In which there was a massive zit outbreak...

I know, not the most appealing title out there, but a very evocative one about what has been happening in my life lately. Incidentally, I have noticed that my blog is strewn with apologies and broken promises of more frequent posts... *sigh* Stupid busy body that I am! I am really sorry and I promise that, should I finally manage to stop stressing out over every little thing, I WILL post more often!

Okay, now down to business...

I have been the worst blogger ever of late, due to an accumulation of unpleasant and stressful circumstances... which is why the numerous zit outbreaks. Stress does that to me, sadly.
First off, I had all four of my finals in very close succession, and I also started to work for Air Canada again. I was deliriously happy to work for them again until... I found out most of my shifts started at 3 a.m. I am not a morning person and these horrid morning shifts have caused me to be very sleep deprived. I have been stressed over exams, sleep deprived and stressed over Christmas shopping for the past three weeks, almost relentlessly. My very first days off were yesterday and today. Needless to say, I had reached such a low in energy that I had to be carried to my bedroom and did not find the strength in me to change clothes for two days. But I am all better now (though I still wake up ludicrously early due to habit)...

Wow - that summed things up pretty quickly...

My exams went, if not well, certainly OK. The last exam, especially, made me rather happy, as it was a multiple choice exam that reminded me of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." What I mean by that is, in the show, all questions worth less than 500$ have one riddiculous option out of four. It was the same with this exam. The question would have an excerpt of a novel we had read and ask "what is the significance of this passage?" Three options were serious, though they did not necessarily all fit the bill (and one could easily eliminate the right answer) and one answer was often out of the blue, for example "d) That Anthony Hopkins should play the main character if this was adapted into a movie" - probably a fair answer, but certainly not objective enough to be the answer to a multiple choice (and certainly not the explanation of a particular passage! ^_^ ) In all honesty, that exam was the one that scared me the most, because I did not really know what to expect. I have never had a literature exam be entirely multiple choice (I am so used to essay questions through which I can bullsh*t my way...) so I was pertrified of what kind of difficult questions the professor might ask... It turns out that all one needed to have done was read the texts and attended class, really. I think the fact that the prof is pregnant, and probably not in the mood to write and correct exams forever over Christmas break caused her to write such a nice exam (a good way to finish off my finals, really!).

As for work with Air Canada, it is still a challenge, and still fun. However, I forgot that Winter brings along issues that the airport does not have to deal with in summer... Flight cancellations!!! Well, flights do get cancelled in the summer too, but there was a snowstorm on the east coast of the USA that caused both New York airports, Boston, Newark, Fort Worth and other airports in the surrounding area to be entirely closed... tons of stranded passengers were at the airport and there was little we could do to help them because NOTHING else flew out there... Working on the Transborder (in other words, the American) side of the airport, I got to experience the unpleasantness of this situation first hand and I feel truly sorry for the passengers that had a weekend or business trip and that were stuck until it was too late and they could just go home...

Additionally, my 3 a.m. shifts were really difficult to cope with. I started by spending all-nighters and then just heading to work. Then I proceeded to nap afternoons and be ready to leave at night. Then, on Christmas (yes, I worked through Christmas Eve, Christmas and for pretty much all of the holidays - merry Christmas to me...) I slept from when I got home to when I had to get to work and was STILL overtired... I truly think I was overworked and sleep deprived, because my only days off so far had been my exam dates (which are, to say the least, not exactly relaxing or favouring recuperation from a hard week's work...). Here's proof that I was overworked: I sleep talked! Michael witnessed it all and recounted the sleep talking to me, though I barely (if at all) recall dreaming or talking to him in my sleep.

The first sleep talk I did was when Michael came to wake me up from my nap. I asked him solemnly (like I do to passengers at the airport - I suppose I dreamt I was checking him in at work): "What's your final destination in the United-States?" As Michael did not give me a straight up answer, I repeated my question several times, apparently getting more and more frustrated by the minute...

The second sleep talk that went on, I apparently said: "Tied up elves."
Michael asked me: "Why are the elves tied up?"
Me: "Because they activated it!"
Michael: "Activated what?"
Me: "Christmas!!!"
...
Me: "I feel sorry for the vegetables..."
Michael: "Why?"
Me: "Because they are being sacrificed so we will not get eaten..."

What the hell was I dreaming?! O.o Seriously?! I vaguely remember saying some of this stuff, especially after Michael recounted it to me, but I cannot for the life of me remember what I dreamt... *sigh* Too bad... though I do think that the nonsense I have been blurting out in my sleep is a sure sign of overtiredness...

And now for some passenger anecdotes!

I got a passenger at around 6 a.m. on my third day at work. He was traveling business class, and I can honestly say I do not think I have ever met more arrogant a person. He marched to my counter and demanded I check him in along with his six family members... which was okay, that is what I am there for anyway. But then he went into a major tirade about how much he hated that the flight for Florida was so early and that he thought it was unacceptable that he had to fly out at such a time. I politely refrained from telling him that I had to leave my house at 2 a.m. in order to be at the airport at 3. But then the guy called someone on his cell phone and went into a loud obnoxious rant about how long I was taking (I had to enter each and everyone's passport information, as they were going to the USA, which takes a while). He was saying loudly things along the lines of "No, I am still at the stupid counter! I've been standing at this counter for half and hour! This is going to take us longer than driving here!!" I can guarantee you, dear reader, it took me - at most! - ten minutes to check them all in (actually, make that five, because I am good at what I do). So the guy was making a fuss about ten minutes. Then, we went to weigh his bags. His adorable five-year-old son asks "Daddy, why do they have to weigh the bags?" I was about to answer when the father says aggressively "Because they like making our lives more difficult, that's why!" Thank you, sir. A nice day to you too... That sort of major jerk is the type that will really ruin your day at the airport, especially when they show up before sunrise.

The other anecdote is about a guy whose stupidity I could not believe. In order to go to the USA, you have to fill out a customs declaration form. This one guy filled out the form at my counter and thought out loud as he answered. I could not help but stare incredulously as he answered... To "address where you will be staying in the USA" he put down his Montreal address. An understandable mistake, but it gets worse from here... To "passeport delivered by (country)" he answered "Yes." He actually asked me if this meant whether his passeport was delivered here in Canada. I said yes, and he wrote down exactly that. Then, to "state" (as in "state where you will be staying in the USA") he put down "Single"... he actually thought they were asking for his marital status!!! And, finally, the cherry on the sundae; to "I am bringing; ... disease vectors, cellular cultures, snails" he checked off "yes." His reasonning behind this one? "Oh, well, I will be bringing my cellular phone with me... So I guess that I should check yes..." *facepalm* I think this guy made me lose faith in humanity.

However, on the day after boxing day, some of my faith in mankind was renewed. One guy who had flown over from Halifax and was supposed to head to New York was, obviously, stranded due to the fact that his destination airport was closed to all air traffic. So, he asked me whether I was quite sure that there was no way he was getting to New York that day. When I answered yes, he beamed at me and told me that was exactly what he was hoping to hear and that he now had the opportunity to visit Montreal and especially the Old Port. I gave him some sight-seeing advice, he made me so happy! Thank you, awesome passenger!!

In other news, Christmas was wonderful!! This year was really very special to me. In good German fashion, we celebrated not on Christmas day, but on Christmas Eve (which is the best way to do it, after all *wink*). My grandparents and my aunt had come over all the way from Germany to celebrate with us. My father and step-mother also came over to my mother's house and, for the first time in years, I had my whole family together on Christmas Eve!!! I cannot begin to describe how special that was and how much this meant to me. I cannot even remember when the last time was when we were all together... It was great and I will cherish the memory of this Christmas for a very long time!
--- and on a little side note, I got an awesome umbrella from Michael (the hilt of it is that of a katana and you can strap the umbrella to your back... It is called an "umbrella for the civilized, but discontented." Watch it, commuters! Here I come! ^_^), as well as fluffy killer rabbit with pointy teeth slippers (you know the ones: the rabbit from Monthy Python's Holy Grail is now a nice decoration for my feet... I have named the slippers, respectively, Flopsy and Mopsy...). I also got a manga from my brother, which made me really happy, and a beautiful polynesian pearl and some money from my parents. My dad also got Michael and me one of those small electrical grills that you plug into your kitchen wall to use in our apartment! Yay! This was really a wonderful Christmas (slightly ruined by the next day 3 a.m. shift, but otherwise good...)

And finally, as I am desperately trying to wrap up this post and keep it short (I am so hopeless!), I have to let you all know that we are slowly slipping into a promising New Year. Aside from the Savoy shows, I will also be modeling for Dr. Sketchy (it is an event called "Temptation" look it up on the Dr. Sketchy Montreal website!), and auditioning for Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus... among many other good things. So I am really looking forward to 2011, as it feels like it will be an even better year than the last!

And with that, dear readers, I shall leave you and get ready for work again. I wish you all a belated Merry Christmas and hope you have a very Happy New Year with much love, health and happiness. And overall, have a happy holiday season!!

P.S. I nearly forgot! Michael cleaned up our room and the rest of the apartment! I want the world to know that he is awesome and takes good care of me! He gets full credit for tidying up (as I was too exhausted to move a muscle when I got home from work). Michael cleaned up really nicely and really impressed my mum when she came to visit. My aunt also loved the apartment, I think she may be tempted to move in with us, lol. Anyways, thank you, my love, for all your hard work!!

In which Eulalia Milburga Antonia Deverell makes her appearance

Halloween! The best (the very best!) night of the year, where ghouls leave their attics, ghosts come down from their tower ruins and the undead creep out of graveyards... Devils and goblins, feys and sprites come out to spook people... Will o' the Wisps mislead poor straying trick-or-treaters and Kelpies drag poor children to their watery deaths... While Barguests scare the lonesome wanderers out of their wits and Wolperdinger come out to eat their gory meal... (look up Wolperdinger, they are awesome!)

