Of a Surprise Superhero that Saves my Saturday

Spent ALL Saturday afternoon at a cafe, working like a horse. Or an ox. Basically, like all the farmyard animals combined. By the end, my brain was so fried, I was just taking notes on automatic, writing stuff down but not really retaining anything. Ah well, at least the notes are there for me to review later.

So overall, it was a meh sort of day. But then, superhero Jill swooped in to save the day.With her wine.

Apparently, it's been awhile since I've last had alcohol because that little bit of wine (interspersed with cups of tea) somehow managed to give me quite a headache. Gone are the days when I used to brag about being a heavyweight drinker ... My transformation to grandma is complete.

But seriously, friendtime is SO necessary. It's so easy to get caught up with work and running around like crazy. So I'm glad Jill and I met up to bitch about life and rant (quite coherently, actually) and get things off our chests. And of course quite a bit of fun was had ...

Of The Return of the Fitness

It was actually as epic as it sounds. After a day that went something like: lab-seminar-study-presentation-sprint up 5 flights of stairs to class-class-lab meeting, I actually managed dragged my ass to the gym. This whole going-once-a-week thing is totally working for me and my lazy side. It's probably not working so well for my marathon-training though ... But I don't have to pay for it until May (although I will most likely regret it come mile 15 ... and 20 ... and 21 through 26.2).

They have this dumb new system now where it's just first-come, first-serve on all the cardio machines. And please respect the 30 minute rule! Uhuh. Right. At least before, you could sign up and then kick someone off if they were past their time. But now, they could just be like, Oh, sorry, I JUST got on.

Now, I shouldn't be complaining, because I totally took advantage of the new system and did a 60 minute treadmill sweat-session. No shame.

• 10k in 56:30, at a comfy 9:06 pace

And yet, despite the fact that the pace felt easy, and my breathing rate and heart rate never went up, I still ended up being a sweaty monster, looking like I just ran a world-record 10k in +30C weather.

It was the perfect end to the week. Of course, once I was done, I realized that I didn't want to be all sweaty and gross in my normal clothes, so I just trekked home in what I was wearing at the gym.

I am one classy lady.

Oh, and then I collapsed in bed. At 9:30pm. Because I'm cool like that.

Of Brunchtimes and Packhorses

Can I just say one thing about the weather?

I don't get it. Yesterday, it was all:

And today, it's all gross and rainy and slippery and puddl-y and slushy. Believe me, wearing your winter coat in the rain is NOT ideal. The smell of wet dog becomes pervasive and people would look at you weird, except that they all smell that way too. It's just lovely.

But back to beautiful sunny memories.

As per my usual Tuesday/Thursday schedule, I always plan to get work done during my break, but am inevitably derailed. This time, my lovely friend Jill had some very persuasive ideas of the brunch-variety.

Like I said, she's very persuasive, so I HAD to give in.

Actually, I'm pretty much up for anything when I'm supposed to be working. So brunch it was, at our fave diner. Yum yum, scrambled eggs :) I also snuck in some of my katlety and hid them in a napkin when our waitress was around. I'm sneaky like that.

On another note, can I complain about the current state of my back? (Why yes, I can, cause it's my blog).

I live somewhat far away from my university, so I usually have to bring everything with me to campus. Which means carrying all of my books, plus any homework I plan to do, plus about 5 tupperware containers full of my various snacks, plus (God forbid) if I want to go to the gym, there's also my gym bag, and if it's raining, I also bring an umbrella, and usually I also carry a mug in my hands ... Well, you can see how it gets complicated super fast.

Just some of my food. 

Doing dishes at my house is a nightmare. 

Or rather, 'doing Tupperware' ...

Anyways, it gets unpleasant. And the result of it is this:

Let's just say walking upright is a bit difficult, since my backpack weighs me down so much that I'm always in fear of falling on my butt. It's real attractive, I tell you. For now, I guess I just have to wait until the world realizes I'm super important and I get to have a special limo to transport me+all my stuff to school.

Culture Shock: Street Art Edition

So ... it's been a while. I'm not being very cultured. Somehow, I've lost any desire to dress up and go gallery hopping while it's blizzarding outside. But there are some free concerts coming up that I'm going to try to attend, and in the meanwhile, I realized that you don't have to venture very far to enjoy some interesting art.

