Happy Birthday to me :)

Akk! well I believe I now officially qualify as old... 23? really? Where has all of the time gone??? lol. no really... I can't possibly have been on this planet for 23 years and *glances at clock* 146minutes already... longer really if you consider the time between me typing this and when it gets posted... longer too if you consider the approximately nine months I spent in utero (I really don't want to think about when exactly that would have started - blech). Of course then you get into all those existential debates over when someone becomes a person... not that it matters but surely in our society, given the emphasis placed on individualism this can't possibly be considered to have happened until after a child develops theory of mind (the corollary of this being of course that not only would abortion, but infanticide prior to such an event, be considered perfectly acceptable under current societal mores - ah, how right those Spartans were) Yikes! For a birthday post this has certainly taken a rather rapid morbid turn... It's probably fortunate there is little likelihood of children in my near future ;)

*shakes head* On to less socially awkward topics perhaps?? lol. let's see, what have I been up to since last posting? I should probably wish my Blog a very Happy 8th Birthday to start off with! I would share some of my birthday cake with it, but as it is... inanimate? can something which doesn't even exist outside of the neural circutry of of a computer system be considered inanimate?...I really do think the best solution for all is for me to just eat an extra piece in it's honour ;).

Right, and back to updates! Spent New Years Eve on my couch reading a teen novel and watching the CNTower do nothing particularly exciting. Best evening ever. After the craziness of last term it was wonderful to just relax and unwind and not have to be anywhere! (sorry to the four parties I skipped out on... ;) ), after that it was off to spend time with the family and finally get to visit with the newest addition - she's so cute! and has the best middle name to boot! Not that I'm biased in that opinion of course ;P - before getting a whole week off!!! lol. In truth January as a whole was fairly tame. A bit of going out here and there, time spent hanging out with friends :D, Ma's b-day. Got to spend some of my x-mas money on my annual shopping trip with Kat, did a lot of dance, decided to take up the static trapeze again alongside the silks (although only once a week - downsview is just too far away!), started playing soccer again... broke my hand... yes, I realise you are meant to play soccer with your feet :P. Last I checked however, people were also meant to kick the ball toward the net, not toward the defensive player standing right in front of them *wrinkles nose*. It was pretty funny really. I kept playing of course, but my hand ended up swelling up to three times its normal size (a bunch of the blood vessels on the back broke) and no one figured out it was broken until approximately 3 weeks later - well... I kinda suspected when it didn't hurt enough to be a sprain except for when it was vibrated slightly while on the streetcar or subway (yes, these are classic diagnostic tools :P) - but nothing showed up on the first x-ray and when I went to ask for a second a few days later, the doctor accidentally realigned everything while manipulating it, which made everything feel so much nicer! When I finally did end up getting the second set done it showed a break clear accros the waist of my scaphoid (in my right hand of course). Got a CT scan done which not only confirmed that one, but showed that I had also broken my 4th metacarpal... but that's okay because everything was in near perfect alignment with no bone loss *grins*. This was fortunate of course since by then it had already been about 5 weeks (the results accidentally got sent to London, On...) and I never bothered to get it casted.... still haven't... I went back to doing circus the week after I injured it, have gone on two skiing weekends and have been playing soccer and dancing throughout! *grins even wider* I can even do pushups! (with my hands in fists) though handstands and cartwheels and kneehangs on the silks with only my right hand holding are still out of the question.

lol, but yeah. February was fun. I had initially booked most of it off work in order to get my MRP done for early graduation but ended up using the time off to dance, play soccer, actually go out clubbing, attend doc's appts and organise skiing trips instead. Kat's bday was fun, apparently I've been in a relationship for quite some time and only just found out about it? *raises eyebrows inquiringly* Omg, lol. we did two skiing long weekends up at the chalet with a bunch of the old woburn crew. Sooo much fun! *shakes head* the first one was all boys plus amy and i. the second was a bit more rounded out (and by that I mean 4 girls 15 guys...) so you can imagine how that went :D. *shakes head* Soo great. We will definitely do another get-together in the summer :). On the second trip up I even survived four days straight of langan's company ;P - thanks for driving!... and carrying my poles ;) and I got to see Evan, and Alan, and em :D:D:D! :D. I forgot how much I'd missed you guys- all of you guys, not just the aforementioned ones!!! It was great, the conditions were amazing and even some who weren't skiing came up just to hang out so it was pretty awesome!!! Ooh! I also got to see the Ballet Trokadero de Monte Carlo (the all male troupe that performs on pointe) with em and Ju which was hilarious! It was also in the Winter Garden Theatre which I'd never been to before and is absolutely stunning!!! I'd love to go back! I seemingly also (wow, that's a lot of 'also's in one paragraph! ) used the time to become addicted to the BBC version of Merlin and watched the entire three seasons over the span of about a week. Sooo adorable *grins* merlin-aurthur interaction makes me so happy. I've decided Devon's Merlin and I'm Arthur. Minus the fact that I like to do most of the cleaning... but that's only a minor detail... as is the fact that Devon has still not used her magical powers in my presence (she claims it's because I can't yet know she has said magical powers) but one step at a time. And no, we are not crazy :P. Living in our house is just a special kind of adventure :D. March has also been pretty good to me, some interesting weather lately, but I got to see El while she was in town last weekend, and went for cake with David on Thursday while he was here *coughs* though I'm still wondering how he was in the country for two weeks and I only saw him once *looks around suspiciously* Saw the Kirov/Mariinsky perform Swan Lake with Papa and Esperanza last week - it was phenomenal!!! So incredibly good. The whole company was nearly impeccably in time and Uliana Lopatkina was dazzling (not that you'd expect anything else!) But yeah, stunning!!! I really can't decide between them and the Bolshoi. Then only solution clearly is to just see more of both ;)! Then yesterday was Linna's welcome home party (Yay! Linna's back :D!) Where I got to see everyone (with a few added and some taken away ;) ) again! and Mrs B even convinced Mrs Mo to come for a surprise visit :D!!! This week was Don Q with ma. Fortunately casting was changed at the last minute and we got Sonia Rodrigues. She was so dead on, particularly in the last act. It was so lovely and breathtaking to see! Though not the awkwardly long 16count balance in attitude. What was that about? That was just mean! So, yeah, I suppose that brings us up to now :P

I Suppose I'd have to say 2011 has been pretty good so far. Started out slow, but it has definitely picked up. It's also been really interesting to be able to watch all of the uprisings in the middle east through the lens of my friends who are there - I am very glad all of you are still safe! Hopefully it will stay on in this vein? Aiming to see Onegin with Linna next week, and then it's Russian mixed program with Devon the week after :). Hopefully I'll be able to get decently priced tickets to Billy Elliot, ooh! and cirque's Totem when it comes!

I'm sure there's more and that I'm forgetting but it's just reached 1 am and I am starting to yawn so it should probably off to bed with me! Muchos love to all and to all a good night/year/life! A la prochaine!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!!

Just wanted to say farewell to what was a thoroughly awesome and enjoyable 2010 and welcome in what I hope to be an equally great and amazing 2011!!!

Have a great one!

Wow, what a term!

I keep meaning to do a proper update but never seem to get a chance! This term's been really fun, but ridiculously busy (not that I haven't had some time for relaxing - i.e. it's been nothing as bad as second year ;) )... but yeah, I suppose it's rather fitting I haven't updated yet! Nothing terribly exciting has happened, but it's been kind of nice to have only had one class, with interesting readings on change and seminar experts that switched topics every week. Mix that in with some dance, circus and working at Indigo to get my fill of socialness :). Have made some great friends at work as well - good for some Kareoke, Halloween-ness and just general fun around the store. Plus, who doesn't love books? ;). TAing has also been fun (Intro to bio anth&arch out at UTSC this term). A bit tiring though - I have 150 students! (3 tutorials worth) which means I end up spending all day most thursdays out that way - it's kinda nice though, brings back memories. Yes, I do miss scarborough :P and the fall colours of the valleys are always fun to see :). Miss living with em now that she's left me :P, but love living with Devon so that's all good. Only seen a bit of Ju and Jess, the former 'cause we both work all the time (we did get to see HP7.1 though! and then 6 and 5 in reverse order :P), the latter 'cause she took off for India and now Montreal :P. The boys too, I have not nearly seen enough of - Evan understandably as he's at Queens, Langan appears to have been willingly swallowed by law and donning :P. I have however, gotten to hang out Vince and Amy loads lately for skating purposes :D. Funfun! Wish I could do more dancing (naturally) but it's been nice to get to circus too. Hopefully I'll be able to fit some soccer back in next term as well :D. Let's see what else? Got to see Wicked again with Ma, Nal, John and Robert for the latter's bday :). Went with Jess and Devon and Alan to see Rock of Ages which was hilariously awesome!!! Also caught Cirque du Soleil's Banana Shpeel with Jess which was okay but not amazing... Saw Tangled the other day with the girls. very cute - yay Heymian :). Linna's going away party (I miss you!!! Hope you're having fun in Germany) was hilarious and awesome. O'Noir was great. How I loved listening to the boys attempt to eat in the dark *laughs uncontrolably for a bit*. The food was really yummy too! :D. Saw a few other movies too... not very many though! Ballet-wise, Cinderella with Kat was good as always... I did realise though that while I love Kudelka's comedies, it's not just his swan lake that isn't emotive, but a lot of his pieces... not four seasons though, that's gorgeous. Went to see the new mixed program with Em H, Chroma was nice, not amazing though and, sadly the national is not as good as the Bolshoi (naturally ;) ) at Balanchine so the latter's version of Serenade was happily not supplanted in my mind - we shall see for theme and variations later this season though. Emergence however, the new one by crystal pite, was incredible. Canada has produced a lot of great modern/contemporary ballet choreographers lately! and this is from someone who doesn't even like watching modern/contemp that much! But yeah, it was just fantastically amazingly brilliant. I don't think there are enough adjectives to describe it :P. Love it. lol, it's definitely been the little things that have made this term fun :D. Chatting with Jeremy, learning from amazing dancers, not being in the library all the time (though I did enjoy the law library while I was there ;). ) Hmm, I must be getting old. I just checked my calendar to figure out what else I'd done :P. Sara's wedding of course :). Mrs B's book club too. Just generally hanging out. Events at the store. Cake Boss was crazy (well, he wasn't, the event was). Gordon Ramsay was lovely (believe it or not :P). Meeting Kathy Reichs was fun. The Romeo Dalaire/Emmanuel Jal event on eliminating the use of child soldiers was wonderful and awe inspiring, as were the latter's and Ishmael Beah's books. And Margaret Trudeau was great to hear from :). Ooh! and the Terracotta Warrior display at the ROM (which I only just saw this morning) was really nicely presented!! CNTower Stair Climb with Amanda, Zia Diana, Jess (who got the ridiculous time of 18.19), Robert and some of their friends was also great fun. As was beating my previous time at 21.28 - no torn hamstring this year was always good too ;). So yeah, while it's not quite traveling, it's been good. *nods happily* I'm sure there are a great many stories and fun events that I am forgetting to tell you of, but it is bed time now so that I can catch up on sleep lost trying to run around and get everything done this past week. I've been successful though! Cookies are all baked and awaiting tinning/wrapping at Ma's tomorrow, Gifts are all bought and wrapped bar one or two, the house is clean (mostly), I just ate a three-minute cake in a mug, assignments are all marked, papers handed in, tins and wrapping things purchased. Yup *nods happily* all that is left is tinning cookies/laundry tomorrow, meeting up with Em, Ben, Langan, Evan and Alan on monday, working and proctoring an exam (at 8.30am in scarborough - who planned that :P?!) on tuesday, working and meeting up with a briefly returning Wendy and all of the girls on weds, hanging out and going to see 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum' with Em B on thurs, and finally working on friday morning before meeting up with the fam for xmas eve and, of course, xmas day :D. HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!! xoxox :D. PS. for all those who get distressed by excess x-mas music and early appearing hair bells ;) Click Here - Merry Christmas :)! 'nightnight and farewell!

