who's soonger??

Goal Accomplished!

Sunday, May 13.

After a really, really long hiatus from the webpage, I can finally begin to update things. School was pretty rough on me-- I did learn a huge amount about pharmacy, medications and what great things pharmacists can do. I am very appreciative of the contributions and sacrifices the preceptors and the staff have given me these past 4 months.

My last day of work was April 26. That's over 2 weeks ago. What have I been doing since then? In a nutshell, I moved back home, cleared my things out from New College (I have to remind myself to update my photo above!), starting to get lazy (haven't been exercising in a couple of weeks), but most importantly, I have purchased my new car!!!

What did I find myself? I have a 2002 Acura 3.2TL Type-S!!! It's a beautiful car-- aegean blue with the optional factory spoiler. 260-hp, 232 lb-ft torque, 17" wheels, sport suspension, in-dash 6-CD player. It has all the creature comforts one would want in a car. The salesperson at the dealership said it is most likely the first Type-S in Windsor. And who would have thought a 26 year old kid would be driving it???

I picked the car up last Wednesday evening and I still have to do a couple of things to it. First, I forgot to have the rear mud guards installed and as well, I need some winter floor matts otherwise, things are going to get ugly later on in the year. I don't want my interior all messed up so soon! As for other upgrades, I seriously doubt I'll need to do the slamming, tinting, underbody kit or all the other aftermarket upgrades that are becoming very popular. Although... the thought of the underbody kit was an original part of my decision process. But for the time being, the spoiler will have to suffice.

What else has been going on??? For one thing, my class' graduation formal was held last night. I went up to Toronto on Friday and stayed over at my aunt's place in North York. My classmate, Charlene, was kind enough to drive me up from Windsor. (The previous evening, we went out to shoot pool and meet up with friends.) It was a very lengthy drive up to Toronto. Who would have thought rush hour on a Friday afternoon would go well after 6pm?! Toronto people are crazy. I am glad that Charlene is a very patient driver, considering she can have a hot temper...

As for Saturday, my aunt was nice enough to take me out for dim sum. That was good-- went to this place near Finch and Kennedy. In the afternoon, I did some readings for my licensure exam at the end of the month (more like a week away!). Took the subway downtown to meet up with friends back in residence. Can you believe I stayed there for the night even after 4 years of pharmacy school??? Old habits die hard...

The night was something to remember. I could not believe how smoothly things ran-- I was almost certain that there would be some glitch here or there. Sounds like I didn't have confidence with the organizers but on the contrary-- I was thinking that the CN Tower people would be idiots. Hey-- guess everyone's proving me wrong these days... Our valedictorian, Mark Kearney, did an excellent job. He and the first speaker, Dr. Raman-Wilms did a fantastic job with their speeches. The dean looked a little bit nervous up there-- maybe it was me. The night ended for me around 3. It took forever to say goodbye to people for a second time. We have 2 more times to meet as a group before we part our ways forever. I'm not feeling sad but it does sound a bit morbid.

Got up this morning around 10:30. then packed my things (including that ridiculous silver animal one of the sponsors for the evening provided to each graduate). Went to the BBQ house (anyone in Toronto has to visit Kom Jug Yuen-- it's the best!) that I adore-- got some BBQ pork my family enjoys. Grabbed the TTC down to Union, grabbed some McD's for lunch and then took the train home.

To my surprise, the train made it to Windsor ON TIME. That must be the 3rd time that has happened to me in 4 years. That tells you the service reliability of that Crown corporation.

Anyways, my folks picked me up (in my car!) and then we had to go home and get changed for dinner. It was, afterall, Mother's Day so that's why I had to get home pronto. Went out for supper with family friends. It was a very good dinner. It was no surprise how busy the restaurant was.

This evening, I just chilled out at home. I did begin my mission to keep off the weight by going for a 20-minute jog around my neighbourhood. I am gu-estimating I did about 2k but what do I know about land distance? I'm a swimmer and go by how many laps I did in the pool... It's getting late now and I should be going to bed.

Tomorrow morning, I plan on scanning my recently developed photographs and then posting it on this webpage and sending it to my friends.

Tuesday, May 15.

I'm glad I was able to fix up this webpage-- it was severely neglected! The pictures of my last month of school along with the new car pictures are finally posted. I'm just a little upset a few of the photographs I took on the previous roll of film didn't get developed. I'm hoping the camera isn't on its way out...

