Classy/Sassy vs Trashy/Flashy

Wed/Thurs - flew out of town for work to do some presentations and attend an event. It is always fun at first when you arrive at a hotel and work is paying for it and you have the room all to yourself! Then it quickly gets boring and you get tired of watching tv alone and you get easily irritated by the fact that the wireless internet access keeps disconnecting. Although it is hard to stay in a bad mood when your evening of eating pizza in bed while yelling at the hockey game is paid for by work.

Friday - overnight bus home for Thanksgiving. Yes, I said bus. I stood in line, surrounded by university students and grandmas on a budget and wondered if I should step up and swallow the cost of plane or car and never set foot in a stinky, cramped, bumpy, slow Greyhound again. But it wasn't that bad. And am I really above the Greyhound? Is anyone? I bussed across Africa in worse vehicles and survived... and even LIKED it, dammit! So yes, I will take a bus again. If there are no other affordable options. :)

Oh yeah... then I went on a colourful fall walk with my parents and then bowling with friends and ate too much. Yes, I went bowling. I take Greyhound busses and go bowling. Is that the sound of you judging me?

Saturday - the wedding. Former roommate Roberta marries her once internet-date Adam. They seem like a great couple. Small wedding. Turned into battle-ground where my 'date' Brent and I compete with Dave and Tessa for best outfits. Brent and I assumed that the competition focused on who looked better. We were going for 'classy & sassy'. Dave and Tessa went for 'trashy & flashy' (their term) with 20s inspired wedding gear! Hilarious. And despite the fact that Tessa's dress came in a bag (it was a halloween costume), they looked great! Those two crack me up. They may have won the best overall outfit category, but Brent and I still proclaim victory in the classy/sassy category.

One thing that was terrible and made me angry was everyone complaining about everything about the wedding. Food, music, speeches, members of wedding, were all critiqued rather loudly by quite a few people. I'm a bit of a sucker for being nice and polite during weddings because I can't imagine being the bride or whoever planned the damned event only to have friends bitch about it. Needless to say, I am glad wedding season is over. Just in time for some detox before the Holiday Party season begins.

Baggage

I've been away for work and now back visiting my parents for Thanksgiving. Much to catch up on.

Today's Thanksgiving lunch/dinner (we usually have big festive meals in the afternoon to allow digestion and later leftover snackings to occur) was huge as usual. I ate way too much. To the point where I get angry at my mom for mentally pressuring me to eat all this food. So much more than I would ever normally consider putting in my body. This is silly of course. I have control over what I eat and should not blame other people for the sick feeling of fullness that I have had since lunch. Feeling full is such a terrible feeling. I get so weak and sleepy, but at the same time I am pained and find it taxing to move or even breath. I want to sleep but as I lie on my bed I see the sun shining in through the blinds with the beautiful red and yellow leaves in the trees, the last few warm days of the year upon me and I feel guilty for wasting such a day, unable to move because of my stupid over-eating. I think over indulgence in food is just as stupid as over indulgence in alcohol. It can really mess up with your day. And why we do this on holidays... when we should be using the precious time we have with our families, and yet in the end it usually results in each member of the family, passed out napping, each in a different corner of the house.

One thing I found funny was our major conversation at the meal was about suitcases. My parents were discussing/arguing about all the suitcases they have and when they got them and where they took them. It was fascinating to listen to each suitcases' personal history.

Here's a photo from a weekend walk we took. Many more to upload... stay tuned... Happy Thanksgiving!

Easy Target

I got invited by a co-worker to a special Kiehl's "Friends Special Event" where something like 4 or 5 of their special consumers got to each invite 10 friends each to an event for private shopping & consultations (with food & wine) and everyone got a $30 gift certificate (special consumers got $150). I hardly know the guy but we get along because he has that certain funny sense of humour that you get with stylish gay men and about 1/2 of my guy friends are just those things so I felt like I knew him and I felt comfortable making wise cracks with him from day one. Anyway, it was nice to be invited because I have never really socialized with work people.

So I head there after work with no food in my belly and was greeted with lots of wine and delicious food... crab cakes, prosciutto wrapped Parmesan, lamb burgers with tahziki... And we were pampered. Hand massages, hair consultations, and the staff doting on your every need and telling you just how much more beautiful you would be if only you bought their $35 hand creme. Yes. I went in thinking that I would just spend the $30 and that's it. I had quite a few things in my basket by the time I had been wooed by the hairdresser (your hair is soooo gorgeous!!), the skin girl (who swore she could not see the plethora of whiteheads spread across my forehead!!), the cute guy handing out the wine (and keeping my glass VERY full), the store manager who had WAY too puffy collagen lips that made me giggle because she reminded me of Jennifer Coolidge's character in Best in Show (who is my idol) - especially the way she would slowly emphasize the ingredients of each particular product, pursing her gigantic lips and squinting her eyes in concentration. "Lavender, papaya juice, panthenol, sage, chamomile, rosemary..." She was hilarious and I thanked GOD that Christina wasn't there because I wouldn't have been able to hold in my laughs.

