Aug
18
2008

Farewell Real World, Hello School!

Posted in Education, Random |
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I probably didn’t mention this in any of my previous posts as yet, but today marked my first day of Couchpotatoness AKA “I don’t have a job now because I’m going back to school to further my education”.

Yes, that’s right, I’ve said goodbye to a pretty decent job so that I could… *cue ominous music* TEACH HIGH SCHOOL. This wasn’t a rash, last-minute decision I made because I wanted a change of scenery and summers off. I actually had, what some would call, an epiphany while I was at my younger sister’s high school graduation last year. After seeing all the teachers make their speeches to the students, and seeing how positively the students reacted along with the bond they all seemed to share, it dawned on me: I’d make a pretty good teacher!

I’ve always had an aptitude for learning (yes, I even went to those “gifted” classes), and as I reflected on my years I noticed that through different experiences (whether it was helping my younger siblings, volunteering at summer camp, or training some of my co-workers) I’ve done a good job at sharing my knowledge with them and helping them to grow. Why not make this a profession?

Now, this isn’t a direct leap of career paths. At my now former job, I was a Web Producer (involving web & graphic design, videography and photography). My teaching stream will be Communication Technology (one of the 7 broad-based technologies in Technological Education programs) which involves the same thing. I honestly thought it was too late for me to start a teaching career in my field since I’ve been out of school for a while, but my 3 years experience at my last job actually helped my B.Ed application.

Communication Technology was my favourite course back when I was in high school (I still remember that “Sailor Moon” image I designed in Corel Draw back then). So after volunteering at my old high school for a while and sending my application in, I was pleasantly surprised when I got accepted to Queen’s University (tough loss for the other 2 I applied to). (Shout out to my former co-worker Sandeep for getting accepted to teacher’s college as well! :D ) For those of you applying for teacher’s college, don’t give up… things will work out for the best.

So, last week my boss (thanks girl!) and department got me this wonderful cupcake-cake (you know… the one that looks like a cake, but it’s actually a bunch of cupcakes smothered in icing so that you don’t have to worry about a knife and fork). It was delicious! Was all set to eat one last morsel when I came back from lunch, and to my surprise there was an empty platter on my desk! How 7 cupcakes disappeared from my desk in 30 minutes, I don’t know… not even a “thanks for the cupcakes I stole from your desk, Monique”. Never did find out who scarfed them down while I was gone… but don’t worry: karma’s on my side! :P

My Good Luck Cupcake Cake

So, now I got a couple weeks to prepare for school (I even have an assignment due on day 2, so lots of reading to be done). What really sucks now is that I’m not covered by my benefits package anymore. Looks like my wisdom teeth are going to have to wait 10 months till I get hired and covered again (heaven knows I’m not shelling out my laptop funds on my teeth)!

Hi-ho, hi-ho… It’s off to Kingston I go. Of course, I’ll keep you all updated. :)

Aug
10
2008

Giant Explosion Shakes Toronto

Posted in News |
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I guess I’m glad that I slept through it, because waking up and looking outside my window to see a massive fireball illuminate the sky would have been quite the head trip. Even as I watch the different videos on YouTube documenting the blast, I’m still shocked that something like this happened so close to home.

In the wee hours of the morning, just before 4am a serious of explosions happened near Keele St. and Wilson Ave. Residents in the immediate area recall feeling the shockwaves of the multiple blasts and having the windows of their home blowing out. There are some amazing photos that display the magnitude of the blast. Check out this Flickr photo stream. Here’s a detailed video showing some of the explosion:

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As of this moment though, firefighters are close to completely extinguishing the burning tanks at the propane facility in the Keele and Wilson area, and I believe that the city is very lucky that this situation wasn’t more serious. Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in the area and blocks of the city (between the 401, Sheppard, Jane and Wilson) has been sectioned off.

Here’s the complete news story from TheStar.com, and I’m sure there are a lot of other media outlets carrying the news.

Update: One Toronto Firefighter has passed away battling the blaze. My condolences to his family and friends, and I commend all those firefighters who do such a dangerous job and risk their lives to save others.

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Aug
06
2008

Paris Hilton for President!

