some words to live by =)

anytime i get stressed or frustrated or lazy or demotivated, with school or work or life in gereral i always think of the millions of dreams i'm still hoping to accomplish one day.

risk more than others think is safe.
care more than others think is wise.
dream more than others think is practical.
expect more than others think is possible.

since i've moved out of my parents and gone back to school everyone has told me to slow down and take some time off for myself or i'm going to burn out. but putting 150% into everything i do is so important to me, that burn out isn't even an option. i want to do well in school and make up for years i slacked off. work has allowed me to experience what its like to be a small business manager, ceo i like to call myself =) being a rock climbing instructor keeps me fit, and who doesn't want to teach their passion to others. as a domestic goddess in training, i'm constantly learning to become more homemaker-ish including learning how to cook, which i think is going to become a new passion. my social life consists of snowboarding, visitsing my parents, and ryan haha meesa time includes grocery shopping, trips to the mall, studying at the library, and sleep. anyways, i can't imagine living my life any other way. hell, i wish there were three more hours in the day so i could teach salsa lessons. i wouldn't be who i am without foregoing sleep to juggle all the things i want to accomplish day to day. i couldn't settle for anything less. i wouldn't be meesa without being sleep deprived =)

taking a school year off was one of the best decisions i have ever made. i went off on a million tangents before i realized that it was time to grow up and take life seriously. wow. taking a year off also makes me the worst writer ever! i wanted to start to blog again so i can excercise the part of my brain that could write a+ papers. but apparently, i stll need some practice. so i'm gonna get back to reading on reading week and save the paper writing for when i dont suck anymore hahaha

risk. care. dream. expect.

missing in action

i usually blog when i'm procrastinating. so, here's my quick update because i really don't feel like reading international marketing chapter five, or start my annotated bibliography for my paper "the consumer psychology of fashion and brands behaviour." wow i haven't blogged in four months haha

- my eurotrip turned into a month long vacation to t-dot and portugal. the cities aynsley and i explored, toronto, faro, albufeira, loule, silves, portimao, lagos, and lisbon. it was an amazing experience and i'm planning my next eurotrip for this summer (hopefully *crosses fingers* to visit cara in switzerland [i miss you already cara!!!], and see london, paris, and portugal again)

here are the pics from my crazy adventure: www.meesa.myphotoalbum.com

- i got hired at shapes as a rock climbing instructor =) and placed fourth in a canadian rock climbing competition, and second in an american comp in the intermediate division =) quite the accomplishment for me, i had only been climbing for a year at that point =)

- i moved out of my parents house, and live near the university. come visit me in the south end =) my homemaker instincts have kicked into high gear. i love cleaning (my normal anal perfectionist self)...cooking is another story and i will talk about that later...haha i absolutely love the independence, and learning everything that comes with it. like time management (you should see my daytimer and how organized i am its pretty scary) and responsibility, like budgeting and paying bills, making sure supper is ready or the grocery shopping is done. it seems like i'm more efficient with my study habits, even though i have so much more to do in a day. living in this new reality has been an experience, and i almost want to send my parents a thank you card to say i'm sorry for ever taking you for granted, and every little thing you have taught me in the past twenty-three years of my life was not in vain haha. and thank you for the rice cooker, i make great coconut rice =)

- i have become a self appointed ceo of the roblin family chiropractic centre hehe. i am the office manager, marketing director, meeting chair, developer of policies and procedures, department of accounts receivable, newsletter editor, insurance liaison, implementation of systems co-ordinator, information technology specialist. oh yah, and on top of all of that i do reception too. and part time haha

- i went back to university this january. i've been quite motivated for the past month and a half (well except for this very moment) however, i just can't wait until reading week. hopefully i don't get lazy and get into the post reading week slump.

