Cookies and Other Miscellaneous Items to Mention

I just thought I share a chocolate chip cookie recipe that I found on the internets, one that I memorized and tweaked just a little bit. Here it goes:

Cream together:

1/2 cup soft and unsalted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Add:

1 egg

Add:

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup flour

Add:

1 1/4 cup of white and semisweet chocolate chips

Bake on a greased cookie sheet for about 10 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Et voila:

I should say these are gut-wrenchingly sweet in my opinion, so if you are like me, you might want to reduce the sugar content a little bit. Actually, I did, and they were still very sweet, so definitely add less sugar maybe?

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As for other fun things that I can talk about. Well, there was the teddy bear toss at the Ottawa 67's and Owen Sound Attack game just a week ago. On the way to the game we picked up this lovely teddy and panda puppet. Sadly, the Owen Sound Attack lost the game with just one goal against (the empty net does not count IMO) with only 7 minutes left in the game. But at least we can celebrate that there were many many many teddies tossed that will find their way to a child's arms somewhere in the city. Right!?

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And, I never mentioned anything about the Senators - Blue Jackets game that I went to! It was a happy belated birthday present from my brother. It was a completely sold out game, so with lots of people the atmosphere was great! Even though I have been in Ottawa for more than a year, this was only the second game I attended. I know, right?! I think finding a job, generating some income should rectify that situation. If I am still in Ottawa by then ... Anyways, some shots:

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I also have not posted a music selection for a long time. But here goes:

Muse - Undisclosed Desires

The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You

Tommy Guerrero and Gadget Enhanced - Mechanisms (Feat. John Gold)

Numbers!

At Sea

From my adventures in Holland :D

LO-ONG TIME!

I can't believe I haven't said a single thing since last month, while I should have been celebrating that I am finished school forever!

WHOOOOOT!

Light at the End of the Tunnel ...

One more week of total, complete, 100% effort into writing essays, readings, and studying and then I am DONE!!!!

Forever!

I think.

Een, Twee, Drie .... Break Over.

Echt leuk:

En weer verder leren ...

Home Sweet Home

Whoot! I resorted to a significant dose of coffee and sugar to make it through the day! It is evening, and I am working! Actually working.

Anyways, one thing is sure, that if I don't make this post, it will never happen. And I have to convince you again that the Holstein Rodeo is well-worth any terrible weather conditions you may have to endure. Last year? Rain. This year? Extreme Heat and Extreme Cold. Basically Saturday was a summation of the weather we have been having so far this summer, it even included rain. I do have a nice sunburn on my shoulders to show for this day.

And some nice shots:

and the Road Hammers:

On a side-note:

Upon a couple of years of data and analysis, it can be determined that the busier I am, the more likely I am to post updates about life. Seeing that the next three weeks are going to be, well, beyond any craziness that I have ever experienced, I have a feeling I will be posting lots as well. I do pre-apologize for the fact that they may simply say "aaah" so as to imply some sort of agony. I will survive.

One final Post Scriptum: what happens to dead tadpoles? I have seen many tadpoles in the pond at home, and I know few of them become frogs, then why don't I see any dead tadpoles?

Just Like a Wavin' Flag

Happy Belated Birthday Canada! Hope it was a nice one! Okay, well I am pretty sure it was, if you were in Ottawa anyways. I do think that at some point in your Canadian lifetime you have to come celebrate in Ottawa. Not for the fireworks though. They are easily rivalled by a small town like Owen Sound. But the rest of the day was pretty rockin'!

We decided to Marathon it on Canada Day. Which made for a long day. Which, believe it or not was not nearly enough time to see everything. You really have to pick and choose things to do, because there is so much stuff happening! But we saw the changing of the guard, the musical rides, the prime minister, the snowbirds, a one song performance by a number of artists, including Sarah Mclachlan and Shane Yellowbird, and even more performances in the afternoon and evening. And wow - so many people! I don't think I have ever seen this many people together before. This was just on Rideau Street, the least busy of the day!