So in the end I justified spending a whack of money by the fact that I got all that wine & food and pampering and ego-boosting for free. TOTALLY worth it. Then again, I still am buzzed on the wine. I'm not sure if I'll appreciate my purchases just so much tomorrow. I really thought I had will power. I am so easily wooed by the wine & dine. Shameful really.

Squishy & Illiterate

This is my most viewed photo on flickr with 951 views as of today. Strange the things people like to look at.

Today was a tough, long day and I would rather post fun photos than think about it. Here's a page of all my fav ones on flickr. ENjoy!

Speaking of fun photos... I finally put up the photos from Holly's wedding on flickr. Not very exciting. My photographic skills are slipping away. So is my grammar. Does the sentence "my photographic skills are slipping away" even make sense? I didn't think so.

Liberty Trail

Boston was super fun. Did I mention that before?

A run down of my time there.

Friday - walked the city & saw Harvard & Fenway & Newbury and everything in between. Not advisable to do when wearing heeled boots. Everyone (except Margaret who came on Saturday) assembled at Alla's house. The gang: Me (Toronto - Canada), Matt (Toronto - Canada), Kerri (Ottawa - Canada), Eliot (originally Victoria, BC but now at Yale), Peder (originally Norway, but now in London, UK), Alla (originally from Russia/Kansas, but now at Harvard). Drinking ensued. Out for dinner (chowder consumed). Out for drinks at communist bar. Much drinks drunk. Many drunks drink. The next thing we know we are at a house party until 4am in which more drunks drink. Someone nearly falls down the stairs, someone dances all night, someone falls asleep on the bathroom floor, someone loses their jacket, someone goes missing for 1/2 hour, someone assumes that the missing person has been shot and nearly calls the police, someone meets a pyromaniac/newfie, and no one at the party seems to know who the hell we are. It was eventful. We all made it home in one piece. A typical Kenya night takes place in Boston.

Saturday - Alla & Eliot, being studious as they are, both depart early to go study for the day. The rest of us try to muster enough hung over energy to do something with our day. After a breakfast of crepes (some ate, some watched the eating), we dragged our dizzy heads over to the Boston Aquarium where we paid way too much money for a mediocre attraction. The best part was when we thought the seal was dead (not that we wanted the seal to be dead but it was kind of exciting). I think the aquarium made us all feel worse. It smelled funny and looking into the aquariums through that crazy thick glass made us all a little dizzy. And you can only make so many cracks about jumping in the tank to kill the manta ray before it gets old. So we head back to Alla's when Margaret arrived. We went to grab some food at a pizzeria (unfortunately we noticed after that they specialized in Chicago cuisine), where we caught up and I got the dish with the unfortunate name - Pork on a Stick. Who knew such cuisine existed? This is why it is important to travel the world kids - to experience such cultural marvels as Pork on a Stick. That night we head out for dinner again then boosted our energy with Red Bull & Big League Chew, we head to a bar and then another house party. Not as eventful unless you count when I knocked over a bunch of bottles and glasses. But nothing broke. Darn. That night we pow-wowed in Alla's room and were up late again. Taking unflattering photos and making fun of each other. I have to say, it was pleasantly shocking how quickly and easily we transitioned our friendships from Kenya to Boston, some of us not really seeing each other in up to 6 months, and here we were, having a great time again.

Sunday - Sad day as we head for brunch at a jazz bar and Peder left (Eliot had already gone that morning). Matt, Kerri, Margaret & I head to town (Alla went to school - I guess that's the life of a Harvard girl) and the girls shopped while Matt did Fenway. The day went by so quickly, Margaret & then Kerri left. Matt & I said bye to Alla over Boston pizza and sadly head to the airport. That's when we discovered that a flight was cancelled and that the systems were down so we were stuck in chaos. We decided to take advantage of the bad situation and enjoy one last Samuel Adams brew in the airport pub. Once things calmed down and we were issued handwritten tickets, we made it on the plane and head back to Toronto.

Man, I had a great weekend. I have to say I was feeling a little sad when I got back and on Monday. The weekend reminded me of the life I had back in Kenya. Seeing these friends brought it all back. Retelling the stories and looking at the photos together made it all real again and made me miss it again. But being able to see them again made me realize that although my experiences in Africa are connected to the place, little pieces of my great experiences and memories from Kenya are available to me through the people I became friends with.

Harvard Poseur

Back after an amazing weekend in Boston. The city was great but having a mini-reunion with 6 of my friends from Kenya was even better. I will write more tomorrow. Stories involving bathroom naps, bananas, happy fish, crepes that never were, misunderstood canadian bacon, beer-laden plane delays, angry homeless people, a $100 trip to the bathroom, and pork on a stick. Ok, I might not go into full detail about all those things. But just know I had an amazing, unforgettable (except for the parts possibly blacked out), weekend.

