You may remember a post a few months ago in which I blogged about things I wanted to do before leaving boston and things that I'd already enjoyed. This is basically an update on some things I've managed to cross off the to-do list, and some new things I want to do.

Things I still look forward to doing in Boston:
1. go to a Red Sox game
2. go skating at the "frog pond" at the Boston Commons
3. see the christmas tree lighting (Nov. 29 at 6 p.m.) at the Boston Commons. I went last year and it was just beautiful, it'll have to be a yearly tradition for the few years I'm here.
4. Museum of Fine Arts
5. Celtics game

Things I've done:
1. Museum of Science
2. New England Aquarium - went with Stephen when he came to town, it was pretty cool. bit of a let-down, I thought the cylindrical tank in the middle would be more overwhelming.
3. several Bruins games - hockey hockey hockey, gotta stay true to my Canadian roots.
4. duck tour - I actually went on an abridged version of the duck tour for FREE! there are a few free events in boston now and then, y'know for us poor students.
5. Harvard campus

38 days until Christmas!!!! Yes, I have officially started my countdown to christmas. I've started with adding a "christmas tree" application onto my facebook page, now I'm writing my first christmas blog of the year. Soon, I'll get started on my wish list.

You should all be aware that I am totally and hopelessly in love with the commercialized Christmas that we experience in today's age. I know there is actually a heated religious few that are quite against what our beloved corporations have turned this sacred holiday into but I am not one of those people. Everyone just seems happier in the days leading up to Christmas, you almost forget about the major pitfalls of society.

It's been said that the hand the major corporations have in this holiday is greater than we realize, going as deep as the invention of santa claus. This beloved symbol of my favourite day in the entire year was used as a major marketing tool in a campaign ad for Coca-Cola. I was a little shocked when Bo told me that Santa had been invented by coca-cola, that his coat was red and white simply because those are the colours of coca-cola; it almost shook the very foundation of the holiday I hold closest to my heart... In a panicked frenzy, I wiki'ed the origins of santa and after a lot of skimming, eyes darting from left to right, thinking SAY IT AIN'T SOOOOOOOO! it is in fact, an urban legend. And just like that, my faith in this material-driven holiday was restored.

As it turns out, the modern day Americanized image of santa was impacted by coca-cola. Prior to the huge ad campaign, santa was portrayed as a jolly robust fellow, however his robe was often different colours (including green as one of the front-runners). A certain greeting card showing him in a red coat put red into the lead and this was further cemented by coca-cola's use of the red and white coat in their ads. So the moral of this story is that even though coca-cola helped solidify a popular colour scheme for santa, this corporation did not invent ol' Saint Nick.

I can deal with that. Christmas spirit unmarred!

Hello gentle readers, hope the day is treating you well. I have just awoken from a nap and decided to clear my head by blogging before getting into some boring reading. Since I blogged last, midterms have come to an end and I've just gotten back into town from the American Academy of Optometry's annual conference. Midterms went well enough, I have some work to do if I want to get the marks I intend to by the end of the term but it's nothing too far out of grasp.

A few days after the last exam, I was on my way to tampa FL for the AAO conference. I was reminded of how much I hate packing, especially with the new regulations on what you can bring onto planes. We arrived in tampa wednesday afternoon and were greeted at the airport by our friend, Adam's, parents who retired to a town about 45 minutes from tampa a few years back. (We stayed with them in their beautiful home, equipped with 3 guest bedrooms and a small pool). They brought Adam's car and left in their uncle's truck. Adam took us to a mall near the airport where we killed a couple hours waiting for our other friend's flight to get in. We were all pretty disappointed that rainy weather was welcoming us to tampa. That night we went to a place with a patio to watch the first game of the world series, and were all really bummed that no one else in the bar seemed to be watching the game.... of course, no florida crowd would compare to those in the bars around fenway park in boston but this was a new low.
Thursday we headed to the convention center to check things out, we spent a couple hours going from booth to booth picking up free pens, bags, post its, and other cool swag. I'd have to say the coolest thing I got was a laser pointer which I would later use when presenting our poster. Again, we spent the evening at a sports bar watching the bo sox win the 2nd game of the world series.
Friday - the day of reckoning. We were a bit nervous to present our poster alongside professionals who have been practicing for years, but everyone seemed to enjoy it and I was interviewed for the Primary Care Optometry News. I'm pretty excited to see that article, I want to get a copy for my parents to frame. We went out to a place called Ybor city which is basically this street in tampa with a bunch of bars and clubs. The hilight of the night was this dude who had to be at least 50, he was just bustin a move like no other, winning danceoffs against young G's left and right! Just ridiculous, check facebook for a pic.
This almost made up for the drama of the day which included driving around for literally 3 hours looking for a hotel room because the first room wasn't up to the standards of 2 of our most spoiled group members. But this ended up working out since we found a nice hotel with a pool and jacuzzi that I would later spend saturday morning in. We also ran into some trouble with idiotic, rude bouncers which got called on by drunk Adam with classic lines like "YOU ARE STUPID!" and "YOUR HAIR LOOKS IDIOTIC." In adam's defense, that second bouncer's hair was really really ugly, hahaha.
Saturday, 3 of us left the hotel while the other 3 planned for another night out. We went out for a nice dinner and to another sports bar to watch game 3 of the world series (are you sensing a trend here?) After this win, we were really hoping for the red sox to lose the next game so that we could be in town for the festivities.
We managed to go to the beach sunday morning while the 3 party-ers were recovering from hangovers. It was gorgeous! white sand, blue water, and palm trees (facebook for pics). We picked up the other 3 from the hotel and went to an outlet center to do some shopping. Sunday night, we realized that we would miss all the craziness and rioting as the red sox swept the colorado rockies to win the world series.
That about rounds out my fall vacay. I think it was the perfect amount of time, any longer and we all would've wanted to kill each other. There definitely were some times on that friday during the driving around and figuring out what club to hit that people were wearing on my nerves and I was surprised I was able to keep calm.
Coming back to boston's been a shock because it suddenly got cold in the 6 days we were away and also because I had gotten used to not going to class or doing any reading while on the trip.

Seeing Adam with his parents and cute puppy, Griffin, kind of added to the bit of homesickness I was feeling even before the trip. I am definitely starting to miss home, luckily time seems to be flying by. Turns out we are finishing final exams a day earlier than previously scheduled, this doesn't really help me since I had already booked my flight for the 21st (thinking we would have an exam on the 20th) this is no longer the case so I am anticipating that Dec 20th, I will be running around in boston bummed out knowing that I could've been home a day earlier. I am really hoping that I will be able to get enough of my friends interested to go to NYC for the day, see the big christmas tree and go skating at rockefeller center but that remains to be seen.

In the mean time, I am looking forward to american thanksgiving break, which I will spend in long island NY with my aunt, her husband and my lil cousin Jess. Only 2.5 weeks till another escape from boston. It feels great to get away and clear your head. I'm looking forward to being with family and being spoiled with delicious food.

Here it is: my new toy. The ipod touch. I bought it because A) I wanted something pretty and B) my nano broke. I took it as a sign. And now I have something else to distract me from studying for midterms.

Hey guys, Just takin a short break from studying... (it's midterm week). I realized I forgot to mention that I bought a new phone, here it is: the 2nd gen LG chocolate. It's so purdy, totally worth it. I bought it the second day I got back to boston.
I think it's time to buy something else purdy... my nano's screen is totally messed up, it still plays music but it's like having a 4gb shuffle. Should I take this as a sign to buy a new nano?

Wow, I realized today that I have been seriously neglecting my blog. Hopefully this blog will begin to make up for it.

As you know, I started school in boston last september. It was my first time away from home, and it was rough. I brought the word "homesick" to a whole new level. I have never felt so weak and alone in my entire life. Every time I closed my eyes, I could see visions of the streets of edmonton in my mind.

This time around was a bit different. I had my bostonian friends, they helped me get settled in my new apt. It was a lot easier to come back to a place where I actually knew ppl. Time has really been flying by, especially the weekends.. now all of a sudden I'm a week away from midterms. I am a bit stressed out but mainly looking forward to going to tampa, florida after the exams. My group has to present our public health poster at the American Academy of Optometry's annual conference. But after that lil bit of work, it's all play. I'm just excited to get a fall vacay. So at the end of october, I'l be on a beach.

But still, something's missing. Throughout the past couple years, I've come to realize that I live for family. I feel like I'm nothing without the ppl who support and love me. It's quite obvious to me that it's not the actual city of edm that I miss; it's the bi-weekly family dinners, the little ones growing up while I am gone, and all the holidays I'm missing that really hit me. (Happy canadian thanksgiving).

The other day I was putting on my jacket and I remembered this moment that happened during the summer I was at home: my brother was saying how he'd gotten so big, and that his shoulders were so much wider than before. He opened up the closet in the foyer of the house and pulled out a north face jacket and put it on. He was totally busting out of it, and he ran over with such exclamation "I'M HUGE!!!!! OMG, MY JACKET DOESN'T FIT ANYMORE!" I turned my head from the tv for a moment, looked at him in the jacket and said "that's my north face jacket, stephen."
I laughed about this all the way to library, where a piece of me died inside while I studied for immuno.

