Shopping for Raw Fish

On Wednesday I ventured down to Toronto with a couple of friends. We shopped at the Eaton Centre before heading over to Queen St. While at the Eaton Centre, we realized how grown up we've all become and how our style has changed. No longer would we walk into every store or look forward to the nearest Hollister or American Eagle. We knew what we wanted and knew where to get it. Everything was more expensive and perhaps better quality, but still fashionable. I think while being at university, we've grown more accustomed to a young Asian lifestyle. Surprising or not, none of us ended up getting anything. As we left the Eaton Centre, we ended up going to Urban Behaviour and Forever 21 on Yonge St., but that was still to no avail. We ended up wandering Queen Street for a while drowning in the scent of Lush which has a sales associate who is overly enthusiastic. Maybe it's the fumes she's taking in everyday. Either way, I went in search of a messenger bag because my canvas one has begun to smell. I suppose I shouldn't leave it on the ground so often and rain doesn't help either.

Around 7:30 we decided we were a tad hungry--okay, very hungry--leading us to a sushi place we've explored the last time I was downtown. As we walked further down Yonge St, the journey seemed to be a hundred miles as our hunger and all day adventure tired us. Many tired steps later we arrived at Sushi Hana. My friends and I sat at a candle lit booth and plopped down into the seats. Our feelings were elated knowing we had a seat where we didn't need to move. After struggling to decide what we should get on the menu and the waitress checking up on us a couple of times, we ordered three bento boxes and three rolls. I ordered the tempura bento box with unagi rolls, while my friends ordered a tempura bento with a BC roll (salmon skin) and a sashimi bento with spider rolls. After a few minutes and quiet chatter, the rolls arrive and they looked so delicious. We dove into the rolls tasting each one and savouring the flavour of well made maki. Once the rolls were finished, we realized we were all quite full, but the bentos were still on their way. The bento boxes were extremely large and came with a lot of food. I was determined to finish my meal and would not be defeated by it. I quickly managed to scarf down the dynamite rolls that accompanied it and worked on the fried foods next. The tempura was good and satisfied my cravings for something deep fried. I struggled with each bite from then on trying to finish the ball of rice on the corner of my bento. Finally, as I was nearly bursting from the inside, the box was empty. I had won. My friends on the other hand, decided to pack most of their orders which probably was a better idea than what I had just accomplished. Funnily enough, at the beginning of the meal, I had even encouraged my friends to indulge and order more rolls. I suppose it's a good thing we did not or I'm pretty sure I'd be in a sushi coma. Either way, we paid the bill and with happy stomachs we departed for the subway.

As customary of our hang outs, my friends and I always migrate towards a tea house for youngsters like ourselves. Although we were full we knew we had to go to Destiny's. We were seated by the door that led to the patio and sadly, that door was opened many times by people who needed a smoke leaving a cold draft in their wake. I ordered my favourite drink, the Red Bean Mix, despite the fact that it was cold and we were cold. It was delicious as usual, but I found it hard to down because of the large intake of sushi I had just devoured. We sat a little longer listening to many tracks of Lady Gaga play, which seemed to be the soundtrack of the day, and then paid the bill. Home was our next destination.

As I sauntered into my bed, I reminisced about the days events happy that I was able to hang out with my friends after a hard term. One last thought occurred to me as I drifted off to sleep.

Sushi wa oishii desu.

Home, James.

Today was a relatively busy day. My mom had to run some errands and had me chauffeur her around several towns. We started off the day by heading over to get some Chinese groceries (mai soong). After missing the exit for the second time, we made a right turn down Steeles until we hit Warden. From there, it was just a left turn into the T&T plaza. Being a Tuesday, the parking lot seemed eerily vacant. As my fellow asians know, the parking lots of super markets or anywhere for that matter, are never free. Not believing the "luck" I had, I quickly made a turn into the nearest empty spot. As we got out, I grabbed a cart and we headed in. I had a few things in mind that I needed: Nori, soy sauce, some fruit, and last, but not least, Pocky. I love that stuff and watching several animes in which it is featured doesn't help my cravings. I was extremely happy when my mom allowed me to get it. I felt like a kid... Funnily enough, if she said no, I probably would not have gotten it myself. Old habits die hard I suppose.

