Friday - Bye bye Dubrovnik, Hellooooo Hvar Island

So I neglected to mention that at about 6am, I decided to postpone my trip back to London on Friday, and delay it to the Saturday flight. I decided this because out of all my ambitious plans to see Croatia, I had really ended up in Dubrovnik for 5 days, and wanted to see at least one island. Hvar Island is a lovely, more expensive and snobby Island about 1.5 hours from Split, which is where we arrived on the bus at about 12:30. After waiting til about 2:30, we hopped on a huge ferry that took us to Hvar Island.

Landing there, we found our apartment which ended up being super sweet, with 2 rooms with double beds and another with 2 beds in it with kitchen. We hit the town right away, and saw some of the nicest yachts that must have belonged to drug lords, they were so nice. Black extrior with black leather interior. DAMN.

We then enjoyed a round of beers courtesy of Ryan on the boardwalk by the boats, and roasted in the sun. The boys nearly jumped into the mini-harbour cause it was so hot, but instead we just ordered more beers.

Dan and Ryan

Forde and Heather

Jules

Matty.

Once we were done with the beers, we hit the supermarket to buy the ingredients to make a lovely homemade meal. Boys: beer, cigs, meat and more beer. Girls: yogurt, veggies, eggs, juice.

The evening had one tense moment after an interesting conversation about 'numbers', but all ended well and I had an amazing last night in Croatia with the family eating an amazing dinner made mostly by Ryan (I know!) and then chattin with the fam - not too late, since we were exhausted from the all nighter before, and the full day of travel.

The next morning I had to catch a 9:45am bus to get to the edge of the Island to get the Ferry to go back to catch my plane on time. I don't want to get into the scene I created, but thankfully only Matty saw most of it and therefore I wasn't as embarassed, but I have rarely ever felt so sad to leave a place. We shall leave it at that for now.

Thursday - Beach and Sunrise

The next day we went back to the beach from Tuesday, and chilled there for most of the day... the boys decided no banana that day, but that they wanted to ride on the 'biscuits', which I confused for hunger but in fact meant what we Canadians call 'tubing'. They seemed like they were having a blast until the first time they fell off, at which point all of them got either welts or rope burn or worse. I still managed to get some nice shots and video from the boat.

We spent a lot of the time on the beach dicussing the accents, and trying to guess the nationality of hot girls on the beach (what a fun game for Jules and I, really). We also analyzed the relationship between the 3 boys - it's like they have their own language, and are all the closest friends I've ever met. They call each other Manzo, but depending on the way you say it, it means some other guy. Jules christened me Monzo, which I thought was funny but the guys didn't really pick up on it (elitist!).

We got back, and with the fam leaving for Split on the 8am bus, we decided to party on our last night in Dubrovnik. I was taking the bus to Split with them, and then catching my flight from Split to London on Friday afternoon while they ferried it to Hvar. Again, we got nice and ready and went to party in a quasi-gay club near oldtown. Heather and I danced our asses off, which the rest of the peeps went to the chill out room.

Eventually I got tired, and Forde took over my spot for me while Dan showed his pop-and-lock skillz. That's Dan on the left, Heather sandwich and Forde on the right. Josip, Ivica's brother who doesn't seem like he goes out that much (but danced his face off) is hidden on the left.

We left the club around 330am, and went back to the hostel to enjoy the last night and watch the sunrise from the terrace. It took some waiting, so we talked and watched Forde drag his tired butt home at 5am, wake up Mama with his talking and eat some food before having to go pack.

Poor Mama. Forde really wanted that food... this is about 5, 530am and we're supposed to leave for the bus station at 7am. Were we packed? Debatable.

The sunrise. It was so worth and the perfect end to a perfect stay in Dubrovnik.

Wednesday - Lokrum Island

So the next day we wanted to try something new and the boys had to return their scooters. I read about this island close by that you could get to by a quick ferry from Stari Grad. We managed to gather our stuff together a little late in the day (of course) and had to take the bus downtown, which paled in comparison to our cool scooter rides. The group of us going to the Island were the Manzo's (Ryan, Matt and Forde), Dan, Jules, Michael and I. Michael was also another Aussie eventually going to work in the UK. It seems to be a common trend among Aussies to do that.



The travel guide listed Lokrum as "Lover's Island" - I don't really get why, but it was very pretty. It had a botanical garden, lovely wildlife and of course your nudist beach. We all (myself included) got excited about that , but it turns out it was only accessible to other nudists. Damn.


The travel guide also called the beach 'rocky', which actually meant it was land, boulders, than water. The path to getting in the water was actually painful and complicated, but so worth it once you got in. We chilled on the rocks (the less jagged ones) while nursing our health from the night before.

This is 2/3 of the crew from the beach excursion (Matt and I are missing). Observe the 'rocky' beach... we ended off the day nicely, I got a tan and enjoyed my swimming (refer to picture above). Jules and I decided that we were sick of being gross and unkept, and that since it was my last night in Dubrovnik (which it wasn't in the end), we would get dressed up and go for a nice dinner with washed hair and makeup on. We got back and got ready for a great night out...

Dinner was quite a walk away, but so worth it - we walked along a boardwalk in the dark, by the beach we were at the night before, and and went for dinner with a new addition to our family - Heather! She is also from NYC, so her and Dan had much to talk about, and she works for Inside Edition (the unseen face that asks the stars the interview questions). Her and Dan had a lot to talk about, since he studied acting at NYU, and now works in editing for that show about a Matchmaker on TLC. I present our dinner group:

Someone else has the picture of all the food coming and us gorging ourselves...

The night ended off quite tamely, with some of the group going for a walk in the park and swings, and the rest heading off to bed. We had to prepare ourselves for the next day...

Tuesday - post Hard Kids

So Monday night after being the Hard Kids, we were pretty exhausted and decided to chill on the terrace with some food and wine, and watch a chick flick. A big group of us all tried to chill watching The Holiday, but the movie turned out to be so crappy that we couldn't last through it. I ended up passing out, but some of the group went down to the beach, and then ended up sleeping in the next day.

When we finally got ready on Tuesday morning, Dan, Jules, Simon and I wanted to head down to a nicer, sandier beach (they're all rocky there) by old town. Dan had to return his scooter, so we ended up deciding to meet at Ploce. When Jules, Simon and I got downstairs, there were these 3 Aussie guys, who were staying on the ground floor, who were right about to leave on the scooters that they just rented. Jules started talking to Ryan (one of the guys) and it turned out they were looking for something to do. We each hopped on the back of their scooters: Jules on Ryan's, Simon on Forde's (a.k.a. Daniel) and me on Matt's. I was, once again, on a scooter after swearing them off the day before. Matt, whose name I didn't even know at the time, decided it would be fun to go about 70km/h downhill with me wearing no helmet... I tried not to be a girl about it, but all I heard was the wind in my ears and the screams in my head once more. At one point I think I screamed outloud, at which point he remembered that a girl was in fact on the scooter with him and slowed down.

