Here I Am!

If anyone is even still listening. No matter, here I go!

So, I'm going. In just over a month! There's a lot to organize before then (booking a flight, for example), and I'm taking more shifts to prepare for my time of no income and higher expenses. In the moments betwseen, I'm going to try to buckle down with the mandarin, and also just enjoy the hell out of Vancouver (thankfully I have a free pass to most things).

In that spirit, when given the perfect gift of a gloriously sunny day this weekend, I went to the Capilano Suspension Bridge with a friend. I hadn't been in years, and I'll admit, I was impressed! BC doesn't hold back on the showy scenery, that's for sure. We explored the new(ish) treetops canopy, which was fun (going on a rainforest canopy is still on my life list).

I'm not sure what'll happen in Taiwan; I may start a new, Taiwan-centric blog for my travels. I'll keep y'all posted!

In Which I Suck At Updating

...Oops.

This is going to be a quick recap, because the J-Bird, she is tired.

California was perfect.

I've started my Chinese classes, and they're great.

I have now made english toffee successfully from scratch.  Twice.

Bezzer is back in town.

I've decided to think about buying a place, which means I have to save money like there's no tomorrow.

More later, it's sleepytime.

Movie Review - Monsters Vs. Aliens

I loved this movie. That being said, the posters really ought to have "Warning: this film is best consumed by nerds" plastered on it. References to Star Trek, The Fly, Darwin, and other such things fly at a mile a minute; I loved it, but if you aren't even a little plugged in to all of that, it'll dampen the experience big time (also great; the quiet reference to Legally Blonde). Also skewing my opinion was the cast. Reese Witherspoon, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Colbert (!!), Rainn Wilson. To my mind, this movie was practically guaranteed to be hilarious.

The plot is pretty straightforward: a "normal" girl Susan gets...irradiated...by meteor on her wedding, turns giant, is taken to a monster compound, saves the world from aliens, and realizes her now ex (he dumped her because she'd get all the attention) is a loser, and lives happily ever after saving the world from other monsters and aliens. This isn't particularly deep stuff, and it doesn't seem like the makers were aiming for a particularly affecting experience, either. Susan's development is far less involving for the audience than Reese's Elle in Legally Blonde (and love that movie as I do, I don't claim that it deserved an Oscar by any means). But it's the first movie in a long time that kept me consistently and completely entertained throughout the film. No lulls, no long monologues, no thinking about what I needed to do the next day. AND Stephen Colbert voices the President. Amazing.

A note on the 3D: it was fun, but besides one extremely well-done scene involving a ball and paddle, wasn't that noticeable. Going to see it in normal format would by no means kill the film. It would however prevent you from seeing rad people like myself, XC and her boyfriend all wearing sizable 3D glasses over our glasses. Sexy.

Kayak, Here I Come!

I registered for kayak lessons today.  I'm a bit nervous; I have upper body strength of a T-Rex, and now I'm meant to propel myself using only my arms?  Terrifying.  Nonetheless, I'm excited.  I've always wanted to do it, since reading a story about  family who kayaked down (up?) the Amazon in a Ranger Rick magazine, back in elementary school.

My ticker tests came back normal, which things most assuredly are not, so that's a bit of a concern; I'll have to go back in to try to sort it all out.  The issue has gotten a bit better, and seems to be mostly anxiety-triggered, but I'd still like to know why it's just started; I don't think I'm more stressed than I was before the plaguening, so what gives?

I've been more into gardening lately.  So far only the theory of it, as it's still too cold to be adding anything in right now, but hopefully I'll be able to try to get a handle on something this summer.  Of course my mum has the entire space completely packed with all sorts of cool things, I may have to come up with some space of my own...

All Quiet on the J-Bird Front

Booked my ticket!  I am definitely going to Europe, I leave on the 7th.  Woo!  I still have to book all my intra-Europe flights, but hey, now I'm guaranteed to make it to the continent.  Score!