While shopping, my mom and I were feeling a bit peckish as it was around lunch time. We ordered some of the food from the, for lack of a better word, cafeteria. Dumplings and turnip patties accompanied our simple meal of congee and a steamed rice dumpling. For what is was, it wasn't half bad, but I quickly realized that the dinner from last night, which I over indulged in, still was filling my stomach. Having had my fill, and then some, we finished shopping and headed home.

After unpacking the groceries, my mom told me that I had to take the car in for a SafeEmmisions Test in order to recertify our license plate. At the same time, I had a previous rearrangement to pick up my brother from school as he challenged one his friends to a card game. Seeing as school ended before the appointment, we headed over to my old high school. After venturing in a smidgeon, I noticed the trophy case and quickly searched for my name. John Masterson Award Recepients, Matthew (insert last name here) 2008. It brought back good memories of when I did extraordinarily well in my studies. Good times.

As I headed back out to the car, I saw my cousins waiting to be picked

up as well. We exchanged hellos and soon after their ride arrived.

Still waiting for my brother, we waved them off and returned to the car

to wait. An hour went by with no sign of my brother so I decided to call

home to check up. No answer. My mom and I decided to head out as

our car appointment was quickly approaching and she did not want to

be late. We reached the mechanic and handed him the keys, but were

informed there was a wait. Apparently, they run under a first come first

serve policy. So much for an appointment. At any rate, my younger

brother called my cellphone asking where I was. Seeing as they had not

taken the car in yet, we inquired if we could pick him up first. Seeing as

there were people in front of us in the queue, it didn't seem a problem.

I picked up my younger brother who told me that he had won almost all

of the games. After returning to the mechanic, and an hour later, the

emmision test was complete.

Pass.

Seeing as nothing was taken out for dinner and I was craving BBQ, my

mom told me to head the butcher to grab some souvlaki. We decided to

choose an assortment that they had and a pack of bison burgers to boot.

I quickly grilled them on our old BBQ which has hot and cold spots so

come cooked faster than others. By the time everything was finished,

some items had gotten cold. Either way, I dressed up my bison burger

with pickles, ketchup, and mustard. The burger was not very juicy and

definitely had a gamey taste, but overall was not bad. I suppose I still

prefer beef burgers. Having my fill of charcoal, I decided to head out and

chill with some friends.

My group and I headed over to get Starbucks before going to the

theatres. I decided to get their caramel apple spice because I was

craving apple cider for a while, but none of the Tim Hortons seemed

to carry it. It was alright, but was still missing something. I

discovered that it needed more cinnamon, but we were already

headed over to the theatres. Once there, we stood in line and tried to

decide what movie to see. We allowed every person to pass us in the

line seeing as we were near the front and did not want a mob of angry

people behind us. After what seemed like forever, we decided to see

Death at a Funeral. Overall, it was a decent movie. Nothing special,

but an easy watch. I suppose the best part was the comments we

heard from a group of young people behind us. The two girls behind

us were gossiping when the trailers cut to a magician who performed

a trick. He was clearly French Canadian, but one of the girls asked,

"Does he speak a foreign language or is he disabled?" My friends and

I laughed so hard at the stupidity of the girl. Seeing as we are

Canadian, I was dumbfounded to hear that she didn't know what a

French Canadian accent sounded like. I suppose I'll end my post as

such:

To the silly girl: Yes, he does speak a foreign language and no, he is not disabled.

Half Emptied Finish

My second year of university has come to a close. Zoology was absolutely terrible. I am quite concerned I won't make honours this year, which as sad as it sounds, it very important to me. I suppose I'll have to wait for my marks to see what I get.

On a brighter note, I shall be going home tomorrow morning! The not so bright side is that I have to come back to this prison of a city a week after. I'm not absolutely sure what made me choose to take a summer term, but I'm doing it.

Alas, the cup is truly half empty today.