Anyway, we managed to get lost and separated right before we got to the beach, so poor Matt kept dropping me off on the boardwalk to look for my friends while he went to look for his Aussie boys. After some time, we decided to give up and go to the beach ourselves, and turns out Jules, Simon and the crew were there already. We all chilled and tanned (especially me, since it was my first time on a beach in Croatia), and of course had a few rounds of drinks from the beach bar. The boys made fun of my one piece suit, and now think that all Canadians are uptight girls who won't wear bikinis. (I figure that's better than the alternative of thinking that we're skanks, but whateves.)

I went to return the glasses, and as I got back the boys had gotten lifejackets for all of us and decided we were going to get on the (duh duh duuuuuh) .... banana. Given that my last trip on some inflatable thing behind a boat resulted in my lifelong (up til now) phobia of water, needless to say I was TERRIFIED. Of course, I couldn't show my fear in front of the aussies (literally all of them) so I tried to pull Jules aside, woman to woman, to tell her. She laughed too. I had to save face, especially after the one piece episode, and went on. After 30 seconds of absolute fear, screaming, and the boys trying to knock each other off the damn thing, we all flipped off with some nice air. And you know the funny thing? It was FUN. I had a damn good time, faced my idiotic childhood fear and managed to bring my reputation up among the group (especially since that one piece they had mocked proved able to withstand the ride and stay on, unlike Jules' bikini. On second thought, the boys were probably not happy about that hahaha)

We finished off our day pretty well, and went back up to the hostel on the scooters (with Simon's and Forde's breaking down on the way, too hilarious) and showered and got ready for the evening. Since the evening before we were rowdy til pretty late, Ivica set up a quiet time at 11pm. We didn't much like that time, so our group and a huge bunch of us from the hostel (among them Trent, Dan, the 2 Sarah's, Marty, etc) decided to head to the rocky beach, separated from the hostel by 3 very long flights of stairs. We also brought some food, but more importantly lots and lots of alcohol. We got there, and just had the best time in the dark on the beach, singing with some drunk locals with a guitar. I decided it was time for a swim, and Jules as well, so we jumped in (brought our bathing suits thank God). Matt and Ryan followed suit, and we all swam together at about 2 in the morning under the stars. It sounds romantic, but it was more just really relaxing and surreal.

Unfortunately, it got cold, and then as soon as we got out Matt was not feeling so well (probably due to the amount of vodka he drank). Ryan and Jules waited and walked with us for a bit, but it was up to me to carry Matt (who is not a little boy) up the 3 damn huge flights of stairs back up to the hostel. I think that was my workout for the whole trip!

Either way, by the time I changed, showered and got to bed it was 6 in the morning, and a night very well spent. Watched the sunrise on the terrace, and headed to bed... a perfect 2nd day in Dubrovnik.

Several matters to take care of...

So I broke my promise to myself to write in my blog everyday, and now that I have to look back at my trip retrospectively, I am sure I am going to miss some really funny and good stories. But que sera, sera, I can't help that and I will update it regardless. I am going to preface the next few posts about Croatia by saying that it was the best week (6 days really) of my life. That is all.

The Hard Kids

I don't even know where to begin... Croatia is blowing my mofoin' mind. I could and should leave it at that, but I need to write it all since I am completely overwhelmed with the experience of today. The picture above was the view from our hostel balcony at 3am last night by the way, the moon looked amazing.

So today started off with me sleeping in and Phil leaving, which was sad... what a 'great bloke'. We started talking with these new guys from the US, Ali and Paul who rented scooters yesterday and were selling the experience to us hardcore. So the 7 of us - Ivice (the owner), Jules, Paul, Ali, Trent (new guy too), Dan and I all rented scooters, with Jules on Dans with him and me on Paul's. We decided to go down south, along the coast, with Ivice as our guide and riding the scooters. I have to say, riding up and downhill on a scooter going like 50km/h will make you realize how fragile you are. The first 15 mins of the trip, my internal monologue consisted of constant screaming inside my head, and my life flashing in front of my eyes when we almost crashed into Ali (who ended up crashing later, oh my).
This is us at the first stop of the trip. This is not even the most beautiful part of the trip, but I like the fact that I'm smiling as opposed to being in constant stress mode on the scooter hahaha. The next pic is from the same stop, but to keep in mind, the background of that pic, which I didn't show, was a huge cluster of hotels that are still damaged and broken down from all the bombings that happened 15 years ago, that are still in line to being restored. However, the coast has the constant juxtaposition of damaged buildings with shrapnel still in them and gorgeous water, like this:
So anyway, all of us on our scooters ended up looking like a gang and taking over the road, so we decided we were cool enough to give ourselves a name, hence the Hard Kids. Us hard kids got led to a place for lunch, which was great cause I hadn't eaten yet at this point. The restaurant was on the water of course, and the meal consisted of amazing free appetizers of fish and anchovies, followed by two huge platters of everything from the sea you can find, which yes, mom and dad, I actually ate!
That was followed by two huge platters of fresh fish grilled from the sea, and the entire lunch we drank copious amounts of wine and local spirits made with herbs. Our waiter was awesome, and told Jules and Dan and I about the restaurant secrets, which ended up being taking shots of some extremely potent stuff from a bottle shaped like a naked lady. Can we say random??
On a side note, we saw a tiny kitten on our way into the restaurant, who I couldn't help but take and cuddle, and the same waiter gave a huge meal of ham and milk and such. I was going to adopt him, and named him Moe Junior, but of course as soon as he was fed he left us for greener pastures. He was named our official mascot though, and made me seriously consider getting a cat when I get back. I can't rotate the picture, but damn he's cute.

On the way back, we saw a waterfall, and breathtaking scenery which I could describe but really the pictures say it all. And I have to get back to drinking to destress from a tough day. But I managed to pass my camera to Jules during the ride and she got an awesome picture of us on the scooter (mind you, the passing of the camera was while in motion as was the pic). I am just in constant disbelief that I am here, and cannot wait to come back again. I am being called by my fabulous roomies to come share some wine and great conversation - what more can a girl ask for???

