The Coffeehouse

I know I asked for snow. I asked for sweaters, and mittens, and scarfs, and snowboots. But I did not, I repeat, did NOT, sign up for the cold. That wasn't part of the deal, it was just supposed to be snow. Snow and blue skies.

It's so coooooold. With the windchill, it's been below -20s, and today, I couldn't find my gloves.

My gloves.
My gloves, my gloves, my gloves,
My gloves, my gloves, my gloves,
My lovely winter gloves,
Check it out!

Here is my book tag from Abed:

The rules are: Grab the book closest to you, Open to page 123-Scroll down to the 5th sentence, post the text of next 3 sentences on your blog-Name of the book and the author, Tag 3 people.

Answer:

Although the federal EA process still has the natural environment as its primary focus, given the definition of environment in the Act, proponents are directed to consider social impacts. Environment is meant to mean 'the components of the Earth' and to include '(a) land, water and air, including all layers of the atmosphere, (b) all organic and inorganic matter and living organisms, and (c) the interacting natural systems that include components referred to in (a) and (b) while environmental effects are to include "any effect of any such change on health and socio-economic conditions"' (CEAA 1992, 2(1)).

In practice, the environmental effects of a federal project should include changes in the biophysical environment caused by the project, as well as 'certain effects that flow directly from those changes, including effects on.....

- From Kevin S. Hanna (Ed.) Environmental Impact Assessment: Practice and Participation

So technically, those weren't 3 sentences, but is it my fault I get the longest sentences in history?! The third sentence continues into a list. And Abed, I really must thank you for this tag, because honestly, this is the first time I've read anything in this book, and it's a required text for one of my classes, AND I had a test today for that course, and I just studied my notes....

And 10 Things You Didn't Know About Me from Digital Nomad:

1) I make the bestest Cherry Cheesecake ever. (It's actually Mom's recipe)

2) I was born in Kuwait.

3) I went to three different highschools.

4) I had my adenoids taken out when I was 5 years old. (You were dying to know that)

5) I hate lentil soup.

6) My two favourite childhood teddy bears were called Bunzwella and Bunny Joe (B.J. for short). Bunzwella actually went through several name changes including Sara and possibly Barbie. They're both packed somewhere in the basement.

7) I started another part-time job at Virgin Mobile. (Is this weird? An Arab guy and his friend approached me needing help sending a ringtone from one cellphone to the next via Bluetooth, and they didn't know you had to turn on Bluetooth in both phones....)

8) I ate a champagne flavoured jelly-bean when I was younger, and it said "natural flavours" on the box, and I freaked out. (Because as a Muslim, alcohol is prohibited)

9) I have an e-crush on this guy.

10) I dissected a cat in biology class.

Last night we had our first real snow. Forget those last pictures I took, that was amateur winter stuff, it hasn't really snowed until you've got at least 4 inches of the white stuff on the ground and everyone is driving in slow-mo.

I love snow, it was so refreshing to wake up this morning and see nothing but endless white outside my window. It's like our bodies are in-tune with the seasons, just like any other biological being, your mentally and physically programmed to expect certain temperatures and sights at specific times of the year. Since December, I have woken up fully expecting a winter wonderland, and it just seems wrong when I see trees budding and green grass instead. It's surprising, and frankly, very annoying! So today, I was a happy caffeine-and-snow-loving gal. A happy caffeine-and-snow-loving gal who had to walk through miles of yucky dirty slush to get to the bus stop. Ok, a quarter of a mile, but still, SLUSH. I loved it!

I got The Da Vinci Code from the public library on Saturday and I'm halfway through it. I was extremely bored over the weekend, and since I haven't gotten any of my class texts, I had nothing to read. Usually, I don't do any non-academic reading when classes are going on because I have no self-discipline and I would gladly use up most of my study time to read the non-academic stuff. No self-discipline right? I haven't been able to put down the stupid book because it's so good! Not as good as Angels & Demons, but there were times while reading this book where I literally gasped out of shock and surprise. The one thing I hate about this book is its cover. It's got that "NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE" text on it. I'll be honest with you, I judge a book by it's cover. I was actually debating whether to get the book or not, but I couldn't find any other cover for it, and I finally gave in. I also borrowed White Oleander, and the only copy of it I found was one that had the movie poster as the cover, grrr. If the text in the book is good, the cover should reflect it, not make reference to its movie, which could potentially suck. Sometimes though, I've picked out books with gorgeous covers only to stop reading the novel after the 5th page. So, I agree, you can never tell what's inside by the cover, but still, they've got to be pretty!

