first day

today was my first day!

And time just flies by!

I cannot believe how exhausted I was when I got home. I came home, ate dinner, went back to my room, and fell asleep. Of course, setting my alarm clock first!!

Good thing I did though!

This is great! I'm looking forward to it!

At that same time as I want to say: "i can't wait til it's my turn!", I feel nervous about it, and am not so sure that I want to say it!

Orks mean Business

These big bad boyz mean business! They're huge, ugly (actually, I think they're kinda cute), and carry so much stuff!

I think they're going to be fun!

My colleagues tell me that I shouldn't be picking up a hobby at this time of my life. Ha!

Big Mek - isn't it so cute?!?! It's so small - teeny tiny (to me), and the stuff it carries is soo big!!

Little robot! So cute! The're so 'old-age'. The things they use are not 'not' high-tech!!! I love it!
These guys are called 'war bosses'. They're bigger, and badder.


see, told ya they were cute!

A New Hobby?

This is what I didn't tell you about:

During my trip, I went to a store called: Games Workshop.

First time I played a Warhammer game - I played the fantasy one. And, the first time I painted a little model! they're so small and teeny tiny! It was a lot of fun. Time passes by way too fast when you're concentrated on painting.

And, last night, was the first time I got my very own starter kit. Chris is so sweet. he surprised me.. triple time. it's actually quadruple time. 1) He showed up where I was 2) He got me a model 3) he got me a kit to paint the model 4) he got me a book about the space marines so I could find/learn more about them!

Today was also the first time I visited the Games Workshop in Toronto.
I got 2 models (that came with a magazine). White I was at the store, I picked up this wolf-looking creature. (I learned that it was part of the Vampire package) and, guess what? I got to keep it! ^^

I just opened my starter kit. I want to paint, but I want Chris to paint with me.

So, i'm going to wait until we get a few more brushes :P

Safe School's Conference

Home from the Safe School's Conference.

It was definitely my first speaking in front of 500 colleagues, and it was a great experience.

The conference, especially the play really brought to my attention and awareness of what is happening. Of the issues that are involved in our schools today.

Visiting sis in Guelf

I made a trip to Guelf the other day - sorry, didn't take any cameras (though, I did use the iPhone camera) - with Chris to visit Mars.

It turns out that there are many animals at the place the she lives in! She has 2 ferrets. But, there's a cat, and a dog.

And, I must say that I loved playing with the dog. It's a Border Collie!
And, it was smart. He understood commands, and Chris taught it to give him his paw using the chinese 'hand hand' command. It was great!! My first time playing with a Border Collie.

So smart!!! I want a Border Collie now!

And, my first time going to guelf. small, small town.

My 15km Ride

I had my first 15km bike ride today. Having my Minoura Handlebar Bottle cage was definitely helpful, now i don't need to strap the bottle to my waist. But, my water bottle proves to be not that helpful. I can't drink from it without stopping, since it's an old Nalgene one, and you need to unscrew the cap to get it open, and I couldn't do that with one hand.

From (one of) my previous blog posts, I mentioned MapMyRide.com. I'm using it as a measure of how far I've biked, and as a site to log all the different routes I've taken.

Here's a map of the route I biked today, it took 1hr.

My Biking "Adventure", re-lived

I am still sweating, panting, my thighs still shaking and my heart still racing from my bike ride.

I took the path that Chris and I went down the other day - Friday afternoon. It starts of as a nicely paved road, large enough to make way for a rural two lane road, and leads into a dirt path about half a foot wide. The path changes from smooth and even, to pebbly, then gravelly and finally rocky and dirty. Today, it was a bit muddy from the heavy rain over the past few days.

Before I headed out for my bike ride, i decided to bring my camera along to take a few snap shots of what my adventure entails. I only took photos of the trail though. I didn't get to capture a 'First" moment that I had!
I'll share the photos, then talk about the my exciting, and breath-taking (literally, it left me panting and exhausted) moment.


