break

sometimes its just necessary to take a break from things and just... set aside the things that you worry about, that you need to do, that you just can't stop thinking about.

for me, i think i find it very difficult to find a "break". i can never seem to grasp the concept of letting go of something. The thought is constantly plaguing my mind, and its as if there's nothing i can do about it, except wallow until finally the pervasive thought leaves my mind (which is usually not for a long time)

but oddly, yesterday when i think this 'break' was necessary, it came... easily.

sports have often been my release. Whether it was rugby in high school, hockey earlier in my university career, or softball this summer... it has always been a time where i can take my frustrations out on an item and not physically cause [too much] damage to another human being.

This summer, softball has been a Godsend. it allowed me much time away from my lonely apartment to spend weekends with many familiar faces. It helped remind me that i was not old enough to learn a new sport, and continue to improve in it... it allowed me to meet new friends and see old ones that i haven't seen for a long time...

and last night, spending one last night with this group of people reminded me that God didn't leave me "high and dry" with no way to exert my frustrations. That for me, there WAS escape, even when i didn't realize it. That there was always a way of letting things go..... just like in most sports... you screw up one play... you can't let that one play screw up the whole game. Sure, you miss a popfly... but so what? catch the next one (and make it look good)
you have to let GO of things... and you can't think short term.... you can't give in to one thing that could potentially ruin your entire game.

as i stare out my window i continue to wonder where this term has gone... and why i didn't enjoy some things, like softball as much as i should've :)

funny... lately things have been going a bit crazy ever since i stopped playing softball... the whole beginning of the summer was so relaxing and chill... then once the season ended chaos ensued.
maybe its a sign that i need to quit school and go into sports full time or something... for the sake of my sanity

chicken salad sandwich

so the building i work in is in a bunch of buildings with cafeterias scattered among some of the high rises.
for the first 3 months of my work term here i've been going to the cafeteria that was closer... their food there is okay, and is pretty cheap (i can get a soup and salad for... 4$?) so when i didn't bring a lunch i would go there.
lately i've been afraid to go there because the man there is quite scary. He's done things like feel my coworkers biceps, introduce me to his son (yes he is that old) then check me out... all in all he's a nice man, just a few creepy tendencies.

aside from this, this cafe sold BAD TURKEY BREAST to my coworker about two weeks ago. I'm sure it was an accident, and maybe was just a BIT different tasting, but none the less, it tasted weird in her tiny sandwich. She ended up having a lettuce tomato sandwich.

So... just last week, i decided to try the OTHER cafeteria in our set of buildings... "sweet rosie's".
I just about DIED
the decor on that side was so nice. it was like a fancy cafe with nice couches, it was clean and it was just... a very nice looking place.
I decided to order the 'chicken salad sandwich' because i had heard good things.
let me explain to you this sandwich:
it is made with two pieces of fresh, homemade bread.
FRESH, HOMEMADE bread.
these slices are lightly buttered and spread with mayo. Topped off with some lettuce about 3 tomatoes with pepper sprinkled on top. The lettuce is not soggy and does not soak into the bread. It makes the sandwich taste "crisp" just as lettuce should
the chicken salad is made with REAL CHICKEN. thick squares of juicy chicken breast marinated with something yummy and mixed with mayonnaise... not to mention they put.... like SIX scoops of chicken salad. its massive.

presentation is important too. the sandwich is cut from corner to corner into triangles.

all this for 4$ how can you go wrong?

printer woes

for the entire day today (and part of yesterday) our printer in the office wasn't working. this poses a problem because we print thousands and thousands of pages of documents, pictures, reports, maps, emails, tickets, receipts every single day.

and the entire day today, we couldn't get it to work.

so about 5 minutes ago, my coworker calls one of the guys and says:
"i know its not your problem, but our printer is broken and we don't know what to do. we took it apart yesterday and it still doesn't work."

meanwhile, i am walking over to the printer determined to fix the printer after all its stupidity.
i pull out the print cartridge and the paper tray. nope nothing stuck. check the light again and the stupid orange light was still there. i finally get fed up and turn off the printer.
a second later i turn it back on, and the orange light is gone.
i ask my coworker to try to print something... and lo and behold... it worked!!

arms raised i yell "i'm a genuis" then proceed back to my seat, my coworkers amazed at my geniusness.

we tried to call back the guy that was supposed to come help us, but his line was busy. we figure, it's okay we'll call him later with the news of my awesome control over technology.

finally we reach him. "... i'll come over and formally fix your printer later. pretty much what happened was your wires were crossed and the printing was feeding over to our printers over here so that's why you never got your print outs. i'll come over later to check...."

