Reduce! Reuse! Recycle! Slowly Going Crazy…

EDIT: Some background music =)

I’m a big believer in reducing, reusing and recycling everything so whenever I need to throw something out it hurts.  Physically hurts for some strange reason.  Then I start feeling guilty, like I’ve ruined the world for years to come.  I fall asleep with images of landfills overflowing with my garbage and pieces of paper folding themselves into airplanes and attacking me as I run.  Overactive imagination much?  Yea I think so.  But for as long as I can remember, I’ve been told: use less!  Consume less!  Reduce, reuse and recycle – the 3Rs!  I envision my guilt level sort of like a balance in a bank – it fluctuates depending on deposits (not doing the 3Rs) and withdrawals (yay 3Rs).  Wow that is such a geeky finance-y thing to say… AIESEC has worked its brainwashing on me…

Getting rid of all my furniture and random things in my apartment really meant throwing perfectly working things in the dumpster.  I had postponed that moment for so long… which meant when I actually went to do it, I had massive amounts of things to throw out.  So much that it didn’t all fit in the dumpster for my building.  Thankfully a friend told me about this posting site called Freecycle where people can post items they want to give away for free or items people are seeking.  I managed to get rid of a lot of larger items that way so I felt less guilty.

And then there was the fooood!  Anyone that knows me, knows that I LOVE LOVE LOVE food and baking.  I had so many half open bags of pasta, half bottles of sauces and random miscellaneous food items that really wasn’t worth carting back to Vancouver, but I did it anyways.  If I didn’t I seriously wouldn’t have been able to sleep for the next few days.  The thought of wasting food makes me feel even more guilty and my dreams, in addition to attacking paper airplanes, would be filled with starving people yelling at me (not really sure if that would be true, but I can see that happening…)

So now, my room is packed to the brim with randomness and things that I still need to dispose of… but NOT in the dumpster.  I’m such a packrat.  Must somehow downsize the amount of things I own. Reduce, reuse and recycle! 

Bye Victoria <3

Overdosing on Friends

This past weekend I watched waaay too many episodes of friends from seasons 7 and 9.  Random yes I know.  I’ve come to realize that if I was like any of the friends characters, I would probably be Monica.

She loves to cook – check!  I do it more for fun and its her career – i just love foooood nom nom

She’s a neat freak, obsessively organizing – check!  though probably less than her… my room can be a mess and I can tolerate it, but the kitchen must be organized.  I like labeling things – if you open the closet you can see labels that I put up.  I need to know where everything is!  When things are messy or not aligned properly I get upset =\

She loves being in control – check!  I like things done a certain way, so I like doing them myself.  Its hard to give up control but I can do it… if needed…

She is bossy – check! I try to control it but really, like I telling people how to do things… usually my way BUT i’m pretty good at not overstepping my bossiness haha

If you were a friends character, who would you be?

The Decade That Was – In Music

This past week the Virgin radio station in Vancouver was playing the A – Zs of the 2000s.  I’m not too clear on what their selection process was, but they played a ton of chart toppers in the past decade.  Music has definitely been something I’ve grown up on and associate with many memories.  When I hear certain songs, it brings me back to a time and a flood of memories hit me.

2000

Student council president. Graduation from elementary school. New school. Finally hit the teens. Grade 7 Violin.

2001

Strathcona. First dance on stage en pointe. Camping. Seattle for music camp. 9/11. Anthrax. Royal Academy of Dance intermediate exam.

Got her CD for my birthday

2002

Paris. Science fair regionals. Quebec City & Montreal. Student council rep. Camping * 2. Musical theatre. Bamfield.

Quebec 2002 - Always...

 

2003

Sailing at Desolation Sound. Student council president. Possible closure of elementary and middle school – must fight! Middle school grad. Dance 15 hrs a week. Interior BC tour with Summer Pops Youth Orchestra. Alaska cruise. Start of IB. Busy busy stress stress OMG gonna fail. Las Vegas.

Obsession - played it religiously

 

On a school bus, song came on & all girls started signing

2004

First Classical tutu. Disney World. Salt Spring Island. Grade 12!! Fundraising dinner for Colts to Cambodia. Winter formal. Tsunami in SE Asia.

During a 3 hr driving lesson on safety maneouvers, a discussion on Hoobastank with my teacher

2005

9.0 Run for SE Asia. Stopped dancing. Colts to Cambodia. The BF. IB exams ahh no sleep for 3 weeks! Grad high school! Summer Pops Youth Orchestra 20th Anniversary tour across Canada. Family road trip to NY, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington DC, Niagara Falls and Toronto. University! Move out! Dorms!

Started exploring Chinese music and completely fell in love with this song

SPYO Tour - people played this song constantly

2006

Tofino. Joined AIESEC. Amazing Race. First national conference @ McMaster. First “actual” job. Red Cross volunteering. Fun. Independence (sort of).

Coastal Conference - Amazing Race cheer - NLDC at McMaster

 

Rolling down the windows, singing loudly, partying around Victoria

 

2007

National Conference in Toronto. Vice President Talent Management. HSBC. Started Business classes. 19!  Tippy! First Thanksgiving turkey.

Another obsession, on endless repeat - the start of my Ne-Yo Obsession

 

2008

New piano. National Conference in Montreal. Exchange in Maastricht. Co-op job. Scholarship. Travel. Independent.

Its too late to apologize

 

Obsession - looped over and over again

2009

National Conference in Vancouver. Depressed. Vice President Finance. Co-op term. Organizing Committee President. National Conference in Halifax. Western Regional Conference! Last semester of school! Cooking. Baking. True friends.

BCom grad song - Summer - Happiness - WRC

<3

Ringtone - Summer

And there you have it – my decade of music.  Adie’s 2000s Playlist.  There are definitely other songs that had a huge impact (particularly in 2005 and 2009), but this list is already getting pretty long as it is.  So may songs. So many memories.  Its been a good decade.  I see good things coming up in the next year. =)

 

HAPPY NE YEAR!!

Obsession: Lychee Martini

Last night I went out for dinner and drinks with R. and P. Dinner was uneventful for the most part. We had Thai food, and P. found some hair in her curry (eww gross!). They made her a new one (apparently - but you gotta wonder if they actually DID make a new one...). That sketched R. and I out the rest of the time we were eating.

We wandered around downtown before deciding to go to Smith's pub where P. says they have a lychee martini knowing my loooooooove for the fruit. And so I tried it and it was super super yum! I gotta learn how to make it cause it was so expensive.

Looked kinda like this, but didn't come with an actual fruit (not in season me thinks)

There are a bunch of recipes online - time to find one for myself! =) =)

Simply Amazing

In my surfing on the internet about So You Think You Can Dance, I found this AMAZING audition from Australia. I've watched it so many times and I still get shivers. His lines are gorgeous and he just seems to float from one movement to the next, which is really how it should be. The best part comes at the end. Look out for the reaction from the other competition hopefuls. Just watch it: