I just watched the National Pie Championships on TV!!!

The championships are actually being held in Florida, and there are SO many many many different types of pies!!! Nut, berry, citrus, chocolate, silk (what the hell are silk pies?!?!), apple... and loads more I can't remember.

They are SO good.

Some of them had cookie crusts instead of the normal pastry crusts. Some tried to innovate with creme cheese and peanut butter. There was an extreme apricot pie, a chocolate mousse pie with marshmallow toppings, cherry pie...

One woman made a lemon pie with cookie crust and almond flakes, the filling is layered with creme cheese and lemon cooked with sour cream.

Some added caramel to the apple filling for apple pies. One woman added maple syrup. She also had a pumpkin pie made from her homegrown pumpkins. Judges were full of praise for that pie... I wanna eat some too!!

Pie!!! The word has such a nice ring to it, no? :):):) 0 oogly boogly . #

Have you ever seen squirrels this plump? These little creatures scurry all around the campus and they are so cute and rotund. But recently the weather must have proven too cold, for I haven't seen them in a while. I love their tiny paws.

Bears aren't the only animals that hibernate in winter. Raccoons do, too. I'm looking forward to seeing them in Spring!

Not that keen about skunks, though. Haha.


It's been two months in Canada.

When I willingly left homeground and bounded abroad, I expected to plunge into a totally different place. I must say I was slightly disappointed at the beginning when it seemed like I had left Singapore only to find myself in a place not so different from Singapore. "It's all the same," I remember lamenting sadly.

But slowly, slowly, I'm noticing the differences. It's in the little things we do, what we eat, how we eat, how we travel, how we talk, how we shop, what we buy, ... It's in all these and more, that lie the differences.

I feel like I've finally settled in. Like, really settled in. I no longer feel like a stray thread sticking out of the tapestry, but actually feel like I'm part of the fabric.

Oh, sure, little things still give it away. Accent, the way I sometimes am on the verge of stepping out without my coat, possibly even my mannerisms.

But I feel like I've finally settled in. No longer fretting and widening my eyes at missed buses, which class is where, whether I talk funny, possibility of no or skimpy dinner...

I think it's called, I've settled into a routine. Found my yin/yang position, so to speak. Haha.

Took two months!! Kinda belated, I think. It's hard to imagine that two months later I'm going to leave all these and go home. I wonder what part of Canada will stick with me beyond the first month of touching down, and what part will fade away, back into this part of the world.

I'm quite excited to find out. ;) 0 oogly boogly . #

Ok, folks, here it is. The much-awaited and waaaaaay overdue Part II. Keep in mind this is TWO, no, sorry, THREE weeks ago. ;D I told you it's way overdue. Haha.

Anyway, previously on Part I, I talked about the traumatic bus ride to Guelph. That was Friday. In Part II, now, I'm going to tell you all about what happened on Saturday! :)

So on Friday night, Grace asked me if I wanted to visit the Guelph Market on Saturday. And I said, yeah, of course! What I was actually expecting was a WET-market-market. You know, where you get fresh fish and shrimps and poultry and stuff. It wasn't particularly thrilling, but I did wanna see what a market in Guelph, or Canada, is like. So what if it's gonna be, not so appetizing first thing in the morning?

Then Grace told me it's more of a socializing thing. Well that was totally way-out for me. Gossip and socializing in a wet market??? Wow. *raise eyebrow!!*

So on Saturday, we woke up early. Or rather, Grace woke up at the unearthly hour of 6-something, 7-something, and I woke up at (my unearthly hour of) 8am. We had a de-e-licious breakfast of scrambled eggs, swedish rye bread-cracker, bacon, and a bowl of mixed fruits, including strawberries, oranges, and grapes. At about 9.30am, we were off to the Guelph Market.

Boy, was it different from what I imagined.

Check this out!

Ok, I know. The picture is slightly discoloured but you get the idea! Those are brocolli in the foreground, pumpkins, and carrots. Check out that overturned wooden basket! It has completely no use except to sit there and look pretty. Who'd overturn a basket like that for decorative purposes in a market?!?!

If I'd appeared even mildly CBC (Canadian-born Chinese), the sight of those spanish onions absolutely gave me away. I squealed involuntarily at the first sight of them because I have never seen onions THIS huge. One spanish onion is the size of my two fists!!

I know you can get apples anywhere; but apples in those baskets? With EVERY apple looking SO good? Na-Uh. You get those in the Guelph Market. ;)

Anyway, I finally found out what 'Granny Smith' apples refer to. I have a very good recipe for baking an apple pie at home, but the only problem was the terms in the recipes. As with most of these recipes, they're in Western terminology, so ingredients like 'Red Delicious', 'Granny Smith', etc. just sound like Greek to me. Until now! Yesterday I was at Zehrs (a grocery store) and I saw 'Granny Smith' pointing to those green apples. I felt like I won Bingo! or something. Hahaha. :D

Ok, end of digression. Onward!!

I took this picture on the way out and by that time most of the bread are gone. I've always loved the sight of fresh loaves of bread. They're puffy, oh, sorry, pOOOfy, round, and they look and smell so divine. Mmmmmm.

When you buy bread like these, they cut it on the spot for you. They'll pop it into the cutting machine there. I suppose it's to give people the option of having sliced-bread, or whole loaves.

