ease your mind

Something cool..

2011-08-25T22:55:00.001-04:00

Facebook was showing old statuses on the sidebar and this one in particular really made me think...

On August 25, 2009 I wrote:

In NYC, interning at a great organization and a desk with a view of the Empire State Building - how did I get so lucky?!

Wow! I'm worlds away from that experience today... not worse or better, just different.

2011-07-04T23:02:00.001-04:00

Realizing long held dreams and goals is going to be the theme for the rest of this year! (hopefully)

And it starts with the trip of a lifetime later this month....I'm finally taking the train across Canada from Toronto to Vancouver...I've wanted to do this for so so so long that it doesn't seem real yet (I'm sure it will sink in once I get the credit card statement though). The trip will take 3 days/4 nights and luckily I bought a sleeper cabin so I won't go crazy from lack of proper sleep.

Anyway, I'm really excited. I don't know anyone on the West Coast but I can't wait to see what it's about. And of course, I can't wait to see the beauty that is Canada...oh man, is it July 23rd already?!

2011-03-26T21:49:00.001-04:00

2 pretty big milestones in 2011.

1. My 1-year mark of being at a great job just passed - I can finally say I have a 'career'!

2. In August, I'm going to turn the big 3-0! Yes, me, the girl that still looks like she is in high school! I'm excited! Never did anything special on the birthdays before, but I feel like I should do something this year....hm....

Goodbye '09, I'll miss you!

2009-12-31T23:15:00.004-05:00

This past year has been amazing. Not only did I finally graduate (again) but I got to see my dream of living in New York become a reality.. Granted it was only for 2.5 months, but still..it's NEW YORK!!!

Also, another dream of working for a world-class organization like UNICEF came true. Ok yeah...that too will be rather short-lived but I did it and that's what counts, dammit :p

Even though I'm happy looking forward to the future, I can't help but think back and reminisce about the past decade. 2000-2009 = the best time of my life! I graduated three times (highschool, university, college). I lived abroad in three countries (South Africa, Taiwan, USA). I travelled to a almost a dozen more countries. And through all that, I learned more than I ever thought possible.

The next decade has a lot to live up to. I would like to live abroad again doing something I love and that I'm good at. My contract with UNICEF ends next month and after that, who knows? =) Things are constantly uncertain when it comes to my future, but that's just a part of this journey called life. (haha! listen to me trying to sound deep :p.. fail!)

Happy New Year friends =)

wooooww

2009-03-25T21:47:00.002-04:00

I spent the last hour or so going through the blog. It's amazing - almost like going back in time!! I couldn't help laughing at some of the nutty things I wrote :p

An update is in order, no?!! It has been a couple of years after all.

Let's ignore the last whiny post and start from September '07! So in short, I worked at UofT for year (remember it was supposed to be a temporary gig, but they asked me to stay on longer..) It was a good job, I learned a lot. The pay was really good and the people were great.

After my year at UofT was over, I applied to go back to school. Shocking, I know! But sometimes I think it's the best decision I've made in the last few years.

As of Sep '08, I've been studying Fundraising and Volunteer Management at Humber College. It's a 1-year program, so I will be finishing my second semester in just under 2 months. In the third semester I have to take on an internship to complete my studies...that is what's keeping me preoccupied at the moment.

So in a nutshell: last year I was working, and this year I've been studying to become a fundraiser =) It's amazing, life is unpredictable sometimes. I never would have imagined myself being in this position..being in such an amazing program and receiving invaluable training from industry leaders. The future is bright, I'm excited by the possibilities.

Now the blog is all caught up! see you in about two years...

Life goes on

2007-12-30T18:44:00.000-05:00

I think I'm going through a quarter life crisis. It sounds lame but it's true :)

...

2007-08-26T19:30:00.001-04:00

I don't know what to do..

Since finishing school exactly two years ago I haven't stayed in Canada for more than two months at a time - not because I hate it here but because there have always been better opportunities elsewhere. Now I'm coming to the end of month 2 and I'm kind of freaking out!

I have a stable job...and a plan (I plan to apply to go back to school next Aug.) but here's my dilemma...what do I do in the meantime?? I have two options:

Option 1: Stay put, live at home with the family and work and volunteer. And maybe take a course or two at UofT.

Option 2: Go to Seoul for the year and save money for school.

Both have their own pros and cons...and I'm really struggling with making the right choice. BTW, I'm turning 26 this week - could that have anything to do with my restlessness?? :p

Update!

2007-08-06T13:12:00.000-04:00

My Taiwan adventure has come to an end! I don't know which was more difficult...saying goodbye to my friends and students or coming back to a city with virtually no prospects for meaningful employment...(by that I mean something that would make use of the years I spent studying International freaking Development)

Anyway, as of June/07 I'm no longer in Taichung, Taiwan... what an amazing experience that was! I met great people and had so many fantastic adventures (and some misadventures too :p). I got to travel a bit which was EXCELLENT! I visited friends in South Korea and went to Singapore and Malaysia for a long weekend. And I know a bit of mandarin now... if I want to keep it though I should study here too.

For now, I'm doing temp work at the University of Toronto (Accessibility Services). So all I'm sure of at this moment is that I'll be in Toronto until Oct/07 working and volunteering. After that, the sky's the limit!

2007-02-20T01:42:00.000-05:00

You know the best thing about Chinese New Year? We get a week off work!! Alhamdulillah, I need a break.

hello year of the Pig! I wonder what the year holds for me as a Rooster =)

2007-01-24T08:10:00.000-05:00

I'm posting this to say that i had a break thru moment yesterday when I realized WHY I had been severely underutilizing this thing for the past year...school.

yeah, if you look back a couple of years it just so happens that a majority of my posts are about school! mostly about how it's been a pain in my ass day in day out. now that I'm out of school it's like I don't have anything to complain about. in reality I do, but those annoyances don't bother me to the extent that I feel i have to write about them.. hm. yea so that's why I haven't been posting. I'm not making excuses, I'm just saying...

anyway, everything is great here in the R.O.C. (and by great I mean tolerable). I'm doing more work to fill in the huge amounts of free time I have. In addition to the classes, I do private tutoring. Two of my students are a dentist couple who work from 9am to 10pm, five days a week! why they choose to spend their lunch break talking with me is beyond me...

so just to recap since that last spastic post (there really was an earthquake, first time I've been in one), I haven't been up to much. For new years while everyone was partying and drinking and maybe experimenting with drugs, I was on a vow of silence. Yep for four days not a word came out of my mouth. Why I did that I don't know but I felt like it was something I had to do. I went paintballing this weekend. I have the bruises to prove it :p it was fun. very different. there was a mishap when I kept shooting at the ref (gave him a nice whack on the neck) but that was the only blemish on the whole day.

that's about it for now =)

2006-12-26T09:41:00.000-05:00

EARTHQUAAAAAAAAAKE!

