So, i'm home once again (this time from san diego) and now i leave in 6 days for Waterloo. san diego is probably teh most beautiful city i've ever visited. every area is so different, which is also a bonus. let's see...highlights from teh trip: the first day we went to Balboa park. my brother and dad went off to a baseball game, so my mom and myself just wandered around. we went on a walking tour of the park, which was pretty interesting. turns out this guy Balboa never actually set foot in california. anyway, we went into a lot of the museum's gift shops and actually went into the photography museum. it's a small museum, but one of the exhibits was really beautiful. the other, well, i don't think i understood what she was getting at. i don't really know waht else we did there, but it took up quite a few hours whatever it was.
Ok, what else...the aquarium was pretty nice. it doesn't quite match up to the one in monterey, but it was still impressive. some of the fish were such incredibly vibrant colours. my favourites were teh bright yellow ones with a blue stripe and the ones that have black heads and the colour changes into a bright purple going to the fishy's tail fin things :) They've also got a new shark exhibit, so i learned a few things there. my brother fulfilled one of his greatest desires in being able to pet a sea cucumber again. i dont' think there was too much more worth noting from this section of the trip.
thursday we went to the wild animal park, which was pretty amazing. we decided before leaving toronto that none of us relaly felt the need to go to the san diego zoo czu toronto has such an amazing zoo now...so we decided the wild animal park would be a good spot for us. what surprised me the most about it is that it's been in operation for almost 30 years. from teh looks of it i'd have thought it had been running for half that amount of time at most. there is so much to do in this park. we were going to start off with a walking tour of most of teh park, til my dad realized we'd have to cross over a suspention bridge and i'm phobic of bridges and he knew i woudlnt' go. so i found an alternate rout, but we never even ended up finishing what we'd planned. we actually went to teh elephant show before we started walking cuz my brother wouldn't have it any other way :) (animal attatchments run in my family...) eventually we all got really tired of walking (i'd had it after climbing the huge hill the first time...i think we did that about three times plus other steep climbs...not fun!) so went on an hour long tram ride through the entire park grounds. they've got different sections devoted to different parts of the world and the animals that live there. so there were the basics...elephants, rhinoserous, zebra, giraffs, tigers (which we were really lucky to see) and lions (who were hiding)...but there were also TONS of other animals...most of which i'd never even heard of! sure, i went on the saffari tour at disney world's (land?? florida..) new-ish animal kingdom, but it was nothing compared to this. this was all just so real. this is definitely a park worth visiting if you have the chance...even if it means missing a trip to the infamous zoo :)
besides the very first day of our trip (the day of actually getting there), which could (and likely will) take up a whole entry on its own, the last thing from this trip that's really stuck in my mind (oh, that's no true...there is one other thing...a music museum...which was less exciting than it could have been czu the electric violin was broken and had just been returned to the museum but wasn't set up yet :() was our last night. the first day in san diego, while at balboa park, i saw a sign saying that the Starlight theatre would be presenting a production of A Chorus Line beginning while we were in teh city. from my parents' first reaction i assumed that seeing it was out of the question, but my brother agreed to see it, so we ended up going. the unique thing about this theatre is that it's outdoor...and is right next to san diego's air port (go figure!) so they actually stop the show every once in a while if it's during a section where there's no musical accompaniment. the show wasn't prefect, but i was impressed. especially by teh 18-year old incredible dancer who i coudln't stop watching! i'd read in teh program that he was 18...and then once the show started there was one guy whose dancing completely caught my eye. when the rest of teh cast woudl do teh equivalent of a star jump with their legs, his were about two degrees from beinga full split...but in teh same amount of time as everyone else's jumps. not sure if that description makes sense. anyway, he was mark, so he ddin't have a huge part, but that was ok. the girls who played Merralis (sp??) and Maggie were really good...cassie, well, was not. overall, the cast was more strong than weak. it was really great to finally see a production of A Chorus Line...i've been wanting to see it for a few years now.