Now this is why the Guelph Market resembles even less of a wet-market. They sell potted plants like these too! Loads of tulips, crocuses, geraniums, and a whole host of others I can't remember. A real vibrant riot of colours!

They also have stalls that sell other novelty wares. Above are aromatheraphy stuff--candles, scented incense sticks, quirky pots, etc.

Along the way, you can also buy clothes, earrings, necklaces, prepared-on-the-spot donuts, sausages... Plus at the other end of the market there's a corner selling photographs of Guelph. There're some really artistic shots, some really good shots, and other ordinary shots. And that's where the GOSSIP and SOCIALIZING table is. *wink*

Here's the gang!

At this end of the market, there is a place where people can sit and chat and have a cup of coffee, or something to eat.

You can't really see the resemblance here, but Terry and Grace REALLY look alike!!! They have the same clear, bluish-greenish eyes, and the same nose.

The Friend, as she introduced herself, :D, is a really funny character. She has a loud, hearty laugh, and she is just SO full of good humor. Haha. It is SO infectious. ;)

And we were just chatting and 'gossiping' (well it's not really gossip-gossip, just, catching up on who is doing what and etc.), when Anastasia came in. She was all flushed and perspiring. And you know why?

Because she had just ran in from Toronto!! TORONTO!!!! My Gosh!! When I heard that my jaw dropped, though I tried to remain composed and inconspicuious. Hahaha. Well, her svelte and trim figure says it all, eh? ;)

We found out also that she just got engaged. Her fiance walked in later too, and Sheryl said, "This is the guy she's going to marry. And we all approve." Burst of laughter, and it was just such a good moment.

I haven't told you about Emily. She's younger than me, and Grace and Sheryl told me she never ever wakes up to come with them to the Guelph Market, since... since she grew up. You know, we wanna sleep in!!! YAY for sleeping in!! :D:D And Guelph Market is a weekly kinda thing for Sheryl and Terry, so.... we wanna sleep in!!!

Ok so bottomline is: Emily made a rare appearance that Saturday! :):) Grace told me it's because she wanted to meet me, (I'm sure it's because Grace has me on her lips ALL the time. Haha.), that she wanted to put a real person/face to that online blog. This online blog, pardon me. So, I'm really honoured. Thank you, Emily! :)

Oh, and Don and Grace has Emily's pictures all over their fridge, too, so I'm always reminded of her. Pity we didn't talk very much. I didn't really think she was there specially to see me, but if she were, I was sorry we didn't talk more.

Anyways. After the Guelph Market, we were going to drive back to Grace's house because we've got a girlie hair appointment at noon. But we were walking out and I saw this castle-lookalike building. Grace told me it's an armoury.

These pictures are especially dedicated to CHARLES! This armoury reminded me SO much of those RTS games (Cossacks, Stronghold, Age of Empire series, etc.etc.) that he plays; when I saw it, it was like the game came alive for me, like, OMG, I'm looking at a building in the Game.

Apparently this armoury is not like a locked-down place--they're still using it now to store, well, arms. ;)

Here're more shots!

After this, we went home. At the garage, Grace decided to drop in next door to see if we can bring the doggie over for a while.

A little background: The dog's name is Scholtzie. Grace and Don looks after him whenever their neighbours go away for holiday. On most Saturdays, Scholtzie also comes over for a while. He absolutely loves Grace. At the sound of Grace's voice, he goes positively nuts. He scampers around, like his paws can't move fast enough, jumps up and down excitedly, wags his tail like you wouldn't believe it, and he is just SO excited. It's almost like he's going to hyperventilate from all that excitement.

Don tells me Scholtzie just loves to be scratched. He will just sit there allllllll day if you scratched his head and rubbed his back.

Well I think if someone gave me a backrub, I'd stay in that spot all day too. :D:D Haha.

Anyways. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Scholtzie!

AWWWwwwwww! Isn't he just the Cutest little doggie EVER??? He looks a little sad in this picture, because it's just before Grace takes him back.

More Scholtzie shots!!

He is the best little dog ever. When Grace let him out into the backyard to run around and take a little sniff down the hedge of the fence, because he loves the smell of rabbits and little animals, he bursts out of the door. When he scrambles back into the house, he'll stand obediently and good-naturedly on the cloth Grace has placed on the ground so that Grace can wipe his little paws before he runs around the house. HE WILL ACTUALLY STAND THERE and wait patiently for Grace to come!!

And, he won't jump on the furniture too. Grace has a special blue cloth for him that she puts on the couch. When he sees the blue cloth, he goes mad. And he'll just stay in the blue region when he's carried onto the couch! Isn't that just amazing? He is just adorable.

Scholtzie is the most affectionate dog EVER. And he has the softest fur. Like plush toy, but better. Jeree!! Don't you just love him???

And it's time for our girlie hair appointment! :) Grace wanted to get her bangs trimmed, and I needed a trim all over. We went to New Images.

Meet Danielle, my hairdresser, the daughter of the owner Kevin and Donna.

Danielle is really sweet. And she gave me a good trim and I had bangs a little like hers.

I got a wash before the cut. Danielle trimmed off the awful V-shape that my hair had grown into, into a lighter and neater shape. My hair was absolutely fabulous after she blew-dry and used the straightening iron on my hair--but sadly, I can't maintain that look because I don't a straightening iron with me. Sobs!

