hello? is it me you're looking for?

I have been searching non-stop for the past week or so. What have I been looking for, you ask? Let's see....

1) A new apartment
My sweet deal of an apartment is coming to an end. The original plan was for me to live in my amazing apartment until they tore it down for condos. There was no definite timeline as to when this development would start, so my rent has been below market price. The floor isn't finished and some of the lights don't work, but it was a good trade off for the low rent I'm paying. Unfortunately for me, the plan has now changed and condos will not be going up any time in the next five years. Therefore, my landlord is now looking to renovate my place and start charging market rent, which I cannot afford. Bah. I am now looking into room share options on Craigslist. I'm looking for December 1st so probably have better luck after the 1st as a lot of postings are still searching for November 1st tenants.

2) A kick-ass internship
Next week is intersession week at GBC and that means there will only be another seven weeks of school after that for this term. I've been told that where your career goes post-school depends greatly on where you do your internship. I will be sending out resumes and filling out applications like mad once I get back from Cuba. I will also be shamelessly asking friends and family for any and all connections they may have to the event planning world.

3) Volunteer opportunities
Volunteer opportunities are all over the place, however they are not always in fields I'm interested in nor are they always taking place when I'm available. I'm signing up to volunteer at as many events as my schedule will allow. Upcoming events for me include Nightwood Theatre's 4x4 Festival and the Mary Lynn Higgins Youth Fund 4th Annual Pub Night and Silent Auction.

So if you know of any amazing people looking for a roommate or have any connections to event planners that are looking for interns and/or volunteers, drop me a line.

Thank you in advance for your assistance in my never-ending search!


Feeling: a little overwhelmed

Listening to: kids screaming from the daycare across the street or cats being skinned alive, I can't really tell which.

a new countdown

My 30 Days have been down with for a couple of weeks now and it feels great. I've hit the "couldn't care less about you" phase and from past experience, this phase should last for a couple of years. The couldn't-care-less phase doesn't mean that I really don't care. I just don't care about what you had for dinner, what you're doing, who you're seeing, etc. I do care in the sense that I wouldn't want you to get hit by a car or catch H1N1. It's a sublime phase to be in. It allows me to focus on other things such as my new countdown: 10 more days until Cuba!

One of the assignments in the 30 Days was to research weight loss/get healthy plans, decide which would be best for you, and start following through on one. Seeing that I was planning on heading down to Cuba, I figured it wouldn't hurt to actually do that assignment. I didn't bother researching anything; every girl knows how to lose weight in a healthy way, we've been reading about it in women's magazines since we were thirteen.

My current weight is 130 lbs and that's probably not going to change in the next two days. My goal is to be at 120 lbs because 1) my doctor told me I should lose a few pounds to be at optimal health and 2) I would like to lose 10 lbs. I suppose I should say that I would rather lose inches than weight. I've started with small changes that will eventually get there.

I could go on and on with reasons as to why it'll be hard for me to get to my target weight, but let's be honest, I'm not at my goal weight because I'm lazy and I LOVE food. It doesn't help that the cold weather makes me feel like baking more either. Last week I baked three batches of brownies, two batches of cupcakes, and a batch of cookies. Thank god I work in a restaurant and have co-workers to feed my creations to. I am now eating the apple crisp fresh out of the oven. Okay, now on to the list that apparently appears in every blog I write...

Things I'm doing and have done to reach my target of 120 lbs:

1) Increase physical activity

I am now playing volleyball on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. I love volleyball. Yesterday was the third game day in a row that I didn't get hit in the face with a ball. Amazing! What's not amazing? How ridiculously sore I am all the time. It's totally my fault though because I never stretch properly.

2) Eat less crap

I could cut out junk food completely and be a miserable bitch. For the sake of my friendships and mental health, I've opted to just eat less crap. Stop snacking on bread and fries at work and only buy single portion bags of chips and treats if I'm really craving. Eat more fruits and veggies.

3) Eat at home more

I don't have a deep fryer so eating at home helps with list item #2. Since I live on my own, my fridge isn't all that well stocked. I buy things in smaller portions so I can't just reach into the fridge and pour cream into my sauces because I only have cream in the fridge when I know I'm going to use it (mostly for baking and chocolate making). The portion of protein on my plate is smaller than one you would find eating out and the veggie portion is much larger. It also helps me save on money therefore allowing me to go to Cuba!

4) Drink more water
Zero calories, zero grams of sugar, zero grams of sodium. Takes up lots of room in your stomach. Perfect.

5) Sleep

I have a problem with reading in bed and then looking at the clock to discover that it's 3 a.m. I'm trying to get to bed earlier so I have more energy to do the things listed above. I'm way more likely to skip volleyball and grab junk food when I'm tired.

I am super excited to pack my vacation suit case. Must buy sun screen!!

Screw you frost warning!!

Feeling: annoyed at Blogger for the random spacing between the paragraphs of this blog.

pink

I put a pink streak in the back of my hair after a couple years of solid black locks. I now remember a few things about having pink hair.

1) It's a pain in the ass to maintain
Pink washes out of my hair so quickly that it turns a strange orange shade before I know it. It looks great the next day after a fresh dye job, but I should be dying my hair once a week or so to maintain it. I just can't really be bothered. I will live with the strange orange shades.

2) Sometimes I look stupid
Usually when I'm carrying my hot pink gym bag, listening to my iPod that's in a pink carrying case, and when I'm wearing a pink top. Yes, I do all those things at the same time. I realize that I'm doing all those things at the same time, but I'm not buying another gym bag nor am I buying another iPod case, and some times I just want to wear that pink top. Oh, and it's raining today so I'm giving my eyes a break from contacts and opting to wear glasses today. I just looked in the mirror and realized that I'm wearing my dark pink/red glasses. I am now reaching for my copper pair of glasses.

3) People have weird reactions
Little girls tend to stare; I think mostly because they're attracted to hot pink as a colour. Some older people will give me disapproving looks (surprisingly, my mother has not said a word about it) when I'm on the streetcar. I last noticed this when I was sitting behind four punk rockers that were loud and obviously hadn't bathed themselves in recent days. I hope that old woman was able to distinguish me from them. Other times people will pause and have to think for a moment, as if asking themselves, "did I really just see pink hair or am I going nuts?" I like to let them think that they're going nuts.