EVERYONE RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!

2006-12-23T21:54:00.000-05:00

My housemate is going to Korea next month, she'll be staying with a friend who came to visit me in October. I won't be able to go for a couple of reasons, that's OK though. I have a plan brewing, hoping to visit indonesia or malaysia before I go home in June - we'll see how it goes!

other than that, everything is going fine. I really need to start eating better tho. yea yea we could all use a better diet, but mine's pretty damn messed up. I eat crap most of the day and after work (9:00) I'll get a pang of hunger that I can't ignore - and in a frenzy of intense need, I'll grab and eat the nearest…edible…thing, which, when I'm lucky, is not a human. Next thing I know, thirty minutes will have passed and I'll be lying on a pile of 150NT worth of 'food' from McDonald's. It is at these times when I am at my weakest, and I hang my head in shame - knowing that all I need to complete the scene would be a huge pot belly covered with condiments from my spoils.

I've heard eating small meals is the best way to go. and I'm going to work on eating big breakfasts...first tho, I'll work on getting up early enough to eat breakfast in the first place. after that the sky's the limit! I figure I'll be fine if I just keep eating little healthy things before I get too hungry to resist that damn McDonalds.

2006-12-12T00:19:00.000-05:00

My friend in Korea is damn hillarious..

From time to time i have some elderly person push me in a shocking way (for no reason) in subways or in busy streets and not say sorry. "Sorry"?? what's that? Especially when people are trying to get off from elevators or trains, the "normal" thing to do would be to step aside and let them off first before you enter, right?!! *beep* wrong!! the way we mostly do it here is, as soon as you see the sliding doors opening, just PUSHHHHHHHHHHHHHH push your way in, baby!! push, kick if you have to, damn it!! Just find yourself in the train or elevator before those suckers from behind you find the good warm seats that these suckers who're getting off the trains or elevators left.

A while back, I got pushed by this old man who was carrying a big load on his back. He pushed me with his hands and i remember going "excuse you, sir!" and quickly glanced at those hands he pushed me with ('cause it kindda hurt). And ya i remember thinking where the hellllll is he going with clenched fists like that? a boxing match. a boxing match with a poor ethiopian who wanders the streets of seoul and mind her own business? :))))) ya sometimes, seriously, seoul subways and crowded areas are just big boxing rings. And darn it, you definitely have to put on your boxing gloves!! Quite frankly, i'm starting to push a little myself. When i'm in a crowded place or i'm in a hurry and don't feel like waiting for people to get off trains or elevators, i pushhhh. i push and i push. when in korea, do as the koreans do, baby!!

hehe, no pushing in Taiwan fortunately :)

the power of the blog

2006-12-06T00:49:00.000-05:00

After reading the last post I was like "wait a minute?!" and I got off my ass and did something...

As of this Monday, I started subbing for a kindergarten in Taiping and I started doing more regular private tutoring...I work at kindy from 930 to 1130 so I don't have much free time ANYMORE! that's good and bad. good because I make more money (way more money!), bad because I don't HAVE FREE TIME ANYMORE!! I miss my free time but thankfully I'll get it back after two weeks when the regular teacher comes back..

I tell you this thing is better than therapy...

how exciting?

2006-11-27T00:54:00.000-05:00

change is good, no? =)

well everything is still going smoothly here. getting better and better at this thing they call teaching. I'm getting a little restless though...seems like everyday is like the day before. and the day before was like the day before that, and so on and so on.

so to illustrate my litte predicament here's a quick rundown of an average day (which is to say EVERYDAY)

9:00 - Wake up

9:00 to 3:00 - Kill time running errands, shopping, watching tv, picking my nose, staring into space, etc.. if i'm lucky I'll spend a couple of hours tutoring uni students here and there.

3:30 - leave for work

4:00 to 10:00 - At work, preparing, teaching, marking homework

10:30 - come home, eat dinner (and by dinner I mean candy)/watch movie

?? - sleep whenever

THEN I GET TO START ALL OVER AGAIN THE NEXT DAY! EXCITING STUFF OR WHAT?!

2006-11-18T01:37:00.000-05:00

yea so the irony of Taiwan is neverending...every day it's something new. The other day I was at a night market with a friend (african american from chicago) and we were approached by a group of hardcore goth teens - head to toe in black and metal studs - they asked if they could take pictures with us....and here i was thinking THEY were the odd ones. If my Ethio friend from Korea was still here she would've shouted something like "nigga please! I should be taking a picture of your ass. Freak!"

I guess it's all about perspective lol!

2006-11-09T11:04:00.000-05:00

Chinese class was interesting today, our teacher asked me to say "The teacher wants to take a cup" so I did, or I thought I did. instead I said, "the teacher wants to take the child." Taken literally that shouldn't mean much right?? Haha but noo, lucky for me there's a special meaning to that - abortion. The teacher laughed for a good minute and finally topped long enough to explain why she was laughing. heh, good times! we say some crazy things in that class.

it's pretty cool though to be almost, kinda, semi-functional in a new language. I'm getting better each day and even though I know I'll never master the writing or anything it's still cool to understand words here and there!

zai chien =)

2006-11-06T01:20:00.000-05:00

IT'S TRUE! IT'S TRUE! I heard a lot of ish about foreigners in Taiwan and how they can get away with a lot of crap on the road but it's trueeeee, and I found out the hard way...

I got stopped by a police officer couple of nights ago: I was coming home late and I made an illegal left turn - which EVERYONE does, in the beginning i followed the rules but since then I found it easier to follow the crowd (sometimes it's more dangerous to follow traffic rules)
Anyway, he stopped me and I took my helmet...after taking one look he motioned for me to go on. I thought he meant get off the scooter and he was like 'bye bye!" so I got back on and sped off like a bat out of hell!

I was told that's what would happen. it's hard to believe it actually happens tho. shoot i'm so lucky, I had at least three infractions on me (the illegal turn, my scooter doesnt have the emission sticker AND I was wearing my mp3.) that could've been a lot of money in tickets...

