren't necessary. It's incredible. We did go to the Uffizi and see famous things in there, but that kind of art isn't really my style.
Oh, something that really surprised me was the amount of English speaking folks there. I truly do believe that I heard more English (sans British accents) in Florence than I did Italian. Not only did it thrown me off, but it was a little bit of a disappointment. I like being surrounded by the native language when traveling. Even if I don't understand what they're saying. It's just so much more authentic.

Very random...

I wasn't there to witness it, but on a recent trip to Prague, apparently there was a Queen's Golden Gaels sweater for sale in a local shop. It was a plain, crew neck sweatshirt, with just the Golden Gael crest on it.

How curious.

Reading roadblock

I've been trying to read For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway, but three chapters in, I've put it back on the bookshelf.
I just don't find it interesting. I find myself just scanning the words, and going through the pages, but I'm not absorbing, or enjoying, or wanting to read more of the story.
I think I might just be a little intimidated by the fact that it's Hemingway (although I'm not sure why it would be intimidating at all), but the book just isn't working for me.
I'm going to move on to the next book for now, and maybe come back to this one.
I'm a little disappointed and discouraged, but hopefully I'll be able to find another book and get back into the swing of things.