last night and today
I had the best night last night. I don't think I've laughed that much in ages! Four friends from work took me out for a farewell dinner (I have a week to go but it was the best and only night we could go out). We went to this nice restaurant on Queen Street I've been to a few times before, called East Asia Food Flair - part of the Spring Rolls chain I believe, though it doesn't feel like a chain.
At one point I looked at these wonderful women who've made my job bearable, and thought how interesting the group is. All but one of us were originally immigrants. Shahinaz is from Egypt, Desiree is from Jamaica, Maree is from India, and you know about me. And Elizabeth is Scottish/French Canadian. I never even think about it, usually, except when we're chatting about how things are "back home". If there's one thing I'm grateful for regarding my current job, it's the opportunity to know and be friends with them. It would have been literally unbearable otherwise.
They surprised me with a card which they'd altered so the four cartoony animals on the front looked like them - it was hilarious. And they gave me a gift card for Chapters, so I'm throwing this out there to my online friends:
Recommend me some books!
I've nearly exhausted all the ones I had in mind to get, and I'm actually having a mental blank can you believe.
And now I have a gift card!
So, fantasy, sci-fi, historical romance, lit, classics, general fiction, memoir - just avoid generic crime please!
Am so tired, but it's a good tired. Today was really sunny and hot, but a good, dry, Aussie hot, not a sticky humid Toronto hot.
This morning, after doing the dishes, I had a shower and dashed out to the secondhand bookshops I go to in the Junction (they're right next door to one another) and got a few books, namely five more books in the Princess Diaries series (hey they're fun to read but I'm not paying $10 each for them when I can get them for $4!); then I walked half an hour to my optometrist to get my contact lenses - I ordered in 6 pairs, they're very expensive too - and dropped off my glasses to get new lenses, as well as getting the form filled out for Greenshields - it my last week to have any cover, not that they reimburse you much for optical (can you believe, but in 2004 Ontario's Medicare equivalent stopped covering optometry appointments?! I had to pay $180 odd! Eye care is very important, it should always be covered! What if I hadn't been able to afford it? My eyes were getting worse and worse - it's shameful!).
Then I took the subway into town to meet Adam in Chinatown where we bought a really good knife for the cottage (his parents will pay us back - they have terrible knives at the cottage and we've been saying for ages we'd select a good one) and got a pasta maker (I have one back home but it's not much use to us here is it?).
We split up then; Adam went off to find a new hat at Mountain Co-op and I took the tram across town to the Eaton Centre and you are now looking at listening to the latest convert to Lululemon. Yes, I spent over $100 on a pair of their unbelievably comfy pants - what do you call them anyway? Yoga pants? Lounge pants? Veg-out pants? People wear them to work! Maree wears hers to work sometimes. Anyway, that's not my only confession. I bought a new pair of jeans ... from Gap *hangs head in shame* Aw but they're so nice! Well except for the back pockets.
I had so many gift cards and discount cards for Reitmans, that I didn't end up spending a penny myself, which was nice. And I still have money left over to use up at a later date, like when it starts to get cold.
Here's one thing to be proud of though: I did manage to walk past Chapters with only the barest twinge, though the effort was somewhat wasted by going to HMV and buying both Princess Diaries movies. They were on sale!
Well, I spent way too much money today, but to be fair I hardly ever buy new clothes and I am starting uni in three weeks, which includes working at a school. But it just never ends does it? Soon enough it'll be cold again and I'll have to go on the dreaded shoe-shop-hunt again, and before you know it I'll have to fork out another $270 odd dollars for another batch of contact lenses.
But for now, at least, I am sated :)
------------------------
_ocelott_ has posted a great review of one of my favourite books, Obernewtyn, by Isobelle Carmody, on genrereviews - if you've read it, come see and discuss with us! If you haven't, read it!!
At one point I looked at these wonderful women who've made my job bearable, and thought how interesting the group is. All but one of us were originally immigrants. Shahinaz is from Egypt, Desiree is from Jamaica, Maree is from India, and you know about me. And Elizabeth is Scottish/French Canadian. I never even think about it, usually, except when we're chatting about how things are "back home". If there's one thing I'm grateful for regarding my current job, it's the opportunity to know and be friends with them. It would have been literally unbearable otherwise.
They surprised me with a card which they'd altered so the four cartoony animals on the front looked like them - it was hilarious. And they gave me a gift card for Chapters, so I'm throwing this out there to my online friends:
Recommend me some books!
I've nearly exhausted all the ones I had in mind to get, and I'm actually having a mental blank can you believe.
And now I have a gift card!
So, fantasy, sci-fi, historical romance, lit, classics, general fiction, memoir - just avoid generic crime please!
Am so tired, but it's a good tired. Today was really sunny and hot, but a good, dry, Aussie hot, not a sticky humid Toronto hot.
This morning, after doing the dishes, I had a shower and dashed out to the secondhand bookshops I go to in the Junction (they're right next door to one another) and got a few books, namely five more books in the Princess Diaries series (hey they're fun to read but I'm not paying $10 each for them when I can get them for $4!); then I walked half an hour to my optometrist to get my contact lenses - I ordered in 6 pairs, they're very expensive too - and dropped off my glasses to get new lenses, as well as getting the form filled out for Greenshields - it my last week to have any cover, not that they reimburse you much for optical (can you believe, but in 2004 Ontario's Medicare equivalent stopped covering optometry appointments?! I had to pay $180 odd! Eye care is very important, it should always be covered! What if I hadn't been able to afford it? My eyes were getting worse and worse - it's shameful!).
Then I took the subway into town to meet Adam in Chinatown where we bought a really good knife for the cottage (his parents will pay us back - they have terrible knives at the cottage and we've been saying for ages we'd select a good one) and got a pasta maker (I have one back home but it's not much use to us here is it?).
We split up then; Adam went off to find a new hat at Mountain Co-op and I took the tram across town to the Eaton Centre and you are now looking at listening to the latest convert to Lululemon. Yes, I spent over $100 on a pair of their unbelievably comfy pants - what do you call them anyway? Yoga pants? Lounge pants? Veg-out pants? People wear them to work! Maree wears hers to work sometimes. Anyway, that's not my only confession. I bought a new pair of jeans ... from Gap *hangs head in shame* Aw but they're so nice! Well except for the back pockets.
I had so many gift cards and discount cards for Reitmans, that I didn't end up spending a penny myself, which was nice. And I still have money left over to use up at a later date, like when it starts to get cold.
Here's one thing to be proud of though: I did manage to walk past Chapters with only the barest twinge, though the effort was somewhat wasted by going to HMV and buying both Princess Diaries movies. They were on sale!
Well, I spent way too much money today, but to be fair I hardly ever buy new clothes and I am starting uni in three weeks, which includes working at a school. But it just never ends does it? Soon enough it'll be cold again and I'll have to go on the dreaded shoe-shop-hunt again, and before you know it I'll have to fork out another $270 odd dollars for another batch of contact lenses.
But for now, at least, I am sated :)
------------------------
_ocelott_ has posted a great review of one of my favourite books, Obernewtyn, by Isobelle Carmody, on genrereviews - if you've read it, come see and discuss with us! If you haven't, read it!!