Hello beautiful people. This will, in all likelihood, be my last blog before heading back to bean town. So this was sort of my last summer EVER, I chose not to get a job and I don't really regret it. Sure, it would've been nice to have some more spending money but then I wouldn't have had as much time to sit around and watch heinous amounts of TV. And without work, there was more time to hit the gym. Other than that, I filled my days with kung fu and just plain hanging out with friends. Not exactly exciting times, but it's all I need. It's not like I ever miss edmonton the city, it's the people I miss. I guess one of the highlights of the summer was my uncle's wedding, it was like a big family reunion. My uncle flew in from vietnam, and my aunt came up from NY.

Now with a week left of my summer vacay, I have major mixed feelings about starting up with school again. But luckily I'm not dreading it like I was last year. I think with the first year of ever being away from home under my belt, this upcoming year will be a bit easier to deal with. The only thing I'm concerned about is the fact that it's gonna be 11 months of school... gotta pace myself. One step at a time, I will see you all at christmas!

Wow, over a month of my summer has already gone by. I'm thoroughly enjoying not working, this is how summers were meant to be spent. I might never have so little responsibility ever again. I spend my days primarily at the gym, kung fu takes up quite some time as well. We've already had a lion dance/demo performance at the edmonton triathlon. Lookin forward to lion dancing in the capital ex parade in a couple weeks and performing at heritage days in august.
I've been catching up with friends and watching tv to pass the time... I'm also currently reading The Picture of Dorian Gray, and many of you know that I don't typically read for leisure but it just seemed like one of those typical summer activities I had to partake in.

The family's getting excited for my uncle's wedding which is happening on saturday. A bunch of extended family is in town including my uncle bill from vietnam who's never been to canada. My grandparents are lovin every minute. I have my dress but I still need to pick up some shoes which I'll wait till the last minute to do, drop by the mall on friday. I already have an idea of what I want to get so no need to panic.

I thought I might be bored this summer without a job but that's not really the case. I'm just having a great time enjoying these carefree lazy summer days. Cheers.

vacay part II

just thought I'd let you all know what I did on the last days of my vacay in NY, sunday we went into the city (about an hour away from my aunt's place). Stephen embarked on a shopping adventure, I didn't find anything I felt I had to have. It started to rain so we left... nothing terribly exciting... we saw rockfeller centre, empire state building, and times square.
It would've been funner if it hadn't rained.

monday we went to some mall, nothing special. we spent the afternoon wondering what the diff between the store "abercrombie" and "abercrombie and fitch" was. after going into abercrombie, we discovered that it was basically the kids version of A&F. mystery solved!

tuesday we went back to the outlet center. stephen bought a nike winter jacket for $20 mainly because it made him laugh. it was sort of ugly.... he'll prolly give it to our dad.

that's about it.. wednesday was pretty much engulfed by the flight home, i had forgotten how much I hate flying. I will be cherishing these 3 jet lag-free months

I am FINALLY on summer vacay! After 9 dragged out months, I am amidst my last summer ever!

It started out with stephen coming to boston. He was supposed to arrive sat night but his flight got all messed up and he ended up having to spend the night in toronto airport, poor kid. He made it in sunday morning and after a nap, we embarked upon a shopping adventure. We went to newbury st and prudential center. It was a good day.

Monday we went to cambridge side galleria and didn't buy anything, it was a bit of a letdown. We went back to prudential center to buy jeans that we had been overwhelmed with on the previous day but upon closer inspection, we decided to walk away from them.... so monday was our crummy shopping day. Later that night we went to see Pirates 3, I liked it but it wasn't as funny as the first two and I still maintain the 1st = the best.

On our last full day in bean town, we went to the aquarium (check fb for pics). It was cool but not $18 cool. I'm a bit disappointed we didn't get to go to the museum of fine arts but that will definitely be done next school year.

Wednesday included packing and cleaning. Luckily stephen was there, he basically packed for me. I threw out a lot of junk... and some actually useful stuff that I kinda miss. (I'm sorrry water filter and water boiler... you did me right, always providing me with clean water... Yes, I boil AND filter my water). We left boston on a 4pm bus to NY and arrived at about 8:15pm.

NY's been really chill. Thursday we went shopping at an outlet center and thought we were all done when my aunt told us there was another side.... we basically ran out of time and we are hopefully going back there if everything goes to plan. Yest (friday) we went crabbing and to the beach. I actually got sunburnt! I would be angry but I totally don't have that in me right now. Life is beautiful.
The sun is shining, the birds are chirping. We are in the springtime of our lives.

What a day, it didn’t start out great. It had been a rough night, hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep.

So for months now, we’ve been working on a public health project in groups of 4-6 people. We basically have to do it to pass one of our classes, we had to come up with an original idea that would impact public health in the field of optometry. Our group decided to look at driver’s license renewals in the elderly population, we didn’t really feel like this was a very original idea so didn’t expect to win. They would mention that the top 3 posters would get travel grants of different amounts to go to the American academy of optometry’s annual conference to present their poster project. None of us ever paid attention to these announcements. And we ended up getting 3rd place, what a shock! We were all astonished/dumbfounded. We were told that the expressions on our faces were priceless.

I definitely was not expecting this, it hasn’t even really sunken in yet. I am really excited to go to TAMPA in October. It’s going to be a blast!

Despite having a rocky start, today turned out to be a pretty fun day.

After three years at the U of A, my brain has been conditioned to equate the end of april with the beginning of summer. Alas, this is not the case… my last exam is on may 26th which pretty much seems like an eternity away at this point. Still, this hasn’t stopped me from thinking about all the things I want to do with the last summer of my life. (Next year, I only get august off and the yr after that I start rotations right away). This is a slap in the face to let me know that it’s pretty much time to grow up, no more summer vacations! Words cannot describe my anxiety, but it is a huge motivation for me to really cherish this last one. I declare the summer of ’07 to be the summer of Jo!

It will start with my brother flying in on may 26th, we’ll spend a few days in Boston mainly shopping but possibly doing some stereotypical touristy things (see previous blog). Then we’ll hop on a bus for the ridiculously low price of $15/each to NY. (Our aunt lives in long island with her husband and really really energetic/cute daughter Jessica). Hopefully, we’ll have a chance to do the touristy things like head to the statue of liberty and the empire state building. We did that all when we were younger but I think it’d be nice to see it all again. Mainly I’m excited to hang out on the beach though. I don’t know where our aunt took us last time but it was just beautiful, the sand was perfect.

We’ll be flying back to Edmonton on Wednesday JUNE 6TH! Mark it in your calendars people. Once again, the return of Jo = June 6th (06/06); shouldn’t be too hard to remember. When I return, my life will revolve around three things:
1) training kung fu
2) running
3) minimal amounts of working
I’m going to be looking for a job at an optical, I only want to work 20 hours/week to ensure that I have plenty of time to take in each lazy summer day. I’m also planning to quit in mid august to give me 2 weeks off to round out the summer of Jo, I can picture it already and it makes me sad that I still have over a month until it becomes reality. See you all soon, but not soon enough.

Bo’s blog about what there is to do in the T.O inspired me to write about bean town.

Things that I have done:
1. Shop.
Newbury street is literally 2 blocks from my apartment and has shops on it like Armani and Burberry. One block further is the prudential center which is connected to Copley place with a walkway (like how manulife and e. center are connected in edm) and together they have stores like Boss, Gucci, Neiman Marcus, and Lacoste.
2. Harvard campus.
It humbles me to know that there are people who are more intelligent than I could ever dream to be. And it’s like a totally different world from downtown boston, the buildings are all so much lower and more prestigious looking… and there’s some decent shopping too…
3. Museum of Science.
Yes, this sounds very nerdy but I went for body worlds with the intention to study for my anatomy lab final. It was AWESOME. They had plasticized cadavers arranged in really cool positions like skiing dude was split in half, soccer dude, and pregnant lady (you could see her baby in her belly); they were so well preserved and didn’t smell at all which is something I can definitely not say for the cadavers in anatomy lab.
4. Christmas tree lighting in Boston Commons.
The commons – basically a nice park in the middle of downtown boston. I only wish I had gone skating on the frog pond but this winter was pretty crummy in terms of skating weather. It was either way too cold or it was raining… who wants to go skating when it’s raining? It’s just not wintery.
5. Bruins games.
Tickets are cheap. We went to see the leafs, canucks and oilers play the bruins; each time it was less than 30 bucks.

Places I like to eat at:
1. Chilli Duck.
Awesome thai food, I love the pad thai.
2. Tantric.
Really really good Indian food, butter chicken is to die for. And it’s a unique Indian restaurant in that you don’t reek after you leave.
3. Legal Seafood.
You just can’t be on the east coast without eating lobster.

Things I want to do:
1. Duck tour.
Half tour bus, half boat. It starts out on land and eventually makes its way into the Charles River which is about 2 blocks from my apt in the opposite direction of all the shopping. It’s beautiful, I run by it these days and it puts me into a good mood. I must admit, I like it a lot better than the river valley in edm.
2. Red Sox game.
I hate baseball but I just think it’d be really fun to go with a bunch of friends on a sunny day and do the typical American thing: baseball, hot dogs and beer.
3. Museum of Fine Arts.
I'm not really the artsy type but right now there's a chinese art exhibit going on, seems kinda cool.
4. New England Aquarium/Whale Watch
I just love water creatures. They seem so at peace, swimming around/just chillin.
5. Learn how to sail.