This is where the journey begins.











And, of course I need to take a picture of my bike! Well, at least as much of it as possible without getting OFF the bike.










This Picture is taken along the way to the 'trail'. see that slope? It's actually quite steep. And, not as easy as you think to bike back up.





This is not 'the trail'. The gates, as usual are locked, and instead of breaking the lock, or sawing through the chains, taking this little path here is a slightly easier way to gain access to the trail.

And, this is what I mean by 'locked'.







See the nicely paved road? Well, this HUGE puddle was gorgeous!
You can see the reflection of the scenery in it!





The road gets a bit narrower, but is still nicely paved. I'm holding the camera in my had as I bike. Not something I would recommend.


Then, I can no longer hold the camera as I bike. Se the pebbles and gravel on the road? It gets better!!






Now, this is some path that we're looking for!!!


Wait, there's more!










see the path getting really narrow?
It's really nice there though. I'm not sure if you can see it, but near the back, you can see that the path goes down ad then back up again. This slope doesn't look that steep, but really, you get enough momentum to rush all the way back up without pedaling at ALL.



This is a picture of the same part of the trail in the previous picture. But, after I rush down it, and back up!
It was exhilarating. It's strange, the first time I went down it, I lit up my eyes and gave me this sort of excitement. You're sitting on a bike, you might get thrown off and all scratched up. The path is really bumpy. I Didn't know whether to brake, or to hold onto the handlebars for dear life. I ended up holding onto the handles FULLY. I felt that I needed to hold onto it so tightly, hoping to at least be able to steer it, even if I couldn't control the speed. it was fun!



after the rush up.






And, the end. So many branches. This is where I got bitten. Probably because I kept stopping to take pictures. Well, at least the mosquitoes here are nicer than the ones that reside in the visitor's parking outside my house. The swelling and itching are gone already!



Getting out was difficult. I couldn't bike up this slope.






Shot of the same slope from the other side.




great to know!!









The trail leads me to a Golf Club. Before Chris and I biked here last time, I had no idea I lived that close to a Golf Club. some photos of the club.














So after the trail, I decide to head home. From the trail, I suppose it's around a 3km ride home. I bike along the side walk, since Steeles is an extremely busy street. When I reach the next intersection, I head North for home. I reach a traffic light, and passing it, I continue on the sidewalk. Then, it occurs to me that, it's nice and clam, not too many cars: I can bike on the road! So, I did!

This is the first time that I bike on a large road. Steelecase, does not count as a large road, since it's like a residential road (no traffic lights etc. Speed Limit is probably 50kmh). Anyways, my new challenge. That uphill that you saw in the first few pictures, was the uphill that I needed to bike on the road to get home. And, it was a long, hard bike (for me), but I made it! I feel so proud of myself!

note: uploading these pictures takes EONS. I don't think i'll be uploading so many for blogs now.

Hard to eat

Tis the second day after my wisdom teeth extraction (upper and lower right). The swelling and jaw pain have subsided. Actually, the swelling wasn't as big at all. But, I have developed a pain in my right ear. And, I believe I also have an infection in my lower tooth extraction site. I can't really see anything when I look in the mirror - mainly because I can't open my mouth that wide - and also because I can't find a flashlight in the house. Anyhow, I taste this strange taste in my mouth. It almost tastes like blood, but doesn't have that tannin sting. In the morning, when I discard liquid from my mouth, it's not clear. There's a discoloration. It's more yellowish brown. No blood color from what I can see.

I've decided to take the antibiotics prescribed for me. I was wanting to wait and see if the pain and gooey nasty things would go away by itself. But, after some research on Google with I've decided that perhaps taking them might help any bone or sinus infections that might occur. I guess my recovery wasn't as dazzling after all. I think it was the anesthetics and the painlessness that painted the picture so brightly for me. I stopped taking pain-killers after 12 post-op. I'm tempted to reach for the bottle and pop one in my mouth. The constant pain I get in my ear is rather irritating.