But it's ok. I still love the haircut. Thanks to Grace and Danielle. ;) And it's growing out nicely now, so I'm happy. :)

While at the hairdresser's, there was news of an impending winter snowstorm. Check this out--it's taken on the way back:

See? The sky is all hazy and smokey-looking. Really, the whole feeling was just an air choked full of snow and dirt--it's like having a bad cough and trying to suppress that cough but when it comes out it's louder and worse. Yup, that was how the sky pregnant with the promise of a storm felt like.

When we got back it was about... 4-something? I showed off my Canadian Haircut to Don--and men being men, he said he can't see anything different about it.

"It IS different, Don!!" I insisted.
"Where??"
Fervently, I combed and patted my hair and made sure he saw the Canadian bangs I got.
"Ohhh, now I see. Yeah, your fringe looks different. Yeap, you look better now."

Thank you, Don. *beams*

Grace was preparing dinner, and I was in the toliet, when the power went out. This is the blackout I promised to talk about!

At about 5-something, we took out the candles and lighted them. Days are short in winter, so by 5-something the sky was darkening fast.

Being terribly un-tuned-in to a Canadian blackout in winter, I was pretty nonchalant, actually. Blackouts in Singapore only last, what, 10 minutes?? Max??

Until Grace and Don started talking about crawling in together under the blanket in the same bed. And having to call pizza for dinner. And how they may not even have pizza cuz the malls might be out of power too. Because the winter storm has really hit Guelph hard. Then it really, really struck me.

That I'm without power in WINTER. In CANADA. With the winter STORM blowing outside. !!!!

That means, no electricity. Means, the furnace is not working. Means, there's NO central heating!!! In Canada!! Do you know how COLD it gets way up here in Canada???

We had this blackout for 1 hour and 12 minutes.

Haha. Oh well. I didn't really panic. I had a lovely duvet from Grace that'll keep me toasty. :D So I took out my camera, and Don and I had some fun. Hee.

Haha! See, it's all up to you to have fun. *wink*

Remember I said I wanted to tell you why these entries are called "Tale of Two Cities"?

Well, it was so deafening, the blackout we had. If we all kept quiet, we could hear each other's breathing, and the pitter-pattering of the storm outside. Freezing rain, gusts, and the trees were hurled left and right.

Don asked me what I was studying and if it'll be too difficult for him to understand. I told him I was reading storybooks. Haha. We got to talking about Dickens's "A Tale of Two Cities", which I was agonizing over at that time, and I told him briefly about the book.

At that moment, Grace quipped in that when I talk about my getaway to Guelph, my blog will be like a story of Guelph and Waterloo--so that's like a tale of two cities.

Kinda silly, eh? But we were all really taken with the idea, and feeling rather pleased with ourselves about it too. Hahah. Anyway I think it's a good idea, so. Take it or leave it!! xD

And as suddenly as the lights went out, they suddenly came back home.

Phew!! Don decided to have a drink to calm his nerves. He had a foul-smelling something that Grace said I wouldn't want because it's bitter and strong. She had an orange-something that I also cannot remember, also she told me twice.

They asked if I would like something to drink too, and I said no. Because even if I wanted something, I didn't even know WHAT to ask for. In the end, I took Grace's suggestion, and this is what I had:

It's White Vermouth. It's really light and sweet. It's also what they call an imperative--means it's something you drink before meals.

With Don and Grace, I'm learning so much about wine. ;)

Papa! Mama! I'm gonna be a wine connoiseur!! Hahaha! In other words, an alcoholic!! *big grin*

I had another picture of Don, but it's poorly taken, so I'm not publishing it here. Don looks green. :(

For dinner, we had grilled beef, mashed potatoes with sour cream and margarine, and a brocolli casserole. Yup, with red wine. I think because it's beef, like red meat, that's why we have red wine? I'm not sure. I think sometimes you just go with the gut feeling. Literally. ;)

I loved the dinner. Plus the brocolli casserole was so good and super easy to prepare! Just pour Cream of Mushroom soup (without water, maybe a little milk) cooked with cheese over cooked brocolli; garnish with salt and pepper and croutons. Stick it in the oven, and voila! Dee-E-licious brocolli casserole.

And.... a parting shot. My lovely Canadian angels, as Jeremy calls them--Don and Grace! :)

Stay tuned for the last part of Tale of Two Cities! I will be talking about the visit to Grace's church, the lovely people I met, and Ann Wilson who took us out for lunch!

Tata~! 0 oogly boogly . #

Hi!!!!!!!

I'm back from Guelph!!!

I know I haven't even written the promised Tale of Two Cities: Parts II and III, and here I've got new chapters of Guelphadise coming up!! Too much to tell! Too little time!!

Anyways. Just wanted to say I'm back.

I will, I WILL, update about Guelph. Chronologically, ok? :D 0 oogly boogly . #

It's the start of Reading Week!! Yay!

In truth I felt as though Reading Week started on Thursday.. Haha.. Anyway!

On Friday I ended at 1130am (yay!) and met Saranya and Joo for lunch. Then I went shopping at Conestoga Mall! Yay!! I caught the 1245pm bus and intended to come back at... 4pm?

I ended up catching the last bus back. :S Hahaha. 6.15pm only, LAH. Didn't buy much--just shampoo and stuff. Just wanted to take a walk and have some alone time. Hee.

Had a squash game scheduled at 6pm, so I made my way to the Physical Activities Centre (PAC) immediately. Went up and down the row of squash courts and I didn't see them?! Tried to find a payphone to call Saranya, but couldn't find one?!

