The Pumpkin Experience

Halloween 09 was quite the experience for me. Even though I did not go trick or treating or to a party, which is usually the case, I did other things that certainly weighted it out.

Living in residence, at least the one I’m in makes it feel sort of like kindergarten, but honestly I like it. With the floors divided into houses, i.e. A, B, C, D and E, with a don for each one, we have activities every month. Some are joint activities, as in with all the other houses, some aren’t. So with October being the Halloween month, one activity was pumpkin carving along with pumpkin pies and hot chocolate. Yes, you’re right, I was very excited. A first timer with the pumpkin and its variations!

Everyone got a pumpkin and we dispersed into the common rooms. We sorted things out and got to work. It was a very pleasant afternoon; talking, laughing, eating etc. basically everyone was cheery and I had a good time :)

This is my pumpkin

Apparently pumpkins aren't sweet like fruits, which was my conception. Also, some people kept the seeds to eat. Apparently you fry them I think?!

This is my hot chocolate :)

They were very prepared, there was whipped cream and marshmallows

Good job! Being my first time, I decided to go

with a classical pumpkin face...I tell

you I was so proud of myself.

Voila!!

Sara, the girl next to me, carved THIS. Some students are very creative.

Pumpkin carving exhibt.

It looks perfect!

What d'ya think

Did I mention, another great thing about being in rez, you get presies in your mailbox :D

Going downtown on Halloween night was another experience...some people put a lot of effort into their costumes, quite a show and it was packed. This Halloween walk happens on the "gay street" as this Canadian flag indicates. I saw Elmo and took a picture with him.

Al Jazeera English - Business - Dubai debt delay rattles investors

Al Jazeera English - Business - Dubai debt delay rattles investors

Cupcakes!

Last night as I came into residence, after finishing my last class at 7pm, I was welcomed by the smell of baking. It instantly put a smile on my face and made residence feel like home. I remembered that it was cupcake decorating and Wii games night at D house common room.

I was pretty excited when I went there and saw all the different sort of cupcakes and decorating toppings; I didn’t know where to start. It was my first time decorating cupcakes and I’m not too creative. So the first attempt went something like this.



Better the second time :)

Punctuation is Powerful

An English professor wrote the words:

"A woman without her man is nothing"

and asked his students to punctuate it correctly.

All of the males in the class wrote:

"A woman, without her man, is nothing."

All the females in the class wrote:

"A woman: without her, man is nothing."

The Joy Movie

Here is something I got in my email this morning and it was just the perfect thing to start my day with, so thought I’d share it.

Parcel in the Mail

Last month, for the first time, EVER, I got a parcel in the mail and it was from my dearly beloved mum. She sent me some winter goodies and I was ever so happy :D No one really cares and loves you as much as your mum does, and I’m fortunate to have such a wonderful mother. I love you to bits. Thank you again x.

Toronto Zoo

I was really looking forward to go to a big zoo that has animals I haven’t seen before and Toronto zoo seemed like a must go. It is very huge, with 3 pavilions.

Although I enjoyed seeing the many animals, of which I managed to get a picture of some, that day did not turn out to be the best for me. It was raining the whole day, I got my shoes and socks soaked with water, my pants got wet up to the knees and I had no umbrella! I tell you I was thankful I did not get sick after that day.

Frost

This is what I wake up to this morning :) It is the solid deposition of water vapor , because the temperature is below freezing point!

Remembrance Day

I joined the Glendon Musical Ensemble in September, and today was our first concert. We sang at the Remembrance Day ceremony and we did a great job! We sang In Flanders Fields and O Canada (Canada’s national anthem). I love creating music in an ensemble, it feels rewarding :)

What exactly is Remembrance Day and why it is on the 11^th of November? a little Wikipedia search says:

Remembrance Day, also known as Poppy Day, is a day to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war, specifically since the First World War. It is observed on 11 November to recall the end of World War I on that date in 1918 (major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice).

The poppy's significance to Remembrance Day is a result of Canadian military physician John McCrae's poem In Flanders Fields. The poppy emblem was chosen because of the poppies that bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War 1, their red colour an appropriate symbol for the bloodshed of trench warfare.