I heart Dublin...a nd now Croatia

Awww, aren't we cute? Model Polish children, our parents raised us well. Needless to say, I ended my trip in Dublin with a bang - had a little party at the Bartman's and Soren's place that I couldn't deny myself going to, despite the liver going through some painful times this weekend. They really know how to party in Ireland, including dance parties as well:

There's Chris the Swede, and the poles who are all bustin a move - we were pretty damn good I have to admit.

Today I left for my trip to Dubrovnik, Croatia in the afternoon and get here at 7pm. I have literally been here 6 hours and I love it here so much I want to move here! I got picked up at the airport by the manager of the house I am staying in and he drove me the 45 minutes it takes to get to the inside of the city. On the way, we stopped on the highway to take some pictures, and he also took me the long way to show me the buildings that have been bombed and not fixed yet. We then literally dropped my bags off and then went to meet the rest of the lodgers for dinner. Dinner was a restaurant right on the water serving the catch of the day. Big moment for Mon: I ate oysters! And had some honey schnapps (homemade of course) to wash it down, as well as fish and wine. Perfect evening in really lovely company comprised of Ivice the owner, Phil the Brit, Dan the NY'er and Julia and Simon the Aussies. We had great conversation, consisting mostly of me laughing at the various expressions that Phil uses - git, sod, bugger, wanker etc. We also discussed the notion of retoxing versus detoxing, and we played the animal game (will have to introduce this into Canadian culture). We finished off with a walk in the old town which looks basically like this:

Above is my own actual picture. I am in heaven people!

Dublin

So Dublin is craaaaazy! I got here on Thursday evening, and Bart and his roomie Soren welcomed me very nicely into their home. Both had come from work (I tend to forget that people aren't on vacation like moi) and we chilled in their place. Bartek and I went to this pretty cool tapas place called Market Bar and had some fantastic food, and it's also the site of where I got introduced to my first Bulmers - the best cider EVER. I am inlove with this drink - it's basically a low percentage cider/beer that tastes like water. Yummm. Anyway, we then went for martini's at a fancy place called Morgan's in Temple Bar and finished off with me having my first pint of Guinness at a pub with local musicians playing. I can't wait to download the pictures, cause that is my favourite shot of the trip so far.

Friday I woke up a little later and cleaned the guys' apartment as a thank you - and also because the woman in me had to clean a boy apartment. I then went for a trip to Howth, a kind of spontaneous idea that Bart said would be good. It was a 1/2 hour trip from Dublin and the biggest surprise of my trip so far. I absolutely loved the place! It is a port town with a really nice walk in the cliffs to the summit. I walked the path for a while, while getting burned (which I found out later that night) and workin up a sweat (the weather was amazing). I ended up at the summit with time to spare, and bought a Bulmers to enjoy on the patio there. I met and picked up some nice Irish men, one of which had a lovely cane and the other a very snazzy hearing aid. They were, sadly, the most proper and polite of any Irish men I've met here - I have to say the young adult male population leaves something lacking when it comes to being gentlemen.

Moving along... I bought some fresh salmon and mussels on my way back, and got back to the apartment around the same time as the guys. Bart made the mussels and I was really hesitant to try them since I never have had mussels, but they were delicious!! I then made dinner while the boys went to nap, and I have to say it turned out pretty well (thank God, I had my doubts). We then got ready to go out, and made a crazy night of bar hopping and seeing downtown Dublin in all its glory on a weekend-night, which was tamer at first until we got to the Temple Bar area and it got a little later into the night. We started off in a bar that used to be an old church, then moved to Zanzibar, a very Polish place (I have never partied with that many Polish people) and ended off at Fitzsimons, which was a multi-level club right by the Liffey (river).

Anyway, today has been comprised of a later wake-up, some booking of hostels and flights (which I think are done) and some walking around Dublin. It really is a lovely city - if I were to choose to live anywhere but Toronto, I think Dublin would be it. Other than the prices of things though... I just paid $5 for a diet coke, ouch.

Off to see the rest of the city and to try and get some sleep tonight! Which will be difficult, seeing that it's a Saturday night and I feel the air is getting hot... (Dance Music '92 anyone?)

Caerdydd

So I got to Cardiff, no trouble - the train was the smallest one I had ever seen, and I had to sit with my backpack on my lap which proved to be advantageous as it allowed for a quick power nap.

Adam picked me up at the station and we took to scenic route through the City Center (no, not downtown, City Center) to his rez. His buddy left back home early and ended up having a free room, so I got to stay for free and right in the residential area (bonus!). We went for some delicious food with his buddies, who ended up being mostly Canadian and a girl from New Orleans with a Theatre background - awesome group! We went out for drinks after and did a little bar hopping - Cardiff is actually much smaller and more residential than I thought, but that doesn't mean it lacks in excitement. On our way to the local student pub we met two guys (Irish? Welsh? English? we'll never know) who were dressed as women, makeup and all. I asked if they lost a bet, but it seems they just enjoy 'dressing up' literally when they go drinking. They were loaded by 9pm by the way, and we had some wildly funny conversations about European and North American politics, which I couldn't take seriously because of the awesome lipstick and mascara job they did.

Anyway, we ended up chillin at Adam's friend's til about 3am listening to old school music and playing funny tipsy/drunken games and watching youtube. I set the alarm for this morning and Adam walked me to the bus station to catch my plane to Dublin - and here I am! I've already heard tons of Polish and seen tons of stores with Polska written all over them. I feel somewhat home here, I can see the allure for all our young peeps to be moving here.

On a side note, I have to comment on the 3 most important men in my life (other than Dad and Adam) - in no particular order are Robin Thicke, Michael Buble and Timbaland. Their music is what keeps me going on all these buses and airplanes, it's so comforting to hear some nice American music sometimes haha. Also, I just finished reading The 5 People You'll Meet in Heaven and Tipping Point, which are both amazing books.

Vacationing is really great... although I'm much more sentimental than I thought - I miss everyone!! Hopefully I can move past this sucker moment - maybe a nice Guinness on a patio somewhere soon, oh in about 10 mins, will help.

Cheers to Eire!! (That's Dublin in Gaelic)

London - over

I have only a few minutes until my train to Bath and then on to Cardiff, but I wanted to post about how crappy this morning was (what a great introduction hahaha).

Not only did I sleep in, but I walked into my room after my shower and there were 2 strangers guys in it! Turns out they're not so much stranger as they live in my room too, but they have been out all night the past 2 nights and therefore we always missed each other. I always knew them as just the backpacks in the two empty beds.

Moving on, I couldn't access any internet, and went to a library - they conned me into signing up for an account (free at least) so that I could use the internet, only to find out that they had no free computers. Thankfully the librarian noticed my frustration and helped me find my train to Bath, leaving at 11:30.