And I want to eat at the top of the hub which is at the top of the prudential center. It's like eating at the calgary tower, you get the view and pricey food.

This is the story of how I was reminded that I hate casinos. Gambling is illegal in Massachusetts so everyone goes to Connecticut to go to the casino, a few of my friends decided we should go. The bus ride only costs $11, you get $20 to gamble and $15 to eat so it seemed like an awesome deal. But as soon as we got to the bus stop, we realized just how sketchy this trip would be. First, an argument between two women broke out to the point where they were yelling/cursing each other out and tattling on each other to the bus driver. Then a couple guys had the exact same argument only it was scarier because they actually looked like they were gonna come to blows.

I don't really regret going but I will not do it again. I actually won $25 so I got paid to go; if this wasn't the case, I guess I'd be more upset. We picked the stupidest time to go though; we left boston at 930pm and got back at 6am. It seems as if this is the time when all the freaks come out, bottom line: casinos are gross smoke filled environments.

Wow, I have not posted in a looooong time. I probably don't feel the motivation to since no one keeps up with their blogs. *cough*BO and JUSTINE*cough* Since I last blogged, I survived a hell-ish exam week. I don't know why, but this semester's midterms drained a lot out of me.

Luckily I had spring break to look forward to. Went home for a week, and I must re-iterate my feelings from november break that one week is just not enough. I feel like people this time around were much more busy during the week so there were a couple days that were practically wasted sitting at home watching tv; this was followed by a weekend that was jam packed with as much as I could fit into the days before I had to head back to boston.

I've been back for a week and although it hasn't been the worst week of my life, it definitely was rough. Every little thing that could go wrong seemed to do just that. It started out with being "randomly selected" for a full search at the airport. I can't say I appreciated being pat down, it was quite violating actually. Then on the flight from edm to minneapolis, I sat next to an obnoxious 9 yr old girl who would not stop talking; from minneapolis to boston, I sat in front of a baby who would not stop crying.

To welcome me back to school, I had an 8am integrative seminar class which is the stupidest thing I have ever been required to do to school. Not even organic chemistry could hold onto this honour in the face of Dr. Denial. She is the most ridiculous person I have ever met and I cannot fathom how it is she got to the position of power she is in, here at the school. Think of the most artsy fartsy class you ever took in which you wanted to puke every time that self-righteous poli sci major spoke as if he could fix the entire world's problems in an entry level class at the U of A and you will be imagining something that is a small fraction of how much I hate Dr. Denial.

By now you must have either stopped reading or be thinking this rant of mine has to be over soon. And it is, with the worst thing to happen all week... drumroll please... I lost my D&G sunglasses on friday. I know it's just a material possession but you should know by now that I place high regard in superficial things and if that doesn't yank any sympathy out of you, then take into consideration that my mom gave them to me as a congrats for getting into optometry present just before I left for boston.

The quarter-life crisis continues.

It all started last summer, the summer before optometry school... I was dealing with a lot of anxiety about starting a new chapter in my life in a different city (and country) away from everything I knew.

Months later, I'm doing surprisingly well in school and my career path is pretty much settled in that I know that whatever happens, I'll be an optometrist. But there are still so many options left to be decided, mainly where will I practice? A lot can happen in 3 yrs so I don't want to speculate about this too much. Ideally, I want to end up back in alberta. The bulk of my family is in edmonton but I feel like if I was in calgary, that would be close enough so that I could come up any weekend I wanted to. And optometrists are doing really well in alberta so it makes sense professionally as well. To complicate things, boston is growin on me and I suppose I'd contemplate staying for a few years if the opportunity presented itself...

Now, I hope you brought your own beer to my pity party. I feel like I'm losing more and more muscle mass and gaining more and more fat in the belly region everyday. It's a downward spiral cause then you just get depressed and try to eat your sorrows away.

I need to change my life. I didn't make new year's resolutions this year, but here they are:
(1) get back into shape. I am gonna be one of those annoying ppl who eats super healthy and makes you feel horrible about yourself. All free time will be spent at the gym, or going for runs by the charles river.
(2) speak another language fluently (or a few semi-fluently). My cantonese took a backseat to english many years ago and I'm on a quest to get it back. I learned some french in junior high and high sch but nowhere near enough to say I'm fluent... but now that I'm in the states, I wanna learn to speak some spanish. I'm gonna look into a summer course.
(3) stop swearing. Unless, I'm really truly mad, I don't want to swear anymore becuase it de-emphasizes my anger when I am actually mad. And I also feel like it makes me sound uneducated.

So that's it. I feel determined, I really want to work on bettering myself.

I'm finally legal here in the U.S. And to continue my bday tradition of gettin totally wasted, I left the bar on wednesday before midnight.

School's been very lax lately, a new semester has started and we haven't learned much yet so there isn't much to study. I've been chillin the past couple weeks. Saw a couple movies: alpha dog = pretty boring, stomp the yard = pretty good. I liked stomp the yard, it was a good fluff movie. The only thing I didn't like was the shoddy camera work in the beginning, gave me a headache.

Gonna watch the football game now, go patriots.

I can't believe it's my last day home. There is no song sad enough to convey my mood. This will be the longest I'll be away without coming back for a break. I won't be back for 5 months; I'm excited to turn 21 and party it up in boston but it's just not enough to make me want to leave.

On a lighter note, I had a great bday dinner last night. Thanks to everyone who came. Good triple A alberta beef, good company, and good presents.

See you all in June.

2006 has been a great year, it started at a bar called the globe and it will end there. We've decided to ring in 2007 in similar fashion. Although I doubt anything will ever top that night. Other memorable moments in january included my 20th bday, the drunkest I have ever been. I got kicked out of the club at 1230 and proceeded to spend quite a while sitting up against the wall and throwing up sporadically.

In february, I got accepted into optometry and it felt as if my life was finally on track. I'd had some hard times in undergrad, but my 3rd year was great. I had never planned to get my bachelor of science and I was relieved to finally escape. At that time in my life, I was sick of Edmonton. I'd spent 20 yrs in this town, and we'd come to call it "hick capital of the world." Many days were spent plotting our escape from the only place we'd ever known.

The end of april also marked the end of my time at the Univ of Alberta. Sort of. I continued working for one of my psych profs, it was the best job I've had so far. It paid $14.15/hr and it was super easy, we ran experiments and entered data into excel. I also got a job at lids which paid much much less. But I figured it was only fitting to work retail one last time in my life. The summer passed by; I spent as much time as I could hanging out with friends.

Suddenly, I didn't want to go. My great escape was causing me more and more anxiety as my lazy summer days dwindled. I felt like I'd just figured out undergrad only to have to leave it behind. I listened to a lot of dashboard, and told myself it was a rite of passage to be away from all that was familiar to me.

My brother, Stephen, went to Malaysia to fight in an international kung fu competition. He was gone for basically all of august and I wanted to spend a few days with him before I left for boston but Barbara McGinley insisted that I be in town for saturday sept 2nd orientation even though school didn't officially start till tuesday sept 5th. I still haven't forgiven her for the days I missed. Needless to say, I was miserable. Sitting in my tiny apartment, in a new city where I didn't know anyone.

I didn't stay miserable though. Once school got underway, I had less time to be homesick. But I could still see the streets of edmonton very vividly in my mind every time I closed my eyes. I grew to love optometry and was actually kind of freaked out that I liked school/my future career so much. I lucked out, I went into it for the wrong reasons: money, status, to shut my mom up. I'm doing very well academically, I get more sleep than I ever did in undergrad and the material comes easier to me. The only thing is we're in class for more of the day. Other than that, it's basically a walk in the park.

I went back home for a week in november during american thanksgiving break and it was exactly what I needed. I returned to boston totally refreshed and much less homesick knowing that I had less than a month until christmas break. Truthfully, it was very hard to leave and the only way I could do it without breaking down into tears was looking forward to christmas. This year, I took my love of christmas to another level.

The first challenge 2007 will bring is leaving my home knowing that I won't be back for 5 months. All I can do is spend the rest of my week with the people who've made me who I am.

First off, if you're planning on seeing The Good Shepherd starring Matt Damon, DON'T DO IT! Save your money and 3 hours of your life. This is probably the first movie that I've had a very insistent voice in my head telling me to walk out. I didn't, but only because I paid $11 to see it. It is intensely boring, there is absolutely no suspense throughout the entire movie. I can't stress this enough, don't see this movie. I know it looks decent in the trailers, that fooled me too, but don't make the same mistake I did.

OK, now that that's out of the way... I had a busy day today, we went for dim sum with some aunts and uncles, grandma and grandpa. Then out to dinner with a couple optometrists, one who works for my mom's optical and the other is my cousin. Sort of an office christmas/new yr dinner. Afterwards I went clubbing cause it was my friend's bday today. The club wasn't exactly packed, I've had funner nights drinking. But I've also had much worse so it wasn't bad. They should've played more sean paul.. I should've had more to drink... I'm barely buzzed, I only had like 6 drinks (hence the late night blogging), however the up side is I didn't spend a single dollar. People kept buyin me drinks since they hadn't seen me in months. The pros of being away...