I love Halloween. I love myths and legends and stories about eerie creatures (and I actually mean "eerie" this time), and I drink up stories of Samhain, witches, ghosts and frightening encounters... And I love dressing up! This is why Halloween is the best night of the year! (Heck, it even beats my birthday!)

Unfortunately, this Halloween was a little wretched for me... Mostly because I had a horrible chest cold. I seriously considered going as someone dying of consumption for Halloween (i.e. wear nothing but a nightgown, have a hollowed out pale face, red-rimmed eyes, and coughing up my lungs all night... maybe a little blood trickle from the mouth for added effect too...) But I decided that would be too drab and depressing. Though some of my friends suggested that my costumes were the "consumptive" version of my actual outfit. Ha ha. I love them anyways, but the coughing was really annoying and unpleasant. Especially because it meant I had to be quiet during the annual Rocky Horror Picture Show presentation. Due to all my coughing, my voice was seriously starting to fail me and, even when I did try to scream "Slut" or "Asshole" at the screen at the top of my voice, or even when I tried to sing along, all that came out were these pathetic squeaking sounds worthy of a tiny frightened mouse... *pout*

Aaaaaanyways... It was still fun. For Rocky, I dressed as a slutty nun with a considerably short skirt... And it started freakin' SNOWING!! My buttocks were not happy, lol. I was (literally) freezing my butt off (okay, it was my fault, but still! It should NOT snow during Halloween!). Despite all this, I got many compliments on my costume. A performer at the Rocky show told me I was truly the sexiest slutty nun she had ever seen "and I've seen a lot!" she said. Also, whilst waiting in line to get into the theatre, several men called out to me that they "want to confess their sins" which caused me to giggle and feel rather proud, despite the cold and cough. And I think a classmate of mine was rather stunned by the shortness of my skirt, commenting that he "was intimidated" because I am usually not taller than he is (I was wearing 6 inch heels) and usually not that sexy. It was great times... until nighttime came and I started really hacking up a lung... but that does not matter, as I am starting to recover now.

It was a little unfortunate, because Michael had a catering job that night and therefore only arrived at the very end of the Rocky Horror Picture Show (that is to say at 2:30 in the morning!). I felt a little sad to spend most of the evening without him, but, as it was spent with friends, it was still very much enjoyed.

On Friday though (the day before Rocky Horror), I went as my own original character. Let me introduce you to her... Eulalia Milburga Antonia Deverell. She is a character for a steampunk story I have started to develop sometime in June. It is really a fun character and it was perfect for Halloween (as I only needed to piece together pieces from other costumes to bring my character to life). So here is the beginning of Eulalia's story:
The smell of coal and engine oil was lying thickly in the air, creating a heavy and warm atmosphere that was perfect for sleep and sweet dreams. Sleeping on the concrete floor, she felt at peace and relaxed - she was exactly where she wanted to be. Her chest rose and fell slowly, and with every intake of breath, the irony scent of machinery tickled her nostrils. Without realizing it, she smiled in her sleep.

She was so distracted by the wonderful smells that she did not notice the warm breath by her right ear. It therefore came as a complete surprise to her when 'NIIIIAAAAA!' was screamed in her ear by a shrill child's voice.

Screaming with rage, Eulalia Milburga Antonia Deverell, better known as Nia, tore herself from her dreams of machinery and blueprints and looked around for the perpetrator of this foul crime that was waking her up. With her ear painfully ringing with a strident sibilant note, she looked around to find Kurt, the eleven-year-old boy who worked in the hangar as a sort of "messenger".

Her eyes fell upon him quickly. He was sitting cross-legged, about two feet away from her, with a huge impish grin (enhanced by a great hole where his front teeth were missing) on his face, topped by a shock of tousled red hair. An irritated twitch quivered under her left eye. 'Pipsqueak...' she said in a voice trembling with annoyance, 'what was that for?'

Kurt pulled out the tip of his pink tongue, which led to Nia pursing her lips to avoid an irritated outburst, and said with his customary lisp: 'The engineth are finithed...'

Nia, who had started shaking her head in the hopes of ridding herself of the painful whistling in her ear, thought she had heard wrong. Looking up into the child's eyes, she uttered a faint: 'What?'

'It'th the engineth are failing... Jutht thought you thould know... The gentth wanted me...' Nia did not let him finish. Swearing at the top of her voice, she gathered her skirts and jumped to her feet. Grabbing the hefty tool belt that had lain beside her, she rushed towards the farthest end of the hangar, ready to repair whatever damage those amateurs had done to her beloved engines.

So that's the start of the story I had written. It was basically my mind going haywire on a steampunk scenario... I love steampunk! ^_^

To be more precise though...
Nia is an aristocrat, a countess actually, who has always enjoyed flying things and steam engines. Instead of learning embroidery, like her mother wanted her to, she designed machines deemed worthy of Bedlam by her mother and father. She was placed under many strict governesses and school masters, but the love of engines was never beaten out of her.
When her parents died and her brother (and his wife) succeeded to the title and the estate, he decided to get rid of his crazy sister. He placed Nia on the doorstep, with a handful of jewels and her best clothes so she might make a meagre living for at least some time without bothering him, and then turned his back on her completely.
But Nia did not care. She simply reveled in the fact that she was now free to pursue her love of flying and inventions. Soon, she found herself "taxiing" people accross all of London in one of her own inventions, a flying machine she has lovingly baptized "Astrid" (she believes Astrid to be the epitome of her inventory genius). Basically, she is a very unusual taxi driver... and her taxi flies.
And the clothes her brother gave her? She still wears them! Indeed, Nia would rather make no money at all than wear rags. Therefore, she still wears her best clothes from her days as a countess, despite working with engine oil and steam and having added some wacky goggles to the lot!

There you have it. The history behind my Halloween costume.

And for the moment, dear readers, that must be it. I must go to bed in the hopes of getting over my bloody chest cold.

*cough* Good night to all! *cough, rasp, hack, cough*

Oh... and a picture of me as Nia:


P.S. I met up with a friend from Air Canada today (she is now a flight attendant at Jazz). I was really happy to see her again. It makes me realize how badly I want to go back to Air Canada for the Winter season... it really was a fun (though strenuous) job!! ^_^

Which is full of eerie stories...

I know I should be fired from life for making such a terrible pun, but I made the pun anyway...
When I say "eerie stories," I must disappoint my readers. This is not a Halloween-themed, ghost-story filled post. This is full of ears. Ear-y... eerie... get it? Lame, I know. *sigh*

Now, you must be wondering why I am so keen about talking about my ears. Is it because I have the most delicate earlobe and most beautiful inner-ear one has ever seen? Alas, no. The topic of ears comes into play in relation to cosplay.

Indeed, I have decided that, this year, I would get ready for the summer conventions in advance and start working on my costumes now. This is because I do not want to be stuck in a half-depression like last summer, and end up botching some work and skiving off sleep just in order to sew some more... Not that I do not enjoy sewing: I just need some sleep too. However, I have a dress to sew for my mum, which I promised I would have finished by next month. This means that I cannot start sewing a new project until then (or I might get distracted). Concentrating on sewing my mum's dress, though, still allows me to work on other cosplay pieces, such as wigs, accessories and prosthetics.

As it turns out, my cosplays for next summer need a lot of ear-work. Why? Because for some random reason, none of the characters I have chosen to cosplay has normal ears. Just my bleeding luck for me to choose this sort of thing! *sigh* I am looking forward to the day I will decide to have an uncomplicated life. Because, right now, I fail abysmally at making my life easy...

The ears I will need are (the bold names in colour are links to pictures, if you wish to see):

a) Persocom ears (persocom stands for "personal computer" and it is from the Chobits series by CLAMP) for Chii (the weird pink and white things poking out the side of her head are the ears)

b) Elf ears (I hardly need to tell you what those are) of a really long length for Pirotess (from the Lodoss War series, do not ask me how I will change my skin colour, please!)

c) Cat ears (very unusual cat ears) for Naria (from the Visions of Escaflowne t.v. series, she is the one on the left with the purple inner-ear)

I told you this would be an ear-filled post. This is basically my current project. Make three sets of ears (or commission them from someone). I have the intention of purchasing the elf and cat ears, as they seem more complicated to make. I have found, however, some great tutorials on how to make persocom ears out of craft foam. I look forward to making those.

As for the cat ears... they got me a little down in the dumps, mostly because I enquired on the cost for a commission of the cat-ears and that, because they would be custom-made, they would be around 350$. As a poor, penniless student, I obviously cannot afford ears at that price. I will try and fashion them myself... maybe out of craftfoam or out of that other plastic thingy (the name of which completely slips my mind right now) that can be shaped while heated... It will be the time to experiment and try stuff out.

The elf ears, really, are the easy part. I found a great online store that sells them (they're about 6-8 inches in length!) for a modest price, along with make-up and adhesives. I think the Pirotess outfit will go well. I am also very hopeful for the Chii one.

The Naria costume concerns me, though. As you will have guess from my name, I love this character above any other character (I have been head-over-heels for the silver cat-girl since I was ten). I really want to make her costume perfect and potentially make her my signature cosplay. But I insist on making the costume perfect or I shall not cosplay her... otherwise I will feel like I am disrespecting my favourite character... I am really scared of that costume... it will take a lot of time and work... and tons of spandex! (Can't wait to see how that will turn out!)