I knew I was cutting it close to make it, but London obviously doesn't want me to leave. I had to switch trains 3 times because of technical difficulties, and was stuck on the damn tube for an hour. I am now wasting some time before my train at 1 (ouch) so that I can speed through Bath and then meet with Adam at Cardiff for some well-deserved beers.

Here's to a fantastic night and I hope I make my flight to Dublin tomorrow...

London con't

So apparently I am not allowed to access my blog website from my hostel due to 'unsavoury content'. I really don't think that I write anything scandalous... actually on that note can I just say - the men in London are damn hot!! All the ladies should make their way over here ASAP (especially you Eves). It seems my hostel is within walking distance of the working area of town - it is crawling with tall, dark and handsome men in suits (did I mention I have a weakness for guys in suits?? damn.)

Hmm, anyway... so otherwise London is absolutely lovely. I keep either singing 'A Foggy Day in Londontown' or 'London Bridge is Falling Down' as I walk around (Loser? Yes.) I went for a very long walk last evening/night and the most notable event was my visit on the London Eye which would have been very enjoyable had it not contained a nursing mother the ENTIRE TIME. I had to keep looking on way in order to not be a pervert. Therefore I have a LOT of pictures of the East side of the city, and missing the rest of the 360 view. I walked along the Thames for quite some time, and apparently almost bumped into some British celebrity but I have no idea who. I got back later at night, and met my two Aussie roomies (who I suspect may be a lesbian couple, but I really don't know - wishful thinking?) who are awesome.

This morning woke up a little late, but managed to see Tower Bridge and the Tower, Buckingham Palace and the surrounding park (layed on the grass for a while, heavenly) and walk up through Oxford and Piccadilly Cricus, the British Museum and then to meet Sam at Covent Garden. Overall, I absolutely adore London but I can definitely get the sense that people are very class-oriented here. I was wearing my short shorts, which would not be looked at twice in TO, but as I was walking through Regent Sts and around the expensive stores I was getting stared down unkindly. Note to seld - wear nice pants next time. I think my favourite part of London is Soho, where it's much more chill and 'hip' than anything I've seen - kinda reminded me of the Latin Quarters in Paris.

I met with Sam in the afternoon, and she finished her last essay of the year (yay!) after I distracted her from it all weekend. We were on a mission to find skinny jeans and nice flats, and I'm happy to say we were both successful and then some. We finished off by going for dinner in an amazing pub called Churchill Arms in Notting Hill, which actually looks like a fish and chips pub but ended up serving delicious Thai food. Great night!!

Tomorrow I am getting up damn early to make sure I can hit up Bath before I head to Cardiff to party with Adam - university styles. Very exciting!

On a side note, I would just like to remind anyone visiting here that it is damn expensive in the UK - I keep forgetting that to convert you have to double the amount of pounds you're spending, and it hurts everytime.

Cheerio! (Trying to be more English)

My first impression of London...

Ok, Adam, you were right... I have been in London all of 2 hours and it is AMAZING! I got dropped off by an angry bus driver (he had issues) after a 2 hours taking some crazy ass detours because there was a huge accident on the highway. The stop was kinda in the middle of a busy intersection, and I decided to just walk north to see if I could get my bearings.

After about 5 mins of walking, I look up and realize I am right under Westminster Abbey among a hoard of tourists. I look around and there is the Clock Tower, and Parliament and I can see the Millenium wheel off in the distance. The whole city is just covered in history, you can almost see what it looked like centuries ago. The people on the other hand don't seem to like foreigners, but they are polite enough and I really attempt to keep the convos brief and use my 'filter'.

I am now in some hostel where it seems that a bunch of high school German kids have decided to take over (as they usually do) and be highly annoying so I am escaping to visit London by nighttime. My one goal tonight is to walk along the Thames and face my fear of heights and take a ride on the Wheel - by myself!

P.S. On a side note, the amount of Polish people I've already identified in London is ridiculous - we really are taking over the West.

The eagle has landed

I get treated right abroad, damn. Not even here for 24 hours and I get roses from a Rhodes Scholar!!

Let me start at the beginning... I left Canada on Friday afternoon, with a flight that lands at 5am local time (aka 12am our time, which is ideally the time you are asleep). Let me preface this whole post by saying that I spent the week before leaving trying to exhaust myself so that I would sleep on the plane. That plan failed. I did not get any sleep until last night at 530am.

So I landed at 430, and then had to wait all the way til 715 to get a bus that travelled to Oxford. Once I got here, I had trouble contacting Sam so I didn't end up seeing her til about 930! At that point though, none of that mattered because I was soooo happy to see her.


The weather yesterday was perfect, which was amazing because Sam had planned a slightly early picnic in honour of her birthday. I felt like I was still back home until I realized the picnic was just outside Oxford on the grounds surrounding a castle where Churchill was born. Say what!?!? Sam's friends are awesome, and mostly Canadian anyway, and we enjoyed some very satisfying food on the grass while watching the ducks on the nearby pond. It was heaven - I even passed out for a quick nap.


At the end of the picnic, there was talk of some ball - it turns out this is quite common among these British types! So we decided at 5 in the afternoon to go to a ball somewhere on campus. I got to get pretty and party with Sam once again... ah the Western days (I know we're sideways, but don't we look great?). We went to this swingin partay dressed to the nines, where I proceeded to down 3-4 vodka martinis like I was back in first year again. Let's just say that this, coupled with no sleep and fun in the sun = Mon having a GOOD TIME (and trying to imitate funny accents). I vaguely remember being walked home by a Polish (of course) very kind and gentlemanly friend of Sam's, after which I fell asleep around 530am.

Let's just say this morning was rough. And not even, because I realized that jet lag applies to even hangovers - by 8pm, at the formal dinner that we were attending with Lord Butler, it hit me like a ton of bricks. That tasted of vodka. And some tapas I had while out sightseeing Oxford. While I was eating duck meat. Riiiiiiiight...

Anyway, Shane has come to visit now and we had an amazing evening of catch up and talking... it's off to London tomorrow morning!

What the bleep?

I take the idea of parenthood very seriously. The idea of being a parent is so serious that I'd rather not even have kids if there's any prospect of scarring them or being an unstable parent.

That being said, I put the same standards on the rest of society. Unfortunately, the ability to procreate that's given to almost every living thing (except mules, but that's a separate story). I'm not promoting some fascist way of controlling the population, but I just wish that people were more self-aware and critical of what they can really offer a child. Otherwise this happens.

