I blame Tiff & her friend Alice >__>"

Most of you know that Kevin and I went on a shopping trip to Tokyo in January. We were able to fill lots of gaps in our collection, and unintentionally started collecting figures from a couple of new fandoms as well. Most of these new things will be staying in their boxes until we renovate the house and add some more display cases but the main new addition to our life is the Dollfie Dream Saber Lily.

Tiff has owned a Volks mini Super Dollfie for a few years now (and I brought home another kit for her on this trip too) and she and her friend Alice have made this hobby much worse for me - there are so many beautiful and cute things out there! But my goodness this hobby is expensive! I've started selling off some of my makeup collection (because at this point, I'm never going to use all of it) and the money that I've made has pretty much been recycled into this new hobby! >__<" Geebus. (Oh, and it's partly because of them that I've revived my blog after a long hiatus! Expect some rants since that's what I love to do.)

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My flight home from Shanghai earlier this week encountered some severe turbulence. Luckily we were wrapping up the first meal service so all the passengers were still in their seats and we had enough notice to stow everything away and take our seats. For a good 25 minutes we were shaken quite badly - even with the shoulder harness of my jumpseat I came off the seat a few inches at one point! You would think that common sense would prevail in a situation like this, but that didn't stop at least 2 parents from getting up and taking their babies into the lavatories to change their diapers... >__>" Luckily no one was hurt, and that's all the "matters" right? Sigh...

FREE uniform shirts for AC ladies

Hey AC Friends -

By now the backlog with VF Solutions has gotten ridiculous, especially with even more new hires to come online in the next couple of months.

I was cleaning out my closet and found a few shirts in an assortment of sizes. If you want one, send me a message (facebook, email, etc.) with your name and employee number and I'll slip it in your mail folder.

I think I rescued a few of these from the YUL freebie bin last year and they have been hanging unworn in my closet since then. These are coming from a smoke-free home, but I do have cats (in case you're allergic, wash before wearing).

Size: Medium (Petite)
Style: Short sleeved, non-striped fabric (the old kind that doesn't wrinkle!)
Notes: Clean. Not my size, so this was probably from the donation bin.
Quantity Available: 1

Size: Large (Petite) - CLAIMED BY C.T.
Style: Short sleeved, non-striped fabric (the old kind that doesn't wrinkle!)
Notes: Clean. Not my size, so this was probably from the donation bin.
Quantity Available: 1 0

Size: Small (Regular)
Style: Long sleeved, non-striped fabric (the old kind that doesn't wrinkle)
Notes: Clean. Pre-owned by me. Worn a handful of times between May 2007-July 2007.
Quantity Available: 1

Size: Medium (Regular)
Style: Long sleeved. Striped cotton fabric.
Notes: Brand new, in plastic wrap.
Quantity Available: 2

GALLEY APRON: Brand new, 2 available.

Köln (Part II) and Stuttgart, Germany

So I worked a very laid-back pairing to San Francisco for the Labour Day long weekend. I ended up getting a pedicure and doing some shopping down there. It was productive, but restful if that makes any sense. ^__~"

The day after I left again for Frankfurt and was back in Köln in no time. It really was like I never left - JP had been away most of the weekend and everything was just as I'd left it. That evening we went over to Daniel's residence and we had an evening of wine, cheese and conversation.

Friday morning we took the train to Stuttgart to catch the end of the European Music Festival. JP was singing in the final concert and I was more than happy to come along, hear some good music and see some old friends again. I think my job has opened my eyes to seeing cities that I visit from a new perspective and I'd forgotten how beautiful Stuttgart is. My previous summers there were with the attitude of a working singer and aside from lots of shopping and some light sightseeing there is a lot the city that I had never seen. After JP's afternoon rehearsal (into which he made a noisy and fashionable late entrance) we walked around, had awesome Schnitzel and Käsespätzle for dinner and then met up with his friend Adrian for drinks. While we were walking on the street we ran into Robin E. and his reaction to seeing me totally made the trip worthwhile! He was so shocked, surprised and totally caught off guard. I had an unspeakable amount of beer that night @__@" Who ever thought that I would be a beer drinker?

Saturday morning was a bit ugly. JP had a migraine from hell and was a mess, so I went out and got stuff to make him... not messy. When he was finally ready to face the world we went out for cake and coffee. He had an afternoon rehearsal so I went shopping. It was a bit fruitless - mostly because I really didn't need anything. In the evening I sat in the lecture concert in the Beethovensaal. We had a quiet night in and watched P.S., I Love You on his laptop while eating junk food.

Sunday morning we were woken up early by clanging church bells. Since we were up anyways we went for a walk in the park behind the Schlossplatz, sat around and had ice cream. Another very lazy morning :) In the evening I went to hear the final concert of the music festival. I had an amazing seat, and ended up sitting next to the new head of the Bachakademie. The concert was fantastic; I had gotten a taste at the lecture concert but it was so much more powerful to hear the entire works. After the concert we went to the Hospitalhof for the final party. It was an odd feeling being there without the other members of FES, but I caught up a bit with some old friends: Theresa, Ulrich, Andreas, Tobias and of course it was like being with family to see the staff again, particularly Birgit, Tobias and Hollie.

