miss emma

24 September 2008 @ 03:31 pm

i went into a disgusting (and yet delicious and enticing) craft chain store to buy some cheap yarn, because i've decided to make some gifts for my nieces and nephews this year, and i don't want to spend that much money on them. i figure my time is very valuable anyway.
but really, i'm probably going to be making all my gifts this year, in an effort to not buy into ridiculous christmas splurging of money i don't have anyway. besides, christmas should be all about cute and crafty gifts. so i made my one niece a pair of slippers, and i know the other niece will like the yarn and i thought i could make her a scarf. and i needed another ball of the yarn:

( and this is what happened... )

3 purring kittens | stroke me

21 September 2008 @ 09:54 am

(no subject)

question:
can any of my lovely friends inform me about the process of applying to British law schools?

my understanding is that in the UK you apply to a centralised application centre; but i don't know how this works. and i haven't been successful at navigating websites...
and- accompanying this question: can anyone elaborate on the reputations of law schools? i'm not so concerned with repuations, moreso the aim and direction of the programs. i know this for canadian law schools, but not those outside of canada. for example: i'm applying to Osgoode here because it's more lefty and concerned with social justice, but not UofT because it's more corporate law (that, and their tuition is about double that of other schools...)

any info would be great! thanks!!

8 purring kittens | stroke me

11 October 2007 @ 11:14 am

(no subject)

i have found a toothpaste that doesn't make my mouth hate itself when i drink tea in the morning.

solid.

the mood:

pleased

1 purring kitten | stroke me

03 September 2007 @ 05:53 pm

all about the threes...

three commercials that are making me insane:
the source: cell phones and mp3 players for your back to school needs. riiiiight. since when is a cell phone or an mp3 player going to help? or, specifically, a 15 year old- because honestly, i think we know who their target audience is.
kool-aid: now selling drinks that are 10 calories per cup. hey- i'm all about young kids being active and eating nutritiously, but i'm not convinced that kool-aid qualifies. and i'm also not sure that young kids should be overly concerned with their calorie intake. of course, parents should be somewhat educated about nutrition and health and the importance of exercise and such; but still, informing your audience that kool-aid is a healthy choice because it has 10 calories doesn't seem quite on the money.
dog treats: i can't remember the brand, but they are advertised as being only two calories per treat. huh? so now we are supposed to be worried about the calorie intake of our dogs? how about walking them frequently, making sure they play and such and not calorie counting? am i off base here or does this seem... excessive?

three things that are making me sad:
lj runaways: where do you people go? for future reference; if you unfriend me, can you just tell me? or, i dunno, if you are going to delete your journal or something, let me know maybe? because i get all attached and then you disappear and i get sad. mostly i'm sad because i went through my journal the other day, and i realised how many of my friends used to have journals but they are inactive or deleted. it's all good, i just miss them sometimes.
garbage strike: dear vancouver: please settle. i miss garbage collection.
tuition: i don't want to pay it. like, i really really don't want to. and i realise that putting it off isn't productive and it's pointless, but there you have it.

three things that make me smile:
tegan and sara: i (finally) watched the movie that came with 'the con' and it was great. actually, i want to watch it again.
muffins: i make the muffins, i bake the muffins, i eat the muffins. honest- i can't stop eating muffins today.
i'm a little stumped on the third thing here. i know there is one. in fact, i'm sure there are a few. today is just a weird day. i couldn't sleep last night and then i lay in bed with my mind going in circles and everything seemed to make less and less sense. it was troubling. i feel like i should round this one out, in the interest of balance, but i'm going to have to think on it a bit.
EDIT: it came to me:
rediscovering great mixes: years ago, my friend made an awesome mixed cd for someone else, who never appreciated its genius. oh but i did. it's a great mix and i love it. i listened to it incessantly for awhile. it's now part of my itunes, but the song list was not imported with it. today i finally went through and updated the cd info, all except one song that i can't name, don't know the artist and have had no luck googling it's lyrics. but listening to the cd today brought back great memories and really did make me smile. so there. i'm not grumpy all the time.
i love mixed cds.

the mood:

a little of this...