I snapped these pictures as I was walking home the other day. This is a street mural done on one of the buildings on this cute cobble-stony street where all the restaurants are. And I don't think I've paid much attention to it before, but it's really quite something.

I mean, the colours are harmonious and really soothing and the flow of the whole piece really brings it together. That and the female figures indulging in all sorts of kinky things. I think the one on the bottom right could definitely teach some Kama Sutra classes. Or at least make a career as a really bendy stripper.

Of My Updated New Food Obsessions

I was going to title this post "Of My New Food Obsessions" but then I realized I'd already had a post like that last week. So needless to say, I go through obsessions pretty quickly. But while eggs are and have been a permanent fixture on my food plan for years now, these two things are new additions.

Kalamata Olives

I was never 'obsessed' with olives before, but I think this new love is on par with my Great Radish Obsession of 2009, during which I ate a bushel of radishes every. single. day. I think what adds to this big love is that I get these olives from a super-sketch grocery store, wherein they're stored in something resembling a garbage bin. I think the danger adds to the excitement. That, or some strange disease from the bins is addling my mind.

And back for a return appearance - Peanut Butter.

I never had PB as a kid, and actually, the first time I tried it I thought it was kinda gross. I mean, it was like eating butter out of a jar. Who eats plain butter? But then my freshman year in university ... boy oh boy. Let's just say, peanut butter definitely became a trigger food. It was exciting, it was foreign (to me at least) ...

 

Nuhuh, peanut butter, I will own YOU, for a wonderful price of 3.99$ for 1kg. A spoonful of PB in my oatmeal every morning is exactly what I need. The foreign-ness and forbidden nature of PB has passed, and now, it's what makes me look forward to breakfast. A LOT. 

I wonder if it's the motivation for me going to bed at 9:30pm for the past couple of night (Grandma Alert! Grandma Alert!). I mean, if I go to bed sooner, I can wake up earlier ... so I can have breakfast earlier (and be productive, all that other unimportant life stuff) ...

Of My Culinary Triumph

I fear this may be turning into a food blog. Because peeps, I've been cooking ... and I've been liking it! Well, not the cooking process, but I've been actually liking the food I'm cooking. Until yesterday. Since then - I've been LOVING it.

You know why? Because I made katlety (Russian meatballs). Now as we all know, a good Russian girl must know how to cook Borscht (but ew, I don't like that kind of soup), plof (which is rice pilaf and all sorts of delicious and bad for you) and ... katlety. She must also listen to her parents and take care of husband and all other sorts of crap, so I'm not calling it my go-to guide to living, but let's focus on the katlety.

Before I fall over myself praising these meatballs (and myself, for making them), here's the recipe that I used:

(Oh and side note - if I can make these and they turn out DELISH, absolutely ANYONE can make these. So go and make these. DOOOOO IT.)

Ingredients:
2lbs ground beef (extra lean - but of course, you can go as fatty as you like!)
1/2 cup chopped onion
3/4 clove of garlic (you can use a whole clove for extra flavour)
1 egg
2 slices of bread
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp of flour

Directions:
1. Take the 2 slices of bread and shred them into crumbs (don't worry, they don't have to be extra small, that's what the next step is for!).

2. Put the crumbs in a big bowl and pour the milk over them. Let them sit for ~10 minutes, and then use your fingers to really make it a smooth mixture (i.e. shred the bigger chunks of bread into smaller bits. It should be easier now that they are soaked in milk).

3. Pick up the glob of bread crumbs you have now and pour out the remaining milk from the bowl. Also, squeeze a bit of the milk out of the glob of bread crumbs too, so the meatballs aren't too soggy.

4. Put the glob of bread crumbs back in the bowl. Add the egg, the onions, and the meat on top. Grind the garlic clove on top of that

5. Now get down and dirty and really mix it up with your hands. Ooooh yea.

5. Dust a cutting board with a bit of flour. As you make the katlety shapes (it's really a shape between a flat hamburger patty and a meatball), roll them a bit in the flour.

6. Cook on low heat in a frying pan with a bit of oil (you don't need too much, because the meatballs will release their own juices).