Distractions

Today, I woke up and began studying for my last exam; vertebrate zoology. It seems every time I write a new post, there is a mention of that darned textbook in it. As the day went on, I was fully aware of the plans I had made to meet up with Andrew and Lapin for rematches in COD, but more so for a good time. Andrew has finished his exams and is going home tomorrow, so I decided I'd see him off. After a good two hour break, we were all hungry. Having a whole group of considerate indecisive people is not a good combination. It seems the JAM really needs PB to choose for them. After deciding to waste more of my precious study time, our group headed towards the mall where we were contemplating Ben Thanh and Spring Rolls. After a short debate about where to go and who wanted what, we decided to flip a coin. Just as Lapin fished a quarter out of her coach wallet, Drew decided to pipe up and suggested Spring Rolls. Finally, a decision. The restaurant was nice; elegant and modern. The hostess led us to a candle lit table where we plopped down eager to search the menu. We all ordered drinks, well, water for Drew and I, and a iced tea for Lapin. The waitress brought our drinks, but didn't leave us with any straws. I don't usually trust the cleaning of the dishware at restaurants, but seeing as my friends were there, I decided to make a quick comment to them, but said that it was fine. When we were ready to order, we all decided to get a different form of Pad Thai that they offered. I decided on curry, Drew with satay, and Lapin with the original. Feeling a bit more pekkish, we all decided to split calamari. The only thing that could make this dinner better was if I had a straw. As the waitress was leaving, Lapin quickly asked for straws, regardless of my earlier comment, which the waitress happily agreed to bring. She placed the straws on our table rather awkwardly, which made me suspect the quality of them. Either way, it was better than me putting my lips to the rim of the glass which we later inspected; not so clean. As our meal came to and end, we were all feeling the effects of having too much food. The gratuitous portion size was well worth our buck. My friends realized that I had to get home in order to finish studying, so we all ended up taking the bus. Since I was on a different route than them, we parted ways. I said goodbye to Drew, rather hastily I suppose, as I hopped onto the bus with the "sketchy route." After a wrong turn and some quick driving, I finally made it home. Having left the house at 4:45 p.m. and returned at 9:45 p.m., I believe that it was overall a good distraction from the pressures of exams. However, a good distraction comes at a price.

$17.50 and 5 hours wasted to be exact.

Japanese Madonna

My Japanese course has finally come to a close. I have to say that it was probably the most interesting course I have taken this term; possibly ever. I think the fascination of learning about this rich culture along with the TA's and sensei's is what made this course so lovable. Although the exam was a little tough and a lot of work was placed into that first year course, I am happy I took it and look forward to continuing with my Japanese education.

In other news, I watched gLee this morning while taking a break from studying. It was Madonna week and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm not a huge Madonna fan, but after seeing the episode, that may change. Although this episode lacked the comedic points that usually accompany gLee, it was a nice change. I'm looking forward to the coming episodes.

Watashi wa gLeek desu.

La La La, I'm Not Listening...

I just finished writing a lab exam, which was harder than I anticipated, although I didn't anticipate it to be much. My housemates and I decided to binge a little at Taco Bell, one of my least favourite fast food joints. After consuming a Crunch Wrap Supreme combo, which my stomach disagreed with, we headed back to our place. I should be studying for my Japanese exam tomorrow, but I thought a

blog post couldn't hurt.

Anyways, I wanted to update you on a purchase I made yesterday. I ventured onto the Apple website in search of noise canceling earphones because of the relative liveliness of my house. I

find it terribly hard to concentrate when I can hear failed high pitched falsetto attempts being done to random parts of songs. In any case, I ended up ordering the Klipsch Image S4 headphones, on recommendation from Lapin-Blanche, setting me back $125. I don't usually splurge, but I've been trying to get into the habit of buying fewer things and spending the cash on quality items. Hopefully, this will be the first step in the right direction. I am quite excited to get them, but sadly, exams prevent me from seeing them until Saturday. I suppose the purpose I initially bought them for is negligible, but nonetheless, it will help the next time.

I suppose plugging my ears and humming will have to do for now.