As a materialistic person (and unashamed to admit it), it's now that time of year to take stock of all the things I have acquired over holiday break thus far. For christmas, I got a JL polo and an indoor grill from lana and den, slippers from bo, and a gift certificate from justine. Thanks guys!

Boxing day, I got a few shirts for myself. Although I was very disappointed I didn't get what I really want, lacoste shoes. But don't worry, I won't give up. I shall have new shoes.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
well..... 364 days until my favourite day rolls around once again.

Christmas eve started out with dim sum with the parents; I picked up the lil cousins' christmas presents then went to my grandma's to put them under the tree I put up.
Today, I watched john tucker must die and thank you for smoking. And went to dinner at my cousin's place to celebrate his optometry license coming in the mail. It was a funner day than I thought it would be but still nothing terribly exciting.

Now I must rest up for the physical challenge of endurance and perseverance that is boxing day shopping madness.

After my connecting flight was delayed and I lost 3 hours of my life sitting in the chicago airport, I made it home. And it's been awesome; I've taken a totally different approach. Last time I was back it was only for a week, so I had plans for every day. But this time, I figured with 2 weeks I wouldn't make any plans and just chill. And that's what I've been doing, sitting around and watching bad tv. I love it.

Tonight I went to my grandma's house for turkey dinner and was very disappointed that the artificial tree wasn't up! Apparently my aunt had been busy with work lately, so I basically whined about it like a baby and decided to put it up myself. My uncle helped and I asked my little cousins if they wanted to help me decorate the tree. They were so excited, VERY cute!

Merry Christmas!

The countdown to christmas has begun. Thursday night, a few of us went to the christmas tree lighting. It got up to 17C that day, so not exactly your typical christmas weather but it was still awesome. Pics are on facebook if you wanna check 'em out.

Naturally, the beautiful lights inspired me to start up my annual tradition of handing out candycanes at school. I started on fri, dec 1; spreading holiday cheer one candycane at a time.

Of course, the downside to the christmas countdown is it means finals are even faster approaching. Wish me luck, I'll see you all soon in edmonton where the snow makes the weather more holiday appropriate.

I can't wait.

Well, my week home has come to an end. I feel like I never even left, everything is basically the same.
It's as if I'm living two lives, one here in edmonton and one in boston. I can't wait till christmas when I can live this life again for 2 weeks.

Happy thanksgiving to my american friends. This week is almost coming to an end, this is the first time I've been away from home for sch and this trip home was great. I'm glad there's less than a month until I get to come back again. It's so easy for me to slip into the same routines, it feels like I never even left. I basically just have tomorrow left since my flight out is on saturday.

"What have you been doing? I must know for stalking purposes" you say? I wanted to see a move (the prestige) on wed but it wasn't playing.. they had changed the schedule because deja vu came out. So we decided against seein a movie and just walked around, semi-shopping. Then I headed to my grandma's house for a good ol' fashioned family dinner. We have a lot of these if you haven't noticed.

What did I do today? You guessed it, family dinner. It was my grandpa's birthday dinner, I love that my dad's side of the family is so close. It has definitely instilled some values into me that I couldn't imagine myself without. Quite a bit of snow fell today and made the roads extra slippery, and for some strange reason my grandpa chose to be a passenger in my car. (Why couldn't he have gone with one of my aunts or uncles?) Anyway, this made me drive extra careful. The stress of having precious cargo....

Well my american friends, I went shopping yest at the world's largest mall and took some tourist-y pics for ya. I also took a pic of the world's largest boot. I know you can hardly wait.

I'm home and it feels so good. Definitely made the right decision to come home, everything is the same yet slightly different.

My flight landed at about 1230 Edmonton time. First thing I did when I got home was eat the food my mom had made me, then I took a nap since I had only gotten 2 hours of sleep.
Went to my grandma's for dinner, then went to see the new bond movie. I really liked it, Daniel Craig did a great job as Bond. And the movie itself wasn't as corny as last time around so that definitely helped.
Today started off with dim sum with the family followed by shopping at e. centre. I bought gloves and a fall jacket.

So there you have it, retroactive stalker.

On a rainy sunday afternoon, I got bored with studying and decided to semi-pack for my trip back home. Basically packed the stuff I don't need here, clothes that I haven't worn, free pens and post-its I've acquired, dvd's that I've since watched many times, etc.

Good thing I'm comin home 'cause I am out of money. (I hate bank of america). Whoever heard of having to wait 4-6 weeks for a check to clear?

In a week from now, I'll probably be packing for my trip home! Words cannot express how excited I am. It's right about that time of semester when I could use a break from seeing the same people every day.

A few of us went to the bruins vs. leafs game last night. It was my first time at an nhl hockey game and I had a lot of fun; it was a high scoring game and the leafs won 6-4, so my ontarian friends were happy about that. Now I just need to see an oilers game and my life will be complete.

LESS THAN 2 WEEKS UNTIL I COME HOME! OK, sorry.. that's enough of that...

Post-exams, I find myself actually bored. Like there's not enough to study; if that's not sick, I don't know what is. There was some momentary stress related to my proficiency exam (like a clinical test, they judge us on how "proficient" we are in the skills/tests we've learned how to do so far). And I'm happy to say that I passed with flying colours! This means a lot to me, it's not some dinky cell bio quiz that's worth 1.25% of my mark. This is actually relevant to what I'll be doing in the future. So I guess the "take-home message" (as my TMVT prof would say) is that I'm havin a really good day today.

Lookin forward to many good days in my home town, see you all SOON.

2 weeks until I'm home! I feel like a broken record, but here it is: I CAN'T WAIT! There's something about the tackiness of the "world's largest" mall (and cowboy boot) about edmonton that is irreplacable. It's absolutely surreal here, we see the same ppl everyday and life in boston basically equals optometry for me. There's no way to escape it, I go to sch, eat, study, sleep, live and breathe optometry. 99% of my friends in boston are from my school so even when I'm just hangin out, talk of amblyopia (and other equally as nerdy topics) pop up. Luckily, I really like optom (I'm amazed at how much actually). I guess my mom was right.. *shudder*

Even so, I still need breaks away from it. Sometimes, it's hard to realize that even though optom will be my career, it's not my whole life. And I think a trip home is gonna do just that. Seeing my family and friends will remind me of who I am, the values that have been instilled in me which have been kept intact thus far. I haven't been corrupted by living alone just yet. That probably has something to do with the fact that I'm not legal drinking age here though.. but I'm gonna go ahead and take credit for it anyway.

I got all my midterm marks back and I'm happy with them for the most part, I know what I need to keep doing and what things I need to change to do better. Missin you all, counting the days until i'm with the ones I love.

Finally done exams! The midterms in most of my classes are non-cumulative so they're worth as much as finals :S
I have to say I'm not a fan of saturday exams, it really messes with my perception of what day it is.

So I finished my last exam yesterday, I went to harvard square to have dinner with a friend. Then we watched a couple movies, Seven with brad pitt and morgan freeman ==> I really liked this movie, it reminded me of what an awesome actor kevin spacey is and brad pitt was lookin very nice as a bonus; we also watched what dreams may come with robin williams, I was NOT impressed! It was super sad, and I basically cried throughout the entire movie. It's not like other sad movies that have certain really sad moments, this was non-stop! Very depressing.

I decided to give myself what was left of my weekend off, so today I went shopping then we decided to cook dinner for each other. I made chicken ceasar salad, kendall made soup, and janice made garlic cheese bread. It was "delish."

We do have class tomorrow so that sucks. But I'm takin tomorrow night off from studyin, we're instituting prison break night. Without my fave character abruzzi, wentworth miller will have to carry the show with his wicked good looks. I haven't seen the show in quite a while, hope it's still good.

I heard it snowed back home so I made stephen send me a couple pics of our neighbourhood blanketed in snow, any additional pics of the city would be greatly appreciated! Please email them to me! The best pic will be my desktop background. I cannot wait to come home!!!! Missin you all, love jo.

In a month from now, I will be back home! I can't wait!

But until then... I've got 6 midterms to get through starting this saturday.

Hey guys,

I'm not gonna be blogging very frequently for the next couple weeks, midterms start in one week! But I just had an urge to blog about all the little things I miss about home (in no particular order):

colour is spelled with a u
ppl say please and thank you
it's called a zed
hockey night in canada/cbc
not bein made fun of every time i say eh?
the way we pronounce duodenum
it's pop (not soda)
tim horton's even though i don't drink coffee
thanksgiving in october
relatively competent bank tellers
ppl knowing what you mean when you say toque
it's a pylon (not an "orange cone")

Before I forget, I've noticed that no one in Boston picks up their dog's poop. It's really annoying, luckily I haven't stepped in any yet... But according to the law of probabilities, it's probably just a matter of time before I do.

I can't believe it's been a month since I left everything I knew behind in good old Edmonton. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever be able to close my eyes without seeing so vividly the streets of Edmonton. Thinking about all the little things I'm missing out on like family dinners, cranium/karoake revolution nights with friends, going to kung fu...