Ugh. Slightly miffed, I went back to the Student Life Centre (SLC) to access the Internet (because Saranya said she'll email me to confirm the timing).

No emails!! Made a phone call. She didn't pick up. Debated going back. I know that once I go back, there's no way I'm coming out again. Haha. So I tried her phone again. She picked up, and told me, "Why're you there so early? I told you 9pm, what?"

"NO you didn't! We said 6pm in the afternoon, and you said you'll email me, but you didn't!"

"Oh, I MSN-ed you??"

-_- || I wasn't at my computer?? Haiiii.

In the end I went over to have dinner with them. Had a humongous ass-of-a-fish-burger. With lettuce, tomatoes, onions, green pepper, mayonnaise, ranch, and chilli. RANCH, leh. Hahaha. MMMMmmmm! It was so huge I could barely take a bite even after opening my jaw to the MAX. Hahaha.

After dinner we had some time to kill, so we went to play billard. !!! The table is so big?!?!?! And the balls are so small?!?! After about 15 minutes we decided to stop making a fool of ourselves and let the others have the table. Haha.

And it's Squash time!! YAY! We booked the court for 2 hours, and I played for 1 hour!! Wah. Unfit. :D:D The court is free to book; but it's 2bucks to rent the racquet. After 1 hour, I felt slightly tired, but I was still so dry!! The place was too cold to perspire, so it wasn't very nice. I like to perspire and feel the toxins oozing out of me. Feels damn good. But I didn't have that luxury this time. :(

After that we made our way back to Saranya's room. I'm telling you, the wind was SO crazy. We can't even see much in front of us because the wind was blowing all that snow off the ground. Snowsqualls, they call it. We couldn't even walk properly, and we were SO COLD. Decided to run and keep warm. Hahaha.

Oh I forgot to say. After my game I needed a drink, so we decided to go to SLC. Me and Saranya. I was gonna just find a vending machine in PAC itself, but Saranya said SLC is just next door. And guess what? We ran to SLC in our shorts and T-shirts, ok! It was a very short sprint, actually; but when you open that heavy door and the wind comes crashing into your face and body, oh boy, you know how that naked chicken feels in your freezer. What a rush!! Quite exciting, actually. Hahahaa. I was screaming as I ran. :S:S:S:S

Ok so we are back in Saranya's room. Lazed around for a while and tried to recover from that onslaught from the snow and wind. Was debating coming back. But walking in that crazy weather just totally paralyzed me. So after much wishy-washing I decided to crash in Saranya's room for the night.

We watched a movie too! Hotel Rwanda. It's a serious film about a genocide that UN abandoned and nobody knew. You guys should really watch it. Like a documentary but only more emotionally heightened. ;) Not a very good pick for a girlie night, but SARANYA is such a serious goon she didn't have any chick flicks in her computer. None! Zilch! ZERO. Hahaha. Joo and Cindy got restless after a while and then KO-ed. I finished the whole show! I thought the ending was still very pro-UN-America; wonder who made the film.

Anyway, I wanna make an announcement!! For the movie we had popcorn and Cindy's cookies! Her cookies were really good. Yum! But it's the POPCORN........!!! *swoons* The popcorn were popped in the microwave! It is SO COOL.

You buy them in individually packed bags that are flat, and then you pop the whole thing into the microwave and wait. The bag will start to inflate slowly, and then it'll start to pop, and soon you can smell all that OHhhhhhh buttery smell!!! MY GOSH. And once it stops popping, you take it out and open the bag and ooooohhhh it is so good. I'm in love!! I HAVE TO GET SOME, man! Cindy told me they have it in Singapore?!?!?!?! I've never seen one until now.

Uh, what else. Yeah, so we kinda had a sleepover party. Hee. It was such a good way to end the mid-terms and start the break. :):):)

My bio clock is totally whacked, though. Haha. Felt disorientated all day. And my body is aching from all that squash.

I'm so looking forward to the rest of this week. X) 0 oogly boogly . #

After all that loud whining, this is a God-sent!!!

Hahahahah.

So I woke up today and begged those few seconds more in bed, dreading when I have to wake up and do some cramming and go for my classes. etc. etc.

When the radio announced "... ... Waterloo University is closed... Wilfred Laurier..." it didn't quite register.

I got up and Kailin msn-ed me:

Kailin: In Winter Wonderland and losing my mind. says:
Classes cancelled!

cat says:
how come?!

Kailin: In Winter Wonderland and losing my mind. says:
Bad weather

Kailin: In Winter Wonderland and losing my mind. says:
go look at the webbie girl

Kailin: In Winter Wonderland and losing my mind. says:
www.uwaterloo.ca

cat says:
OMG really

Kailin: In Winter Wonderland and losing my mind. says:
hahah yupyup

And here it is!


Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Uh huh! MMMMM MM! Hahahaha. Tell me, where else do you get classes cancelled officially because of bad weather????? NEVER will you get that in Sunny Singapore!

Hahahaa. Yay!

Am going to make myself some gooooooood breakfast. :D:D

[Read the rest of the Waterloo announcement here!] 0 oogly boogly . #

It is a crazy week!!

Last Friday, handed in Romanticism paper. 7 pages.

Monday. Fret about Wednesday.

Tuesday. Fret about Wednesday.