This musical rides show by the RCMP was pretty fantastic. Despite the music cutting out constantly, and having to stand on my tippy-toes to see anything, it was cool to see. Plus the horses they have there are just beautiful!

The stage on Parliament Hill, the lights, and videos were pretty amazing! For a free, outdoor show it was very good! Although I would have to complain about the Canadian Unity Flag someone was flying right in our view of the stage. Which was just as annoying as the people sitting around us, who insisted on smoking in public. Actually, what was also interesting was that the performances were slated to start at 6.30pm. Then, at 6.30 they start a one hour countdown. To the beginning of the show right, so at 10 seconds everyone is up counting down, but at 0, there were no fireworks, but commercials! Whoot! Chicken Farmers of Canada!

Anyways, the performances were great! Ranging from the Canadian Tenors to last year's winner of So You Think You Can Dance Canada, Sarah Mclauglin to the Respectables. Marie-Mai to

Cirque Fantastic Concept. Lots of English, and lots of French! I think one of my favourite performers was probably K'naan. He had the whole audience sing along to his song Wavin' Flag. Plus they were so good live! His first perfomance even included the trampolines, and a dancers!

Shane Yellowbird! He was singing his song Pick Up Truck to which we loudly sang along. There was not nearly enough country music, but still. Whoot! Country! I think I will get my fill of

country lovin' at the Rodeo next week :D

The snowbirds! my (now tiny) dream of becoming a jet pilot was brought back at the sight of this performance. I remember seeing them in Owen Sound a couple of summers ago, where they did an equally amazing show above Georgian Bay.

and finally, Sarah Mclachlan performed World on Fire, Angel, and Building a Mystery:

Whoot! Canada!

back in time

music (and coffee) have always been great study companions for me, and this time i went a little back in time:

journey - wheel in the sky (1978)

styx - renegade (1978) they are coming to bluesfest!

scorpions - send me an angel (1990)

XD

and i learned that this song was the number one hit the week i was born, interesting development!

No Ocean Too Wide

What we would do for a cup of brewed coffee! Our coffeemaker has been giving us serious grief, and since I was using it to try to get back up and running, I was left to my own devices to make an afternoon Cup of Joe. And no one should have to drink instant right?

Yesterday I was at a workshop for job searching procedures in the hidden job market. Anyways, Step 1 of Networking is letting all friends and family know that you are looking for work. So hereby I should let you know that I am job searching. Like real life serious job searching. Yay Me! I hate promoting myself. :S

Falling Slowly - Glen Hansard and Markete Irglova

[laugh][often] [love][much]

Happy Father's Day Dad!

Love Always.

Blackboard Material

It was probably close to exam period when we had a review session for our research and methods class. We had this class 8.30 on Tuesday mornings, and one of my classmates felt the need to document what we had to live through for the semester. Although looking back at it now, it wasn't that bad. I do have class in a couple of hours, and I better continue my readings on bank failures ... so depressing :S

Song choice: She doesn't Belong to Me - Pete and the Pirates:

"I got up in such a hurry, I'm still stuck inside my dream"

Doors Open - Open Doors

What a gorgeous day!

It never seized to amaze me, how vibrant a city Ottawa is. We headed downtown today, and first came across the D-Day Ceremonies. Then we had a chance to check out the Arts Court, the former Ottawa jail, the Government Conference Centre, and the Saint John the Baptist

Ukrainian Catholic Shrine. Very interesting stuff! And while we w

ere walking through the Glebe we even came across the New Art Festival. Even though I am not always a big fan of art, it was a very nice show! Anyways, I just thought I share a couple of pictures:

i see this church almost every day, and finally had a chance to see it!

jail - exit sign, which almost looks like it has been written in blood

i think i will go and nurse my blisters now! that is always the problem with the beginning of summer ...

now, some lyrics that i have been enjoying:

"you might say you're pretty,

you might say you're free,

life may be so easy,

love may be so free

........

you might say you're ugly,

you might say you're chained,

life may be so dreary,

love may be a shame

........

it's inside your heart lady,

where the battle is won"

to forget and not to forget [3]

to offer some consistency, and not to forget, i just wanted to dedicate some online space to the life of Poisson Papillon III.

dear betafish, you were with us for a time far too short. and now i am wishing i had captured your fighting spirit on camera, so that this post could be complete with your picture, and the legacy could last into finite time. but alas.


kelly family - why don't you go (i think my roommates might be going crazy with my incessant need to play music by this group. they don't know however, how lucky they are ... had we met two years previous, it would have been westlife)

just a few shots ...

because pictures are always a good way to share something without really saying anything.