alright, that's about it. we drove back to LA a day early (we flew into and out of LA) and saw my dad's aunt and uncle, which was nice. last time we'd seen them was my grandfather's funeral 6 years ago...and teh last time we actually had a nice visit with them was 7 years ago, so it was good to see them again. we'd hoped to see my dad's cousin and his daughter too, but they couldn't make it. so, that was my week in a nut shell. you know, if that's a nut shell, i wonder how long teh whole nut would be! anyway, i'll likely write again this week...but if i don't, i'll write again from Waterloo! goodnight
Well, it hasn't quite been a month...but it has been a rather eventful few weeks. i don't even know where i left off, but i'm quite sure it was before i started talking about my trip to new york. and, if i was able to actually think, i'd continue from there...but i know there's no chance that i'll rememebr everything i wanted to say, so i'm not going to try. so, i'll start from last monday (the 6th)...
I went up to the little (1850 people) town of Chesley, Ontario, kind of south/west-ish from Owen Sound. No, i didn't just randomly decide to head over there, a good friend of my mom's live there and has for the past, oh, 15 years or so. it's sort of become a tradition that we go to visit her every 2 years, but it seems that pretty much every visit, another family member of mine doesn't come. well, that's not entirely true...but we started off with a trip that all 4 of us went on, oh, 12 or 13 years ago or so. but i think that was the only time my dad went. so, it was just myself, my mom and my brother for a few visits. then, 4 years ago, my brother coudlnt' go cuz he was at camp, so it was down to two. (two years ago my brother came again, which is why this little theory isn't quite acurate...) but this year i went alone. my parents drove me to Elora (really pretty town...go visit it!) where Andrea picked me up. we all went out for lunch there and then Andrea and I were off to Chesley.
Well, aside from teh fact that Andrea doesn't have air conditioning, i chose teh best possible week to be away from the city. it was rediculously hot...but at least out in the country there was air to breathe. the first night was pretty awful, but the next morning Andrea remembered she had a fan in her basement so brought it up to my room. it's really wonderful what those things can do! Tuesday we went to a wonderful market in a town called Kaedy. they sell just about everything...from fruits and vegetables, to home made breads and cakes, to candies and fudge, to po go sticks...to livestock :) tuesday and wednesday afternoons we went to a beach, though amazingly it was too cold to really go near the water on wednesday. wednesday morning...umm..oh right, we went to a sulphur spring. it was very smelly, but still pretty neat. the water is always 9C, no matter the season, so it never freezes. the colour in the water was really beautiful. where it was deeper it was a sort of deep blue-ish silver..which likely doens't make any sense. but the shallow areas were more of a yellow/gold, which was what i expected it to be. anyway, i started getting nauseous so we headed back. oh, there was also a great area with lots of animals. tons and tons of duckies that kept sticking their tails in the air while looking for food (not in the spring...there were man-made ponds for them) and geese and deer and all kinds of other birds. i took lots and lots of pictures :) thursday we went over to a slightly larger (i think) town called Paisley. i've been there a few times before, but there are some really nice little stores there...so we snooped around for a bit and then had lunch, and that was that. we left chesley at 4 so i could catch the 6:30 train from Orangeville to toronto...and i was home by 8:30.
friday afternoon i went down to find carly at work and give her back her cell phone that she'd left at my house more than a week before...we ended up having a rushed lunch and i hurried home to leave on another trip. so, after being home for less than 24 hours, we (my mom and myself) were off to the Schachar's cottage for the weekend. Friday we basically jsut ate a really late dinnera dn then all went to bed. Saturday i went down to the lake in teh morning (maybe it was afternoon by the timei woke up, mind you...anyway) but wasn't feeling well once lunch time came around, so i spent the rest of the afternoon inside. i ventured out again around 6 for a swim before the other half of my family arrived for dinner. and, after another late dinner, we all headed for bed once again.
