So ya, thought ya, might like to, go to a show

My mom and I went shopping on Sunday afternoon to return unwanted things and scope out the Christmas deals. I got a couple tops, a vest, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force Vol. 1 on DVD. I also tried on these pink cords from the Gap which I kinda wanted and they looked nice on me, but I honestly don't have many tops to pair with them. 

While I was scoping out the concert DVD's in HMV, I spotted Roger Waters performing the Wall live in Berlin. Waters stated in 1989 that the only way he would perform a live rendition of the Wall was "if the Berlin Wall came down". So when the Berlin Wall fell down in November of 1989, Waters performed a concert in July of 1990 to commemorate the event. 

The Wall is one of my favourite albums and the thought of watching it live made me excited. I decided to watch it on Youtube first to judge if it would be worthy enough to buy. Waters collaborated with a number of well-known artists, like the Scorpions, Cindi Lauper, and Sinead O'Connor, to reproduce the story of main character Pink as he encounters obstacles which eventually lead to his initial isolation from society (his building of 'the wall'). 

The majority of songs were performed really well,they kept it very true to the studio version of the album and didn't really add on to the original compositions. I know that this is mostly due to the fact that it was other musicians playing them and not the original band members themselves. 

Oh. I would just like to add that since I was watching it on Youtube, I ran into some technical difficulties. The concert was divided into 12 parts and I couldn't watch two of them because the audio was disabled due to copyright infringement. My question is: Why would you censor only TWO of the videos and not remove the entire thread off Youtube? 

My favourite part in watching this concert were the puppets, check them out:

There's always a first time for everything... I guess

I went to the dentist yesterday and after sitting in the chair for 40 minutes with the hygienist digging around my gums, I found out some shocking news... The dentist put some metal poking thing in one of my molars, and when it got stuck she said, "Oh you have a hole". I just sat there dreading the next couple of minutes for fear of the worst - that there was a cavity. 

19 years, 19 years and I've never had a cavity! Everyone says that this is quite the achievement, but I've grown so attached to my pure (well somewhat pure cause I had braces back in the day) teeth that I don't want anything more to be done to them. My dentist said she would put in one of those white fillings so that people won't notice, but I sure will remember it's there! Gah. 

What a way to ring in the new year with a trip to the dentist. Hopefully I can get an appointment next week so that I can get this shindig over with. I guess this isn't the worst thing that could happen to me, but it's still a bummer. 

Merry Boxing Day!

I just finished watching the third, and final season, of Degrassi Jr. High. It was absolutely intense and I cannot wait to start watching Degrassi High. But it will probably be a while until I get it from my cousin Renee, so I'll watch Arrested Development or ER or something else instead. Cheers to having all the free time in the world! 

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night <3

I still have a few more things to wrap before we head out to my grandparent's house for the night. We're all meeting a new-found family relative, my grandma's second cousin I believe, for the first time tonight. His friend Glen, an historian who works at Port Colborne's Museum, will also be there. The candlelight service at church starts at 11pm and then Bunny, Tyler, and I will be staying the night at my grandparents' house.

I just wish that some snow would cover the ground before Christmas morning. 

Fingers crossed!

So adorable.

Ghetto superstar that is what you are

Oh hey new camera. 

Visit http://www.buzzfeed.com/scott/100-animals-in-santa-hats to see more animals showing off their holiday spirit. 

Once upon a time, the Olympic Torch came to a little city called Port Colborne

Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS

is my new point-and-shoot digital camera I bought. Compared to my old camera, which is a BEAST and has a similar weight as a brick, this camera is tiny enough to fit in my palm. Although it came with a really lame case meant to clip on to your belt, a free case is a free case. 

One of the great things about this camera, besides the size, is its auto-focus. The camera constantly evaluates the scene whenever you move it to give you the best results. I just took some random shots of my dog, and even though I was within inches of her face, the picture still turned out clear and sharp. 

I'm really excited to use this camera for Christmas and Boxing Day. My other camera still works fine, but the flash has been acting up on me for the past couple of months.  

Hopefully I can start taking candid shots of my school life now that I actually have a camera that works properly. 

Merry Christmas to me. 

I love surprises.

I was sitting on the couch watching some Degrassi Jr. High this afternoon when the telephone rang. My brother came running downstairs a second later and said "It's your lucky day". I gave him the most confused look and he said that our Aunt Nelly (great aunt on my dad's side) called to say that she was stopping by. We both exchanged looks of happiness because a visit from her only means one thing... PIZZELLES. 

Basically they're a thin and sweet Italian cookie made using a special hot press. They kinda look like mini waffles. 