On a completely different note, I am finally getting in shape. It is not on a purely voluntary basis, though. Do not get me wrong, I want to get in shape! I have been needed to get back in shape for months (especially if I want to cosplay a spandex-clad character!). The only thing is, my exercise currently consists of choreography rehearsals with Savoy. Do not get me wrong, our choreographer is really nice and really helpful and I really like her... the problem is that I think she is also the reincarnation of an agent from the Spanish Inquisition. The stuff she makes us do! It hurts so much! I nearly cried at the last rehearsal and could not feel my arms for several minutes after the warm-up... the WARM-UP!!! I think she has a mildly sadistic side behind all that kindness and she delights in the looks of pain on the faces of the girls chorus. I still think our choreographer is nice though. The show will turn out great!

Finally, I went on a date with Michael last night. Our first date in MONTHS! I cannot believe how busy we have been. But it was so nice to be treated out for dinner and have a nice drink. My drink was a really good cocktail called the "Blue Sapphire." It would have been two dollars less had I ordered it as a virgin cocktail, but then the drink would have been nothing but lemon juice with a tad of sugary syrup... not really worth it as a virgin drink. There was no less than four alcohols in that drink: including Blue Curacao (which granted the drink its colour and name) and Amaretto. It was like liquid candy! Delicious!

I am really glad I went out with Michael alone. I really enjoyed it and had fun. I love my friends, but, all too often, whenever Michael and I are out of the house, we are always with friends. It was good to be out of the house on our own. It was really nice. And really kind of relaxing (you thought I would say "romantic!!" Admit it!). It was not the most romantic evening I have had with Michael, but it was nice and I really appreciated it nonetheless. We finished off the evening by having a sinfully chocolaty chocolate souffle... My God, that souffle was rich! But the chocolate was so gooooooood *drools*...
And a movie night really ended our evening. It was fun. I wish Michael was not at rehearsal tonight... thinking of him makes me horny, lol. ^_^

Cheers!

In which an essay is completed

Okay, I will have to finally admit it. I AM BRILLIANT!
No, seriously.
I finished an essay last night in roughly 4 hours. I had done absolutely no work on this essay beforehand. I had done no readings. I simply started writing what I thought would be a crappy essay - as a spur of the moment thing - at 8 p.m. last night. The essay was due this morning. The people whom I had proof read it thought it was an excellent essay. I must say, with 10 secondary sources and 7 pages, for a "quickie" of an essay, it is, indeed, a creation of pure genius. Especially as I managed to write something good about a really crappy play.

I still find it unbelievable how good I am at writing essays, despite hating them. The worst grade I have ever gotten on an essay was a B-. And that was after a Savoy cast-party and tons of red-bull (in my first year, the essay was completed at 6 a.m.). When I start essays at a proper time (the evening before the essay is due) it turns out very well... despite how much I detest, loathe and scorn essays.

Enough self-flattery now. I just thought that I should make those few people who were NOT jealous of my essay writing skills yet, jealous as of this moment. (Lol, just kidding - you know that, right?)

One of the plays I decided to write about was Aphra Behn's The Rover. This stupid play is super popular because, apparently, Aphra Behn was a feminist. FEMINIST MY ASS! She does give her female characters determination and, more importantly, "a voice" at the beggining of her play, but during the entirety of the play, she seeks to subdue that voice and eventually silences it completely by having her female characters "bravely" married to "men of quality."
The play has about three plots, but the one turning around Florinda, the main (and typically romantic) heroine, is absolutely riddiculous! She is in love with a dude called Belvile and she tries to go against her brother's will and marry him in secret. But the stupid tart fails, because the one time when she doe have the guts to do something sexually licentious, she is mistaken for a whore and nearly raped! So much for representing female desire as a good thing, Aphra Behn! Obviously, Behn thought it was wrong, otherwise Florinda would have succeeded in her plans with her lover and there would have been nothing more to it. I am certain that Behn thought that women had their place as properly married, and virginal (and faithful) until their wedding. This is certainly what transpires from her allegedly "feminist" play!

Also, Florinda proves herself as being an even GREATER nit-wit later on in the play! After a THIRD rape attempt on her person, by no less than 4 men at once, she is discovered as being a "maid of quality" i.e. a lady of good birth. The men are shocked to discover this, as all they wanted was to "ruffle a harlot" (... "rape a whore"... nicely said) and they apologize. And the stupid tart Florinda ACCEPTS their appology! Although she does not say it, what the bottom line of her words are is this: "Oh, well, because you appologized, it's all okay!!" (She is totally what inspired the stereotype of the airheaded, dumb-blonde cheerleader!).

*Sigh* The Rover was a waste of my time. But I still think my essay about it was pretty good - considering the material I had to work with!

On another note... my new computer is AWESOME!! Okay, so it was expensive... and yes, bloody Windows 7 is going to take some getting used to... (*sigh* I want the CLASSIC XP view back! I do not care about how "cool" and Mac-like Windows 7 looks... Apple computers suck anyway!) I really wish XP were still in place. On the other hand, my computer still rocks. It is larger than the old one and lighter. It performs better and much more smoothly... It. Is. EPIC!

... I think that's it...

Oh, yeah. I e-mailed some professional cosplayers for some cosplay advice (about the costumes I will make for the summer). I may be starting to make my own latex prosthetics!! ^_^ Their advice was awesome and I truly appreciated it! (Thank you Sarcasm-Hime and Lillyxandra!) I cannot believe how nice these people are, and how willing they are to share their knowledge. It is heart-warming and makes me want to give them a great big HUG! ^_^
Anyways - look forward on more cosplay news... I will probably be posting pictures of my progress. Until then, I will let you guess what I will be doing next year. Feel free to discuss it if the suspense is too much for you! lol ;-P

That is it! for now...

Cheers!

In which there was an awesome party

Last night, the McGill Savoy Society (best student society in the world!) hosted a party in collaboration with Queer McGill (another awesome student society) called Into the Wild(e). The event refered specifically to Oscar Wilde, wildly famous (pun totally intended) author and poet who will never be forgotten thanks to his hilarious play, The Importance of Being Ernest, and to his dark novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Incidentally, has anyone seen the Dorian Gray movie which stars Ben Barnes and Collin Firth? It is absolutely AWESOME! Watch it if you can - it was sadly never released in Canada *cries*.

Here is the facebook description of the event, to give you a better idea of it:

Into the Wild(e) celebrates the counterculture of 19th century England, from the high-fashion fancies of Jimmy Whistler, to the perverse passions of Lily Langtry, to the free-spirited sexuality of Wilde himself. Get dressed up in your best armor, corset or codpiece and dance / drink to the memory of the people who queered England!

In the spirit of Oscar himself, no colonial (or any other) oppression allowed!

Basically, it was a kick-ass dance party with lots of people in really cool costumes. Michael went as a respectable Victorian gentleman, my roommate went as a proper governess, and I myself went as a Victorian harlot. We looked awesome! The other costumes looked great too, but we truly rocked the house! We even came in with a backstory.
Here it is:

Mr. Beckett = Michael
Melinda Smythe = my roommate
Claire = Me

Claire was orphaned at a very young age and forced to live out her life in the misery of 19th century London. The hardships of life in the lower classes of London was difficult for her and, like many women who did not work in factories, Claire went for her only other option: prostitution.
However, on her sixteenth birthday, after being "on the market" for two years, Claire received the visit of a notary who held a large, fancy looking will. Claire was discovered to be the long lost daughter of a rich countess and the sole heiress to the fortune and title.
This is how, in her sixteenth year, Claire came to hire Melinda Smythe, a young and reputable governess, in order for her to be tought in the ways of high society and learn some proper manners and decorum. But old habits die hard and getting the streets of London out of the new aristocrat proove difficult for poor Melinda, who does try her hardest with the young harlot.
Luckily, during a party, a respectable gentleman, Mr. Beckett is introduced to Claire. He quickly becomes Claire's suitor and causes changes in Claire Melinda had never seen before. Will Mr. Beckett motivate Claire to become a true lady? Or is it all fleeting fancy and Melinda Smythe will have to give up on the girl? The dance party on Friday, October 15th will prove to be eye-opening...

lol

Okay - I will admit it... I had fun writing this crap just now. I know it is crap, so shush! It was fun. We went with these roles because of the ways we were dressed... I should have pictures up sometime soon.

The dance party was absolutely AWESOME! It was so great and we all had so much fun! Initially, I did not want to go at all, due to stormy weather and dreadfully strong winds (60 km/h). It had been a nightmare getting to school and back and the idea of braving the weather again did not appeal to me. But then we started on the costumes and then the fun started. It was so great, I do not regret walking around with exposed legs in high velocity winds at all! We finished off the evening nicely, after the party, eating fresh bagels with cream-cheese at 3 a.m. outside one of the most famous Montreal bagle places... It was GREAT! (I am sorry - other words fail me to describe the party... my mind is still a tad drowsy after going to bed so late...)

In other news... Michael got a new computer. I did too, but it is not ready yet. I should have it by Tuesday. The new computer Michael has is awesome, it is what I am writing with right now. My only problem with it is the keyboard... it is spaced out differently from every other keyboard I have ever touched and so I have been making typos in places where I usually would not, simply because I keep hitting the wrong keys (I have been proof-reading this post several times already). Apparently, my keyboard will have the strange odd layout... I am not looking forward to taking notes with the new keyboard for the first time! But my new computer will be awesome - as my old one is nearly dead, I am looking forward to having a perfectly functional laptop. I will miss my old one, however, it has been a trusty companion to me for five years now... *sigh*

And, as a concluding note to this post, check THIS out! My favourite cosplayer, Lillyxandra, is one of the major players in this project. It is amazing how these people bring fantasy to life. It makes me want to escape into the world they are in. *sigh* I wish I was this good at cosplaying... The costumes are stunning, and the photos even more so. There is so much dedication behind this project - it is just awe-inspiring. I am posting it here so you can all appreciate it. Make sure to look at the galleries! (Whether you know Zelda or not, this is just pure awesomeness!)