This morning, I got up early to take my dog, Rex, to the vet. He wasn't feeling well the last few days but I still took him in to get his annual shots. The whole procedure cost $150 (CAD)!!! Relatively speaking, it's not as expensive as previous visits. Come to think of it, why didn't I go for veterinary school? They make some serious $$$ without having to look into people's mouths (I don't know how some of my friends are going to be a dentist for the rest of their lives...)

Exams are done!

Wednesday, May 30.

I can't believe my U of T days are over! I wrapped things up last week with the completion of my licensure exams. Three parts-- first two parts were multiple- choice exams held over two days. The last part was an oral exam which I paid C$1350! What a joke! Because I am not allowed to say exactly what was covered on the exam (due to copyright laws), what I can say is that it covers the material that a retail store pharmacist should know. In essence, some of the therapeutics covered can apply in hospital but a bulk of the stations focused on what your friendly neighbourhood pharmacist needs to know on a daily basis.

While I was up in Toronto, it wasn't all work, no play. I did do some shopping and socializing. Where to begin? My exams were Tuesday and Wednesday, right after Victoria Day weekend. Didn't do anything in the evening after either exam but I did go out for a nice luncheon with my friends on Wednesday. We went to my favourite BBQ house in Chinatown. In previous entries, I am most certain I have praised the high quality cooking at Kom Jug Yuen on Spadina Avenue. It's not for the timid-- the decor is something that needs a lot of work but the food is great!

After the lunch, my friend Dora and I, we went to see the animated Dreamworks film, Shrek, featuring the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow. I had no real impressions going in, other than the one that a common friend said after watching the film. (She thought it was great!) I had to say I was really impressed by the quality animation and the good story. It had a very positive thing to say about how important a person's character is above their superficial appearance. A SoongScore of 9 out of 10. Definitely something to watch. There were some jokes that only adults would get but that's a good thing!

On another evening, my friends went to see this banned film, Baise-moi. I can see why it's banned! For those unfamiliar with French, it loosely translates to "Kiss Me" but the subtitles translate the title to "Rape Me". No joke. Let me tell you the first 15 minutes are one of the most disturbing scenes I have ever witnessed in my life. I was ready to walk out, it was that bad (and for those who know me, it takes a lot to offend me!) The remainder of the film deals with these two women who use their femininity to sexually gratify themselves with any willing bloke they run into and then go on a murderous rampage. Definitely an art house type of film. My friends and I had next to nothing to say about the film afterwards. I gave it a pathetic SoongScore of 2 out of 10. The movie was a porno in disguise!

After the movie, the bunch of us walked down College Street and we found a small Italian bistro that used to be an alleyway. A very strange looking place on the outside but very warm and inviting atmosphere. The manager/waiter for the evening was very sociable. Service wasn't the greatest but the company was a refreshing change from the norm.

One of the neat things I did on Thursday was help Dora go out and test drive some cars. Considering how much I've done of that the past few months, I think I should develop a course on the finer points of getting young people to convince dealerships to allow them to drive brand new, expensive cars! Dora was interested in an SUV-- Mazda Tribute and possibly a Honda CR-V. Both have their strong points and they are about the same amount of money. Dora had to drive the Mazda, with bigger engine. V6, 200 hp is a lot of power. The more nimble but lesser powered Honda (4-cyl, 148 hp). On a personal note, the Honda does have the better reputation with the engine but power is everything these days. I know Dora likes the driving mannerisms of the Honda as well as the little things inside but I think the larger engine will persuade her to purchase the Madza. (We'll see what she drives away with in the very near future!)

Friday was our trip to Canada's Wonderland. Let me tell you how surprised I was to see how little things have changed since I was a little kid. Sure, the rides are new, but the whole feel of the place is still the same. I was glad to go with my friends-- it would have sucked had I gone with other people. Rashna & I packed lunch so we saved a bundle of cash. Dora and Leslie treated us to funnel cakes. If you aren't familiar with that, it's a doughnut covered in icing sugar, soft ice-cream and strawberries. I felt so bad because I ate like a pig! I got some of the toppings on Leslie's pants-- I felt SO BAD! Well, guess my un-sauve self came out on that occasion...

Over the weekend, I went to visit my friend from rez. She's now living at another campus residence (Vic College) and let me tell you how much nicer it is than New College! It was nice that she could make time for us to hang out Saturday afternoon. We went up to Yorkville (the Rodeo Drive of Toronto and that's where all the Hollywood stars hang out when they're shooting films here) for brunch. Afterwards, I travelled to North York to visit my aunt. We had a very enjoyable meal in a Scarborough restaurant. I would highly recommend this place just east of Kennedy and Sheppard.

