Thursday, January 24, 2008
At 6:10pm, there was still a line of orange on the horizon where previously there was blue.
It's coming...
Posted by Rachel at 6:35 PM |
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Liz and one of her friends are smoking in the living room. I am absolutely sick of the smell of cigarette smoke. But she refuses to stop - "close your door, problem solved," she says. Every single article of my clothing and even my cat smells like smoke; it's disgusting.
If only decent roommates weren't so hard to find.
I've got a whole rant about that stored up, but I'm not going to get into it tonight. I'm suffering from the extreme desire to be somewhere warm, somewhere that's not dark at 6pm. I want to go out and see people but not at the expense of freezing (though I guess technically it's above freezing; WeatherBug is reading 34º).
But the point of this entry is Canada. I've finally escaped the country, woo! This one I mean, not Canada. I went into Canada, accompanied by Jake, last weekend. Friday night we got into his car and rode across the border and all the way to Niagara Falls. I found a hotel there for relatively cheap (orbitz.com was having a special) a few blocks away. And the room was quite nice - it had a couch and a coffee table and a mini-fridge and a microwave and even a safe. I almost felt a little bad that we didn't spend much time there. The downside to the whole trip was that I got sick on the way there (just a cold, but I literally felt my nose getting stuffy on the drive there). Well, that and the temperature was relatively low.
Intriguing facts I learned/was reminded about Canada:
1. Everything is in liters and kilometers. It really does make more sense to use the metric system, but it took some getting used to nonetheless. I can only imagine what native Canadians think of our systems ("Miles and gallons? Where is the logic in this!?")
2. Finding a meal for less than $20 a person anywhere near Niagara Falls is nearly impossible. There are, however, numerous buffets available for about $40 a person which include things like lobster, or 14 varieties of meat (I'm not even exaggerating). Even McDonald's Value Menu items are $1.39, rather than the $1.00 we're used to here. Yet strangely enough, their dollar is worth more than ours is now.
3. There are no drinking fountains (or bums) in Canada.*
*well, okay, maybe there are, but not in Niagara.
The falls themselves were impressive though, even if the mist coming off of them made exposed skin (specifically, my face) especially cold. We went up into one of the observation towers at night to see them in the lights, and around 9pm they shot fireworks off over them.
Sunday we drove to Toronto and walked around. I generally love big cities, but I started to get the suspicion that if you've seen one big city, you've seen them all. But it was cold and I was sick. As it was, we found a massive multi-level mall, where I am proud to say I only bought one sweater that was on clearance for half off (I guess when your stash of clothing is bursting out of your closet, it gets harder to find worthwhile additions). We debated a ride to the top of the CN Tower, but at $22 (which is more than I paid for my sweater) per person on a gray, foggy day, we decided the view probably wouldn't be worth it.
So we relocated the car and, after some issues with figuring out the ridiculous process for which to pay for parking (it was in one of those multi-level garages - turns out you had to pay one of the machines located in certain stairwells [but not all of the stairwells] in order to get out) and started for home - a trip that was relatively uneventful. There was, however, a bum sleeping in the vending machine room at a rest area right inside the U.S. border. Welcome to Michigan.
Posted by Rachel at 10:04 PM |
Thursday, January 03, 2008
my annual survey, done for several years now1.What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before? Worked full-time. Particularly while going to school. That's the big one.
2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions and will you make more for next (this) year? What were my new year's resolutions for last year? I didn't bother making any this year. Though I'm sure they'd probably have something to do with money.
3. What countries did you visit? Despite prospects of going both north of and south of US borders, I was stuck in good old US of America all year.
4. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007? A million dollars? Also maybe a laptop. I don't NEED one but it sure would be nice.
5. What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? May 12. Cleveland, June 27 and the few days in between. All having to do with relationships.
6. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Becoming full-time key-holder at work.
7. What was your biggest failure? Becoming full-time key-holder at work.
8. Did you suffer illness or injury? Eh, nothing aside from the usual cold and a few scratches and bruises here and there.
9. Whose behavior merited celebration? Am I conceited if I say my own? I made some very big changes, I guess that's worth celebrating. Also Jake's, for putting up with me during all the stressful points of the semester.
10. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Chris, when he let my cat run away.
11. Where did most of your money go? Bills and rent.♦
12. What song will always remind you of 2007? Muse "Supermassive Black Hole."
A couple Rasputina songs ("Brand New Key" and "Crosswalk" particularly). Some Justin Timberlake songs. There's a few.
13. Compared to last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? about the same. I'm usually fairly complacent this time of year.
ii. thinner or fatter? well, I'm about 135-140. Which is where I've been for years now.
iii. richer or poorer? Richer, without a doubt.
14. What do you wish you'd done more of? Hanging out with people. Writing. My art.
15. What do you wish you'd done less of? working.
16. How did you spend Christmas? I had six Christmases this year, between Jake's family and mine. On Christmas Day, we spent the morning at his parents' house and the afternoon at my dad's house. Then we parted ways for awhile and met back up later that night.
17. Did you fall in love in 2007? I did.
18. What was your favorite TV program? Uh... I guess America's Next Top Model, in the first half of the year when I was going to apply to be on the show. But I missed the deadline and haven't really been very interested since then.
19. What was the best book you read? Uh... Harry Potter 7? I think that's really the only book I read that I wasn't assigned in school.
20. What was your greatest musical discovery of 2007? Muse - "Supermassive Black Hole." Timbaland. Also, Jake. He knows a lot of random stuff that I'd never even heard of - he got me the Ratatat album, and recommended a few others. And in return, I introduced him to Scissor Sisters and Rasputina.
21. What did you want and get? A townhouse. Then an apartment with a roommate that I wasn't dating.
22. What did you want and not get? A place all to myself. Though I didn't try all that hard. Also, more free time (particularly after I started working full-time).
23. What was your favorite film of this year? That is a very good question. What movies did I even see this year? Pirates III and Rush Hour III. Neither of which I liked as well as their prequels.
24. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I took a train to Chicago (along with Jeff, Dan, and Ryan) in honor of my 21st birthday. We hit up a piano bar at midnight and spent Saturday (my actual birthday) shopping, eating, and wandering through the Field Museum.
25. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Earning my full-time wages while only having to work part-time.
26. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007? A little more professional, toward the end. New dress code calls for sweaters or shirts with collars and no tennis shoes (though I didn't necessarily stick to it all the time).
27. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Uh, pretty much none.
28. Who was the best new person you met? Technically I met most of my new college friends in the fall semester of '06, even though I didn't really befriend them until this year (Jake, James, Courtney, Ryan M., etc.). So I guess I'll go with the few people I met at the Red Eye over the summer. And Scott, whom I met January of '07, and Jake's friend Eric, whom I met over the summer. They're both pretty cool kids. Damn, I keep thinking of more. I met most of Jake's family this year too. Particularly his brothers, and Caleb's girlfriend Elaine. I think I got 'em all now.
29. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007: Working too much dulls your mind.
30. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. "Shooting at the walls of heartache! BANG BANG! I am the warrior!"
Posted by Rachel at 4:17 PM |