JP took an earlier train back to Köln because he had to get to work, but I took the slower train that followed the Rhine river before making its way. The ride was very scenic and beautiful. There are lots of of castles dotting the hills along the length of the river.

My remaining days in Köln were very laid back. Lots of grocery shopping, cooking, wine-drinking and eventually we did make that apple pie :) While we were out shopping for pie ingredients JP found Federweizen (unfinished white wine) at the grocery store and bought a couple of bottles. It is SO amazingly good! This trip made me realize that while I may not be amazing at it, I really do enjoy cooking when I have the time, resources and a good space to work in. JP has an awesome little kitchen and it was definitely a plus to have several grocery stores just steps away when I needed something.

I had a great trip - even if it was interrupted by "layovers" in Toronto and San Fran, hehe. I have a new-found respect for beer, and I totally want a set of electric salt and pepper mills now and a J.A. Henkels paring knife.

As I am writing this blog entry I am eating homemade Japanese curry, enjoying a glass of white Zinfandel and listening to the new album from New Kids on the Block. It's amazing to think that I will be seeing them live on Friday - it brings back memories of the "Magic Summer" back in 1990. Whoever thought it.

And I met Andreas Scholl this summer. Truly I am very happy.

Köln, Germany - Part I

I'm writing this from Toronto - and if you're wondering why this entry is called "Part I" it's because my vacation isn't done yet, even though I'm at home. Keep reading . . .

So I left for Germany about a week ago. Everything went smoothly - got on my flight to Frankfurt, had plenty of time to catch my train up Köln and even managed to find JP's flat even though I only had a rough idea of where it was in my head. Then we went to the laundrymat (so that I would have bedsheets and clean towels >__<"), had lunch at a little Italian place and went grocery shopping. We ran into Chelsey on the street while she was on her way to do her own laundry. (And spotted Thomas Heyer trying to avoid us... awkward... and funny.) I totally love his flat - it's the perfect amount of space for one person and the location is fabulous.

Saturday morning I awoked to "Patty, what would you like for breakfast? I'll make you whatever you want." Hehehehe... My first request for pancakes was denied because JP isn't a fan of them, so we had french toast and breakfast sausages instead. Yummy! That evening JP had a concert so I went along to hear him.

Sunday morning we both slept in like lazy butts. In the afternoon we met up with a couple of JP's friends and had a few beers at a Brauhaus. I'm really not a fan of beer, but I'm starting to get used to it and starting to appreciate them. We went for gelato afterwards and then walked along the river to get home.

Monday morning JP had to work - so I hit the streets and went shopping! For more groceries. LOL. (Actually, I was totally jetlagged and was up at 6am.) JP had offhandedly said that he loved wonton soup but hadn't had it in forever so I went out and picked up the ingredients to make wontons. There's a small Asian supermarket near his flat that I went to hoping to find wonton wrappers - but it was the tiniest, dingiest, smelliest place ever! I walked in and walked back out again. Gross! Left with the small dilemma of no wonton wrappers for wontons, we decided to make them ourselves. So when I say we made wonton soup - I mean it. We made wonton soup from scratch.

Tuesday JP and I went into town in the afternoon to shop (and buy more groceries). It was a bit fruitless as neither of us found anything that we wanted. After work his friend Yoshiko came over and we made sushi for dinner. I had somewhat planned for this so I brought a maki rolling mat, miso paste and soup mix, powdered wasabi (instead of the ready made because of the liquids restrictions on the airlines), nori, green tea, and sushi rice seasoning when I was on a layover in Vancouver. Yoshiko was so happy - this stuff is pretty hard to find in Germany, and even if you can find it, it's pretty expensive because it's imported. It was a lot of fun to prep and make everything. I love social cooking. We had some great conversation and Yoshiko was quite impressed with how much Japanese I knew (which is only what I've picked up from watching anime) and how much I knew about Japanese culture. After dinner we played on JP's Wii while trying not to make to much noise because his neighbour is a grouch - hehe.

Wednesday JP came back from an early session at work and made Caprese salad for lunch. OMG the tomatoes and cheese and everything were so fresh and so good. Total foodgasm. Feeling restless, we went out again into town and walked around, going down towards the Dom and crossing the river to enjoy the view from the other side. Then we sat by the river with a couple bottles of Kölsch in hand and just watched the city go by. I haven't had such a relaxed day in a long time.

