O-Week

aka Orientation Week at Ryerson.

I had a fun time attending some of the events at our Orientation last week. They blocked off the streets to have DJ's, breakdance performances, sumo suit wrestling, human chess, tons of food and drinks like Vitamin water! There were movies in the Quad (our grassy area in the middle of campus) and lot's of games, fiesta lunches and scavenger hunts.

So that was the Guinness World Record for largest sword fight. We all had to leave the Quad and then walk through those turn table things so we could be counted. We had to have 480 people to beat the record, and we made it! MTV and Much Music and random news people and photographers were there. Check out this link someone sent me, I'm at the end. I picked the worst day to wear a hat and no makeup. I look like a man, but here it is: http://news.therecord.com/videogallery/405714

So this was my group at the Fiesta Lunch. Sam, Claudia and I went at lunch time so we got thrown in like a random engineering group. We felt kind of awkward being the only white people... am I in Edgemont again?

Anyway, so orientation week was cool. This week still has tons of events. My school is cool in the way that is so accepting of everyone... we have SO many groups people can join. There is a Muslim group, Campus for Christ which invites all religions to become closer to God, different Asian groups, Gay Pride groups, Urban Hip Hop Union, Cheerleading, Leadership, Community Service and Volunteer groups, a Real Estate group and lot's more. There have just been tons of events going on... but yeah all in all it's been fun! This Friday everyone skips classes (I don't have class!) to parade down to the Toronto Islands where there is a big festival and Supreme Soul from America's Best Dance Crew will be there and a surprise singer or something. AND I got some tickets to the Toronto International Film Festival! I'm SO pumped. I'm going to a screening of Passchendaele which was shot in Calgary and I know 2 people in it! Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Rachel McAdams, Dakota Fanning, Kiera Knightly, P. Diddy and lot's more celebs are on the hit list to be here! So expect some celeb stocker blogging in the next couple of weeks!!

So apparantly I live in Toronto...

I guess I have been living here almost 2 weeks. How crazy is that? Anyway, here are some much awaited pictures. Sadly, I have yet to use my 40d, and don't really have much for photo editing on this laptop, but I figure any pictures are better than no pictures at all! In fact a bunch of these are from my iPhone so I apologize for the quality!

This is of course me being a goof. Lately my flash on my point and shoot has been acting weird, and not working.... so I tend to practice lot's with my self portraits!


This was my Mom and I at dinner one night while she was here with me in Toronto. I'm so lucky to have had BOTH my parents bring me and help me get settled in!



So I pretty much live 2 minutes away from here. And my campus is RIGHT behind this. Just to name a few stores inside this mall - Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, Lululemon, Apple, Sephora, Mexx, Zara, Gap, Forever 21, H&M (4 floors), Banana Republic, Old Navy, Urban Outfitters...oh yeah and about 25 Starbucks! (Drink suggestion: Grande blended lemonade with 4 pumps of melon) But yeah, this mall pretty much has it covered.


So I thought this was pretty rad. It's a cart escalator. So you put your cart in it and then you go up in the escalator beside it and then you meet your cart at the top! How cool is that?






So that's most of my place. I have a bunch more picture frames on my wall by my kitchen table and then I also have a desk with my computer and stuff, then a bathroom, big shower and a closet and hallway... but I haven't taken pictures of all that yet. Here's a good start though! Anyway, I have to go buy some teriyaki sauce because I want to make a stirfry tonight, so I'll blog again later! Miss you all!

kho

I just wanted to once again thank my girls for everything. They really are my world and I would not be the person I am today without them. It's funny because 5 years ago if you asked me to imagine where I'd be right now and who my best friends would be... I don't know if these girls would have been my answer! I know that sounds terrible... but everything just fell into place and I'm SO happy that it turned out this way. I really think these three girls know me better than I know myself, and always seem to know what's best for me. I know that we are all apart right now, except the lucky Alana and Kaiti... but the best part is that I know the next time I see them, it will feel like nothing has changed between us. And that is what really gets me through the day. I remember a quote I heard once and it went something like this:

"True friends are the ones who never leave your heart, even if they leave your life for awhile. Even after years apart, you pick up with them right where you left off."

So perfect. I couldn't have said it better myself. I'm so proud of everything Kandice, Alana and Kaiti stand for and the amazing examples they are to me. I strive each and every day to be more like them, and just be a better person. I know these girls are all going to do great things in their lives, and I hope one day I will be able to make them proud. I'm just so lucky to have these girls as my best friends. I hope you girls have an amazing semester, and know that I think about you every day.... then again, how could I not when our pictures are plastered all over my wall!