6 purring kittens | stroke me

01 September 2007 @ 01:21 pm

(no subject)

is anyone else freaked out about it being the first of september?
i'm freaking out because i just realised i'm about to start grade 20. something must be wrong with me.

the mood:

shocked

1 purring kitten | stroke me

29 August 2007 @ 01:39 pm

(no subject)

when i was a kid i was quite distressed to discover that the women's washroom sign woman only had one leg. i quizzed my mom about this at length.
she was always slightly frustrated with my questions. because sometimes there really is no answer, but i never wanted to (and still don't like to) accept this fact.

i'm pleased to see that most washroom sign women have two legs. there's still that damned skirt, but it's better than nothing i suppose.

i just endured a very long session/meeting/whatever about the course that i will be tutoring this term. for what was later confirmed to be comparatively little pay. especially because this course has a number of readings each week and semi-long written assignments. however, on the brighter side, i don't have to run seminars and can do the readings whenever and wherever i like. that's a plus. unfortunately, the sessions today were less than informative and could have been summarised (and probably were) into a pamphlets (which are probably in my TM information package that i haven't fully read anyway). therefore, i suppose they served some sort of purpose, though i'm still digging to find it. i guess it got me out of bed early...

stroke me

22 July 2007 @ 01:21 pm

(no subject)

every time i write the word involved i spell it "invovled". thank the stars for autocorrect.
if only i had that in my life.

i have been unreasonably grumpy lately. with no explanation. yesterday i was removed from my funk with the arrival of harry potter. i won't lie, it was like christmas morning but without the food and family and with the postwoman. today the grumpy cloud is back and hanging over my head.

invovled. honestly...

and, for kicks, here's three things i randomly dislike:
when people spell the word tomorrow incorrectly. hey, i know my spelling won't win any awards, but come on people!
much music.
michael douglas.

and three random things i like:
the sound of rain.
the smell of fresh laundry.
tea.

6 purring kittens | stroke me

18 July 2007 @ 10:25 pm

(no subject)

today i bought a lurvly dress for my cousin's wedding- which it seems i will be doing my best to be at despite all my earlier protestations that i would not be going because it's on the other side of the country. so much for that. thing is, i went to a wedding in june and had so much fun. and forgetting that this wedding will be full of my family members and not friends and acquaintances... haha. but really, i've been missing my family lately. and briefly seeing some of my cousins in may made me realise that in small doses they aren't all that bad. actually, they are pretty good people, just not necessarily ones that i want to be friends with or let in too much into my life. and that's okay.
so i really need to figure out what i'll be TAing this fall so i can sort my schedule and ask permission from the prof i'll be working for to have a long weekend. and book a flight! yay!
i just need to sort out shoes and a date as well. i mean, i can't talk to family all night. someone will have to save me at some point(s).

ooh and then i bought the best red sweater vest ever to join the ranks of my geektacular sweater vest collection. and this is the best shade of red.

and, for heather, we found a card that sings 'i wanna rock and roll all night and party every day' for kate's birthday. if only we could doctor it a little... hehehe.

1 purring kitten | stroke me

01 July 2007 @ 11:36 pm

(no subject)

i still think i have the mentality of an emo child, but i did have an awesome weekend...

yesterday we went for a road trip down to seattle to see the jays and mariners. it took over five and a half hours to make a two and a half hour trip- stupid long weekend border traffic and random traffic jams! but, alas, we got there. and i ate a veggie street dog that didn't kill me. as one of the only able to drive standard (and the fact that i'm not a big drinker); i was nominated as the DD, so i watched as the boys got drunker and drunker. and drunker. and streaked in their boxers after the game was over. and chanted "ninety-two; ninety-three" to everyone leaving the stadium. everyone.

it was awesome.