I know every generation always thinks that society is becoming more Sodom and Gomorrah as time goes by, but I really think there's something going terribly wrong in today's communities. From what I know, the mother was always assumed to be the stable, loving, trustworthy, self-sacrificing and ultimate parental figure. There has been some disturbing rise in postpartum depression, not to mention violence among mothers and it really freaks me out. I think we may find out in a few generations that the birth control pill was really some sort of toxic hormone that poisoned and threw women off-balance - it feels like something is eating away at the foundation and values that we all have, and we keep trying to cover it up with medication and false cures. I really hope that I'm wrong on this.

Seriously? Seriously.

You know, people always rag on women - saying that we could never do a good job in politics since we get our emotions in the way. To that I say:


Really? Grown men in a country like Turkey duking it out in Parliament?? How does this look? Actually quite funny - the fellow from the right is totally trying to get his finger in ‘stache man’s nose… which we all know is the deadliest move of all (no, not the nose!).

While perusing Craig's list this morning (yes, I am finally considering moving out!) I noticed a section labelled "Missed Connections". I decided to explore what that really meant, and had to pass through a "Yes, I'm 18" survey... it was starting to seem suspect.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the website is sort of a wanted ad meets Lavalife profile: in the m4w (men for women) section specfically, it's where guys can write about girls they saw but didn't have the courage to go up to, or about a crush they have and can't confess. One ad in particular I really liked:

"Monday 5.30 pm Bloor subway station"

We both got on the subway at Young-bloor but you got off at saint Clair. I wish I had the chance to talk to you.Cant stop thinking about you.

I love it! It's the whole romantic (a.k.a. girly) side of me that is completely enamoured with the idea that this could possibly work; it's the whole Sleepless in Seattle syndrome. I don't know what the odds are of someone even finding this ad, let alone knowing they're the target of the fantasy... but it's nice to dream.

What are the odds!?

Lo and behold! My friend from ages ago won (or rather her mother did) the lottery! It was half the $20 M jackpot... so lucky! What I would do with 10 million dollars...

Somewhere, in a galaxy far, far away....

I was going to blog about this recent picture on the Hubble website - scientists believe it comes as a result of two gigantic clusters (of what?) smashing into each other. The most interesting part of this pic is the darker ring, which apparently is the elusive dark matter. Dark matter, in a nutshell, is mostly what the universe's mass is made up of. What's more interesting is that scientists can't actually prove its existence but can "infer" it by looking at pictures and measuring gravitational pull and blah blah. I was going to write about how fascinating it is that we know so little about the universe, and that I feel so small when I think about it, etcetera, ergo and vis-a-vis... blast, whatever.

Instead, I decided to delay the writing of my blog - nay, it was not my choice but the choice of annoying coworkers and cubemates at the office. Some would gasp at the idea of delaying writing in a personal blog (which really takes about 5 mins when I get into a rant) at work, but this nice mini-break provides me with some sanity in my work day.

However, I am now seriously annoyed at the stupid programmer jokes, and the coworkers who are trying to assert their dominance over me and the growingly complicated relationships with several of them, and therefore cannot revel in my wonder of the universe!!!!

My apologies. I think I might be PMS’ing.

Zsa zsa ewww?

As always, whenever you think it's sunshine-y outside, that you are boring and no drama can occur, it pours down on you and makes you rethink things that you think could never be shaken.

I am not necessarily saying this about me, but the past few weeks have been especially active in my social circle. It could have to do with it being spring fever, and people's foundations being shaken up by some extra hormones. Changes in career, family, love life, health, etc. has been on everyone's mind.

My recent diversion has been whether or not to activate the still-hibernating that is my love life specifically, since everything else seems to finally be stable. I'm starting to debate the importance of the zsa zsa zoo (SATC - that initial chemistry you get with a guy when it's really special). If it's really someone you can have a future with, do there need to be fireworks in the first moment you meet? Or can you be friends first and grow into a loving and chemistry-filled relationship? My friend Eva is convinced you need the amazing, initial contact in order for it to work. I am inclined to give others a chance - those guys that are great as friends, but who you don't necessarily want to jump within a minute of meeting them.

I am conflicted because I have a few friends that I have amazing chemistry with - verbally, of course. But there's a risk with trying to take it to the next level because 1) what if we're too far gone in the relationship for it to work, 2) if it was supposed to happen, wouldn't it have happened already, and 3) you can lose an amazing friend because of awkwardness.

Everyone always tells me that whatever happens, it's when you don't expect it and it's usually easy. But what if you miss that first window - can you wrench open a window later?

Way to start off the week

I couldn't find an appropriate pic to go with this post - a "frown-ey" face perhaps?

I got to work pretty early today, and went to the walk-in clinic to get make sure all was good after my cold. As I got back, my coworker asked where I was and grabbed me saying that I had to come to breakfast with them... as I came back up with my breakfast already purchased. I thought it was weird, but got the sense that something happened.

Anyway, I should preface this all by saying we have a pretty tight social group at work - until recently, it amounted to about 8-9 people. In the past 3 weeks, 3 of those people quit (right about the time we had a major re-org change announced). Today, we found out that one of the guys (my cubicle-mate) just got fired this morning. It kinda took us all by surprise, so I spent a pretty somber breakfast trying to go through the process of shock, sadness and then acceptance - that way, I would be emotionally stable before my actual boss told me.

I understand that people should separate personal from professional and that I don't know much about this guy and his work ethic, but I do know that he was a great friend to me at work. And for that I can't help but sympathize and grieve his situation - getting let go is never a good feeling, no matter how much you may expect it.

Now it's just Charlie's Angels and Bosley left...

You know what's really hot?

When you're walking to work in the morning (and by morning I mean before 8 am, when people haven't even eaten yet), and the person in front of you decides she needs a breakfast cigarette. Seriously, I really love to witness an old broad in front of me, hacking up a lung and blowing smoke in my face. It makes my day.

P.S. I just HAD to write this blog so I could put up this picture - isn't it a riot?!

Being sick sucks

Remember the days when you were a kid when you would pray to get sick?? It wouldn't happen often, but then you could stay home and watch cartoons and eat all the chicken noodle soup you wanted... ah, those were the days.

These days, getting sick is a curse - not only did I lose Sunday, 1 of the precious 2 days I have off and yesterday. Taking a sick day from work is no longer considered a vacation: I think I was more stressed about missing a deadline/meeting at work being away between my fits of coughing and naps due to drowsy medication. My teacher (a.k.a. boss) is no longer sympathetic - work has to get done, and I don't have a few days to do the make-up homework.

Other than that though, I actually got bored of the TV and watching movies - who would have thought!? It was nice to get dressed up and ready for work this morning, and to see all my colleagues - in general, rejoin the normal, social world. I guess this is what it means to be an adult... I think I just might be growing up.

