more about the soonger |
july 1999 |
Saturday, July 10.Whoa, I've been pretty bad at keeping this page updated. Maybe it's because I've been somewhat preoccupied with other matters. Let's see where I last left off... I did manage to make it down to the riverfront for the fireworks celebration. The place was packed-- the clear, cool conditions probably helped the situation. I was foolish NOT to bring a sweather (UofT meds, no less) to keep warm but the high density of people around me greatly helped the situation. (I was only wearing shorts and a t-shirt). Went over to my friend's house to kick back and shoot the sh*t afterwards. Didn't get back home until late... Other interesting tidbits... I went to see The General's Daughter. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good either. It felt like a wannabe A Few Good Men (I, by the way, watched it again last night.) Also heard that the new South Park movie was hilarious. The guys were also interested in watching that one. My previous reservations to the idea kept me away from the theatre but all the good buzz has raised my curiousity. |
Work has been harsh not only to my feet but to the social life. Cranking in the hours at the pharmacy has been good to the chequebook but I feel so tired at the end of the day that I only want to sit back, watch a little TV, then go to sleep. The desire to go for a jog or anything sounding physically active totally turns me off. I did have good intentions to go away and travel. Since it was a friend's birthday party party this weekend, I was planning on going up. Not only was there a party, I was also invited by other friends to go out with them. Too bad-- my friend in Windsor (Renee) planned on having a BBQ on Friday night. The weather forecast called for thundershowers all day so she moved it until today. Promising to go, I thought it would be in bad taste not to go so I bypassed my original intention to drive up to TO... Other TO news... my floormate back at rez invited me to her upcoming wedding. She left my invitation back in residence, AFTER I left for the year. No matter-- she called me up and verbally invited me. I got back to her after checking out my schedule-- I couldn't make it. Too bad-- I would have met up with my other pharmacy floormates back from school. |
Happy Birthdays...Sunday, July 11.It's a shame that Renee's (secret) birthday party had to be postponed until tonight (Saturday night). I originally had intended to head up to TO to surprise the pharmacy people up there by my attendence to another surprise party but to no avail-- I promised to attend the Windsor party before going to the Toronto party. (What to do? When you're this popular you have to make tough decisions...) Prior to my departure to the party, I was on the phone for quite a bit. First, I called up Toronto to speak to one of the party-throwers up there. Told her that I couldn't make it-- previous engagement (see above). Also caught up with the other events in Toronto. It's been more or less the same story with them-- overworked and underappreciated. |
Secondly, I later received a surprise call of my own. My little friend from Calgary decides to give me a shout. Man, I was a little puzzled when the number showed up on the caller display-- when I heard the voice I was pleasantly surprised. We talked for about 20 minutes-- just catching up on old times sake and what we were doing. She's getting over the pneumonia she was experiencing the past couple of weeks and now is back to work. The conversation was cut short because she had to go pick her sister up... After the phone calls (and dinner), I went over to Renee's house. Her friends were already there. It was a small, simple gathering. (She didn't want to tell me it was her b'day-- I was lucky it popped up on my computer PDA (Outlook 2000). When I saw that, I had to get her a card and a half-decent wine. Anyway, the night was spent in the backyard full of conversation. In the background, the retro music on Planet 96.3. Let me tell you-- the guys there were hilarious. Guys who played for Windsor AKO have some of the funniest stories to tell. Trash-talkin' about guys we knew from high school... To top the night off, there were threats about throwing the birthday girl into the pool. Instead, they pretended to throw the birthday cake in her face-- one attempt went a little out of control and some hit her face. One of the guys said, "You can't waste that" and then smears a whole handful in her face. Things go out of control-- some of the punch gets chucked at one of the instigators-- the place is a mess. Good thing it was captured on film... |
Monday, July 19.We Got back home around midnight last night. Took us 10 hours to drive one-way. Ironically, going through the States is faster than driving through Ontario. Also the gas prices are lower in America so it seems only logical to go this route. Didn't do a heckuva lot on this trip. What can you expect to do in 2 days? We left Friday at 9:15 AM and got to New Jersey by 7 PM (due to my great driving speeds). My uncle was expecting us at earliest 8. Good thing he was around otherwise we'd be waiting on the hot driveway for a while! He bought precooked food from the grocery store and we had a simple dinner. To our surprise, I noticed that they recently bought a dog! A little shi-tze ("shuh-tse koh" to those Mandarin speakers out there...) We retired early for the night-- my brother and I were beat from all that driving. The next morning we had a quick b'fast (leftovers) then headed over to the big city for dim sum with our family friends (who were holding the retirement party). It was our first time seeing the 'baby' (have you ever met a 11 lb. newborn?!) Anyway, dim sum was good. My parents, for some unknown reason, started speaking to this one girl pushing a cart (her English name is Tina). She recently emigrated from Shanghai and was really friendly. My dad asked a few unsubtle questions (do you have a boyfriend?, etc.) and later on, she came back with a napkin with her phone number written on it! She's studying in the States and I assume her English abilities are passable. Nevertheless, if only I knew more Mandarin! (She was CUTE.) Anyway, that was that-- my brother and I were really embarrassed-- our friends were there watching the whole spectacle... Before dinner, we had to run some errands in preparation for that evening. We went to a wholesale store (like Costco) called BJ's. When I first heard them say, "We're going to BJ's", I thought they were going to a store spelled 'Bee Jays'. The former spelling is an abbreviation for something else I had in mind... (test yourself on how smart you are and figure out what I originally thought!) |
We wandered around while they were making a cake for us (they messed up the order). I found my iced tea mix, a b'day present for Charlene (shhhhhhh!). After picking up the cake, we went back to their house. Did I tell you that the eldest daughter is married to a brain surgeon? She works on Wall Street and is raking in the cash. She drives a new Mercedes SUV (ML 320). Riding in that thing was great-- better than any domestic SUV I've ever ridden in. Dinner that evening was great-- lots of seafood and other assorted goodies. I ate like a pig-- I'm probably tipping the scales now. The dinner started at 7 (we got there at 6 to get things ready) and we left close to 11. Driving back to New Jersey (where my uncle lives) took about an hour. (And that was light weekend traffic!) Sunday, we got ready for home. Beforehand, we went for Korean BBQ lunch. Yummy-- but really expensive. Normally, you're supposed to cook the food yourself, right? Well this place we went to has a waitress cook it for us. (I guess classy places costs serious $$$) We packed our bags and my brother started the drive home after eating. Before we hit the highway, we stopped off for gas. During this time, a Korean woman approaches our car and asks for directions in Korean. I could only make out 'New Jersey turnpike'-- I told her we don't speak Korean so she asked us again in English. Being tourists to the area, we directed her to the gas attendant-- the only reason why I bring this up is that I wonder if I do 'look' Korean. My Korean classmate Jean wondered if I was when we first met but I thought she was full of crap. Guess that solidifies things... Well, the drive back was just as swift as the drive there. My bro had to be excused from driving after 2 hours because he got up early this morning to go for a jog. We switched after we had a McD's dinner in Eastern Ohio. I could not believe how expensive McD's is in the 'States! It was at least a dollar more for a combo meal than in Canada. The fries, however, are tastier. We arrived home around midnight; took a shower; did a little e-mail; went to sleep. Today, I was on the computer playing games and checking up on my web sites. Still have to update my webpage! (Guess I'm done now...) Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the camera to NYC with me so there's no photos for me to scan immediately. Hopefully, my friends in NYC will be generous enough to make doubles OR scan pictures for me to post on the webpage... |