Just a random notice, but I am currently in love with the Justin Nozuka CD, You I Wind Land & Sea. I have been a fan of his music ever since the debut of his first CD, Holly, came out. Although this album seems considerably different from the tone of Holly, it still has that distinctive sound. In any case, I want to sample this CD with my new Klipsch headphones that Apple has told me are on the way.

Please Sir, Can I Have "No More"

Sitting in my dungeon of a room studying.

Save me now.

I Can't Find the Stairs!!!

Today was Lapin-Blanche's 20th Birthday. After arranging the party with help from my friend Andrew, we decided to head over to the Keg for dinner. Seeing as Lapin is a meatatarian, it seemed appropriate. It came to a reservation for 14 people; quite a large size for a dinner during exams! The Keg was, as always, delicious. I decided to order the top sirloin with tiger shrimp, the entree I had the last time I was at that establishment. Although it did not move me as it had the first time, it was still very good--in comparison to my usual cooking.

Soon after the party, we all headed our separate ways except for Lapin, Andrew, and myself that decided to go to Drew's place for some after party video game entertainment. So far, we have been playing COD IV for a solid 2 hours. I have been playing a decent game for a first time player. Lapin and I had a good laugh as we faced off. In one level, Lapin could not find me because she could not find the stairs that led upward. Luckily, I had chosen the sharpshooter class which made it quite simple to rain bullets down from above. Hopefully, we'll play Andrew's Street Fighter which I'm quite excited for.

Happy Birthday Lapin and hopefully many more to come.

I Fixed My "P"

I just quickly wanted to do a post of something that just happened to me. As I was studying for zoology, I began to drift off and accidentally let go of my textbook. I usually study on my bed and well, my laptop lay just below me. As I let go of the book, it began to slip off the side of my bed until a loud crash was heard. I quickly awoke and looked over, frightened I may have just destroyed my laptop. As I glanced over, I quickly looked to the monitor, but nothing was cracked. Whew. I began checking more closely and realized that the entire "p" key had flown off. I fumbled with the darned thing trying to get it back on. For those of you with mac that know what I've been through understand that those stupid plastic tab things under the keys are a pain. I fidgeted with it for a good five minutes before consulting the good ol' world wide web. Using google, I came upon a YouTube video illustrating how to fix the key (Thank God). I suppose by reading this blog, you know that my "p" is good as new (hee hee).

Note to self, falling asleep and

studying don't mix.

Virtually Impossible

Yesterday, I headed over to the mall with my friend, Andrew, in search of a birthday present. I headed over to his place to catch the bus, but ended up chilling at there watching him play his PS3. After commenting and laughing at his COD skills, he switched over to a Chinese version of God of War III. While he blindly ran through the level unsure of what to do, I was there to pick up those hints that blatantly pop up on the screen. I suppose it's a good thing I was there or else he would have to continuously restart from the previous checkpoint in order to decipher what to do. After being satisfied with the good order of the game, he showed me Final Fantasy XIII. The graphics were amazing, but the cut scenes were a little bland. He showed me the monsters he was "supposed" to farm against, but as we both quickly realized, it was not possible. With one stomp, yes just one stomp on the ground, his entire party was dead. We both decided against trying again and decided to go after the final boss. Of course, as in every FF game, the boss has more than one form as my friend cleverly pointed out as a cut scene of the characters celebrating flickered on the screen. Of course, their excitement quickly faded as the next formed appeared. The new boss monster seemed to be composed of two heads and an arm that constantly stroked on of the heads--weird--and had roughly 6.8 million health. We both laughed at this number suggesting some random Japanese guy trying to mull over what a ridiculous amount of health would be and then to add an additional 9%. As the game went on, the boss continually smashed my friend's party with a cheap move. He quickly began healing after the slaughter, but the boss monster had other plans. It decided to do a combo maneuver of BOTH its strongest attacks which pulverized his party leader making him lose. We had a good laugh after because of the awe struck state we were both in. Ah well, another time.

Finally deciding to leave his house, we ventured to the bus stop. As we were waiting to cross the street, the bus we were supposed to catch was right beside us and neither of us noticed. Finally, we moved to the other side and the bus whizzed by. Checking the times, it would take another 9 minutes before the next bus would arrive so we decided to head down the street to the Starbucks where I ordered a grande green tea latte. Now, I am partially lactose intolerant, but I was just craving the 'bucks too much to care. As I sipped away on the latte we both caught the bus and were headed to the mall. We had lunch around 4:00, yes 4:00 p.m., and then began looking for the present. We first entered into HMV where I picked up the new Justin Nozuka CD which was oddly on sale. Andrew, taking advantage of the sale, also bought a 2/20 CD. Sadly, him searching for a CD cost us an entire hour of scavenging the store. Being satisfied with our music purchases, we blindly walked into every conceivable women's clothing store there in search of this present. My mood percievably began to decline, partially because of the shopping, but more so on account of the green tea latte I had ingested earlier. 'Drew and I had found nothing, at least not within our price range, and were becoming discouraged so we went in search of a card instead; a simple task. Hallmark proved to be useless as the only card worth noting was one that insisted on not giving a present (out of the question). We ended up defeated, empty handed, well at least in the case of the present. This day was just full of failed attempts. I suppose we will launch another assault upon the other mall tomorrow, the DAY OF the party.

If buying presents were a boss, it's hit points would also be

an outrageous number proposed by some Japanese fellow.

Mortimer, You Make Gooood Chicken

Tonight, an exam violated me in ways I cannot describe. It seems my countless hours of studying had no significant effect on the outcome of that exam. Oh well, what is done is done. To compensate for this horrible exam, my friends and I decided to head over to a local bar, Morty's, for their wing night. I ended up ordering 12 wings, after coaxing from one of my friends, and a beer, Coors Light. After considerable forcing down of both beer and tumorous chicken meat, I finished the meal. Feeling a little tipsy, perhaps from the hunger I was feeling from having an exam at 7:30, we left.

There's nothing like drowning your sorrows in beer and deep fried, possibly cancerous, chicken.

300! (divided by 3)

My friend recently sent me a link to this page. It's about a program that should allow you to be able to perform 100 push ups by the end of it. Over the span of 6 weeks, the number of push ups increases until you reach 100 push ups. There is also a test to see where you should start and I suppose how fast you can finish.

I started the test for the program and managed to finish a measly 10 push ups. As stated in one of my previous posts, I am out of shape. Having scored 10 push ups, I rank myself in column 2 when starting the program. Looking over the regime, this program seems to be quite simple. You begin by doing a large amount of push ups at the beginning and slowly decrease to compensate for your fatigue. Consecutive sessions require more push ups counting on the fact that you will acquire more upper body strength. I must admit I am quite intrigued by this concept. Thus, I am beginning this 100 push up challenge starting Monday April 19, 2010. Overall, I hope this will make my arms a little more distinguished and hopefully allowing my clothes to fit a bit better.

For Sparta!

Cracked Up

Today, my housemate and I decided to make a New York style cheesecake. I've only made cheesecake once before and the result was delicious. The only concern I had was that the cheesecake would crack losing that silky smooth appearance we all know and love. Previous experience told me that it would, but since it was merely for the house, it shouldn't be a big problem. After 6 hours of waiting and cream cheese flying to different corners of the kitchen, it was finished. As we all crowded around the oven to see the fruits of our labour, my housemate and mine that is, I did not have high hopes. The cheesecake was cratered and quite severely so. Sadly, as all you cheesecake fanatics know, it must cool in the refrigerator for another good amount of time. Since it is 11 o'clock at night, the fruits of our labour will have to wait until the 'morrow.

Hopefully, its inner beauty will outshine its outer.

Light Headed and Scrabble Wars

After many weeks of fussing with my hair to do the impossible--that is, to defy gravity--I finally mustered up the courage to call a hair salon and book an appointment. The secretary, or whatever her position is, juggled the times to fit me in. Thank god. Now for those of you that don't know me, my hair is troublesome when long. It is jet black, completely straight, somewhat thick, but most importantly, it grows straight out. Think of a porcupine with it's quills upright and you'll have a better idea of what it looks like.