I spent Valentine's Day fretting about my Victorian mid-term at 9.30am on Wednesday and Canadian paper due at 4pm.

I had a severe case of writer's block on Tuesday and didn't start on my paper until, what, 8pm? Block, block, blockED, until 11pm and I finally had some excuse of a skeleton. Decided to take a break and ended up getting distracted by end of April plans. Hahaha.

Studied for Victorian literature until, uhmmmmm, 4.30am?? Or was it 5.30?? Thomas Carlyle is vulgarly obscure--declamatory, bombastic language, loads of foreign names and historical references... you get the picture.

Overslept until, 8.45am. Latest possible time to wake up!! Haha. I have decided last night, this morning (?!?!) that Brontë's just not going to make it to my study list. Crammed some more Dickens and Carlyle into my brain and hurried to the venue.

Had Romanticism class after that. Less brain drain.

Came back and crammmmmmmmmmmmed for my Canadian essay! It was an overhaul, man, I tell you. By the 4th page I was losing steam.

Time check: 3.30pm. That's when the class starts.

Growl!! I missed class. There goes my attendance points. :(

TOMORROW I STILL HAVE MID-TERM FOR THE SHAKESPEARE CLASS!!! 4 plays!!!

My brain's in overdrive. Fried, man, totally fried. Oh, I just remembered. Have to read another book and submit a response paper for the 4pm class too.

Tomorrow, my brain will just be a flat rock pancake from too much abuse and suffer from the extreme shock of a sudden lapse of non-activity at 4pm. Or 7pm, if the class is engaging.

I AM GOING SHOPPING ON FRIDAY TO REWARD MYSELF!!

TGIF never seem more apt. Haha.

Tata!! 0 oogly boogly . #

I know, I know! This is waaaaaaaaay overdue. Apologies! Remember I'm a student ok--we students have a lot of essays and annoying tests and crabby response papers to write. :D

I have decided to split the Guelph weekend getaway update into three parts, in true saga style! So here it is, Tale of Two Cities: Part I. (Why "Tale of Two Cities" will come later, aye? :D )

Ok. Part I will be about Friday! Get your popcorn and chips, or celery and carrot snack sticks, and get comfy, because this is gonna be a long long loooooong entry.



{{Classes}}

Because I was bubbling with excitement about the weekend, and because I had procrastinated my packing, I slept at the very decent hour of 4am on Friday morning. Woke up, bundled up in layers and buckled up with backpack, and went for my Victorian Literature class at 9.30am and Romantic Literature class at 10.30am. After my classes, I walked around and got a little somethings for Don and Grace.

Thereafter, I met Cindy, Kailin, and Daph to go to her house for hotpot! (aka, steamboat!).

It was a loooooooong walk. I was in my silly boots (as Don calls them), and Cindy decided that she wanna try the railway route.

Railway route! In my silly boots!! @#$%#@$@%!$#@@ !!!!!!! My poor babies.....!!

Well, they were all in sensible tracking shoes, so they sauntered on.

I don't have pictures from the hotpot, so I'll update that another time!! :D

{{Bus}}

So we overestimated our kitchen skills and took tooooo long to prepare hotpot. By the time we all got down to eating, it was 2.25pm. I have to leave at 2.45pm Latest in order to catch the 2.52pm bus downtown to Kitchener in order to catch the 3.30pm Greyhound to Guelph. Seems there's no way I can gulp down all that food, so with most reluctance, I called Grace.

"I'm so sorrrrry, Grace!! We just started eating (etc. etc. etc) so I can't make the 3.30pm bus... Can I take the later bus and meet you??"
"What time is the next bus?"
"Ummmm. I think it's 4? 4.15?"
"Hold on, I'll just check the schedule. (loads up website. wait. wait. wait). What number are you calling from, Catharine?"
"(gives number)"
"Ok, I'll call you back ok? I'll just check this and get back to you."
"Ok!"

Minutes later she calls me back:

"Catharine, the next bus is at 4.15pm. Take that one ok? And I'll still meet you as we have arranged."
"Ok!!! I'm so sorry! Thank you!"
"Ok, byebye!"

So. In order to catch the 4.15pm Greyhound to Guelph, I have to catch the 3.37pm bus from Cindy's place to downtown Kitchener. In order to catch the 3.37pm bus, I have to leave her place LATEST 3.30pm.

I started to prepare to leave at about 3.25pm. Waited for Kailin and Daph. And Kailin's superbly good banana milkshake. Ugh. Looks like I can't make it if I waited any longer. Said a hurried goodbye and ran out of the house.

Run, run, run! It was tough to run in my silly boots with a huge backpack and the wind determinedly rushing at you! Yet, I ran, ran, ran!

Wah, unfit. Out of breath, finally, I brisk walked. Saw the bus coming in from the junction. RUN!!!!!

The bus pulled in.

I ran for the bus bay.

Passengers boarding.

I reached the bus bay.

And.

THE BUS TOOK OFF WITHOUT ME!!!

OMG!!!!!!! NOoooooooo! It just left! Like that! Poof! Into the distance!

I tried not to pull my hair out in complete desperation.

Checked the schedule, even though I knew the next bus was at 3.52pm, and I will never make the Greyhound now, nevertheless, I checked the schedule. Hoping that maybe, Maybe, I had seen the numbers wrongly.

Well, it's 3.52pm alright. It'll reach the terminal at 4.21pm.

