Congratulations Uno & Nancy!

Diana's older brother got married today...and I was invited! Well actually...apparently, I was on the B-list, but I managed to get in!! hehe

I've actually never been to a Korean wedding before, so it was interesting to see! AND, in the 24 years that I've known Di, I don't think I've ever met her whole family before...they were a lot of fun! I didn't really know what to expect, but I had a great time! It was a beautiful wedding, followed by a delicious reception! The wedding will actually be aired on television, on the Food Network's: I do...let's eat! show (on November 20th, so mark it down on your calendar...you have to see what Di says when they interviewed her!! haha)

Google maps!

So I just discovered Google maps! I did a search for my Montreal address...and THIS is what I got! The red X is where I live, and the green arrow is where I work. For those of you who have yet to visit me, you now have a visual idea of my surroundings! It's too bad it was a cloudy day this satellite photo was taken....ah well...you get the drift! If you came to visit, then you would KNOW!
:P

Life is too short...

A few days ago, my old co-worker called me to let me know that my former manager was just diagnosed with lung cancer...and it didn't look good.

My former boss' name is Kathy. I feel I have to tell you a little bit about this woman, because she really has made quite an impact in my life. Kathy was the one to hire me at Today's Parent Group, which began my career in magazines. During the interview, I remember her asking me: Are you a heavy drinker? I was shocked. But after she bolted out in laughter, I knew this was the place I wanted to be a part of! And I DID...for 6 fun years, actually! It has been and still is, the best work environment I have ever been in.
:)

This is a woman who has tapped danced on boardroom tables, challenged everyone to leg-wrestling, and burst out laughing when I gave her the MIDDLE finger! (long story)

I didn't know what to say when I first heard...I just didn't understand, ya' know? And just as I was wondering what to say to her, she wrote an email to all with this:
...For those of you who just don't know what to say, don't worry, I don't either. So let's not worry about finding the perfect words. Just know that it makes me feel good to know you care...

I emailed her back shortly after.

shopping and a movie...

This morning, I met up with Rose to go shopping along St. Catherine's. I wanted to shop for a new dress to wear to the last 2 weddings that I have to go to this year. The wedding next weekend is actually going to be televised for a show on the Food Network: I do, let's eat! I think that's hilarious! Anyway, we went to quite a few stores, and came out with nothing! :(
I then drove Rose back to her hotel, since she had to leave, and then went home.

Dave called me shortly after I got home, and we headed out to go watch that movie I've been meaning to watch: Bon Cop, Bad Cop. It's about an English cop (from Ontario) who has to work with a French cop (from Quebec) to try and track down the murderer of a body that was found at the Ontario-Quebec border! It was funny to go with Dave to this movie since he's from Montreal, and I'm from Toronto. They featured the cultural differences and stereotypes that the two provinces have, so Dave and I were making fun of each other throughout the entire movie!

On our way to the movie theatre, we passed by Dawson College. I had no idea where this college even was when I heard about the shooting that happened a week and a half ago. At the centre of the field, there was a collection of the flowers that have been left daily at the front of the school. It's kinda crazy when you think about that day, and you're standing at the very spot where that girl was shot and killed...it really makes you think...

eating with Rose!

Rose had a stop-over in Montreal again tonight! :)

She came by my place and we walked over to Pizzaiole for dinner. We split a 1/2 litre of red wine, salad, appetizer and pizza...she's a good food buddy! After dinner, we walked over to Toi, Moi & Café for dessert! She wanted to taste the ever-famous crème brulée that I've always raved about! We ordered that and the Toblerone cheesecake (how can you go wrong with Toblerone, right?). I'm sorry to report that the crème brulée was disappointing. It's NOT the same anymore! Not only is it smaller, but they changed the recipe and it now has orange grinds in it! They must have gotten a new chef or something...poor Rose. She didn't get to taste it after all! :(

Anyway, we walked back to my place (I was completely stuffed), and talked for the rest of the evening...in other words, until I digested enough to go to bed!

lunch at the Meatmarket!

Over the summer, I've been going home for lunch each day. It takes me about 15-20 minutes to walk home, 25 minutes to prepare my lunch and eat, and then another 15-20 minutes to walk back to work.