I think BINGO is always good times ...

In mom's garden.

Tulip Festival!


When I was in Hamilton, I had to drive by the old house. And remember Barclay:

Sometimes

I remember the Kelly Family from way back. This song, however, I had never heard before.

bring on the sunshine!

i might be sick. and i might be feeling a combination of anger/frustration/stress/anxiety/depression as a result of writing my macroeconomics final. nonetheless the sun was shining and we went down to mooney's bay for the first tennis match of the season! good for my first sunburn of the season also.

but i say, bring on the sunshine!

i have been listening to coury palermo this week, and i have almost decided that he has the best voice i have heard all year. and he can also be heard here.

coury palermo -sunday black

I am studying, I swear!

i was surfing the internets and came across this band, and now i realize why neither the name or the faces are unfamiliar: we used to live around the corner from Arkell, and i used to see some of these guys at school all the time.

great song i thought, the lyrics probably don't sound all that unfamiliar either :P

sooooo not interested in macroeconomic theory ....
in fact i should be having a beer celebrating/mourning the last Senators game of the season! score is tied, 2-2, Go Sens Go for the last period of the season! UPDATE: stupid, stupid game.

neverending white lights (and scott andersen) - i hope your heart runs empty

because it ain't over until the fat lady sings ...

and that is why we went to overtime. and shootouts. and despite taking flack for being an unbelieving and disheartened fan, most senators fans do not bank on a win when the ice is being cleared for the shootout ... despite our history of you know winning the first shootout (if i know my history ... correctly?)

just a late night thought ...

... it was so much easier to stay up late to work on a project when everyone else was staying up late too.

it is 11:11 and all my roommates are sleeping-ish.

broken strings - james morrison and nelly furtado

Because it is not over until it is really over

So, as the hockey fan as I am, it has been rather disappointing that I have moved to Ottawa, and that I have not even gone to see the Senators play since I have been here. In fact, I have been more likely to see the team play when i lived far away ...

but that is coming to an end,

even though the season is almost done, the team has played their worst season since I have lived in Canada, I am finally going,

and I am super excited !

just thought I would share that.

Now I am going back to write 10 pages of what I would like to think is pure genius. Because maybe if I think it enough, it might magically be just that?

Numbers Game

since I am working with numbers, and more numbers these days, here is an interesting number to throw at you ...

this is from my itunes generated top 25 most played playlist ... so it does not count all the times I was at the computer lab and was streaming music online. you should also know that I downloaded the first song on march 23.

Yikes.

Talk

Songs I must remember:







and newest of all
Talk - Ross Copperman

Psalm 42:5

Maar de Heer zal uitkomst geven,
Hij, die ’s daags zijn gunst gebiedt.
‘k Zal in dit vertrouwen leven
en dat melden in mijn lied;
‘k zal zijn lof zelfs in den nacht
zingen, daar ik Hem verwacht,
en mijn hart, wat mij moog’ treffen,
tot den God mijns levens heffen.

I am neither agreeing or disagreeing ...

from catandgirl.com

Blof - Mooie Dag

Ik overdacht mijn zorgen en de wereld
En alle keren dat ik wakker lag
Ik besloot
Wat een mooie dag

because when you are from the countryside ....

.... you usually don't take a taxi.

So when I was the last one to be dropped off at home last night, I had to ask the cab driver if it was custom to give them a tip. The driver's eyes went wide open with surprise when I started my sentence with "This might be a funny question, but I have never taken a cab before and .... "

At least then I had keys to get into my apartment, unlike this morning .... which is a whole other story that won't be told until a later day ...

death cab for cutie - soul meets body

Ville de Montréal: ma première visite

Despite the driving, the getting lost, and the loads of work on my mind, Montreal was great! While we stayed on an island in Laval, we did make it (although with some difficulty) downtown, and Old Montreal.