7. Cook until the insides aren't pink anymore.

8. EAT ALL THE MEAT!

Of my Monotony and Other Small Musings

So I've been a bit MIA ... Mostly due to the lack of excitement in my life right now. It's all - wake up, head to class, eat, more class, eat, work, sometimes an extracurricular or some friend time, and then a chapter of my book and then sleep.

Of course all this monotony on my part is completely balanced out by mother nature's craziness. I swear, next thing she'll do is shave her head and have a mental breakdown.

Anyways - 2 days ago, I was wearing double layers. As in, my thermal skiing underwear (for -30 winter weather) made an appearance (or rather, hopefully not, as it was supposed to be discretely UNDER all of my regular clothes). That is NOT ok. Mainly because my jeans were not bought with the purpose of putting leggings under them.

And today? Holy sweet breath of baby Jesus, it was WARM! Like +2C. I wanted to frolick in the breezes in my summer dresses. Man, it was nice.

 

Isn't my school beautiful? Yep, gonna be said to be leaving it all behind this May. Onto bigger and better things, I guess. Also, the reason you're stuck with my unemotional grimace is because I refuse to look like an idiot grinning at her iPod while walking down the street.

Also, my hair is looking fabulous, if I may say so myself. Now, all I have to do is permanently wear a hat, so no one can see that my roots have grown out to my ears. I think Montreal (aka Freezing-Cold-Land) is the perfect place for this mission.

Of Treasure Chests and Fancy Anna

So my friend Nat knows me pretty well. And it's well known that besides food (cookies? yum. cake? yum. pancakes? yum. Are we sensing a trend here?), I also love drinking tea. I'll go through 5-6 teapots of brewed tea a day. Which means a lot of tea bags. (I don't have the patience for looseleaf tea - with the amount that I drink, if I had to clean the little filter things with the looseleaf everytime, I'd go insane. I'm also pretty sure that everytime I drink looseleaf, little bits of it get stuck in my teeth and nobody ever tell me).

So my amazing, wonderful friend Nat (you reading this, Nat?) gave me a chest full of my most desired treasure.

All of the teas have been amazing so far. There's passion fruit and papaya green tea, pomegranate green tea, orange spice tea, peach tea, blueberry green tea, and mango tea. Also, the chest makes me feel super fancy. And you know how much I like fancy (and yet, I end up drinking wine in cups, and carrying around little ziplocks of snacks everywhere ... Go figure).

In any case, if y'all want to know the way through my heart, it's through a chest full of treasure ;)

Of Weather-Related Musings and Grandma Behaviour

The weather is still having a laugh at us. I think I could post daily updates on just how crazy it is. Some days I wonder why I moved here, simply because it's SO cold and so unpleasant sometimes ...

But then days like today happen.

I always fall for it. Damn you, Montreal, for lulling me into a false sense of security ... and then blasting me with some freakishly glacial air or getting all hot and bothered and raining all over me and my winter coat (which, despite being delightfully waterproof, still smells like wet dog when drying).

This good weather does make me more ... happy (is that even the right word? Less disgruntled is a better description) to go to class. Which is pretty much all I've been doing lately. That and sleeping. I've given up on banking friend-time, and I'm onto banking sleeping time (I KNOW THIS WORKS!!!). I went to bed at 9pm last night. I woke up at 6:30am feeling as fresh as a daisy. It was amazing. I'm considering cancelling all of my evening plans forEVER and just sleeping at 9pm.

I swear I'm actually not a hermit or a catlady or a grandma. Most of the time.

Of My New Food Obsession

Random food related post ...

Guess what I made?

Eggs. Eggs are my new obsession. I think I eat at least 2 a day. Oh well, better it be eggs than cookies. Which I also love.

In any case, I made my egg in my new, MEGA-CUTE egg pan. It was perfect. And I was worried that the spatula would be a dud (it's not quite as bendy as one would hope), but NO, it totally scooped up the egg without rupturing anything.

Success. I love cute things that actually work. Be jealous.

Of Meteorological Temper Tantrums and (Some) Having-A-Life Moments

What ho? What light through yonder window breaks? Why, it's me, returned from a self-imposed hiatus from life (a.k.a. a Fringe marathon).