Today, there was no lunch to eat at home...so I went to Meatmarket Restaurant Cafe with my coworker, Mitch. This is the first time in a long time that I actually had company for lunch...it was nice!

Meatmarket has a "Table D'hote" (translation: special of the day) menu changed daily (that's what I'm told), and the lunch menu consists mainly of sandwiches. I had the "La Grasse matinée" sandwich (omelette with ham, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and japanese mayonnaise). The best part of the meal was the small bowl of fries you get. It's a mix of regular fries with sweet potato fries! YUM!

a tour of Montreal...

Today I stayed home and did the usual (cleaned, watched TV, made breakfast, and was on the computer) until about 3pm. I then met up with Dave. We ended up driving around the city, actually. We went to Wal-Mart in the South Shore, then back downtown to drop off my groceries, and then went to the West Island for dinner at Le Biftheque! I had the Filet Mignon...ummm...delicious!

We were like tourists all day because Dave took my camera and started taking photos of the city wherever we went! And Dave actually knows the history of Montreal, so it was like having my own personal tour guide! It was fun!

a weekend alone in Montreal...

This is actually the first weekend I've had alone in Montreal since June, can you believe that? I was nervous and excited at the same time. Nervous because I've been around so many people lately, that I wasn't sure how I'd deal with being "alone" (separation anxiety, I guess)....and excited because there's so many things that I thought of that I could do: Do I clean? Watch movies? Go out and explore? Run errands? Scrapbook? The possibilities were endless!


So today, I ended up staying at home til' about 1pm. I watched TV, made breakfast, watched "New York Minute" (starring the Olsen twins....yes, I do like my teeny bopper movies!), talked on the phone, and straightened the place up a bit.

I then decided that the weather was too nice outside not to take advantage! There was a store having a sale that I wanted to check out (Omer de Serres), so I got in my car and headed out to St. Denis and St. Catherine. I parked my car in the first spot that I found, maxed out the meter for 2 hours, and decided to walk the rest of the way.

It was a beautiful day! There was a church that I passed by, which I had never seen before...and I realized that I've never actually walked around this area before! There's a beautiful library that Karen and I used to pass by all the time while we were driving, and I found it! It's at the corner of Berri and Maisonneuve! I went inside and it WAS really nice....there were too many clear glass walls and stairs used in the architecture of the building though, so I got a bit freaked out (heights!), and left after exploring 2 floors (there's a total of 7 floors, I believe).

I walked around some more....went into stores, had a drink (non-alcoholic, don't worry)...then I went back home! I made dinner (Sinigang), watched "Tristan and Isolde" movie, and then I scrapbooked for the rest of the evening!

What should I do tomorrow?!?! :)

Long time no see!

I was sitting at home, thinking about what to make for dinner when the phone rings. It was Karen, and she was in town! She was wondering if I wanted to go meet up for dinner...how perfect was that?

I picked her up, and we headed to the liquor store (of course!). We got a bottle of wine and went to a Greek restaurant over on Prince Arthur. It was so nice to catch up with her. It still feels like she lives here, which is even nicer! :)

On our way back to the car, we realized we parked right by Dave's place. So we called him up and met up with him. He was at Sharks, a pool hall/bowling alley/bar/lounge-type-place on St. Catherine's, with his friend Jake. I haven't seen Dave in months! His hair is longer, and when he saw me...he apologized constantly for not getting me those Russell Peters tickets (uh HUH....I'm still mad about that!) :P

Karen and Dave had a drink together (none for me, cause I'm a good, responsible driver!), and then we headed home. It was so good to see them both...just like ol' times! :)

Congratulations Randy & Nikki!

So this morning, I checked my email...and there's one from Randy. He moved out to L.A. about a month ago, and wanted to give us all an update! Well he had an update alright. Apparently, he got MARRIED over the Labour Day weekend! This boy never ceases to surprise me.

I'm missing Russell Peters!

It's 7pm, and Russell Peters is performing here in Montreal tonight, and I'm missing it! I can't believe it....I looooove him! I was supposed to go see the show, but of course...I left the responsibility of purchasing the tickets to a man! :P

My friend Dave was supposed to buy the tickets, because some of his friends wanted to go as well....but of course, he left it too long, and it was SOLD OUT! Go figure!