And that is it for today. My wrist hurts... It probably still hurts (along with my elbow) from Thursday's mid-term. I wrote 8 single-spaced pages of text in less than 70 minutes. I am good! I am very good! ^_^

Cheers!

In which there are events almost more unfortunate than Lemony Snicket's series of said events

Hello world. No I am not dead, sorry to disappoint in that regard. I have just caught a really, really bad cold. I sound like a 90-year-old woman who went to the grave and returned... or like a bullfrog... you decide (I think the first choice was the most poetic though). Anyways, this was (I swear it) my last extended absence from blogging. It was more extended than I expected, due to a series of events that just ate up my time and made my life suck for a while.

...

So... events (sorry, my blocked sinuses mess with my brain and chronology just failed me)...

Well, I guess the first key event that happened last week was the end of my Summer Temporary period with Air Canada. It was a bitter-sweet parting, really. Despite all my complaining on the blog (yeah, I know I do that a lot... sorry!), I really did like my job. I did not like passengers from France, but, aside from that, it was a great job. In all honesty, it was my very first job that I did not HATE. I loved the variety in my day of work. It never really got dull. It was very hard and very physical work (not for sissies, that's for sure!), but it was enjoyable and easy to do with a smile. There is always something interesting going on at the airport. So, except for the few passengers that were real... uhm... arses (and I'm being polite)... it was great! I will especially miss my colleagues who made my job fun. I thoroughly enjoyed gossiping about this and that passenger or XYZ movie star that passed through the airport during a shift. So yeah - now that Air Canada is over, I can relax and I am a lot less stressed. No more weird schedules or double shifts (sadly, also means no more money...) and passengers pressuring you to get things done eight hours before their departure. However, it also means that there will be days when I will not know what to do with myself and miss the hustle and bustle ambiance created by the airport. And the laughter with the colleagues. I will totally miss that. Luckily, I have a great boyfriend and roommate to keep me cheered up. And, hopefully, I will be hired again for the Winter season with Air Canada. That would be really nice.

Now, before I move on to the next event, I must finish with a few Air Canada anecdotes, as I had promised many more than I was actually able to write out. In my last few weeks of work, I met a) the worst passenger to ever cross the airport; and b) some really cool individuals. Here are the stories.

A) A passenger was traveling back to Paris with Air Canada to the Charles-de-Gaulle airport (who wants to go THERE?! Seriously!). This is not particularly unusual... it just means that you have to deal with a lot of France French (blergh!). But this French guy was the worst I have ever encountered. It is CLEARLY posted, all over the Internet (on aircanada.com in the info and services section, under "Baggage"), that Air Canada only accept 1 BAG PER PASSENGER on flights to the US and Europe. It is even placed in a beautiful, easy-to-read, coloured chart. So when the passenger with 2 bags to Europe starts lamenting to my colleague that "it says NOWHERE on the website that I am only allowed 1 bag! It says you are allowed 2!" and my colleague insists that, no, our website clearly states that the second bag to Europe is for a fee... the conversation is already going downhill. The passenger stomped away angrily to look at one of the seven thousand signs all over the airport giving you a nice chart (like the one online) with exact detail of how many bags one is allowed to check in. The sign says something like this:

Baggage Allowance

Flights Within Canada: 1st Bag = Free 2nd Bag = Free 3rd Bag = 100$CAN

Flights to the USA: 1st Bag = Free 2nd Bag = 30$CAN 3rd Bag= 225$CAN

Flights to International Destinations (except Europe and USA): 1st Bag = Free 2nd Bag = Free 3rd Bag = 225$CAN

Flights to Europe: 1st Bag = Free 2nd Bag = 50$CAN 3rd Bag = 225$CAN

This is almost exactly the signs we have planted everywhere in the airport... And so the passenger read this sign and stormed back to my colleague. "You are a LIAR!" he yelled. "The sign RIGHT THERE says I am allowed 2 bags for FREE and the 3rd one is 100$!!"

At this point, I had to get involved, as I know that sign like the back of my hand. "Sir, the 3rd bag for 100$ is only for flights within Canada. If you look again, just a little lower on the chart, you will see that, to Europe, the second bag is 50$ and the third is 225$."

"ARE YOU SAYING I CAN'T READ?!"

Seriously? No. But I was sure thinking it!

Anyways, he ended up storming off, saying he would never travel with AC again and saying that if there are no passengers, we have no jobs. He said he sincerely wished homelessness upon us. Luckily, that jerk is not our only passenger. We hoped he would not make his flight. Sadly, he did.

B) Now for the awesome ones...

The first one was pretty cool. It was not something particularly impressive, but interesting nonetheless. He was flying to Shanghai with only a small backpack and a briefcase. Nothing more. Curious, I asked: "You must be one of the very few who travels such a long way and brings so little!" He smiled and said he was only staying in Shanghai for four days, continuing on to Tokyo for four more and then going to Hong Kong for three days before coming home. I said that was an unusual trip and enquired on what the purpose of his trip was (it is always good to make conversation with passengers). He said he was one of the directors for Cirque du Soleil in Japan. He was going to China to do some recruiting, going to work a little on a show in Tokyo and then going to do some more recruiting before coming home for a tad of family vacation. I was awed. I did not think I would meet a director of Cirque du Soleil someday! It was cool.

The second one was really funny. It was a pirate. I mean it. The guy wore full pirate garb! From head to toe, he was basically donning Captain Barbossa's outfit (with a few minor differences). My colleagues were all awed by his face. It was browned and wrinkly by too much sun (what a sun-tanned old pirate should look like) with a long, straggly and braided black beard and a shock of long greasy hair under a jaunty hat. It freaked out my colleagues that "he really LOOKS like a pirate!" I thought it was awesome. Especially because the guy was missing a leg! He only had about ten inches of thigh and then nothing. He was leaning on a wooden crutch. I think it is clever of him to have made the best out of the situation (the situation being losing your leg) by making himself into a pirate! I actually remarked to him that he was one week early for Talk Like a Pirate Day, to which he giggled. My colleagues were awed that I actually talked to him. The funniest part though, is that he never checked in. He stood in line until he got to the check in counter and then left. I do not know what he was up to, but he cause quite a stir! lol

The third encounter made me squee. I met the pilot of the Gimli Glider by pure accident! ^_^ I actually checked the guy in! For those who do not know, Captain Pearson, who was the pilot of the Gimli Glider, is a hero of modern aviation. Air Canada flight 143 left dear old Montreal airport on July 23rd, 1983 to head to Edmonton. About halfway through the flight, an alarm sounded, alerting the pilots that the engines had run out of fuel. This is any pilot's worst nightmare, I think. Despite the end seeming near, Captain Pearson and his co-pilot safely landed the aircraft in Gimli, Manitoba (which used to be an Air Force base) without anyone dying or being grievously injured. They accomplished this feat by using glider techniques. To understand how impressive their maneuver was, I strongly suggest you look up the episode on Discovery Channel's Mayday. It is AWESOME what they did! And so you can imagine my squee when I checked in this aviation hero! When I asked for his ID, he held out his retired Air Canada employee card. Out of curiosity, I enquired what he used to do at Air Canada. He said he used to be a pilot but I was probably to young to have heard of him. I told him to try me. When he mentioned the Gimli Glider (which is the nickname flight 143 was given after the events), I realized I had Captain Pearson in front of me!! It was so cool! ^_^

So those were my awesome encounters. One of my colleagues saw Robert Pattinson on the American side of the Airport. It is confirmed: the guy is ugly as all hell and apparently, also the biggest jerk the planet has ever encounter. He is a worse divo than many others that have come through the airport. I am very happy I did NOT have to encounter that Twilight twat of an actor!... Pity my colleagues who did meet him though.

Brutal change of subject...

The other events that prevented me from blogging were all related to the McGill administration. THEY SUCK! I am seriously starting to think that they do not want their undergrads to graduate. It was so complicated to get everything done! It turns out that grades and transcripts are not enough to graduate at McGill. No. You need audit sheets to be signed by a prof to prove and confirm that you will have completed your programme by the date you put down on your audit sheet. And this sheet needs to be handed in before a certain date or you cannot graduate. I thankfully found out just in the nick of time or I would have been stuck, unable to graduate. But I am seriously starting to miss High School, where they looked at your transcripts, saw your grades and went: "Oh, great! You pass! Here is your diploma!". Apparently, your transcripts are not worth anything at McGill because they do not confirm that you have completed your programme. What sort of sick bureaucracy is this?!

And, to top it all off, it was really, really difficult to make my schedule this semester. All the classes were at the SAME BLOODY TIME! Every class I had to take turned out to be at 2:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. How the Hell was I supposed to balance this out?! After much discussion with advisors, I was able to sort it out, but man did it take time and running around for absolutely no good reason! grrrr! Stupid McGill administration!!!

And, finally, I had my audition for the McGill Savoy Society this year. I was, for the first time, really going for a role (that of Mad Margaret for Ruddigore). I kind of blew it. Mostly by becoming really, really, REALLY sick the night before and thus ending up with a near complete voice extinction on the very day of my audition. Try singing "I Can Hear the Bells" from Hairspray when your throat feels like it will suffer imminent Diphteria and your sinuses threaten to make your skull explode! It is agony! It sucks, it hurts and you sound terrible (even more so than usual). Add nerves to that and you end up with poor acting and tears by the end of your audition. I hope I can still get the role, but my hopes are currently low...

Furthermore, this morning, I woke up and my mouth hurt from the pressure in my sinuses. Conclusion, I am really, really bloody sick. I blame Michael. He's been having a man-cold for a while and I think he gave it to me. But it seems to have hit me tenfold because everyone around me is sick too and there have been some extreme and sudden weather changes of late... *sniffle* I hate being sick!

