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!! ^_^

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 the lock stitch was discovered...

Hello again from a very unreliable blogger! I am really getting frustrated with how poorly I am keeping up with myself... But I am always a) too busy, or b) too tired to actually write on my darling little blog... as you may have noticed, I have a tendency to write A LOT at once, so taking the time to write it all is no small thing.

Anyways... I wanted to thank all those who came to our housewarming party. It was great fun and I really enjoyed it. Thanks for coming!!

Before I mention what I did on the weekend, I need to make everyone aware that befriending a bar-maid is not always the best idea. I went to visit Michael at his restaurant on Thursday... It is a GORGEOUS place! With SUPER expensive food!! It is elegant and really posh and the people who sit there to eat wear really nice evening clothes! Anyways - I was bored on Thursday night and so decided to head over to Michael's restaurant to visit him and keep him some company.

He did a complete double-take when he saw me (... silly man! I am not that good looking! *wink*) and he was really surprised and happy, which made me happy in turn as well. Unfortunately, because he was working, he could barely take the time to speak to me at all. But he did suggest that I get myself a drink. So I sat down at the bar.

Do you know just how dull it is to sit at a bar alone and unaccompanied? Did not think so... most people generally try to avoid it. Anyways - I was just as bored at the bar than I was alone at home (though I at least had the occasional glimpse of Michael's wonderful smile when he looked my way - he makes me so happy!). So I decided to talk to the bar-maid.

She was sooo nice! She was absolutely amazing! She used to be a model, which was cool, because we talked about modeling and travel and it was really an enjoyable evening. So why do I suggest not to befriend a bar-maid? Because I only ended up paying for 1 apple martini. However, I got a glass of Baileys on the Rocks on the house (the bar-maid offered) and, when someone decided they did not want that glass of Chianti after all, the bar-maid asked whether I wanted it or whether she should throw it out... Needless to say I ended up slightly tipsy... Luckily, Michael kept sneaking me food and yummy deserts, so I was fine. But I did sleep like a log. I completely passed out within minutes! XD

Other than that, updates on the weekend. I spent the weekend sewing, actually. I dedicated my weekend to it, as it is the last weekend I will have for a while. My next 2 days in a row off are only as of July 10th. *pout* Stupid schedule! Anyways... I started my wonderful weekend by meeting with my mum and buying 9 meters of the most amazing purple fabric! I love that stuff! I am now wishing I had bought the entire roll, because the fabric is honestly THAT great! And it is perfect for my cosplay too! It came on a brand-new roll and it was on sale at get 3 meters for the price of 1. I got 9 meters. I really wish I had more!!

So I cut my pattern into the fabric while watching the Doctor Who season finale. I have to say, I love their take on the meaning of "Something Old, something New, something Borrowed and something Blue" - you know, that old saying that goes around at a wedding. It was awesome. I want a TARDIS as my "something blue" too!! Much better than a blue garter any day! XD

So the fabric is cut and the sewing will soon be on its way! This costume will be AWESOME!!! The fabric drapes beautifully and I love the way it falls! I am ecstatic about it!! I also whipped up a cute little Renaissance caul out of leftover fabric in about 10 minutes. Did not turn out too bad actually...

Oh! And most importantly... I finally got the instructions to my sewing machine back! Su-su (that's what I have baptised my sewing machine) is now functionning better than ever before! Also, I have finally discovered which dial I had to move to succeed in making an overlock stitch! No more fraying fabric! HUZZAH!!
Needless to say, I spent a lot of my weekend re-stitching some of my costumes that had started to come apart at the seams. The overlock stitch is wonderful... I love it! It makes me squee... though my awesome purple fabric makes me squee even MORE!

Now, before this page gets covered in squees, I will violently change the subject to two things that happened today...

First: tomorrow is the final Air Canada exam... at 6 a.m. That means getting up at 4 a.m. I have to have 80%... It was supposed to be on Wednesday... AAAAAH!!!!! I soooo do not feel ready! God help me and let me pass: I love my job! Please, please, please! I hope I make it!

Second: the stupid bus kept breaking down!! We broke down a grand total of 5 times so that a 1 hour bus route took almost 2!!! The bus just stayed in the middle of a street at rush hour getting honked at, while I was sweating up a storm inside it, wishing nothing more than to get out... But I could not! Because "it is dangerous to go out in the middle of a street!" said the bus driver. Well, I am an adult and I feel quite ready to take the risk, thank you very much. Anyways, I did make it home in the end... I am just appalled that they let buses drive when the engine keeps breaking down.