Ah well....I guess that's OK. Ron will just have to download the show for me so I can watch it on DVD....right Ron?? :)

I guess I'll go watch more of The O.C. tonight! It's my new favourite show, and I've been watching Season 1 for the last little while (I watched 7 episodes last night, and was up until 1am!). I thought it was kinda cheesy at first, but now I'm really hooked! I think I'm about halfway through the first season.

Does anyone out there have Season 2?!?! :)

Saadia's Stagette!

What do you get when you combine:
26 girls + a limo bus + alcohol + karaoke???

One heck of a good time baby!! :)

Golf anyone?

On my way home for lunch today, I passed by THIS car parked on the street. I don't know if you can see it in the picture, but this car is covered with Astro Turf! I thought it was hilarious! I suddenly felt like golfing at that moment. Give me a golf club and golf ball, and I would have climbed that car, and gone for it! :P (ok, maybe just a putter!)

That's Montreal for ya'....

Sebby stops by...

Mark (aka Sebby) had training today in his Montreal office, so he called me at about 8:15am this morning when his plane landed.

His training wasn't until about 2pm, so he grabbed a cab and came over at about 9am. Luckily, I was working from home this morning, so we headed over to Eggspectations for some breakfast!

It was good to get all caught up! We actually had breakfast a few days ago with the squash buddies when I was in Toronto, but we didn't really get a chance to talk since it was a bigger group.

It was kinda weird having Sebby here....like we were in Toronto...but NOT! I almost forgot that I was in Montreal! In any case, it was nice having him here...brought a little bit of home! :)

Bed of Orchids!

When I was at Ron's parents' place over the weekend, I noticed that Ron's mom had a collection of various orchids by the window. They are SO beautiful!! Because I always hang out with Ron in their guest room, I never really noticed it before....but they're just gorgeous! I couldn't stop taking all of these photos, so I thought I would share them all with you. Enjoy! :)

Dim Sum....gimme some!

Today I met up with Di, Gerwyn, Mel, Norm, Mary Ann, and Glenn at Ruby Chinese Restaurant for some Dim Sum! It was nice to meet up with all of them, since it's been a while since we all met up. I had so much fun! Always so many jokes and stories going around the table...hilarious!

My favourite part of the meal was the Ta-ho! It's that warm tofu with the syrup on top.....reminds me of when I was a little girl in the Philippines, and the Ta-ho man would come, and I would wait anxiously for him! Brings me back to the FOB days....hehe

We were going to go to T&T supermarket after, to do some grocery shopping, but it was closed! I had no idea that a Chinese supermarket closes on a holiday!

Then Tanaz called me and told me that she was at Milliken Park, which happened to be right by where I was at....so I stopped by. Her whole family was at the park, so it was nice to see them all!

I then headed on back to my parents' place...talked to Ron...then packed to head back out to good ol' Montreal! :(

Great long weekend!

beautiful Sunday!

This morning I played squash! I love it! We were supposed to meet at 7am...John & Jerome actually showed up at that time, but I don't have an alarm clock when I stay at my parents' place...so I was a bit late. Sebby rolled in at 8am, me at 8:30am, and then Quel at 9am!! hehe

After squash we all headed over to Markham Station for breakfast! Yum!

I then went home to shower (yes, that's right...I showered!), then met up with Tanaz and baby at Markville mall for a bit. We just walked around, talked, caught up on stuff! Zarius smiles when he sees me...a good sign that he remembers and recognizes me! Yay!

Then I headed over to Ron's place! We played video games together (the James Bond 007 shooting game), ordered Swiss Chalet for dinner, and then we watched the movie Prime, starring Uma Thurman. It was about a 37-year-old divorced woman who starts dating a 23-year-old! hmmmm....makes you wonder, don't it ladies?!?! hehe...kidding!!

How well do you know your 'Friends'?

I went to visit Ron today.

That's his new cast in the photo. It's made of fiberglass, so it should be lighter and more breathable for him.

We played the Friends Scene It game while I was there. We both love this show, so it was a competition of who knew it more!!! Ron seems to think HE won...but you know me, I let him win! :P

It was fun! There's various categories, and the DVD has all these clips, or photos with someone missing in the shot...you have to guess who it is. I can't wait until we can have a games night with all of our friends. Ron and I will bring THIS game! CHALLENGE! :)