I can't even remember the last time I had homemade Pizzelles... it may have been last Christmas at my Auntie Ange's house. For me, it's one of those things you only eat every now and then to preserve its essence. If I ate them all the time, I'm afraid that they wouldn't mean as much to me when my Aunt Nelly makes them. Even though one of my dreams is to own a pizzelle iron, only to spread the awesome joy this cookie has to offer, I think I'll wait a few more years before I start this investment. 

All I can say is yum. 

Christmas Baking: Day 1

If there's one thing I'm always down for, it's baking. I'll bake when I'm bored, to procrastinate, and especially if there's a special occasion in the air. Although it's one of my favourite pastimes, I rarely eat the things I bake. Maybe it's because I know how much time and effort it takes to bake that it just seems unappealing to me when the final batch comes out of the oven. Watching people eat my baked goods is satisfaction enough for me! 

Not only does Christmas mean a break from school, hangouts with friends and family, but it also means baking! A few years ago, my grandma started me with a list of cookies that she wanted me to bake for the holidays and I've just kept the tradition going since then. 

This morning I decided to tackle a cookie called 'Fruit Jumbles' because they take the most time to make since most of the ingredients need to be chopped up. After 45 minutes, I finally had all the dates, walnuts, mixed peel, maraschino cherries, and raisins cut up so that they could be mixed with the other dry ingredients. 

However, there was one thing standing in my way from having a successful day of baking... 

While I was waiting for my first batch of cookies to bake, I decided to clean up my dishes and put away all the ingredients. When I was wrapping up the leftover bits of dates, a white larvae (GROSS) fell onto the counter and started squirming around. I must have screamed pretty loud as my brother got out of bed to ask what was wrong. We both looked at the larvae in silence and disgust. I threw out the batter and the cookies that were in the oven. A wonderful start to the day. 

I wanted some kind of evidence to show that I did something today and I wasn't going to let a mangy parasite burst my bubble. So I made 'Funeral Cookies' instead. 

Stay tuned for more baking updates. 

Yours truly. 

Let me stand next to your fire

I played Pokemon Yellow for three hours last night. I played it beside my mom while she was in bed watching TV and then I finally moved to my own bed and played till 12:30am. I thought it was only 11:30pm when I looked at the clock... boy was I wrong!

I already got the first badge, the Boulder Badge, from beating Brock in Pewter City. I made the mistake of sending my Pikachu out first against his rock Pokemon because I could only use 'Quick Attack' and it was doing little damage. I later realized that my Butterfree's 'Confusion' attack killed Onix in three shots. *note to self for future reference*

My next plan is to venture into the underground caves. I have to manage my Pokemon wisely once I go inside because there isn't an easy escape route where I can revive my little guys. I have at least four or five potions stocked up, so maybe I'll resort to those if I need to. I fear the Jigglypuffs and Clefairys because they have the 'Sleep' attack. It's so annoying. 

Anyways....  

1,2 and ... poof! Pikachu forgot Thunderwave and learned Double-Team

My brother pretty much made my Christmas break...

We went to Value Village today and he found me a GameBoy Advance for $12.99. Not only does it play my Pokemon cartridges, but Zelda: A Link to the Past came with it!

My life is pretty complete right now. 

I caught my dog taking a cat-nap on the floor by our front window

Degrassi Jr. High has become my life since I got home on Sunday night. We eat breakfast and lunch together, and we even get to see each other before I go to bed. I don't know what I'll do when we have to say good-bye. 

Since the show takes place in junior high, grade 7 and 8, it makes me nostalgic about my own elementary school experience. Compared to this show, it was kinda boring actually. I mean I never had a girl who was pregnant, or my own locker, or a school president that changed into inappropriate clothes in the girls bathroom once she got to school, or a substitute teacher that tried to hit on me. 

Although we did have a merging of two schools when I was in grade 7, a French teacher with wild hair who wore clothes from Value Village (I swear she never wore the same outfit twice!), and a "badass" production of the play Annie. Honestly, I can't remember what I did in elementary school, but I'll post some stories when I do. 

Yours truly. 

I love not having assignments

Or else I wouldn't be able to bug my dog all day. 

My brother and I are watching Ace Ventura When Nature Calls. We can't help but recite the entire movie.

My game plan for the night was to sit on my couch, play Pokemon Red on my GameBoy, and just relax. The idea popped into my head on the car ride home and as usual, I got my hopes up. 

I haven't used my GameBoy since my family and I went to the East coast back in 1998 so I really should not have expected much from it. I turned on the console and watched as the game's intro music played, but no picture came up. We tried turning it on and off and even put the cartridge in his GameBoy. No dice. My brother and I are venturing to Welland tomorrow afternoon on a search for a GameBoy and other old video games. 