2006-11-01T10:42:00.000-05:00

sooo obviously I hadn't stuck to my word since it's been well over a week since my last post. that shows what my word is good for - NOTHING, NADDA, ZIP. yep yep. so for future reference, if I make u a promise, take it with a grain of salt ;p

anyway, nothing new to report 'cept that I have a wicked cold. teaching is same ol' same ol'. they say that no two classes are the same, but dammit I beg to differ! damn the Man. what? I don't know why I said that.

moving on...the weather is getting cooler eh. bad news for us scooterists (i love making up new words. it's so supacious) really bad news for the gazillion stray animals out here. poor creatures. hope the elements are kind to them this year, cause I know that they won't get any kindness from 85% of the population here. I was thinking about joining an animal rights volunteer group or something. we'll see how that goes..

oh and a friend passed me her new Justin Timberlake CD and as much as it pains me to say this...I actually like it?? what has Taiwan done to me? my wardrobe is changing too, the other day I was eying a pair of bright coloured wooly leg warmers (eighties style) shoot :

2006-10-22T12:10:00.001-04:00

interesting day today. I met up with an American teacher whose been here for a little over a year. and I found a really cool diner (FM Station) which I plan to frequent in the future. it was refreshing to actually, really talk about meaningful things. worthwhile conversations is the one thing that's been severely lacking during my time here. I can count on one hand the number of ppl I've met here who are sincerely interested in what's going on in the world and are in tune with things outside of their own experience.

I have to admit, I love to debate. and fyi that is not the same as arguing. I love looking at an issue and trying to break it down from all possible perspectives. I remember my last year of uni my good friend Roger and I always getting into debates about everything and anything. somehow we were always on the opposite side of the spectrum with all kinds of issues but it was awesome to just talk like openly without worrying about offending anyone. dude I so miss that! it was funny coz we always ended our talks with 'OK, let's just agree to disagree!" heh.

anyway, that's enough bellyaching for one night. eid mubarak!

2006-10-13T23:28:00.000-04:00

hello again! wow back so soon eh :)

I'm trying to get back into the swing of blogging. once upon a time it was something I did every couple of days. slowly it turned into every couple weeks until I stopped altogther.

but i want to get into it again. for a couple of reasons. i've been out of school for a year now; I've been a lot of places and I've done a lot of things. ideally my blog would've reflected that but nope.

so this is my pledge to you blog: I promise to write in you at least twice a week, every week. if I don't hold up my end of the bargain, I give you permission to shut down and erase the past three years of posts and mindless ranting. THREE YEARS??! has it really been that long? wow.

2006-10-12T13:17:00.000-04:00

The other day a kid in one of my younger classes called me 'chocolate teacher'

awww! how stupi- I mean cute :)

ramadan kareem y'all. I hope it's been a blessed one so far.

I'm so excited, I found a mosque last week, it's beautiful - you can see it here. planning to go back today for the Friday prayer!

Oh and a good friend of mine from Toronto came to visit from Korea for a week. good times! weird crap happening left right and centre. guess that's what happens when two crazy black girls are walking around the streets of Taiwan like they own the place. I got a much needed holiday from work. man I still can't believe I'm a teacher, somebody pinch me.

heh my family asked me if I'm getting used to Chinese food.

short answer: NO.

long answer: are you sick, do you know what kind of ungodly, depraved sorry excuse for food I have to put up with here. if you've never smelled 'stinky tofu' count your lucky stars. they don't call it stinky for nothing! If it wasn't for McDonalds' I'd be starving right now. oh and I saw toasted cockroaches the other day. COCKROACHES FOR GOODNESS SAKES.. yeah so to answer your question...no I have'n't gotten used to Chinese food. never want to either. (p.s. no offense to any Chinese ppl reading this, I don't mean no disprespect but for the love of bob what were you thinking??!)

2006-09-06T22:30:00.001-04:00

Yeah...soo it's been a while.

So I've been in Taichung for two months. 9 more to go! it's still a little surreal that I'm here. I'd be walking down the street and I'd realize that I don't understand a single word in any of the shops or signs. That's starting to get a bit tiring.

oh and you know what else is starting to get tiring. people doing double takes everytime they see me.

Anyway, to sum Taiwan up so far: the food sucks, the people are nice, it's too hot and humid (that's winding down tho thankfully,) teaching is strangely easy and hard at the same time, and I need to learn some mandarin asap =)

2006-07-12T22:20:00.000-04:00

Hello hello, greetings from Taichung, Taiwan!!

All is well here, I came to Taiwan on the 1st of July and spent the first week in Taipei doing training. Training for what you say?? well...I actually decided to become an English teacher for a year...

I'm now in Taichung in my new apartment (hehe) and I've started teaching. Crazy how things turn out sometimes. a month ago I never would've thought that this is what I would be doing to jump start my career.

Anyway, things are going great so far. Taiwan is an interesting place. It's kind of like the best of two worlds - sometimes I feel like I'm in some super developed country (the buses are insane! imagine huge leather recliners with massage capacity, built in speakers in the head rest, own monitor to watch movies or to play video games??) Other times though it feels very much like a developing country.

alright, that's all for now. Luckily the apartment came equipped with internet access so I'll be updating this thing more often.

cheers!

oh and I added some pics of Taiwan - it's on the link section incase you want to have a look =)

2006-06-16T22:01:00.000-04:00

I'm going to Taiwan!!!

details are pretty sketchy at this point so more to come later =)

2006-05-19T12:37:00.000-04:00

what the?!

I was just browsing job postings on Charityvillage.com when I came upon one that was posted by a Wanda Sykes who supposedly works with sunnybrook hospital. hm I wonder if it's legit and not some sort of practical joke :) but really I find that hard to believe, considering the unusualness of the name in question...

2006-05-18T12:20:00.000-04:00

ookaaay, I will stop procrastinating and update this thing!

I got back from Jo'burg about three weeks ago - I wished I stayed there longer but after coming back to here it was like I never left Toronto to begin with.

I loved being in johannesburg. were it not for the ridiculously high crime rate, I could see myself living there on a more long term basis. The country is beautiful - absolutely gorgeous. I had so much fun and met some interesting folks. There were times when I just wanted to get the heck out of there but overall I had an amazing experience that I will cherish for many years.

Maybe I'll go back one day as a tourist and do the things I didn't end up doing - like visiting Victoria Falls in zimbabwe? We'll see!

Anyway, I recently started the harrowing job search process and I gotta say it's tough out there! I did get one interview which was exciting but unfortunately I didn't make it to the end.

I will probably have to broaden my search outside of Toronto or even Canada if I want to get employed before my hair turns grey...it would be cool to get a job in another country!

2006-04-08T15:46:00.000-04:00

People are saying that joburg skipped summer this year because it's been unusually cool. I think winter usually starts around May but I guess it's come earlier this year? fine by me! there were only a handful of unbearably hot days...the rest cool and breezy and rainy. that's my ideal weather so I have no complaints weather-wise about joburg.

security-wise though the situation is still a bit unsettling, thankfully I'm not as pananoid as before so I'm enjoying it here again. I used to hate the nights but the fear is not as intense as before. I relapse sometimes and start checking out the windows every few hours to see if there's anything suspicious out there.