And with that... I will go study for tomorrow's exam... otherwise I will freak out and not be able to go to bed early.

Cheers!

In which Naria succeeded in finding work!!

I am so sorry blog! I did not mean to neglect you as I did! But I am finally done with all the work on the new apartment and, seeing as I have found a job, I am sure I will have plenty to blog about in the next few days... months... until the end of the summer...

So what kind of work did I find? Well, after a gruelling interview that went almost too well for me (I tend to NOT think of it as a good sign when I socialize with the interviewer... usually that means death for me...), I scored in finding work. A week after my interview I get a call from Air Canada, offering me a full-time temporary post as Customer Sales and Service Agent at the Montreal Trudeau airport! YAY ME!! I cannot believe I finally made it into the family trade! My dad worked with AC for 33 (or was it 36?) years, my mum is still working for that lovely airline as a grooming manager and my dad's girlfriend is an active member of the union and also a Customer Service Agent at the airport (yay! that means I get to work with my dad's girl friend! lol). Not to mention that my aunt in Germany works for the Lufthansa and has been working for them for years (she is a purser and team manager for the Indian flight attendants). So, how cool is that? I am following in the "family trade" and I predict loads of travels ahead (there really are great benefits to working in an Airline...). I am looking forward to having a uniform! (I miss uniforms, ever since I have been out of high school... that's what six years of wearing a plaid skirt can do to you! XD )

Anyways - so I am no longer without a job! I cannot wait to start with Air Canada! There is one last step for me to go through and that is a written test. I have to study a guide that was sent to me and take a test on Monday at 7 a.m. If I pass the test, then I start training. Otherwise, I can say goodbye to this excellent job offer. However, I believe that I can pass that test - considering I have never failed a subject before. HUZZAH!! (Don't get me wrong: thinking about the test still gives me the creeps... like with every bloody exam I have ever had to take!)

In other news, modeling is really starting to pay off for me. I have been contacted by a few photographers who are willing to pay for shoots and I have also joined an agency that works for magazines. With any luck, my career in show-bizz is taking off!

I am also filled with new costume ideas. I have missed Anime North, but that does not mean I have to miss Otakuthon in August. I have promised my friend that I would be there anyway, so I have to come up with a great cosplay to dazzle her and others. Air Canada being full time and paying well, I can actually buy fabric now! YAY!! I have so many ideas for costumes: from original characters to characters I have always wanted to cosplay... *sigh* so many things and so little time!

In yet some other news, I have accidentally spilled some dark red nail polish on a white shirt of mine that I really like. That stuff is IMPOSSIBLE to get out!!! I am getting really frustrated about it, because the flecks of red are really tiny, but the top is of such a pure white that they are still really obvious. It makes me look like I was near an accident site and some blood spray hit me. And, so far, no amount of bleach has gotten the stuff out! And believe me, I have dropped BUCKETS of bleach on the spots (the shirt cannot be any whiter than it is, so I am hoping the bleach will affect the nail polish stains). So far, the stains are still as red as ever. If anyone knows a trick to get rid of nail polish stains, please tell me! I am getting really annoyed by this! Thank you!

Last but not least, I had loads of fun last Friday. My parents (both set of 'em) came over to visit the apartment, along with the family of my new roommate, Vanessa. Michael's parents could not make it, unfortunately. Anyways, I baked a yummy cake and we had a wonderful dinner. After everyone left (so at around midnight), Vanessa and I got dressed in a sexy schoolgirl get-up and went out to Club Sin, a cool little fetish party in downtown Montreal. It was really fun: I got my picture taken A LOT! It was a pleasant surprise and really flattering to be asked by professional photographers if they could get a shot of me *vain hair toss* lol I am looking forward to next month's party.

Oh, and one last thing. (I keep adding stuff, don't I? I am so sorry!) Michael and I HAVE to do something for our anniversary. We have been together for a full year! Huzzah!! And living together has not killed our love either! Even more huzzah! Our anniversary is already long passed, but we did not have any money to spend, so we decided to wait in order to celebrate. But our landlord just gave us back some money today, so I think it's time for Mike and I to go out... maybe see a movie, as it is cheepy Tuesday... So I am going to stop typing and get ready for a nice outing. Happy (very, very belated) anniversary to Michael and myself!! *party streamers fly*

Formal Pictures

I almost forgot these!!


Michael and I - Me pouting (it wasn't a real pout) - A full view of my dress...