Sunday morning wasn't quite as cheerful. my parents and myself got up relatively early and left the cottage around 10 for the funeral of another one of my great uncles. he was the third one to die within almost exactly 4 months. it was kind of scary looking around the room...and seeing only two men left in that generation. all 6 sisters are still there...but they've lost their brother and so many of their husbands. the only men who remain are my grandfather and the husband of the youngest sister...my grandmother's teh second youngest. i don't know, it's all just got me thinking...which isn't all that unusual for me, mind you. so anyway, that was my final goodbye to uncle irving...and i'll always think of him whenever someone says i'm beautiful (hm, that sounds rather conceited...but that's not how i meant it. not that i am, just if someone says it...anyway...)
we were back at teh cottage around 1:30 and i ended up spending the majority of the day down at the lack, enjoying the sun and the breeze. it was really a perfect day to be at a cottage...espeically since it was all overcast adn grey back in toronto :) after dinner, we came back home...but overall it was a really nice weekend
Monday was another trip up to waterloo...this time for StudentLife 101. i didn't learn much, but i had a few questions taht were answered. i saw my residence and what my room will look like. everyone who was there from waterloo kept reminding us that we're theirs in only 20 days. i don't know what seems like less...20 days or just under 3 weeks. regardless, it's less now! i've got about 8 days left at home cuz we're taking a family trip to san diego from this coming saturday until the following sunday, but that's a whole otehr story!
these past two days i've been doing a lot of shopping for school. i tackled Zellers, Canadian Tire, future Shop, and business Depot with my dad. Tuesday, (Lisa) Cow and myself made a trip to Randolph for an hour and a half of torture! my first time in a class for 14 months, and it hurt! it hurts a lot more now than it did last night. moving at all is a great feat, let me tell you.
i've got a bunch of plans for the next two days, and i'm hoping it'll all work out. i'm having to start saying real goodbyes to people now. Patty leaves for Smith while i'm away so i won't get to see her again. i actually might not end up seeing her at all, but the plan is that we find eachother at some point on friday. it'll also likely be a goodbye to thomas on friday. we're going to the music garden by the lake shore. last time we went together was nearly a year ago, so it's due time we went back. he's promised to come visit though...and he will be living up to that promise if i have anything to do with it!
alright, it's late and my fingers are tired from typing...and i meant to be asleep ages ago. i don't know i'll be able to update again any time soon, but i'll give it a try. otherwise, good luck with the beginning of school, everyone (who's still in school, that is...)
Journal End Time: 1:42am
I keep meaning to update, and i have no idea why it's taken me so long to do so. quite a bit's happened since june 25..well, not as much as last summer, but a lot considering i'm doing nothing this summer. i went to an applied health sciences faculty day at waterloo on the 27th (i think..) so that was nice, and pretty helpful. it was fun to see the actual students who will be in my classes and everything next year.
so, now fast forward to um..Canada day i guess. went to the baseball game. we lost by a bunch and it was a pretty bad game, but it ended up being enough fun to keep me interested :) the prices for food at sky dome got me so frustrated. i coudlnt' believe they were goign to charge me $7 for SIX chicken nuggets and a tiny container of fries. i ended up getting that anyway..actually, i think i got the "kids" size, which was 4 nuggets and the fries for like $5.50 or something...cuz i'd barely eaten anything that day so was feeling sick...but it's just rediculous!
The next day was my lara-lisa-birthday-surprise. we went to the zoo with a couple other people. it was quite enjoyable. and appropriate for that matter. we saw lots and lots of different kids of turltes. one kind looked like a pig. it actually has a snout! i think it shoudl just be called the confused turtle species. we saw all kinds of other animals...lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) and the baby polar bears and giraffs and yucky little bugs and crazy fishies and...well, you get hte picture...there were lots! i do love the zoo. i hadn't been in a very very long time, so it was even more fun.
