She works kinda hard for no money

Hey friends! Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but nothing very exciting has happened to me in the past few days. I've just been busy at work. I'm doing a lot of research, most of it for potential new clients, but I also do research for helping B3 re-do their website. I helped create their site map, and ideas for a template. It's been pretty standard work, but I'm really enjoying working in a different environment than in the past, and Sarah and James are very fun to work with. They have helped me understand what they do better, and have helped me improve my writing a lot.

This upcoming weekend, Leslie and I are going to Edinburgh. We are only there for one night, but we are both very excited! We are going to go to Edinburgh Castle, do some hiking, and of course, go see, drink, and eat in the pub where J.K Rowling sat down to write the first HP book. Very exciting stuff for two geeks like us. I'll be sure to post again with some pictures after the trip.

But, next Tuesday is a very big day... It's my 21st birthday! I can't believe it is almost December already. I promise to post a really cheesy, sappy blog about my life after my birthday. Everyone in our little group is getting together on Tuesday night to celebrate, which should be fun.

Me, Leslie, and Mike are also potentially buying tickets to a football (soccer for all you Americans/Canadians) match next week. It's supposed to be Tottenham FC against some Greek team. I think that if it was a bigger deal, the tickets wouldn't be 20 pounds, and still available. But, oh well, we don't really care. It should be fun though.

Last week, I went to see the new Jennifer Lawrence/Bradley Cooper film Silver Linings Playbook. It was ok. The only reason I liked it was because the two leads were great. Bradley Cooper, as sexy as he is, is actually a surprisingly good actor. And Jennifer Lawrence was incredible. Prediction: she will get an Oscar nod for that role. Amazing.

On a different note, Leslie, Liz and I saw Twilight on Monday. I don't think it was meant to be a comedy, but Leslie and I were laughing through most of it. That's how bad it was. I will say that the last  hour was a little entertaining. It just looked so cheaply made for a franchise that makes so much money when a movie comes out. Oh well, no one will miss these now that they are gone!

Other than that, life is good. I'll write again soon!

Here is a quote from Silver Linings Playbook: 
I don't want to stay in the bad place, where no one believes in silver linings or love or happy endings.

Cheers!

First week at work!

Hello, friends. Hope your Thanksgiving week has gone well, and that you are all not getting trampled a the black Friday sales. I've had a great week so far. I started at B3 creative on Monday, and everything is going smoothly so far. I'm really enjoying working with Sarah and James, they are great people. On Tuesday, I saw les Miserables. It was really good. I was a little in awe of the singing. It is such a difficult show to put on because of the music, so I was really impressed. I'm looking forward to seeing the movie when it comes out around Christmas time. On Wednesday, me, Liz, Leslie, Hannah, Mike, Alex, and Naeem went ice skating at the Canary Wharf skating rink, which was really fun. The skates were horrible, and so was the ice, but skating is skating. I didn't realize until then how much I miss playing hockey. But, Alpine is building an outdoor ice rink this winter, so hopefully I'll be able to play a little over break. It was a lot of fun, and teaching Naeem was a disaster. I tried, but he just couldn't seem to get it. Anyways, yesterday was Thanksgiving, which is one of my favourite days of the year. I love it so much because it is a day dedicated to two of my favourite things: family and food. Put the two together and you get a great day! But, instead of spending the day in Toronto with my family like I normally do, I spent the evening with Jen and her friends. They were all very nice and very curious about how my semester has been going. The dinner was very good, Jen and her boyfriend Tyler did a wonderful job. I then went home and Skyped with the whole family during there dinner. That was really nice also!

I guess since it was Thanksgiving yesterday, I should say what I am thankful for. I am thankful for my sister Sammy and my brother Adam for always making me laugh. I am thankful for my Grandma and Gordie for constantly trying to bring me to Florida to spoil me. Even when I'm not in Florida, you spoil me. I am thankful for my Granny for always entertaining me, and teaching me how to make the best eggplant parm in the world. I am thankful for my Aunt's and Uncles for being so supportive and interested in my life, which means so much. I am thankful to my cousins, Erin and Carrie, for always being able to talk to them about anything. I am thankful for my wonderful friends, at SLU, in Toronto, and wherever else, for accepting me for who I am, I love you all. And lastly, I have to thank my super-hip parents for giving me an amazing life, and making sure I am happy. Basically, I am thankful for everything.