I'm being irrational I know, considering that a bathroom light started all of this. I just have to keep reminding myself of that!

anyway, it hailed today - they were the size of skittles. luckily I missed the hail by mere minutes! I got inside just in time. I wonder though what it's like to be caught in hail.

2006-04-04T08:14:00.000-04:00

something to add to my existing list of nicknames - Dr. Phil :)

I always thought I gave too much advice, now I know I do...thanks Tebello!

2006-04-03T14:15:00.000-04:00

Four jobs I've had:
1. Pizza maker
2. Summer Employment Officer
3. Communications Assistant
4. IT Trainer

Four movies I can watch (and have watched) over and over:
1. A Bronx Tale
2. Matilda
3. George of the Jungle
4. Aladdin

Four places I've lived:
1. Gabiley, Somalia
2. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
3. Ottawa, Canada
4. Johannesburg, South Africa

Four TV Shows I love:
1. Law and Order, SVU
2. Backstage
3. Pilot Guides
4. Passionate Eye

Four places I've vacationed:
1. Veradero, Cuba
2. Niagara Falls, Canada
3. Cardiff, UK
4. Grand Rapids, US

(I don't recommend the last two places as worthwhile 'vacation' spots)

Four sites I visit daily:
1. Yahoo
2. CharityVillage (job hunting)
3. canada.com
4. acdi-cida.gc.ca

2006-04-01T10:32:00.000-05:00

man I had a good day. I originally planned to take it easy and run some errands (grocery shopping, laundry etc.) like I do most saturdays but somehow I got suckered into coming into work early to meet the ngo's board of directors during thier meeting.

I didn't stay long so instead of running back home I went downtown into the guts of joburg and walked around for a few hours. it was insane, 'bustling' doesn't even begin to describe the atmosphere! I loved it. It was the first time I went there without a vehicle...

Anyway, I took a detour to Museum Africa and Oriental Plaza which was pretty great. Unfortunatly I didn't bring much money so I couldn't buy any of the neat things I saw. But I'll go back next weekend, oh yes, I'll go back with a shitload of cash and finally get around to buying the gifts I was ordered to buy for friends and family...mostly family though; friends were coy about asking for things but my family outright threatend bodily harm if I didn't get them stuff.

yeah so today was a good day, even the minibus driver yelling at me didn't dampen my spirits. (note for anyone coming to S.A.: don't tap the driver on the shoulder when you want to get off... they're pretty sensitive about that)

hm, less than a month left here. amazing how time flies. I miss Toronto though, I'm keen on going back.

2006-03-17T04:07:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday night was no doubt the worst night of my life.

It was about 9 pm and I was in my room reading when I heard a glass shattering. I thought that Liz, my housemate, dropped something so I thought nothing of it. A few seconds later Liz calls my name out sounding really panicked. I opened my door and there she stood looking stressed with two kitchen knives in her hand.

I'm thinking wtf is going on! She gave me a knife and said that she heard a window breaking in the front part of the house...man I was practically shitting in my pants at this point.

Knives in hand, we walked around from room to room inspecting the windows and found that nothing was broken; we concluded that a neighbour's house is being burglarized. Which was strange because this is a relatively safe neighbourhood. Anyhoo, after about ten minutes of insanity I headed back to my room and locked myself in hoping to fall asleep asap and get away from the unpleasantness.

WELL! That's when things got really bad.

I got woken again by Liz but this time it was the sound of her car heading out of the gate! She was going to her boyfriend's house, which she does once or twice a week. I was FLABBERGASTED. I was thinking what the hell is wrong with this girl, leaving me in the house all alone when she knows I'm not used to the crazy shit that goes on around here. ('here' being South Africa, and 'crazy shit' being the routine break-ins and rapes.)

I barely slept the whole night, I was praying all night and reciting over and over all the verses I had memorized from the Quran. I left my room every hour or so to see if there was anybody lurking around outside. I think I slept at about 4 am after shedding a tear or two.

Anyway, long story short, I found out the next day after coming back from work that the loud 'window breaking' noise was actually a light fixture in Liz' bathroom falling and shattering. The really fucked up part - she discovered this fact shortly after I went back to my room and didn't bother to alert me so that I can stop freaking out.

Honestly that was the worst night of my life - all because of an absentminded housemate and her defective bathroom light.

2006-03-08T07:58:00.000-05:00

hello again

Time is flying, I can't believe I've been here for two months. I haven't been up to much, just working my little heart out. I'm not as worried as before about trying to travel as much as I can. I came to realize that for me just living in a new place and developing a routine there can be more exciting that doing the whole tourist thing. It's great when a strange place starts to become familiar.

On the other hand though, I would like to do a touristy thing or two before I leave. I'm leaving my internship on the 14th of April but I'll be in Joburg until the 26th. During that break my goal is to visit Durban and maybe (that's a big maybe!) Zimbabwe.

The internship is still going well. I enjoy coming into the office very much. The atmosphere is not tense and oppressive and the people at HURISA are very easygoing and pleasant people. They seem genuinely interested in my development and have been providing a very supportive working and learning environment. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I consider myself very lucky to be here! I feel like I'm getting the most out of the opportunity in learning as much as I can and also passing on what I've learned to others through the training. When the time comes for me to leave, it's going to be hard!

I honestly don't know what I'll do when I get back to Canada. Should I go back to school or get a job? Neither option appeals to me at the moment. I'm applying to jobs while I'm here but nothing fruitful yet.

Moving on. I braided my hair with extensions in late January and I recently took them out. It feels so good to be free from all that mess of hair. I lost a lot of it in the process of taking the extensions out though. So my once thick and unruly hair has been reduced to thin and wiry fluff : I'm just letting you guys know so you won't freak out if I come back to T.O. with half a head of hair :)

What else to say? I'm working on taking pictures and uploading them, I'll let you know when I do!

2006-01-30T07:20:00.000-05:00

Greetings :)

Just to update, Johannesburg is great. Unfortunately, because of work I don't have a lot of time to fully enjoy what the city/country has to offer. Forget doing anything on the weekdays, I come home at 6 and have no energy whatsoever. On the odd night I might go for dinner with friends but those times are few and far between. On the weekends though I've been trying to go out and explore as much as possible...I've been to several important landmarks but not as much as I would've liked to by now.