The fitness part of this blog has been temporarily postponed until it's not so fricking cold (which could be as far off as April). So I have to fill my time with other pursuits. I WAS going to attend a concert at the Music School and go to the museum, BUT ...

Mother nature decided to have a temper tantrum and have a blizzard. Oh, and the temperature changes every day - one day, it's 0C (oh, so warm!), the next, it's -27C (oh, can't breathe!), then back to -8C (oh, so warm!). Makes dressing to go outside very difficult. I, in my delusional state (I blame the cold), thought, oh well, jeans get colder faster and they get stiff, so I'm not going to wear jeans - instead, I'll wear LEGGINGS. Somehow, it didn't click that leggings = a micro-thin layer of fabric between my skin and the -30C air.

I tell you, I'm SO smart sometimes. This whole going to university thing has definitely taught me to win at life.

Speaking of life - I had one! For a couple of hours ... my roommate was throwing a party and I actually mingled and partied and did all the things that normal people do. And then I left to sleep over  at my friend's place, because, let's be honest, it was 11pm and I needed my sleep. Grandmas unite!

And to prove that this miraculous having-a-life moment happened, I present the evidence (unfortunately, I cannot include the rather strong smell of alcohol that has pervaded our apartment for the past week as a result of this party, but believe me, it's there).

Of Boobing Around and Pillow Collars

Yesterday was a bit of a fail. I was up all bright and early at 7am (and by bright and early, I mean really dark and cold and early), ready to tackle some work and get a head start on the day. Well, I boobed around on the Internetz for a bit, and then, feeling all sorts of exhausted, dropped back into bed to briefly rest my eyes ... from 8am to 11am. Champion sleeper, here.

I WAS supposed to run with my running group, but as I stepped outside and the glacial winds hit me, I realized that breathing was actually a very difficult thing to do. I also realized that there was no way I would be stripping down to my running tights, as I still valued my butt. You see, freezing my ass off is by no means on the top of my to do list. Actually, my preferred weight-loss method would involve a magical fairy displacing all the fat from my butt to my chest. But that's another story.

So after all the uselessness of my morning (let's see ... I Tumbl'd, Facebooked, Blogger'd, checked all of my email accounts at least twice, watched a bunch of TV, and repeated this whole cycle at least five times), I hit up the library instead. It was eerily empty. I'm so used to seeing students camping out behind huge piles of paper, forts made out of books and occasionally, even snoozing on their specially-brought pillows, that an empty library just creeps me out.

I was also quite sleepy, so much so that I wish I had a pillow-collar a la Colleen, from yesterday's post. That girl definitely thought it all through. And since my ability to concentrate is close to 0 in quiet places (weird I know, but when it's too silent, I zone out and don't even notice), let's just say that I didn't work much ... and so instead of working (well, I DID open my documents), I bugged my friend Erryl instead.

She shouldn't even lie, she loves the distractions. Because let's face it, who wants to be doing work on the first week of school? No one. In fact, it's expressly forbidden in the Procrastinator's Handbook for Succeeding in School and Life. Which I am in the process of writing. Hit me up for advance copies and whatnot. But don't expect a reply soon - because obviously, a procrastinator never does today what could be left till tomorrow.

Of Social Lives and Egg-Related Fights

So let's just say that when midterms/finals/assignments/life roll around, my version of socializing is sitting and working in a cafe that is full of people. I mean, I'm near people, right? So that's almost the same as actually socializing. My new idea is to bank some socializing time. Basically, the plan is to hang out with a lot of people now, so that when I'm a hermit later, my 'average amount of time spent with other people' isn't embarrassingly low.

Yea, I'm cool like that.

But in the spirit of seeing old friends and reconnecting after the Christmas break, my friend Jill and I hit up our favorite diner for the breakfast special.

I love breakfast. It is the BEST meal of the day. I will fight you over eggs. I'm serious. Breakfast is the only thing that makes me a decent person to be around. Also, hating all of my classes this semester is very exhausting, so of course I need to refuel.

And since that's about the most noteworthy thing I did yesterday, I figure I'll round this post off by complaining about the weather.