All the best. kho. i know we'll make it through.

All moved in...

Here is the facade that leads to the fitness center... you walk in these doors and go underground. Behind this facade is actually beautiful grass and a park! You will learn more below... and I took this picture from the internet since I haven't uploaded pictures yet!

Well unfortunately this post is going to be super lame, but I promise once I'm all moved in and settled I will be able to post some pictures.

I can't believe I am really in Toronto. It still seems like I am going to jump on the plane with my parents and go back to Calgary and this is just a vacation. Just a four year vacation....with a few trips to Calgary in between.

Anyway, picture this. A little bit smaller version of New York. Some freeways have 12 lanes across, and there was a huge accident today on the main one... Let's just say, I will never complain about Deerfoot traffic again. There are huge billboards, lit up with different advertisements, and huge tv screens playing commercials. The buildings are tall and there are people everywhere. And not just ordinary people. You see white people, families, black people, breakdancers, nuns, homeless people (luckily not too many) and even a strange man standing on a corner screaming out random scriptures from the bible and yelling at people as they go by. (not the best way to introduce the gospel into people's lives in my opinion). There are also fountains where kids are playing, and a Starbucks on pretty much every corner. Yup, this is downtown Toronto. Now you walk about half a block and guess where you are...Ryerson University, my school! The buildings are different, some are super old and quaint and beautiful with really tall hanging trees and then there are some new beautifully designed glass buildings. But since I don't have pictures yet, I will try to create a picture in your mind.... There is a big rectangle in the middle (like the size of an elementary school field) that is all grass, and trees and a few pathways, and cute street lights and benches and there is a big building that goes all the way around this huge square. Also inside this big field is a gated off play area for the childcare center, where students learn hands on about kids and taking care of them! Kind of cool. On one side of this huge square there is a huge facade (looks like the front of a building but is really JUST the front of a building and not a while building). It is actually been there from during the war, and soldiers trained downstairs or something so they build Ryerson around it. Anyway you walk in the doors of the facade and go downstairs (underground) to see a HUGE fitness center.... squash, tennis, swimming, gym, table tennis... you name it! It's so cool! What else is cool about Ryerson? Umm... there is a huge pond with big rocks in it and it's called Lake Devo and in the winter it ices over and serves as a skating rink... that's cool. Or what about the building that is connected to Eaton Centre? I think I'd have trouble walking past H&M and Forever 21 to get to a boring class inside Eaton Centre! 

Anyway, it's pretty cool that I live so close to everything. And now to my apartment. I have a friend, her name is Sam. She is from Burlington, ON which is about 45 minutes away. She is in the Theater Production program, which is something I was super interested in after putting the show Lion King together in High School. She's awesome. Super nice, and caring and generous. Her room is wicked...it's all painted and looks so spiffy! Then I go to my room... it looks like a hostel... or more like a jail cell. Okay that sounds bad... but the floors are black and white checkered marble and then the bed frame, table and chairs and dresser are that birch veneer wood from IKEA and the desk and chair are black and white. The walls are WHITER THAN WHITE. But i've decided that in order to spice up my black and white theme I am getting everything in bright pink and green and blue. I have bright pink and green and blue picture frames, and plates, and cups, and even lucked out on a kids bedding that is the exact same colour of pink blue and green! My towels are green and then I have pink ones for a guest. I still have to get some more stuff for my room as well as food and what not, but it's getting there! It's amazing what a little colour can do. And it isn't ALL that small. I have a single bed, a dresser, a wardrobe, a round table and chairs to eat and then a good sized desk and rolly chair, a tiny kitchen with just a fridge, stove, microwave and sink. And then a bathroom with a large shower but no bath and then a little walk in closet. I guess it's more like the penthouse of a dorm...

I also wanted to congratulate my Dad on working at his job for 35 years! We went for a big dinner in his honour lastnight, and some people had some pretty cool things to say about my Dad that's for sure! It was funny... one guy knows the district manager of the Apple Store and is going to get me a job, one lady already put me in touch with an Executive Producer of a TV show here at Rogers, and one guy wants to set me up with a graphic design student at Ryerson that he says is "tall, dark and handsome" and someone else is hooking me up with a tv... man am I ever spoiled! Also, my best friend from dance Bretonie is coming here on Thursday so I can't wait to help her get settled! AND my best friend growing up Sonja is coming this long weekend for Beach Volleyball nationals so I hope to go watch her play! AND the Toronto International Film Festival starts soon and people from my work are coming, and supposedly you CANNOT get a flight from LA now because it is just so booked!