I live in a flat in the Westdene/Melville area. The neighbourhood is very pretty, very lush and green. It took a while to get used to the giant gates, barbed wire and electric fences though. Unfortunately security is a big issue here. I don't know yet if it's warranted or if it's just paranoia but hopefully I don't find out. I actually have to open and lock three doors every time I leave/enter the house which is a huge deal in itself because I didn't even close our doors in Scarborough, let alone lock them.

Moving on...the weather's great! Just my kind of weather, cold, grey and raining! I really enjoy this type of weather. Everyone around here is moaning and groaning about the lack of sunlight but I love every minute of it :)

The internship is amazing, I'm learning so much. For now, I'm mainly working on IT related projects like web-development and computer training but I think I'll try to branch out a little to try and get the most out of my time here. The organization is called the Human Rights Institute of South Africa. It's a very small NGO but they do great work in human rights training.

Anyway, that's all for now, hopefully I'll have the chance to update this thing more often!

2006-01-12T12:38:00.000-05:00

Cuba was awesome, I almost killed Natasha and myself on the jet ski but aside from that, a good time was had by both of us. I loved canoeing and biking/walking through town. Strangely though I didn't enjoy the beach that much - too much bare skin for my liking! and the damn sand was just all over me 24/7.

oh and who knew that I (as a 'black' person) could get a sunburn? before we left my face was a little sensitive and the night after coming home my skin started peeling : first time for everything I guess.

hope I get the chance to come back to Cuba! Now on to packing for South Africa, I'm so excited (an a wee bit nervous) but hopefully everything will work out for the best!

2005-12-31T19:21:00.000-05:00

wow, I'm surprised I'm still using blogger! it's been exactly two years since I started doing this and I'm still at it. crazy!

just for fun I've been browsing my past entries...this one resonated with me for a lot of reasons. If you told me then that in 2005 I'll not only graduate but will also..

- go back to the city (and exact house) where I was born,
- visit England,
- be getting ready to go to Cuba and most important of all,
- find an internship in Johannesburg

...I would've laughed in your face...I would've thought you were the biggest crackpot on this earth! it's amazing how things turn out.

I wonder where I'll be next year?? I'm giddy just thinking of the possibilities! what's that saying, 'the world is your oyster'...yeah that's exactly what it feels like right now.

happy new year :)

2005-12-26T19:26:00.000-05:00

today was...BOXING DAY! dang, I should've stayed home. no sale was worth what I went through today..no sale on earth.

...

Ok ok, I'm being a drama queen but as a borderline claustrophobic I should've known to stay clear of the mall after 12:00pm!

anyway, to update...I got me a temporary job while I wait for the Big Day. for the last several weeks I've been working at a magazine distribution warehouse. The job is pretty easy and the pay is really good.

oh and thanks to the extra cash, I can afford to go on a mini-vacation! weeeeeeeeeee!

I'll be in Cuba from Jan 1-Jan 8 with a very good friend. I've always wanted to go to cuba, I just never had the time or resources to go through with it.

looking back now, it's so clear that school was holding me back from doing a lot of things! honestly now that I'm done with school, I feel like I can finally start life.

2005-12-14T11:45:00.000-05:00

OK, I finally got around to uploading a few of the pictures I took in Somalia. they're under the 'link' section.

enjoy! I'm not much of a photographer but I tried :)

2005-11-28T12:17:00.000-05:00

My friend just left for South Korea to teach English for a year. She'll be missed. :( But I wish her all the luck in the world (not that she'll need it.)

Hey, I just realized I have a whole month to kill before my internship starts in January. I'm not going to bother looking for jobs as I doubt anyone would want to hire me for just a month; and I really can't go anywhere since I'm low on cash...But that's OK because now I have time to chill and relax, you might say I have time to chillax! Man, I really can't recall the last time I had an entire month to waste. I'm looking forward to it =)

2005-11-23T07:01:00.000-05:00

....I'm just one lucky biatch when it comes to certain things!!

First of all, apologies for not updating sooner..I haven't really been feeling too well. No it wasn't an illness, it's just that the trip to somalia changed me a lot and I really couldn't come to grips with a lot of things for a while. After being there, I started to question a lot of things - mainly I had to revaluate what I thought was important. Plus, it was a really difficult thing to readjust to living in canada after being back home and seeing the situation of the people back there.

But I'm OK now, I swear :) I feel much better. back to my old little self :) And I still need to get them pictures scanned. Next week I promise..

And now, on to the purpose of this post!

A handfull of my friends have always pegged me as 'lucky' when it comes to finding jobs and whatnot. And I've always dismissed that... I'd always rave about hard work, determination and persistance and insist that luck had nothing to do with anything!!

But methinks I need to take that back

Through a very interesting turn of events, I'm going to south africa to intern for a human rights organization in Johannesburg. From Jan to April I believe. It's all so surreal at this point but it's starting to sink in. Actually I can go as soon as my visa comes through, but they told me since they won't be working from dec 10 to Jan 9 (summer festive) it's better to come then. InshAllah I'll be heading off early Jan and won't be back until late April... I still can't believe it!

That's all for now =)

p.s. I graduated Nov 15, so I'm oficially free from the instituationalized slavery otherwise known as "university"

2005-11-09T23:09:00.000-05:00

hey! long time no update! I would've put something in here sooner but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Not that much has happened since I came back anyway. Actually it took a while to feel like I was really 'back'. I don't know, it was an odd feeling. Oh and I haven't forgotten about the pictures - they'll be up just as soon as I can get them scanned.

Moving on...something cool just happened: details are sketchy at this point but it seems like a human rights organization in south africa might take me on as an intern! This would be perfect! beyond perfect. Crossing my fingers that it comes through.

2005-10-24T11:00:00.000-04:00

oh my lord I'm back! I'm home sweet home :)

2005-08-23T07:54:00.000-04:00

A lot of things have happened in the past week: I've handed in my last essay, wrote my last exams (and basically finished my undergrad!) came back from Ottawa, recieved my passport, bought my ticket to Somalia and the UK...

so yeah, it's been a busy week :)

I'm leaving the country tonight and it still hasn't sunk in. I'm still excited about it though, but it's kind of like a numb excitement.

Anyway, I really don't know what to expect but I'm hoping for the best! Oh, and I'll try to post a shitload of pictures if I have access to the internet, just so you can see for yourself what Somalia is like.

BYE!

2005-08-15T14:18:00.000-04:00

"Disarm you with a smile
And cut you like you want me to
Cut that little child
Inside of me and such a part of you
Ooh, the years burn

I used to be a little boy
So old in my shoes
And what I choose is my choice
What's a boy supposed to do?
The killer in me is the killer in you
My love
I send this smile over to you.."