then we got lost trying to find the highway entrance. and then we had to feed the drunkards in the back; but that was worth it because then they fell asleep like good little hammered children. we got home around 4 am. i'm so tired ;)

so today we sneak attacked and stole the car- we dropped the passed out boys off at their house and drove back to ours (because clearly we weren't going to have them drop us off at ours and there isn't enough room for them to all crash here)... so we woke up and had ourselves a car.... and enough time to go to IKEA... so we have new posters on our walls, flower pots and candle holders. it cost us a ton but was sooo worth it. and then Greyhound called and my package was in... so we went over and picked it up. awesome! three exclamation points!!!

the mood:

all over the place!

stroke me

13 June 2007 @ 10:50 am

(no subject)

oh my god
there was a spider on my wall and i went to squish it with a kleenex and as i got close it did this crazy backflip off my wall and now i want to go shower in case it is on me or in my hair but there are people in the house doing work and stuff and i can't.
seriously, this thing was spiderman in terms of agility and speed. i feel yucky.

the mood:

uncomfortable

2 purring kittens | stroke me

01 June 2007 @ 11:41 am

(no subject)

it's interesting how there are little things that help me know that i'm home. certain comforting things.
like my kitty. yes, i realise i talk about him lots (aka moaning about how much i miss him) but he's a central part of our family. he's so old and slow now and he's a little dreaded. most shockingly, his purr is not nearly as loud and strong as it used to be, but he's still my baby and i love him more than i can say.
coming home to my parents asleep in front of whatever is blaring on channel 7 because they've fallen asleep in front of the news. bless them.
going to my mom's house and being a suck because she's my mom and she does those lovely mommy things for me. like gets me a drink while i'm curled up on the couch.
hanging out with my cousin until far too late and then emphasizing on the way out that she cannot blame her late bedtime on me when her husband gives her crap about being grumpy tomorrow. heehee.

but i think in terms of material objects, it's all about tea mugs. i have conveniently (though unconsiously) sprinkled tea mugs in many locations, so that i can feel like i'm home. at my dad's i have an awesome mug that's a super size (read: large) and it has this drawn cow holding a sign saying 'be vege- tarian'. actually, eileen moaned about me taking it out west because she really likes it for it's size. fair nuff. it's not like i don't know where she lives. she's also the person that i moaned to buy it for me. she also has a mug here that is crafted/potteryish that is nice and heavy and lovely. i use that one often too. my dad also has these super old mugs that say 'i love my son' and 'i love my daughter' and i won't lie- i feel nice and warm and fuzzy when i use them. and i have a mug that my 'twin' and i both bought during our love for starbucks merch phase.
at my mom's house i have a super special mug that i bought the year i was in wales. i can picture the store and location where i bought it, but it's part of a british chain and the name escapes me. it begins with a 'w' and is the equivalent of a zellers or something cheap and not that special. but the mug is. it brings me back to that year. i considered taking it to BC with me, but it's also nice to know that it's there when i go back. she also has an 'emily' mug of mine that my bff gave me for my bday. it looks hilarious in her cupboard, but i like to think that it's a little reminder of me for her.
i love tea mugs. i come from a long line of peeps who give respect and hold nostaligia for tea mugs. i like to think i'm carrying that on.

to bring it all together: the mugs that i chose to take to BC are also significant. i have a mug with the carlton bears on it with my name. that was bought during my time in wales when i fell in love with those fuzzy soft carlton bears. they are soooo soft. (i also have one. my flatmates gave it to me on my birthday. i was so touched! it's wearing a cute white sweater with a star on it.) i also brought out a Toronto Maple Leafs mug that i bought while at a game this christmas. i'm a sucker for leafs merch. it's ridiculous. and i have a mug from prague that my parent's brought back for me. it's like a pottery mug but doesn't have that comforting weight. it's very nice though.