I probably had much more to say but this post already seems torturously long, so I will stop myself here. Wish me luck with getting my health back, I will need it so I can impress people at callbacks for Savoy (which are on Saturday). Hopefully I will rock those and I will get the role.

And that, everyone, was my series of unfortunate events that lead to an abscence of blog posts. I will now go make myself more tea... *sniffle*

P.S. Despite the oncoming illness, Talk Like A Pirate Day rocked! I was not a historical pirate, but still a drop-dead sexy pirate wench, if I do say so myself! ^_^ Too bad I do not have any pictures... And I bought some AWESOME spiced mead for said Pirate Day. It comes in a stone bottle with a wax seal! How cool is that?! And it was yummy too!

...

........ Okay, tea now!

In which Michael donned a flowery kimono

Greetings to all the world wide web out there! I apologize for my prolonged absence and wish to say that no, I did not abandon my blog at all. I was just too freakin' busy to write a single syllable. And, when I say busy, I am not kidding!

The double shifts after my return with Germany were hard. Very hard. I was completely exhausted and still have back and neck pain due to the whole fiasco. And, believe me, early mornings at an airport ARE a fiasco! First of all, you get all the people who missed their flights the previous night flooding your counter with bogus excuses and, most often, tears and very overweight luggage. Then, you get everyone who has decided that they would fly out to Cuba lining up for miles inside the airport so you can barely breathe. And, as those flights are usually around 5 am, you are working very hard, very, very, brutally early.

I am sorry if I sound snarky. I do not mean to. I am just soooooooo tired. I am afraid that the black rims under my eyes have become permanent by now. I have given up on the idea of make-up and concealer. No matter what I try, I look like death warmed up. I think I should star as the next victim on a CSI episode.

... And I know I promised many anecdotes from the airport at the beginning of the summer. Truth be told, there are so many by now that I no longer know which ones to tell. One thing can be said for sure, passengers always forget to pack their brains. They left it in some corner at home and arrive at the airport illiterate, without a sense of direction or logic. It is incredible how often you have to repeat yourself sometimes. Take one example: we have these huge, four kilo boxes made of sturdy grey plastic piled up in columns all around the check-in area. We ask passengers to place soft fabric bags or backpacks (or any other kind of bag that might get damaged from being thrown down a bagage chute) to place their bags in these boxes to prevent snagging on the equipement as well as tearing and damaging of the bags. And every time you point at the pile of boxes and ask with your brightest smile: "Could you please fetch me one of those big grey plastic boxes back there. I need you to put your bag in it," you get the dumbest responses. "What, my passport?" No, the plastic box! Were you not listening? "Something wrong with my carry-on?" No! I said the BOXES behind you! "What is behind me?" Turn around and look at where I am pointing in the name of God! And then, when you indadvertantly sigh, you get a nightmarish reaction out of a passenger: "Why are you sighing? Did you hear her sigh? She has no right to sigh! You have no right to sigh! We are passengers too and you owe us your respect! I am never traveling with you again! You are so rude!" (I swear, around 6:30 pm, just before my break, that was exactly the sort of character who showed up before my counter!).

I know I must sound exhasperated, but I am mostly just tired. I still love my job. It is better than a desk job anyday! And I get to practice my Japanese. And my colleagues are absolutely awesome! But the shifts are a bummer. And the more tired you get, the more passengers can get on your nerves. But I am good. It is a lot of fun to exchange passenger stories with other colleagues. The stories that come out can be epic! It is wonderful.

But my tiredness mostly ensues from a harsh back-to-school week. I am starting my final year of my BA in English Literature, East Asian Studies and Theatre and Drama. Guess what, my classes this year are, for the most part, uninteresting and mostly filler. Basically what I am missing to complete my degree. I am stressed out about it being the end of my degree. I do not want to be done with school yet. I enjoy it far too much! I will even endure some classes for the sake of staying in school! For intance, one of my classes, a rather dreary class called Mass Culture and Postwar Japan, is given in the Birks Chapel Building. It is such a gorgeous building! Every time I walk up the stairs to my class, I feel like a Renaissance princess due to the architecture and dark stained wood-panelled walls. This is why I am keeping this class.
...
Wow, I was on a roll there. Anyways, I am very tired because, at this point, I have to balance school with work. And that sucks big time! Because I go to school, all day, Monday through Thursday and then I work Friday to Sunday, three full-time shifts. Weekends and outings? Sorry, not happening. The workload is taking its toll on me. And it is a very harsh one.

On the other hand, I spent my one day off with my mum, last week. We had a lot of fun and I finally went to get the massage I had received for Christmas (my mum had given me a gift certificate). The massage was great! But I do believe I need another one already... And my mum was at the airport today, traveling to Deer Lake (wherever that is). It made me very happy to see her. I think she misses me too...

And, speaking of mum, her birthday is coming up soon. Too soon... I work (or have school) almost every day leading up to her 50th birthday... What shall I do? Suggestions???

...
Okay, this is turning into a much more cock-and-bull post than I expected and/or planned to write. It is not too late to give up on my post and go read a chapter or two from Tristram Shandy. It might make more sense than my late-night blog ramblings.

Anyways, Michael is back in the country. It makes me deliriously happy. I have missed him so much! It feels so good to have him back (even though the bastard gave me his cold!). I like having him in bed beside me. He is the best teddy bear ever! And I have less weird dreams and nightmares with him around. Must be love, don't you think? *wink*

This is where this post's title comes into play. I hope this story will at least make you smile.
So, I was working the day Michael came back. I offered him the couch in our "quiet" staff room to sleep on until my shift finished and then we went back together to the apartment. I was really happy to have him back. So much so, I barely slept. But, during the time I spent awake, Michael was out like a burned out cellar light.

However, he must have gotten up at some point during the night. Why? Because, when I woke up, happy and bubbly at the idea to have him back, and turned to look at him and wish him a "good morning," words failed me. Instead of "good morning," I blurted out: "Why are you wearing my kimono?" Big, round staring eyes. Michael was casually wearing my pink and gold flowery kimono. I cannot describe the sight. But it was epic in its hilarity. A scruffy and unshaven man, like Michael, lying comfortably in bed in what was obviously a woman's garment... It turns out Michael woke up at some point and grabbed what he thought was his shirt. Obviously, the man has poor eyesight in the dark! (Sorry Michael!) It was very funny, but maybe you had to be there to get it.

Other than that, I have barely had time to spend with Michael because the two of us were back to the grindstone as soon as he touched ground. Work and school for the two of us. It is a pain. I miss him despite sleeping at his side every night. I barely get to see him for an hour when I wake up. He is at work when I come home. I am currently waiting up for him.

And, in completely other news, I finished three Diana Wynne Jones books in the past two weeks. And I bought a brand-new Kathy Reichs novel, as I had nothing new to read. Also, I finally got to do a paid shoot and it turned out pretty darned well, I should think. Here is the link: http://www.productionsmarcboucher.com/page2.html The photographer really enjoyed working with me. I enjoyed it too. We spent the evening on a street in the Old Port of Montreal. Unable to find the owner of an old Dodge we had found parked by the sidewalk, we decided to shoot around the car anyway, waiting for a red light so the photographer could stand in the intersection and shoot as I posed for him...

... And here I thought I had another thread of thought to follow, but I lost it at some point through my ramblings. Oh, well. Better luck next time. The good news is, with the new start of term, I will probably be blogging a lot more (probably during some dull classes, tee hee), and thus my updates will be more cohesive and will actually make sense.

I send my love to all! Even grouchy passengers!

In which Cosi Fan Tutte is reviewed - or The Germany Chronicles 5

Most of you already know the cause of my long silence on the blog lately. Indeed, it is because I have been working double shifts for several days (thus completely exhausting myself) in order to get the 21st and the 22nd of August as days off. Why are these dates so important to me? Because Michael starred as the lead in his first Opera on Sunday August 22nd. However, it is not like the show was easily accessible... I had to head to Weimar, Germany, in order to show Michael my support and see his show. So on the 19th in the evening, I flew to Frankfurt, landed on the 20th in the morning, and then took a three hour train ride to Weimar. I have only just come back from said trip a few hours ago.

Before I review Michael's opera, allow me to say how wonderful a city Weimar is. When I got off the train, I thought I had somehow time-travelled back to the 1800s. Except for the modern cars and a monument to the Buchenwald victims (which dates to the late 1940s, I think), most of the city is enormously old. Indeed, Schiller and Goethe, famous German authors, both spent much time there, and the city still looks like it may have been back in their day. Among other things, most of the city (I would say 95 percent of it) is covered in cobblestones. No ashphalt. Usually, that would have been fine, except that I had made the trip in my work heels, and for those who have tried it, you know that heels on cobblestone are a nightmare! I do not want to know what women's feet were like back in the Victorian age, when cobblestones and high-heels ruled and one had no choice but to circulate in them! The cobblestones would not have been so bad if I had not gotten completely lost trying to find Michael's opera studio. I ended up with bleeding ankles due to my confused wanderings. However, I ended up successfully finding Michael's opera studio, called the Lyric Opera Studio Weimar. The reason it was so hard to find is that, in old European cities like Weimar, people had little consideration for parallel streets when the city was built. Unlike North American cities, where a system of parallel streets and squares was divised, Weimar is more like a huge Celtic Knot of Strassen (streets), Plaetze (plazas), and Gassen (alleys). It was really hard to figure out where I was going and I think I went in circles a few times, only barely missing Michael's opera studio, before I finally found it. But the whole city was really gorgeous and worth seeing! And the weather was great! I think I will go back there sometime, but for a longer period of time (and with better shoes).