Doodle

Wow, fall is here. I was cold today. So much for wearing skirts with bare legs ever again.

My friends are getting a dog. It is something I have never heard of before and it has a funny name. It is a Golden Doodle, which is apparently a cross between a Golden Retriever and a Poodle. And they are pretty cute. Check it out (bad website but cute dogs).

I always thought that by the time I was this age I would be grown up enough to have a dog. But even the thought of adopting a fish scares me off that it would tie me down too much.

I like immigrants. I like helping them. My new job has me dealing with a lot of internationally educated professionals. (IEPs). The program I work with is designed to work with IEPs and acknowledge all the education and work experience they accumulated before they moved to Canada. I like that. Something about it all makes me feel really hopeful, because I know they feel hopeful about the future. Good stuff.

I know it's corny

Yup, I have a new mantra. Well, I developed in in Kenya. I can't really remember when or why or how it came upon me. But it's the whole idea of moving forward and leaving your problems and worries and issues behind you. Because most of the time there really is nothing you can do about it (your worries) and what is the point of stressing? So yeah, hakuna matata. I wish that Disney had never created that song because it is cheesy and makes me not like to use the words but they are pretty useful to my mental health. My first big test of this way of dealing came when all the photos on my hard drive got deleted. Why cry? I am lucky to even have the memories of such amazing times, never mind actual photos. That would be icing, right? The blogger/google debacle? Also, not a big deal. If someone who I didn't want to find my blog found it, then there certainly is nothing I can do to undo that. I will deal with it, if I have to.

The gym has also kept me very sane lately. And helped me shed my Kenya weight - HURRAH! All my hard work payed off. It only took 6 months!

You know, I always hear women talking about how when they are in their late 20's, which I still somewhat cringe to admit that I am, that things start to fall into place and they finally feel comfortable in their skin. And I have to say that I do too. Maybe it's an age thing. Or hormones. Regardless, it's good.

Speaking of good... jumping rope for the glory of God is also good. You have to see it to understand. Particularly if you are having visions of "orientals".

I dream of Brad

Oy... last night (right before I woke up), I dreamt that I was driving to my family's cottage and I noticed Brad & Angelina in a station wagon LEAVING our cottage. I just shrugged and assumed they were there to see my uncle. I got to the cottage (which turned into my parents' house) and sat in the basement, chatting with my uncle. It seems he is taking night school classes too. And he had a big stamp across his forehead and he told me that he got it from one of his daughter's friends. And that he was going to this kid fired from his job as a journalist for doing that to him. My uncle is not a vengeful person, so that part shocked me a bit.

Then he said we should go out back and he could introduce me to Brad, who was sitting on my deck. As we were going up the stairs I was asking my uncle if Brad was really fun to work with (for some reason I got it in my head that my uncle was also in Ocean's 11), and then I tried to play it off like I didn't really want to see Brad by saying that I really don't tend to like really overly attractive people because they are usually assholes. And then I realized to my horror that Brad had heard me. We made eye contact through the screen door. Then my alarm went off.

My uncle is not famous. Nor does he work with famous people. He just went to the same high school as Paul Schaffer so I guess in my crazy mind that is how I equated him with knowing Brad.

Kathryn - Full of Rage

Blogger & Gmail - I am SOOOO mad at you right now! Just because I have my gmail account as my blogger email contact, you combined the two separate entities and posted my first and last name in my blogger profile! So when you "google" me - you get to my blog! Which is not supposed to be findable! I made this blog and purposely didn't let certain people know about it for a reason! And now I am findable. I have removed my profile but the results still come up and you can access it via the google cache. I am so mad. You didn't even ask me for my permission! What if my work finds it? Or my family? Hmmm? I am so mad.

Mondays are my longest days. Work from 8 - 4 then gym from 430 - 530 then class from 630 - 945. I get myself into these things but I have to accept the fact that I might get a little grumpy sometimes by the end of the day. The whole google mess set me off and suddenly I was ready to bite off people's heads because of things I normally don't let bother me.

Such as:

Every stall (there were 10 of them) in the brand new washrooms in the brand new Ryerson building, had toilet paper or garbage on the floors or IN the toilets. Are people that lazy and slothish that they have to leave that junk behind? Seriously, it takes 2 seconds to throw things away. And toilet paper goes IN the toilet, not on the floor!

I got a free calculator with my $110 accounting text book. Ok, so not completely free. The ONE and the NINE button don't work! How annoying!

The clincher (when I knew I was just in a bad bad bad mood) was when I was crossing the street and a man in front of me with a cane was walking slowly (and I am a fast walker) and I was stuck behind him and I felt anger. Why did I feel anger? He is old and lame! He is ALLOWED to walk slowly! So I stopped and tried to calm myself and be zen. And I think it worked. Also, the brie I ate when I got home probably helped. That stuff is the best anti-stress / anti-depressant in the world.