more fast forwarding...july 6. happy birthday to me. whoopie i can drink legally in canada. actually, i already could in some parts of canada. but that's not the point. i can also buy cigarettes. another big whoopie. i'm sure you can tell i care oh so much about both "privileges." i started off the morning with a funeral. not really a typical birthday activity, but i know it meant something ot the family that i was there. my mom kept telling me i did a great mitzvah...so, that was that. after i went down to the beaches iwth my mom. i got soemthing for lunch and we went to the water and she took a nap. i just sat there watching the water and teh birds sitcking their lovely tail feathers in the air :) it was really relaxing. once mommy woke up, we walked along the boardwalk for a while and then walked up to queen to go into fun stores along the way. i managed to talk my way into getting an ice cream cone on teh way home :) at night we walked over to yonge where the annula toronto celebration thing was taking place. we went to dinner just south of eglington...it was alright, nothing spectacular. then we walked back up to eglington to watch some of the performances. it was all geared towards the olympic bid, so there were 3 girls doing crazy acrobatics on hoops set up like the olympic rings...adn there was a great dance number with all different kinds of dance for aroudn the world. it was very fun. oh, but the best part was these 5 guys who were suspended from a building at the corner. it's not really the kind of act you can describe without making it sound, well, stupid...you relaly had the be there. there was a picture of it that morning in the Toronto Star...but that was a long time ago so you probably woudln't remember even if you saw it.
and now that i've been completely distracted, i'm goign to bed...maybe next time i wont' upload this directly to the internet...i'll write it while offline to assure that i'm not talking with anyone online :) anyway...until next time...i was hoping to thin kof something clever to say, but i'm too tired. goodnight
I got distracted somewhere in the middle of what i was writing above this and it took me way too long...and now i have no desire to write any more :) so, goodnight (well, morning...hm, oh well)
After much yelling from lara...i'm updating! i've been trying to write this forever but people keep distracting me. my biggest news of these past 2.5 months is that i've chosen a university. i gave up on waiting to hear from barnard, and i'm going to waterloo next year. i had lots of choices of some pretty tough courses, but decided to let brain relax a little (just a little) and do kinesiology rather than engineering or science. i need to get away from the insane amounts of physics nad algebra and calculus..not that i wotn' be taking these courses, just in moderation. the kin courses sound really interesting...and if i find they're not, i'll do something else :) so, friday is my last exam (physics...eug) but then i'm completely finished with high school. it's only just over two months til i move out. and there's a fairly decent possiblity that i'll be gone for at least the next 5 years cuz i'm in the co-op program. it's all very strange and exciting to think about.
Alright, i'm talking with too many people and am far too easily distracted tonight, so i will make an attmept to finish up what i'm trying to say another time... Goonight all
I had a little distraction there..changed computers and then i don't really know what happened. Well, it's passover once again. i'm really not a big fan of this holiday. mozah's just so boring. with the whole strike situation, it looks like i may not have to deal with making lunches to bring to school, which is always next to impossible. my big hope is that, if the strike continues for this week, it won't end before next tuesday (a week and a bit from now) cuz otherwise i need to write a physics test! if the strike continues, we have to do an 18 question problem set...if it doesn't, we have to write the test AND to the problem set...which doesn't make any sense to me, but whatever. neither does physics itself.
a few days ago i sat down at the computer and wrote a great entry...and then aol (which is the server we're now using cuz 3web's stupid) shut off and all was lost! i was upset for about 10 seconds, but hten it passed. i can't remmeber anything i wrote about. i got into queens. got rejected from columbia :( so now i've got a lot of thinking to do about next year. if i do get into barnard, do i really want to go there? is kin really something that interests me? or do i just dislike it the least of what i applied to? do i want to put myself through the challenge of engineering, or let myself relax a litte? would i even be able to deal with the difficulty of the engineering classes? ARG! i dotn' know what to do. i don't want to make a decision to go to barnard if i get in and then find out that they aren't offering me any money so i can't go anyway.
"my bones have moved to where they've never been..." ah, lion king. always good for a little smile. (i just put it in the cd rom...so i guess that woudl change the little thingy up above...oh well) i can't seem to think of more to say...so i shall say byebye until next time. byebye until next time :)
i have all of a sudden become a very sleepy turtle (as i was right before the end of the first act of the play i saw tonight...which explains why i missed the end of the frist act...oops :)) so i think i'm going to keep this short again and make an attempt at a little more content sometime soon. although with the gazillion things going on over teh weekend i'm not so sure when that'll be. if this support staff strike happens, then maybe next week *fingers crossed* anyhoo, nighty night
sorry for the lack of updates. i've been goign out of my mind quite often lately. once i get back in, i'll try to update a little more often than every 6 weeks...but i'm not making any promises!