FINGERS CROSSED.

So instead of playing Pokemon, Tyler and I played COD: Modern Warfare after supper. I'm getting better at my aiming and can actually kill people. I couldn't play for long because my motion sickness started kicking in. We then switched to N64 and played Super Smash Bros. Naturally he handed my butt to me in a hand basket, but I managed to kill him a couple times. We then battled a couple trainers on Pokemon Stadium when Tyler got the amazing idea to watch Ace Ventura. On VHS. 

We used to watch this movie all the time as kids. We would always say "Alrighty then" and bend over and talk with our buts. Tyler also reminded me that we used to rewind certain parts of the movie and watch the same scene over and over again. We also realized that this is one of the movies that we frequently quote. Dear Jim Carrey, why can't you still be this amazing? 

This is honestly one of my favourite movie scenes of life: 

Also. My dog showed numerous levels of excitement when I walked in the door. My mom trimmed her face yesterday and she looks absolutely adorable. 

And the movie just ended. 

Home for the holidays

My mom called me around 12:30pm today to tell me that my dad would be at my Toronto house around 2ish to pick me up and bring me home. She had the best news for me too. She said that for dinner we were having manicottis with garlic bread. I've been craving garlic bread since September, but haven't had the dedication to make it myself. 

I love my mom's garlic bread. She mixes garlic powder and margarine in a bowl and spreads it on both sides of the bread. Then she wraps the loaf in tin foil and cooks it in the oven until it turns delicious and amazing. 

Let's just say, it was a good kickoff to my Christmas break. 

I should be reviewing Astronomy right now.

It makes me happy when I see people run from a distance to catch their bus and actually make it on board. It makes all that hardwork seem worthwhile.

Thank you

I forgot about how great it is to listen to you.

Don't worry, be happy

Amazing

http://whenihadbraces.tumblr.com/

I bought this online today

http://www.threadless.com/product/2061/Three_Dimensions_of_Terror

And the best part about my purchase... it only came to $18. That's including shipping. 

The shirt is kinda stupid, but I know I'm going to have fun with it!!

I challenge you

This morning at 11:30 was the first time I've used a computer since Friday night. It dawned on me yesterday afternoon that I hadn't touched a computer and it honestly didn't bother me. I didn't have the need to check my Facebook, Blogger, email, or any of those addicting websites I always go on. Maybe it was because I knew I had to study for Monday's exam and a computer was unnecessary to help me do my readings. It was then my goal to see how long I could go without using the Internet. 

When I turned on my laptop today, I found myself falling into my same routine, and I realized it ate up a lot of my time. I checked my Facebook and after five minutes, I got bored and realized I could be doing some more productive. 

I challenge everyone who's reading this to see how long you can go without logging onto the Internet. Instead of sitting in front of the computer: learn a new hobby, socialize with your family or friends, read a book, bake some cookies... do anything that requires you to be active! 

One week.

Until I go home for Christmas. 

Hellllo Friday night

I've been listening to Metric non-stop for the past couple of days

Two weeks until Christmas Break

My parents and my brother are coming up to Etobicoke to visit me today. First we're driving over to Unionville to see my uncle, maybe go shopping at Vaughn Mills, and then we're coming back for dinner. There's this restaurant called Moxy's that I've heard nothing but good things about so I think we're going there for dinner. 

It's already 11:30am and I'm not dressed or showered yet. They will be here in just over an hour. 

Ick

It's looking to be a good weekend

Tonight I went down the stairs on a mattress, switched two futon mattresses around, watched Robin mix Diet Coke and Mentos and attempt to drink it, played some intense rounds of Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. on the N64, snorted some lemon Jell-0, and had some good time giggles. 

I did all of this sober. 

I forgot what it feels like to have stupid, silly fun when you're just running off of pure adrenaline. 

Kensington - at Night

Has anyone else seen these posted around Toronto?

I found this one on a side street off of Queen St. West. 

And I saw another one posted on a street near Kensington Market.

I'm really curious as to what they mean. If there is a meaning that is. For once Google did not have an answer to my question. 

Anyone? Any ideas?

Toronto adventure #2

I was supposed to go downtown to Kensington Market last Friday (Nov. 20th) with my photography class for another field trip. Instead, I decided to stay home and read 'The Book of Negroes' - 471 pages outlining a the life of a slave as she travels around the world - so that I could finish my essay that was due on Monday. It took me around 10 hours to read and highlight the entire book and yes, I did get my essay done.