Why is it that when the Weather Network tells me it's -8C and windy, and I dress in my warm coat and hurry off to campus, I arrive a big sweaty mess (and let me tell you - sweaty puffy coats aren't pleasant!)? And yet, when I leave campus and it's supposedly 'only' 0C, I'm freezing all the way home? What is this madness?

I also get cold allergies when it's too cold or when the temperature changes. So why I chose to live in a city that's as temperamental as Britney Spears (during her shaved-head stage) and freezing cold pretty much 6 months out of 12 is beyond me.

I probably made that decision on an empty stomach, before the eggs knocked some sense into me.

RE: WTF?!

So my last night in Vancouver, Nat and I were watching Four Weddings (of course, that was after a full-blown Say Yes to the Dress marathon ... no shame here). I enjoy the show because you get to see the entire process and the different brides often have wildly different ideas of what a wedding should be like. Which is very entertaining.

But this bride seriously took the (wedding) cake.

Dear Colleen,

I'm glad you're getting married and all, and I'm let you finish ... but that is the most ridiculous dress of all time. Of all time! Kanye impersonations aside, can I just say - looking like a cream puff that's gone moldy is ... very creative. Thank you for making it the most fun night of television I've had in a long time!

Ok, so that was a bit mean. And I admit, at first, I was like, whoah, this dress is ridiculous! But then I thought about it more closely and I realized that you actually thought it all through. You weren't just dressing like a crazy person - you had a plan for every contingency!

See, the airplane-pillow-like collar is for those moments during the wedding when you wanted to take a nap (say, after your dramatic renditions of 'I want to bear the seed of your loins', if I remember correctly; it looked very powerful and exhausting). And I agree that it's very useful to have a pillow handy. I think I'll start wearing one to class!

And the poofy sleeves are for hiding those little blue pills ... because you really wanted to get started on that 'seed of your loins' thing. And by the way you were practically copulating during your first kiss with the groom ... well, I think they came in handy! And honestly, I think that's  a very practical use of the dress. I'm going to start hiding stuff in my sleeves too, so that when I'm exhausted at a work meeting or something, I'll just pretend to yawn and pop a caffeine pill. Brilliant!

And that mermaid/fishtail skirt. Well ... I think what you meant was for the green to symbolize your verdant, unexplored pastures, if you know what I mean, but I think the true purpose was to make this dress very comfortable to run away in, in case any other man decided he wanted to ... explore the pastures. Which is very very thoughtful of you, especially in such a wild city as New York. Safety first girl!

So I have to say, after giving it some thought, I will now be copying your fashion statement by inserting such useful additions as airplane-pillows, sleeve pockets and slit skirts into my own everyday wear.

Love,
Will now be able to sleep, eat and run away from class much more efficiently

Of Getting One's Ass Out the Door, Period.

Given that I don't have the excuse of homework or anything else for that matter right now, I had to face the challenge and get my ass out the door.

Which I did, for a very nice evening run. It was warm(ish) and my spikes kept me going strong, so all in all it was a good run.

• 4.44 miles in 37:11 - 8:22 pace

I mean, while I was running, I wasn't at all happy; more like, I was thinking why the hell I had signed up for a marathon and how much I hated the act of running fast and how awful it would be not only to run but to train for months and months for the fricking event. Yea, I lost some endurance, could you tell? But I figure, if I can just convince myself to get out the door, it's not like I'm going to quit, so I will get the run in, and who cares if I hate it? It's like child birth - you get it done and then the endorphins take care of the rest (or so I've heard).

Crossing my fingers that this happens.

And to end on a high note:

Picture of a park I ran through during my run. I'm lucky to live in such a beautiful place!

Groceries

I somehow managed to drag myself from my cozy, warm bed at 7am to get ready for an 8:30am class that I wasn't even registered for (waitlisted ...), only to find out that I hate the class. So I dropped it.

Talk about pointless.

To make something of the day (because let's be honest, I couldn't just blog about how my class sucked ... and most importantly, I couldn't get pictures of it. And what's a blog post without pictures?), I decided to get everything else done. Cue advising appointments (once again, just confirming what I already know ... when will you actually give me advice?!), meetings with friends, and most importantly, grocery shopping.

