Winter is in the air although some of us are still in denial. The house is absolutely freezing cold and I can feel the chill right down to my bones. I wrap myself in multiple blankets and layers to keep warm. Every warming, I refuse to leave the comforts of my blankets and make the mad dash to the bathroom. Changing out of my PJs into my clothes makes me cringe, just thinking of the goosebumps I’ll incur during the process. But still, I love being able to break out my coats and throwing them on. Snow is coming soon. It’s in the air.

I can’t believe how long it has been since my last update. I’m pretty certain I would have been in shorts and sandals when that was posted. How much has changed in the last little while, and most of it has stayed the same. I think I may have become a workaholic. Not so much that I’m at the office all the time (although with the season starting, that will soon become a reality), but when I’m not in the office, I don’t feel like going out and being social. There just isn’t enough time, enough energy or enough motivation to do anything. I’m selfish like that; I just want me time so I can stay at home and veg. And I feel guilty about it. Maybe it’s self-centered of me to think that people are actually missing my company but perhaps I will allow myself to think that is the case. If I keep saying ‘no’, people will stop asking and I don’t like the thought of that either.

See? There are still so many things I have to figure out from life.

Clearly, I am just thinking too long and hard about too many things. But if I don’t give my brain a good work out, it shall grow cobwebs and soon become just a figurehead in my existence. I need to stimulate it with made-up problems and conundrums. It’s so much better than exercising it by solving math equations and making it try to explain scientific anomalies…isn’t it?

Sometimes when I’m on my own just walking to and from the train station with just my music I like to think about what I would be like had I been born into a completely different situation. For example, what if I had been born to a rich Texas oil tycoon or hard-working farmers in the Australian outback. Or, what if I was born to a young single mother who simply couldn’t cope and left me on the door step of a convent and the kind Sisters there raised me as one of their own. I would know nothing about the outside world. How would I react to seeing a computer for the first time?

In short, my brain is kind of scary when I’m allowed to think.

I can’t believe it’s been so long since I last posted here. My life has changed quite a bit so I suppose I should get to updating my “About” page. Most things have stayed the same though, except I am now part of the full-time working world and actually a contributing member of society. Somewhat. I pay taxes, I own a vehicle (well, I’m paying off a vehicle that I will own in 5 years time) and I have a chair and a computer in an office-type place where papers are shuffled, stapled and photocopied in a day’s work. And I’m really happy with it except I feel that it’s not the best use of my Honours Bachelors of Commerce. I don’t feel as challenged or stimulated as I could be, but I suppose it’s a good starting point. And it’s not that I give much weight to titles but I don’t like telling people I’m an admin assistant because I don’t feel like it encompasses everything I do. But I don’t want to outright lie either.

I guess selfishly I just want more out of life. I don’t think I’ve experienced all there is. God made the world so vast and so full that I feel like in order to appreciate all of it, I need to seek more of it.

I really am blessed to have the luxury to be able to seek it and I hope that I never forget to be grateful for it.

Feel the love.

X: Face it, nobody actually gives their neighbours cupcakes out of the goodness of their hearts. It’s just not normal.
S: Well, why not?
X: It’s one of those things you do to soften the blow when you need to tell them something bad. Like, “I accidentally killed your bird” or “You have a STD”.
S: I think you’ll need something better than cupcakes for that last one…
X: I meant metaphorically.
S: How do you metaphorically give somebody a STD?
X: Not what I meant.
S: I know.
X: Bitch.

Hello, my name is Sherry. I take pictures when I’m bored and should be studying.

I know I shouldn’t fall for the wiles and seduction of megapixels, but can I just say how much I love the details on that shot?

I guess taking a picture of your reading doesn’t actually count as real studying does it?

So I had to go back to Mississauga tonight for my post-op appointment tomorrow morning. When I got on the bus, I called home to tell them I was on my way but the line was busy. I call back 20 minutes later, still busy so I try my brother’s cell phone hoping he was home so he can tell my mom that I’m on my way. My brother’s on his drive back from work so I wait another 20 minutes and call home again. Still no answer and by now I’m about 10 minutes away from the bus terminal. I call my brother again and since he’s also about 10 minutes away from the bus terminal, he says he’ll swing by and pick me up.

I go home and my mom is still on the phone. I say hi to her while I go to my room but she doesn’t see me or I guess hear me. I go downstairs to watch SportsCentre and when she comes down she walks RIGHT BY ME until she’s halfway in the kitchen and she’s all “SHERRY!” like she’s surprised to see me. She asked me how I got home and asked if I took the transit home. I’m tempted to say yes but then I just tell her Po came to pick me up. Apparently there’s some serious stuff going down at her church because she’s been on the phone all night about it. My cousin’s English tutor was supposed to come by tonight and showed up at 10:30 apologizing that it was late and explaining that he had to cancel tonight but couldn’t get through on the phone. Heh. She only just hung up too.