My original intention for today was to leave my house around noon so that I could have all afternoon to photograph. Never happened. It rained cats and dogs the entire morning/early afternoon. Around 2:30pm the weather finally cleared up, so I gathered my camera and some money and was on my way to catch the city bus that takes me to the subway. 

There are only two times that I hate the city bus:

1. mid-afternoon when everyone normally finishes class/work

2. when the temperature cools down and the bus driver decides to blast the heat

I felt like I was going to puke everywhere it was so hot and uncomfortable on that bus. 

I was feeling pretty good about myself when I was riding the subway. I rarely get out of the house unless I'm going to class or to the library to do work. Even then it doesn't sound that exciting, does it? Anywho, I'm always full of excitement every time I leave Etobicoke and adventure somewhere. You never have the same experience twice. It's awesome. 

Bubble burst #1:

It started to rain again once I got off the subway.

Bubble burst #2:

I walked in the wrong direction once I got off said subway. Thankfully my friend Leviana was just a text message away and guided me in the right direction.

 

While I was walking down Spadina, I got a little discouraged that I hadn't found Kensington yet so I turned down some random road. Here are my findings:

I texted Leviana again and she told me to keep walking down Spadina and I would eventually find myself at the Market. This woman speaks all truth. 

I found myself in many vintage stores. And I tried on some fun things, but didn't buy any clothes or accessories. Although I'm pretty stoked about my one find... Jethro Tull's 'Aqualung' on vinyl that I bought for five dollars. It's in pretty good condition too. I cannot wait till Christmas break when I have access to a record player again. 

I had no idea what I was going to photograph once I got to Kensington. I find this is always the best though. I love going in 'naked' and letting the area take over me. Since it was pretty much nighttime, I decided to shoot 'Kensington at night'. There's only a couple shots that I'm completely satisfied with, but it was a different learning experience. I regularly photograph during the day so this was a nice change. 

Bubble burst #3: 

I didn't run into one street-meat vendor when I made my way back to the subway stop. I've always taken the time to stop and buy a delicious hot dog before boarding the train, but today that didn't happen. 

This made up for it though... 

A 7/11 consumed the corner of Spadina and Bloor St. so I went inside in search of one thing, and one thing only. A banana slurpee. And they did. And I happily bought one and drank it on the subway. A nutritious supper. 

Kensington Market has not seen the last of me. If I don't make it there before I head back to Port Colborne, I will be making a special trip during the Christmas holidays to pay my respects. 

Yours truly. 

This is for all those hot shots that think they've got it all

My Vitamin Water is called 'XXX'

I finished writing my last essay of the semester last night. 

This is how excited I am right now. 

However, I still have to do all of my readings that I've neglected over the past three weeks. Meh. As of right now, I'm honestly not that concerned. 

Signed, a happy camper. 

I don't have a library card, but do you mind if I check you out?

I played my first hand of Magic: The Gathering tonight. 

Is it wrong if I say that I kinda digg it?

I'd say it was about a 5 on the drool richter scale

It's been a good 3 months since I've eaten any kind of chip. And it's not cause I'm on a diet or anything. Since I'm buying all of my groceries this year, I just don't want to spend the money on them. I guess it's called being a student. 

HOWEVER. 

When I was at my friend's house tonight, I noticed a bag of Ruffles chips on the counter. And, of course, they happened to be sour cream and onion... which is my favourite and I have been craving them for the past week. I still say Old Dutch has the best sour cream and onion, but beggars can't be choosers. Right?

They were so good. I can still remember how they felt in my mouth, but that's probably because they leave a distinct trail on your taste buds. I await their return. 

(http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/s/sour_cream__onion.asp)

Yours truly. 

Seriously

How big is your weenus?

I hate when essays get in the way of your nap time

*all images taken from Photobucket

Who likes to rock the party? These kitties like to rock the party. 

I meant to post these the day after Hallowe'en

The doings of my hair.

The end result. 

(from left to right)

Kristie: Alice in Wonderland

Me: Bride of Frankenstein

Ashlee: Devil

Katie: Tom Cruise from "Risky Business" 

<3

My favourite time of the day

One thought always manages to enter my mind before I go to bed... 

"I cannot wait for breakfast tomorrow morning."

And then I think about my food possibilities and I go to bed happy. 

Happy birthday

My roommate Ashlee is celebrating her 19th birthday today. And we rang in this festive occasion with an epic sing-a-long to the Pokemon theme song. Haha. Out of all the songs in the world, I don't know why we chose to sing that one at midnight, but it kinda summed up the night that we'd been having... 