Not sure what everyone is going to be up to this weekend. I have some laundry to do, some grocery shopping to do, and I definitely need to hit the gym after the feast I ate last night. I might go see the new Bradley Cooper (so hot) and Jennifer Lawrence movie, Silver Linings Playbook. It's getting some great reviews. Maybe Lincoln or even the new Twilight movie. I don't know, we will see where the weekend takes me. Enjoy, and make sure everyone cheers for my Bills on Sunday against the Colts. I've got a good feeling!

Here is a quote from Peter Travers, the movie critic at Rolling Stone, on the new Twilight movie:

You're going to hear a lot about Breaking Dawn Part 2 being the best of the Twilight movies. That's like saying a simple head cold is preferable to swine flu. They'll all make you sick.

Lol! Have a nice weekend!

Dublin!

The gang at O'Sheas Restaurant

Hello, friends! Hope you all had a great weekend! I am so happy to be done with classes. It's a nice change from what I'm used to, and who doesn't love finishing classes? On Thursday, me, Liz, Leslie, Mike, and Alex left for Dublin. Everything went smoothly, and as soon as we were done settling in at the hostel, we went and got some dinner. Then, we walked to The Temple Bar area, which is where all of the bars and pubs are in Dublin. It's a very famous area, and every bar we went to had live music, which was great. We didn't stay out too late because we wanted to walk around all day Friday.

Me and my empty glass.

We started Friday by going towards the Jameson Whiskey distillery. It was a really cool spot, but we didn't go inside. We kinda just wanted to look around. After that, we visited the famous Guinness Beer warehouse. After this blog, I think you are all going to think me and my friends are alcoholics, but I promise that is not the case. The factory was really cool, they explain the whole process of making the beer and how they ship it out. Plus, at the end, they give you a free pint! As much as I wanted to like the beer, I really couldn't. I prefer light beer, and I just let Liz finish mine; she likes it a lot more than me.

Leslie, with Alex for arms

Outside the famous Temple Bar

After the tour, we walked around the city for a while, and then we went back to the hostel to nap. After our nap, we got ready and went out for dinner. Then, we met up with some of the freshman from our program and we joined them on a pub crawl through Dublin. It was soo much fun. Each place was so different, and the music was awesome. We spent the majority of the night dancing and using each other for arms. See the photo to see what I'm talking about haha. On Saturday, we checked out of our hostel, and spent the rest of the day walking around and enjoying the city one last time. Dublin really is a beautiful city, I highly recommend going. We had an awesome weekend overall.

Today, I slept in, took a shower, and bought some groceries. Because my Bills played Thursday (and won!), there's no football, but I'm going to catch up on some T.V and read my book. Also, I will be reading the most recent issue of People magazine, which features the sexiest men of 2012. I'm still made that my husband, Jake Gyllenhaal hasn't won yet. It's a disgrace. Also, please wish my mom, Susan, a very happy birthday! She is the best person ever, so you will all feel guilty if you don't wish her a happy birthday. In all seriousness, she is the best mom, and deserves the best. After all, she's the Duchess for a reason. Love you Suzie!

Anyways, this week is going to be really fun! I start work tomorrow, and then on Tuesday, I'm seeing Les Miserables. On Wednesday, a bunch of us are going ice skating at Canary Wharf. I'm going to teach Naeem how to skate, so it should be interesting. On Thursday, I'm celebrating Thanksgiving with Jen and her friends, which I'm really looking forward to. Other than that, there isn't much else to report.

In the words of my mom, "eat your salad before it gets cold!"

See you on the flip side!

Fun time with Adam!

Hey everyone! Hope you all had a good weekend and a good week so far. Sorry it has been a few days since my last post, but exams are right around the corner, and I will be going into hibernation starting tomorrow. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this term, it basically means that I will not be in contact with the outside world until exams are over. This word was coined by my loving mother during my last year of high school when she would basically imprison my sister and I during exams. I learned a lot about my mother from this act: she is a hypocrite. Don't lie mom, we all know you cheated off of dad on your exams. It's ok, I still love you for forcing me to study hard, because without you and dad, I wouldn't be studying abroad in London.

Anyways, this past weekend was really fun. I got to spend all day Sunday with my brother Adam! It was so great to see him! We met around 11, and got some breakfast. After that, we made our way to the Tower of London, and walked around there a little while. We saw the Crown Jewels, and the spot where Anne Boleyn (Henry VIII's wife that he divorced his first wife for) was beheaded. After the tower, we made our way to the Tate Modern. Adam and I felt very ignorant (his words) while in the gallery. Last time we were there, we saw a piece of art that was literally just a can full of the artists poop. I'm not lying to you. We looked for it, but it wasn't there. After that, we made our way to the London Eye. We hopped on, and about a third of the way up, we both started to feel a bit nauseous. Too bad for us, we still had 20 minutes to go. We sucked it up, and after that, we went back to his hotel to freshen up for dinner. We met Adam's friend Jen for dinner at Hakassan, which is an amazing Asian restaurant. Thanks mom! Then, we said our goodbyes! It was an amazing day, but it did make me miss my whole family, especially since Thanksgiving is coming up.

In some big news, my amazing Adam was accepted to graduate school at Columbia, where he will study Business!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If Gramps was still alive, I know he would be so proud and happy that his favourite (and only) grandson would be going to his alma matter.

This week has been about getting ready for exams, and working out my schedule for studying. I have a great plan worked out. I'm really excited for next week to be over, because me, Liz, Leslie, Alex, and Mike are leaving for Dublin on Thursday night! We are staying until Saturday, and I know we will have a ton of fun. Then, on Monday the 19th, I start my internship with B3 Creative. I know it's going to be hard, but very rewarding.

Other than that, there isn't much else to report. Wish me luck on my exams, and I promise I will blog once I get back from Ireland! Cheerio!

Here is a quote from one of my idols, Meryl Streep:
I want to feel my life while I'm in it.

So wise, Meryl.

November=Crunch Time

Hey everyone! Hope you all had a fun Halloween! I didn't get a chance to dress up, I was stuck doing a paper. What did you dress up as? I was never super creative with my costumes. Dad always said, "the simpler the better", and I couldn't agree more. I cannot believe that today is the first day of November. Time is absolutely flying by. I know its winding down to the end of the year because Starbucks now has their Holiday cups lol. Everything here is going well. There are lots of papers to be written and 3 finals to prepare for, but I promise I'm still finding time to have fun. Tonight Naeem and I are going to see Skyfall (the new bond movie) in IMAX! I'm really excited, and it has gotten really good reviews so that's good. I also saw Ruby Sparks and Argo recently. Ruby Sparks was ok, very similar to (500) Days of Summer, and Argo was excellent. I really liked it. After the movie, we are going to the University of London Union for Karaoke night! This is really dangerous: I have easily the worst singing voice on this Earth, and after a few drinks, it doesn't get any better. So, maybe instead of singing I will rap. I'm like the white jewish canadian female version of Jay-Z if you hadn't heard. Maybe I can convince Liz to go up there and rap with me haha. This weekend is going to be amazing! Tomorrow, I'm going to go to the gym and do a little shopping and some homework, and probably go out. Saturday, I'm going to work extra hard to get as much work done as possible so that I can be relaxed when Adam arrives on Sunday! I am beyond excited to see him! I think we are going to see the Tower of London, with Adam's friend Jen that lives here, and then go to Hakkasan (an awesome Japanese/Asian fusion restaurant) for dinner. Other than that, there isn't much else to report. One comment to all the gentlemen reading this: as a young lady, I do NOT approve of No-Shave November. Please, please, please, SHAVE! Thanks!

Here is a quote from one of my favourite bands, Coldplay. It's the song "Hurts Like Heaven" from their most recent album, Mylo Xyloto:
On every street every car every surface a name, tonight the streets are ours, and we’re writing and saying, don't let them take control, no we won't let them take control

Cheers!

Busy Bee!

Hey all! This week has been insane. I've been so busy doing schoolwork. But, I've only got 3 weeks of classes left! It is so crazy to think that! This week, I had to write a paper for art. I chose to write about portraits of 3 famous monarchs: Elizabeth I, Victoria, and Elizabeth II. Here is a quiz: name the 3 actresses who have played these queen's in these respective movies: Shakespeare in Love (Elizabeth I), The Young Victoria (Victoria), and The Queen (Elizabeth II). Answer in the comments section! Speaking of royalty, on Thursday morning, our history class met at the Churchill War Rooms which is a museum and exhibit dedicated to the rooms in which Churchill and his advisers met in during the Battle of Britain during WWII. While we were waiting outside, we saw a bunch of cops on motorcycles and in town cars drive past, and in the back seat of the awesome Bentley, we saw two older looking ladies who looked like they were Lizzy II's besties. Anyways, it was really cool to see something that you normally only see on the news right in front of you!

The actual Churchill rooms were amazing. A lot of them are still intact, but without their original furnishings. Dad, when you come back to London, you have to go! You would love it. Anyways, after that, me, Liz, and some of the freshman in our class went to grab lunch at a pub, and then we had art class in the National Gallery. We spent the class learning about perspectives and how to draw. I am so artistically challenged, and I found that whole afternoon very embarrassing. But, oh well, that's life.

