It's my life - it's now or never.

And just like that, my trip to Toronto comes to a close. I'm finished packing now, and I'm leaving the hotel at 5:30 tomorrow to head to the airport. The trip went both slow and fast, but more importantly, I had the absolute time of my life.

Early on in my trip I went ice skating with Michael at Nathan Phillips Square here downtown, and after maybe 15 or 20 minutes of being absolutely terrified and barely moving, Michael actually got me to skate. On my own. In a "Look ma, no hands!" way. I am quite pleased with myself. Quite.

Friday the 19th was a museum day. I spent a total of 8.5 hours in three different museums (the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the Gardiner Museum). I would have stayed longer if I could have. Friday was the day that reminded me why I had originally been so devoted to becoming a history professor. I got quite nostalgic.

I spent most of my time on this trip the way I had intended to - with Karrie. And let me just say... it was absolutely amazing. We did everything and nothing together, and that is the best kind of friendship. We could be doing 32480239 things, or we could just be lazily sitting in her room, rewatching Glee, and we're both perfectly contented in one another's company either way. There is such comfort and peacefulness and wordless understanding in our friendship. Anyone who knows me knows that quality time means everything to me, so to just be able to spend that with one of my absolute best friends is just a blessing to me. I still find it so unreal that it all happened. But it did. It actually did. We have photographic evidence.

I cannot wait to move back to Ontario. It would make spending time with some of the people I love the most in this world so much easier. And it would involve a lot less actual spending, you know?

Thank you, God. You made this week more than I could ever wish for.

It's been a long while.

I didn't mean for it to be nearly a month before I updated again! Not that this blog actually has a viewership of any kind. But that's besides the point. I promise to try harder to post more often.

A lot has happened in the last few weeks! Mainly, I've finished work at the Disney Store, and I've just been babysitting. I've fallen back into the groove of being involved with Catholic Christian Outreach and leading praise and worship again, after months and months of being away. It's good. I'm glad.

I also got officially accepted to the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts' Baking and Pastry Arts program! I start on September 20th of this year, and I cannot wait. Karrie and I are THIS much closer to opening our own little bakery + cake shop + business of awesomeness. :)

Meanwhile, the Olympics are commencing tomorrow. Not only will I be in a meeting during the opening ceremonies, I'm also flying out of Vancouver the next day. LOL. Whoops. I'm going to be in Ontario for ten days! I do have tickets to watch a quarterfinals hockey game when I get back, though, so I'm pretty damn stoked for that.

But this Ontario trip? Highlight of my year thus far. I cannot believe this all actually came to fruition! I was terrified that it wouldn't, but here I am. I'm packed. I'm printing out my itinerary. I'm leaving on Saturday morning. Holy crap. :)

It's funny. The last time I saw Karrie, right before boarding the bus back to Toronto from her house, she said to me, "You know? I have a feeling we're going to see each other again soon." And I said, "Of course!" But she was serious. She just had this feeling in her gut.

She was right.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly and well. I'm going to be entirely, entirely broke after this trip, though! But you know what? That's okay.

Some things - some people - are really just worth it. ♥

A falling star fell from your heart.

This has certainly been a (more or less) fantastic week!

On Monday, I slipped and twisted my ankle on my way to babysitting. Fail. Earlier today (Saturday), I got called in to work, and while I was taking a shower to get ready to go, the aforementioned ankle gave out, causing me to fall in the shower and further injure myself! I'm never this accident prone. Fail!

For the last few days, I finally convinced my brother and his wife to start watching Glee, and I've joined them in a rewatch (since I can't wait for April and the show's return). We've just finished 1x07 (Throwdown) and they love it! I turned them into Gleeks. Muahaha. I've seen every single episode of this show at least once now, and I haven't remotely gotten sick of it. Because it is awesome.

In other, kind of more important news: I am now 21! It's funny... it kind of snuck up on me in a way. I suppose the birth of my nephew in December has put everything else on the backburner for me, including my own self. But honestly? It's fantastic how such a small, precious life has suddenly taken precedence in mine. His smile and his laugh are two of the most beautiful things in the world.

