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.