I really like it here, coming into optometry I was worried that maybe I didn't want to do this for the rest of my life. Maybe I was wrong about how much I wanted it then I would be stuck... but luckily I really like what I'm learning. I know it's nerdy to admit that I like school but there it is. Plus all the studyin keeps me from thinking about/missing home too much.

Boston is pretty cool too, Newbury Street is awesome and only a few blocks from my place. I've refrained from doing too much shopping, really trying to get into the poor student mindset but it's still nice to know that everything I could want is on that street from burberry to puma to virgin music. Then there's the mall with neiman marcus, lacoste and gucci just to name a few stores. If only I wasn't paying an obscene amount of money on tuition, I would be set.

I love what I'm doing and where I am but it's completely different from the love I have for my home town, the familiarity of it all. That's not to say I love one more than the other, it's like apples and oranges and I haven't quite figured out how to express it if there is a way to at all.

One month closer to coming home. See you then.

HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY Bo! I'd be a lot more excited if it was my 21st... nonetheless, I hope all your bday wishes come true.

What a night. Some guys at the school decided to have a kegger at their house last night and it was a lot more fun than I had anticipated. I spilled a lot of beer on myself and would've felt really embarassed if I had been sober enough to have feelings. We left at roughly 3am and decided we needed to get some pizza, the place had just closed moments before we arrived and a couple guys who had also been turned away in their desparate hour of need told us about another pizza place not too far away. So off we went roaming the streets of boston with only one goal in mind (greasy pizza) following a couple guys whose names we never bothered to find out. We did however find out that they were exchange students at m.i.t. One was from france and the other from germany. And I think we all know how a guy with an accent ups his hotness quotient exponentially. I just love nights that yield interesting stories, even if they come at the cost of studying for an optics quiz.

Wow, I hadn't realized how long it's been since I blogged. As some of you know, I don't have internet so I am now writing a blog in the school's library while fellow students study a few feet away. It makes me feel like a slacker but that's ok.

The past couple weeks have for the most part been awesome, my earlier prediction that I would be miserable for all of september has been shattered. The weather here (except for a few rainy days) has been mostly really good, it's hard to be mad at the world when the sun is shining. I obviously miss everyone back home, and it's the little things... like knowing that family dinners are happening without you. Friends are changing, growing, becoming who they are while you are away. It's hard to think that so much will have happened before I get back for christmas.

At the same time, I'm growing to love (and hate) some of my classmates. To think that these 110 ppl will be the ones I see basically every day for 4 years is mind-boggling. What's really bizarre about it is having to adjust my mindframe just a bit because not only are these ppl my classmates, but they will be my colleagues in the future. It forces you to be a bit more mature about things. I try not to talk about anyone behind their back about the petty little things... we'll see how long that lasts.

Sometimes I feel like I'm living two lives, one back home and the one I'm currently living here in Boston. The city (or what little I've seen of it) is really growing on me. I love having my own place even if it is the tiniest, dinkiest place I've ever lived. Being allowed to have this freedom is great, it'll probably be even better once I turn 21...

I can still envision the streets of edmonton very clearly when I close my eyes. Miss you all, try not to do anything too awesome while I'm gone. I don't wanna miss a thing.

In this past week, I've been on an emotional rollercoaster. I think everyone knows what a baby I was being having to leave home. I was breaking down in the couple days I was alone, and I needed my dad to come help me settle in. It made me feel a lot better and in the past summer we had grown distant, this past week especially the first couple days during which I was feeling vulnerable allowed me to open up communication with my dad again and express some of the things I was trying to deal with to him. But now it's gotten to the point where I'm ready for him to leave (his flight is this afternoon), I'm ready to become independent.

Basically this blog is supposed to give off an I'm ok, havin some fun and meeting new ppl vibe. But don't worry, I still miss you all back home. See you at christmas.

Nothin like a drunken blog to kick off the new school yr. Gotta bring in the weekends in style so the girls of 399 (the 3 of us who go to neco and live in the same building 399) hung out tonight. We went to another girl's apt which is much bigger; it started out innocent enough... we were just eating ice cream and watching movies. Then we decided we should drink and watch movies.... turns out the girl whose apt we were at didn't have the greatest tolerance so the 3 of us kinda sobered ourselves up to take care of her. I thought it was a fun night all around, a relatively safe way to drink and not have to worry bout shady guys.

But before we had to take care of the girl, I noticed that these were the nerdiest drunks I had ever encountered in my life. They were talking about politics, abortion... everything you shouldn't talk abt with a group of ppl you've known just shy of a week. We delved into discussions of anatomy and applied our knowledge to think of ways not to get hungover. It was hilarious.

It's been a while, I know I'm in danger of beng accused of not updating my blog nearly enough but this time it wasn't even my fault. I don't have internet set up so I won't be online as often as back home. I did get a new phone out here and I'm on a North America plan that allows me to call home without paying long distance or roaming charges. It's really expensive though... $60/month and I have limits on my minutes. However, my limits are not too bad so if you ever wanna talk just call me. I won't answer, I'll call back so that you don't pay long distance (e-mail me to ask for my number).

I got into Boston friday night, the first thing I did was walk to the mall to place a collect call home to whine about how my room is smaller and dirtier than I remembered. I bought a few previously viewed dvd's from a rental place and watched them on my laptop to try to avoid boredom. Saturday, I had day 1 of orientation so I kept busy that way. It was hard to find something to do on sunday... it was raining. The weather here makes me miss home, the first couple days were really gloomy and it totally made me grumpy that there was no sunlight. Also the sun goes down really early here, it's pitch black by 8pm local time. It even rains different here, in Edmonton you get raindrops but here it's so humid that it ends up as mist. I maintain that the only good thing about the states is the 1 dollar bills, none of this loonies and toonies nonsense.

My dad got here sunday night and I totally needed it, I was cut off from what seemed like the whole world without a cell phone and without the internet and him coming really gave me the lift I needed. We went to the chili's to eat and they are in the middle of a fundraiser for a children's hospital. You colour a chili outline and donate money to have it put up on their wall. I drew the canadian flag into the chili outline. (Even typing "colour" made me miss home since it reminds me that here they spell it color). On labour day (more spelling reminders of home), we got my phone plan started up with verizon and I felt a lot better. I called Stephen and mom right away. Monday turned out to be an awesome day cause I also got some time on the internet to check my email and chat on msn a bit. People always say communication is the key but now I know how true it is.

Today I had day 2 of orientation, I'm still living day by day to keep from being too depressed. I keep thinking this is just temporary until I get to go home to the people I love. That being said, it's hard to think ahead about all the challenges school will bring this term. It's a bit daunting but I'm not worried about the academics at a time like this. I'm consumed by trying to deal with being so far away from home. When I close my eyes I can still envision the streets of edmonton so clearly.

I can't wait to see you all. I didn't think it was humanly possible for me to love christmas any more than I did last year but I have surpassed that level by far. I'm just living for the time when I can come home. Miss you all.

All that I am
All that I ever was
Is here in your perfect eyes, they're all I can see

I don't know where
Confused about how as well
Just know that these things will never change for us at all

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?


Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol

By this time next week I'll be on a plane to Boston. It's really hard for me to grasp that right now, I feel like I'm avoiding thinking about it until the last minute. When I do think about it, all I can think to say is "that's so crazy."

We're at that point in our lives where the friends we make now could be the friends we keep for the rest of our lives. In my life, I've been fortunate enough to make some wicked awesome friends. I hope you know who you are, you all spoil me. No one in Boston will ever replace you!

Last night, my kung fu instructor ordered in some pizza for us as a little goodbye thing for me. At times I get frustrated with kung fu... sometimes it feels like I put so much time into the club that gets overlooked but I know I will miss it sorely. There's no way I wouldn't, I've gone to this place roughly 3 times a week for the past 5 years. I've learned a lot, not all of it has been kung fu based. Some of these people have been there just as long or longer than me, and we've sort of grown up side by side. I'm really gonna miss being a part of that.

Thanks for a great goodbye dim sum guys. You all spoil me with your generosity, thanks for the clothes! I lost the nerve to give a corny speech but know that I'll miss you a lot. I just won't be the same without you guys lookin out for me.

As soon as nha emails me the pics, I'll post a few up. And you can all expect wicked christmas gifts when I get back Dec 22nd.

I was certain that the season
could be held between my arms
But just as summer's hold is fleeting
I was here but now I'm gone
so long, so long

-Dashboard Confessional

I never realized how important family is to me until I was faced with a prospect to leave them. Everyone keeps saying I'll be a better person for leaving, for being on my own. But sometimes I wonder how I can become a better person without my family, the people who've guided me all my life. Maybe it's cause I'm coming down with a cold.. maybe it's my innate pessimism.. I can feel the anxiety and fear engulfing what little excitement I had. When I think about leaving, I feel hollow.

Bitter sweet goodbyes

Where has the summer gone? There's less than a month left before I have to leave this place that I know and love, a place that I've dubbed hick capital of the world but will sorely miss. I'm so aware that this is probably going to be the single defining moment in my life, the moment I have to leave behind the feeling that I really know a city... in return, I'm getting a large metropolitan place where people drive like maniacs and would probably murder a person if they wore a yankees hat. For the most part, my time is spent thinking things like "growing up sucks" and "I want to be forever young!" I'm fairly certain that I'll be miserable for at least all of September if not October as well. Slowly the independence will grow on me and I'll be a better person for it... hopefully...