Go check out Mindy Kaling (Kelly from The Office)'s blog, Things I Bought That I Love.  It lists adorable things, and is also consistently amusing, with just enough "made me choke from laughing" to keep me reading for about 3 hours today.  Amazing.

And that is actually it.  I'm boring, y'all.  Bedtime for J-Bird.

Egg Goes BOOM!

So it turns out eggs explode in the microwave.  I know this from experience.

At this juncture, I'd like to mention that I didn't just stick an entire egg in the microwave; I even broke the yolk and everything.  It was a (too) soft-boiled egg, that had been opened (to ascertain its insufficient level of cookedness) and muddled about.  However, at about second 18 of the 20-second cycle, it, for lack of a better phrase, blew up.  Leaving a crater of shell and an inverted volcano of white and yolk on the ceiling of the microwave, as well as bits of egg all over the rest of the chamber.

It was easy enough to clean up that this was funny rather than irritating.

Guidance, Please!

Would you look at this frequency of posting!  You ought to be proud as punch, this does not come easy.  It was a pretty quiet day; fall has arrived here in Vancouver, and the rain came in to officially open the season.  I don't mind the dreary weather at all when I'm at work.  Especially when work provides unlimited tea.

I need to start thinking about what I want out of a career.  This job has been great as far as gaining experience and seeing what the "9 to 5' (or 8:30 in this case) is like, and I've certainly learned a lot, but I'm not sure if the industry has enough complexity to keep me engaged, when it comes to the long-term.  It's definitely a viable career option as far as sustainability of lifestyle goes, and part of me wonders if that could be enough.  Assuming I'm working with people I like, doing a job that keeps me busy and can support myself to a level I'm happy with, is that enough?  And what is this "level I'm happy with"?

Truth be told, I'm not really sure.  I may be less sure than most people my age.  I don't know if I want kids (frankly, I lean toward not wanting kids).  And because of that, I feel like my likelihood of getting married is maybe a bit shaky, too.  Most people, male and female, picture themselves with kids down the road, in the same way I...don't.

I do know I love to travel.  Going down to two measly weeks of vacation a week would hurt (Oh! To live in Scandinavia!).  Financially, I want to be able to buy a home, live a reasonable lifestyle (I don't think I'm that extravagant, really), travel (see above), and save a lot for retirement.  I want to have time to hang out with my friends and family, and I hope to fall into love with someone.

That pretty much covers what I want outside of work, which unfortunately I wasn't that confused about in the first place.  I'll have to ponder more to figure out what I want to do with the other 40 hours of the typical waking week.

It's right about now that I wish I had just one blinding talent and passion.  Everything would be so much simpler.

So, I'm boring.

There are a couple things I should be doing, but...I don't feel like it, and they aren't due right now, so I'll do them later (clearly a winning life philosophy, but everyone can have a break once in a while, right?).  I've been fairly boring lately; I made bread on Saturday, and in my opinion it turned out splendidly.  You can look at the picture on the sidebar (at least for now) and judge for yourself.  It was the first time I'd made real, has-to-rise-twice bread, and even though I had to add an entire extra cup of flour to the recipe to make it a dough rather than a batter, it tasted delicious and looked just like in the recipe.

And that was really the extent of my weekend.  I had plans to go out both Friday and Saturday nights, but instead passed out on my bed by 10 pm both evenings.  I am a rockstar.  The bright side: it was cheap, and what with the planned travels I'm definitely trying to save.  Every little bit counts, right?

Huh

"Watch Age of Love, in which a bachelor chooses between cougars, or kittens. Does age matter?"

Just when you think tv can't get more repulsive...

(does anyone else feel like that should have ended with "next, on Sick Sad World!"?)

May!

Welcome to May, everyone! I mention this, because today, it felt spring-y. I loooove spring-y.

Today, I sampled Stephen Colbert's Ameri-cone Dream Ice Cream (imported by McBeal, whatever would I do without him?). It is possibly the best non-gelato ice cream I've had. Of course, Colbert would say that gelato is Italian, not American, and therefore doesn't count. So congratulations on your successful foray into the world of ice creams, Stephen Colbert!