Seliger!

Teehee. For all those wondering what Seliger was really like, check out this clip (thanks Haidar!) and this one.

And for anyone missing the morning exercises, here's another ;)
I think that, bar Wavin' Flag and We Will Rock You, that about covers the songs I'm never getting unstuck from my head ;P
Dvai Rossiya!

Creepy Crawlies and a Love of Life

As I gazed into our makeshift fruitfly trap upon arriving home this evening, I realised two very important things:
1) That Bananas are not supposed to move
and
2) That it was probably time for me to update my blog.
What these two things have in common and why squirming formerly-banana-looking-mush should remind me of my blog (perhaps it's the similarity to my thought processes/brain matter?) I genuinely do not know. I do however now know that, in addition to making a cheap and excellent fruitfly trap, sliced banana in a bowl of shallow water covered over with lightly punctured plastic wrap, if not changed frequently enough, presents the perfect breeding ground for maggots. Lots of them.

Needless to say, I haven't touched them yet. I spent some time watching them (I named them all Maggie, em suggested Edward or Bella but I don't think any of them sparkle quite enough. Besides, they all had far too much personality to be named after those two :P) and then decided that, rather than waste it, I should put the time I'm spending patiently waiting for em to come home so we can tackle our new pets together to good use and update my blog (and so, the real link between the two things comes to light ;) ). The only problem being that I have now been tackled by a serious case of the creepy crawlies... as in I can just feel them crawling all over me... all the time... in my hair, down my back, on my nose... ugh, *wrinkles said facial feature and squirms in disgust* and it's not even Halloween yet! so out of season! and so not cool!
But you know what are cool? Snakes at balls, and churches made entirely of bones *grins*, and trips to Europe which are only meant to last a little over three weeks but grow to last three whole months and encompass jaunts over to Israel and Russia *grins even wider*.

Yupyup. Those Definitely count as cool *nods rapidly, maintaining aforementioned wide grin while simultaneously attempting to surreptitiously brush off any lingering feelings of creepy crawliness*

lol, and with that lovely prelude, I shall delve into where I've been keeping myself these past few months and why exactly it is that I love life ('cause it's just awesome, that's why :D).

Let's see, where did I leave off? *quickly checks previous postages* Ah yes, WFR re-cert weekend! Awesomely great and mosquito-bitten as per usual. Gotta love sleeping on the ground, looking at gruesome pictures, cleaning dirt out of chicken-breast wounds and running long simulations involving carrying individuals long distances in makeshift litters (or, alternatively, being strapped to one yourself when you really, really have to pee ;) ) with people you just met :D. So much fun!

After that, it was back to normal life where showers exist and bathing is the norm for a week or so in order to pack and finish up last minute details before running off to europe for a time.
So our trip started with first class flights (why have I never traveled with Papa before? Ah, yes, now I remember, 'cause apart from the comfy chairs, I've rather worryingly discovered that I actually prefer economy class. and backpacking. and roughing it. and.. yeah... How weird is that??? Not saying I'm complaining about having awesome food or being able to afford box seat tickets to things like the Vienna State Opera Ballet (their Coppelia was so good!!!!) and the Budapest Opera (also great!) and Mozart and Vivaldi and various other concerts, 'cause those were amazing and totally worth it. But yeah, apparently I actually prefer my general budget traveler technique *shrugs* who knew?:) ) over to Budapest (with a brief stop in frankfurt) where we spent our time leisurely (for my pace anyway, Papa disagrees ;) ) exploring the city - on foot of course- and eating deliciously yummy food. In addition to dancing to and listening to traditional Hungarian Music (love it), we also got the opportunity to waltz to the Blue Danube while overlooking said river on the terrace of Fisherman's Bastion up on top near Buda Castle one evening which was Am-a-zing *smiles happily* I still say Papa is one of the best Viennese Waltzers out there - not that this makes up in anyway for his snoring which kept me up the whole trip, even when we were in separate rooms :P!!! But yeah, pretty awesome :D. Being in Hungary was made even greater in that it really made me aware of my hungarian roots... boy am I ever hungarian in nature. I mean, I knew I was Italian already, but Italian-Hungarian I definitely am. They're all just so jovial and music/dance-loving and food-loving and open and ... loud? well, maybe not quite to the same degree as the Italians... perhaps hearty is the word I'm looking for... Yup, definitely felt like the other half of me was finally explained :). Can such traits even be passed down genetically??? Papa always acts so white-washed I have no idea how I could have gotten them otherwise! Anyhow, next it was on to Vienna where we got to explore the lovely city, listen to great music, check out the swarovsky store and see amazing Ballet. Of course, no visit of mine to Vienna is complete without a trip to the Schonbrunn Palace. And, so, just as when I was four, I dragged Papa over to see it with me (it's scary how much you can remember from when you are four!) - though this time I didn't make him climb up the hill to the Gloriette with me on his shoulders... I thought I might actually be old enough to do that one on my own by now ;). Ooh! we went to the strudel show while we were there to learn how to make appel strudel and I got to be the assistant (yes, I still get excited about such things :P) and I even got a diploma for my efforts *grins stupidly*. After Vienna, it was off to Prague and it's breathtaking sunsets over the Vltave River. Omg, was Prague ever gorgeous. That is definitely a city I would absolutely love to visit again. Such rich history with stunning architecture and loads going on - friendly and fun loving people too! I just loved all the little winding streets and the gloriously old churches! We were also there during the spring music festival (and all the rain and cold brought on by the ash cloud) so the sounds surrounding us were just incredible - classical organ concerts, string orchestras, marching bands, everything! Hilariously, Papa also ran into one of the smithys/coin makers in the market who remembered him from when he used to work there just after the iron curtain came down. It was great. The guy said, and I quote, "but you had more hair back then" *laughes evily*. If Prague was a hit with me, the town of Kutna Hora and it's ossuary at Sedlec went down even greater *grins*. Can you imagine what a church filled with the bones of over 40,000 people is to an anthropologist??? Heaven, that's what it is :D!!! Sooooo coool!!! The arrangements were just so pretty!!! And there was even a Chandelier (and we all know how much I loved those as a child ;) ) containing every bone in the human body!!! What's not to love??? *sighs happily* Yupyup. Everyone looked at me really strangely when I asked if I could live there. I can't for the life of me fathom why!

NEWS FLASH: We interrupt this riveting post to bring you an all essential creepy-crawly update. Okay, just wandered into the kitchen for some food, and I gotta say, what's in the bowl is now more maggotty than it is banana-y... Oh em, please do come home soon :P.

So, after our trip 'round the former Austro-Hungarian Empire it was time to head back to Jolly old England in order to meet up with Ma and Nal and get this whole graduation thing over with! Omg, is an Oxford graduation ever hilarious! I have never before seen so much bowing, random strolling, unnecessary clothes changing and poorly pronounced latin! I have no idea how Claire, Julia and I managed to remain composed throughout, but let me tell you it was a struggle! and the instructions from the old lady who was Hertford Dean of Degrees (yes, that's right, Oxford Colleges have dean's of degrees) beforehand! lol! It went something like, 'now, the DPhils will... the MSc's... the M...' and on and on, insert something about jumping up and holding her hand like it was the happiest days of our lives and, then, when she finally got to the BA's it sounded something like 'and then, well, you'll no what to do *smile*' No we wont!!! We're the only ones who;ve never had a graduation yet!!! *shakes head* yeah... And then there was our Rad Cam inspired photo shoot afterwards ;) and seeing everyone in the Turf for a final pint (or half pint in some of our cases *points to self*) at that lovely establishment. Yupyup. Papa took off the next day leaving Ma, Nal and I (the latter two of us who had attended the Bollywood themed Ball at the Union the night before my graduation and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves playing with snakes, dancing to bad music, getting hennaed at the last minute, ensuring Nal got her first try of Shisha (you should have seen her face, I don't think I've ever seen such an expression of pure bliss!) and gorging on food) to take in the sunshine and hang around Ox a bit longer. *Sighs happily* I'd forgotten how much I love that city! and in Trinity term too! How did I ever leave??? Out of the Blue was busking (to our everlasting pleasure - love them so much!) and Nal finally got to ride on a punt - Yay! Punting!!!! and yeah, just lying on the lawn and seeing all the pretty buildings... and of course all my friends! But yeah, after a few days the others took off (Ma homewards and Nal off to London to visit Daggs before heading on to Paris, where she stayed extra long too - similarity in travel much? ;) ) and I moved into Jo's abandoned room to live with Tabby and Jess Evans (and, by default Mark!). It was just so great to see everyone again!!! And of course there was Yuka's Ballet Classes! I've missed them so much! And Yuka! It was great to see Tiger and Dragon again as well! They've grown so much!!! and Tiger still has so much energy!!! I got to attend rehearsals and help out with the show again too (my god am I ever terrible at spot lighting *shakes head in dismay*) which was loads of fun :D.