Sophie and Langdon are at the Zurich bank and have gotten hold of the Rosewood box with some liquid thingy inside!
 

EDIT: I forgot to mention, my sister, who goes to a different university, got to stay at home today since her university cancelled all classes due to the snow! My university NEVER closes down due to weather. She's first year, I'm fourth, you'd think I should be getting the break!

Eid Mubarak and Happy New Year!

May this coming year bring more joy than pain and end to injustices around the world.

No New Year's Resolutions again this year (wow, my punctuation sucked...).

BUT, if I were to have any kind of resolution, it would be to travel to more countries. These are the countries I've visited so far...

visited 16 countries (7%)

create your own visited countries map

Only 7% of the world, and I didn't include any flight stopovers because, if you stay in the airport, you're not really IN the country since international airports are considered to be "international land". And I was really dissappointed I couldn't check off any Asian or South American countries. It would be amazing to visit India, Japan, Argentina and Brazil...

Happy New Year everybody, nobody party too much!

It was cold, white, and bright...

* York University campus.

i was on the subway, making my way downtown.
the sun was warm, the sky was blue and cloudless.
just the way the sun was shining into the train,
and how peaceful things looked in the city,
i couldn't help but think, everything's perfect.

i went skiing yesterday....

i woke up this morning to pain-induced paralysis. i've been sore since last night and i couldn't even change sleeping positions because of the pain..but this morning, i couldn't get out of bed and i was home alone and there was no one to help me.. took me a couple of minutes to sit up..and then standing up was the REAL problem. once i stood up, i knew there was no way in heaven and hell i could sit down again without causing more bodily harm. i had to either stand the entire day, or sit the entire day. it was like that time i tried out for the volleyball team and the damn coaches worked me so hard, i couldn't go up or down the stairs and i had to choose one floor of my house to live in for a while. ..but i've learned a trick, i just have to change from stand/sit reaaaally reaallly fast, and i will only have to endure one second of humongous, gigantic pain :D

despite all that, skiing was fun!! i got me some battlescars, but my friends assured me it looks cool, makes me look tuff, and if i had kept the bandaid, i would've looked like nelly...uh huh. 

gil, because she's such a cool person and she knows how ugly i can get when my pride is hurt, will tell you how i was the ski-goddess and that i OWNED those slopes, and i was going down those steep hills like a pro, when all of the sudden, a piece of ice appeared in my way, and there was just no way to avoid it, ABSOLUTELY no way, cause y'know, pro-champ me was going at super speed, and i hit it and tumbled and scraped my face a little.

what really happened was less exciting. i was finally making my way down the smallest hill without falling and stopping at the bottom in really cool ways (woho!), so i went up again and as i was skiing my way down, i lost my balance and my left ski pole got stuck in the snow which caused me to trip and basically, my face landed on the top part of the pole and i fell....it doesnt look too bad now, and thank god i was wearing sunglasses and it missed my eye, but when it first happened, i felt like someone threw a rock at my face, and i thought it was just a bruise, but then i realized i got scraped and there was a little blood. it's better today, but still hurts.... 

 this is the blue mountain ski resort....

 ^  one boot on, those boots are heavvvyyyy....

^ see that black rubber handle on the poles? i hit my face right at the top part of it.....

so that was my skiing adventure. it was fun, but i'll wait until i am un-sore again to decide whether i ever want to do it in my life again....ever...

i felt really crummy the entire day...so i ended up going to the library a little while ago and raided the movie and music section and then picked up some reading material, because after all, how can you go the library and NOT pick up a BOOK?? it's a long list but should keep me busy from focusing on my papers and projects :p

1) ferris bueller's day off - it's a law, you must watch it on your days off....

2) annie hall - because i've never seen it

3) romeo and juliet - the one with the reaaally hot romeo

4) what dreams may come - robin williams...period..

5) west side story - i want to make fun of those gang ballet dances...over and over again :p

6) monsieur ibrahim - omar sharif in a french movie, looks interesting

music:

1) where we live - campaign for universal right to clean air & clean water (it was calling out to the tree-hugger in me)

2) sam roberts - the inhuman condition (what ever happened to him?)