I feel like I should write something utterly and hopelessly touching, an ode to my life here. But most of what I feel, I've already said. I want this summer to last forever, this sense of accomplishment for getting accepted without having done any actual work in the field. Everything is about spending time with the people you know you'll miss the most. Time is against me, I'll never have enough of it to spend with the people who've had a part in shaping who I am today. Life is always throwing challenges at you but I feel like I just got the hang of things here and now I've got to start all over. I'm terrified, mortified, petrified of it all.

Check out how pro Anita looks.

Thanks for the relatively successful bbq/karaoke night guys! Sorry if you were bored... but I had fun so that's all that really matters.

"Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools speak because they have to say something."
- Plato

I have a song guys! "Boston" by Augustana. Download it, listen to it, and think of me!

Thanks to Den for sending it to me.

Tue Sept 5 ~ first day of classes
I wish this summer would last forever.

Wed Nov 22-Sun Nov 26 ~ american thanksgiving break
I'm planning on takin a bus up to NY to spend some time with my aunt in long island. Lil Jessica should help with the homesickness I will undoubtedly be suffering from. Apparently buses from Boston to NY are pretty frequent and very cheap at $15.

Fri Dec 22-Sun Jan 7 ~ winter break
I already can't wait to come home for a couple weeks... christmas is just meant to be spent at my grandma's house surrounded by lil cousins Joyce, Janice, and Gordie the troublemaker.

Sun Mar 11-Sun Mar18 ~ spring break
Either I'll do the stereotypical american thing and go get tanked or I will again go up to NY. I don't know what I'd do without family relatively close.

Sat May 26 ~ last day of final exams
MY LAST SUMMER will be only 3 months long... after this, it's all clinical assignments and rotations... whatever they call them the end result is no summer for me *sigh*
Growing up is hard to do.

What a night... so many little drunken asian girls to take care of, so little time....

We were celebrating tony and anita's birthdays and by 1230 it was apparent that anita was tanked. I spent the next hour helping gavin hopelessly attempt moving her from the parking lot in front of fever to the one in front of pho hoa.... a 2 min walk for any partially sober person. I walked anita halfway there where she collapsed in the middle of the parking lot, at this point we decided we should just drive her (and also that she was in no position to eat). Pulled up the car, put her back in and parked closer to pho hoa and started takin shifts taking care of her.

I'm not gonna lie, I was slightly annoyed at drunken anita... but then I reminded myself of how nice she was to me at my bday when I was leaning on the side of the standard puking my brains out, how much she helped me... and suddenly I was glad I had devoted my night to taking care of a little drunken asian girl.

Funny how we never wanna do anythin for some of our closest friends despite all they've done for us. How suddenly, little things like driving someone home or buying a fundraising ticket becomes such a great hassle.

The rumour mill is spinning quite the interesting story. Even if this isn't true, it's still very entertaining....

I think by now we've all heard that Pronger is requesting a trade because he supposedly cheated on his wife. But here's something new! the girl that Pronger allegedly cheated on his wife with is... *drumroll please.... some CityTV personality named Christie Chorley
http://www.citytv.com/edmonton/personalities_11461.aspx

Also, his wife (who's richer than him) apparently cheated on him too.

Hey guys,

If I haven't already emailed you, I'm sorry! You're not on my gmail contact list...

My kung fu club is holding a fundraising BBQ. It's just $10/ticket, we're raising money for my brother Stephen's trip to Malaysia representing team canada in a worldwide tournament. (And also some other ppl from our kung fu club that you don't know...)

It's gonna be at BORDEN park, site 3. (The address is 112 ave and 73 st), on sunday, JULY 30th from 2pm - 5:30pm

RSVP asap so I know how many tickets to get from my instructor. I'm expecting a lot of you to come and show your support! It won't kill you to have some good ol' fashioned BBQ in your stomache. And every meal should be followed by a water balloon fight.

You can bring anyone you want, as long as they dish out the 10 bucks. In fact, I encourage everyone to bring at least one person I haven't met. That way we'll meet new ppl too!

Thanks.

This is the tale of a girl born and raised in Edmonton venturing into Boston to find an apartment all by her lonesome. Warning: this is very detailed so at times very boring.

My flight is at 2pm edm time, I get to the airport at abt 12:15. Since those damn terrorists have wreaked havoc on security policies, I have to check in 90 minutes before the flight. Finally it's time to board the plane and I start to think about when I leave at the end of the summer for roughly 4 months before I come back for christmas break as opposed to this 4 day trip. I get a little emotional at takeoff and think to myself, as some kids in the background say "wheee," jeez... there are seven yr olds on this plane that are handling themselves better than you. We land in Minneapolis where I am getting on the connecting flight. The aiport may as well be a mall... there's a roots, body shop, sunglass hut, etc, etc. On this flight, a nice lady sits down next to me, she's from a town next to Boston. She and her husband are coming back from a good ol' American vacation. They went to yellowstone, the grand canyon... and some other places I hadn't really heard of... It's an endearing experience, she's the nicest person I've met on a plane. I arrive in Boston 11pm local time, I'm mildy impressed that there is a line up for the cabs (very organized). I check into the hotel, they've given me a room with 2 twin beds instead of the one queen bed I reserved. I keep the room because it's $20/night cheaper, it indirectly reminds me that I am alone.... It's now midnight but still just 10pm back home so I can't quite fall asleep... I watch some bad tv and feel utterly alone. No one to share sarcastic comments with, laugh at stupid commercials with or even to just sit beside. I start to doubt my earlier decision to not have any roommates 1st yr. What a horrible feeling to go to sleep with....

Friday morning rolls around and I walk to the school to talk with the registrar about an I-20 form for a student visa. She's a total bitch, it's a shock because everyone else at the school is so nice. My paperwork is wrong but she gives me an extension because she's going on vacation so she won't be looking at it anytime soon anyway. I meet up with Tarra, a girl who's in my class to theoretically get a head start on the apartment search. Her first appointment is at 1pm... it's 9:45am..... we decide to walk into a realtor's office a few blocks from the school. The lady talks to us abt some price ranges but seems reluctant to show us anything. She says they will be at the housing clinic tomorrow... Tarra and I find a park, we sit and talk for a bit. Then we meet up with a girl whose name I've already forgotten and her mom. We all go to starbucks and when they head to their appointment, I ditch them because it's too far from the school for my liking.

I walk along newbury street (like whyte ave but exponentially superior) until it's time to meet up with Duy at 1:30 for lunch. Afterwards we head over to Beacon Realty for our 3pm appointment. They show us 6 units in 2 buildings. They all look basically the same to me, tiny dorm like apartments with a "kitchenette." They range from $900-1100/month. Duy and I walk over to the malls nearby and do some shopping in an air conditioned environment, then a little more in the scorching sun while walking along newbury. We head back to our respective hotels to drop off our purchases and for a very short rest before the dinner.

My feet hurt and I want to sit in the hotel room longer but it's time to head back to the school.. I'm relieved that I'm not under-dressed, everyone is very casual. Some random conversation occurs with ppl whose names I've forgotten. They give everyone a planner... yay! Turns out Kendall and her dad are staying in the same hotel as me, on the same floor. We all walk back together which is nice because it's now dark out and I'm not quite sure how dangerous Boston is.

We get to the school at abt 8am and I have a muffin. After hearing from the realtors, some students looking for roommates talk abt their places. I decide to check out an apartment that 3 girls are currently living in and looking for a 4th roommate. The place is pretty nice, its only flaw is that it only has 1.5 bathrooms. Call me crazy but I think the number of ppl living in an apartment should be no more than the number of bathrooms x 2. I still decide I want it because the 3 girls are taking up the bedrooms and leaving the living room to be lived in for only $600/month. But another girl wants it too and she asked first so I take it as a sign that I am not meant to have roommates 1st yr. Plus at least I am escaping some DRAMA later on.. cause you know with 4 girls in one apartment, there's bound to be plenty of that. I head back to Beacon Realty and sign a 1 yr lease with option to sub-lease so I can come back for the 3 month summer. My place is abt 2 blocks from the sch so I won't have to partake in too much public transport except maybe to buy groceries.

I feel relieved that I have an apartment for sept 1. And it's only like 1pm! While signing the lease, Darren is signing his also so we decide to have lunch together. He's from BC, and the canucks were 9th place in the west (thereby missing out on the playoffs while edmonton clinched the last spot). He's a bit of an oiler hater but tones it down so I don't feel the resentment I did when I spoke with him briefly during friday night dinner. I walk around for a while sort of shopping/killing time. Finally the blisters on my feet tell me it's time to head back to the hotel room, I watch some tv then head down to the McD's just down the street. I'm back with time to spare before the puck drops for game 6. Since I'm breaking the previous superstitions established including: sitting on the floor and watching the game on CBC, I feel compelled to wear my oilers hat. Clearly, the luck was enough to offset the superstitions since the oilers won 4-0 all because of my headwear.