A few days after the others left, I decided to take a spontaneous weekend trip to Amsterdam - such a great choice!!! Amsterdam was awesome!!! I had no idea I was going to love it as much as I did! I stayed in a Christian Youth Hostel (cheapest place I could find) right in the heart of the Red Light District (talk about juxtaposition!), met some great people and just had a genuinely great time! *sighs happily* I returned to much ballet-ness of course and the news that we were going to have an Arch and Anth reunion at Caroline's in London on the coming weekend - soo much fun!!! I've missed you guys sooo much!!! and Caroline's such an awesome chef!!! *hugs all around* but yeah, miss you!!!! Heading in to London meant I also got to see Charlotte - Yay!!!!! and, when I headed back that way later in the week on my way to Isreal (yup, that's right, Israel. At some point in my travels with Papa we discovered that Jessiann would be in Israel at approximately the same time I would still be in Europe and that, if I extended my trip, I could pick up cheap flights and come visit. So naturally, being me, I jumped at the opportunity :D) I got to see all of the Sterland family (including the gorgeous portrait Julia had painted of me - Thank you so much!!!!), watched one of Charlotte's gigs and we girls painted the front door hot pink. It looks amazing *grins* apparently now everyone on the street wants one!

Got a ride to Heathrow (which was great!) late one night, and even managed to sleep a bit on the lovely cold floor before my 6am flight (now, please tell me, why don't they have benches in the check in area at airports?) to Israel. How to describe Israel??? Jess met me at the airport and we took one of the local group taxis back into Jerusalem. It's incredible to watch the landscape change from costal mediterranean to Judean hills and know that on the other side of those is barren desert. Jess and I had such an awesome time. We stayed at the Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital where Jess was living and had just the most gorgeous view and great access to hiking trails. My first full day in Jerusalem was, unfortunately, a Saturday. And, uuber religious as it is, nothing in Jerusalem was open. So, naturally, being us, we decided to head over to the Arab village of Abu Gosh, where we spent a thoroughly enjoyable day wandering the town, exploring a French-run 11th century crusaders church (which backed on to a mosque ;) ) and playing in the park/watching the world cup with all the young boys in the village on the big screen TV they'd set up under a tarp next to a drink stand on the top of a mountain. Life doesn't get any better than that :D. Next day it was off to explore Masada and check out the dead sea from the Israeli-side - and this time there was mud to get covered in *grins widely and shakes head* some of the pictures are priceless. mostly it's great for your skin but man does it ever smell of sulfur and it definitely stains your clothes! Given that Jess had appointments, we decided to only do a half day the next day and, so, headed through the security wall to the West Bank in order to make our way to Bethlehem and check out conditions on that side of Palestine (we decided against going into Gaza as the whole blockade ordeal had only just gone down the week before and we weren't too sure how safe it was with tensions running high, though I'm sure now we would've been fine). Palestine was pretty great, though the wall is really daunting. And feels unnecessary. The people were really friendly and I managed to garner my first proposal of this trip (the count eventually reached 7, all arab, naturally. More on that later ;) ). The next day was the day we finally explored old Jerusalem, and it was pretty incredible. Oddly enough for a place so sacred and fought over, to me it didn't really give off that much of a vibe... that being said, there was definitely a vibe down at the wailing wall, and somewhat of one at the Dome of the Rock, which non-Muslims are, unfortunately, no longer allowed to enter given the current situation. Such a shame, I'd've so loved to go in. I love mosques in general and that one is supposed to be breathtaking inside. Old Jerusalem itself is pretty neat. Lain out in quadrants, the armenian and christian quarters are pretty dead, although there is definitely life around the tomb of Jesus and the church of the Holy Sepulcher (which I managed to investigate thoroughly late in the evening once all of the other tourists had left or headed off for dinner). The Jewish quarter too was fairly quiet in the residential areas - or at least I thought so, until later that night I discovered that the walkways in that quarter are really on the rooftops which provide a breathtaking view of the city and are a great place to listen too/watch the sundown call to prayer. In general, it was the Muslim quarter which was liveliest, filled with shops and stalls with yummy food and spices and everything you could want (well, bar pubs showing the football/soccer games, those were in the Christian Quarter ;) ). Through rather entertaining circumstances, I somehow wound up helping one of the store owners (Beduin trader, naturally) close up his shop once Jess had headed off back home. So much fun! He was really intelligent and entertaining and I even got a lovely pair of earrings as thanks in exchange for a kiss (well, several) on the cheek! These exchanges did not, however, result in any proposals... not sure whether this was good or bad thing as there was a high likelihood I may actually have said yes! :P. Once it got truly dark, the old city came alive once more, this time with lights, as my trip just happened to coincide with the light festival, so I spent a great night partying out in the streets with what felt like the entire population of Israel!!! After a nice sleep in the next morning, Jess and I decided to head up north to the Keneret, or sea of Galilea, for some more beach/exploratory time before getting some more of that (plus world cup watching on giant screens along the beach) in Tel Aviv, where we also met up with some of her family (and discovered Jess was allergic to sun. I'm still laughing - in a polite sympathetic way of course ;) ). All in all, it was a pretty awesome trip. We didn't make it to the Red Sea (I miss it!) or the Golan Heights (next time... or maybe from the Syrian/Lebannese side), but it was great all the same!

At some point while I was in Israel, I was given the opportunity to extend my trip once again (which in this case, amounted to suspending my flight home and hoping fervently that there would be seats free when I needed to come back :) ) as I got confirmation that I'd been accepted to attend a government-funded youth forum in Russia... so I decided, what the heck, flights from England to Russia are cheap (less than a quarter of the price from here!) and transport to the forum was free, as was everything while I was there, I wouldn't even have to pay for my visa if I didn't do any touring (I did, so I had to pay)... I was never gonna get a chance like this again, might as well take it!

Best decision I ever made :D. Seliger was incredible!!!!
Picture a camp site in the middle of nowhere (it was 12hrs by bus SE of St Petersburg and 8hrs NE of Moscow) on a peninsula in a region that looks like the Muskokas filled with enough tents to house 3000 to 5000 people and populated with the most awesome group of intelligent, articulate and largely well-built/attractive, 18-35 year olds from all over the world (and I mean all over. take the most obscure countries and they were represented... with the exception, curiously enough, of the United States of America... Canada was represented though! by me and another Canadian - I miss you Kim!!!!) you've ever met, and voila, you have Seliger. It was great. We slept in tents of three, had camp fires of 15-20, showered in the lake, took turns making food (trucks came by every few days to drop off food and supplies), gathering the water, chopping the wood and doing the cleaning (when the Russian participants actually let us rather than insisting we were their guests!), got lectured by experts on a range of topics in the mornings (I was in the global politics section. There was also Art and Design, Environment and Sustainability, Civil Society, Business and Innovation and Mass Media), could attend whatever seminars we wanted/present our own projects in the afternoon (which for me, often involved mediating discussions and learning russian - Ya nemnoga govarit po-russki. Ya Lublu Rossiyu!! and I miss it very much too!), were woken up at 7:30 am by the Russian National anthem blaring through the trees, followed by the most ridiculous selection of 'wake up music' (including, but not limited to, the chip and dale theme song, russian cartoon songs, ghost busters (no joke!) and Queen) prior to 'the morning exercises' which consisted of 25mins of alternating HipHop/Peppy Aerobics for the girls (and any boys who chose to stay) and a 5k run for the boys (and any girls who chose to go). It was hilarious!!! So much fun! and you got to cool off/shower by jumping in the lake afterward!!! and had access to a beach, wind surfing, kayaks, catamarans, a high ropes course, bikes, trampolines, a variety of sports including beach volleyball, dance workshops and soccer/football - we even recreated the world cup!!! I played on the Nigerian team :D. we sadly got knocked out in the quarter finals, but that's not so bad considering there were 46 teams and ours had the handicap of a girl (namely a specific girl <- me, the other girl who was playing was certainly no handicap!). There were also concerts and parties every night (alcohol free due to the nature of the site - boy did I ever feel at home :D - and it certainly did not prevent any hilarity from ensuing!!! loads of ridiculous kissing games and limbo games and jumping over the fire games of the type that usually only result after significant levels of alcohol have been imbibed were played with alarming frequency... and by me as well!) it was amazing :D!!! I made such good friends and I miss you all :'(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *hugs to everyone* None of us ever wanted to leave!!! Sadly, most of those of us from elsewhere missed out on meeting President Medvedev as his visit was delayed due to the spy swapping so he wound up coming the day after we'd left... I'm told, however, that it rained the entire time he was there (we'd had gorgeous weather the whole week) and only cleared up again once he'd left!

But yeah, Russia was unbelievable. I loved it so much! I definitely want to go back at some point. This time to Krasnoyarsk and Vladivostock to visit all my friends in Siberia!!! As mentioned earlier, I went early in order to get some touring done, Flying in to Moscow 7 days before the conference and then jumping over to St. Petersburg and heading in to Seliger from there. Moscow was really neat. I got to see the Red Square (and a military graduation! and a military Parade at the Kremlin for that matter!) and St Basil's and the Kremlin and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and well, everything really. But most importantly, I managed to wrangle tickets to a sold out performance of the Bolshoi. *smiles happily* talk about dreams come true. they were putting on a Balanchine suite (I know!!!! not only was it the Bolshoi, but they were doing my favourite choreographer!!!!!!! soooo sooo sooo happy! I swear I went into shock when I found that scalper and got the tickets. I had despaired of ever getting any since I knew they were sold out before I even left England!) They were incredible. Words can't describe them. I've seen individual dancers that good. but never a whole company *sighs contentedly*. Although I made some great friends in Moscow and had a genuinely good time (and found out I'd been at the same performance and missed meeting up with Kate!) it was St. Petersburg that really caught my heart. The Hermitage was incredible, the city as a whole is architecturally gorgeous. the landscape on the flight over was breathtaking. I saw the bay of finland!. the Peter and Paul fortress, Lenin Square/finland station and the Aurora (the ship that started the October Revolution) are all pretty cool. St. Isaac's is amazing and seeing the Spaz na Krovi church (the church of christ the saviour on spilt blood- think the 'have you heard there's a rumour in st. petersburg' scenery from the Anastasia movie) was a dream come true (despite the fact that my wallet was stolen just outside of there, which sadly meant I never made it to the Peterhoff palace (next time!) or the Kirov (which is okay since they're coming this way :) ) - thank you so much to the staff of the restaurant who gave me enough money to see the church and live off of for the rest of the night!). But you know what was most incredible??? The fact that on my first night there the sun didn't even begin to set until 2am and was right back up at 4! Not quite full white night since St Petersburg is 6 degrees south of the Arctic circle and it was a week or so after the solstice, but there was still midnight sun!!! a sight I never really thought I'd see until I properly got to the arctic. It was amazing!!! a bit maddening, but really really cool!!! It started to get darker earlier on the further we got from the solstice but it was still pretty light even at midnight when we were at the camp. In Saint Petersburg it's also really neat because all the bridges along the river Neva go up at 1:30 to let the big boats through and you can watch them! (they don't go down again until 4am though so you'd best not get stuck on the wrong side of the river!)