Where is the line?

With some recent events in the past few days, I've realized that I am sometimes a really naive and gullible person.

I'm not refering to life in general (although I don't fare much better there), but it's the working world, and the behaviour that really has me confused.

This morning, I found myself in a pickle (I've been waiting to use that saying for quite some time now) because of a possibly inappropriate and line-crossing event that happened last night with a coworker. I don't even want to go into details, but I will just say that it was highly unexpected, and while I understand that consultants are humans too, I am seriously considering if this will have any reprecussions on my life - after all, what comes around goes around, and you can't always trust everybody right?

Because of the recent changes going on at work, I was until then an oblivious and happy-go-lucky member in my team. But since there has been some serious org changes, I've been hearing a lot of "you may like your team, but you really have to think of yourself in the end" or "the only person you can count on is yourself" and so on. To be honest, ever since this attitude reared its ugly head at work, the comraderie and quality of work has diminshed greatly - even I, the filter-free and optimist young one have been infected with the "self" vibe.

On that note, I have been seriously debating the issue of trusting people at work - I feel that I can trust friends if they give me a verbal promise not to betray my secrets, but what value does a verbal agreement have at work? If it means getting ahead, or looking good in front of the boss or, horror of all horrors, being fired, would anyone really protect their colleague? The line between friend and coworker invisible during good times, but it becomes painfully obvious when the tough gets goin.

I still intend to keep a positive attitude, but maybe yesterday was the time for my reality check. And really think about the power of my "word" - and watch what I say.

Heart attacks no longer killer?

I found this article on digg.com (after reading about all the controversy - wow, nerds get fiesty when provoked) today and found it fascinating.

It talks about what it really means to be "dead", and how it's almost the opposite of what we've been teaching our medical community until now.

From what I understand, when someone has a heart attack, it's true that their heart stops beating, but the cells actually remain alive and intact. It's only when those cells become re-oxygenated (which is usually during the time the paramedics revive the victim) that they release their self-destructive "stuff" and start to die. According to the article, a new strategy is to actually cool down the body of a heart attack victim and "bring them back to life" really slowly and avoid the release of the "suicidal chemical" the mitochondria would otherwise release. It has an 85% success rate, while the old (a.k.a. current) method had only 15% of people survive. It's amazing!

To think that we could look back in a few decades from now and realize that we could have saved so many people and we had the strategy all wrong. Kind of like how a few centuries ago, people would bury the "dead" who were really just in comas and would actually wake back up while buried. ("Saved by the bell" apparently stems from that, when during the Plague people were being buried alive but unconscious, and morticians started tying bells to their hands before being buried so that they could save them if they woke up. Can we say creepy?!)

I wonder how this topic came about....

"Hey, you know what we should study?"
"What?"
"So I've been observing lesbian women and I've noticed that they all look bigger than the heterosexual women. I think we should get someone to fund us for a 5 year study and find out if that's true or not. This could have serious reprecussions on society-at-large, plus we could give lesbians even more reason to feel bad about themselves."
"That sounds like a great idea."

An Unfortunate Doppleganger

Every time I come to Markham, I always find some kind of interesting article or event in the world (due to the inability to escape outta here and due to the fact that I know no one). For instance, did you know that yesterday was International Dance Day? I have yet to specify if that means a day celebrating different national dances, or simply a day where it is encouraged to “boogie”. In the case that it’s the latter, I must admit that every day is “International Dance Day” for me (I’m a notorious car dancer).

More on that later… a more interesting blurb blurb came my way today about Bin Laden being arrested. I could not believe that this did not make news headlines all over the world! Unfortunately, what it’s really about is a poor Afghani chap trying to cross the border into Pakistan who happens to look exactly like OBL. Not only did he go through this traumatic experience recently, but it’s not the first time - he’s been arrested before! What’s that saying: “Fool me once, shame on you - fool me twice, shame on me”? These officials should get their facts straight, cause not only are they embarrassing themselves, but OBL might get clever and use him as a decoy.

I am truly fascinated by the idea of a doppelganger. I feel like it’s comforting and exciting to know that there is someone out there who looks exactly like me. Although some people describe doppelganger as an “evil twin”, I prefer not to think of it that way. In fact, apparently if you ever find this person, you are both supposed to be destroyed and/or ruined. Kinda like Harry Potter and Voldemort. I was hoping to meet mine eventually, given the whole “one must die while the other lives” kinda sucks.

P.S. I had to add this article - sometimes people are truly idiots. A bizarre twist here would be if the new groom/groom’s brother was also his doppelganger.

It’s been an interesting week…

In a nutshell, I spent the entire weekend outside - a combination of washing the car, tanning outside, coffee and club patios. I have to say, I now know what has been missing in the past 6 months - the freedom of going outside, wearing next to nothing and just enjoying the city as it should be enjoyed. Speaking of which, gotta hit the gym… no one should be wearing Daisy Duke shorts looking like Rita McNeil…

I also got a chance to see PCD and Christina Aguilera on Monday night. One word: amazing. Hot. Incredible. Ok, many words.

Anyway, during the weekend festivities my girlfriend Eva and I stopped by a vegan restaurant called Fressen. It is a very earthy and hip place on Queen St W, and even though the list of ingredients seems to be limited to veggies and fruit, it was surprisingly good! I would love to be vegan, but my love of fish and eggs would probably not be acceptable (just maybe). But it inspired me to try out new things, and also explore different parts of Toronto (who knew we had so many great restaurants and patios?)

Here comes an amazing summer in TO!

Akon at Zen Nightclub, Trinidad - Disgusting

I think the title of this video says it all - I am seriously disgusted and shocked that something like this happened - and "artists" like this are actually popular. Notice the audience clapping!

Today is a sad day for rappers - Cam'ron is quoted in the news today as saying "he wouldn't helpt police catch even a serial killer because it would hurt his business"... all I have to say is - what the deuce is going on!?

Pearl the Landlord

I just watched this video and nearly choked on my DC - this is the funniest video (albeit a little scary if she remembers the words they taught her).

I gotta go - need to "get my drink on"...

Ever since graduation/my trip to Europe, I've been building a "List of things to do before I'm 25... then 30" so that I can be conscious of everything I still want to accomplish.

I checked off one additional item on that list this weekend - auditioning for Canadian Idol. It was a really fast, and only slightly nerve-wracking experience - I think I'm actually getting better at this whole "performing in front of strangers" thing. I got some really nice compliments, but apparently "have what a lot of other people have" - I think they need something different and original this year. I went in just for the experience, but I got so motivated after it that I'm definitely trying out next year again! This is why I love the list - a personal dare turned into a self-affirming experience - and I can't wait to challenge myself with the next item on that list.