I also went to Granville Island and had some of Lee's Donuts (by far the best in Vancouver), and also to Richmond Sushi, where we had the Deluxe All-You-Can-Eat Menu (as opposed to the inferior "regular" menu, and the mind-boggling "Superior Deluxe Menu") and ate so much sushi my brain nearly exploded.

Good times.

Making Up For Lost Time

Since writing my exam, I havent been terribly productive. This is not to say that I've been doing nothing. I've actually been quite busy. But most of it, rather splendidly, has been for fun. I've read books, watched movies, and generally just been having a grand old time (which, by the way, is far more costly than just studying day in, day out). Book-wise, there's been a lot of Anthony Bourdain lying about the house, and I have to say, I'm all for it. An author who would never succeed in hiding his voice behind the writing, and fortunate in that his voice is interesting enough that you don't want it to. You aren't looking to lose yourself in the world he creates, because you're having enough trouble keeping up with the world he perceives. Also, the guy knows his food, and as we are all aware, I love food. So if you get a chance, pick up Kitchen Confidential, A Cook's Tour, or Nasty Bits. You won't regret it. Although any of them may well convince you to drop a bucket of money on a flight to Asia for eating purposes alone, so keep that in mind.

I've also been procrastinating up a storm because of all the books lying around; I need to clean my room? Eh, after this chapter. Okay, after the next. Oh look, the sequel is right here. How can I rest without knowing what happens next? Luckily, my room isn't in state of complete disrepair, and most of the mess is not surprisingly, books. But eventually I know I'm going to have to stop this chain-reading habit I seem to have picked up, and get back to the real world. I do still go to work. I went to dim sum today. I'm easing my way back in.

Peek leaves in 3 days (2 days? I'm in denial) for medical school. This makes me sad, but also proud. It's rather shocking to see that we're all growing up. When did that happen?

I Suck, Y'all

It's been a while. My bad.

You'll be glad to know lots has happened. I know, really, I should be recapping everything, but I'm going to cop out and make a list. Cause that's how I roll. In the past month (give or take) I have:

1. Been hit on by the little brother of a former good friend. It was uncomfortable.
2. Been asked out by a sort-of-coworker who is older than I am. Considerably older. I-went-to-the-bar-last-night-and-met-someone-more-age-appropriate-would-be-a-viable-if-harsh-excuse older.
3. Studied my brains out for an exam, and yet still don't feel ready, which is daunting as I write it in 4 days.
4. Been accused of stealing. No, really.
5. Bought pretty, pretty things, while still managing to cut down my spending. Whoo money management!
6. Not eaten dinner (mistake number one), had two drinks (mistakes two and three), gotten pretty blasted from aforementioned drinks, run into my Lapse Of Judgement (mistake negative 46, that was a while ago), and then danced with my friend's coworker for two hours (possibly a mistake, the jury's still out on that one).
7. Started shopping for holiday packages. Whoo!

Happy International Women's Day!

Go here and here for more info.

Sittin'. And Snow!

Just got home from babysitting for a family that I've been with for yeeeears now. It's kind of fun, watching the kids grow up. The oldest is in Grade 8 now, and she's going on a date in Saturday! Clearly way ahead of me at that age. The two boys have grown up too; one's a little less out of control, and the youngest is turning out to be a very chill little guy...if I were make predictions, I'd say the older boy will be surrounded by girls who think they love him, while the youngest will be the one that girls really fall for. He's gonna be a heartbreaker, that one.

Babysitting, even at the ripe old age of 23, is nice every once in a while. A calm night, hanging out with the kids, watching TV and reading. It's like alone time, but you get paid.