After all that lovely adventure in Russia (and an overnight bus ride back in to Moscow) it was back to England for me. Upon landing, I decided to go straight to Cambridge to pick up my suitcase and, more importantly, visit Tabby (and his mom, sister and Erica)! As a bonus, I also got to see Simon :). Cambridge is really nice. I still maintain that it's not as nice as Oxford. Though as Tabby pointed out, there may be sentimental reasons for that ;). After completing my tour of Cambridge (and falling asleep at a dinner party. What?! I hadn't slept in ages at that point ;P) it was back in to London and Charlotte's for me! This time to say a final good bye (and watch the world cup final). We had managed to re-book me a flight home (which would be changed the day of from the icky-late-arriving evening flight which I hate, to the much more convenient mid day flight which I love, so that was Happy!) - good thing too, as by that point I was well and truly out of money!. I stayed a Charlotte's (I miss you!!), got to visit the family once more (which led to a highly entertaining excursion to find suitable wrapping for the portrait. We succeeded and it survived though!!!), attempted to get back in some semblance of dance-shape and had a fortuitous meet up with El, Jess and Caroline in Camden :D. *sighs contentedly* Definitely an amazing trip and a style of travel (the Ah!-I'm-not-sure-what-I'm-doing-next-or-how-I'm-doing-it style) I shall definitely have to repeat in the future ;).

Uhoh: NEW CRITTER UPDATE: Em's not coming home, I'm gonna hafta be a baby-killer all by myself!!!! *sobs* what am I to do???? (deal with it later clearly. I mean, in the immortal words of Scarlet O'Hara "After all, tomorrow is another day")

Yupyup, so since I've been home it's been pretty relaxed, basically just spent time applying for jobs (successful, I now have two), trying to figure out where/how I'm living next year (less successful), reading (always successful ;)), dancing, circus-ing, hanging out with the family and friends, seeing Miss Saigon with Em B (it was good!) and, most recently, going up to the cottage for the long weekend (*sighs happily* I love tubing. And the hilariousness of our family... especially the younger set). And that brings us up to now, when I should really deal with the fly/maggie/banana situation and then head off to bed. The former of which, oddly still hasn't managed to kill off my general love of life ;).
*hugs and love to all - yes, even the maggies*

Weather to Blog, or not to Blog, that is the question

Having contemplated it several times over the past week, I decided that today shall be the day I finally get around to blogging - it just seemed like such a lovely blustery morning to do it (that having been said, morning somehow appears to have escaped me and afternoon is fast approaching). I just love blustery mornings (particularly when I'm all cosy and warm inside) they remind me of fall (which it is quite clearly not at the moment, Oh my gosh, the weather we've been having lately has just been phenomenal, so gorgeous and sunny and summery! Well, apart from the minor blip where it snowed in between two days in their gorgeous teens and the hail storm we got on my birthday (Yay! Hail!). I even have a tan already! And I didn't even try!). The best part of blustery days though, is that they remind me of Winnie the Pooh and the several stories about him which begin that way, and that makes me happy :).

So odd. The amount of time I spend talking of the weather... *shakes head in distress* I noticed this the other day. It's like ever since having spent so long in England, I feel like it's the only appropriate topic of conversation! I've totally forgotten how to converse with people!!! Gah! I used to be so good at drawing people out and asking the right questions and making conversation so that no one ever felt awkward but I've totally forgotten how!!! I'm just too scared to broach any potentially dangerous topics! Why? I don't know. *wrinkles nose* Oh, I'm still perfectly capable of playing a crowd in social situations and mingling quite happily and talking with long established friends is still easy enough - though I do find myself awkwardly looking for topics of conversation more often than I used to... People here are perfectly content to give you their opinion on anything/everything the second you meet them so why I should expect them to be as reticent as the Brits, I have no idea... urgh. So difficult! *shakes head* must work on this. Talking is what I'm good at.. must regain former competence!

*laughs* ah well, what can you do... right! Updates :D! Let's see, where did we leave off... Ah, yes, reading week & the Olympics! After spending some time in the basement with our skeleton - he was an adorable old man who lived for a remarkably long time (I think the documents, once we were finally allowed to see them said 87!) giving the extent of the pathologies on him! His poor collar bone! and sternum! and ribs! and left hip socket! and spine! and elbow! and, omg *shakes head* I do not want to see what my skeleton is going to look like when I'm that old... for that matter, I'm kind of scared to know what it looks like now! - it was time for the Olympics to begin :D! We kicked of the event in proper style with an Olympic openning party at our place during which we somehow managed to fit 20-some-odd people in our teeny-tiny living room -thank you Evan for fixing the tv so we actually got ctv :D! Omg, sooo good! I lovew the olympics soo much!!! and these ones were just so magical despite the tragedy they started off with and the general lack of snow. So many great stories, and wins, and near wins, and performances and Jamie Sale and David Pelletier terrorising tourists and the Brian Williams meat Brian Williams thing. lol! The last few days especially were just incredible! and winning that Hockey Gold (or both of them rather :) ). Well let's just say I still get shivers just thinking about it :). Aghh! most intense game ever... so many near heartattacks there! So great though :). It really was just incredible - even if I did have to suffer through Jess and Em calling me repeatedly from various venues around vancouver to brag ;P - just kidding, I love you guys, really. Oh! and Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir's dancing! Incredible!!!! so was Yu-na Kim's. but really Virtue and Moir were just breathtakingly gorgeous *sighs happily* and Moir's antics in general were great "we came in second - no I'm just kinding, we won!" lol. Sooo good! The Olympics just make me so happy! I love them so much :D. Our closing ceremonies on the other hand... lol. I swear the rest of the world was sitting there watching going 'I don't get it...' but I really did like how they had the mime bring up the last arm of the cauldron so Catriona LeMay Doan could finally get to light hers :) - so happy making!
In the midst of all this, it was time to head off skiing with the gifted boys and Wendy (who is leaving for vancouver for ever and ever on wednesday - noooo, Wendy, don't gooo!!!!) up at Blue. Sooo much fun, with lot's of hilarity ensuing :). Honnestly, I think Wendy and I may have been the only people NOT to blow dry our hair *shakes head* plus. trying desparately to lose at poker so I could go to bed and still managing to clean most of them out was pretty fun - as was the rediculousness of watching them get up early in the morning so that they could play computer games :P.

Next it was time for a crazy few weeks involving getting all my work done, presenting at the Medusa series, marking proposals, tests and papers, attending various seminars, going to the movies, hanging out with friends, dancing and playing soccer as per usual, end of term/year parties and just generally having fun :). My 22nd birthday was fairly uneventful (apart from the hail!) as I spent the time writing an 20 page essay, but all in all, it was still pretty good :). I have to say, I really really enjoyed TAing - yes, even the essay marking. In fact, I kinda really enjoyed the essay marking part too :D. And I really hope I get to do it again next year! Anyhow, all I have left now is my MRP/thesis-y thing (which I still haven't settled on - no worries, there's still time ;) ) and one more IR course and then I'm done - YAY!!!!. The best of the seminars was definitely the one organised by the other MAIR students (which took place on a crazy filled weekend which also included protoring an exam and seeing Jane Goodall speak live - she's so very British!!!). The conference was on negotiation in IR and there were some really great speakers - may favourite two of which were Brian Stewart who gave the key note address (I swear nothing major has occured in the last 50 years without his being there!) and Paul Heinbecker, former Canadian ambassador to the UN. Very interesting.

Yup, so, that brings us up to now :). OOh! I also got to re-see Kudelka's Swan Lake with Ma... I think I like it better now that I've gotten over my blind hatred for his choreography... I still say that this one has no emotion though... it's just... beautiful but not heartwrenching in any way really... it's so much less emotive than Bruhn's version. Linna and Ma both agree. The patterning is absolutely Stunning though! Oooh! also saw the mixed program they did in March with Ju... man is 24 preludes by Chopin weird... it was kinda cute in an awkward way though... and a number of them made me laugh. Suite of Dances was adorably good though :). And four Seasons was stunning as always... though I swear they added more intricacy too it and made it even better! Soo ecited for Onegin in June now! they have the pictures from the model sets up in the studios down at walter carson and they look amazing! Just took ma to see GlenGary GlenRoss by Soulpepper as an early morther's day present since I wont be around (aka she blackmailed me into it ;) ) last night and the acting was incredible - so believable! Hmm what else? can't remember if I mentioned it before but Sound of Music with Papa earlier this year was also amazing! there was one scene in which the captain looking bashful did exactly what Langan does when he's nervous - so unnerving!! Speaking of which, Congrats to all the boys for getting their engineering rings!!! and to everyone else who is now officially done their undergrad for that matter!!!! Yay-ness :D! I'm no longer alone!!!! Well... not that I've technically graduated yet, but neither have they ;).

Uhoh! Time to get dressed and head out to Wendy's going away lunch (Noooo!) and then Nal's (and my) belated b-day dinner (Also, why is it now raining? I said lovely blustery day, not rainy day. Ah well, I suppose rain can be good too :P). Then it's off up north to re-cert my wilderness first responder this coming weekend, and then to England (with a minor 3 week stopover in Budapest, Vienna and Prague prior and some sticking around and travelling to as-of-yet unplanned destinations with Charlotte afterwards ;) ) in order to graduate the next :D. Wish me luck and the best of summer to you all!

And...

... I'm now officially old ;).

It's the OLYMPICS!!!!!!

Good luck Canada!!!!! :D.

Oh Deary Me, has it ever been a while ;)!

*shakes head in disbelief* I'm not sure if the above title is a reflection of my all-out and thourough enjoymet of life (and therefore lack of a need to blog about it... - definitely, but I blog anyway ;) ), the absence of any travels lately (and therefore lack of stuff to write about... well more than likely probably) or is a testament to just how busy I've been (and therefore a lack of time to blog about the busy-ness)... lets just go with all three shall we? After all, we all know they're all just excuses so I can feel better about not having blogged in forever :D.

and on that note A Very Happy (slightly belated) 7th (Yikes! - 7th?) Birthday to My Blog!!!!