Having a busy friday and saturday, meeting some of my classmates really helped me get over the homesickness I had thursday night. But I'm still glad to head to the airport early sunday morning. On the flight from Boston to Minneapolis, I meet a couple guys that seem to be around Stephen's age (high sch types) but get a little envious when they mention their trips to Italy, Greece, and other exotic places. Turns out they're writers, one is doing a little book of 100 interesting things/possible things to write a story about. I tell him abt the time I saw a dead bunny in the snow and the ensuing bunny nightmare I had, he says "well, that's number 36 right there." The guys were the most interesting ppl I've met on a plane.

While walking through the Minneapolis airport again, I'm dissapointed when I get to the gate and no one else is wearing any oiler garb (I'm wearing the hat now). Still I'm glad the trip is almost over since I'm just not good at flying.. headaches like crazy.

I get home and everything is just as I left it, I'm sure that won't be the case by the time I come back for christmas..... I think abt something a guy originally from edmonton, now going into his 2nd or 3rd yr at the sch said to me: It's an odd feeling when you live in a city that isn't your home for the better part of a yr. You get back to edm and some things have changed so it isn't home as you remember it.

Hey guys! Just to let you all know, my cousin's Marble Slab is NOW OPEN! It's in the north side so for all of you who live in that area... yay for you. It's at 165 ave and 97 st. Check it out, later days.

Will we think about tomorrow like we think about now?
Can we survive it out there? Can we make it somehow?
I guess I thought that this would never end
And suddenly it's like we're women and men
Will the past be a shadow that will follow us 'round?
Will these memories fade when I leave this town?
I keep, keep thinking that it's not goodbye
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly

The Graduation Song - Vitamin C


I thought that the one hit wonder by Vitamin C is totally relevant to my leaving for Boston.

I've been thinking about how music can affect us, how a song can remain forever attached to a certain feeling or event in your life. This all started cause I was looking for burnt cd's, ones worth so little that I wouldn't care if I forgot them at work. I found a couple from back in the day.. circa '99 and when I listened to them there were a few one hit wonders.... But it was just so crazy that upon hearing those songs your conscious mind had long forgotten, all the old memories are stirred up. That song you loved so much, you would listen to the radio the whole day just waiting for them to play it. That song you identified with cause you felt like you were goin through the exact same situation the lyrics were outlining.

Someday "Jo's Summer '06 Mix" will bring about reminiscent feelings...

Here's the songlist for "Jo's Mixed CD Y2K"
1. Silverchair - Anthem for the yr 2000
2. Blink 182 - Adam's song
3. Destiny's Child - Say my name
4. Gob - I hear you calling
5. Greenday - Time of your life
6. Lauryn Hill - Can't take my eyes off of you
7. Outkast - Ms. Jackson
8. Joe f/ Mystikal - Stutter
9. R. Kelly - I wish
10. Lit - Miserable
11. Our Lady Peace - Life
12. Papa Roach - Last resort
13. Wheatus - Teenage Dirtbag
14. All 4 One - I swear
15. SoulDecision - Let's do it right
16. Everclear - Wonderful

I think losing Roli has gotten nearly everyone in the city of Edmonton very emotional. But I'm gonna state now that I think he's gone, and holding your breath waiting for a game 3 miracle start to happen might prove dire. Of course I hope I'm wrong but I don't think I am.

Calling everyone a bandwagoner is not gonna make anything better. After all, who's to define "bandwagoner"? If it's someone who hasn't stuck with the oil the ENTIRE season, then I think a lot of us are guilty of being one. I'm not saying bandwagoners are my favourite people, they entice you into talking about the game only to utter some lame "oil sweep" comment; so now you've wasted several minutes of precious time tryin to actually talk about the game with what may as well be a doorknob. BUT I love the atmosphere it's created in the city, we all have a pseudo thing in common. I think it's wicked awesome that I can have a 5 minute conversation with an absolute stranger just because I said I liked the oilers pin on her jacket. Bandwagoner or not, we all want the oil to win so let's just stop with the "I'm a better oilers fan" insults.

If anybody has superhuman healer hands, now is the time to step forward. Roli needs your help. According to MacT, he won't be back for the series... Granted, he didn't play a great game but the chances of our copper and blue winning with Conklin or Markkanen is slim. What the oil needs now is a miracle. And Pronger's only one man.

Hmm, the things I'm gonna miss about Edmonton... gonna get me reminiscing before I even leave... I'm gonna miss my house, my family (specifically home cooked meals), my friends, my (dad's) car, kung fu, and of course the oilers. And the intangibles, like knowing if you ever got in trouble, there's family around to help you out.

I still don't know when I'm leaving, "end of August." I'll probably go to NY to visit my aunt before sch starts. I'm lookin forward to the housing clinic, gettin an apartment so there's one less thing to worry about.

I'm tryin to keep work to a minimum, just enough to curb boredom. I wanna enjoy my last summer in Edmonton.

Goin to all the little festivals in the city. Like "capital ex" formerly known as klondike days, I already got tickets to see All-American Rejects when they come out for that.
And Heritage Days held at hawrelak park where you can walk around and take in all the pseudo culture.
Street Performers and Taste of Edmonton, yum.

Family dynamics

Whether you like to admit it or not, your family plays such an important role in the development of your character. We're born naive; everything your parents tell you is truth. It never occurs to you that your parents could be anything but honest with you. Looking back at the lame lies that you were told, you wonder how you ever believed them; of course at the time there was something awkward/fishy about the whole situation but you shrugged it off because the source was your dad. It's always such a shock the first time you realize your mom lied to you, the first time you find out your dad doesn't know everything.

Imagine how different you would be if your parents had more children, less children. If you were the oldest, youngest, middle child... As the eldest, I was painfully aware of the impact I had on my little brother especially when we were younger. He thought I knew everything, all his questions were directed to me. The first time I told him "I don't know." He asked me the question over and over, at the time I thought he was just being an annoying brat. But it turns out it was because he thought I was lying, the possibility that I didn't know was nil in his mind.

I can't imagine my life as an only child. I'm sure I would hate it. But when I was growing up I wondered what it would be like to have an older brother to look out for me, an older brother to idealize.

I'm sure we've all asked ourselves hypothetical questions like what would I do if I could turn back time? What advice would I try to give to my eg. 10 yr old self?

Sometimes we look back and dwell on the mistakes we've made in life, the little things that we wish we'd done differently. There's no one particular day in my life that I wish I could change; if I could turn back time, I'd just live my entire life over starting from like grade 7. But if I had done everything according to plan, would I be the same person?

I remember when I was a kid, everyone always said somethin to the gist of "cherish your childhood." But every other sentence I uttered started with "When I grow up....." it felt like I was waiting for my life to begin. That's why I think if you did go back to tell your 10 yr old self something, they wouldn't listen.

I thought by the time I turned 20, I'd have everything figured out. 20 seemed so old then... there were daily protests when grandma tried to get us to settle down for a nap, some days I'd just stare at the clock for the mandatory half hour and rush back out to play. These days, I love naps and I miss childhood.

Being the eldest, I was always in such a hurry to grow up; but the things in life that have the most enjoyment are the little things that remind me of childhood. Saturday morning cartoons and playing with gummy bears before eating them. The biggest debate in your life was arguing with your friends over what to watch during lunch: looney tunes vs the flinstones. Jumping off swings to see who can land the farthest in the pee-soaked sand. Running so fast down the hill you think for a split second that you might actually fly this one time.

I really think that more is learned from a failure than a success, that the hardships in life build character. But then again, maybe that's just what I tell myself so I can sleep at night.

I realize that I haven't been blogging nearly as much as in the past, but that's just because there's not much to vent/complain about anymore. My life is basically on track now that I've been accepted into optometry... I'm just trying to have fun this summer with my friends who I'll miss deeply once I move to Boston (aka bean town).

So my job in the psych department at U of A has been over for about a week now, I am gonna start working a retail job after the long weekend. Just part time so I'll have plenty of time to savour the summer.

Main focus will be kung fu and just generally being healthy and active this summer, but I'm not gonna spend all my time talking about my new lifestyle... for one, it's not that drastic of a change and two, it's just goddamn annoying, not to mention boring, to listen to someone preach about how they only eat turkey breast. (Like my god, do you want a goddamn nobel prize for not being a fat lard?)

Now let's talk about the truly important things in life, material posessions. I'm getting a laptop pretty soon... it's gonna be my computer when I move so it's gotta be super nice. I just found out that Stephen didn't pay for his laptop (my mom hasn't asked him to pay her since he put it on her credit card). Naturally, I now want a laptop just as good as his... before it was all fine and dandy that he had a better one since he was paying for it. I'm pretty much sure that I'll be gettin an apple, but not sure which one. Stay tuned for exciting developments.

Still on the subject of materialism, I want new flip flops.... I saw a really nice pair of lacoste ones on the website but when I actually saw them in a store I was sorely disappointed... they weren't even half as nice as on the website. And they were like $100 which even for a brandwhore like myself is ridiculous, I mean they're just flip flops!
Also, due to the scorching weather we've been having lately, I'm gonna need to stock up on summer clothes fast. I can't help it that the greater powers above want me to go shopping..... clearly, the weather is a sign...