So I think I have some exciting days ahead of me to blog about. And pictures too. I don't think anyone will make it this far because I realize this blog is SUPER long and boring.... except maybe Alana and maybe Kandice.... haha. Who knows! Anyway, I miss you all! I promise to get into the blogger mode once I'm settled in!

Signing out from Toronto.

Libby My Star!

So a friend of mine was looking for a cool dance picture for a poster at the Chiropractic Health and Wealthness office where she works. She had some ideas in mind but wasn't finding what she was looking for, so she decided to ask me... being a dancer who loves to take pictures! Sadly enough, I didn't really have ANY pictures of dance! So I forced my beautiful little sister Libby to pose for me. They aren't that amazing, but I like her running man one. On top she looks like a runner, but then the bottom half shows her grace. It's like that quote "Dancers are the athlete's of God." Anyway, Libby makes my job so much easier because she is beautiful... and well... ripped! 

Happy Birthday Grandma

So it was my Grandma's birthday a few days ago, and I was the one who picked her up and brought her to my cousin's house for dinner. Normally this is a chore to drive "all the way to Grandma's" but this time it was fun! 78 years ago my Grandma wrote into the kids section of her newspaper asking if there was anyone who wanted a pen pal. Sure enough someone wrote in, a lady with the EXACT same birthday. They have written, sent gifts and pictures, and talked on the phone... but have never met. Her pen pal was from somewhere out East but now lives in the states somewhere. I can't believe they know eachother so well, but have never met! I want to write into Oprah to get them to finally meet!!

I love my Grandma! Anyway, that was a really random short post...

until next time!

I love my friends...

They are always there to hold me up... literally!

Well, I know I haven't been very good with the blogging thing lately, but I promise I'm getting better than I used to be. This has been a pretty crazy week that started with my lover Kandice returning home for her 7 week break, which was super exciting for me! I also worked on a couple commercials this week, and was in another! (I will post about these as soon as people email me the pictures) Anyway, this is a post where I'm just going to blab. I had an interesting week with experiences and where I really had the chance to learn about myself and others. Earlier this week, one of my really good friends said one of the most hurtful things anyone has ever said to me. I was the most upset I have been in a long long time, and the worst part was that it came from absolutely nowhere and it was over msn - because they didn't have the courage to say it to my face. I tried to brush it off and not make a big deal about it (I hate drama and want to enjoy the rest of my summer) but my two best friends Kandice and Alana saw how upset I was about it, and helped me realize a lot. They proved to me yet again why calling them my "best friends" is an understatement, considering how special they are to me. They are willing to risk their friendship with this person because they are not happy with how I was treated. Kandice and Alana are seriously such amazing examples to me, and we have such a strong friendship. Even though our lives are busy with work and family, we all know that when the tears fall or the smile spreads across our face, we'll come to eachother because this is home and we are a family. We will always pull together in times of need. I don't know what I would have done without them this week. I also realized as much as I think everything bounces off me and that I am strong, there are still things that make me upset. You can't possibly numb yourself of things, or you aren't really living. I guess I needed a little reality check about that. I also realized that I am sometimes too nice, and people take advantage of it and walk all over me. Hmm... I learned so much from Alana and Kandice, I'm just trying to remember everything! Oh yes, I realized that talking to this person and standing up for myself and telling them how I feel is going to be one of the hardest but most rewarding things I will do. I hate the thought of possibly losing a friend, but I really hope that what I say might teach them a lesson and prevent many other people from hurting like I was. I hope in the long they will realize that I was trying to better them, and not hurt or harm them. I also realized that you should always listen to your friends and the people you care about... they are usually right. When they tell you that you are not being treated right, they know! Anyway, I just want to thank you Kandice and Alana for being the best friends anyone could ever ask for. You honestly know me better than I know myself, and you always know what is best for me. You accept me for who I am and love me unconditionally which is so amazing. You are always there for me, and I know you would do anything for me. I am sorry that I seem to always cause problems these days, and I hope one day I will be able to help you guys in return. I am so grateful for you both and I still wonder why I was so lucky to be blessed with you both in my life. Thank you for teaching me that I sometimes need to be forward and tell someone when they hurt me. I love you both so so so much, and thank you for being such great examples to me. So thank you for being the bestest friends, mentors and sisters to me.

A quote that I really like from A. A. Milne (the creator of Winnie the Pooh) goes like this "Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

 

Love you tons. kho.