*shakes head in laughter* Crazy, who would have ever thought that I, who hate writing so much (so much so in fact that it's a struggle to even spell the word correctly :P), would have ended up carrying on a blog for so long?! Then again, as the one dissenting voice in my head has just pointed out, given the frequency with which I actually post, maybe that's not so much of a surprise *wrinkles nose and glares the voice into submission* :P. Granted, I suppose when one considers that I also decided to do my undergrad in a place where I wrote non-stop... well.. yeah... there's just no accounting for me is there? *shakes head*..... hmmm *points to head shaking tendency* I should probably be careful about that... my head's so lose as it is and my brain so disconnected (or maybe it's too connected and that's my problem??? nah... more like there are so many loose ends that jiggling them results in completely unforseen pretty new patterns of thought and that's why no one can follow my thinking :D - it's reasoned and logical, I swear!!!!) that shaking so vigorously could be dangerous... then again, the resulting mess could also be fun :D.

lol, I'm not sure why (given the fact that I'm virtually drowning under the volume of work - Ox has nothing on UofT, I swear! Then again, the voluminous nature of my working and my subsequent drowning under it couldn't possbly be a direct result of the fact that rather than acting like a normal, sane, graduate student and taking only two or three graduate courses, I decided that four plus TAing plus 8-10 hours of dance plus playing pickup soccer in any free time I have plus attending seminars plus agreeing to present a paper at an informal department thing and trying to have a life all at the same time would be much more fun to do - actually, it kinda is :D. I can't really lie, I'm enjoying myself thouroughly!!! So much fun!!! And all my readings are interesting! and my classes are cool... and I'm such a nerd aren't I??? teehee *shakes head* I so wouldn't have it any other way *grins widely*... right, now, where was I??? Oh, yes!) but I feel like I have this lovely glow of love for the world surrounding me right now. Do concussions do that to you??? One of the guys at soccer ran full-on into my forhead when I was trying to block him the other day and I got a big bump *pouts* not that it's noticeable, but it kinda hurts... also, why am I always the only/one of the only girls??? It's co-ed soccer and it ends up being just me and like 30 boys... it does make a nice change from the female-dominance at the studio though! and in anthropology for that matter! *smiles happily and shrugs* ah, who knows, I just feel happy *sends out hugs and love to anyone who might be reading this at the moment whatever that moment may be, regardless of whether or not she herself is still feeling that lovely glow when this gets read.* .. aww heck, why not just send out the love and hugs to everyone and all right now... I really must have hit my head hard musn't I? *shakes head*
... actually... on that note, why do people do or say negative things??? there's so much negativity in the world and it's so just... not happy... ...why???
lol! *points to above* man, I donno what it is, (definitely getting hit in the head) but I sound like a 5-yr-old hippy... it's kinda nice actually :D. You gotta like getting that childish demeanor back :).

Speaking of injuries, I can't believe I managed to tear my hamstring again (for the second time in my life - same side too, only this time higher up, like right where it joins in the bum... and really deep in - also, in the same way as before - doing the splits, only this time I rolled into them wrong after having done them several times already that day *pouts*). That was in September and it's been a long slow healing process getting it back (not that I ever stopped dancing - I mean come on, it's me ;). I was back dancing on it (badly) pretty instantaneously after I did it - I couldn't do very much though) but it's getting there! In fact, I think it may even be a stronger than ever (though the flexibility still isn't quite back yet... I'm still an inch or two off the splits (when extremely warm) and can't support extensions much above 90 - but then, flexibility never really was my strong suit ;) ) thanks to a little physio (and I do mean a little... I think I made it to slightly over 3 appointments in 5 months? :S - they were really good & helpful though!)... but yeah, so that's good news! And I'm really loving the chance to dance with some of the former National Ballet Dancers/teachers - so many of them are such incredible teachers (and dancers - omg, I remember loving watching some of them on stage!) and watching them dance/demonstrate things is incredible!!! That and the level of talent from the people in the advanced classes is insane! Amazing!!!! *shakes head* If a tear wasn't enough, I rolled my foot the other week falling out of a turn (naturally still on the left side... probably admittedly due to the weakness there :P) ... I iced it right away and was good to it though! (and by that I mean I waited a few dozen minutes and warmed it up thouroughly before continuing to dance on it ;) ) but my physio said it might be fractured as well as slightly sprained (I doubt it... I played soccer 3 times and danced 5 times in the 2 weeks in between doing it and seeing her...) so I'm just being a good girl and icing and pretending that's not the case, I honnestly don't think I could survive taking any more time out with injury... school work with no release would drive me crazy!

As to that, being back in T.O has been... good...really. I'm actually kinda really enjoying settling into one place again and having all my connections and seeing all my friends (which I do get to do despite all my work :P). Living with em is really fun too, and it's really nice to be able to go do things over the weekend (not that I often have time to anymore :P) if I really want to. This term has actually been better than last term in that respect (not the weekend one, the one prior). Although I've had much more work (I'm not sure how, really, I had four courses last term too :P) I just seem to be living more somehow, having more energy, getting out more... reading fewer novels (I was doing 3 a week last term!) but that's okay, I'll catch up over the summer :)! lol, maybe it's that I'm actually re-engaging with the world around me (I say that like I stopped... maybe engaging more is a better way of phrasing it), plus getting to run around with boys at soccer has helped with energy levels *grins*, that and I think I just needed a re-adjustment period, both for my brain and socially/toronto-ially... (no, that's not a word, but I know what I mean so ;P)... in some ways last term kept feeling like I was on haitus, waiting to return to Ox in the fall... At any rate, school's been good :D, this term especially. So, yeah, to those who have been asking: I'm definitely glad I'm back :)!

Let's see excitement-wise other than school, what have I been up to??? Not much really... there was cousin Kimmy's wedding in the fall, which was fun 'cause I got to dance with all the older folks who really knew how to twist :D. that and Papa and I got to have fun Vienese waltzing and Tarantella-ing around the floor much to my delight. Why don't they teach boys my age to dance properly??? sooo much fun!!!!!!! plus, they always all end up watching jealously from the sidelines *shakes head* what else???? OOoh yummy pumpkin pies for eating :D (and then pumpkin muffins when em decided to kill our decorative pumpkin so she could get at the seeds ;)), getting out to nuit blanche with Nal and Ju and David, Seeing the latest cirque show - Ovo was so good!!!!, escapades with Jess - seeing multiple movies, getting to see 'my mother's lesbian jewish wiccan wedding' which was hilarious, feeling remarkably like a closet door (you know who you are! ;) ), taking all the cousins on a massive family & friend outing to see New Moon and laughing so hard we drove all the the other girls watching nuts, getting to see Sleeping Beauty with Linna and the New ballet by Azure (which was so good!) with ma, various parties, baking cookies for the Anthro Grad Union Wine and Cheese and actually managing to come up with a delicious recipe capturing the flavour of Christmas (they were orange-and-craisin-and-milkchochip-and-spice(nutmeg/cinnamon/ginger) cookies, they were yummy :D), taking Trina, Jess and Zia Diana flying for the first time which was awesome and volunteer gift wrapping for epilepsy at STC. Oh! And I managed to do the CNTower climb with David and some of his friends back in October for the first time in 3 years (yes, with my torn hamstring :p) . I did it in 23.06 - not my best, but still pretty damn good!!! :D. What else??? OOOoooooh!!!!! I also got to see the Olympic flame when it came through T.O :D!!!!!!!! Sooo awesomely happy!!! that said, we waited outside in the freezing cold for about1.45mins 'cause it was late :P but still sooo coool!!!! So excited for the Olympics in February :D!!!! hmmm I think then it was on to Christmas and seeing the family which was awesome, having a violent bout of food poisoning/stomach flu in between then and New Years, which was not so fun, getting to play football with the boys (and not getting injured this time... though watching ed repeatedly take himself out on the ice was pretty funny ;) - lmao! that and watching Thomas drive onto the ice covered track so he could drift the car around the corners *shakes head* ) seeing all the gifties again at Milani & Thomas' bday... then came Julia's visit and skiing up north :D!!! lol, priceless we figured out that David is essentially another me and Julia another Langan, which was pretty darn priceless (speaking of which, congrats to all the people *coughsLanganCeilidhVincecoughs* who got into Law School!!!) and then showing Julia around T.O before she left (which defeinitely involved Julia using David's free pass, which we got for climbing before 7am because he's insane and made us, to get up the CNTower for free :D) and going to the bata shoe museum and playing around on the cast of Lucy's prints, going on Kat and my's epic-post-x-mas-shopping spree :D, the odd get-together/pub night, getting together a bunch of the gifties for dinner with Mrs.B. which was awesome (even if I had to organise it so I'd be late just so it could fit with everyone else's schedules ;)), then last weekend was Kat's crazy-limmo-involving bday with Sara's uber-good tasting jello-shots with actual fruit in them (Steve take note ;P) and yeah... that brings us up to now :D.

lol... hmm... a now which is conveniently also probably bed time as I get to spend tomorrow trying to profile our skeleton in the basement of the anthro building with Renee :D. See you at the end of this work-filled period. Much love.

Back!

Wow! So it's been a while since I last updated... ('cause I've never started a blog post like that before ;).) ... Lesse where to begin??? After the end of exams there were two beautiful weeks spent lazing around Oxford soaking up the sun, playing frisbee, showing Julianne around when she came to visit, not showing Linna arond when she couldn't make it (:( ), going to the pub, having schools dinner with Stan and Mark and Nick and Neil, having the final dinner with all of the ArchAnther's, watching Lisa get her top first (CONGRATULATIONS!!!) and having my results predictions vindicated ;), going out, playing in the parks, seeing all my friends and sorting out the last of what was my life in England. *shakes head* I don't think there's any way to put in words how much I loved that house (thank you paul and janice!), and the back yard and just living there and how much I'll miss it and the books and the green of the parks and *sighs happily* It was definitely three years well spent and I will miss you all very dearly - Charlotte and Tabby, Julia and Claire Reid and Phil (no David, you don't count as I will still be seeing you for the rest of the comming year ;P), Mark and Simon and Ewen (and posibly even simmo), El (even though I had better be seeing you whenever you come over to Ottawa :P!) Caroline and Lisa, Jo Salter and Claire Love, Jess Daggers and Henry Fisher, Henry Wilman, Jess Evans and Lucy, Chris Allen, Matt Ashworth and 'the History Girls' Rosie, Shaz, Anne, Leah and Hannah and so many many many more, all of the second years who formed W3, Alya, Charlie D, vicky and Sian (who wasn't in W3 'cause she was better than us but I supose we can forgive her), Qu and my adopted college families, simon-my-son, amelia and avi, my tutors, my fellow dancers (aww, Emily I'm so gonna missing laughing with you in class! and Trevor and Henry and just so many people!) and Yuka who taught me so much and helped me improve my dancing by such a great amount!!! and even still more people after that, everyone in Hertford really, both in years above an below and, :'( I really am going to miss you all so everyone had better keep in touch!!!