Look! It has pockets! - Michael and his lovely harem of ladies... - Michael and I and lots of hugs!

I hope you enjoy these! There are many, many more of the Savoy formal (119 pictures in total) but I cannot fill up my blog with ALL of them or you'll never see the end of it!

Chapter 21 - In which there was a final, a formal, and meeting with Churchill

Greetings Blog! (and also to all potential, may-be readers out there!)
I am very sorry for neglecting you for so long... you know it is not in my nature! I am very sorry - but that's the finals at McGill University for you. All notion of time stops and you start calculating in "how many exams are left?" rather than hours or days...

Anyhow, I have already have my first final. Alas, by far the easiest one of all my exams. I am still quaking in my boots at the idea of the Japanese final. But I shall study hard (or try my best to do so) and we'll see...
My first final was for my Folklore class. I think I was pretty brilliant with it. I wrote, for the short essay section, 3 pages on how Rhiannon (from the 1st Branch of the Mabinogion) and Branwen (from the 2nd Branch of the Mabinogion) compare in light of the motif of the Calumniated Wife. I concluded that Branwen had to die at the end of her tale because she spoke out against the injustice done to her and that is totally unacceptable in Medieval Welsh society (I do not agree with this view in the slightest, especially since Branwen was humiliated and dishonoured for the DUMBEST reasons!!! But that is how the story goes and I cannot change that...) Anyways: I think my essay was bloody well brilliant...
But not as brilliant as essay #2, which was 6 pages single spaced about how right speech is applied in the 3rd and 4th Branches of the Mabinogi, as well as in the Tain and in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. I argued about how fairies and folk of the Otherworld will use words and loopholes in speech against humans and how this can be avoided by right speech, and also that right speech spoken by humans can take advantage of loopholes in fairy speech to turn the tables against them.
*Sigh* God, am I good! ^___^
(I might have been completely rubbish, but I like to think that was not the case...)
Now I still have a Victorian Lit essay to write... *brain melts* I don't WANT to!!! *throws a tantrum* I am very sorry, but the texts we have to read a bloody BORING! (Venting done, thanks for your patience.)

And yesterday was the formal. Wonderful, wonderful Savoy Formal! It was really, truly great fun!! The food was a little scarce, but it was otherwise fantastic! We went to an art gallery where we danced and had food. And, of course, everyone was dressed up and glamed up to the utmost! I had the greatest trouble getting my hair right: for the second year in a row, we've had positively rotten weather for the formal! And what is the result of bad weather?? Frizzy hair! I wanted some light curls in my hair, so I slept on some cheap foam rollers from the dollar store (that's what happens when you don't have heat tools...) and it worked really well. Except that all the humidity made the beautiful, even curls frizz halfway through the day and, by evening, I had so many flyaway frizzies, I was sorely tempted to just shave off my hair! But after pouring a couple of ounces of hairspray into the palms of my hands and running that over my hair, I was able to flatten the frizz. I ended up with an easy updo (with some light finger waves) and a cute fascinator. I also had a gorgeous dress which feels light as air and has (I found that out when the formal came to a close) POCKETS!! It's awesome! Vanessa is the one who found the dress for me, so I am very grateful to her. Oh, and, if you must know, Michael looked super handsome in a navy pin-striped suit! (God, I love this man!)
Conclusion: great formal! It was amazing! And everyone looked stunning!

And now, the grand finale... Doctor Who!! I saw the third episode of the 5th season today. The Doctor meets Winston Churchill!! During the London Blitz!! >w< *squee* It was an awesome encounter! The whole episode is like Star Wars meets Sky Captain, but with the Doctor (which automatically makes it better written). It's great fun and fantastic! I thoroughly enjoyed it!! ---Spoiler Alert--- The new Daleks are really funny: their paint jobs make them look like they're straight from a Smarties box!! XD
So, three cheers for the Doctor! I'm looking forward to next week!! *fangirl squee* I love this show! I found it to be my life support (aside from Michael) during eggzaminashun time!

So, I hope I've allowed you to catch up (and that you, dear blog, haven't missed me too much!) and more will be coming soon! But not before Wednesday. Wednesday is my huge-ass-evil-massive-three-hour-exam-of-doom Japanese final... until then... I guess all we can do is pray! *sweatdrop* Until then!