- i'm dating again. i think lol. well if u know how crazy and paranoid i normally am, then you would know how i like to believe things are more complicated than they really are. anyways he is and isn't my type in so many ways. he's uber successful, intelligent, has a university degree, is a homeowner, has a good career. oh yah did i mention he's only twenty-three. yep, the boy you would love to bring home to mom and dad =) except he's totally inked and pierced and might scare mom haha he might look tough on the outside, but i know better =) well i guess what i'm getting to in my rambling is that, although we may look very different, we have similar ideals, life and family values, and goals. oh yah, and did i mention he was white *wink* haha anyways, he's skateshoes and i'm stilettos, we don't give a fuck, and neither should you =) i'm glad neither of us judged a book by it's cover, we might have missed out on, what we're still discovering, could be a good thing =P

- i cut my long long hair! i've had the same haircut for about four or five years now, and all of a sudden i just decided i needed a change. it's really different, i need to get a picture of it. although i love my new hair, its a bitch to do in the morning, and it looks a whole lot better if its only washed every other day. eew. i can't handle that so it takes about an hour to get ready every day. and now i'm thinking karen's wedding is only three months away, and i so don't have bridesmaid hair anymore =( oh well. i needed a change at that very moment and my hair dresser kinda got carried away. oh well, i'll have to deal with the bridesmaid hair when the time comes hehe

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ok my cooking experience: so last weekend, after the boy cooked an amazing stirfry, i realized that if we're going to keep on playing house i have to make sure that i can cook too. i guess pasta and perogies aren't going to cut it haha. so i bought this really amazing cookbook and i'm determined to cook a few meals a week until i master this cooking thing =) yesterday my roommate stayed in to test out my three course meal =) i made fried tofu in a soya garlic vinaigrette, thai coconut curry poached chicken with coconut rice and chocolate hazelnut pecan pastries. i bought these great rice bowls from urban barn, since my awesome cookbook has a lot of asian recipes. i was quite impressed with my creations, from the smell, to the visual presentation, to the taste haha my supper was good enough to break open a bottle of red wine and have the fireplace lit =) i didn't burn or set anything on fire, set the alarm off, or poison jc. so, i think i've proven that i'm not hopeless in the kitchen. i'm on my way to becoming a true domestic goddess =)


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things i must do during reading week:
-go snowboarding
-get a hockey game together (i haven't gone skating all winter and we had so many perfect skating days)
-finish all of my assignments for the two weeks after reading week
-work and make lots of $$$
-get karen's salsa choreographed for her wedding
-get a hold of lynn and get the decor of karen's wedding confirmed
-stay accountable

ok...this quickie update got a lil outta control. i guess i had more to say than i thought. anyways, since i'm back in school i'm sure i'll be posting more procrastination blogs.

alright, back to the grind.

good times...not great times!

hello again from portugal! it has been such a great time out here! it is now day eight and i canºt even begin to describe what an experience it has been out here with anysley on the albufeira coast!

our vacation has been loads of fun and we have met so many british people that i´m beginning to think that i´m british myself. "darlings, i´m having a smashing time. smashing, love!"

i´m a lil inebreated at them moment. aysnely and i were sitting down to a nice supper on the strip hoping for an early night. except all of the servers (paulo yummmmm portugesey goodness yum) seem to fancy the both of us and pretty much kept seving us many fruity and chocolatey goodness shots along with our sangria =) and then inviting us to the bar next door for more and more drink =) fuck. hahah we thought that wearing sweats and no makeup would allow us to have an early night....but unfortunately they all love beautiful canadians out here. so...pretty much tomorrow looks like another write off day laying out on the beach reovering instead of driving out to lagos...pish posh hehe

oh the life.

our british male counterparts tom and dan left us on thursday to fend for ourselves, and damn have ayns and i been getting ourselves into trouble. fun trouble...but trobule nonetheless hehe i miss the terribly at this moment. we had some tom and dan withdrawl for the past few days, but all in all we´re still having an amazing time without them...not the same but still we´re having a blast. we so miss their sillieness and insane humour that only people like aynsely and i would get. but we will always have portugal and the still having the "time of my life" hehe

the weather has been amazing. when ayns and i wake up before we draw the shades we say..."guess the weather common guess the weather" and of course we dont have to guess its freakin hot...sunny...and not a could in the sky!!! sheer perfection i could not ask for anything better!

anyways, i just wanted to update you kids on the going ons here, and so far sooooooooooooooooOOoooooooOOooOOOOOoooo freakin´ ass good kids hehe!

we´re off to portimaio next week for a sailing trip and go along the coast to see some dolphins and caves and hang out with brazilan and french boys. hahha don´t you feel sorry for me???

anyways this is where i end cuz we´re off to meet the boys at the reno club woot woot!

cheers darlin =)
meesa

greetings from portugal =)

ola, friends!