*sigh* I love listening to the smashing pumpkins, their music makes my feel fuzzy and warm all over :)

2005-08-10T16:36:00.000-04:00

I just finished the last essay I will ever write as an undergrad

If I had more time I would sit and reflect but I gotta run and hand this shit in!

2005-08-09T17:58:00.000-04:00

I have serious, serious problems. too many to mention but two off the top of my head:
- I'm a chronic procrastinator
- I'm addicted to skittles

there's no hope for me. just lock me up right now before I start to babble and run around the city poking/stabbing people with my rusty knives.

2005-08-06T17:18:00.000-04:00

'nother day, 'nother essay

*sigh*

can't wait to leave all of this behind - two weeks until the final exams (and two weeks till I say goodbye to undergrad FOREVER - provided I pass my classes...

2005-08-02T17:02:00.000-04:00

oh man, how embarassing! somebody shoot me!

I learned something yesterday: whenever I drink too much, I must make SURE to go to the bathroom before leaving :( peeing in a bush is always degrading but having someone SEE you do it is a totally different matter...thankfully they pretended not to see me and walked on, so that was a relief. I coulda just died if they stopped to stare and laugh at me..

2005-07-30T23:42:00.000-04:00

"Rollin down the street, smoking indo, sippin' on gin and juice.."
BIATCH!

hehe, thank goodness for internet radio :) it almost (ALMOST) makes up for the fact that I'm in school writing an essay on a perfectly good Saturday night.

back to work.

2005-07-20T21:29:00.000-04:00

.........

so bored! dang. If things don't pick up I'm going to have to do something drastic.

2005-07-17T11:52:00.000-04:00

I've been in Ottawa for a couple of weeks now and I'm having a good time...got to reunite with some good ol' friends, including one I haven't talked to for about 6 years. she lives in Arizona but was in town for a friend's wedding. And I got to see a movie with a friend I haven't seen since we were in grade 8, man it's crazy how people change.

I'm staying over at a cousin's house and I'm glad she took me in - saves me a lot of $$ :) saving money is always good. She doesn't cook (good for her!) so for a while I ate out everyday O_o and let me tell you, for someone keen on saving money, I sure didn't spare any expense! but I got my act together and went grocery shopping so I can pack my food or eat at home.

anyhoo, everything's OK. the classes are OK - actually one class is great but the other is a complete and total waste of time (and money). the final is worth a 100% of the final mark! what the fuck kind of shit is that?!? for someone with test anxiety that's pretty harsh. and on top of that, the prof has this annoying habit of going on crazy tangents about things that don't matter! argh, I better pass this course.. Carleton U is pretty though, that kind of (almost) makes up for my shitty class.

oh and I didn't get the job...but that's OK. really. actually it's a pretty good thing - I have classes four days a week so a full-time job would just end up destroying me!

2005-06-27T23:39:00.000-04:00

so guess what, I have an interview:) It's the same job I talked about in the earlier posts - the people changed the interview date so now I AM going to get a chance to get a cool summer job! yay, wish me luck!

I'm leaving for ottawa this tuesday - my bus leaves an hour after I write my last exam. I probably have to bring my crap with me to the exam, just so that I don't have to rush back home...it'll look a little silly, coming to the exam with a huge duffel bag. but then again, I've never been one to care about looking silly :p

tata!

2005-06-22T18:26:00.000-04:00

"When third world countries lose a nurse, teacher, or engineer and Canada gets a cleaner, everyone loses."

This is from an article I read a while ago and it got me thinking...is canada too restrictive when it comes to foreign training/credentials?

I have mixed feelings about this issue...I mean I can understand that it might be next to impossible to have some kind of standardized system for foreign credits and training...but at the same time though, I feel like our gov't is being a little underhanded when it comes to attracting skilled workers from other countries (epecially those from the 'third world')...

Who hasn't heard the shpeel about how Canada's labour force isn't growing at a desired rate? And how skilled immigrants are needed to keep the economy afloat? This is what foreigners hear all the time. Canada needs you! Bring your skills to Canada! bla bla bla. The gov't doesn't give proper warning to these people about the reality of the situation. It doesn't tell them that their years of education will probably go to waste and that they might have to do even MORE schooling! And it sure as hell doesn't tell them that they probably have to take jobs nobody else wants!!

....sorry for the rant. Anyhoo peoples, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to bash Canada. I love this country, but it's good to criticize from time to time...keeps us on our toes :)

2005-06-18T18:20:00.001-04:00

I'm having strong urges to stab someone in the head with a large butcher knife.

just kidding! :)

or am I?

Haha! I'm playing

or maybe not...

lol, really, I'm kidding. just feeling a little frustrated at the moment :\

2005-06-15T18:21:00.000-04:00

something awesome happened today - I got a callback for an amazing summer job in Ottawa! I thought that was great, I just love getting called back, even when I don't end up getting the job. the fact that they acknowledged my application is pretty cool (yeah..I'm a loser, I know ^ ^)

anyhoo, UNFORTUNATELY the interview is this Friday, in Ottawa. and there's absolutely no way I can go - I thought I could but I realize now it's just not possible right now. *sigh* No worries though, I'm a big believer in that everything happens for a reason. If it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be. :)

2005-06-13T15:33:00.000-04:00

The last few days were hectic! moving is such a pain in the ass. I'm not fully unpacked yet and it's taking forever to find everything - I should be more organized next time I move.

"next time" isn't that far off by the way, I'm leaving for Ottawa in late June/early July...don't have a clue where I'm staying yet...I'm dead broke right now so I'm probably going go have to mooch off some friends/family until I can find me a job.

oh man, I have a shitload of work waiting for me - essays and such..so I guess I should get on that and stop fooling around on the 'net!

2005-06-04T19:16:00.000-04:00

I'm so depressed! but not in a suicidal way :p

everything's so stagnant right now. while most of my friends are graduating here I am stuck in school for the rest of summer. They have internships, job interviews and DIRECTION, and me - I have nothing! unless of course you count the midterms, papers and credit card bills...

bollocks!

2005-05-25T21:30:00.000-04:00

I. HATE. BUREAUCRACY!!!

feels good to get that out.

Dang, I don't understand why it should take 5 signatures, 8 forms, 4 weeks and almost a hundred bucks to take a couple of freaking credits in another university! wtf. are they just TRYING to make life more difficult?!

jeez louise...

well. at least I didn't come out of that morass empty handed! For the second half of the summer I'm going to be taking classes at Carleton. oh I can't wait to go back to Ottawa! sigh, I loves Ottawa.

Toronto bites. I think so anyway, it's just not my cup of tea. I might actually try to go back to Ottawa permanently next fall...but of course it all depends. I probably won't be able to find a decent job there, on account of me not being bilingual. but we'll see how it goes.