Kailin and Daph strolled leisurely into sight. I told them we missed the bus (they wanted to catch the same bus as me). Because they were in less of a hurry than me, they were not terribly ruffled.

But I was completely frantic. I had a sudden brilliant idea. Hitch a ride!!

With that brilliant idea in my head, I moved further down the road and waved like a mad woman to the next oncoming car. It stopped. Amazingly, it actually stopped.

"Hi!! I'm so sorry, but are you going to Charles Street terminal??"
"Charles Street... Oh, no. I'm just going down the street..."
"Oh.... It's alright then, thanks... (attempts megawatt smile)."

I stopped car after car. And car after car stopped for me. I must have stopped about, what, I don't know how many cars. Now, sitting rationally in my room, I cannot fathom where I got the guts to stop those cars in the middle of the road. Haha. Distraught, that's what gave me all that bravery.

Kailin was pretty shocked. She lent me her handphone to call Grace again.

"Grace!! The worst thing ever has happened. I missed the bus!!!"
"What? You missed the bus?"
"Yes! It just pulled away without me!!"
"But Catharine, it's not 4.15pm yet!"
"I know, but it just left!"
"Catharine, it's not 4.15pm yet."

(sudden realization that we are talking about different buses. Haha.)

"Oh, no, Grace, I know it's not 4.15pm yet, but I have to catch the bus to Kitchener, and I missed it!!"
"Ohhh."
"I'm sorry! I'm trying to hitch a ride down. Or get a cab!"
"Ok, Catharine, (she checks the schedule), if you miss the 4.15pm, take the next one."
"When's the next one?"
"5.30pm. Take the 5.30, ok? If you miss the 4.15. I'll meet you at the terminal instead. Listen, I'll do my groceries first, then, and meet you. Ok?"

(Omg we were supposed to do groceries together? Oh no, oh no. I feel so so awful.)

"Ok, ok. I'm so sorry, Grace. This is so bad."
"It's alright. Call me if you do get on the 4.15 though, ok?"
"Ok."

Sigh. In the end, the 3.52pm IXpress bus came. I pleadingly asked the driver if he can make the terminal at 4.15pm. And he stoically, doggedly, lifelessly, said, "No."

Poor guy. I pulled upright and strode purposefully to a seat. I couldn't help looking at him with such condescension. If he had explained to me that he can't, because they have to keep to the schedule, I would have completely understood, and thanked him for wanting to try. But, he didn't. He gave me that lousy, uncompromising, why-should-I-do-you-a-favour "No".

Yucks.

So then I got to the terminal. The long ride placated me. I still harboured a tiny flicker of hope when I reached the terminal, hoping perhaps the Greyhound was still waiting for boarding passengers. I had also made up my mind that I'll take a cab down to Guelph if I missed the Greyhound.

I asked a guard there if the Greyhound was still in. He said it's probably gone. Stupid, right, me. I should've just gone down and checked for myself. Aye, but never mind that.

I was really, quite completely, shattered. I tried to call Grace again on the payphone, but it'll cost me C$3.65. Can you imagine? That's ridiculous. I sank down onto a random bench, and called her.

I tried not to cry.

"Hello, Grace (last name). Can I help you?"
"Grace..... It's Catharine."
"Oh, Catharine! (voice changes immediately). Did you make the bus?"
"No...."

(I cannot help it. My voice broke.)

"I'm sorry, Grace... I missed the bus..."
"But it's not 5.30 yet, Catharine. Can you still make the 5.30?"
"(5.30 sounds eons away) 5.30? Yes, yes, I can still make the 5.30... but Grace, that's an hour away! And you have to wait so long..."

(My voice totally betrayed me. I started crying.)

"Catharine," she said firmly, "it's ok, Catharine. Don't worry about it. Take the 5.30, ok? I'll see you at the terminal."
"Ok... I'm sorry...." (Cry, cry, cry. Really! I should get a grip on myself!)

She changed tactic, and lowered her voice to a whisper, and tried to soothe me.

"Catharine. Don't worry, ok? We're going to have a good weekend. Don't worry."
"Ok... *sniff*. Ok, Grace. I'll see you."

I wondered if Grace knew I was crying, after I hung up. I was really sorry, and I wanted her to know. Anyhow, I sat in the bench limply, a loud, empty roaring in my head.

After a long while, I noticed the girl who's been shifting restlessly beside me. I smiled at her. She smiled back. She heaved her bag. There was an awkward silence.

"My bag's heavy," she offered.
"Yeah?" I smiled.

More awkward silence.

"You're waiting for the Greyhound?"
"Yeah."
"Where're you going?"
"Oh, I'm going to Guelph."
I brightened. "Really?! I'm going to Guelph too! I missed the earlier bus.."
"I know! Me too! You know, the bus pulled out as we pulled in!"
"Really?? Oh man.......... That really sucks."
"I know.... I can't believe it! It left early, you know......--"

And on and on. We decided to get a drink. Chocolate milk, for some comfort theraphy. Haha. And so we got talking and talking. She told me about her family, her brother, her mom, her dad, she lives with her grandma... about school, how she stopped for a year and a half, and had just decided to go back. I told her school's compulsory in Singapore, until you're 12, and you had to pay. She said it's stupid. Canadians get free, compulsory education until the age of 16. She told me she wants to go New York to dance. Modern, jazz, ballet.

Amazing how people can just talk like that.

