Will it ever be Summer?

Here I am sitting in Starbucks once again, trying to get stuff done. (You know that you come here too often when you start to know the Baristas on a first name basis!) Rocky Mountain College asked me to write a blurb about my experience at Rocky, what I'm learning, what my future looks like (ect) and wouldn't you know I left it to the last minute. Sign number one that I am ready for it to be summer. It doesn't help that I am barely able to get my head into the zone in able to complete my last online course for the spring. Sign number two that I should be on Summer Vacation. It probably wasn't a very good idea for me to take all my summer vacations at the beginning of May. Sign number three that my body has been ready for Summer since May 11!

I would also like to draw to everyones attention that I am now officially 22. Yesterday sealed the deal. I feel like a dinosaur, and so I am making a plan to go to the Royal Tyrell Museum to commemorate my old age! Nothing says birthday celebration better than million year old bones! My mother got me a really great cookbook which I am beyond excited to use. The instructions in it are so specific there is no way that I will ever be able to give anyone food poisoning. So come one, come all, to my house for some extravagant feasts! I mean, I'm 22 now, it's about time that I learned how to do some proper cooking!

YYZ and Me

Well folks, my NYC trip has come to an end. It was a great week, I saw pretty much everything I wanted to (aside from Central Park because it was pouring the day I went, my shoes were soaked and I was grumpy so I just walked past it looking in) and had a wonderful visit with Suzanne. It was awesome to see her there, living her dream! I think the highlight of my trip would be all the naked people I saw, (please note the sarcasm) even though it was all in the name of art, it still doesn't take away the shock caused to my body haha! As much as I did love my time in New York, and as much as I will miss Suzy, I was so happy to arrive back in Canada today. Oh Canada, how I missed thee. I don't know how I expect to survive away from you for 8 months next year! **Side Note** If you do ever go to New York, I thoroughly enjoyed my little side trip to Philly (2hr bus ride away, less than 20$ RT), and if I had planned a little better, I would have even gone for a day trip to Washington, D.C. too (4.5hrs away)! It's nice have such historic towns so close! ** Anyway, pictures will soon be up on facebook, as soon as I am back in Calgary and have time to upload them!

In the meantime though, I will be spending the next 6 days in the Toronto area! Actually, I am currently in the Toronto Pearson Airport as, I, type! I flew in on, get this, LAN Airlines which is in fact a Chilean based airline. JFK-YYZ on a South American airline? How does that happen? It was great though! There was hardly anywhere on the HUGE jet we flew in, so I had two seats to myself for the whole hour long duration of my flight. SA-WEET. Also, the flight crew all spoke in Spanish first, then English. Talk about up in the air cultural experience! I got into Toronto at about 12:45, and I am waiting here for my mom to fly in from Calgary. She doesn't get in til 9:30; yeah, you do the math. Hella long wait batman. But its ok, aside from lugging all my bags around the airport (until I found a storage facility! woo) I have slowly been finding ways to occupy my time. Mostly with the aid of my laptop, which BTW you have to pay to have internet here. Lucky for them I HAD to buy into their little scheme because I had a paper to write for one of my summer classes. What is this world coming to?

So yeah, I have about 3 more hours to kill, and I have already watched both volumes of "Saturday Night Live: The Best of Will Ferrell". I hope the best of Christopher Walken finishes downloading quickly, or I might go crazy!

Getting Acquainted

It is funny how much a 2 hour time difference can affect you. Last night, I could not fall asleep, so I ended up finishing all my unpacking and planing out my week, which means I did not get to sleep until 3am, making my 7am wake up call very un-welcomed.

Eventually I got a move on my day, after taking a mid morning nap, and went for a walk downtown. I ended up walking all the way down Broadway St. to Ground Zero. Wow. I went to look at the construction that is being done on the same ground where the two towers once stood. I can not believe that so much pain and fear was placed upon this city, but you would never see it on the faces of the New Yorkers. They are strong, just walking by as if nothing had ever stood there before. Maybe they are just putting on a brave face. As I walked down Church Street peering through the construction barricades, I could feel the eerie presence of what happened in this place creep up on me. I started to remember about my September 11, 2001, where I was, and how I was affected. I went to the 9/11 Memorial Tribute Center, and was flooded with the memories of the thousands whose lives have been forever changed because of this event in history. There was no joy in this place, not that I expected there to be. Everyone is still very solemn. And it was then, as I gazed upon the pictures and read the stories of how that day unfolded that I was again hit with the reality of what has happened here in New York. The sorrow for the thousands lost that day poured over my heart in a way I had not felt in 2001.

On a cheerier note, tonight Suzy and I went to a bar called "O'Neals" which was used to film scenes for a bar called "Scout" in Sex and the City. And then, we went for a late dinner at her school restaurant called "L'ecole" which means "school" in french. Wow. My taste buds were spoiled tonight. It was a 5 course meal: Appetizer, Fish course, Meat course, Digestif and then Dessert. We almost could not finish everything, somehow we managed to power through the deliciousness of it all, including 3 extra dishes "compliments of the chef" haha. All in all, it was probably one of the best meals I have had, restaurant wise and I was able to taste dishes that I would not normally think to order. If only I could learn to cook like this, and not have to go to school for it.

Tomorrow I am off on a little side adventure, to PHILADELPHIA! Yes, I am going to see the Liberty Bell, and run up the Rocky steps. Can. Not. Wait.

NYC...almost

I am currently sitting in the YYC airport, anxiously awaiting to board my flight to EWR (NEW YORK CITY!!!!!!). I was actually supposed to be up in the air by now, but WestJet was not happy with the bridge (the thing that connects the terminal to the plane) and so we ALL had to switch to a gate at the other side of the terminal! Also, I never want to fly in the morning again, as I realized after waiting in the check-in line for 45 minutes that morning flights are the most popular. By the time I got through customs and security I barely had enough time to grab something to eat! But, now that I am nearly on my way to the glamourous and exciting city of New York, I can feel all the problems and frustrations of the morning just melting away. Oh, they are boarding us now! NEW YORK CITY, WATCH OUT!