ALSO, I'm taking two courses right now, for the first half of summer only, at UofT. The classes ('Sex and Gender' and 'Language and Society') are great so far, but the work load's been keeping me really busy.

2005-04-26T13:19:00.000-04:00

IT'S SHOWTIME!!!

My exams are finally starting - about the same time that everyone else's is finishing. But whatev, I got more time to study at least!

2005-04-22T18:05:00.000-04:00

Two nights ago I listened to the most amazing interview on the radio! I usually listen to late-night talk shows before sleeping but after hearing the interview I couldn't even DREAM of trying to go to sleep. OH. MY. G*D. The things this man said were so out there but they made so much sense. the implications are HUGE!!

The show is called Coast to Coast and the guy being interviewed was Jordan Maxwell. I don't usually pay that much attention to this show since most of the guests end up talking about flying saucers and extra-terrestrial activities on earth, but this particular episode was so damn UNBELIEVABLE!

I really don't what to say or how I can even try to summarize what he said. that's how huge it is.

click here to listen. if you can, listen to Maxwell's part of the show. I guarantee it will leave you speechless. Or go to his site and see where his next interview will be - http://www.jordanmaxwell.com/radio.html.

this is huge, it's like SO freaking huge. oh man, I don't know if I'll ever think the same about ANYTHING after this. this man is THE man.

Oh man, I really need to stop drinking jolt cola. gotta go, bye!

2005-04-03T12:26:00.000-04:00

I'm going to save myself a lot of typing and sum up how I'm feeling right now with this picture...the little figure in the fetal position would be me.

2005-03-31T16:35:00.000-05:00

ugh.

I need professional help

2005-03-29T17:30:00.000-05:00

It's that time of the year again! I'm writing three essays and preparing for a presentation, all at the same time! so...

...please don't take offence if I snap at you and threaten to skin you alive with a blunt knife and then dip you in Chlorox... :)

2005-03-20T17:57:00.000-05:00

Fuckshit fuckshit fuckshit, oh damn it all to hell and back!!!! my computer got attacked by a vicious virus and now it's dead! oh jeez, three years of documents, pictures music GONE all fucking gone!!!!!! that REALLY sucks.

2005-03-19T12:04:00.000-05:00

Something happened yesterday (Friday) which makes me think that I'm losing what's left of my sanity. Without going into too much detail, I'll just tell you that I had the manager and security personnel of a major provincial government office preoccupied for about 30 minutes. It's just amazing how dumb I can be sometimes...

2005-03-14T10:06:00.000-05:00

Now that I have internet at home, I'll write in here more regularly. And I think I'm going to do a little re-decorating in here. Will try to find something that's a little less ugly. Really, I don't know what I was thinking using this template.

I have a lot I want to write but I don't have time to right now...an essay is waiting to be finished! It's due on Wednesday and I'm already half done, this a freaking record I tells ya!

2005-03-08T18:00:00.000-05:00

Hot damn! I can't believe how I've been negleting my precious blog! Anyway, nothing new is going on. Life still sucks and I'm still up to my neck in school work....I want to write more but I gotta run!

2005-02-10T18:37:00.000-05:00

hehe guess who's on the cover of this week's eye magazine. so cool!

2005-02-06T19:01:00.000-05:00

Midterm....NEXT WEEK....50%!

GRPPSHKESGGLESESSESHS

oi

2005-01-27T19:09:00.000-05:00

interesting thing: today I got email from 3 friends who I haven't spoken to in ages...

(!!)

I just thought that was something worth posting.

bye.

2005-01-26T20:14:00.000-05:00

um I don't know what to write right now.

The last month has been boring. I mean REALLY boring, like "brings tears to your eyes" kind of bring. My life pretty much revolves around work and school.

If I don't pull myself out of this slump soon I may have to do something drastic.

2004-12-29T21:40:00.000-05:00

This blog is actually exactly one year old TODAY. woooooyeah! I never stuck with something for so long.

Happy one year annivarsary blog!

2004 was an OK year for me. Lots of ups, and lots of downs. Sad to admit that the downs outnumbered the ups but I can't complain. Looking forward to the next year - I'm expecting big things in 05...I'll be graduating. Finally!
I wonder where I'll be this time next year. I really don't know! That thought is scary and exciting at the same time. Wherever I am, I hope I'm happy, that's all that matters really.

Anyway, here's to a new year. Happy New Year everyone.

2004-12-28T22:23:00.000-05:00

I can't believe what happened in southeast asia, it's so overwhelming. Every time I think about it I start to cry. I haven't lost any friends or family members but just the thought of how those people died...And I get just as emotional when I see the way that the world is responding, it makes me so proud! May Allah help us :(

2004-12-13T19:28:00.000-05:00

You Are From Neptune

You are dreamy and mystical, with a natural psychic ability.
You love music, poetry, dance, and (most of all) the open sea.
Your soul is filled with possibilities, and your heart overflows with compassion.
You can be in a room full of friendly people and feel all alone.
If you don't get carried away with one idea, your spiritual nature will see you through anything.

What Planet Are You From?

just happy I didn't get Uranus :p

2004-12-13T17:54:00.000-05:00

"However long the night, the dawn will break."
~ African Proverb

My last exam is on Wednesday THANK GOODNESS! Things are going much better now compared to the last few weeks. I'm already prepared for Wednesday, so I guess I will just take it easy until then...

2004-12-09T01:33:00.000-05:00

I'm so exhausted, sooo very exhausted...I don't think I can take this anymore. Physically, emotionally and (especially) mentally, I'm just worn out. Yes I know, school tends to stress us all out, but in my case it's just too much, I've had enough! I'm just counting the days until Christmas break.

I'll leave you with a quote that's really fitting for me these past couple of months...

"When you are at the end of your rope - tie a knot in it and hang on!"
~Eleanor Roosevelt

I don't know how much longer I can hang on :(

2004-12-06T10:57:00.000-05:00

So I just woke up from the best sleep I had in months, ready to face the crapload of work I've gotta do and I look out the window and what do I see???? It fucking snowed! Daaammmn it! I can't go out, my dinky little converse shoes won't keep the snow out so I can't go out there.

so much for being productive today :( FUCK!

2004-11-30T01:44:00.000-05:00

update: I'm thisclose to losin my mind!
Hopefully, I can make it to this Friday in one piece...Again, if ONLY I never got into this disease of procastinating, my life would be so much easier.
But ofcourse, I live to make everything harder for myself...

2004-11-23T11:24:00.000-05:00

It feels so good when things finally start to go your way!