I really enjoy grocery shopping. I like walking the aisles with my little cart and looking at all the choices and picking things. It's the small pleasures in life. Seriously, I'm not weird (all the time).

Now my goal for January is to eat cheap and healthy. So cue the vegetables (the meat's already in the freezer) ... and more vegetables.

How delicious is that? I should be a professional food arranger or something. Now let's hope I don't crack from all this healthy deliciousness and buy a pizza by the end of the week.

P.S. - that cottage cheese is AMAZING. I never used to like it, but I couldn't get enough of it today and it was the only thing I was craving after my run. I might have to get a new pack of it tomorrow ... because it's almost gone now. *shifty eyes*

Of Small Pleasures

After my epic museum visit in the morning, I took a little coffee break (yessssss, caffeine flowing in my veins = happy Anna) and fulfilled one of my lifelong dreams. Well, not lifelong, only since the start of college (because it gets so impossibly busy) - I sat in a cafe, and I didn't do homework, or discuss group projects, or drown in assigned readings. No, I just sat there and read. Read for pleasure. For myself. Some trashy fantasy novel. And it was perfect.

Small pleasures are what make life magical.

As do good friends. So to make this day extra special, I met up with my friend Erryl for a gossip-filled trip to LaSenza. And then some more chatting and catching up. We are a bunch of chatterboxes and around her, I say the most outrageous things. Like even more outrageous than I blog here. I know, impossible, right?

I have the prettiest friends. Waiting for the pretty-bug to bite me, any day now ... No. But seriously.

Culture Shock: Museum Edition

I realized two things after singing yesterday morning:

1. I was extremely hungry. And sleepy. So much so that I couldn't decide which to do first.
2. The Musee des Beaux Arts is right across the street from the church where I sing.

Considering my inability to make decisions, point No. 1 was postponed. But since the museum is free, I figured, why not? Because let's face it, once school starts, I'll always have something 'better' to do. So I sauntered on over and put on my 'I'm-an-art-connoisseur' face on.

Actually, first, I collapsed on a bench. Due to exhaustion. Then wondered at my insanity - going to a museum (a somewhat exhausting place, both physically - all that walking and looking connoisseur-y, and mentally - why yes, all that artsy thinking is tiring!) while feeling like I'd just run a marathon (and not the measly 2.5 miles I did this morning). Thankfully, I discovered a ziploc baggie of radishes in my purse. My purse is a mysterious, mysterious thing.

But the statue of the extremely skeletal looking meditating lady statue right in front inspired me. It's like she was telling me that staying on this couch would reduce me to her skeletal state. In order to preserve my bit of chub, I had to get moving.

Unfortunately, I only made it through the Impressionists Up to Picasso exhibit (I love me some Monet and some Henri Harpignies) and another random contemporary exhibition upstairs (called Big Bang!) before I really did have to call it quits. Actually, the Big Bang exhibit had a crazy mural room, made by a studio of artists called En Masse (literally - 'all together'), and the museum had thoughtfully provided bean bag chairs for patrons such as myself, who have no museum-fitness (not to be confused with general fitness; museum-fitness includes the ability to walk and shuffle along for long periods of time; the ability to stand in one place with one's head cocked to the side; the ability to read the tiny sign cards explaining the totally absurd abstract paintings; and the ability to do all that while looking like an artiste-hipster ... needless to say, I don't got it yet).

After this brief respite, I briefly meandered around some random rooms upstairs in a sort of a hungry daze, where everything looks like food.

That didn't deter me from my quest to release my inner artiste of course, so I had to take some artsy photos, of course.

The good thing of course is that most of the exhibitions are free and I'll be able to peruse all of them at leisure the coming Sundays.

But next time, I'm bringing lunch.

Of Theatrical Events and Pet Models

So let me preface this by saying that there were times when I thought this was a great idea and times where I was sure I was a dumbass for doing it.

It all started last year, when I signed up to all those couponing sites - SocialShopper, Groupon, Teambuy, etc. I. was. hooked. It's like somebody is suggesting activities for you to do (I have no imagination apparently, as witnessed by my countless nights of staying in and watching TV ... what can I say? I like me some procedural dramas), AND gives you a low price for them. What's not to like?

So when it came time for Christmas season, I may have bought a coupon for my dad. For a pet photoshoot. Which is a great idea in theory, since my Dad loves photography and LOVES my cat. Somehow, it escaped my mind that he we would have to transport the cat to who knows where (cleaning up her poop in car all the while, because she somehow has to go AT THE EXACT moment we drive off), and then somehow keep her calm enough so she doesn't run off while the photographer is taking pictures. Oh and repeat all that on the way back.

My dad, the butcher cat cleaner.

Of course, he had to give her a bath beforehand. The cat's bathtimes are so rare and far between that they have become somewhat of a family event. My dad dresses up in multiple layers (as my cat usually goes insane around water and claws her way up his body like it's tree or something), and my mom and I settle into our special box seats (the bathroom counter and on top of the toilet, respectively) to view the spectacle. This time around it was a lot calmer, but I still ended up with something like 70 pictures of the event on my camera. We are crazy cat people here.

Oh and this was all happening the day before I left for Montreal. Holla for organization. Basically, it went like this: we stuffed the cat into her special backpack (with mesh, so that when Dad takes her on hikes with him, she can see all the bears outside), released her in the car and the poor confused dear decided to sit in her litterbox. Like actually settle down for a nap.

She's not the brightest, but we love her anyway.

Of course, then we started moving and things got interesting. The poor thing was terrified in the car (understandably - the weather was horrible and the traffic forced us to stop and go very abruptly).

Oooh yea, look at our ghetto station wagon with the stitched blue seats. No leather for us ... nope, we're too cool for leather. Give us the quasi velvet/curdoroy and we're good to go.

The whole photography affair was ... a little bit sketchy. The photographer was in some old converted building without heating, and the photos were taken in a tiny back room. And keeping the cat 'photo-ready' (a.k.a. on the actual pedestal and not in some dark corner) was a treat, let me tell you that. But thankfully, the final product turned out to be quite lovely!

Yea, my cat's a beauty. Obviously, she's the best cat ever. Her one flaw (although inexcusable) is that she is wholly in love with my dad, and the rest of us inconsequential humans can just go suck it. And now they are forever joined together in this photographic evidence. Wonderful. My mother and I will just go cry in a corner now.

Of Friend-Time and Pushy Cats

Friday was my last full day in Vancouver. After a morning photoshoot (of the cat variety - more on that later) and the random restaurant trip, I ended the night at my friend Nat's place, in true girly fashion - watching 'Say Yes to the Dress'. And 'Extreme Couponing'. Because after watching those 10,000$ wedding dresses, a girl needs to clip some coupons to make her dreams a reality.

We of course chatted a lot.

Yea, we are a technologically obsessed bunch. I was Tumbling. She was ... browsing. Her mom was playing Bubbles on her iPhone. But seriously, we had quality friend time right there.

Nat has also achieved one of my New Year's Resolutions, so now I'm going to bug her until she teaches me too. I feel like this is the best resolution to tackle first, since the rest of them are likely to take (much) longer. I tried the splits this morning, and let's just say they are closer to legs-sticking-together than to legs-split-apart.

I was of course sad to leave. But there's also something exciting about packing up and leaving. Of course, my cat had other ideas.

Today being my first day back in Montreal has made me think of my last day in Vancouver. Four months until I see these lovelies (both Nat and the cat) again!

Of Forecast Lies and Traction Aids

This morning, I went for my first run back in Montreal.

• 2.5 miles, 23:57 - 9:34 pace

I definitely felt slower, but let's face it - it's supposedly -6C and slightly windy.

I say supposedly because it's all. Lies. Because I dressed for -6C (tech shirt, tech long sleeve on top and my windbreaker) and I was red in the face (as per usual) and sweating buckets like the middle of summer (not usual in January).

Then of course I noticed that they measure the temperature at the airport.

The airport? Really? Because that's over an hour away, and what do I care what the weather is like at the airport? If I'm going to the airport, I'm literally going from the taxi to the terminal. The weather there has no effect on me. Seriously, I should've done a RE:WTF?! style rant about this. I was that miffed.

The new things that I tried today, and that probably saved my run from being a 12:00 min/mile shuffle are my new Due North Traction Aids.