here i am in sunny portugal, in a net cafe in beautiful albuferia. this is going to be short cuz a) this is an expensive net cafe 4 friggin euros b)anysley and i havent done very much c) its too georgeous of a day to spend inside! so here´s the short version =)

day one:
-lost in faro on the highway to albuferia
-lost for hours in albuferia and those crazy crazy round abouts (weee weee weee!)
-finally get to our beautiful apartment
-get cleaned up
-get into our bikinis and pass out on the beach = meesa is blacker than black on day one lol
-go for a dip in the atlantic =)
-met some cute brittish boys and played some frisbee
-had supper at this cute lil food stand~
-grabbed a bottle of red wine, a pack of smokes, cookies, and candy, headed to our apartment, straight into our pjs and headed for the patio.
-ended the night drunk and listening to jack johnson and passed out.

day two:
-slept for 15 hours straight woohoo no more jet jag =)
-my first day of driving in portugal and weeeee they´re fun!
-walked around exploring shops and restuarants on the ´strip´
-found a la coste store in the middle of no where
-found a lil net cafe and here i am blogging!

so day two adverntures are still to come...most likely its going to be spent on the georgeous beach next to our apartment hehe its too tempting to resist! needless to say, i´m having a great vacation so far and i´m sure i will have more crazy and exciting stories to come!

hope you´re all thinking about me all the way over here in europe hehe and how great my legs and butt are going to be after all of this walking and how wonderfully tanned i will be for months and months and months after this trip!

i´ll keep blogging when i have the chance!

ciao, meesa

on the brink of insanity. brain break.

so only 30 more days until the long awaited eurotrip and it's been all talk and no action...the amalgamation of many many many excel spreadsheets, currency converters, 2 guide books, hours of listening to jack johnson to relieve some stress, half a pack of smokes, and a couple of beers later; here's what the formerly-a-three-month-extravaganza to a now (tight) thirty-day-tour boils down to:

must see (and ONLY IF there is time):
london
amsterdam
copenhagen
berlin
prague
paris
rome
venice
cinqe terre
lisbon
madrid
barcelona

if there is time:
this list goes on forever... =(

anyways, my office is in shambles with guide books, maps, highlighters, notes, and papers strewn all over the place. you'd think i was studying for finals and not planning a backpacking trip. so, my normally anal self is twice as stressed due to the mess factor.

you're probably wondering a)whoa a new post i thought you were dead and b) why'd you shorten your trip?

a) frustration usually equals journaling, hence the rant. and in the past few months i haven't really wanted to leave a "paper trail." it summertime =) i'll tell you all about it. but you'll have to get a few beers in me first haha

b) my stratgic planning hasn't been, well...very strategic. but anysley and i have thrown in another crazy idea into the plan. we've decided that we're going to move out of the house shortly after we get back from europe (as if we don't spend enough time together as it is hehe). so by foregoing a few months gallavanting in europe, we have more time to work and save and finally say buh bye to the 'rents.

i'm a dreamer, spontaneous, have a meh whatever attitude, fly by the seat of my pants type deal. i work with what i'm dealt with, which doesn't leave very much room for disappointment. frustration, yes =) because i have to cut out a bunch of cities that i have spent countless hours researching and dreaming about. but dissapointment no, because it's still going to be the experience of a lifetime to backpack europe with my best friend! and it also leaves room opportunities for more crazy adventures to come =)

randomness

"its all about timing sometimes it just takes the right cirumstances to present themselves in order to stimulate certain thoughts and desire that you may have had..."

in regards to the previous post about khai. let's expain this. he's my absolute favorite and he just bugs me about the whole blogger thing so i decided to write one about him. as much as i hate him for shafting me that day. i still lu-lu-lu-love khai very mucho cuz i know he lu-lu-lu-loves me too! even with all of my whiney mindless beer induced venting about relationships/boys/love/sex/hoochin'/playin jokes (khai knows i play the innocent card very well...muahahahhaha a lil too well) lol everything he doesn't want to hear, but listens cuz he cares (or wants to use the dirt against me one day). blah blah blah wah wah wah lol for some reason when khai and i go drinking, tequilla and beer make a good combination =) meh, khai, my favorite!

karma. it's a bitch when what goes around comes around. meh. whatever attitude haha.

ok so does anyone need a roommate sometime between january to march? somewhere relatively nice...or wait how bout even decent? and relatively inexpensive? this starving student needs a roomie haha i love to clean! and i'm small so i don't need a lot of space =) ok ok enough thinking to far into the future and i haven't even left for europe yet. damn priorities.