Right, after the end of term came one of the most fun trips ever as Ju and I travelled around the balkans celebrating our finishment of degrees :D. We started off in Bulgaria stopping in Sofia and Rila for some hiking and post-finals relaxation time - such a pretty city where we met the most amazing 14-year-old with flawless english who helped us find our way. Next it was overnight train to Beograd in Serbia with it's delicious food and late night bohemian quarter. Also with it's crazy hostel workers and their stories of soft bellied squirrels who live in the citadel ;). The overnight train was soo cool!!! it was like going back in time - sooo awesome :D! Belgrade was pretty awesome too, and it was especially neat to see the confluence of the danube and sava rivers. From there, we bussed it into Sarajevo where Ju and I decided we wanted to stay forever. Bosnia-Hertzegovina has some of the most beautiful landscape I have ever seen in my life!!! It's such a shame that unguided hiking is nearly impossible with all of the unretrieved land mines :S. The city too is absolutely incredible and we had so many awesome adventures. Getting lost trying to find Tariq's place and calling him to come pick us up at the information centre... again..., seeing the tunnels, making it in time for the opening of the summer arts festival and watching free opera and ballet - tat woman's voice was incredible! Being bought beer and ice cream and offered dinner by football scouts from Milan (one of whom we found out later was one of Ronaldino's best friends... *shakes head*) buying pink sunglasses (to match the stuffed monkey Ju brought in Belgrade and who followed us throughout) and just experiencing all the rich history - both extremely old and extremely recent - and cultural diversity of the place. Definitely somewhere I could enjoy for a long time. From there it was south to Mostar in Herzegovine to check out the reconstructed Stari Most bridge and the beauty that is the old town there (to say nothing of the amazingly breathtaking train ride in from Sarajevo). Ooh! and it was there we met Trevor, our crazy fellow cannuck :D OOh! *cracks up* it was also at this point that Julianne managed to get herself locked in a bathroom... well, the whole closed restaurant really, while we were out one night and I had to feed her beer through the keyhole with a straw :D *shakes head* soo much fun - I'm so mad I lost those pictures! Next we headed down into Kotor on the Montenegrin coast where we got to swim in a *dundundun* fjord (thereby making up for the fact that we hadn't gone to scandinavia as originally planned :D) and it wasn't just any fjord either, it was the biggest fjord in all of southern Europe, and boy was it ever pretty!!!! The town was gorgeous too. the Stari Grad (old town) in Kotor was just stunning with medieval walls built into the cliff face and a battlements going up quite a ways (which we natuarally hiked up one morning :D oooh! And we had these adorable puppys that led/followed us the whole way up!! soo cute, Ju shared her breakfast with them. I don't share my food ;).). From there it was onwards to Dubrovnik Croatia with our new found friends Kiyo and Lara. So amazing, we stayed in a lady's house outside the old town where we could easily walk to the limestone cliffs that served as the beach and dropped of into the crystal clear waters of the adriatic. They were stunning and, even more importantly, the water was just perfect, with enough wave to make bobbing and clinging to rocks one an awesomely fun time-passing activity :D. The Venetian trading city of dubrovnik itself was also gorgeous, called by lord byron 'the pearl of the adriatic' it's extensive walls were well worth the climb and trek around for their ever changing view. Uh! and the food, so glad we found Cafe Pupo and our amazingowner/waiter/manager/food suggester - best food ever! and all made by the 16yr-old chef he tried to set Ju up with ;) (that's okay, I can't say anything, later in the trip some guy tried to set me up with the ear candler in the stall next to his at the market *shakes head*). From there were hopped on the ferry up to Split where I positively fell in love with the incongruity of the modern shops filling the winding medieval warren of streets which filled in and spilled out of Diocletian's ancient palace. Amazing! and there was another beach to boot! (and another free ballet as I got to watch the open air rehearsal of Carmina Burana by the national theatre - so good!). From there it was on to Zadar and then home with a brief stop in Ox to go to ballet and pick up my stuff. On the way to Zadar however we made a quick stopover in the Plitvice Lakes National Park. omg, I don't think I can express the beauty of the place in words. It's just an endless series of watersfalls. waterfalls after waterfalls after waterfalls of every shape size and description formed by the spilling over of five mountain lakes and their layered travetine terraces, and not only that but their are fish swimming in the clear blue and aquamarine waters flitting in and out of the calcified remains of trees and reeds and surrounded by the lushest most green boreal forests - just incredible. I spent 8 solid hours hiking around all of the lakes, it was amazing. Zadar was pretty cool too, very much an austro-hungarian feel in contrast to the mediteranean feel of the coasts but still very very neat... I especially liked how they tended to combine pedestrian and tram thuroughfares ;). All in all a very very awesome trip - and I even learnt how to count and say simple things in the Serbo-Croatian languages!!! :)

Oh, dear... hmmm I suppose I have a lot more to update given that that only brings us to about mid July, but school has now started and I seem to have been living off minimal amounts of sleep lately so methinks it is well past my bedtime...

That said, maybe I have time for one more update.

Coming home (home! I'm back in Toronto!!! For Good (-ish)!!!! if the next two years can be counted as for good and, in my case, I'm pretty sure they can ;) - oooh! In other news, I (finally) got my Italian citizenship officially recognised. Now that I'm no longer living in Europe of course ;).) I made it back in time (wow, that was one of my customary long-ish digressions) for my cousin's wedding - and what a wedding it was! It must have costed well over half a million dollars, running from 10am-2am with over 400 guests and an unending supply of food, alcohol (including some of the most expensive champagne and wine I've ever seen) and live entertainment I think Nal was right in suggesting it wasn't a wedding, it was a full on event. I think the Luncheon at the bride's family's with the delicious food, live oldies, ice cream truck and stunning garden (and that was pre the reception with the sushi bar, antipasto buffet,four course meal, extensive desserts and midnight pizza bar) was definitely my favourite part :D! That said mine and trina's tango was pretty darn awesome ;).

From there it was up to the cottage for a week with Papa where I got to play on the Water trampoline with Vanessa and Keith and their friends and relieve my childhood with Matt as we went tubbing for several hours straight (and didn't try to kill each other. What do you know, we may have learnt civility with age after all... nah, he just wanted his cookies ;)). Since then, summer's continued on it's pretty awesome trend, learning economics (totally still falls under this category...), spending time with nick and kat (though not nearly enough), going to Wonderland with the cousins, hanging out with Ju (who then disappeared to get even more tanned in Jamaica :P), seeing Jessiann (and Marc!!! ), spending time with Em B (yay!, I've missed you, have fun in BC!), having indian food with the gifties, moving in with Em H (our place is soooo awesome!!! she has the best taste in appartments ever!!! so loving it! especially our orange and pink and blue and green and brown and white living room :D), playing football (but only one game, what's up with that??), playing in the wadding pool with El when she came and going to Niagra Falls with her and Jess Daggers and meeting up with Jon there and going on the Maid of the Mist (Yay! finally!!!) and introducing Jess to all the joys that are Candian things and taking Jess and David hiking along the Bruce trail up in Collingwood and going to the Ex and watching the airshow and seeing Elvis Stojko skate (*still in shock*), seeing Natasha and Rebecca off to university - I can't believe they've gone, younger cousins aren't supposed to grow up! and, yeah, just generally having an awesome time of it. *sighs hapily* and, so, I suppose that brings us up to now, with summer winding down and school starting and, yeah daunting but exciting, I think I'm looking forward to it, but I may be a little to tired to know.

G'night and much love,
~Ally

To Finishing

AKKKKKKK!!!!! OMG, I feel so OLD!!! I can't believe I'm done my undergrad!!!!! Done, finished, finito!!! I swear it was just yesterday I was finishing high school!!!! (which would completely explain why I seem to keep thinking I'm 18, but fails miserably at explaining where on earth the past three years have gone!!)

lol, it's been great! This term has been awesomely fun so far, North Wales with Lisa and the British Prehistoric Society in 1st week (man are there ever a lot of Neolithic stone cairns in Wales!) then up to the Welsh Borders to film a mini doc on Offa's Dyke for the National Geo website with the Back to Africa team (so much fun, if pretty darn cold) and then just chilling around Ox, enjoying the sun, playing some frisbee, having a few BBQ's, practicing handstands in the park, punting - the usual :D (and, of course, revising - lying on the lawn tanning with my notes beside me totally counts, right? ;) ) Sooooo much fun though, I really am gonna miss it when I'm gone (despite it being England... and the rain.) Can you beleive that after weeks and weeks of non-stop nice-ness and warmly heated temperatures it has the termitity to rain today?!?!- Today of all days!!! The day I finish my finals!!! Lol, S'ok, I might be a little more genuinely mad if I hadn't been taking advantage of it the whole time ;). *Shakes head* - whoops that sent some baby/talcum powder flying!!! lol, finishing was definitely fun as Lisa and I got trashed with heart shaped confetti, silly string, glitter, leies, flowers and balloons when we came out with our red carnations :D. we also got covered in talcum pwder and hot chocolate though *wrinkles nose* Teehee...

But yeah, this term's been fun - the whole thing has been really - Awww, I can't believe it's almost over! 2 more weeks and we're officially done!

*sighs* ah well... something tells me I should probably go shower and get all the white out of my hair :P. Muchos love!!!