Ashlee, Serena, and I had a homework party in our dining room last night. Since it's November, that means a crap load of assignments that need to be completed in a short amount of time. Let's look at my life for the next month:

Nov 9: 2 page essay about "The Mysteries of Udolpho" (DONE)

Nov 12: 8 page film essay on "Nanook of the North" (DONE)

Nov 16: essay about the importance of the CBC and local television so that we can have a place where Canadian content is distributed 

Nov 17: moon project for Astronomy

Nov 19: Bus 174 seminar for film class

Nov 23: 8-10 page essay about "The Book of Negroes" 

*Sometime before the end of Nov: a follow up to a seminar presentation about sexualized advertisements 

*and some random photography assignments

AND THEN EXAMS START. 

In other words, we basically spent the night trying to get some homework out of the way. Nothing like spending a Friday night with a pen and paper trying to figure out your thesis and main arguments for an essay you don't even want to write. 

Story of my life. 

Considering the amount of frustration and hate at our assignments, we still managed to throw in some fun. We played an exciting game of "Simon Says", belted our hearts out to Backstreet Boys, Hanson, the Moffats, and S Club 7. We even tested our knowledge about the different Pokemon as we tried to remember their names just by looking at a picture. We're actually pretty cool people.  

It's a little after 2:30 in the morning and I'm still sitting in the dining room surrounded by my papers and general thoughts about my essay. I have my final moon observation to do in five hours (7am) which means that I can finally start/finish that assignment. 

Yours truly. 

I still have tan lines on my feet from my yellow flats

and I get sad every time I look at them. 

I MISS YOU SUMMER

become a part of my life again

Motion Sickness: 1, Kristina: 0

I ended up puking in the bathroom on the coach bus when I was coming home from Toronto tonight. For some stupid reason I decided to take the 4:30 bus, knowing in my head that traffic was going to suck. It was nothing but stop-and-go traffic as soon as we got onto the Gardner Express Way which sent my stomach into whirls. 

Everyone knows that I have a major problem with motion sickness. I have to face a certain way on the subway, I can't go on any rides that spin around in circles, riding in the back seat of a car is starting to bug me, and I can't watch any video that is shot in the style of home movies. Cloverfield is an example. 

By the time we got into Oakville my stomach couldn't take it anymore. I knew I was going to puke. Thankfully I made it in time to the bathroom or else I would never be able to get over the fact that I puked into one of those garbage bags on the bus. I honestly felt 10 times better afterwards. It was great. 

I killed two bird with one stone on that bus ride: 

a. I've never used a bathroom that's on a moving vehicle

b. I've felt nauseous from car rides, but never to the point of actually puking. 

I'm starting to think that my motion sickness it getting worse. Please let me be wrong. 

I've missed you too much

<3

Why can't there be more surprises like this one?

I reached into my backpack in search of an elastic to tie my hair back and instead I found some chocolate. 

Let the sunshine, let the sunshine in

Tuesday afternoon I decided to venture downtown to Queen St. for my photography assignment. My cousin told me about this alleyway covered in graffiti and it was my mission to find it using her directions. Walking west down Queen, I stumbled upon an alley covered in graffiti that ran parallel to me so I figured I was in the right place. 

About 10 minutes after I took the last picture, a teenage boy came along and added silver spray paint all over the bottom part of the door. I went to check the door after he left. I was glad that I photographed it before he came because the silver took away from the vibrant colours. 

It was getting dark by the time I finished walking around the alley and decided to make my way back to the subway stop. Walking along Queen St. I stopped in at Criminal Records to kill some time. I tried on this shirt that had David Bowie's face from Ziggy Stardust, but it was too small and they didn't have any larger sizes. The guy working there told me that another shipment of t-shirts will be coming in soon and that I should try again later. 

By this time, it was already 5:30 pm. Having never seen Much Music in person, I decided to stand outside on the sidewalk and watch the last half hour of MOD. One Republic was the guest for that show. Beside me was this middle-aged man wearing a blue Batman mask with a cape, made out of a bed sheet, that had the Batman emblem on it. In his hand he had a sign that said, "Uno Republic. I'm a Halloween left over." He allowed me to photograph him without any problems. 

Every Tuesday he comes to his appointment and then stops by to watch MOD. I don't know how long he has been doing this, but he mentioned something about an artist who came in the summer so I guess it's been happening for a while. I never got his name, but that's how I prefer it to be. It adds a level of mystery to his character. 

After eating some street-meat, I made my way onto the subway towards home. 

At first I was a little anxious that I wouldn't be able to find material for my photography assignment. But every time I go downtown I always manage to find myself in an area farther away from where I intended to be. 

Goal: travel downtown at least once a week and explore a different area of Toronto. 

I really want to do something cool for my next photography assignment

(http://audreyhepburncomplex.tumblr.com/)