Chapter 19 - In which Naria distracts herself

Tonight was fun. I went to a Toga party. Unfortunately, I stood to far away from the food table and missed out on most of it. But it was really fun. I made myself a "Salome" stola out of sheer black fabric I had left over. I looked good! :P I had added some red fabric around my waist to hide my undies and my stola was held together by a huge, fake sapphire brooch... which really did make me look like the vixen seductress who could get whatever she wanted out of kings! XD I love dressing up! It was a fun party! I enjoyed talking to some really good friends, and Michael had some trouble with the bedsheet he used as a toga: it was a little short on him! He looked like a little slave boy used for... unorthodox purposes... lol

In other forms of distraction, whilst waiting for Sunday, impatiently waiting for the newest Doctor Who episode, I decided to distract myself and watch Torchwood. Torchwood is basically a spin-off from Doctor Who, featuring the lovely John Barrowman (who, despite being from Glasgow, actually articulates!) as Captain Jack Harkness; the man who seduces anything gorgeous. Anyways, I decided to watch it because I find John Barrowman hot, though I think I might prefer David Tennant (he has such a wonderful smile!). ... okay, quit fantasising about either of them and write, Naria!
So, my opinion on Torchwood... It has some good bits, interesting details. I like the fact that they do not only ever confront aliens. They also have to face other things, like the ugliness of human nature and people just turning into psychos... and faeries/mara (which, for once, are not justified by alien activity). So yeah, I really like that aspect of Torchwood. However, I hate the main character, Gwen, who, on top of having a dreadful dialect, has a gap between her teeth that would give Madonna a run for her money!! Now, I wouldn't mind so much that the main character of the series is so terrible if the show had less sex in it. Don't get me wrong: I love sexy shows! But in order for a show to be sexy, you want the GOOD looking people to be doing it!! The gap-toothed lady just doesn't cut it for me and all the romance scenes involving her do nothing for me but cause an exasperated eye-roll. I mean, I want to see BARROWMAN naked! Instead they show all these other unattractive guys in bed!!! I've watched up to episode 11 and still no sexy Jack Harkness doing sexy stuff... He's got lots of cool lines and that's about it!! It's like Russel T. Davies was really desperate when he created the show and got rid of some of his sex drive writing it... but he botched it. He forgot to give Jack the sexy parts and instead gave them all to Gwen... lame! So I'm looking forward to the next Who episode. Much more fun in general. Though I still think I'll end up watching all of Torchwood, because that's the sort of thing I do.

Finally, depending on what my plans will be for the summer, I have found a reasonable distraction... Should work keep me here in Montreal, I found where I might go during my spare time to have some fun. First of all, I have quite a few friends sticking around in Montreal this year, so there'll be plenty of get-togethers, hopefully. Then I'll move into the new apartment in June. I am definately planning a trip to a theme park, whether La Ronde or Canada's Wonderland will depend... though I would LOVE to see Canada's Wonderland, as I've never been. Naturally, Michael and I will go see Les Miserables (yes! the kick-ass, beautiful musical!) with my mum (I can't wait!!). And lastly, a cool distraction, should I have the time, would be to see Totem. Totem is a Cirque du Soleil show that has pitched it's tent in the Old Port. I don't think Michael has ever seen a Cirque perfomance (not live at least) and I will always remember the one I saw in the Old Port, a few years back. It was AMAZING! I love the MUSIC they use and how they incorporate theater and storylines into their circus! Though, I also remember that an acrobat attempted a jump when I went to see it, and she fell pretty badly (had to be carried off stage, poor thing, but the show went on). Anyways, on my last flight to Toronto, I also saw the official Alegria performance (the filmed version of it). It is FANTASTIC! I've always loved the music to Alegria since it came out (I have it on a CD somewhere) and the costumes are fabulous! Though there was a girl in Alegria, a blue-haired asian, who did really creepy contortions! She could, literally, sit with her bum on her head. It's kinda scary and gross and it leads me to the conclusion that Asians who do circus, like her, have no bones, only muscles and cartilage, lol! And there was also an awesome hoola-hoop act in Alegria! I love that act! First of all because I can't manage to keep one hoola-hoop up for more than three seconds and this girl was using 4 simultaneously on different limbs. Secondly, she had a great choreography and moved like a dancer. It was so ethereal, almost alien. I suppose that her skill will probably be more useful than other circus skills later on, because you can get a job dancing and doing choreography a lot even if you are not in shape for circus anymore... I think. Anyways... I digress. I should look into the ticket pricing. It looks fun. Their poster is great! It was all over the metro (which is what sparked the idea).

Anyways, that's it. Tomorrow will be official essay writing day. I had a fabulous photoshoot this afternoon (before I forget to tell you!) and I will post photos soon!