2004-11-21T18:51:00.000-05:00

I swear, procrastination will be the death of me.

2004-11-15T10:19:00.000-05:00

I just took this test for fun. It was a waste of time but I have a lot of time to waste, so it's all good.

Disorder	Rating
Paranoid:	Moderate
Schizoid:	High
Schizotypal:	Very High
Antisocial:	Low
Borderline:	Low
Histrionic:	Low
Narcissistic:	Low
Avoidant:	Moderate
Dependent:	Low
Obsessive-Compulsive:	Moderate
-- Personality Disorder Test - Take It! --

Interesting results, considering that 'schizo' is one of my nicknames!

2004-11-09T13:45:00.000-05:00

phheeeeeeew! I'm FREEEE (for a few weeks at least) yaaaay, so happy! But Ramadan is almost over, that sucks...

anyway, I'm very tired. very, very, very tired . But it's all good coz now I have time to chill and relax, you might say I have time to chillax :)

Too bad I still have that really strange feeling, I can't seem to shake it off...it's truly odd. I don't mean to sound morbid or anything, it's just...man, I don't know. I feel like something is going to happen soon, something BAD. Not necessarily to me, but something that will affect me very much.

moving on...

Winter's here, good news for me! I loves winter.

Bye.

2004-10-27T13:44:00.000-04:00

something is bothering me...a lot! and I just can't figure out what it is. Don't know what's worse - the nervous knot in my stomach or not knowing what is causing it.

I'm feeling so inadequate and useless right now. I think I need a vacation, maybe I'm just exhausted...

hmmph, back to work

2004-10-25T14:23:00.000-04:00

Oh yeah, I'm such an idiot! I forgot to say Ramadan Kareem to my family and Muslim friends! I love this month
.
What a perdy picture

Anyhoo, back to sulking...

2004-10-25T14:07:00.000-04:00

I feel like I got run over by a really big bike.

2004-10-21T13:08:00.000-04:00

f'ing hell, why am I still sick? I hate feeling like this, I'm hot and cold at the same time and I swear it feels like my internal organs are shivering. That can't be good,
I should take K's advice and go to a doctor. But dammit, I aint got no time! I have a midterm tomorrow and another one on Saturday. Hopefully I won't pass out until I'm done writing them. I don't care what happens after, just please let me get through these midterms! plllleeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaseee!

k, that's all.

2004-10-14T17:55:00.000-04:00

I'm screwed, next week I'm going to be a mess, I know it.

I have a midterm on Tuesday, an essay due on Thursday, a midterm on Friday and another midterm on Saturday! The week after that I have 2 essays and a lab due...THEN I have to start writing my FOUR term papers which are due around the end of November....THEN I have a couple of weeks before finals start. omg, pray for me :(

2004-10-07T14:20:00.000-04:00

I got this from a good friend...

Friendship:
friendship is like piss in your pants,
everyone can see it, but only you can feel it's true warmth.
so, thanks for being the piss on my pants.
pass it on, ass.

...I feel so special :P

2004-10-04T13:59:00.000-04:00

Oh boy, shopping is so stressfull, I can't believe people do it for fun! I went to the eaton centre and oh my gosh, so tired afterwards...shopping is the ultimate energy zapping activity I think.

And my nose, it started bleeding this morning. I have a feeling it has to do with the huge headache I got from that mall...actually, it's unlikely that the two events are related, but who knows :P

I still need to find shoes, I think I'll put that off for a while, I can't go back yet!

2004-09-29T19:22:00.000-04:00

I work well under pressure. Damn it I wish I didn't so that I could stop frickin' procrastinating.
I have an essay due at midnight....and I started writing it today...I rule.

2004-09-27T18:21:00.000-04:00

My gmail account has been accumulating invites for a couple of months now, if you would like an invite, let me know! I feel like I'm wasting precious invites and denying my friends the pleasure of experiencing the 1GB goodness :P

2004-09-25T19:22:00.000-04:00

wooo! my hair is growing back freakishly fast! very strange...

anyhoo, I just wanted to say that school is keeping me real busy and that I think I need to drop a course so that I can keep up with everything. That sucks b/c dropping this course could mean that I have to graduate next November instead of next May :(

2004-09-22T17:04:00.000-04:00

Man, I'm such a loser, a never learning loser. dang. Repeating past mistakes over and over and over again.
What kind of dummy puts food in their backpack and forgets about it. Me! And I usually don't remember until a strange smell (which has now become all too familiar) starts emitting from there.
Case in point: Look here, here and here.
And now I can add a half-eaten, two-day old turkey pita to that list. yay.

2004-09-15T16:22:00.000-04:00

Too much to do and so much information to take in! Dang, I hope my little head doesn't burst :(
Oh man, I really need to get better organized, so many assignments and crap.
Good thing I bought this nifty UofT organizer last week. Hopefully I'll get my shit together and I won't have to run around like a chicken with its head cut off when we have to start handing stuff in.

2004-09-14T10:14:00.000-04:00

holy shit!!
I just spent the last week trying to get into this course called Project Management, and I finally get in only to find out that the course load is huuge! I don't know man, this course is really useful but still...

*EDIT* upon further inspection, I realized the course load wasn't that bad. I just got freaked out by the length of the syllabus.

2004-09-03T20:15:00.000-04:00

I just wanted you guys to see this, it's kinda funny! I think I'd be a hybrid of the "hippies" and the "indie kids" in my outward appearance...but I'm probably mostly "punk" on the inside :P

2004-09-03T13:07:00.000-04:00

I cut my hair real short yesterday, the hairdresser messed my hair up but I'm trying to make the best of it. It looks half-way decent so long as I mousse the hell out of it! Maybe I'll put a picture of it here?

Also, I really want to say thanks to my awesome, awesome friends. thanks so much for the calls, emails and cards! you guys rock :) and I'm so lucky to know such thoughtful people. Maybe next year, inshallah, I'll stop being so lazy and throw a big party or something? I finally hung out with Shiva, a friend whom I haven't seen or talked to in such a long time! Thanks for remembering, man I will definitely repay you in december ;)

2004-08-30T16:10:00.000-04:00

it's my birthday today! :) I turn 23 today, wow I can't believe I'm 23, cool.

2004-08-24T21:30:00.000-04:00

wow...just, wow.
I can't believe this happened...
so sad.

2004-08-20T13:59:00.000-04:00

sweeeeet!
hard work pays off :)
I got my False Confessions and Algerian Civil War essays back...an A and a B+ (just a couple of points shy of an A-, but I'm not complaining!)

Not trying to show off if that's what you're thinking, i'm just proud :)