the mood:

content

the music: the velvet underground

2 purring kittens | stroke me

28 April 2007 @ 05:12 pm

(no subject)

it is a gorgeous day out today! the kind of gorgeous where the air smells delicious and you open all your windows super wide to try and capture it inside as well. so far open, in fact, that you nip out to the store and see a little bald kitty that becomes your friend and apparently the friend of everyone in the neighbourhood, as your neighbour tells you that the kitty went inside her house. and as you come up your path you say to your housemate 'i better be careful how far open i have my window seeing as that bald kitty was in that woman's house.' and he says to you 'yeah, our black and white little neighbour might try to get into your room.'
and as soon as it's out of his mouth- you see the black and white kitty jump out of your window.
sneaky devil.

but the day goes on and you get ready to pour yourself the bath. except after cleaning the tub down you realise there is no stopper. so a trip to the hardware store is in order (actually, that's when the kitty went into my room. awww. the earlier trip out was to get some bread and have a little walk around the neighbourhood. flowers were purchased as well. you would be proud leah!) but that's easy enough and you have a great soak until you step out and realise the water doesn't completely drain. uh-oh.
but you make yourself some tea as you wait to see what's up with the water, except when you walk back you realise something is amiss.
water in the kettle? check
kettle switched on? (a common mistake, but this time) check
kettle plugged in? dammit....

plug kettle in. wait for the third thing to go wrong today. relish the tea while waiting. realise that dad has sent you an email with an accompanying video of your kitty. holy shit! they figured it out and sent the video!
except the bloody thing won't open! *fight feelings of impending tears*

go back to enjoying the smell of the day...

the mood:

dork

stroke me

21 April 2007 @ 08:36 pm

(no subject)

we are moved. i am sore and exhausted and too tired to know how i feel about it all.
yesterday we moved all day- running back and forth across the city. i have a bed and we have one couch so far and we'll pick up the second couch tomorrow. but all of our crap is here and we've handed in our old keys (after cleaning the place. did i mention i'm sore?!).
it feels kind of weird though. i'm happy about lots of stuff and i'm really too tired to think, but change always throws me a little, you know? i'm a creature of habit and i get all nostalgic and stuff. what if i want to harass my friends and go to their house one night? say goodbye to a 5 min walk and tv bliss. now i'll have to plan ahead...the horror! ;)
our place is super cute, but a little cold. and i don't know the noises yet. we're really close to lots of stuff though and the local grocery store (slightly pricey) has lots of vegetarian options and great produce. i can't wait to scope out a local market for veggies! it's so nice to be part of a neighbourhood. and our neighbour in the upstairs apartment has the cutest black and white kitten. we are going to be friends. i'm pretty sure i've written this already.

i handed in my last project on thursday- i am finished my coursework. what a relief. my poor friend had to proofread it because i couldn't look at it any longer. still- it's done and i (hopefully) made all the changes that my supervisor was looking for and atleast i know have a better idea of the area that i need to read into. but that can all wait for another day. in fact, i think i am now motivated to do a little more work/organising/putting stuff away. all while drinking white russians. i have to have a little fun.

the mood:

exhausted

stroke me

16 April 2007 @ 12:13 pm

(no subject)

sometimes i drop a little special k on the floor (it's one of the cereals that i really dig. my favourite way to eat it is with cut up banana and some dried cranberries. or with a handful of reese puffs.) anyway, i always walk away. i'm not sure if i think i will pick it up later or if i'm lazy. maybe i just don't care.
inevitably, i hear the little crunch sometime during the day. and it brings a smile to my face.

and no, i don't pick that up either. but by then it's practically dust anyway.