It's snowing! Pretty hard, too. It's a little strange, considering that in 15 minutes it will be March. The snow has been a frequent visitor, this year (relative to other years here, as opposed to other cities. This is Vancouver. Snow's like fairy gold here). It's pretty though, and I got to walk the block home from babysitting alone, in the dark, in the snow. A nice way to end the night.

Acquisitions

Last post I told you about five shirts I'd purchased, and I'm sad to say (well, I'm not, but my bank balance is) that the purchasing? Hath not ended. But once again, it's all been the amazing sales' faults. Once I've told you the story, I'm sure you'll all agree.

Yesterday I was finished at the lab an hour early, thereby giving me time to burn before my shift at work. Since work is downtown, I figured hey, why not burn my time doing a little browsing? So I went back into Off the Wall, home of three of the five shirts the last hunt procured, because who knows? I could have missed something the last time! And you know what? I did! This time I came across a Triple Five Soul zippy, which was over 50% off, and really cute. I've never owned anything by them before, mostly because (at full price) their itens are exorbitantly expensive. I've always coveted a few of their things, especially when I see how good they look on my friends, but I refuse to spend over $100 on a sweatshirt, if only for the principle of the thing (one hundred dollars? For a sweatshirt? Are you kidding me?). However, on sale, I can have the beautiful zippy, guilt-free (well, almost)!

After buying the zippy, I still had a good twenty minutes to burn, and decided I'd go to MAC, as I seem to have lost my eyeliner. On the way, I passed The Source: Circuit City which was advertising a 50% Everything! sale. I have to admit, I didn't entirely believe them; a sale that actually applies to the entire store, no exceptions, is hard to find. But, since I'd been wanting new headphones for quite some time, I decided to take a look.

And walked out with a new digital camera.

Now to be fair, I've been needing a camera for a while now. as many of you know, my Pretty (Nikon D50) was stolen on my trip, which is still a source of ill feelings. Luckily, I had another camera with me, my trusty old Canon A70. Here, "old" is the crucial word; it got me through my trip, but died on me a couple of weeks after I got home. So I went from having two cameras to having none. An unpleasant situation, to be sure, but not so unbearable that I was running out to drop hundreds of dollars on the first cameras I saw. Instead, I bided (bode? please advise) my time, waiting for the right moment to strike. And yesterday, it did. The Canon A510, for a mere $120.

"But wait!" You cry, "It's only got 3.2 megapixels! It's not waterproof! It doesn't fit in a cardholder!" Well, yes. But the A70 was also only 3.2 megapixels, and frankly, unless you're blowing things up bigger than 8X10, it doesn't matter. And from my "going out with the girls" camera, I never blow things up bigger than that. I also don't tend to take photos in swimming pools (no nerve-wracking bikini photos) or torrential downpours (the photos don't turn out well, and the lens always gets splashed), so the waterproof thing is not an issue for me. And I don't carry a cardholder. I carry a purse. That the A510 will fit into perfectly. And people. $120. For a perfectly usable camera.

I also got the headphones, by the way. $10. I love sales.

Concerts and TV Shows and Shopping, Oh My!

Well, the title pretty much sums up what I've been up to. But hey, let's add some detail, shall we?

It was Evi's birthday last week, and she and I, after eating large amounts of sushi (mmmm), we went to the Barenaked Ladies concert (my second concert! Hurrah!). It was a great concert, fun, energetic, and interspersed with random little improvised ditties ("Bald Parade" sung to the tune of "Barbara Anne") and dialogue. It was a pretty full house too, and other than one section of weirdly rowdy fans (who I suspect may have accidentally come to the concert at GM Place, rather than the MonsterTruck Rally at BC Place) everyone seemed to be having a great time (to be fair, the rowdies were having a great time too; they were just bugging the crap out of everyone near them as they did it). Anyhow, it was a great concert, and a great time.