I've been eating Congee (rice boiled with a LOT of water) for the past 2 days. It's difficult to eat bread because it requires so much chewing. I couldn't resist and had one of those buns. It was a BBQ Pork bun. Double the difficulty because not only did I need to chew bread, I also had to chew meat. My jaws were exhausted by the time I was done - but, did it feel good to eat!

After reading a few forums from my Google searches, I want to make mashed potatoes! And, get myself some probiotic yogurt. Hopefully the yogurt will prevent diarrhea (a common side effect of taking antibiotics). I've also discovered that it's hard for me to eat a banana! How can that be possible? They're quite mushy themselves! Turns out that the circumference of the fruit is too large and it's very uncomfortable to bite a piece off. Nibbling is also very inefficient. So, I've decided to MASH it. Reminds me of baking Banana Bread - 3 mashed bananas!

Oh, and I have been unable to reach my Dentist. Just lovely.

Surgery and Sutures

I just got home from the dentists. And, I must admit that... i hate going to the dentist. I hated it from when I was a little kid. From those cleaning moments, to the whirring of some sort of strange saw (or so I thought/imagined) to the doctor saying that I need to get braces. Then to carry those horrific memories from childhood to teenage and adulthood. I still don't like going to the dentist - even if it's just to see the dental hygienist. By the way, the last time I went to get my teeth scaled was not that great of an experience. Hearing the constant scraping and screeching sound of metal against my teeth just didn't give me a lot of room for visual imagery. All I could think of was that she was scraping and scraping with those metal picks at my teeth. And my teeth being sheared and ugh. It was not a lovely picture. Even the paintings of Tigger and Winnie the Pooh, Bugs Bunny and Tweety on the ceiling was not enough to quench and relish my vivid imagination. I wish she talked to me and said something to me to help ease and perhaps even wash away my disturbing imagery pictures.

Well, today... Today was different. I must admit that I was nervous, and scared. Because, i do hate going to the dentist's office - regardless of the dentist and what I'll be doing. It just gives me the chills. This Dentist, located at Midland and Finch, was a little different. I agree with Hei, he is really nice. He talked to me and made comments and jokes. It was nice to hear a person say something to me while I'm laying there with my mouth open. Eyes open but having no visual input of what's going on. Ears open only to hear noises from happenings that I cannot see, and my mind wide-awake trying to make sense of the noises I'm receiving. The dentist helped me make sense of the noises I was hearing. He talked me through the procedures and what he was doing. He communicated with the hygienist that was his right-hand helper (left-hand, rather).

He told me what he was doing when he did what he did. For example, applying the greenish-blue paste. This was some Topic, he explained, which will help ease the pain of the anesthetic needles. Okay, I relax a bit.

-Oh, it's time to change the gauze I need to bite on -

Then, there's this drill that's kinda hot. I think I feel it on my gums, I feel something. And, i say "ow ow ow ow ow". And, the dentist chuckles, "Ow?!". "Yes I feel something". "You feel the pressure?", he asks. "Yes, I think so". I believe it was more the hotness of the instrument aginst my lips/corner of mouth that I was feeling. But pull, and the tooth was out. It was FAST. So fast, that I looked surprisingly at my dentist and asked "it's out?!". I was quite excited at the prospect of having one of my teeth pulled out. there was a big smile on my face and I was more excited for the second one.

The second, bottom tooth was a bit more stubborn than it's previous sibling. It took a while for him to get it out. It was already loose and out of place but... yes, I could understand the dentist. There was no space for the tooth to be clipped onto. There was gum covering it and stuff. But, it did come out! And, it's BIG. A big tooth for a small mouth. I don't have a tiny mouth, but I do find it difficult to floss near the back.

And, I got sutures!!! Who gets excited about getting sutures?! Well, I was! My first sutures!