I usually go into elaborate planning mode when it comes to my birthday. This year? I planned nothing, which is funny given that I was hyping up the fact that I was turning 21 for months.

I worked on my birthday! It was an easy shift, and it went by fast, although there were a few guests here and there who irked me ever so slightly. When I got off my shift, I had the great fortune of being treated to a birthday bagel and a lift home by a more-than-amazing friend, AND come home to a wonderful dinner with family and close friends. I don't know what I did to deserve such blessings, but I sure am thankful for it all. :)

One could say it was the most 'uneventful' birthday I've had in recent years, and they'd probably be right... but it is, without a doubt, one of the most memorable. And one of the happiest. I find so much more contentment in the simplest things and the smallest gestures, and they outweigh any concert or fancy party.

I'll post some photos soon enough. I just need to find my USB cable.

Until then, I bid you a fond farewell. :)

Just the stirring in my soul.

I'm not that much of a game player. Sure, I love my Beatles Rock Band more than anyone else I know, but when it comes to games like first-person shooters, or non-linear third-person adventures, I'm a spectator, not a participant. I don't like the pressure of completing missions or the fear of getting killed by a bad guy in a game. I panic and freak out about it. But I love getting engrossed in the intricate storylines.

This is where my brother comes in handy.

My fantastic older brother has the utmost patience and determination when it comes to these things, and for that I am utterly grateful. So what I do is I sit down, get comfy, have a snack and a drink, and watch him play games. The game he's currently on is Assassin's Creed II, and it is just fantastic. Continuing from and improving on the first one, ACII has gorgeous graphics, great attention to detail, an engaging story and - my favourite part - SO much real history enmeshed within its intricate web of a story. Ezio Auditore, the main character, meets the likes of Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolo Machiavelli, and the Borgias. As a history buff whose favourite time period is 1400s - 1600s in England and Italy, you can imagine how much this game pleases me.

So that is what I do. I sit. And I watch. Occasionally, I'll ask my brother questions regarding the intricacies of the game and how it's played, but for the most part, I don't care for those details. To me, it's just like watching a long long movie. A movie wherein the lead occasionally falls to his death when my brother accidentally makes him fall from the roof of a tall building.

...but anyway. I digress. The point is, it's fun. I enjoy being a spectator as much as being a participant in things, but in this instance, the former beats out the latter.

Moving on from that, I wanted to share something with whoever is reading this. The other day, I discovered the amazing talent of this gentleman from Montana named Tyler Knott. His tumblr/blog can be found here. He posts beautiful photography, musings, and some of the most beautiful haikus I have ever read in my life. Aside from that, he and his friend also have Treehouse Photography. You can hire them for weddings, engagements, sessions with children, and all that jazz. They have an excellent portfolio; I'd highly recommend checking out their galleries - especially the fine art one. Every shot is so inspiring, and is such a reminder of the presence of beauty in everything.

On that note, I leave you with TWO of Tyler's haikus which resonated the most with me:

You are gravity
and from the moment I wake
I’m pulled back to you.


If we should get lost,
throw away all of the maps
and stay lost with me.

Have a beautiful day. :)

No, I won't wait forever.

It's 2010, and it's the weekend before my birthday!

I don't know what's actually compelled me to start this blog, but I suppose now is as good a time as any. Its URL - the only resolution - comes from one of my favourite songs of recent years (and likely of all time) - Signal Fire by Snow Patrol. It comes with a lot of significance to me that I promise to expand upon at a later date.

The first ten days of the new decade have been quite nice for me! I've spent a lot of time with my nephew, who is now a little over a month old. He's grown so much already, and he's always laughing and smiling (when he isn't sleeping or pooping or eating). I love that kid so much; it's going to be so wonderful to see him grow up.

That aside, I'm working my final two weeks at The Disney Store. It's so surreal that it's already over. Just yesterday it feels like it was September and I just got hired. I'm so thankful for my experience there. I've met some of the most wonderful people that have become much more than coworkers to me. I'm certain a new Disney store will open up here soon. Or, at the very least, I'm very very hopeful. It would be fantastic to work with them all again.

I hope that whatever 2010 has in store for me is fantastic. Given what I've gotten so far... I'm very optimistic. :)