Sunday was the exam. For some strange reason, I felt next to no fear over this exam. In hindsight, I should have been really working hard preparing for this exam-- $1350 was on the line! However, my feelings after the exam was more relief than fear of failure. It was surprisingly draining to me. I went back to New College (the place I was staying for the week), took a shower, read and then went to bed.

Let me say that it was an awful weekend when it came to the weather--cold, dark, rainy. Where can you go, by foot, in that kind of weather? (Note: I did manage to go to KJY almost every day that week!) Most of my friends were driving from out of town or lived uptown and didn't want to come downtown.

On Monday, I came back home from Toronto. It was good to come back to a familiar bed, good food and my dog! It was great to drive around town in my new car. The bad weather must be contagious because it was raining down here in Windsor as well. My car was stored carefully in the garage and protected from the elements. Going out in the car spoiled things. It was worth it-- I went out with fellas I haven't seen in ages. Vince was back this weekend for Memorial Day (he lives in Chicago), a good pal of mine living in Windsor, Rhys (pronounced Reese, like the Pieces), and Jonesey (a dentistry student back for a little bit before he goes to Tanzania for mission work) spent the night out with us guys. It started out at a harmless university hangout, Hurricane's for beer and wings. Then it got rowdy when we went over to The President's Club, the new peeler joint in town. I have to say it was impressed at how well renovated the new place is. It used to be a dive-- ask anyone if they have ever been to Rum-Runners. It used to be a biker stop now it's gone more upscale.

What have I been doing yesterday and today? I was fretting over where I'll be working for the next year! Yesterday, I went around and finished up some errands during the day like cut the lawn (it was in bad shape!) and fix a nagging rattling sound in my car (loose trunk latch). The stove was on the fritz so we went out for supper. I have to say the food at Wah Court Inn is top-notch for Windsor standards. The staff are really friendly since they know my folks well.

Last night, my folks and I went over to see my uncle with some recent health problems. He seems well but still, I think there's a hint of uncertainty. Let's hope things resolve quickly. The trip out to the east end of town provided me with an opportunity to show off my new car. There was broad acceptance to the new wheels...

Today was also a huge milestone! It's the day I signed on to a real job! I'm now a member of the Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital pharmacy staff. Pay is really good, considering I have zero experience (other than my 8 weeks of in-house training in Toronto). Hey-- they're going to teach me, right? I hope the parking lot I signed up for will be nice to my car-- the thought of people scratching it up really has me on edge... I start on Monday so hopefully things will work out!

I also did some driving-- went to Canadian Tire to find a leather treatment for the car. It's the Luxol brand, but they didn't have it. People from the acura-tl.com website chat room suggested I use that product. Guess I'll try and find it next time I'm in Detroit. Secondly, I had to gas up my car. I'm trying out the Shell Optimax Gold formulation. They are highly promoting up here north of the border boasting how it can improve car performance. Can't quite say I can tell. The price -- 43 litres for C$39?! That's over 90 cents a litre ($2.17 US a gallon!) And Americans are complaining... you guys are pathetic.

Tonight, I went over to the mall determined to use the HMV gift certificate that a good friend gave me for Christmas. Lo and behold, I see the ad promoting Radiohead's new CD on sale this Friday. Guess I'll wait until then! (I was actually thinking of picking up Kid A their last release... oh well, I'll ask my friend, Jane, to lend me her copy so I can burn a copy. I bought it for her birthday...

Friday, June 1.

Start of a new month but I'm too lazy to write up code for a new page. It was another ugly day here in Windsor-- bad weather, chilly-- is it too much to ask for it to feel like June?! In any instance, I had to run a couple of important errands today. First, I had to make sure my application to start my internship was sent off to Toronto today. (done) Then I had to see what other tasks had to be done. (done)

This afternoon, the house was all mine. My folks went to see my aunt in the east end, and then had to do some food shopping. I was home alone with Rex. What do I end up doing? I was on the Internet trying to find the nearest Pep Boys from my house. I used Microsoft's Expedia website and let me tell you how powerful that site is. You can go ANYWHERE in the US, including directions! The beauty of the site-- the information is FREE! (Music to my ears...) I was also looking into this amazing car polish, Zainos Brothers polish. To the gurus of car polish, this is up there. I did a price check on this product, and it's pricy. Since it's mail-order only and there's one distributor in Canada, the stuff is going to run me C$50! Whoa! I have think about whether or not to follow the advice people on this bulletin board I subscribe to. They say it's the end-all-be-all product. Too bad I know no one who has used this product!