Posted in News, Random |
2 Comments »

You wouldn’t be one to think that socialite Paris Hilton would have a political opinion, but at least she has a good sense of humour. Check out her spoof video response to the ‘celebrity’ campaign ad that presidential candidate John McCain (aka “wrinkly, white-haired dude”) aired a short while ago, in which he targets running-mate Barak Obama.

[funnyordie 64ad536a6d]

And in case you haven’t seen it already, here’s McCain’s video:

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That message is totally hot.

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Aug
03
2008

Jump Up! It’s Caribana!

Posted in Festivals |
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Caribana Parade 2008

Yesterday was Toronto’s popular Caribana parade, the highlight of the two-week celebration that brings a huge amount of tourism and Caribbean flavour to the city.

It was a gorgeous day on Saturday (after the morning rain let up at least), so I decided to make a last minute trip and head down to see the parade. I think I spent more time on transit than I actually did at the parade itself! Getting from any of the subways stations down to the Caribana Parade 2008Exhibition grounds was crazy. My friend and I were lucky enough to get a seat on the way down there and on the way back (makes a huge different walking to the previous stop). The bus was packed and there was a lot of traffic on the road heading down to to the parade.

Once along the Lakeshore, we were greated by wonderful sounds of steel pans, soca music and the smell of delicious Caribbean food. There were so many people, many of which were adorned in in a flag from their retrospective Caribbean nation, in costume (I guess they got all tired out from playing mas), or wearing as little as possible/dressed to impress. What sucked though that all the ‘real’ Caribbean food was on the lake-side of the parade, and there were fences sectioning off the parade from the other side that we were on: I couldn’t find a way to get the roti I was craving! :( Plus my friend had to head to work, so we walked around for a bit, took some photos, grabbed the Caribana Parade 2008most DELIOUS, sweet-tasting corn-on-the-cob ever (which was the most ‘Caribbean’ option available over hamburgers, fries, hot dogs and cotton candy) and headed home.

All in all, it was a fun day (especially the people-watching… if only we were fashion police). I was planning to go to Olympic Island today for the Island Festival, but I think I’m too late to buy tickets. :P Next year I’ll make better plans though, and make sure I get there early!

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Jul
29
2008

The Big Apple (Pie, that is)!

Posted in Food |
23 Comments »

The Big Apple - Colborne, Ontario
A little while ago I went on a mini-road trip to Kingston, and one of my friend’s asked me (okay, she practically threatened me) if I could stop at this place called The Big Apple on the way and pick her up some apple pies. I’m thinking, what’s so special about this particular apple pie that you’re telling me to veer off the highway and make sure I get you a couple boxes when I get back to Toronto?

The Big Apple - Colborne, Ontario - Petting ZooBoy, did I sure I find out when I tasted a juicy morsel. These pies were delicious!

The Big Apple is easy to see off the 401. About 1 1/2 hours from Toronto, there’s a giant apple that can be seen from the highway once you reach the city of Colborne and a short drive to the front doors from there. There’s a small petting zoo outside the grounds (including ducks, llamas and goats) and even a mini-putt golf course.

When you get inside the restaurant, you go through a couple of turnstiles and greeted with a large menu sign that lists all the pies available. The kitchen is also right there, so you canThe Big Apple - Colborne, Ontario view the bakers making the pies. Once baked, the pies are put into colourful boxes and rested on the counter for customers to choose from. They go for a whopping $10 each, but it’s so worth it. Took me about a week to polish one off… that pie was huge.

There’s also non-apple things on the menu, such as fries, burgers and hot dogs. And of course they have candied apples. The only thing I still don’t understand which my friend had warned me about was their reluctance to provide forks to people who purchase whole pies. When my mom had ask for a fork the cashier had said that they were only for people who buy slices to eat in the restaurant. They’d probably make more money selling forks for 0.25¢ than by losing business of people who’d opt to buy a slice over a whole pie just to get a fork. I had to wait until I got home to eat my wonderful-smelling pie, but it was well worth the wait.Mumble Crumble Apple Pie from The Big Apple - Colborne, Ontario

There were about 20 different types of flavoured apple pies to choose from. I purchased Apple-Maple (my favourite out of the two I got) and a Mumble Crumble. Others I was tempted to get were Apple-Strawberry and the Caramel Apple pies (next time!).

So if you’re in the GTA and planning a road trip east to somewhere like Ottawa or Montreal via the 401, make sure you make a stop at The Big Apple in Colborne, Ontario.

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