Weeeeesteeeern

How excited am I? Almost 6 months since my last class and 4 months since grad, I get to visit my lovely alma mater - and under the best circumstances. I don't like purple, or watching sports, sitting out in the cold or drinking beer ("it's so good once it hits your lips"), but for some reason Homecoming weekend brings out the best in me and I become a fan of all of the above - until the game clock strikes 0, and I drag myself home without one of my high heel "slippers".

Moving along... I am driving up Saturday morning with a carload of Western Alumni, and meeting up with the old crowd to watch the game and proceed to party until Sunday morning. I'm sure there will be many stories after this week - London always guarantees a good time, especially at the Frog. I'm going to be there for all of 24 hours, but oh, how glorious each hour will be...

To be or not ... what?

I had this discussion in Europe, and it’s been on my mind since then…

You can argue that people should always be working on improving themselves – through self-discovery and –reflection, the point of our life is to eventually reach a perfect version of ourselves. Or at least that we can accept and be happy with.

So the question is, how do I choose what this “ideal Mon” should be like? I have definitely identified what could be classified as character flaws, but how much of those are something I should embrace? Basically, should I be accepting of how I was born, or should I constantly be trying to change who I am? On top of that, I find there are different versions of me too – when in a different environment, or mood, or whatever.

A lot of people have responded that you should always be changing your personality to rid yourself of flaws, but I find that’s also what makes someone interesting. Really, the worst thing you can do is be boring, or to make people indifferent to you.

Therefore, I have chosen to keep my impatience, my ill-timed jokes, my inappropriate comments and my ever-changing moods as character-enriching qualities. You’ve all been warned.

Get your sexy on...

I had to comment on my random thought of the day...
Being newly single (1 month or so), I have suddenly been immersed in the dating scene - or rather, the complexities of what it means to date. Most of my friends are single, but definitely have more dating experience than me - despite being 23, I was always a late bloomer, and am a few years behind other people.

Interestingly enough, playing catch-up can happen pretty quickly - it seems that there are a lot of single, young people out there. First, I get my daily dose of it every day on the way to work, and during breaks and lunches (did I mention I have a weakness for guys in suits?). Second, websites like Lavalife have showed that there are a lot of people out there looking, albeit I consider LL the indirect, kinda "chicken" way out (I'm trying not to knock it til I try it).

As always, I digress - my point here is: what is the quality that attracts people to another? After speaking at length on this topic with Sam, we decided that it's definitely confidence. Obviously the man (in this case) needs to have something to work with, but the ability to be secure in yourself and in your ability to satisfy your partner is crucial. Since the person has no doubt in themselves, this leaves no room for the partner to doubt them either.

Just to be clear, being confident does not include an overly large ego or being cocky - in fact, often truly confident people will not talk about themselves, but just exude self-assuredness.

This will weaken my argument, but I thought about this while watching JT perform at the VMA's this year. So many people hate him, or criticize his dancing, but he doesn't care - and his performance is always stronger because he's so sure of himself. Hence "bringing sexyback"... we love JT.

Delayed diatribe (def. prolonged, bitter and abusive discourse)

I didn't want to do it... I exercised self-control... I even realize that by writing about it I'm giving it even more attention... but it HAD to be done!!

I can't stand Paris Hilton. Even more than Diddy.

I don't even know when the Paris media obsession started. All I know is that when she first became popular, I was trying to figure out who the heck she was. But I was still indifferent. I got annoyed with her show, and with the "That's Hot" repeated everywhere - of course she could only put two (three?) words together at a time. She showed a lack of imagination and lived a life of true gluttony, in every sense except literally - the burgers she advertised so expertly will never really be eaten by Paris Hilton. My annoyance turned to anger when she badmouthed Lindsay Lohan - I hate to admit it, but Lindsay is my favourite young drama queen, so I got her back.

But yesterday, my indifference--> annoyance--> anger turned into rage. She was driving under the influence, and evidently did something wrong since she got arrested. Instead of apologizing or doing some sincere and instant damage control, she announced that "it was nothing" and that all this attention has been "hurting her feelings".

I don't even want to say anymore... I'm angry, if you couldn't tell.

On a happier note, I am spending tonight with my friend Sam and hitting up a party with people from my school, and heading out for some good old-fashioned partying (with dancing hopefully). Tomorrow, Sam and I are heading to Yorkville to shop, but really to catch sight of all the stars in town for the Toronto Film Fest. When telling my coworkers about my weekend plan, I came off somewhat stalkerish - but the key is to look for many stars as opposed to just one (which we are doing). And catching up on our reading in the neighbourhood Starbucks.

Finally, I have officially become a part of my office - I have a nickname! Normally, it's "Mo", but during my ghetto, high street-cred moments, I become "Deboz". Both make me sound tough, which is definitely the attitude I would like to portray.

Deboz out. Boo-yeah.

I have become a geriatric...

...and I've developed the need for a cane as well, apparently.

Obviously, this week is one where many students go back to school, and often to a living of freedom, sleeping in, drinking and going out - oh, and being surrounded by people their own age. I didn't really miss Western until I realized that the past 2 weeks have been the exact opposite of the life I used to have.

It has actually been less than 2 glorious weeks that I have been employed, and I love every minute of it. I always thought of myself as a "non-worker", but CGI has been absolutely fantastic! The office, the people, the location... I've even been doing some relevant work. However, this lifestyle has me yawning at 9pm, up at 6am and lacking the social life that I so carefully put together up til now. Emails are definitely the only form of communication, partnered with some msn chatting (since I get it at work). I spent my first weekend as a working girl sleeping, watching movies, shopping for work clothes and... well, there was some partying, but I was hardly up to my "hardcore" standards.

I am assuming (and hoping) that once I get into the rhythm of things, I will get used to only sleeping a few hours and actually going out on weekdays. I mean, when am I supposed to fit in extra currics, a boyfriend, a family, or even a life?? I'm not as alarmed as I sound, but that's only because I am half-asleep...

Monika out.