Because of that, I get 2 birds with one stone. My first surgery, and my first sutures (or stitches). And, these stitches will dissolve themselves. He told me they were made of lamb gut/intestines. Wonderfully brilliant! I get to have lamb gut on my gums!

p.s. i decided to make a label called "firsts". This one is really not the first 'first' that I've blogged about, but I think today is a good place to start. I'll add the labels at a later time (if I ever get around to doing so^^.

Edit: My teeth are HUGE, and I'll post a picture of them to show it to you. It's kinda gross, but I'm holding them, so you don't see them all. Tylenol and Ferrero Rocher - my two companions.

My first photo upload on blogger!

OH, I hate how "A Beautiful Mind" always makes me cry - especially near the ending! It's so good! I love it!

So, here's a preliminary photo view of my bike - this is how I lock it up:

Doesn't look too good without a seat. HAHA.

My Biking Needs Met!

Before I jump into my VERY excited speech about my biking needs, I want to talk about the weather. How 'boring' of me to talk about the weather, but really, I think it's an essential part of today. The Weather Network fore casted thunderstorms in Toronto... but, that is far from what we actually received this afternoon, up until 9.10pm. Anyways, I want to say (from my bright and bubbly point of view) that I thought today's gloomy, yet very warm and humid weather was just dandy!

Earlier this afternoon, I headed downtown (well, mid-town - Davisville/Eglinton and Yonge area), hoping that it wouldn't rain. We went to the Trek Bicycle Store to take a look at things, checked out a few bikes, gawked at the carbon-fibre $6,000CDN road bicycle. It was really nice, and light. Also checked out their hybrid and comfort bikes, took a seat on them and sort of pedaled it in the store. No, luckily I did not hit anything.

Decided to head to another store: Cyclepath, the one where Chris saw the Norco Plateau bike I posted before. And, I took the Bike out for a spin! We were out for quite a while. It was a nice ride, a very easy ride. So easy to pedal up hills. But, wow, was it springy! I rode over some grass, and bounced like a little yo-yo on a string, except I didn't roll back up the string. More like those po-go sticks. My little flaps of meat were flapping their wings - anyways, you get the picture. So, other than that 'springy' sensation, the bike was not bad!

Well, wanting to think about it and to take a Trek Bike out for a test-run, we went back to the Trek store (about 30meters away from Cyclepath). I decided to take the Navigator 2.0 WSD out for a spin. It's a step-through sort of bike, so I don't need to swing my other leg over to hop on, which means I can ride this wearing a skirt!!

After taking for a really good spin, which the sales person suggested so that I could see all it's potential, I really liked it. And, I mean really. I wanted to get it today! I don't think Chris was expecting me to get a bike today. Really, the biking is so smooth, you barely hear a thing when you're pedaling - except for the hum of the spin of the wheels, of course. The bike that I got has different colors than the bike that's linked above. THe guy said it's only been in th store for a week or so. No worries, I'll put up a picture of it when I get the chance to take a picture of it.

And, I got a nice helmet too! Gotta snap another picture of it for you to gawk at. There's hot pink on it. :P
First bike purchase!

My First Fishing Trip

I got back not long ago from Port Perry. It's west of the town of Markham along HWY7 and is about a 60-70Km drive away from home, i.e. approx. 50min drive at 80-90kmh.

Hei and I took off for Port Perry at around 2pmish this afternoon and didn't leave the Port until staying htere for a good 4 hours.

And, i must say my very first fishing trip as an adult was very positive!!! It was a very windy, but good experience - I'm really happy about that!
Guess how many fish i caught?



.. seriously, guess a number, any number.


.
.
.
.
.
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.


you probably didn't guess it. the number is:

ZERO!!!! the BIG OH!

Nope, we didn't catch a THING! neither of us! Actually, it makes me feel a bit better that Hei didn't get anything either. Because, if she did - i think my competitive side would feel so STOMPED... yes, now you all know how childish and immature i am.

The best part by far was being able to ride the little motorboat out into the open lake. No, it wasn't big at all. [it being both the boat AND the lake or pond, or whatever it was that we were fishing in] And, i think it would have been fun to canoe or kayak (they have rentals there for that too!