I think I’m going to go buy a new fish tomorrow. I’ve already decided he’s going to be named Alfishsson.

Does this mean I’m not wise anymore?

The surgery went well. I have a gorgeous blue and purple bruise on my arm where they stuck the IV in me for the anesthesia. I was wrong, I thought they were only going to give me laughing gas but they gave me both. When they took my blood pressure at first, the nurse knew right away I was nervous. It was ‘awfully high for somebody my size’ but it lowered considerably after they gave me the nitrous.

It was weird, I was kind of awake but kind of not. I had my music on and by the time the surgeon came in for the surgery I was only half conscience. I heard her ask me what I was listening to and I muttered something incoherent and she asked me if it was good music and I sort of semi nodded and said ‘mmmhmm’.

My recovery nurse was a really nice woman named Rachel. She was very patient in explaining everything and said I had very nice hair and was very pretty. She was also excitedly talking to one of her colleagues about how she went to Ottawa last weekend and skated on the Rideau for the first time for her anniversary.

I was really looking forward to all the milkshakes and ice cream I’d get to eat. Of course, being my mother this was not the case as she opted for more healthy alternatives such as soy milk and congee. Today however, she went to T&T and bought me a big tub of green tea ice cream. Bless her. She was so patient yesterday in changing my gauze every hour and running to the Chase to fill out my prescription.

I’m also really glad I don’t have a boyfriend or a husband because all of the oozing, drooling and bleeding afterwards is certainly not glamorous.

I got to keep my teeth. They were actually smaller than I thought they were going to be. Maybe because I’m just generally small. Yesterday was a lazy day, today is a take it easy day. I’m supposed to do activities sitting up to help with the swelling and bruising. That’s a good thing because I have to study for my mid-terms next week. Have a case study due next week too but my partner is out of the country so, I don’t know.

I sat down to start studying for my mid-terms but I think the medication is making me a bit woozy. I have to take an anti-biotic to fight infection and a Tylenol with Codeine for pain-relief. My mom is paranoid about me taking too much of the tylenol since Codeine is bad for your heart. I’m not taking heart medication right now but I see her point. However, you’re supposed to take it before the pain starts. No idea.

Unfortunately, the Senators didn’t win it for me last night. I thought about wearing my Alfie t-shirt to surgery because they wanted me to wear a comfortable t-shirt. I’m sort of sad I didn’t but at the same time glad because I ended up oozing and bleeding all over my t-shirt anyways.

I look like a chipmunk. Yesterday the swelling died down but it inflated again today. Yikes. I just hope it’s all gone by the time I get back to school.

I finally cut my hair today. Results underneath the jump.

I think I hid underneath my hair for awhile. When I was in middle school I went through this phase where I basically cut off all my hair and didn’t want to look feminine at all. When I started high school and you know, got my act together finally, I decided to grow out my hair and uh…see what happens. There were many awkward in-between phases where your hair is mid-length and it just does not look right.

My hair’s been pretty much been the same style since university. I have really thick hair, a genetic gift from my mother of course. It’s sort of weighing me down, which looks especially awkward for somebody who’s small like me. I’m also never happy with my hair. Sometimes I think I really want a huge, drastic change but I know I would miss having long hair if I cut it too short.

I love this though. It’s lighter and it no longer seems like I’m lugging around a helmet of hair on my head. We went to a new hairdresser today, which I was skeptical about since I love our old hairdresser’s work. He actually sat down before he started cutting and asked me what I was looking for and told me what he was going to do. He also tried to convince me while he was cutting my hair to get blond highlights. Um yeah, I think I’ll need to think about that one for a bit.

I am horribly addicted to coffee, and I can’t help it. I’ll give you guys a minute to get the shock out of your system.

This morning I woke up rather late in the morning thanks in part to it being the start of reading week for me and Premier Dalton McGuinty inventing fake holidays for us (Thanks, Dalton!). I had lunch with my mother and after I came home I thought “Hmm, maybe I’ll have some coffee” but then opted not to since I had woken up late.

Of course I lasted only about 20 seconds before I caved and was scrambling for a caffeine fix. It was worth it. I’m going to get osteoporosis at the age of 30 but it was worth it!

I came back to Mississauga yesterday and so far all I’ve done is eat a lot of food, watch a lot of TV and fold a lot of straw stars. My hands are cramping but I vow to fill up that jar (that I’ve been trying to fill up for the better part of 7 years now). I’m going to have a lot of time just sitting around doing nothing after my surgery on Thursday. I also have two mid-terms when I get back to school so maybe I should fit in studying in there somewhere as well.