To this day, I have not had a friend who stays just as close even after they get into a relationship. There's always that complaint that ppl just ignore their friends when they find a bf/gf and of course, there will be less time for them to allot to their friends but still.. it's a bit disappointing.

In music news, I think I really like Snow Patrol... I don't have their cd but I have a few of their songs, I should get around to listening to more of their songs...
I want to see Da Vinci Code, but more so I want to go to a goddamn Oiler game! Too bad ticketmaster hates me.

OILERS IN 6!!!!

Praise the hockey gods!

Can't wait till tuesday 12pm.... I'm pretty much empty on motivation. Wasted quite a bit of time today watchin the game, I had originally planned to just watch the last period but I of course wanted an excuse to take an even longer break from studyin so I thought "I'll watch the second period too... that's only an hour." Cut to overtime period 1... overtime period 2... and suddenly I wished I hadn't spent all that time for nothing.

Blah. Didn't help that it was all gloomy out either... luckily, knowing I'm gonna be in optometry in september keeps me from bein too depressed.

**Spoiler: Inside Man**

Again for those of you who frequent Bo's blog, although I agree that Inside Man was a letdown it wasn't THAT bad. Clive Owen steals from the Nazi guy because that way no one comes after him for the DIAMONDS (Nazi guy doesn't want people to know he's a Nazi therefore will not try to capture Clive Owen).

It really does suck that Clive Owen spends most of the movie masked... major flaws to this movie in no particular order:
1. too much Denzel, not enough Clive
2. Jodie Foster sucks, no blonde woman should be that cocky
3. falls apart at the end

Wow, what a relaxing saturday I had... probably the first whole day in a long time that I did not study at all. And it's not like I did anything exciting, it was just a nice break. Went for lunch, to kung fu, then to see V for Vendetta later that night.

For those of you who frequent Bo's blog, it wasn't all that she's cracked it up to be. A few cheesy moments are the least of this movie's problems. It was decent and I don't regret going to see it at all, just don't go into it expecting to get a new found vision on the world's political problems. It's not as revolutionary as some people would think. Boys: Natalie Portman was pretty good in it but they shaved her head halfway through then try to make up for it with big explosions and some blood. Girls: the guy's mask stays on throughout the whole movie so if you were hoping for some ridiculously hot guy unveiling, you are out of luck.

This friday night, I will be at school until 9pm because of my stupid statistics lab final. Bummer much? What I'm lookin forward to: cranium tournament either sat or sun. Loser-ish? Maybe. Fun? Absolutely.

So apparently some douche bags released bear mace in the mall yesterday. Then my brother saw a baby coughing followed by vomiting. Punks need to find something better to do.

These kinds of things are a testament to how messed up society is. We call this a 'civilization'....

If I haven't already called you to brag, I got into New England College of Optometry (Boston, MA)!!!

Life = AWESOME

In the great words of Jay-Z "I'm goin somewhere nice where no mosquitos at nigga"

Ok, so there probably will be mosquitos and I have no idea where I'm goin but I am already thinkin bout summer vacay.

April 25, ~12 noon

Just a quick post before I go back to cramming for stat midterm tomorrow. I'm back in snowy Edmonton, interview went well I think... cross your fingers for me to get accepted! Later days.

Here I am with my "little" brother Stephen at the Ging Wu Chinese New Yr Banquet. All growed up isn't he?

Me and Jay, what a goof. Stole my gun dance.

And here I am with Dennis.

Lastly, me and Gavin. Only boy to venture away from wearing all black, kudos.

Politics.... what a loaded topic. I think an uninformed vote is worse than no vote at all. I don't understand how people can have a party they always vote for. I'm losing faith in the political system and I've only been allowed to vote for 2 yrs now. I pretty much view it as voting for the party/candidate/leader you hate the least. For me, most emphasis is placed on the party.

The NDP is the only party that has an adequate (relative term I know) plan in terms of education funding which is near to my heart since I am a poor student. But of course the NDP can make these promises since they won't win. In all actuality, I am a liberal in the traditional definitions of the parties' viewpoints. However, these days the parties are basically all the same except on the gay marriages I really see no major differences.

So who did I vote for? I won't tell you but I will say that I am strongly anti-Conservative mainly because they are such hypocrites. I hate the way Canadian politics is becoming more like American politics with the slander ads; I loathe the Conservative ad that was an attack on the liberal slander ads. You know, the one where they have sound clips of Martin saying "I authorized those ads." Then making out Martin to be the devil incarnate while conveniently overlooking their own negative ads.

All hail the reign of the conservative party along with the head scratchers who voted for them.

Every once in a while, something happens to jolt your world. It defies the laws of the world. It makes you lose faith in a just world. (For example, you study your ass off for an exam and somehow bomb it.) You're not sure exactly why it upsets you but it does. It's because we all want to believe that when you deserve something, you get it. And those that don't deserve it, don't receive. This all makes it that much harder to understand when an event so utterly unfair occurs. When you are witness to someone else receiving something they do not deserve. Is it jealousy? I think not. I think it's merely your brain struggling to process something that doesn't fit with your preconceived notions.

happy birthday to me!!!

forever young, I want to be forever young!

No matter what you do, you cannot make everyone happy.

Case and point, bday plans are always a disaster. I usually don't do anythin for my bday but for some reason I decided that I should this year and surprise, it's a repeat of the last time I tried to plan somethin. People backin out left and right, tellin me they "might" come, complaining about the places I pick, and askin me "well, how am I gonna get there?" How bout a "happy bday, thanks for inviting me" is that too much to ask?

Well, here's the thing it's my bday. You're not sposed to come because you like the bar, you're sposed to come cause it's my bday.

Here's some pics of our christmas family dinner at my grandparents' house. Pics are of my brother Stephen, my lil cousin Joyce, me with Janice and Gordie (more lil cousins).

The emerging form of hegemonic metroflamer - a divergent branch of the present hegemonic masculinity

At this present time, it is unknown whether this variant form of the hegemonic masculine male is beneficial or detrimental. However, it is currently challenging the dominant form of hegemonic masculinity now culturally exalted.

The purpose of this article is not to pass judgement on the effectiveness of the hegemonic metroflamers, but rather bring their existence into recognition through power of definition.

Characteristics of the metroflamer include
1. Fundamental to the hegemonic metroflamer is accessorizing and overall cohesion of the outfit.
2. The hegemonic metroflamer is aware of and internally concerned with the brand and quality of their hygiene products.
3. Choice of clothing reflects form rather than function. The palate of colors is used to express individuality in the metroflamer realm.
4. The hegemonic metroflamer partakes in the viewing of programs in which emphasized femininity is central such as Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives.
5. Body type is typically lean, tight clothes are worn to draw attention to specific features.
6. The hegemonic metroflamer feels a greater level of social cohesion in a group of emphasized femininity rather than hegemonic masculinity. This is displayed by the larger proportion of their friends being of the female sex rather than the male sex.
7. Finally, the hegemonic metroflamer is commonly mistaken for a homosexual male based on maneurisms - false gender categorization.

It is our theory that the emergence of said hegemonic metroflamer is indeed a reaction formation to the culturally defined dominant masculinity. Society's restrictive definition of the hegemonic masculine results in suppression of expression of self and identity, thus manifesting in a "normally different" branch of the culturally stylized expression.

Recalling the uncertainty of the usefulness of the hegemonic metroflamer form, females are at times perplexed by the behavior of the hegemonic metroflamer, uncertain whether to treat them as the next step in the evolution of the heterosexual or the currently defined homosexual.

Although females have not yet perfected a complementary form of femininity to interact with this hegemonic metroflamer; there is a lack mirroring evident in the emphasized femininity pairing to hegemonic masculinity. We do appreciate the level of effort to putting forth an aesthetically pleasing, perceptual reality of the male form.

This dichotomy in the power of definition rests in the responsibilities of the female to categorize the hegemonic metroflamer in the typical category of a homosexual or a heterosexual male. This bifurcated conflict can only be resolved through analyses in the future.

A true friend wouldn't stay with a guy who's a jerk to all her friends.

Happy New Year.

Hope '06 brings you everything you desire.

Hey party people,

So if you didn't already know, my bday is Jan 17. I'll be turnin the big 20 and I'm still not sure what I wanna do yet. But I'm thinkin it'll be on

********Sat, Jan 14*******

Dinner and maybe clubbing. Keep the night open if you can, I'll post more details when I figure them out.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas List:

A hoody
A black toque that covers the ears
Slippers
A Darwin fish
40 year old virgin
A shower radio

Upcoming events:

Dec 20: my last exam
Dec 25: CHRISTMAS
Dec 26: boxing day - West Ed in the morning, E Centre in the afternoon

Jan 1: new years
Jan 17: my 20th bday

Happy Holidays!

MORE AND BETTER AID. TRADE JUSTICE. CANCEL THE DEBT. END CHILD POVERTY IN CANADA.

So I know wristbands are totally poser now but before they were unfortuneatly ruined, they had purpose. Amidst all the fake ones out there, a few are still authentic and for a good cause. This "makepovertyhistory" one is among them. Check out the website at www.makepovertyhistory.ca