3) music from "gilmore girls" ( no comment :D)

4) ray charles - genius loves company (duets, it looked like a good cd)

and the one book i got was on a lightening loan (maximum of 7 days, no renewal) which was john grisham's "the broker" and i'm reaaaallly hoping it doesn't suck....i used to LIVE off his books, but then they got crappier and crappier. his bestest book was "the runaway jury" about tobacoo litigation. yes, they did make a movie out of it, but changed the whole thing to be around gun-control...idiots...i refuse to watch it..

and i decided to treat my crummy self to some sushi and yummy vanilla chai smoothie (uh huh, yeah, you read right, YUMMYYY!! pssshh)...

grrrrr....i just wrote a freakin long post....its a wonderful day

EDIT 1: i am slowly typing whatever i remember from my long lost post..and saving...goddamit i am saving!! (yes gil..after every freakin period..)

EDIT 2: the post is finally compleeeeetttteeee....

i need to read a book....something...anything!!! anything except digital text on the computer...as much as i love technology and the whole page/beep thingy that makes life a little more beautiful, I CAN'T STAND LOOKING AT THE COMPUTER SCREEN LONGER THAN I HAFTO!!! get it? got it....yesterday i ventured out into the world with the intention of going to the library and finding a book to enjoy a cuppa with, but the car made its way to the mall instead and i bought some clothes..which is also fine, but i realized it was temporary happiness and i am still BOOKLESS!! and bored...very bored...did i mention i was bored? during the day that is...the nights have proven to be more eventful due to friends who are also bored and bookless, woho!

"everyone has a price to pay for a healthier environment"..... mine just happens to be freezing my butt off while taking out the compost. we keep this little pail in the kitchen to put leftover fruits and veggies in and take to the compost in the backyard. but this winter, my mom decided not to have it cause i guess she didnt wanna go out in the cold. for the first couple of days of this new routine (or lack of) i'd cringe everytime i put something decomposable into the garbage, my conscience would not rest!....honestly, its just gonna lie there in the dump instead of being returned into the ground..anyhoo... so finally i approached my mom, put my foot down, and made her an offer she couldn't refuse: i, her lovely eldest daughter with fragile and soon-to-be-frostbitten fingers, will take out the compost every week so that her grandchildren can live in a slightly more healthier environment... and since she already loves her unborn future grandkids and would probably rather not have to deal with the stinky mess, she agreed...i'd like to think it was more because of the first reason than the second...my poor fingers!

this is why coffee is the undisputed #1 love of my life!!! besides, it doesn't talk back and stuff....

i usually have all of my yearly doctors' checkups around the time school begins in the fall, september.. ..this year however i kept rescheduling/cancelling these appointments because i honestly have no time..plus, they always end up giving me crazy hours right smack-dab in the middle of my day...so FINALLY, i went to see my family doctor and my optometrist this past week (haven't seen my dentist yet, might change doctors cause they kept stalking me with letters and phone calls about the importance of dental hygiene...weirdos)...i'm healthy! woho! i think my eyes may have gotten worse... can't see as well as i used to ..but then i didnt pay attention to what my eye doctor was telling me about my new prescription... he umm....was good looking :p..so really, i dont know about the state of my eyes..but what i noticed and what got me so mad was these stupid mean-y receptionist doctors seem to be hiring....yes i know you work there every freakin day of your life, but i only get to see you once a year so BE NICE!! that means not talking down to me as if i was offering YOU some kind of service YOU'RE paying for..your livelihood is in my hands hun! (and maybe vice versa too??)..if i was ever mean or nasty to a patient at my old job, i'd get bitched at by the patient AND the supervising doctor..i never was, everyone liked me :D...but the other receptionist was always nasty, so she'd get bitched at....

my winter break has been uneventful, compared to last year anyway.... last year both my parents were out of the country and it was just me and my bro and sister...we got along surprisingly well..i remember i used to wake up really early go to the gym, pick up some breakfast for them and come back home and i'd still have the rest of the day to do stuff....this year, not only have i put my gym membership on hold (well, i did it too last year, but they gave me a pass for the winter break)..but my parents are here and i am fourth on the list to use the car, after parents and bro..so basically, i almost never get the car..oh yes, and when i do, its usually scheduled around when i need to pick up/drop off my sister...hence, no gym time...

i was out and just came back, and some kid hit me in the head with his toy airplane and the thing is i saw it coming...he was putting it together right in front of me and as he was about to fly it, i thought "wouldn't it be funny if it hit my -" BAM...besides suffering from head injuries, i think i am on my way to a heart attack..i just finished eating a whole BK whopper combo...it may not sound like a big deal to you but it is because i haven't eaten this type of fast food (i eat pizza :D ) in a couple of years...it was yummy, but i am fearing the consequences...maybe i should've had my check-up after i ate it.....