the music: pat benetar- hit me with your best shot

1 purring kitten | stroke me

12 April 2007 @ 12:58 pm

(no subject)

i have my lj looking in a way that i can tolerate, but i have a feeling an overhaul might be in order. we'll see.
i miss my cat. a lot right now. i'm trying to get my parents to take a little video of him, but they are too silly to figure out how to use that option on their cameras. they are looking at it like learning how to drive or install a garbage disposal or something complicated. really- it's just turning a dial and pressing a button. and then pressing it again! i keep coaching them on how easy it is, but no luck. i would just rest easier i think if i knew the video was in existence [i won't even hope that they would email it to me ;) ]. i can't believe i never thought about it until a few weeks ago. i could kick myself. i'm just having a day where i really need to cuddle him. i also need a nap and some time to decompress. having my buddy here has been fun and good, but i need that time to be alone and quiet and not have to go out, etc. that's what the weekend will be for i suppose.
i bought my bed yesterday- which is very exciting. i can't wait to sleep in a proper bed again! i would really liked to have crawled into a real bed after staying up for seven periods of hockey yesterday. add the ottawa game to that and it's just too many hours of hockey for one day!

ps. i think that adding rice to soup is gross.

the mood:

blank

9 purring kittens | stroke me

11 April 2007 @ 11:06 am

(no subject)

so i'm thinking of joining facebook. i just can't decide, but i'm mildly sick of the constant offers of friendship from people and some of them are ones that i would actually like to be in contact with. the big drawback, as always, is the thought of offers from people that i don't really want to be in contact with. that and i'm stubborn and like lj and don't feel the need to check a whole whack of websites to be in contact with people that are already on my msn. in short, i would be a bad facebook person. but i do like that you can post pictures.
it's an inner debate right now. could go either way.
yesterday i had a great walkabout downtown vancouver with my visiting UK friend and found myself an affordable bed! i'm way excited and i hope it works out (all depends on if it can be shipped to the store in time for my move and that way i can pick it up and save the delivery. and have a bed to sleep on when i move. that's key.) and then i bought the movies footloose and grease. i tried to pick up sixteen candles, but i'm too cheap to pay full price. i can't wait to watch kevin bacon shake his ass. my friend is horrified. i also had an excellent mango margarita.

i'm super excited for the playoffs to start. enough that we are heading to a sports bar this afternoon to watch the first games. i wish i had my playoff board, but i left it at home as it was not an "essential" (what the hell was i thinking?!) (it's the coolest board too. i know, you're rolling your eyes but it's awesome. it's set up like the ice and on one half of the red line you can list the teams in each division as they finish [so from one to five] and then on the other half of the red there is a match up board as the teams go through with the stanley cup in the middle for the final two teams.
i realise i've explained this horribly, but it's awesome. i wish it came with magnets with team logos, but instead it's a dry erase board.
yes i realise how uncool i seem to you. but i don't care coz i love it.
and almost one week i'll have full cable and i can stop watching the worst sports channel in canada with the worst coverage ever. i can't wait!

Edit: crap! i went to change one thing about my page and lost all my settings. so it looks like i'll be giving my lj an overhaul when i have the time instead of joining facebook. shit! i liked how my lj looked and now it's poo. i mean, i saved it as best i could. but it's not as cute as it once was. still, it gives me the reason to play with it now....and by now i mean tomorrow...

the mood:

excited

13 purring kittens | stroke me

03 April 2007 @ 12:14 pm

(no subject)

there may be nothing better than sitting down to lj with a cup of tea. (except when that tea is preceeded by beans on toast. my friend from the uk is here and he brought me beans and a bar of fruit and nut. i'm in heaven. he sure knows the way to a girls heart. and i mean heart and not bed. that sad bastard is sleeping on the floor.)
i think it's safe to say i'm pretty addicted to lj. i missed it. i missed you. i only cracked once because i was stuck in a computer lab with nothing to do. i can only "research" flights home for so long before it hurts me. so yes. i cracked once. mostly just because i'm too stubborn.
the paper is almost done- it's at that annoying stage where it needs to be proofread and have a proper conclusion but i can't stand to look at it because it's already 27 pages and it's sucked too much life energy from me. it's due tomorrow- it can wait a little. there are other assignments to fill the time anyway.
we got the keys to our new apartment. i'm totally excited. we live in a really cool area and we're close to so much handy stuff. post office, drug store, shops, restaurants- i'm set! and the neighbourhood has beautiful swanky houses and there's lots of daffodils. (i love daffodils! they make me miss swansea though! that was the best part of spring!) one of my neighbours has the cutest black and white kitty. we're going to be friends. so there's just that matter of getting furniture (bed, desk, chair) and moving stuff. yay!