Thursday morning JP didn't have to work, so we had another lazy morning and eventually made it out of the house to go grocery shopping and pick up some fresh bagels. I went out and did some last minute shopping for Ritter Sport chocolate and in the evening we went out with some friends for cocktails. I've discovered my new favourite drink - strawberry coladas! Mmmm....
Friday we both woke up obscenely early to catch the train to Frankfurt. JP had a teaching conference so he took me to the airport before catching his connecting train, and I hopped on a plane and came home. I tried to switch my flights this weekeng but no one realy wants to give up their long weekend so I was stuck coming back to work. *sigh* So I promised JP that I'd be back later in the week, but for now I'm home.

It's nice to be back - the new computer has arrived and Kevin put together the extension to the desk that will be my area. The kitties are being their naughty, cute selves ^__^" I went over to my parents yesterday for a BBQ, but ending up falling asleep in Tiff's room on the floor and didn't want to get up to eat. Ooops... I spent most of today doing laundry, repacking my suitcase for "layover mode" and I'll be off to San Fran tomorrow.

Germany - Part II will follow next week or so ^__~"

Planning for Germany trip

I've been working non-stop for the past few weeks. I did a flight switch with a girl who really needed to be in Vancouver last weekend, and for my end of things I went to London this weekend. It worked out fabulously since I had some errands to run in SoHo and I wanted to buy more of the fantastic pantyhose from Marks & Spencer (and shrimp chips! Hohoho! Shrimpy chips ^___^").

The first week of the month I was ready to collapse from exhaustion - but no rest for the wicked - only partying! Kimmy's bachelorette was that weekend and we had a great time. Although all this sillyness (combined with the nonsense Kevin's sister went through earlier in the year) and the stuff Kevin has to do for Darryl's weekend just puts me off the wedding thing even more @__@"

We bought a gorgeous office corner unit for the computer from Ikea last week, which then prompted Kevin to buy a new computer. He has bought a new Dell XPS system. My corporate discount probably helped him make that decision LOL The cats are being their usual furry lumps and sleeping all over the desk. Charlie likes to jump up to the very top and sleep with my stuffed animals up there. He has also learned how to open up tupperwear containers so now we can't leave leftovers or anything out on the kitchen counter. That cat is too smart for his own good.

I'm determined to travel with just a carry-on suitcase when I go to Germany next week, which has meant a lot of packing and planning. I tend to overpack and bring all sorts of non-essential but practical things with me (like tape, scissors, etc.) so I'm going to have to par down. It will be an interesting feat ^__^"

Whirlwind weekend in St. John's and New York

I had another pairing that took me all over the place last weekend. I spent my first of 3 layovers in Calgary. I got to the hotel around 3pm, but since my sleep patterns were screwed up I didn't want to crawl into bed right away. I walked around and went shopping, picking up a couple seasons of the X-Files at HMV for $20 each and found the first season of The Lone Gunman too. Walking back to my hotel I was so tired that my eyes were starting to black out on me - not a good sign. After a quick bite to eat I crashed into bed and woke up at something ridiculous like 5am for our check-out.

Day 2 was completely unproductive. Our original flight was canceled so we flew back to Toronto - I watched 21 and slept some more; and then we flew to St. John's. The whole day was just riding on planes, but not working! In Newfoundland I went out with my crew and the crew that had brought us in. We walked around and explored downtown a bit and had dinner on George Street. It was really nice that all of us were able to go out - it doesn't happen often. I found a cool shop in St. John's that sells travel stuff - cute things like what they have on Flight 001. I bought a pair of travel chopsticks (the same ones that are on thinkgeek.com) and a travel pepper grinder.

Our next day was yet another very early morning and we ended up in New York by the early afternoon. My crew-mate Laura and I took a cab into Manhattan and wandered along Fifth Avenue doing some shopping here and there, and then had our nails done down on Third.

It was so nice to have time to actually shop in New York, since the last time I was there was in 2004 and we had an hour to run around before everything closed (it was a Sunday afternoon). I had a great time in St. John's and New York and I can't wait to go back and explore those cities some more!

I've been finishing up my marathon of the X-Files so that hopefully I'll be caught up for the movie release this Friday. Kevin and I are taking the kittens to be neutered tomorrow, and then popping downtown to watch Batman on IMAX at the Paramount (oops! I mean the ScotiaBank whatever....) I've also had this nostalgic feeling for watching the old Sherlock Holmes series staring Jeremy Brett, so I've got those on my computer to watch now too. I've got lots of stuff to keep me busy this week.

In Memoriam

I woke up this afternoon feeling a bit nostalgic so I went looking for old pictures from my high school days and from my first summer in Germany. I had a bit of luck - which was surprising because the last time I went looking I didn't find anything. I noticed that Laura was killing time on Facebook tagging people in my photos, which was a bit of my motivation to find some of those old memories.

I just received a message in my inbox from the older brother of one of my classmates from high school that we tagged into a photo telling me that he passed away this morning. I'm too shocked. I don't know what happened, and it's not my place to ask, but he was my age, living his life and now he's not here anymore. Just like that.

Be at peace Morchel. You are loved and missed.