Anyways, at the salon, completely new to me, sent me to a middle aged woman, nothing very distinguishing except for her bright red flats. She seemed nice enough and asked me questions that I could only give curt answers to. I always feel the need to fill the silence, but end up thinking of hundreds of questions that may seem intrusive. Instead, I read the name tag stuck to the mirror over and over.

Hello. My name is

Feryal.

Interesting name I thought to myself. I was going to ask the origin of it, but luckily I didn't. After the chop-chop-chopping of my top, the lady handed me her business card. Sylvanna, it read. Now, I don't know about you, but when I see a sticker posted in a location in a salon, I assume it to belong to that person. I suppose it doesn't matter all that much, but that agitated me as I was fully ready to thank "Feryal." In any case, I paid the cashier and tipped Sylvanna a nice $5. How come it always seems that your head feels a significantly lighter when you get a new hair cut and the wind rushing by gives you a sensation of happiness? The hair cut was adequate, but as always, I hated it. I realize that it will take a little time for it to grow into place and become, even for that little bit of time, what I had imagined it to be. Of course, when my head hits the pillow, I will wish that when I awake, the look I wanted will be just that. As always, I know when I awake, it'll be another 13 days before that happens.

On a brighter note, I met with my friends for our "bimonthly" game of Scrabble and bubble tea that was supposed to happen yesterday. Either way, it was a deadly battle of teams with the reigning champion, although unjustly so, soloing. With the board filled, all spots seemed impossible to expand upon except for one slot. A single letter that could change the game and I had it in my possession. After begging the opponents to hurry with their turns, and there was much begging and fighting, my game winning move had come. I placed the letter P between an S and AN to join the letters. Coincidentally, it spanned the gap. That P placed yielded 6 points, 2 more than I needed to get ahead. YES! However, the controversy occurred when the opponents realized an "i" was below the "p." "Pi." The Greek letter began what seemed to be the next Trojan War. Yelling and screaming to determine the legitimacy of the word began. Of course, pi can be seen in two contexts: the Greek letter and the mathematical constant, 3.14(etc etc). Invoking the use of the number, I claimed that it was just as it is anglosized to use "pi" as there is a "pi day." Having intonations accepted in our game of Scrabble, pi should prove to be legitimate. Either way, since the declaration of the use of Greek letters was not prohibited in the beginning rules, I had come ahead of the game by 5 points. The final blow had landed winning me (and my partner) the game.

I suppose the moral is just because your head feels lighter, doesn't mean it is full of hot air.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall, Who's the Fattest of Them All?

Before taking my shower, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I guess you could say I am not satisfied with my body, so when I saw that person on the other side staring back, I knew something had to be done. Lately, well for two years, I have neglected going to the gym and even when I did go, I was not very determined to do anything drastic. I am the person who constantly complains about their weight and is self conscious about what others think. I've tried diets and eating healthy, but I seem to love food too much and end up falling off the wagon.

I have decided, for my own benefit, to hit the gym once again and begin a healthy eating regime. Like everyone else, I want to see quick results, but I know that it's what happens in the long term that counts. Hopefully, professing my resolution here on my blog will give me the perseverance that I've been lacking all these years. I hope to start right away.

Of course, by right away I mean the beginning of next month...

And after a piece of cheesecake.

Cooped Up

The weather today seems perfect. I can see the leaves budding off the tree in the backyard. The first thought of any normal person would be to go outside and enjoy the day. Sadly, I am not a normal person. I'm not a normal person in the fact that I am a university student and on a day like this, I am cooped up inside; studying.

It is the exam period and everyone seems to be cramming all that knowledge we were supposed to learn this term, including me. Currently, I'm reading this textbook about vertebrate zoology. Whoopie. I suppose it's interesting, but who wants to learn when the world is calling out to you to go and have some fun. Maybe I'll head out for some bubble tea later tonight, if time permitting. Here's hoping.

Alas, the life of a university student.

Beginnings

Twelve minutes have gone by of me staring at that darned flashing place marker. It seems to be taunting me to hurry this first blog post. Sadly, I am out of a clever introduction so this will have to do.

Hello. My name is Matt and this is my blog.