There was this ONE spot where i casted the rod, and... oh my, oh my!! the first time i felt a TUG!!! and, the bloke behind me saw the tug too!!! SO, i guess it's not just seaweed, ot grass, or whater 'forest' they have down there in the water. You see, Hei kept fishing tons and tons of it - so much, she claimed that she was fishing and hauling in a forest when she reeled. Too funny!

anyways, maybe we'll be able to do this again some time!

Sibbald Point Camping Trip

Was really nice and relaxing.

We arrived there at around 6.40pm, only to find ourselves at the back of a very long line up to registr ourselves for the campsite. Usually, I hate waiting in line, actually, I normally don't appreciate waiting for anything because I am a rather impatient person, but the 50minute wait gave me lots of opportunites to interact with dogs! Since, their owners had to join the huge line-up and wait for their turn to enter the camp as well.

I met this HUGE Newfoundlander and his owner at the gate. The dog was gigantic! The largest dog that I've seen live! HE must have been at least 180lbs. But, he was so friendly and like a big oaf! You can't be afraid of him. He seems to be such a gentle soul. And, the most beautiful golden retriever ever. It was more like a white retriever! It's fur was so soft and light in color! When did i become such a dog lover? It must be Chris!

When we finally got to our campsite, we set up the tents and at around 8.30-9pm, chris and I went to wash the dishes when... a boxer walked along. He was so cute! Aww, so cute the way he walked toward me 9when he was already being attended by 2 other female passer-bys. And, he nuzzled me with his nose. *heart melt* Wow, I'm such a cheese for their sappyness.

And, Chris and I have concluded that I am a lover of big dogs. And, that I am destined to be the owner of a big dog - one day. I am still deciding what dog i like the most. I need to interact with them all first!

The camp-fire was very nice. Warming to our freezing toes. Believe it or not, the temperature drop was so drastic! I will definately leran for next time. I didn't bring enough to wear. Next time, long jeans and a thicker jacket will definitly be packed.


what I can't wait to talk about is the second and thrid days: our beach days!
The beach was amazing! The first day, we had a BBQ on the beach, and top that! If i were the people sitting next to us, I would be full of envy. But, I am luvky enough to be the person sitting in front of a charcoal burning open fire with a BBQ fork in my hand. And, with this sort of barbequing, ample amount of honey ontop of your food makes it heavenly. The mushroom pork meatballs were heavenly. Chris has a really doog ability to BBQ such GOOD chicken wings!!

when we could finally drag ourselves to leave at 7.45pm, we heade dback to our campsite and made some pasta for dinner. I must say that Chris is quite talented in the pan-frying department. That ham was so crnchy and tasty even after being cooled down.. MMMMMHMMM!

Then our settlers Marathon. Literally marathon. I've never played such a long game of settlers. it was fun though!

ANd, the next beach day.. was even better! Hei was here, and the potatoe salad she made was just fantastic! makes me hungry for potatoes now.. and, the rest of the bag is in chri's car, probably in him home now. And, the bread. And, the noodles.

The beach part was just heavenly! bringing the air matress out to the water was an amazing idea - yay Chris! lying, floating there, was gorgous, being toasted by the hot, hot, sun. And, the guys made us feel like queens when they brought us food and water from the shore to our little floating haven.

picture, pictures is a must! But, too bad we didn't have a water-proof camera. no picutres of our floating heaven!

we left the campsite exhausted. I believe most of us were. well, i definitely was! It was a fun trip. I would go again, anyday.

first camping trip with friends. alone.

Guess what I got at YORKDALE?!?!

YOU BETCHA!!!!!

my LEGO STAR WARS GAME!!!

AND a MIGHT MOUSE!!!!!

Thanks Janice!!!
(for the Lego Star Wars II game, and half of my mighty mouse :P)

and of course, pictures, pictures.

This is my game:


And here's my mouse: