14. I was in Montreal this weekend, and was getting a quick lunch at the mall. My friends and I all ordered in English - I learned from last time that I shouldn't start talking in French if I'm not able to continue the interaction. So I went up and ordered a bacon, ham, and cheese sandwich. The girl said that it wasn't available though, I guess because it wasn't breakfast time anymore. So I paused to think, and the girl went on to list off some other options, starting off in rocky English and the switching over to French. So I decided to throw caution to the wind and try speaking French anyway; even if I was lame at it, she might appreciate the effort. It turned out okay, since we were just speaking in short phrases talking about a fixed subject. (Takes less effort to follow/figure out where the conversation's going.) It was a very fulfilling feeling to be able to finally bust out and use something I studied for eleven years to order a meal.

36. The plan for meeting up with my friend Tristan for the weekend was for him to come out to the bar(s) that we were going to. Since the stores closed early on Saturday though, and my friends wanted to go back to the hotel, I called him up early to see if he wanted to meet for dinner instead, which he did. So we went to Frites Alors on rue Saint-Laurent to eat, and he skipped out on the bar, which worked out way better anyway since the bars turned out to be pretty bad, and we could actually talk and catch up.

83. I bought a regular-price t-shirt at Simon's. I deliberated for a long time, especially since I also purchased another top in a similar micro-polka-dot pattern but with reversed colours. I really liked the feel of the material though, and the style was unique so I just got it. Yay =)

51. I did some situps a couple nights ago, without really counting or anything, but I think I got up to about 30 before I had to stop from the pain. I have to decide on how I'm going to consistently do situps; I like doing V-sits that I learned in high school, or crunches with one leg crossed over the other, or ... Anyway, this one's gonna take awhile.

53. I just crossed this out on an arbitrary day because I've been drinking a lot more water since summer and it has been able to continue into the school year. I actually have a water filter this year, yay!

55. Today I went to the pool for the first time this term. I've decided (much later than I should have) that I can use my early-dismissal days as pool days since I'm on campus anyway. Thursdays I can go right after classes are over at 12:30, and Tuesdays I can stay around after school for an hour until rec swim at 3:30. That's ambitious of me, I don't know if I'll go twice a week, especially for the next little bit with midterms going on, but starting November I'll try to be more diligent.

11. I would like to say that this item is in progress... but rather, I'd like to say that this one probably just won't happen. I went to the library with Brenda and my mom today to study/read. I managed to find the Optics textbook on the shelves (by sheer good fortune) so I did some questions. I couldn't even remember how to do simple geometry questions using similar triangles! A lot of the concepts are over my head, like wave front curvatures and what not... and lenses and convergence... omigosh. Anyway, the optometry motto is apparently "6-0 and go"... Right on.

45. For dinner, Dad, Bren and I went to Hanabi Sushi, located at Finch & Midland. It's a very small establishment, so there isn't much table space for you to spread out, but the food is decent, it's very affordable, and you get a lot of freebies with your meal, including congee, miso soup, beans, salad, some rolls, and green tea ice cream. I also enjoyed eating Japanese food and not having all-you-can-eat. I think it'd be an ideal location for students on a budget to get together and eat; I ran into Monica and her friend doing that tonight.

9. Today marked the end of UW Optometry Orientation Week. By 5 pm all the festivities were over and people went on their respective ways. Not long after I got home, my mum called so I talked to her and my sister for a little bit. I also tried to print some of my notes for Anatomy. Around 6 pm, I went to take something out of my fanny pack and saw my church bulletin tucked away from this morning. I remembered that YA meets on Sunday nights. Because it was so last-minute, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make it or find a ride, but I tried the phone number anyway. In the end, a nice couple named Dave and Lacie picked me up (they live right in my area) and took me to the Boyacheks'. I ran into a couple people I knew from before - Bethany, who used to be in my small group, and a guy named Nathan who I met through somebody else. I also met some new faces while we played games and chatted. I learned a game called Jungle Speed as well. All in all, it was a cool place to hang out, especially with nothing else to do on a Sunday night. I think I'll take this as a week-by-week thing for now though, before committing to too much.

41. I bought dollar-store ramekins on Saturday because I wanted to bake something before I left for school. I also bought heavy whipping cream, and today, set to work. I found a recipe for creme brulee on the Food Network site that seemed simple enough. Unfortunately for me though, I am terrible at thoroughly reading and following instructions. I skipped the important first step of steaming the cream, and I also almost forgot to add the brown sugar that the recipe called for. So I ended up adding a bunch of things out of order, which I think explains the odd and not remotely creamy texture that the creme brulee ended up having. I also question whether brown sugar is actually necessary because it just made the whole dessert end up looking a tad grey. It still tastes good though - you can't go wrong with cream, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla - so tackling the texture problem will be a task for next time.


47. New recipe #1: Creme Brulee.

58. I finally got around to wearing the trial lenses that I got a couple weeks ago - Acuvue Advance for Astigmatism, or something like that. They definitely are very comfortable - it doesn't feel like I'm wearing any contacts. However, my focusing power is a little wonky. It's making my brain sort of tired. Also, it was a huge struggle getting them in because my eyes are small!

76. In preparation for riding in Waterloo, I decided to take my bike for a spin today. My dad helped me fill the tires with air, and off I went. (The helmets in the basement were too big... so another thing I have to do now is get a bike helmet.) Biking is quite a bit more tiring than I remember; the last time I really rode was years ago when we still lived at the old house and my sister and I played with a kid named Kazeem who lived across the street. Anyway I ended up riding to Alvin's house, which is actually just a very short ride away if I take Pineway all the way across. I stopped by to borrow Monsters, Inc. which I'll save for tomorrow to see if Rachel wants to watch it. On the way back, my left pedal felt a little funny. I thought it was just bent weirdly because I hit the curb getting into Alvin's driveway. As I was passing under the bridge on Cummer, the pedal just entirely fell off! I tried futilely to screw it back in, and ended up just walking my bike the rest of the way home until I got my hands on a wrench. Two adventures in one! Fixed the pedal myself, and then Dad used some WD-40 to try to remedy the squeaking brakes. Can't wait to ride more!

45. Yesterday my mom and I went to have lunch at Dimmi Bar & Trattoria, in Yorkville, just next to Hemingway's. The online reviews for it are apparently amazing, but I guess I found out that I'm not as into Italian food as I perhaps once was. I had rigatoni in a gorgonzola sauce, with mushrooms and roasted peppers, and my mom ordered a chicken foccacia. The pasta was tasty, but the cheese is quite strong and overpowering towards the end of the meal. The foccacia was good as well but the portion was too big so we ended up packing up half of it. It was also just a touch pricier than I would have liked. The only solution is to have a smaller portion with a lower price for lunch.

99. I went to Javahole (the Second Cup at Steeles & Laureleaf) with Paul this afternoon for coffee, and to my dismay, did not see Javathon. I guess he must have moved on with his life. They also got rid of one of the couches! Anyway, it was nice - sitting in nice plushy chairs with coffee and newspapers, and talking about religion and politics. I also got to use my SPC and save 80 cents on coffee! Anyway, it was a nice day to be out, a nice place to be, and a nice friend to spend time with.