it's been awhile since I last updated. I'm not gonna lie, I probably have time to write in here, but after the hours of staring into a computer screen at work, i'm not totally jumping to stare at it somemore at home. Plus, Twitter is somehow taking over, although I tend not to really write in there much either. It's much more like a great  aggregator of updates of blogs that I follow.

So, what's been going on....I need to write this down for my sake before I start forgetting, so don't mind how it's written in point form and any form of grammar is thrown out the window. (I apologize to all my former English teachers.) Anyways, it's crazy how its mid-July already!

May

- 2 week intensive course for microbiology. Dealing with Staph Aureus in lab freaked me out and made me jump into the antibacterial-hand sanitizer-bandwagon.

- Montreal - fresh bagels at 2 am are so good. Montreal is STILL the best patio city in Canada. Last time we get to crash at Eve's for the weekend trips!

June

-Barcelona: best city. Endless tappas and great seafood. crazy thick hot chocolate. New respect for architecture thanks to the genius of Gaudi - Europeans definitely embrace art WAY more then Asia and North America. brought back great candy from Papabubble. LOVED La Boqueria, delicious razorclams and other seafood, best restaurant was Le Quinz Nuits. Next time - much more shopping to do, and don't go on Sundays.

-Naples: ruins of Pompeii was WAY bigger then I expected, but still really cool to walk around in - you definitely need a guided tour to get the best experience out of it. Unfortunately we got rained out, so didn't get to do any of the shopping its famous for, but did brave the wetness to get some famous pizza. Call me ignorant, but I still like Terroni's pizza better. I guess the thinner the crust the better-  I'm not that fond of Naples' more chewy crusts.

-Rome: crazy whirlwind walking tour thru Rome managed to hit the Coliseum, Trevi fountain, the Pantheon, Vatican City, and the round Castle of St.Angelo. too bad didn't have enough time to really explore everything, but somehow I don't have a crazy urge to return the city. hmmm. It was crazy how everywhere you turn, you spot a building/structure that looks important, but have no clue what idea what it is.

- Florence: LOVE this place. So pretty and everything is so walkable! I think the Duomo beats even the Vatican in terms of looking the best. had really great Tiramisu. oh and go early to San Lorenzo Market in order to be able to haggle prices for leather goods.

- Nice: very posh city. somewhat reminded me of Paris. definitely good for shopping since it has all the name brands here. interesting how there's a posh area, an old area, and modern/shopping strip. The pebble beach was okay -not that great as a beach cuz rocks kinda hurt to walk barefoot on, but the water was really nice and clear. oh, and definitely skip getting a Coke and get a glass of wine instead - it's half the price in comparison!

- Monaco: um. can definitely skip. really small city! the Prince's palace was...not impressive at all. instead, the best was the little church that was located between 2 cliffs, and under 2 hwys, right under the entrance to the train station. The Monte Carlo casino was crawling with tourists, and had the token Ferrari, Maserati, etc. parked at the entrance. The gelato place beside the entrance was pretty good tho!

-Marseille: still impressed how we walked all over the city - hiked up to the top of the Notre Dame de Garde where we got an AMAZING view of the city and the harbour, walked down and across the shopping boulevard, and walked thru the old part of town, and saw the other Cathedral.

July

- volunteering like crazy, but loving it (most of it at least, hehehe) and working 2 jobs, but always amazed and appreciative of how flexible it all is.

- summerlicious at Canoe - realized how I have officially lost interest in this Toronto event. The meal was good, don't get me wrong, and the view was amazing. Maybe too amazing since we got the best table in the resto - the one at the corner with both the South and West windows beside us - but the $45 price tag doesn't really appeal to me no more. sigh.

- gelato is sadly, another thing that's not as great as it used to be. Il Gelateria at Mount Pleasant & Eglington is still the best - the plum, and the kiwi are really good, and yea...the blueberry was too...grainy?? but I'm all about frozen yogurt now. especailly the blueberry frozen yogurt at Summer's ice cream down at Yorkville.

- trying to bike more. too bad uptown drivers don't even expect there to be pedestrians, let along bikers, so...constant state of fear and muttering under my breath whenever I ride.

August

..........we'll just wait and see.

Hope everyone else is having a great one!

early in the morning, reflecting in the sun...

It's always interesting to see old friends again, since its kinda like those yearly snapshots you used to take on the first days of school. There are obvious but subtle changes between each year, even when you aren't exaclty able to pinpoint what. Everyone is changing and I'm not surprised. Some people are actively trying to change their image by revealing how they've opened their eyes to the world, while some are becoming more world-weary.  You can see different aspects of how couples effect each other, and insight into just-revealed, unexpected opinions about past events. I walk away even learning something new about myself (ie. how I'm just wired to be analytical - damn you Psychology minor!) but only in the sense that sometimes the world is truly moving much faster then I am, but I am comfortable knowing that my time to start catching-up will present itself, all in due time.