They are these tough plastic webs that stretch over your shoes. When off of your shoes, they are conveniently flat, so you can store them very easily. The traction comes from the carbide reinforced spikes (in blue) that are on the forefoot and the heel. Let me tell you, these babies saved me today. I felt like I was running on plain pavement when wading through layers of slush and ice and snow that were caked on the sidewalk. The grip was amazing. At first I was a little scared, because on the sections where the sidewalk was cleared, they made these scratching noises and I was afraid that I would break the spikes, but the manufacturer assures that these spikes are super strong and won't just break. In any case, there are 2 replacement spikes included with the traction aids.

The only (minor) concern I had was that at the end of my 2.5 mile run, the slush had gotten congealed on the bottom of my runners, which covered up the spikes a bit and made my going a bit slippery. I would say these are perfect for harder snow and ice, but with slush, you have to watch out and knock the excess slush off when it accumulates.

At least now I have something to do at those traffic lights besides look mean. And fabulous.

Of Gastronomic Debauchery (Part II)

On my last day in Vancouver, my parents and I continued our gastronomically debaucherous streak by randomly dropping into a restaurant on the way back from our secret morning endeavour (more on that later). Since my dad is a vegan (definitely more on that later), it makes it kind of hard to go out. Because, let's face it - I enjoy nothing more than a good medium rare steak. And tofu just doesn't quite hit the spot in the same way.

But this time, we literally ended up parked across from an Asian Vegetarian restaurant, so I guess it was meant to be.

We had this green soup (supposedly made of spinach and coconut milk and enoki mushrooms) which looked like one of those monstrous health/detox shakes, but was TO DIE FOR. Now, we mistakenly thought it was a normal restaurant, and hence, ordered individual plate(s) of what we wanted. But we forgot the crucial fact about Asian restaurants - they are family-style. Meaning our individual plates were heaped with enough food to feed a third-world country. That cramped our style a bit (but certainly didn't stop us from polishing it all off).

All in all, it was a great meal (I simply ate my weight in mushrooms ... #noregrets). The only thing I had to complain about ....

Of Gastronomic Debauchery. And that's about it. (Part I).

So while I was visiting, I decided to forego any semblance of 'healthy' eating because my parents seemed to be intent on visiting every restaurant. Every. Restaurant. Eating in was not an option.

Not that I'm complaining. I love spending time with the 'rents and well, who am I to turn down an array of delicious food, right? Right. This time round, we hit up the Mongolie Grill. Basically, there's a whole buffet of veggies and meats and sauces and you pile them all up (raw) in your little metal bowl and hand it to the cook.

They also have this contest where if you guess the price of your meal, you get ... Actually, I don't know what you get. I don't think that anyone's ever guessed right. But they keep asking you to guess and of course we guess, because how can we resist. Gotta play the game. In any case, this time around, I was 7 cents off, my mother was 15 cents off and my father was 26 cents off. We are just one crazy lucky family. Now we just have to win the lottery, and then we're set.

And we also had some beer, because for some reason I turn into an alcoholic fiend when I'm out with my parents. Cocktail? Sure. Wine? Sure. Beer? Eh, why not. It was nice ... and then I got cold, and then it wasn't as nice any more. I only finished half the glass. Lamesauce. My lovely mother however fully enjoyed her beer. And then we both laughed our asses off at insignificant little jokes and the staff at the restaurant thought we were crazy. But the food was delish.

Also, besides the food you get at the buffet table, they also bring you free soup (win!) and brown rice in this metal tin can and bread. Except the bread is not like bread, it's like a napkin. I swear, the first time we went to this place, I wiped my face with it and then crumpled it up and threw it away. But no. You actually eat it. This is no bueno for non-street-smart people like me. Too confusing. Next thing you know, I'll be munching on real napkins and toothpicks, because I can't tell food and non-food apart. Scary.

And because no day of gastronomic debauchery is complete without dessert (you've gotta hit all the food groups - carbs, starchy carbs and sweet carbs ... and then some more carbs), we got ice cream. At Costco. Because, holla, Costco is THE BEST. You can buy anything there (I swear, they'll start selling babies soon or something). And their ice cream sundaes are 2$ and they. are. divine.