Michael was really happy to see me. I was very elated to see him too. Apparently, my visiting him provided great moral support at a very opportune moment. The manager of the programme, a certain Greek bass-baritone Damon Nestor Ploumis, is probably the most flamboyant individual I have ever encountered, along with my high-school math teacher, Mr. Tarakdjian. Indeed, he was the type of person who wore custom-made waist-coats from his "tailor in Cypress" (I asked him, this is all true!). Despite his over-the-top persona, though, Damon was a very nice man and I think he was a great help to Michael in his musical progress, along with several others of the wonderful and great people I have met there, in Weimar. I think Michael did have a great experience there, no matter how difficult it was.

And now to the review...

I saw Cosi Fan Tutte, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, performed by no less than three casts while I was in Weimar. All of them were phenomenal performances! One of them was particularly fun, as we all went to a castle from the 1600s called Schloss Kochberg (where Goethe also spent some time) and the opera was performed in the tiny adjacent theater dating back to the days of Mozart himself. The other performances were in the Volkshaus of Weimar, basically in the "people's playhouse."

But that's all beside the point. I will only review Michael's perfomance (the Sunday evening) as reviewing them all would take me forever. But I can tell you they are all brilliant perfomers and I hope they all have great success in their later careers.

So, in the Opera, it all started out with a really funny fight-scene, in which Michael (as Ferrando) was basically taunting a fellow soldier, all with regards to how honest and faithful their respective fiancées are. Michael opened the opera with the very first line "La Mia Dorabella" setting a very good energy for the play. The baritone and bass characters, Guglielmo (performed by the baritone Bryan) and Don Alfonso (performed by a bass from Montreal named Alain) were also phenomenal. I thought Alain was absolutely hilarious as Don Alfonso, especially because he has, as Michael put it so well, "a fifty-year-old bass wobble" to his voice. It was absolutely epic. Bryan, the baritone, was very good too and sounded great, but I believe he may have had more experience than the others in the Sunday cast, as he had performed in the Castle performance as well.

Anyhow, Michael's great moment of glory came when he sang his aria: Un'aura amorosa—"A loving breath." I was speechless with the beauty of the song. So speechless I could barely find the strength to clap, while in the back, many girls cheered loud "bravos" for Michael. I think he did the aria beautifully, probably best than all the other tenors in the other casts. I think he made every woman in the audience swoon when he sang. He sang it so beautifully, and, more than once, he looked directly at me while singing. He told me later he was singing it for me. I guess it helped him sound so in love during the song! ^_^ His acting during the number was also phenomenal. You could SEE the love pouring out of his pores, just like it poured out of his voice. And, in the words of some fellow singers of Michael's; "it was a really difficult aria, and Michael nailed it!" I was so proud of him!

Most of the Opera was comedy, and it was wonderfully and hilariously stages, with funny little dance moves that can only be shown, and, sadly, not described. But just picture Michael in a faux-beard-moustache (because he was disguised as an Albanian) and shaking his booty in an attempt to woo a pretty soprano. It was epic and hilarious! I loved watching it. It is too bad it was only on for a very short time, otherwise, I would advise all to go and watch it. It is a great opera, fantastic music, fantastic staging and fantastic performances. I hope there will be videos, because every one should see it!

I know, this is an odd review, but it is difficult to review a piece like Cosi when performed by new up-and-coming singers. But I can guarantee that the whole thing was absolutely amazing!

Back to the post...

The unfortunate thing was that, while spending some time with me after a rehearsal, Michael's laptop was stolen from his room. I feel really guilty because, had we not spent some time together, Michael might still have his computer. And there are many things of value to the two of us on that laptop, such as all the pictures from Germany in May (of which we have no copies and not nearly half of them were uploaded to Facebook yet!). I do hope it turns up. It really put a damper on Michael's amazing performance that such a stupid thing had to happen!

Okay - I will go and get some shut-eye, seeing as I was up by four in the morning, German time, in order to take a train back to Franfurt airport and fly home. I am completely exhausted. But, before I go, I wish to say that, other than Michael's amazing performance, one of the best things in Weimar is that most of the town is "Fussgaengerzone," i.e. "pedestrians only zone." It makes it a great city to visit!

* Edit: Due to popular demand, some of the wording in this post was changed! ^_^ Cheers!

In which a wormhole has appeared

I have come to the conclusion that there is a wormhole in my bedroom. Precisely, it is an invisible, perfectly unnoticeable, ten square inch little portal to a parallel universe. I have also concluded that said wormhole is precisely five inches away from my bed, right beside my bedside table.

Now, you may want to ask: "how does one discover a portal into alternate universes when it is invisible and hidden in such an inconspicuous location?" I shall tell you... I am brilliant! That is why. No, in all seriousness (or as serious as this post can be... which is not very...), here is the story.

Last night, I was reading that wonderful book I had mentioned to you before; the wittily written one about writing fantasy. There was even a draft for a story I am writing concealed within the pages of the book. After reading it last night, I made the gargantuan mistake of putting the book down by my bedside and, in doing so, placing it exactly (however inadvertently) into the wormhole! Indeed, by morning, the book and my draft were absolutely nowhere to be found! Even when I came back from work, I searched again... still no sign of any book!

Now, I know that some people (like mum) would argue that it is not surprising that I lose things in my room because "it is so messy!" Well, let me tell you that, despite the rest of my room being messy, my bedside is always kept well organized, because that is where I leave the precious books I read as well as my computer. And I SWEAR that is where I put my book down last night (where I always put my books).

Nonetheless, I ransacked my bedside area as well as the rest of my chaotic bedroom, sadly to no avail. The book just refused to be found. Thus, I concluded that a wormhole must have formed overnight...

My suspicions about the wormhole were confirmed a few minutes later, when I dropped an object at my bedside and was unable to find it. And I bent down to pick it up immediately after it fell, so unless inanimate objects have developed the ability to grow legs or the ability to travel at extremely high speeds, there is not way it could have just vanished... except for the wormhole theory. I wonder where the things that fall into the wormhole go? A parallel universe? Or maybe just the good old anime hammer-space? Anyways, I hope to see my lost items again soon, and I will be sure to avoid the wormhole (or I might just jump right into it... I am still debating on what I ought to do...)

In other news, the CBC television came by at work today. With cameras! Check your national news channels tonight, I just might be on TV. However, I am just in the very far background, working at my counter. Thank God for that, really, because it is not for any good news that the CBC showed up. It turns out that there is a video on youtube where a young agent let veiled women (wearing a chador) board the flight without asking them to remove their veils. This has sparked many outrageous headlines about how Air Canada has embarrassed themselves with lax security measures. It has caused quite the uproar. I do not see why... The women were from Saudi Arabia, where it is quite legal to have a passport photo WITH VEIL in your passeport. So whether you remove it or not in front of the agent makes no difference, because you are wearing a veil on your photo. On top of that, the agents that were on the scene said that they were transparent veils, so asking to remove them would have been rather pointless. Also, there are so many security checks throughout the airport that, by the time someone gets to boarding, they have been inspected enough to confirm their identity. I feel bad for the agent. I know her and she is a temp, like myself...

The poor agent was being filmed by a passenger without her knowledge of it and he subsequently posted the video on youtube. That passenger completely disregarding common decency and respect and I do believe that he must have violated some human rights somewhere, because the agent never agreed to being filmed! And how in the world was he allowed to film in there? To be fair, with all the cellphones with cameras and iPods that can take videos, it is hard to tell nowadays whether someone is filming something... But, if it is illegal to take photos inside a department store because it is deemed a security breach, then how can someone be allowed to FILM in an area like the airport?? I think this passenger should be sanctionned! And severely! But no one on the news sees the passenger as the wrongdoer. But obviously his flight landed without a hitch, if he was able to post the offensive video on youtube! Here is the video, just by the way... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAB1GffSSZc

Now that you have watched the video, I hope you understand why I take offense. Clearly, this was all filmed for one sole purpose... Muslim Bashing! The jerk who took this clearly disliked muslims! No... the woman did not go through unchecked! She got checked at at least two security points before! Also, it is common practice that only one person hands in all the passports when a family or group of friends are traveling together. But nobody ever complains if they are not muslim... And have you seen how this is filmed? And the offensive written comments? I mean, it is done on purpose to make us look bad. You cannot even see below the people's faces. So maybe they did hand in their passports individually after all! The insufficient moron who posted this just really disliked muslims and found a new way to slander their religion... as well as breach human rights by illegally filming someone and bashing our airline to boot! What a complete *@&$%!##!! There. I said it. You take a guess at what that word was.
Anyways, what that guy posted on youtube is much, much worse than those kids who would post videos of their profs on youtube when their profs knew nothing about it (which is also a horrible practice!). But the posting of teachers on duty on facebook is much more frowned upon than this horrid video! It makes me really, bloody, freakin' ANGRY!

Oh, and for all my readers who are not my beloved Michael, I am aware that my previous post was super mushy lovey-dovey. But that is just the way I am and just how much I love Michael. So just deal with the mushy!! XD

Oh, and before I go, I found an interesting intrigue at the airport today. Two weeks ago, a goth couple on the bus grossed me out particularly. They had arrived on a flight from Paris and were both from France. They were gross because they were kissing in a most un-sexy way: tongue out and ready to swallow each other's mouths long before they were actually in reach of one another! Anyways, the goth girl from that couple, who I would recognize anywhere because she wore the ugliest nose-ring I had ever seen (and she was also uber-tall, toothpick thin and spoke in the snooty French accent and wore the same red-leopard print purse) was at the airport again. With another guy. And they were kissing in the same disgusting way!! And I can guarantee it was another guy because this one was uglier than the first!! What interesting (???) intrigue! lol

Anyways... that is all for today. Hope it makes up for last night's post, lol!