The Settling in of Old Age

*glances upwards* well now, that's a rather ominous title... *shakes head* It's strange really though... I'm starting to find I can't remember at all what it was like to be younger than I am now (that being said, I keep forgetting how old I actually am and seem to continuously think I'm 18 - odd given that when I was 18 I kept forgetting that I wasn't 16 :\.... hmmm, maybe I just mature slower than other people, after all, I apparently don't look any older than 16 (and act no older than 4 :P - a fact which was recently pointed out to me by my wonderfull and oh-so-loving friends at UofT *lovingly wrinkles nose in their general direction*) *nods sagely* yes, that must be it. The explanation is merely that I am a slower maturing brand of human. Which naturally means that, not only will I live longer but, according to the latest palaeoanthropological research suggests the development of a larger cranial capacity overall (well, if I were my own species that is... which I'm not *stares down all her friends who were about to suggest that that would explain a lot about her :P* ... It would be pretty cool to be your own species though wouldn't it??? well, apart from the fact that you wouldn't be able to interbreed with other people... on the other hand it does mean that you could safely assume you'd never have to go through pregnancy or labour... assuming of couse that you were a diferent species based on the biological species concept and not the - okay, I'll shut up now... ) lol, but I digress - and wildly so) *shakes head to clear some space for her previous line of thought*
It just seems so strange I remember not that long ago being able to remember clearly not only what I had thought at previous stages in my life, but how... I also remember thinking fiercely that I would never forget and wondering how anyone ever could... and now I barely even remember what I was thinking about. I look at my younger cousins who are now nearly 16, 13 and 12 and I just feel as though I have absolutely no concept (I feel significantly closer being able to place myself in the place of the nearly-18-year-olds but even that seems nearly foreign)... I don't really get it... they just seem so young and yet I know they're not, not really anyhow... not when I look back at all the stuff I was doing at that age, what I was capable of and what I know/vaguely remember thinking at those ages... it's so bizarre how something can just change you so much... but have I changed really? and what is it that's changed me? being away from younger kids for so long, surrounded pretty much only by people my age (and older) while at university, when I used to interact with people of all ages on a daily basis? Or is it the effects of the English culture? You know, it's funny. When you first meet the English people the stereotype of making sure to 'keep a stiff upper lip', of a cold and proud people on the aristocratic side, a hospitable one on the poorer (with aspects mixed in to some degree on both sides of that devide) and one which only really lets loose with the aid of alcohol in evenings spent with friends at the pub does seem somewhat apt, but then you get to know the people (once you get past the inevitable conversations about the weather, but even then there's still a buffer, people never really go for the truly personal - in contrast to Americans who seem to want to give you every grimey detail the second you meet them, therby truly offending many of the English ;) ) and they don't seem so bad and you start to think that it is really only a stereotype - and a potentially wrong one at that - based on past traits and not reflective of the present condition at all. The thing is, once you're here long enough, or you travel between the cultures enough times, you realise that it is a fairly accurate representation... oh, the truth is much more subtle than the stereotype but it is a distinctively different culture (especially in contrast to the mediterrenean cultures I grew up with and the Indian and Asian cultures I was constantly surrounded by) and one which I don't find to be altogether healthy (not that I'm advocating the spill-it-all-over america culture, 'cause really that's just scarily over the top in the oposite direction) No, I think what has been truly been brought home to me (not that I didn't know it before, so maybe it was more re-afirmed than brought home) is just how much I love the more calm and middle-of-the-road Canadian culture - especially the amazingness of the Torontonian culture which allows for such an incredible mix of everything without somehow forcing anything to be lost - oh there are cultural compromises but they seem to be on a case by case level so that most things are preserved somehow, even if only in taught memory... *smiles* I donno, I guess I miss the mediterranean cultural aspects as well but at least I can escape to places like Portugal in Europe to get those ;)...

...I guess, overall, what I'm trying to say is that even though Oxford has been amazing - the access to books (it's been like some awesome three-year-long-reading-and-dancing holiday *sighs happily*) and the sheer volume of available knowledge in the form of tutors, friends and visiting speakers has been incredible; I can't even begin to express how great it's been to having Yuka's ballet teaching for the past three years, being constantly surrounded by the beauty of the architecture and the gardens, meadows, rivers and other gorgeous features (the nicely temperate weather hasn't been too hard to cope with either ;) ), or how awesome its been to be able to run around playing sports from football to frisbee, punting and learning how to row; and all the friends I've made and how much I'm going to miss them (and despite the English 'cold fish' stereotype, I have made quite a few - there are always exceptions to the rule, and even when there aren't, some people are still pretty cool *grins* ) - I am going to be really glad to be going home in the fall. It'll just be so nice to be able to settle back in to a culture I'm used to, one which I understand and one in which everyone is expected to be different, to have different cultural mores and attitudes *sighs* I guess that's why it's home :).

lol, and after another long digression, I return once again to the topic of age-empathy :P. *shakes head and laughs* I'm not really sure where I was going with that one, It just seemed so strange to me to suddenly feel so distant from my youthful self. Though I guess it wasn't really sudden, but that change does seem to have happened over the past three years or so *shakes head* ah well, maybe I'll regain it if I imerse myself in children when I get home :P... the weirdest part about it is that in some ways I do feel like exactly the same person, that I haven't changed... or at least I feel that way when I go home... here I feel slightly more... withdrawn? individual? english?... lol, maybe it is the culture... or maybe it's that over here I'm alone without a network of friends and family built up through infancy so it's almost as though I don't have a history or established place to link back to... I don't really know but it's interesting to think about... I guess I know I have changed in someways, I can see it in my demands for more... personal freedom? that's not really right... it's more like freedom from societal obligations... it's like I refuse to want or recognise any obligations/responsibilities of that sort... almost as though I feel them pressing on me so much more than I ever did before... that I see them as being something unwanted, bad, not related to the self in a way I never would have before... in a way that's almost dissengaged... it must ultimately be a product of completely uprooting and restablishing myself in a new network without so much depth though... same as anyone establishing themselves individually elsewhere I guess... I suppose self:society should never be a dicotemy. It should always be a balance... yeah, it'll be nice to re-sink my roots *grins* maybe it'll make me slightly less esoteric in my blog-topic choices as well ;)

I suppose that brings me on to updates, what with all the cryptic comments about returning home in the fall ;)? Ooh! Speaking of updates (last digression, I promise!) I love how I went from obsessing about the fact that I wasn't updating daily in the blogs first year (*looks sheepish* yeah, I was rereading old blog posts... vain in someways I admit, but it was in an honest attempt to remember what was going through my head in those days (answer = not much it would seem, I sound like a whiney spoiled brat... which I supose in some ways I was but, ultimately I think that's more a reflection on what I chose to blog than on what exactly was going through my head :P) ... actually it's kind of interesting when you think about what people choose to blog about, the tone they choose to take and when they choose to blog... what does that tell you about them? Does an analysis of that sort actually tell you more about them than the the actual content? Or does the choice of the reader to read certain blogs tell you more about them than the blog tells about it's actual writer? Or does not of this really even matter given that it's a digression of a digression (and thus doesn't count toward my digression count :P)?) right, returning to the topic of postage (not that it actually matters) I love how I went from nearly weekly postage in the first year to barely biannual postage in the subsequent years (hey, I have been getting better though!) *shakes head* possibly because no one actually cares, but then, who says you have to post for someone anyhow ;). (on a side note, a happy very belated 6th birthday to my blog!)

Hmmm... I should probably get dressed for dance shortly... and have done work at some point this morning (whoops!). Ah well, it was only me wanting to work and not a deadline anyhow :P.

But yes, I did return home for a brief spell during the Easter break (and got snow! in April *shakes head* remind me again why I'm going back to toronto? Not that I don't love snow... and not that I'm not thankful to whoever it is that controls the weather for saving it up over March so that I could have just a little snow as a delayed birthday present when I got home in April (yes, that is why it snowed in April :P, nothing to do with random chance and weather patterns, nothing at all... ) but still!) lol, Easter was lovely (english-ism!) though and I got to see/spend time with all the family as well as hanging with friends, getting to go to my first jewish Seder (thanks Jess!), buying new books and managing to catch up (to some degree) on missed movie-watching oportunities :D. Portugal prior to that was also awesome. Lisbon was Gorgeous! I loved the absolute hilliness of it, the rediculously golden-gate-like bridge, the small winding streets with tiled and pastel-coloured houses, the sea-food, the beach at cascais (the Atlantic is cold! -unsurprisingly really :P), the rediculous butchery-like prunounciation of a romance language, the old castle with it's piroscope thingy for sieng the whole city, the wonderful kindness of the people, everything about Belem and, of course, the three pasteis do nata (aka custard tarts) we ate each day :D. Porto was pretty darn amazing too with its steep cliffsides bordering the river Douro, medeival semi-alpine village feel and endless supply of free Port at the Port lodges (we didn't get drunk in the middle of the day on free Port, 85cent pink Pink Port and a cup of really yummy port (white for me, tawny for Charlotte) with chocolate... oh, no, of course not :P). *grins* Portgal is absolutely incredible though, *sighs dreamily* I would love to live in Lisbon :), and I would definitely recomend it as a place to go! and their signs!!! The archaeology department in Lisbon has done such an incredible job at putting clear and descriptive signs up in both Portuguese and English; and the level of the language used is just incredible!! *sighs again happily*

Anyhow, after that and before heading briefly back to Oxford to pack and get home, I spent another day at Charlotte's baking cookies and figuring out how to make the Pasteis do Belem that we loved so much. *grins* They were yummy.

What?... Wait, Why?... Oh, yeah! Of course... going home ;), well, y'see, looks like I will be heading to UofT in the fall to do an MSc in BioAnthro alongside a collaborative program in International Relations (MAIR) *grins* I've already turned down my Oxford acceptance so now all there is left to do is finish my degree here (aka, do my exams) and get a 2.i (hopefully as easy as it sounds...) :D!

SPRING!

(Or that's what it feels like anyways :) 'sides, I thought I'd continue on with the seasonsal theme)

It's all nice and sunny and May-like here *grins* soo not conducive for the finish-ment of work - something which fortunately isn't a problem for me since I'm finished *grins even wider* Yup, that's right, done, completed, finito! (well, bar my exams in May which count for 100% - but those hardly count do they? :P)

SO, naturally as I was lying on my desk (what?! it's the perfect sunning spot!) wondering what on earth to do with myself (such a difficult life, I know -teehee) the thought 'hmmm... Whoops, it's been a while since I last updated' came meandering through my head like a refreshing stream on a warm summer's day (an entirely appropriate analogy, I assure you *looks severe and English teacher-like (though why that should necessarily be a severe look given that the last 2 English teachers I had were much more fun than severe I don't quite know - never-the-less...)*)
So, yeah, Here's to updating!

Christmas was fun - there was, in fact, snow - beginning just as I got home and morphing into several large and powdery snowfalls perfect for some skiing up north in collingwood with friends over New Years :D - soo much fun (even if Langan was there ;) ) and for playing football in the snow with the guys (and having your wrist practically broken 'cause they 'forgot you were a girl' *wrinkles nose and glares* heehee, I still miss you guys though :P).

Lesse, what else was there. Not that much to report really... had fun while at home, wrote my applications, hung out with friends and just generally relaxed...

This term has been absolutely awesome soo far - Sooooo Much Fun :D! Performed in a week-long run of a dance show last week (and had an awesomely fun party/going out dancing evening after the last performance on the saturday :D) got out to London to see Quidam (soooo amazing *sighs* I love cirque). Performed dance in a mall last weekend for the launch of the Oxford Dance Festival (soo funny, have not done that in forever). Had finalists fling (which I joined late due to performing - ahhh!!! I can't believe I'm a finalist!!! I can't believe I'm practically done!!! Noooo, I'm too young to not be a student!!! I still love learning and and school and fun and not working and just studenty things. Must. Not. Leave. Yet!!!!) Got invited to CJF Dinner with the other Arch & Anther's for the first time ever and had an awsome time dancing on tables in Hall and just generally keeping up Charles James Fox's impeccable reputation for druken debauchery *grins*. OOOh! Finally made it to a Union Ball, this one 50's themed (Perfect!) at which I consumed copious amounts of fairground food (including cotton candy) and had a great time dancin' the night away to oldies and.. yeah... have just had a generally great term hanging out with friends, having free time to actually go about doing things (like listening to and meeting Dunbar!!! Yay!) and soaking up/enjoying my last bits of time here at Oxford *sniffsniff* It really has been awesome and I'm soo gonna miss it here when I leave!!! That said, term's not quite done yet and I am staying here for the great majority of the break so I don't need to worry yet!