Early this week a TV pilot was being filmed at the cafe. A coworker and I stayed on-site throughout the process, so I got to see at least some of what goes into shooting a TV show, and I have to say, it's not that riveting. It's slow, repetitive, and so detail-oriented it made me want to scream. Each scene was shot so many times that my coworker and I could re-enact them at will, and a couple of the people on the set may have leaned a little too far toward the obsessive-compulsive side of the scale for comfort. But it was kind of interesting to see how it all works, and all the shooting gave me some time to get some studying in.

Yesterday T and I went shopping, and made out like bandits! I got 5 really cute shirts, and would have paid over $140 if they'd been full price, but instead spent less than $65 (hurrah sales!). T got two pairs of earrings from Blue Ruby, expanding her collection of "the most beautiful earrings ever". I also spied a necklace and a pair of shoes that I covet, but am waiting for them to go on sale, because they are pricey, and the Jan, she is broke. Sigh. But new shirts! Hurrah!

To Whistler!

We're all going to Whistler for the weekend, to celebrate J's birthday. I'll catch y'all on the flip side, with a longer post, I promise!

Bbbbrrrrrr!

It is coooold here. I mean in comparison to our usual climate, and not in comparison, with, oh, let's say...Winnipeg. Where my friend D lives. Where, he's informed me, it was -43 last night. Celsius. Godspeed, D.

But it is cold. Cold enough that my closet full of coats and jackets is seeming slightly inadequate, and I'm left wishing I had a pair of mittens. Also cold enough that when I walk into a store after being outside for a while, my glasses fog up. Which I'm sure is quite funny for the people in the store at first, but I'd imagine that it becomes less charming after I've bumped into and upset your neatly stacked pile of magazines.

The good news is, I'm home, our furnace works, and even though my digestive tract seems to have declared war on my nervous system (or vice versa - these disputes are hard to understand), I'm going to retire to my warm bed and read a good book before falling asleep.

Whoops

So, I've been gone a while. Sorry! I got distracted by...life. Happy New Year! I hope you rang it in in a less car-accidenty manner than I did. No injuries though! Just a weaker bank balance. I don't have any big thins to say, but here are some disconnected thoughts:

When you can't download music (argh), YouTube is a godsend. Just "watch" the music video of the song you want with the window minimized. Genius!

The weather here is bizarre. First, huge windstorm (again), involving spats of rain, sleet, snow and hail. Then yesterday we get snow blanketing the city. Then today? Blinding sunshine. Weather's mission? To boggle.

Christmas was great, because everyone came home to visit meeeee (and alright, I suppose there were other reasons as well, if you insist upon being that way), but now they are all gone again, and it is sad.

I need to start getting on the GRE horse. Blast.

Med-errific!

Hey, thanks for the comments everyone! I loooove comments. And I looove you! I also may be on painkillers right now. It happens! And also, makes J-Bird a very, very happy girl (wooo no pain!).

I feel like I should explain. For the past...hmm, week, say, I've had increasing discomfort because of something that has not officially been diagnosed. I'm pretty sure I know what it is, but I haven't been to a doctor yet (I know, that is ridiculous, but seriously people, do you have any IDEA how hard it is to get a doctor over the Christmas/New Year week? Do you? I promise I will go to one soon. Also, what I have does not look to be horribly evil. Excuse me, I must knock on some wood.). During this time, I have also come down with a cold/flu/pain in the ass, all of which have combined into demonic choir that sings "Jan gets tired after two hours of light activity and, irony of ironies, Jan cannot sleep properly! Oh no, sleep will not be thine! Ha! Suffer, suffer!" To which I respond by metaphorically cowering in a corner and whimpering.

But today, today I decided I would take pills. I am not normally a fan of pills, I generally figure my body should be able to take the pain, since I am young and in good health (generally). But today, I was wise enough to throw that crap to the side, and swallow me some meds. And can I just tell you, meds are fantastic. I would almost marry them. I really almost would. I looove meds. And they love me. Well, pain meds. Not malaria meds. Malaria meds make me have awful, scary dreams, where everything is crazy and I am doomed. Doomed! So the malaria meds are bad.

Any good/bad medicine stories from you guys? Tell us!