It was a long ride to Guelph, and I dozed off with the lights from the low-shops zooming past me, and my new friend plugged into her discman, with a CD that she sneaked from her brother.

{{Guelph!}}

I reached Guelph. With fresh worries. Where would I find Grace? How long has she waited? What would we say?

I alighted, forehead furrowed.

And the first person I saw, was Grace, with a big warm smile.

"Grace!"

She opened her arms, and I hugged her gratefully.

After that were just flustered emotions and incoherent explanations, fragmented because some of it got snatched by the wind.

"Oh, wait! You must meet my new friend."

So Grace met my new friend, and we met her mom, and then we said goodbye.

"I was so upset, Grace, just now."
"I know, I could hear it in your voice."
"Really? Oh, I was crying. I couldn't help it."
"Oh, I know..." And I got another hug.

Canadians are so polite! Let me tell you, they won't refer to your crying as 'crying' if you don't refer to it yourself first. They'll say "upset". I wonder if they have a lot of such euphemistic expressions and ways of speech.

Anyway, yay yay. :) So we strapped in and got to her place. Ahhhh. Finally. I feel better already. :)

We had chicken casserole that night. With baby spinach salad, tossed with sliced almonds, pears, onions, and mango chutney dressing. I loved the salad. Yummy!

Don was glad we were home.

Grace asked if I was an early-riser, or do I like to sleep in. I must admit I blushed. Hahahahah. I Like to be an early-riser when I do rise early, but often I just sleep in. Pisses me off sometimes too, when I sleep in too much. :S So I really didn't know how to answer. Haha. I told her I'm fine with both. (I realize I keep telling her I'm fine with anything alot during the whole trip). Don't like that lah, very embarrassing if I say I'm a sleep-in-ner if they're early-risers, or that I'm an early-riser if they sleep in right? I'm good at accomodating. :D:D Haha.

After dinner, Grace and I baked some raisin bran muffins! I really don't like raisin bran--but the muffins were awfully delicious.

Grace showed me my personal washroom, and the room where I'm supposed to sleep. The washroom was perfect and looked right out of the movies, with all the little touches. Grace had put some clean towels that had some of her cross-stich embroidery and I was so impressed. So she showed me more of her cross-stich projects. There was one as big as a painting!!

My room was just as lovely. I had two pillows and a duvet!! A DUVET!!! Wah. I felt so spoiled, and felt slightly sheepish about my own makeshift blanket. Hahaha. Plus Grace also included a peachy-pink house robe for me, and I borrowed a minty-teal-green nightgown from her. Lovely!! I loved the house robe!!

Confession also: I forgot my toothbrush. Can you imagine?!?!?! Luckily, Grace had an extra one--those complimentary airplane toothbrushes. :D

We watched a bit of TV, and they asked me about Singapore exports. I really, really felt like a dumb-blonde then because I was completely clueless. National Education down the drains, man. Hahhaa. I gave some half-baked answers of what I do know, and resolved to find out more so I won't appear so clueless.

Let me tell you, in contrast, Grace and Don really knows loads about Canada and her history. She would tell me of the early settlers of Canada, why some things are the way they are because of what happened in the past, the wheat and corn fields peppered along the way to her place... etc.

And then, we called it a night. I snuggled into the duvet (!!!) (oh, by the way, it's pronounced du-veh), and drifted off to a lovely slumber.

Very long entry, isn't it? But it's mostly all about the stupid bus. Most of the melodrama is all in the bus. Growl!! The buses here are SO punctual. 4.56 means 4.56. The maximum is give or take a minute. But that's about TOPS. :S:S But it's good for planning stuff so... I shall learn to be punctual. Haha. Grace actually said she's just worried I'll miss my flight home. Hahaha. Don't worry, Grace--Jeremy is SUPER punctual. *wink*

Hee. Ok. In Part II, I'll tell you all about the Guelph Market, ARMOURY (!!!!), my fabulous haircut @ New Images, the impending winter storm, and an unexpected surprise.

:D Tata! 0 oogly boogly . #

Today, I had:

+ Scrambled omelette with halved grape tomatoes, cheese, black pepper, and a (Huge) dash of butter.
+ Breakfast Muesli Pita Bread with butter and cheese spread.

It's not like I have time to make such a spread all the time.

I feel good! :)

[[A glass of white milk would've been Puurrrrfect. Meow.]] 0 oogly boogly . #

Friday, yesterday. I decided to skip school. Because I stayed up till 3am on Thursday night fretting myself crazy over the essay I have to hand in on Friday.

I ate my dinner. I took a bath. I ate some snacks. I got ready to pull an all-nighter and hand in a blast of an essay that'll blast my Prof outta her chair because it's so damn good.

I fell asleep. On the table. With the lights on.

Woke up at 4am. Woke up at 5.30am. Woke up at 6something am. The thought that I have to write some inferior crap totally paralyzed me. I cannot hand in inferior work!!!

I wish I could be like Coleridge: making excuses for fragments.

ARGH. I decided to skip school and write my blast of an essay. Had three slices of wholewheat bread.

I know. The actual typing of the essay only took about, what, 4 hours? But, oh, the agony of the whole week!!!

I started the essay before Mr.Q went to bed; and I finished it as he started to wake up. I got paralyzed somewhere in-between.

Finally FINALLY it's done. It's my first draft. I can't bear to read it a second time.

Save. Grabbed my thumbdrive. Pulled on my winter gear. Sprinted to DC. Print. How to Print?!?! Ask. Print. Sprinted to STJ. See the map?!?!?! IT's freaking far. :S:S:S

I ran from the X to the O! It was only 7ish in the evening, but it looked like 9pm.

And then! The doors were locked. MY GOODNESS!!! HOW!!! I tried another door. Locked. BOOHOO.

I managed to find a little way in, and as I dropped my essay into the little mailboxes, I heaved a huge sigh of relief.

First essay. Done! Yay. Hahaa.

I came back and concussed. :D:D 0 oogly boogly . #

I am treating myself to a chocolate bar. Kit-Kat! I take a big happy juicy bite and realized it's all chocolate, I had another big happy juicy bite and realized it's all chocolate again.

My Kit-Kat has no wafers!!!

It's kinda strange because you take a big happy juicy bite expecting some crunch from that crunchy wafer--and then you don't get any. Mmmmmm. But it's chocolate, so I'm not complaining. Hee. :D 0 oogly boogly . #

Today, I finally got to experience some real winter. It has been chilly-cold all January, with sporadic snowing, and almost everyone just keeps telling me, "Oh, you ain't see nothing yet. This is the mildest winter in years!", or "Oh, this is no winter. This is like spring!", or, "This is really unusual for winter. Usually we have snow 30cm high!".

Well we got THAT today. The 30cm high snow, I mean. :S Whoever's on snow-shovelling duty this week didn't do his job!! I had to wade through all that snow, WADE through, to get to the main road.

And the wind!!! O.M.G. It's crazy. It's so strong, it bites. I think the weather was -6 this morning, but the 45km/h wind made it plunge all the way to -16.

No kidding, I tell you. After half-running, half-shuffling to school (you don't want to run too fast because you'll just slip and fall on black ice!), I got to my Victorian class venue, only to find the whole building in darkness.

I thought I missed the class totally, which wasn't quite right since I wasn't THAT late, so I shuffled over to my professor's office, and the whole building was dark too. The building is such a labyrinth I get lost with the lights on, not to mention now that it's all dark!!

Well, all that wind and snow had caused a power failure in half the campus. Imagine that! And when I was in Guelph, we have power failure for 1 hour 12 min!! No kidding, man!

I was half-debating if I should just shuffled back to my room to concuss, haha, but decided to check out my next class. And it's on. Bleagh. And so was my 3.30pm class. Bleagh. So I camped out in Tim Hortons to get my homework done, and have just waded back to my room.

I had an amazing weekend in Guelph--super eventful. I will update that soon! :D 0 oogly boogly . #

I feel so goofy! Hahaha. I've had a long and crazy day. But I'm so bubbled-over with excitement and adrenaline. I'm telling you, it must be the Guelph trip tomorrow. MUST BE. :D:D

I'm going to Guelph tomorrow after my classes end. Tomorrow's my early day! And the girls have planned a hot-pot lunch (aka 'steamboat') at Cindy's place tomorrow, and Joo and Cindy have lugged all that food back (bravo babes!!), so tomorrow we're gonna have a belated CNY get-together.

After that I'm gonna catch the Greyhound to Guelph, where Grace will pick me up and we'll go to their place. I'm gonna be staying over at their place over the weekend, and I am SO excited!! :D:D We are even going to cut our hair together--such a girlie thing to do right? Hahah. So fun!

It's going to be a lovely weekend.

Plus today my Victorian Professor said hi to me at the cafe in the library. [Yes, we can eat in the library ok!]. I was like grabbing a Kit-Kat chocolate bar when someone tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Hi, young lady!" And I was wondering who would call me 'young lady'???

Well I think it's really nice that Professors like say 'hi' and stuff outside of class. Anyway he's a really warm professor--he knows I'm an exchange student so I think he looks out for me in a way. Which is nice, and I don't feel so alienated. :D

I'm in a such a good mood. Maybe I'll go cook some pasta for dinner too. I know I still have the Victorian and Romantic essays due, and I'm still struggling with them, but I'm feeling so bouncy right now, those essays are not getting me down. Hee.

[[I know, right, there's a taboo in saying "I'm so happy now nothing will get me down" because it's uncanny how you will inevitably feel down right after you say that. But, today it's not true. :D:D ]] 0 oogly boogly . #

The "Dulness List" is my other name for (Essays)-To-Do-List. It's not a spelling error, Dulness, so go look it up if you're interested.

Anyway, I'm bored. To be more specific, I'm fretting. Because my virgin essay for the University of Waterloo is due. Today. It's not complete. In fact, I've written only a working-introduction and a pseudo-conclusion.

My virgin essay!!! What if I flunk it??? I am so scared my English is too inadequate for all these people here. What if it sounds too, Singaporean.?

Bah.

To cheer myself up--somewhat, anyway--I've done up a Dulness List. That is, a complete list of graded stuff, or stuff that I'll get points for, for this whole semester. It looks formidable and scary, but I am Xena Catharinaroar so I will conquer it!!!

Hahaha. I'm kidding. It's just an ego-booster, to remind myself that I (am going to) accomplish so (freaking) much. :D:D

[[I was going to put 'xoxo, cat', as a signing off, cuz it looks apt here, but what the hell does 'xoxo' stand for??? I'm not well-versed in Western SMS lingo. Sobs.]] 0 oogly boogly . #