Remnant of the Montreal 1967 Expo.

Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal - front of the chapel

St. Joseph's Oratory

On a whole other sidenote I came across this website, passiveaggressivenotes.com, I think if you have ever lived, not alone really, some of the stuff on this website might seem very relate-able. It makes me think of this note I left someone who kept parking in the parking spot ... it is not on the website, so I don't think it was taken very badly. Now if only the person that put their bumper into my car would have left me a note ....

A Starry Night

So because of the incoming weather I made a quick decision to drive home to Owen Sound yesterday afternoon. I made it home from school in about 15 minutes packed and ate in half an hour and hit the road. It was by far the most boring and tiring and painful trip I have undertaken. Painful only because I have a terribly sore knee. Given all that though it was also a beautiful night. It was dark and in the middle of Ontario I saw many many stars.

Now, even though I spend all my summers star-gazing, on the trampoline, on the beach, wherever really, I have never seen a falling star. Until last night. It is the middle of the winter, I was on the road, and there was the first falling star I ever seen.

Pretty cool!

the Quebec of Holland

I am working with some individual level data from the 2001 Census of Population, and I am very intrigued by the fact that all the guides to the census specify the group and language "Frisian" separately. Even though it is included under "Netherlandic" languages, I find it weird that it is even considered ... and why does Canada even care?

Out of the Shadows - Matthey Perryman Jones

Ps. Go Sens Go!

"You Gotta Love this City"

After the bus strike, the cold weather, and the drag of school I do now remember why I love this city so much. On saturdaynight we took a free bus to downtown to watch a free concert on the canal, followed by a light show and a walk by the ice sculptures. Despite the freezing cold there was a lot of people out, and we had a great time. Even though our dancing was probably a little sub-par given the boots and amount of clothing we were wearing, we managed to stay pretty warm. And despite the cold the artist and his band managed to stay pretty hot. Just sayin'.

Roch Voisine on stage

listen here (via youtube!)

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a projection behind the stage

Happy Family Day!

Go Sens Go!

"can we walk this line together?"

I think once upon a time I wrote an ode to some delightfully scented laundry soap that I bought. Today I will replicate that thought ... well, it is a new lilac scented soap, and I love it. Thought you might want to know.

I should also write an ode to my classmates, without whom I would never make it through school. However, more on that when I graduate :D

2 days of classes until reading week ...

The Kin - Together

Slumdog Millionaire. Watch it.



Australia. Watch it.

"find the spark that is buried deep"

to understand how this can make me feel bad somehow ... you should know that in all of highschool the number of days I missed can be counted on one hand, and the number of classes I missed at Mac can be counted on half a hand, and the number of classes missed at Carleton need not be counted ... so when I went to the gym today for my spinning class, you can imagine I was pretty ticked that I pulled a skirt out of my gym bag instead of my shorts. and I could hardly go in my jeans, or the skirt. so I skipped. I know SHAME! (and not because I missed a class, more because I felt so bad about it ... maybe the best therapy for this worry I have should be skipping class for a week?)

matthew perryman jones - out of the shadows.

ps. go sens go?

all in a day ...

someone just told me today, "if you have to live with it, you might as well find ways to enjoy it" this is obviously referring to winter in Ottawa. now i am thinking of all places in Canada Ottawa is the one to be in in the winter. i mean, there is the canal, there is the canal, and there is the canal. and beaver tails. now, it is already almost february (eek!) and i still have not purchased skates, and despite a non-growing economy, and strict budgeting on my part, i should get some skates, at least i have to try find some second-hand ones. and i should get some people together to go tobogganing ...

now, today has been a long one! currently i am listening to some dutch music via youtube, studying macroeconomic models, and waiting for a movie to load, and carrying on a conversation via MSN, while also keeping an eye on the score of the senators - blues game. the score is 0-0 at this point. what also has been long is the time between my latest blog post and this one ... assuming that i remember to publish my post, or assuming that it is publish-worthy. or not for that matter. but i have been busy. busy procrastinating on life, ie. i have been doing some schoolwork, and i have been paying a lot of attention to the news, and to the latest budget news. definitely some interesting stuff.