Friggatriskaidekaphobia

I don’t really consider myself a superstitious person, but I have to admit that every time a “Friday the 13th” comes along I think twice about doing anything significant (because of the tiny possibility that luck may not be in my favour that day). How silly, you all say… however, a quick Google search produced hundreds of thousands of hits about the superstition: stats about increased accidents, unexplained bad luck and fear so paralyzing that 5% of the US population has physically harmful anxiety on this day.

It’s funny that no one can really explain where the superstition comes from - Dan Brown insinuated that it was the day that King Philip ordered the arrests and murders of the Templars sometime ago, and that day has been considered unlucky since then. Either way, it is one of those globally-spanning superstitions, and Wikipedia lists it as especially significant in Germany, Poland, Portugal and English-speaking countries… Poland? Really? I think all we need is a nice drink to get rid our worries…I wasn’t even going to go out tonight but now I see that it’s physically necessary.

P.S. Is the reason apartment buildings don’t have a 13th floor because of bad luck? Riiiiight…

Would you bail me out of jail?

I recently had a conversation with my coworkers about Facebook, and mentioned that I had over 400 friends listed on my network. Although a lot of these people are those that I don’t even talk to, but significant from my past, my coworkers couldn’t believe that I would bother being “FB Friends” with so many…

…from which stemmed a lovely conversation about what a “real” friend is, and how many you really have that you can call more than an acquaintance. The Facebook Coolness Factor seems to be to have as many friends as possible, when really you could only stand to see 4-5 of them on a daily basis. My coworkers say that in fact, they can think of 1 or 2 that they would really count on. “What does ‘really counting on them’ mean?” I ask.

To which Kevin replied, “My best friend is a guy who I know would lend me a significant sum of money, no questions asked, if I asked him to lend it to me. Or he’d be the guy that I would use my one, single phone call from jail from cause I know he’d drop everything and come bail me out.”

That got me thinking… sure enough, although I have all these FBFs, I can only count on one hand the number of people that would do that for me. This has become my measuring stick in the past couple of weeks, so much so that I have started to care for those suckers that would do that for me more than those I realized wouldn’t. These are the girls/guys that will most probably get me outta that inevitably bad relationship, or tell me I have something in my teeth… both incredibly necessary and difficult to do.

Point being, I hope that everyone realizes who those friends are (and hopefully you haven’t been a jerk your whole life and can name someone other than your parents) and treat them like gold - I know I am.

We have a new enemy on a very new front

My friend Bart sent me this great article today - kinda random but definitely a compliment to us Polish girls.

Eva, Adam and I were talking about relationships (what else) this weekend, and traveling to Poland, and how almost every woman you see there looks like she just stepped off of a runway, while the Polish guys look like they’re all gang members (and act like it too). And yet, by default, these bum guys get these gorgeous girls…

Anyway, moving past that, the background behind this online piece is that a lot of Polish people (mostly young adults or young families) are emigrating to the West - Ireland, England - since we entered the EU. It’s actually kinda sad for Poland, because we can’t seem to keep our young peeps in the motherland.

Anyway, these British Pirate-Hookers™ [courtesy of A.B.] are deciding that the Polish girls are too hot for their own good and bullying/beating them up! It seems the British males are more inclined to the Eastern European ways, and the locals aren’t appreciating it. Shameful… I feel like they’re animals trying to mark their territory.

On that note, I am heading to the U.K. this June (officially got some vacation approved today!) so needless to say I’ll be kicking some British ass when I get there…

Lent update

With Palm Sunday approaching and Lent almost being over, I have to say I think I have followed through pretty well with my Lenten promise.

I thought giving something up was overdone (especially "junk food" or "TV") since most people can't follow through with that anyway, or end up spending the time/money that they may save on equally wasteful activities. To be blunt, my goal throughout these 40 days was to "avoid being a bitch". It's been hard but I've made a conscious after.

I have to say though, after reading this article on CNN , being nicer is nothing compared to what these people chose to give up! I mean, it's damn near impossible...

I’ve become a true Toronto downtown-ite

Ever since I started work, I wanted to make sure I still maintain some individuality throughout this rat race that we call the “working world”. This may seem silly, but part of that commitment was to keep bringing my own lunch, take the TTC like a trooper (regardless of the crazies) and by all means, avoid coffee like the plague. I can say right away that bringing my own lunch stopped at about week #2.

Unfortunately, this week has become another week of broken promises - not only did I take the GO Train for the first time yesterday, but I loved it! It’s the most comfortable, quiet and fast ride to work - and it’s even better than I thought it could be. I have to admit, embracing the crazies on the subway has neither been as rewarding nor as mutual as I thought it would be. I tried to be nice to one, and got lava-burned on my first attempt [I’m not going into detail]. Yesterday morning on my way through the tunnels of Kipling station, my bitterness for the TTC was coupled with a good-looking man almost beckoning me to follow him to the GO Train station. I followed my gut (and libido) and lo and behold, found myself on the GO - and felt a real guilty pleasure.


My other broken promise is almost too horrible to speak of: as a constant nag to my coworkers and family, I have been a vocal opponent to this unhealthy addiction. But a simple mistake made me a hypocrite this week. Last week, I (innocently) went to Second Cup and wasn’t sure what to get, when the coffee man (of course, a good-looking one again) suggested a Moccacino with soy milk and half the chocolate. I naively accepted, and then tasted the most delicious drink I’ve ever had. Since then, every day I pass by the Second Cup (on the way to work) I have to fight off the urge the evil but delicious coffee…

I can now concede that 1) coffee is a true and real addiction, 2) “subway crazies” are no longer an amusement but a provocation and 3) my libido/men in suits/men in Second Cup uniforms get me into trouble.

I couldn't help myself

So I've been going through a "cute phase" recently, and my senses are acutely aware of anything remotely adorable or endearing. I saw this video a while ago, but it was recently brought to my attention again and it really makes me laugh (especially after something crappy at work). You will either think I'm the biggest nerd, or it will make you laugh at least a little.

Ooops, she did it... again?!?!

So I had a full out post written about stuff that's going on in my life, but I though I'd take the opportunity to comment (being the millionth person to do so, no doubt) about the girl/mom/Girl-Interrupted-in-real-life that is Britney Spears.