the mood:

happy

9 purring kittens | stroke me

10 March 2007 @ 12:03 pm

(no subject)

i think yesterday might have been one of my favourite days in quite awhile. it just got better and better!
highlights:
* being given a new project by my advisor. no more library searches (although this work will not allow me to download music or listen to hockey games, but the trade off is good. i'm coding interviews. atleast its something new!)
* my ipod and i had a date in the library. it was productive. okay not a highlight, but an injection of reality.
* out for dinner at an amazing (indeed, worthy of boldness) thai restaurant to celebrate my "birthday". my new birthday is march 9th. i completely played the birthday card and demanded everyone share a taste with me. (really, we do that anyways....) and i was introduced to an amazing thai soup and a red curry. my pad thai was really good too and completely vegetarian, which is nice.
* dairyqueen. yum yum
* a healthy amount of time spent listening to and discussing awesome music. and i mean 'awesome' in the sense that it was almost enough to make a grown man cry with despair. how much more fabulous does it get than having two windows of wikipedia going along with itunes music store and rehashing a good part of 80s and 90s ballads!? i mean, unless you're the grown whiny one shaking your head in the corner. oh i jest!
* followed by some healthy time downloading said music. oh dear...

the music: you probably don't want to know...

6 purring kittens | stroke me

15 February 2007 @ 12:02 am

(no subject)

valentine's day is all about the cupcakes.
cupcakes and awesome friends who help you out when your world (read: computer) shits all over you (read: stops working because it's stupid) and cheer you up by offering you new music. and laughs. and cute stories.

potentially devastating situation averted. for the time being.
i think i may have to get a new computer soon though. like the biological clock that i don't give a rat's ass about, the time is a-tickin'. i don't know how i'm going to finance that one though, because, um, i'm not sure how i'm going to pay for the rest of my life. but i suppose with some things you just make it work. and as i'm a student; a computer is like food. i also have mild internet addictions. just mild i swear.

can you tell i need sleep?

really i just wanted to share that i find all your valentine's day entries interesting. what a mix to read on valentine's day. the love. the hate. the bitterness for a hallmark holiday. trust me- i'm not passing judgement. i, personally, feel all of the above. (yes i realise that sounds too complicated. but i really do feel a mix of all of it.) anyone else found their friends page to be similar?
so lovelies, if you love it, hate it, despise it, are all for it, or completely against everything it stands for: i hope you had a good day today.

16 purring kittens | stroke me

12 February 2007 @ 09:54 am

(no subject)

on saturday i went and looked at an apartment in the area of the city that i really want to live in but am not sure i can afford. yikes.
does someone want to move to vancouver and live with me? i fear living with perfect strangers... but that area is so sweet- there is great shops and markets, bakeries and fab little restaurants. i'm going to end up in a teeny basement hole. as long as there is a window i should be happy.

last night i saw 'love actually' and it was adorable. i'll watch it again i'm sure. and i was afforded the opportunity to gush over colin firth. i need a colin firth in my life, but somehow i don't think i'm alone in that hope! *still hopes*

and my daddy comes to vancouver this weekend (and i'm trying not to freak about the amount of work i should get done before he gets here so we can hang out and i won't be stressed. i'm such a head case. how do people balance lives and school? i've never learned. i haven't had a life for years...) anyway-- i'm really excited to see family. and get out and about!

apparently my day is starting now. meeting. group meeting aka torture. research. such like.
hope monday is finding others more cheerful....

the mood:

blah

the music: [sports news]

13 purring kittens | stroke me

Advertisement