today i opted to attend an optional, but recommended, class about DSGE modelling and Matlab. equally interesting stuff. kind of. not really. then i surprised myself by going to study at the library, which was precisely what needed to happen today.

i was about to update the score to 1-0 for Ottawa, but since I am so preoccupied with many things by the time i got around to typing this it is already 1-1. allright, so after the library i went home around 2 to beat rush hour traffic which starts at 2.30 in Ottawa (since the strike, which is finally over i just read on the news). i cleaned out my parking spot with a small shovel and did some groceries. i also picked up some socks for the LOVE Ottawa, a program initiated by our church here in Ottawa. this coming sunday we will be handing out soup and socks in the downtown area, and since my soup does not turn out here like it would back home, so socks it is! i also managed to spend some 70 dollars at the grocery store, and i even bought veggie burgers rather than real ones because for one, they are cheaper, and two, they are significantly more nutritious. no protein speech will make me change my mind about that.

i also watched two documentaries. one about teachers in thailand, and one about migrants from africa coming into yemen. i guess sometimes i am more interesting about learning anything other than economic theory. funny that.

anyways, since a lot of my friends have been completing 30 things about me lists, i am going to see if i can finish one over the weekend. after i complete a labour asssignment that is. still 1-1.

till later!

Virtual Greeting

Happy 23rd Anniversary Mom & Dad!

It is not the curse of Ottawa ...

Although this is not a hockey blog, since hockey is one of my favourite sports I am bound to feel like writing a blog post about it ...

Tonight I actually went to see the other Ottawa hockey team at the Civic Centre, where the Ottawa 67's played the Niagara Ice Dogs. Since I had only ever seen an OHL game in Owen Sound, I was not sure what to expect ... but I like what I saw! Certainly Owen Sound will always be my number one OHL team, but Ottawa will be a close second, and not only because I think their jerseys are awesome. Since the 67's record has not been too bad this season, and they managed a 6-2 win over Pietrangelo's team, I think that means we cannot blame the Senators' lack of a good season on the city, or the weather.

Our seats were also pretty good, right behind the opposing players bench, although it must be said those seats have two drawbacks. One, the stench. Two, the players always stand up when something exciting happens. Also, after seeing the Dance Team at Ricoh Coliseum, for the Toronto Marlies, I thought there couldn't be a worse dance team in sports, well yes there is. The choreography here in Ottawa consists of exactly two moves.

Anyways, the Civic Centre is a rather huge facility for an OHL team, and with more than 8,000 fans in attendance, that is already 4 times as much as Owen Sound has on a good day. And the fans are great. Really great. So I hate to say this, but now that the World Junior Hockey Championships are over, it is best to head over to the Civic Centre for some quality hockey rather than Scotiabank Place, until you know the problems there are sorted ....

Anyways, I think I am going to rank this as worth repeating.

I also learned that Second Cup carries a number of secret beverages, and that London Fog should not be confused with English fog. Although I am sure the waitress/barrista/coffee lady at Second Cup on Bank will remember for evermore my order ...

U2 - Kite

ps. Go Sens Go!

Lesson of the Day

When there is not a lot of snow at the beginning of the winter, and you are at Wal-Mart store, and you see a snow shovel, and you say to your roommate, "Hmmm .... maybe we should get a snow shovel, might be handy" and they say "Nah, we won't need it" then stand still for a second, and buy it!

Because trust me, you will need it, and you will wish you bought it.

Seriously, after Christmas, snow isn't so cute anymore. And neither is the strike.

Back to School Blues

I am back in the City! Back to school tomorrow morning at 8. There still are no buses running, but the canal is OPEN! And Canada still has a chance of winning the World Junior Championship (although I have decided that it might not be so bad, if Canada did not win).

Anyways, the holidays were as eventful as uneventful. But more about that to come!

Happy New Year Everyone!