I also would like to make some good progress on a couple of scripts I’ve been working on. I can’t keep these stories pent up in me forever. I just end up spacing out in class thinking about them if I do. Something about watching “Bella” just inspired me to write again.

For Valentine’s Day, T, G, Jules and I went to watch a special screening of Bella. The movie was beautiful, although the plot line was somewhat expected. However, the relationships among the characters were quite unique and it was beautifully scripted. It’s not a conventional romance, the two leads have a deep love for one another but it goes beyond romance. It’s a bit hard to describe but I highly recommend watching it. Not to mention the soundtrack is pretty awesome as well (I will admit I squeed when Rachael Yamagata came on during the closing).

The acting is wonderful and the writing is witty and heartfelt. Again, the plot and the story arc is pretty predictable but the plot was almost secondary to the main point of the movie. The low budget of the film actually gave it a really authentic feel to it.

One of the producers was there tonight and he told us about how the movie came about. He studied law in university and went on to have a really successful career at 20th Century Fox making movies in Hollywood when he felt that he was called to do something more. He met up with his partners, the director of Bella, Alejandro Monteverde, and Eduardo Verastegui, the lead actor and together they wrote and produced the film.

The film was a nice success story in the States even though very few people believed in it and it’s getting a very limited release in Canada so if you get a chance to see it I highly recommend it. And bring some tissues. I don’t tear up in movies (although I was tempted to) but everybody else was absolutely bawling by the end. Pretty great way to spend Valentine’s Day actually.

First off, a very sad RIP to my dear beta, Cody. You were such a wonderful companion for the three weeks we got to know one another.

My parents came up to have lunch on Monday before my dad flew back to Taiwan and I told them that Cody had died that morning. They were surprised to learn I was even raising a fish in the first place. My mother’s first thought was to ask me if I forgot to feed it because allegedly that’s what happened to our dear hamster when I was a kid. I vehemently denied that I was a neglectful mother, and she asked me if I had fed him too much and he died of bloating.

Anyways, my dad noticed my status on Gmail was that of mourning Cody and he sent me an e-mail (all of which was written in the subject line. The actual e-mail was blank) worded exactly like this:

To get a new fish, you can feed it bigger and bigger.

I wasn’t quite sure if he was telling me I should get a new fish or if I did get a new fish I needed to feed it bigger and bigger. I e-mailed him back with a picture of Cody and he had this to reply (again, all written in the subject line of the e-mail)

This a good picture. The fish may die of its age. It may go to heaven with happiness. Do’nt be sad. To get a new younger fish, it can live well and longer.

Oh, dad. FTW!

Charity Ball
So, Charity Ball is an annual event at McMaster put on by the student government for whatever charity of choice it happens to be that year. Laenne was working the event with AVTEK doing the sound and lighting so we all decided to go together as a group and just chill out and hang out with her. Which meant going shopping, dressing up and spending the night in very uncomfortable shoes. I have to admit, I was happy with my sexy shoes and how inexpensive they were but I was looking for every opportunity to sit down and by the end of the night, I was ready to take off my shoes and stab somebody with my heels. Because they would have done a heckuva lot of damage.

There’s also video evidence taken by G of us awkwardly shimmying, which is what I think is supposed to be us dancing. That…will not be posted for the greater world wide web to witness. The pictures however can be found here.

There’s not been much going on asides from school and I’m just desperately trying to keep myself afloat and at the same time finding time to blog. I may have spread myself too thin with all of my bloggity commitments (but hey, apparently if you try hard enough you’ll get a mention in a Mainstream newspaper!). I sent out a whole boatload of job applications and internship applications for post-graduation and am crossing my fingers that hopefully one of them will actually result in something positive.

I’m too young to be worrying about this, right? I’m losing my hair, losing sleep and being generally crankier than usual because I don’t have a plan for my life yet.

Oh, and the VP of Education for the MSU (McMaster Student Union) has officially e-mailed us 3 times about how they have a Facebook page now and all the staff should join. I get it! You have a Facebook page!

I’m really not sure where I’m going with this post. I apologize to everybody (all zero of you) who stuck out this long and hoped there was a point. There isn’t. I really shouldn’t be allowed to type when I’m tired and cranky (which is around 97% of the time anyways).

Oh and the universe officially hates me, not only is it trying vehemently to convince me that I don’t exist (another story for another time), but I have a mid-term scheduled for the evening of February 29th, which happened to be Carey Price Bobblehead night at Copps Coliseum. Not only that but G’s church were selling tickets to go skating at Copps before the game. I checked into whether or not it was possible for me to write the exam earlier but even if they find a legitimate excuse for you to miss the exam, they’ll only defer the weighting of the test, not let you write it at another time. FINE, SEE IF I CARE! *stomps off*