I have to admit, I have always been a Britney fan - I can even say she was my girl idol crush at her peak (Slave for You? Hellooooo hot). Every girl wanted her abs, and her love life (circa JT) and her moolah. Because for the girls of my generation, she was the girl who grew into a woman as we became women too - she serenaded our teenage and semi-adult life with lovely, poppy and sugary tunes when we needed the break from the angst-filled Alanis, trippy Radiohead, and boy crushes BSB and NSync.

I really think this is why we are all taking this recent situation with Britney so seriously. I mean, we all thought K-Fed wasn't good enough for her, but felt bad like you do for your girlfriends - who hasn't fallen for a guy that looked great to you but was really a loser to everyone else? And when she got married and got pregnant, we were happy for her in a disappointed way, but we knew she would bounce back because she is Britney - despite her mistakes, we knew her career was huge to her and that the comeback was eminent.

Which is why the break-up with K-Fed was a huge deal - she finally got rid of what was holding her down. Instead, it seems like she got rid of what was holding her together. What is going on now!? Drugs, sex, partying and with two kids at home?

I have to say, I still had faith until the head shaving incident. I became less naive to the possibility that it was all being blown out of proportion, and realized that this is a really, really sad version of Britney. And what's worse, is if it happened to someone like her (albeit she's not the most intelligent), what would stop us, those girls that grew up with her, from having this nervous breakdown potential?

I really just hope that something can save her, because she has (had?) so much potential that she lost in the past 3 months. And lemme tell you, the only person happy about this situation must be Tom Cruise, because "head shaving" is the new Crazy - "couch hopping" has moved to a distant second.

For my part, I'm keeping the electric clippers faaaaar away from my house.

R.I.P. Paula Menendez

The past few days have been filled with shock, sadness and disgust at the Debowski house.

On Monday morning, our street was filled with cop cars and the house right across the street from us was cordoned off with police tape. We had no idea what happened, except that my dad’s physiotherapist, and our neighbour, Paula Menendez, lived in that house.

The story started off with a rumour that Paula had been abducted - her door was found wide open, and her car was in the driveway. Laura, our neighbour, was getting questioned by the police and was really upset.

As the day progressed, the news reported on having found 2 women murdered in a house in Markham. Getting home that evening, the police found out that one of the women was the (alleged) murderer’s husband, and the other was not yet identified. For a passing moment, I thought about Paula being involved in this murder, but dismissed it almost immediately.

Imagine our surprise when news crews showed up on our street, and started interviewing residents about Paula’s murder - her being the other woman in Markham. All of our neighbours are shocked, and disturbed by the constant presence of cop cars on our street. It turns out that it is highly likely that Paula was abducted, by Christopher Little, and then taken to Markham where she likely watched Julie getting stabbed and killed, and was then dragged to the garage, bound and hanged. The details of the story involve a love triangle, with Paula’s husband Rick recently dating Julie, Christopher Little’s husband.

This is really a surreal situation - to think that someone living so close to you could be robbed of their life in such a brutal and violent way. We all keep thinking about the absolute terror that Paula went through on Sunday night, and feel incredible guilt about possibly being just a few metres away when the coward came to attack an innocent woman. I am disgusted, shocked and will forever feel partly to blame for not noticing that anything was wrong. I can only hope that whoever did this will be punished enough for the crime of robbing 2 girls of their mother, and murdering another because of his own fucked up life.

http://www.thestar.com/News/article/181543

This puts a whole new spin on B.O.

I was about to make a comment about how I completely disagree with an article I read (at least on a conscious level) and how sweat is gross.... but I got, and still am, distracted by the hotness that are Brad Pitt's abs (glistening ones, no less).

Damn.

So... back to focus. Reading the news this morning, and trying to sift through the plethora of articles regarding Anna Nicole Smith, I found this great one about how females are sexually aroused and get a faster heart beat simply by smelling a chemical found in guy's sweat.

Mmmmm, crazy delicious.

Of course, the scientists found a useful result of this experiment - the smell of sweat actually increases cortisol levels, which is what makes humans able to cope with stress, and well-being - basically feel-good stuff for the body.

Anyway, as a business person, this is somewhat inspiring - perhaps I will create a product that simulates the smell of sweat and sell it?? “Eau d’homme: guaranteed to make your night a “feel-good” night”.

Oh man! Maybe that’s what the put in Axe? Bummer… I’m always the last to know…

I can NOT believe he didn't do this when I went to see him!!!

I can't believe this... I'm incredibly jealous. Next best thing is to watch it on video...

Oh Justin, you are amazing even with a box over your crotch.

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1740879

Romeo and Juliet

This is definitely something I've never seen before...
Apparently archaeologists have found 5000 year old skeletal remains of a male and female in an embrace near – where else – Verona, Italy. It seems like it’s the real proof to Shakespeare’s story, despite the 6000 + year difference between the age of the remains and the classic tragedy.

The article is pretty self-explanatory, but I just love to think what the background is behind this story – were they really lovers trying to escape something and dying together? Could Shakespeare have been inspired by some variation of an original true story, and used it to write his own?

There’s something to be said about seeing such a tender moment captured in history, underground for over 6000 years. Seeing these kinds of discoveries makes me appreciate what it means to be a human, and a small but important part of our history – I wonder what fossils our generation will leave for humans in 5000 years… hopefully it’s not just a legacy of indifference for the environment and a global crisis on their hands.

The inevitable post has finally come...

So with Valentine's Day quickly approaching, and a few recent changes in my friends' singledoms, I thought I would finally post about the inevitable conversation topic: relationships.

I don't know whether it's the recent holidays, or whether spring fever has come early this year, but at least 4 of my close friends have recently given up their precious single status to be nauseatingly happy in fast-moving relationships.

That sounded incredibly bitter... and I don't think I am, although there is something bewitching in the thought that there actually is someone out there willing to put up with your crap and still be with you despite it.

As an outsider, I can say that I find all the PDAs and constant hand-holding a little over-the-top, although I guess it's not as disgusting when you're actually in the relationship. But with my recent resolution to become more open to dating, I realized that it's increasingly difficult to find someone - especially since I am very clear and decided in what I want in a guy.

Perhaps I am a little bitter this morning... having gone on several dates recently, I had a fantastic experience this weekend but it made me realize that there are so many factors out of my control - even if I do manage to meet this close-to-perfect man, there is always the issue of timing which seems to always get in the way.

However, after reading this article on msn, it lifted my mood a little bit - it's a pretty accurate measure of what you can gain from being single: http://msn.match.com/msn/article.aspx?articleid=6320&TrackingID=516311&BannerID=544657&menuid=7&GT1=8953.

That being said, I am happy for all you couples - if anything, it makes my life easier because you're all in such good moods. Keep it up - just try to tone down the PDAs and get a room.