In which the stairs have vanished

Do you remember the vanishing stairs in the Harry Potter books? If you do not, I strongly suggest re-reading book 4, The Goblet of Fire, where the vanishing step plays an important part because Harry gets stuck in it, under his invisibility cloak, while several professors pass by... (believe it or not, I have not read this book in 2 years and can remember every detail of it...). Well, this is not the type of "vanishing stairs" I wish to talk about.

I was instead referring to the staircase outside my apartment door. As I came back from work this evening, the stairs were just GONE! I kid you not. I stood there, standing about six or seven feet beneath the door of my home, looking up at it; musing about how the post-man will be able to place the mail in the little mailbox now affixed ten feet away from the ground.
I called up my roommate and told her that the stairs were gone. She thought I was joking. Despite her being at home all day, she had never noticed that someone had started rennovating the stairs outside. I could not believe it! Thank God they nailed a thick board in front of the door to keep us from opening it... otherwise, I fear my dear roommate would have just walked out and plummeted a few feet! That would have hurt.

Now, I am not really surprised, as our outdoor staircase was really rusty and sketchy and needed urgent replacing. I just wish I had had a little bit of forewarning. It did a bit of a double-take and having to climb up the creepy staircase leading to my apartment's backdoor was not amusing... not in the dark, at least.

In other news, I had the dumbest passenger ever walk up to me today. I still cannot believe the question I was asked. Many passengers will ask you very obvious questions... but this one...!
Feel free to judge for yourselves:
"So, tell me... West Jet and Air France... It's the same thing, right?"
...
EXCUSE ME?! How in the world did you come to THAT conclusion!! They do not even service the same country!! They do not even sound similar!! I was a little too shocked to answer. When I finally came back to my senses, I asked her to clarify. When she just repeated the same question, I sent her to the information counter of the airport. I feel sorry for the people working there - but that woman just broke my brain too much...

I also got some chocolate from Russians, who just gave me chocolate as a thank you gift for checking them in... I was rather flattered. And I also got a huge bottle of Appleton Estate Rum (my favourite!) from a passenger who could not pass security with it. Surprisingly, the woman was disappointed, but not angry. She did not even argue! She just said I could have it! Usually, they argue forever before they hand over their liquids/alcohol. She did not make a fuss at all. I was really grateful for that. I do feel bad though, because all these people are buying duty-free in one country, and then, in the next country, when they are passing security, they cannot go through with the merchandise... Stupid system! And this is not the airlines' fault! This is a decision the airports have taken... *sigh* Poor passengers!

In yet some other news, I am reading an AMAZING book about writing fantasy novels. It does not so much tell you HOW to write, so much as give you tips on what to remember and what to look for if you intend to get published. However, despite not being a novel, it is very handsomely written; every page is filled with great wit and it makes me laugh a great deal. Here is my favourite quote from it; it is from the chapter on "Ideas" and where said ideas come from:

Go ahead and ask me the dumbest question a writer can be asked:
"DUHH, WHERE D'YA GETCHER IDEAS?"

My answer is always the same - since there is no answer to this query. At least, neither Plato nor Socrates nor Shakespeare could make the codification. When some jamook asks me this one (thereby revealing him/herself to be a person who has about as much imaginative muscle as a head of lettuce) I always smile prettily and answer, "Schenectady."

And when the jamook looks at me quizzically, and scratches head with hairy hand, I add: "Oh, sure. There's a swell Idea Service in Schenectady; and every week I send 'em twenty-five bucks; and every week they send me a fresh six-pak of ideas."

And wouldja believe it... there is always some insufficient asshole who asks me for the address.
- Harlan Ellison

Great quote, is it not? ^_^ It reminds me of high-school and the dim-wittedness of some of the students. I remember when the teacher would ask us to write a short-story for class and some would react saying: "what, we have to come up with an idea?"... I cannot believe how many unimmaginative people are out there. It makes me despair for the state of the world. *sigh*
But this book has made me want to pick up writing again. Who knows, maybe I will finally finish a novel!!

As for the cosplay... it is advancing well, but slowly. I am so tired at the end of a day at work that I am having trouble sewing more than a bit at a time. Tonight, I completed the bustle and the right sleeve. Tomorrow I will attack the left sleeve. And then I will have the hood left to sew. Hopefully, I will not hit any snags and then the cosplay will be finished. If so, then I am done on Monday!! (I am praying that this will happen!)

And, before I leave for bed, I want to say that, for some odd reason, it is much easier to be without Michael this summer than the last. I do not feel as desperate or as distraught. Yes, I feel a little sad and a little lonely, but since the day he has left, it is not nearly as bad. Perhaps it is because work tires me out. If you are reading this, Michael, my love, then do not think I am not missing you! I miss you dearly! And I love you very much! I am just not crying every night anymore... like I used to last year. It is very hard to fall asleep though... it feels odd without you... *pout* I miss you!! Also, Michael called me first thing in the morning when he got to Vienna. Unfortunately, I have not heard from him at all since. I am getting a little frustrated by that... I want to hear from him!

Anyways - hoping Michael reads this: many hugs and kisses, and I am thinking of you.
To my other readers: I am thinking of you too, though in a very different manner!

Goodnight!

In which a blogger realizes all her posts start the same way

Indeed, I have been re-reading my posts and I have come to realize that they all begin with apologies for not blogging in a while. In all honesty, I was going to apologize for not blogging this time around too (I wanted to say that the reason why I was not blogging lately is that I melted as soon as I touched my laptop: the thing gets really hot, and in the sweltering heat we have had this past week, I did not feel like going anywhere near it!). But I will spare you another apology. Or at least apologize for apologizing all the time - lol. No, but really: I am a very apologetic person by nature. I would apologize for the death of someone's dog even if I just met the person and their dog died three years ago!! But I guess that this can also be regarded as compassion... and people like me because I am compassionate... right?

Okay - that was random.

Now to the real post.

So, Air Canada has given me a wonderful start-of-work gift. A stye in my left eye!!! I am going completely nuts with it!! It is itching and makes me look like I got beaten up and it is driving me insane!!! Why do I know it is a gift from work at the airport? Because other employees told me that their career started the same... with styes!!! This is what happens when you are touching hundreds of passports a day and you do not know where people have been keeping them. Then you inadvertently rub your eye and BAM! you are caught with a stye. Now, people say the solution is proper hygiene. However, I doubt I can do more than I already do. I have a HUGE bottle of hand-sanitizer in my purse with me, which I apply about once an hour while at work. Then, every time I get the chance to do it, I go wash my hands with soap and water... how much more am I supposed to do to avoid styes??? Wash my hands after every passenger?!?! I am sure passengers would appreciate that... NOT! They would probably think I thought their hands were dirty!!!.............. *grumble grumble grumble grumble*

In other news, I promised some good gossip about passengers. So here it goes!

1) On Monday, a complete ... uhm... not-very-smart woman (to say it politely) came to my counter. She had already checked in her luggage, but she had been sent back to us by security. Why?
Because she had a freakin' BLENDER in her carry-on luggage!!!
She pulled the blender blade out of her purse: a very sharp, serrated brand-new set of blades. She was waving it in my face and saying that "the security guy" sent her back because these blades seemed to be a problem. A senior agent and I looked at her incredulously. She, I am not kidding, said that she did not understand what the problem was with those blender blades! To answer her dumb question, the other agent asked her whether it would be possible to cut someone's throat with the blades. She said she did not know!!! Did she leave her brain in her checked luggage??? Anyways, she could not grasp why she could not take the blender blades with her and she did not want to throw them out "because it is a brand-new 70$ blender", and so we provided a small box and added the boxed blender blades as a piece of luggage, checking it in... I still cannot believe she was that thick though.

2) This one is rather cute. I was sitting beside a girl at the check-in counter. This girl is a summer-temp, like myself. However, she is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous! Someone in her family is black (I do not know whether it is the mother or the father) so she is dark-skinned, and she is wonderfully tall and really slender (she used to play basketball). She looks stunning! Anyways, a lacrosse player comes up to her counter. HOT guy, I tell you! Not at all my type (blonde and blue-eyed... yiech!), but very well built - so much so, I would have appreciated it if he had removed his shirt, lol. Anyways, he got to my colleague's counter and, for a moment, they just stared at each other, completely speechless, with ridiculous smiles on their faces. It was really cute how speechless they both were about each other. I could not help but giggle a little. Eventually, my colleague snapped out of it and asked for the lacrosse player's passport. He just smiled and nodded and did nothing. She had to ask him twice more before he realized what she had said and handed over the passport, still smiling. She checked him in and even remembered his name. Unfortunately, she forgot to write her name and phone number at the back of the boarding pass. But when it was time for her break, she went specially to the bathrooms on the other side of security to see him again. She told me he waved at her. Sweet, no?