Other than that, I've just been super busy with school work. I'm about to start working on a paper for history class on David Lloyd George, who was PM during WWI. Thrilling right? I also had a meeting today with the company I'm going to intern for at the end of the semester. It's called B3 creative, and there are only 2 full-time employees there. I was blown away by how much they have on their plates, and they do an amazing job. I'll be working from 10-4ish everyday, and they are super casual. I'm really excited to start there soon! Julia is in Whales seeing a friend from high school this weekend, so I'm going out with Naeem, Mike, Liz, Leslie, and Peter. Should be fun! I also bought a theater ticket to see Les Miserables! I'm so excited.

I'm also really excited to announce that my brother Adam is coming to London on November 3rd! I could literally not be more excited to see him! It's been way too long, and I miss him! Hopefully, we will be able to go to a really high end, and expensive Chinese restaurant and make my parents pay for it hhahahah! Sorry mom and dad. I would also like to wish my cousin Erin a very happy birthday! Love yah!

Here is a quote from one of my fav shows, the Office:
Jim: Does that include 'that's what she said'?
Michael: Mmmmm, yes.
Jim: Wow, that is really hard. You really think you can go all day long? Well, you always left me satisfied and smiling.
Michael: Mmmmm... THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!

Cheers to the frickin' weekend everyone!

Living the true English life

Hey everyone! Hope you all enjoyed the week. I've been very busy with schoolwork (blahhhhh). It's really hard for our teachers because they have to condense a 14 week semester into 10 weeks because we have 4 weeks for an internship at the end of the "semester", so the work has been piled on a bit. But, I can handle it. Anyways, this week was pretty uneventful, except for Friday. We took a field trip for the day to Oxford and Stratford. This was a ton of fun! We took a tour of Oxford, which is an amazing college town. The buildings are so old, but the city is full of young people. It's a little odd. And for all the loyal Harry Potter fans out there, this is where they shot some of the scenes from the first film. We saw where they shot scenes in the infirmary, and this is also the building where they got the inspiration for the Great Hall. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see that (boo!). Leslie and I were very disappointed. But, after that, we had some time to wander, so I wandered into the school bookstore, and bought some Oxford gear. Now, whenever I go somewhere, I can tell people I went to Oxford, and I wouldn't be lying. I really went there. Get it? Haha. After Oxford, we got on the bus and rode an hour to Stratford. For those who don't know, Stratford is the birthplace and resting place of Shakespeare. He was that guy who wrote some of those plays and stuff. Honestly, I had never heard of him before going there (HINT: SARCASM). What was that one play he wrote that was really famous? Romeo and Ethel the Pirate's Daughter? Name the movie reference in the comments section! Anyways, we saw the house he was born in, which is pretty much still standing. Then we walked through town a little, and made our way to the church where he is buried, but we couldn't go inside (bummer). Then, we went to grab dinner, and then went to see an adaptation of Romeo and Ethel the Pirate's Daughter (a.k.a Juliet) at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford. It was really sad because the adaptation was of an old married couple, and the character of Juliet is suffering from a stroke and is slowly dying. I have to admit, I did fall asleep through 10 minutes of it (thanks Mike for not waking me up), but it was good. The 2 actors who played Romeo and Juliet were very good. I recognized the woman who played Juliet, and when I researched her, I discovered that she was in a Harry Potter movie. I said to Leslie that I have an amazing HP Radar haha. She played the character Mrs. Figg in the 5th movie. She helps Harry escape the Dementors that attack him and Dudley in the alley near Privet drive. I know, I'm a dork. I promise I will stop. But, it really is hard to escape the madness of Harry Potter when people in England love it as much as I do. After the play, we made our way back to London, and went to bed. On Saturday, I went to Camden Town, which is a very hippity-hoppity neighborhood in London. I had to buy some new jeans, and then I went to Muswell Hill, and got a lot of work done. Last night, Julia, Audrey, Naeem and myself went to grab a drink at a pub, but it was pouring rain, and a bit of a miserable night because of it. But, today, I slept until 11:30, which was awesome. I'm currently back in Muswell Hill at the Starbucks I was at yesterday doing more homework. I'm almost done, which is why I took a break to talk to you nice folks. Anyways, that's all for now. Going to go back to work so that I can watch my beloved Bills tonight!

Here is a quote from one of Shakespeare's Sonnets, 116:
Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds.

Cheers guvnor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!