Sweet Potato Kit Kat

Fresh from Japan, courtesy of my brother (thanks!) is this new kit kat flavor. It is the most realistic tasting flavour yet since the moment I took my first bite, it felt like I was eating a crunchier version of those sweet potato cubes. I almost didn't expect it to be that great since there wasn't any overwhelming, almost-nausating smell that other flavors tend to have in order to make up for the lack of realistic flavoring. And to prove how good it was, my brother was surprised to find that I actually ate both sticks, since I usually get disappointed by the end of a single stick and leave the other one for my brother to try finish off. Even when he opened up the other package, he was surprised by how good this one was (sometimes, I seriously thinks he's the harsher critic - it takes alot for him to give beyond 'meh' reviews). I guess the only downside to this was that it was still a tad too sweet, which is a given since it's still one of those creme-covered Kit Kats.

4.5 sticks out of 5

_______________________________________________________________________________

TV is back, and it's CRRRRAAAAZZYYY

I'm a loyal Lost fan. I still remember watching it in 2nd yr res. The TV didn't come in yet, so I convinced a few roomates to go into the nearly empty common room of RJ Hall. We sat in the dark, on a mouldy, old coach, staring up into the suspended tv and was riveted by such an action-packed show that left us with goosebumps on arms. For the rest of the season we got to watch in the comforts of our own suite living room, but kept the tradition of watching it in the dark since there was something about the mysterious aura of the show, especially when combined with the tv being adjacent to a window that looks out into a back alley that SO resembled a scene out of The Exorcist (ya, just wait til it was foggy evening). It made us go back for the goosebumps each week. Now, as I begin the 5th season, I'm still left with the chills at the end of some episodes. Partly cuz I still watch it in a pretty dim setting, but also cuz now I'm catching the late time-shifted version at 12am in the dead of January. I'm not sure why I;m still watching - some of the stuff is just to whack (hello, smoke monster?) but I think its the fact that I know that there will be an end to this show.  I will finally get to see the big picture, some of which seem to be already solved by some ppl (Alice sent a link to an explanation that seems to be THE answer. It's damn thorough since it took me almost 20mins to really get through it). But someone has yet to answer my biggest question: What the hell is up with that statue of a leg with only 4 toes?!?!?!?!

Another show I got hooked on is Fringe. I needed something to satiate my sci-fi void of no-Lost months, so this other JJ Abrams show worked. I really like the crazy old scientist, and I"m always looking for the bald Watcher, but I hope it isn't going to end up being the same power-struggle plot as Lost's Dharma vs. the Others vs. Widmore, except replaced with Massive Dynamics vs. break-away sects vs. yet-to-be identified competing company.

Unfortunately, one show that I'm slowly losing interest in is Top Chef.  During the middle of this season's run, Food Network ran a marathon of last season. I caught the episode where the 2 craziest chefs ever got together as a team and created the infamous Vanilla Love dish and I suddenly realized why I wasn't as interested this season. Although this season has thankfully replaced the faux-hawks hair fad with just shiny baldness, they are deeply lacking the interesting and actually talented characters of previous years. Mr. Italian Fabio can play up the stereotype all he wants, but he's way too aware of that fact to be funny. Where's the oblivious crazies!!??!?! sigh.

Anywhoo, I guess I've proven how much of a TV junkie I am. I'm now waiting for Dexter and Mad Men to come back, and then I'll have even more to say, hehehehe.

Currently Youth Novels By Lykke Li see related

Mildred Temple Kitchen

It's crazy how it's 2009 already. After seeing it on the glasses of all the revelers shivering in the cold for the outdoor countdown, while I was nice and warm at a friend's house, I realized we were now officially 1 yr away from 2010. Soooooo.....when am I gonna start seeing those flying cars!??!

Anyways, I guess it's been awhile since I updated. The holidays were generally quite busy this year. One week was consumed by my last ditch efforts to complete a project at work, a few other days were spent at various volunteering stints and several family gatherings, plus a short trip to Buffalo - all rolled up in my 3 school-free weeks. This left only a few days free for meet-ups, and even less days just vegging at home. But all in all, it was great and also loads of good food!

For the annual secret santa, my friends met up at one of the hottest brunch places these days: Mildred Temple Kitchen. It was a bit of a ride out to Liberty Village, but the place was well worth it. Imagine an dining area with never-ending ceilings, incredible spaciousness, and a open kitchen; all furnished by what Ikea strives to be if they weren't all about build-it-yourself furniture held up by dowels and Elmer's glue. Oh, and it kinda throws you when you see a Via train rumble by your table, only seperated by a few quick steps and a floor-to-ceiling window. So, back to the food - what did we get?

the famous currant scones to start..........

a few of us got their version of smoked salmon eggs benedict, except on a v. light and butter croissant....

I got their version of Huevo Rancheros, where the baked beans are inside the tortilla, topped with 2 eggs over-easy (the yolks were all runny and perfect!) and a dollop of guacamole and salsa.

And of course someone ordered the famous blueberry buttermilk pancakes. They were ginormous and fluffy!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, one of my fav. new brunch places, especially when I want a nice upscale version. But if I was looking for something vegetarian, my choices would be significantly limited, but Fressen would be my top pick..........