But yeah, the rest of term is looking like it should shape up well, I have to bind and hand in my thesis, enjoy my time reading educational books and spend my time soaking up the sun - OOOh! and going to portugal for a week with Charlotte for our 21st Birthday presents to ourselves *grins*!!!

Hope everyone's having an awesome time!
Much Love!

WINTER!!! (and Ally wants snow ;) )

Heehee, yup, just got back from skiing in Val Thorens - and it was Ama-zing :D. Sooo much fun! I swear Varsity Trip gets better every year!!! We had clear days and snowwy days and SNOW!!! Lots and lots of Snow!!!! The skiing was amazing! Got to do some of the off piste I never got around too last year as well as improving my speed and technique on piste (thank you Ewen :D) and just yeah - soooooo much fun *grins* - oooh! and I got to go down the race course doing the combi (with gates and jumps :D ) a few times which was awesome! (even if my times weren't ;) )... heehee, yup! Ooh! and mini-snowball fights and rolling down mountains and playing spoons and silent discos and incessant jokes about every imagineable type of mump :P *shakes head* tooo funny, I so don't know what I'm gonna do without you guys next year, such a great room! (though I'm shocked at myself for not taking any pictures!!! *shakes head in despair* how come you always forget to take pictures when you're having too much fun????)

Anywho, back in Ox now to pick up all my stuff (and see Flashdance :D) on my way home! (there had better be snow *glares at the supposed raininess* grrrrr) - Stopped at Charlotte's on the way and had an awesome time baking (but not making (teehee)) a gingerbread house and just being there :D.

Awww, Overalll this was such a great term! Did loads of stuff, got to meet and chat to Moazam Begg, which was incredible and go to an 'end of the world is nigh' forum and just fool around and have fun working and writing my dissertation and hanging out with friends... yupyup, definitely an awesome term *grins*

hmm, best be off to go cook and change for the show!
Merry Chritmas/Happy Holidays to all!!!!
muchos love
xx

Obama Won, Obama Won, Obama Won!!!
*dances around in her happiness*

heehee, yup, definitely still on a high from staying up to watch on tuesday - It was Incredible.
To think that only two years ago I was convinced that none of us would ever try to do anything, that we were all just too apathetic, to see that people who had never voted before actually believed enough and to go out and reclaim their country... that was amazing.

I can't wait to see how the world changes over the next four years *shakes head* and no one can say it wont, just look at how much it changed under Bush!

*wanders off still singing and dancing*

Sooo, poor little Ally was just sitting here with nothing to do (WAIT! - wow, how often does that happen??? Ally??? nothing to do??? *shakes head*... that one's gotta be documented for the history books :P ... the most shocking bit is that she genuinely has nothing to do - not nothing she wants to do - just, nothing to do... well... I suppose she could sit around and mope about the fact that evil-scary-souless-Harper just got voted back into power to rule (read, ruin) her country in a minority government - AGAIN. But that's just not pleasant to think about now is it *shudders*) *a moments pause where the non-ramble-y bit of Ally's brain glares at the bit responsible for the seguay, before continuing on with what it was saying before* so, naturally, she decided to post. :D

*Points to bit above* Wow, that was a long title...
Right. Moving swiftly along... lesse, what is there to update in the life of Ally? Term started as-per-usual, on the Sunday of the Thanksgiving weekend - only this time, tragedy struck! There was no word from the Canadian Society about their annual Pumpkin Pie, Timmy's and Hockey-fest to start off the year! Naturally, something had to be done. So, Ally, who had at this point already been in Oxford for two weeks writing up the research from her dessertation (nope, that's not a spelling error ;) and just generally hanging around and doing stuff during fresher's week, decided to bake!!! *grins* I made four pumpkin pies last wednesday and they didn't even last a week before they were all eaten!!! In fact, most of them were gone by the end of the day :P. The best bit was definitely making them though, what with me grating cinnamon sticks with a cheese grater and Julia whipping the egg whites by hand - with a fork no less!!! Heehee *giggles* They were yummy (as my pies always are ;) Hopefully I'll be able to find some more pumpkin in Oxford so that I can bake some more for the American Thanksgiving!!!

*Shakes head* yup, other'n that, and getting rediculously ill for a few days after getting back from my travels - Oh! And Papa's weekend visit to Ox and seeing Jersey Boys (which was AWESOME! I love Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons!) with him and Charlotte in London! Nothing much has been too exciting since my return... the trips which formed my 2-month long crazy adventure, however, were amazing :D!

Morocco was really cool - well, no, actually, it was absurdly hot ;) - and it was fun to be travelling with Nal (and Ma and John) again. We went everywhere well, 'cept the Rif, which wouldda been nice to see as well. We went to Casablanca, Rabat, Meknes (sooo my fav!), Fes, Merzouga, the Toudra Gorges, Ourzazat, Imlil, the Ait-Ben-Hadou Kasbah (Awesome!), Essaouira (the happy-hippy city!) and Marrakech - it was crazyli-fun and packed with stuff - wouldda been quite nice to have some extra days in some places but, overall a very cool trip. The food though, was quite possibly the best part. It was Incredible. I never realised how much I liked Moroccan food. Yummy :D. Ooh! ANd the trip into the Sahara was amazing! I never, ever want to sit on a cammel for over 3hrs, for 2 days in a row ever again though. never :P. The heat was insane during the day! It was 50-some-odd degrees!!! *shakes head* oh! but climbing the highest sand dune in Africa at a rediculous hour of the morining and sleeping outside on the roof and under the stars multiple times due to the heat were also amazing!

I have to say, Morocco was pretty cool, but the trip just kept getting better and better! After parting from John and Nal in Marrakech, Ma and I headed off to Turkey with a one night stop-over in Madrid. It was awesome, we got to the hotel - which was rather dissapointingly outside of the city - at 8pm - only to find that it was right next to a train line leading directly to city centre!!! So off we went exploring all of the sites of Madrid - and we managed to see most of them too! - before making it back to bed and waking up to travel onwards. Madrid is an incredible city. It's just gorgeous! I so wanna go back one day!!!

Turkey was equally, if not more amazing. Instanbul was just mind-blowingly awesome. We stayed right in the sultanahmet area near to the Topkapi Palace, the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. It was so unreal!!! We could even see them from our window!!! Instanbul marked my first ever passing into Asia with a cruise along and then a crossing over the Bosphorous straights *grins*! Istanbul really is amazing - definitely a place I wanna go back to... I'd place it nearly on level with Rome. And the people in Turkey!!! Their soo friendly!!! and the food is yummy too! And there are so many sights! After Istanbul ma and I headed on to Ephasus and Pamukale - which had the most incredible white travertine terraces! OMG, it was hilarious, from Pammukale we headed on to Cappadocia on an overnight bus only to arrive in what we thought was the middle of nowhere at four in the morning, fall asleep on a table in a coffee shop where the bus left us and get woken up by a man who owned the travel store next door and let us sleep on his couch *shakes head* it was too funny! awww, I love Turkey! Cappadocia was indescribable - it just had the most insane rock formations you could possibly imagine, and underground cities - and our hotel was in a cave!!! Next it was back to Istanbul for the night before parting ways and the beginning of the next half of my journey.

Jordan was amazing!!! And I got to go swimming in the dead sea!!!!!! *grins very very very widely* Aman was pretty cool. Travelling with Charlotte was awesome - so much fun!!! OOh! and going into Petra extra-early so that we had it (and the beduin) all to ourselves for several hours. and being led on top of the monastery because of it *grins innocently* and getting fee rides 'cause we were two girls and lots of yummy tea and *sighs* soo good. We also went to Wadi Rum for a night, which was equally as neat, before heading on to Aqaba for our crossing into Egypt! OMG! The Red Sea is amazing!!!!! I spent over 5 hrs snorkelling one day and saw fish and coral that I never thought I'd see without being able to scuba dive!!! Stunning. Oh! And we also got to climb Sinai for sun set, and see the burning bush, and the Suez Canal, and head onto Cairo to see the PYRAMIDS!!!! (to which I became rediculously addicted) and the Cairo Antiquities Museum which held the treasures of Tutankhamum and the mummy room and the Narmer Pallette - the Narmer Pallette!!! *jumps up and down excitedly*, and on to Aswan where we went swimming in the Nile, and played with baby crocodiles, and saw Abu Symbel and Philae, Onwards was 2 days on a feluca down the Nile (Ama-zing!!) and KomOmbo, and LUXOR (Thebes *grins*) and the West Bank!!!! and the Valley of the Kings, and Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple, and Dier el Bahri and Dier el Madina and the Ramasseum and the Seti I temple and the Collosi of Memnon and Medinat Habu and Gurna, but most importantly, the Winter Palace!! Into which Charlotte and I managed to get, be allowed to explore all of the famous fancy dinning rooms and have high tea *grins and sighs* sometimes I just love being a girl! Oooh! Next was Alexandria and her mediteranean charms (and pompey's pilar and her (new) library and her catacoms and numerous other sites ;) and then on to Siwa Oasis with the melted 13th century fotress of Shali and the Mountain of the Dead (Bones!!! :D) and the Temples of the Oracle and Amun, the innumerable springs and gorgeous saltwater lakes - and yummy yummy yummy dates :D!!! and then onto Bahariya and the Black and White Deserts, which were absolutely unbelievable, for some more camping out - they were incredible!!! Lastly, it was back to Cairo where we met up with Fady and had an awesome day with him visiting all of the Coptic sites and I managed to drag Charlotte to Saqarra and Memphis and Dashur!!! Dashur was awesome!!! And we even got to climb halfway up the Bent Pyramid (with a little bribing and some nicely directed smiles ;)!!!! Sooo much fun!

YupYup! So that was my crazy 3 continent-wide adventure! Marking my first entry into both Africa and Asia (Middle East really). It was just sooo amazing! And I've absolutely fallen in love with the Middle East- I want to go back!!! Travelling around during Ramadan was really neat too, lots of fun in the evenings! I'd just love to get to Syria! and more of Turkey, and Africa, and well, everwhere really, so that doesn't mark much of a change ;P.
Next adventures should be finishing my degree and skiing in the alps... after that, we'll see ;)!


PS. Links to Charlotte's videos of of our trips are at http://www.youtube.com/user/cisterland
PPS. She made me be serious! I was giggly most of the time (hence the shakiness of some of the filming :D)