3) This one is really unbelievable and probably very frustrating for most passengers. A lady storms to our counter, with her 10-year-old daughter, and basically yells that security has sent her back. It is important for the reader to note that it was 7:50 p.m. at this point. When asked why she was sent back, the lady soon revealed that she had a liter of extra-virgin olive-oil in her carry-on. Like blender-lady, she did not want to get rid of it. We asked her where she was flying to and when she had checked in. Apparently, she had checked in two hours prior, but her flight was leaving at 7:55. And here she was, arguing that she wanted to keep that olive-oil "or the whole trip will have been for nothing!" She also said that the olive-oil was for her uncle's vineyard (how is a vineyard linked to olive-oil????). Anyways, time was passing, and soon 7:55 came and she and her daughter were the only two passengers missing on the flight. This caused some panic, as baggage handlers had started pulling her checked bags from the aircraft and the lady insisted that she wanted to get on the flight, but that she did not want to get rid of the olive-oil. In the end, even the 10-year-old daughter got exasperated: "Mom! Just throw it out already! We're going to miss the flight!" she said several times. The child was being much more mature than the mother. Swearing a lot, the woman finally gave in, at 8:00 p.m. and decided to run to her gate (and baggage handlers had to be called to make sure the luggage was still on board). The lady forgot her boarding pass at the counter, though, so I was sent running to security to give it back to her. In the end, the flight was delayed by about 15 minutes because of a bottle of olive-oil. I really hope that the cabin announcement with regards to the delay told the passengers to blame the crazy-lady who did not want to get rid of her liquid. As a result, though, we've got some fabulous olive-oil in our lunchroom now! lol

So those are the stories. I did my first wheelchair to the gate last week, which was a lot of fun, but nothing to gossip about. I also did lines and kiosk for one whole day, which not only sucks but really, really hurts the feet once you are done with your shift...

Anyways, work is good and fun. Though the heat did put a damper on things. Because the doors of the airport are constantly open, the air conditioning is rendered completely useless!!

I also went to Ottawa to renew my German passport with my mum on Tuesday. It was a long drive through sweltering weather, but it was fun. Actually, the passport renewal bit was less fun than the long drive, lol.

And that's about it for my week, really. Michael and I went to a street sale on Saint-Hubert yesterday, which was loads of fun and got a lot of really cheap goodies. We also went to my dad's place and made good use of the pool there yesterday and today. My dad (who was spying on us from the balcony) thinks we make a really good couple. Which is good, because that means he approves of Michael. YAY!

And now I feel like actually writing a story. Do not ask me why, the reason is quite ridiculous. I will be blogging again soon, hopefully sooner than last time! Cheers!

In which a blogger is really bloody tired

Hello all you avid readers out there! I know you have anxiously been waiting beside your computer screens, with my page open, just waiting for me to post new stuff! Well rejoice and make merry, for the wait is over and I am, once more, updating!! (And do not give me that bollocks that you have NOT been waiting beside my blog all week, because I KNOW you have!!!........ just kidding! :P )

Anyhoots, I have loads to tell... Really, really have loads to tell. I had been wanting to post all week, but I was insanely busy with work and completely drained and over tired when I got home. For that, I apologize. However, my shifts will be much improved come Tuesday, and then I will be able to blog to my heart's content! Yay!

First of all, I promised some anecdotes related to my wonderfully awesome job. The conclusion? First day of real work = bleeding nightmare! Even my coach was freaking out! I personally thought it was a great learning experience, but, on the other hand, we were told in the classroom that "if all this is happening to you in one single shift, then you're having a really bad day!" Does that mean I should conclude that my first shift was a very bad one?

Let me clarify what I mean. The first passenger I EVER checked in on my own... turned out to be DHP. In other words, his name was similar to the name of someone on a list (potentially even a "no-fly" list) and thus the passenger is not allowed to travel no matter how valid his passport and visas are. So you have to call security and have the passenger cleared so that he may actually check in and board the aircraft. Why is that an issue? Because it takes forever! When you call security, the first thing you hear is "your call is important to us, please hold the line to keep your call priority..." What kind of service is that?! I have a passenger who is super concerned about his passeport in front of me, getting upset about it because he is a foreigner and does not understand why his passport is being refused and I have to be put on hold before I can tell him that he is all clear... *sigh*

Anyways, the next passengers were on a flight to Penticton (or something like that) via Ottawa. The flight to Ottawa had an oversell, so someone took the liberty to offload the passengers (that means to take them off the flight) and put them on a direct flight to their destination. The problem? They never informed the passengers about the change and the direct flight was earlier than the one they were supposed to take. So when they showed up, the flight was closed!! Poor passengers! I felt so bad!

Then, I also had a family travelling to Australia. Everything was in order with their passports and visas. They did not expire until 2018 and they were valid for multiple entries to the country. However, my computer refused to accept the mother's visa. I had to call the "hold the line" number again and was subjected to an even longer wait. So much so that the mother was really getting worried. I could hear her talk to her husband. The children were also quite small and getting fidgety and tired. I felt so bad! And I do not know why the visa was not valid on the computer when I had the perfectly valid paper version of it in front of me. We cleared that up in the end though... Thank God they had shown up early!

Now, I could keep going with stories about the passengers, but I do not feel like it or I will be blogging all day (and this blogger really, REALLY wants her nap now that her shift is done!). But I do have another funny work story to tell.

It was not really at work, but my colleague Chanelle and I were discussing our uniforms and, for some reason, we came to talk about International Talk Like a Pirate Day. I suggested that it would be really funny if Air Canada did something for it (but they would not, as they also do nothing special for Halloween, i.e. reschedule all flights to land in Transylvania). We suggested that the red scarf might be worn as a bandana for the festivities of September 19th. Also, we figured out a completely new procedure on board, specially designed to suit the needs of such a great day as International Talk Like a Pirate Day.
It goes as follows:

"We welcome ye aboard Arrrr Canada. We would like to inform you that parrots are only allowed perched on yer shoulders and should not be stowed in the barrels over yer heads... Also should ye wish ter release the straps holdin' ye down during the navigation, use yer cutlass to undo the belt. If ye've checked in yer cutlass, then that's yer own mistake, ye scurvy dogs! In case of an emerrrrgency that is not on water, a spare wooden leg can be found in the pocket below yer seat. Enjoy yer travels! Arrrrrr Canada!"
... or something like that! ^_^

On a side note: GERMANY WON 4:0 AGAINST ARGENTINA!!! YAY!!!!!!! WE ROCK! Take that, guy at work, who had no confidence in my team!! I hope we win Fifa this year!!

Back to the subject matter...

So I am done with my work stories. Lets move on to the Canada Day Celebrations before I fall asleep halfway through this post...

I went to the Casa Loma Renaissance Faire on Canada Day. It was the only day that I had off during the faire and I decided not to miss it. So I hopped on a flight to Toronto on Wednesday evening after my shift, slept at Michael's parents place, and then went to the faire in the morning.

It was a glorious day! And my costume had turned out really well! I even got compliments from some people who did professional costuming at the faire! I was so happy about it! Many people thought I worked there and admired my dress. I was a photo op for many and my cheeks hurt from all the smiling at the end of a glorious and sunny Canada Day. I myself believe I looked quite ravishing in gold and red, with my cute little caul. Apparently, it was quite historically accurate after all! Yay me and my love for history (and history of costume)!!

I had a lot of fun at Casa Loma. I do not think I have ever gotten THAT much attention before. I will not lie, I quite enjoyed it. And I made some great new friends, which makes me deliriously happy because they are all awesome. The only downside was that I did not get to stay that long because I had to fly back in the evening for work the next day... *pout* Also, Casa Loma is very subdued and tiny in comparison to the faires in Germany and Austria. There, EVERYONE is dressed up and you are an oddity if you are not. At Casa Loma, very few are dressed for the occasion and those who are get asked whether they work there or not. All this to say that I quite enjoyed it. I really fancied the day and just wish it had lasted longer.

I had hoped to make Michael an outfit to match mine before the faire, but that unfortunately failed. So Michael looked really cute in a Tudor-ish costume his ex had made for him a while back. I am quite glad that his ex was not there too. It concerned me a little, because I know she usually goes there too. I think she would have ruined it for us and it would have made quite the fiasco... But nothing happened and thank God for that! I had one of the awesomest days ever!!

And, before I forget, I tried my hand at archery at the Casa Loma Renaissance Faire!!! I am really good at it too! To my big (big, BIG!) surprise, I am actually a good shot. The instructor said I was a natural and was quite impressed by how well I was doing, considering this was my first time actually doing archery. I think I should pick up archery lessons... don't you? I would love it! It would be fun! ... Now, where to do archery classes in Montreal.........?

Anyways - it was AWESOME! And, on the flight back, I was as giddy as a five-year-old on his very first trip on an aircraft. Believe it or not, I squeed about the technology of the Airbus 320. I sat directly over the wing. I was watching the flaps on the wing and noticed that... THOSE FLAPS ARE RETRACTABLE!!! Aircrafts are such an awesome piece of engineering! I have been flying since I can remember and I am still impressed that these things can actually fly! The wings are so cool! ... unfortunately, I do not think you can understand this without a drawing, because it is hard to explain why it was so awesome. But it was awesome. Did that point come accross?

Also, I decided, finally, that life is really good and that I am exactly where I want to be right now, on the flight back from Toronto. I have the best boyfriend in the world, he is loyal to me and sticks to me like glue (I love him!). I have a great, fun and entertaining job. I can exploit some of my talents on the side with modeling. I am honing my sewing skills and achieving great results. I am about to finish my first bachelors degree. What more could one want from life?

What made me come to this realization was the sunset seen from the airplane. It was the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen! Yes, I believe it even beat the beauty of the sunrise in Japan seen from the top of Fuji-san! The sun was a vast disc of golden-red, floating on the horizon like an orb. Our aircraft was descending at the same time as the sun. At some point, our aircraft was cruising just on top of a sea of clouds... the wings were just brushing the tops of the tufty white waves in the sky. It looked beautiful, almost as if the plane was a ship on an ocean of cloud. And the sun was still following our descent. Then we went into the clouds and the sun was still visible, except that it was now through a haze of white, like a thin veil. It is difficult to find the words of how beautiful this all was without sounding cheezy. When we finally came out from the clouds, closer still to the ground, I watched the sun be swallowed by a darkening horizon and the sky tint itself of various colours of the rainbow... *sigh* It was amazing. And that is when I realized that I really am where I want to be at the moment.

And upon that reflection, it is time for me to shut up and nap... because I really need it! ^_^