to james: i love... steak. being lazy. working out. drinking beer. going to the gym. chillin out. banana pancakes. salsa dancing. rock climbing. playing football. being a manly girly girl. ;) i would kill for rugby steaks and 2 dolla beer with you!

pabs: i'm sorry about what i said TWO years ago. and no i don't know anyone else that would call me long distance from chile! miss you 4 times!

time out. i dont like this game anymore! i dun wanna play.

khai

first you pull shaft, because you dropped your keys down an elevator shaft. the worst excuse i've ever heard in my life.

then you tell me embarssing news.

then you insult me.

i have five words for you: i.am.mad.at.you.

the end.

i'm not that naive...

so the weekend without plans turned out to be a really good spontaneous weekend. even though all i wanted to do was catch up on some sleep! so here i go with the weekend in review, so i will forever remember this weekend haha sorry i wish i had something more philosophical or rant and rave-ish...but this is all i got for now:

friday: me, ayns, and jc ended up with all access passes to the winnipeg international film festival courtesy of van =) yay so we watched a short called smart card and sci-fi film called the girl from monday. it was a quirky film, and the premise of the movie was how corporations are controlling society and how commercialism is taking over our lives. but it kinda paints the picture in a really twisted sci-fi way with some kind of sex plot intertwined. it took me a while to analyze the movie to fully understand it...but anyway, it was a good experience to be a part of the film festival.

the all access passes included free cover and free drinks at au bar! so we headed down to moxies on portage for eats then headed down to au. we were only going to stay for a bit...except the first person i bumped into was worth staying the whole night for haha. so ayns and i stayed while van and jc went to an after party at the fairmont with all the film people. it seemed like just everyone was at au bar that night. so many weird things happened out on the patio haha and ayns witnessed first hand the degree of my mental problems as she saw a conversation between me and the boy =) lol struggle intimidation struggle haha

saturday: had supper over at rhoda's for her graduation bbq. and caught up with a few good friends. and i fell in love with her baby cousin! he stood by me for a second and i asked him "oh hi there! how are you?" he said "i'm good!" and then he saw the doggy in the cage and ran to his daddy and in a firm and slightly frightened voice to "daddy i'm scared. i'm really really scared. of the doggy!" very cute! and the highlight of my night was when he hugged me goodbye "bye meeeeleeeshhaa" haha

then off to aura's to pre-game with red wine and then off to empire we go. all the fun and drama that happened on the way there caused me and aura to run to the bar and consume two rounds in a span of 5 minutes hehe anyways bumped into the boy for a second night in a row =) cuz it was his happy happy birthday hehe but most of the time was spent with the girlies (christy, aura, kim and jer) singing to mariah carey at the top of our lungs! "Cuz it's my night No stress, no fights I'm leavin it all behind No tears, no time to cry Just makin the most of life Everybody is livin it up All the fellas keep lookin' at us Me and my girls on the floor like what While the DJ keeps on spinnin the cut It's like that y'all....." and just having a crazy time!

then there goes aura introducing me to every guy she thinks has potential again. all i hear is "he's cute!" "he's smart" "he's nice" hahah i think she feels bad for the last hook up gone bad haha like she's trying to redeem her match making skills. but i pretty much said "umm no thanks" haha i always tell people "if you love your friends....don't hook them up with your other friends" trust me =)

then there was christy's crazy stalker who followed us around the entire bar, even though we weaved in and out of the crowds of people. we finally lost them when we ran out into the rain and hid under an umbrella!

then there was that guy that went up to me and said "you work out at shapes" omg who is this guy? "i see you rock climbing all the time." yikes he was creepy!

finally, we head over to east ocean as per usual and have some yummy greasy post bar food. yum yum yum

sunday: hung over, i spent the entire day with my sister. we had lunch at her apartment, and then spent the rest of the day shopping and cruising around blaring bep with sunroof and windows rolled down! we saw the gay pride parade go by too haha that was fun.

well that's my weekend update.
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i dunno why people think i'm so gullible. i'm not completely oblivious to things going on around me. i just chose not to address the fact that i'm completely aware of them. i just have more tolerance for a lot of things because i've been through it all and i would be a hypocrite if i said i didn't relate or understand. maybe that's just the way i am. or i'm just too nice. but i know i'm not naive.