i'm hiding behind the back of my chair trying not to laugh at my own stupidity :P

tech guy = 1 Joanna = 0

Christmas in July

so there's a custom around the office and at 8:30 every morning they make a pot of coffee (tim hortons, van houtte. whatever is around) and then same thing around 2pm.
Problem: i hate the taste of coffee.
oddity: i love the smell of coffee grinds. So when my co worker cracked open the can of van houtte grinds, i stole it and smelt it for a good 10 minutes.

anyway... today a new co-worker introduced me to chai tea. i told her that i'm not a coffee person, that i like tea better. so today she brought in packets of chai tea and earl grey tea... and me being so adventurous i had my VERY first cup of chai tea.

it tastes like christmas my coworker said.
annnd she was right.

chai tea... tastes like Christmas.

bloody jeans!

There are no "hitch" characters in real life who swoop in to save a girl when they are being hit on by a guy who is way to persistent to be comfortable with.

A considerably older man sat beside on the subway this morning. Okay, not CONSIDERABLY older; he told me he had just graduated from UWO, but he DRESSED old enough to be my father.

Anyhow, the subway was fairly empty and as i sat down at a three seated bench, i usually didn't have to worry about people sitting next to me until bloor station. That's how subway rides usually go. People like their personal space, and so usually if there are multiple empty seats you never CHOOSE to sit beside someone.
But when i got to about college station, this man sits beside me. noisily, might i add. i glance up from my metro and i see him rearranging his lunch box. Opening it, taking a bite then stuffing it back into his bag. His elbow nearly hit me. I refrained from comment, it is none of my business; if anything it was a good note to remind me that that is something i shouldn't do on the subway... pull out my ricebox and eat from it while nearly elbowing my neighbour.

i continued to read from my metro, and i see him glancing over at my newspaper. maybe he wants to see what page i'm on. He opened his metro and read, his elbow jutting out a little bit into my seat, but i figured, hey, no big deal, i can squish. by about york mills station, his elbow was halfway across my seat, i couldn't open my newspaper even if i wanted to. I figured, York mills, i'm getting off soon anyway. i close my newspaper. Bad idea.

he turned and asked what time it was, i reply. he asked if they fixed the train tracks at laurence (which they did). He commented on how the trip is so much faster. he asked me if i'm from toronto, where i studied, what kind of work i'm in, where i'm working. in turn replying his own questions with his own answers. me, trying to be polite answered the questions with as little detail as possible making no eye contact. I'm stupid and naive.

he says "i get off at finch". i say, "i get off at the next stop". He answers: "can i contact you". I say "no". then get up. THANK GOD i transfer. i don't work that close to sheppard/yonge.

i'm standing at the door, and i glance at my chair to see if i've left anything (a custom, though i shouldn't have done it this time!)... "are you busy tonight?" YES. he returns to his metro, arms folded nicely at his side. so he CAN keep his elbows to himself. And then it hit me. he stuck out his elbow so i would close my metro so i would talk to him. wow.

then another man starts talking to me randomly on the way to my bus. i wonder if i have a sign that says "hit on me please!" on my forehead. and i try contemplating what is DIFFERENT about today.

Then i remember. its casual day at work and i'm wearing jeans. must be the jeans.

internet praise

i decided to send an e-card to a friend to day.
upon receiving the "the person has opened your e-card" email, this was the first line:
...
Hello!

someone@gmail.com has viewed your Hallmark E-Card. You’re very thoughtful for sending one.

...
why thank you hallmark, i think i'll do it again sometime

When it rains, it pours.

I was talking to kat yesterday, and she was asking me how long it takes me to get to work:
(disclaimer: conversation edited a bit, it was late, I can’t remember exact contents of what was said)
Me: ummm 40 minutes or an hour
Kat: oh! Why the wide range?
Me: its not really a range. I either get there in 40 minutes … or an hour
Kat:….
Me: pretty much if I miss one subway I miss the one that I need to switch to AND I miss the bus. So on good days, I’ll catch them all *bam, bam, bam*… other days I wait like 5 minutes for each. It stinks…

I’ve come to realize that when it rains, it pours. Once one bad thing happens, everything happens concurrently making one situation 10x worse than it usually is just because everything sucks around you.

Good days, are generally just good. There aren’t very many obstacles that get in the way of a good day.

Yesterday was one of those good days. I rolled out of bed@ 7:15 made it out of the apartment by 7:30 and to the office by 8:15 (okay, so 45 minutes including walking to the subway station and walking from the bus station to work :P) and was sitting at my computer ready to attack the day. Subways/buses were there waiting for me when I got the respective stations… it was great.
This morning it wasn’t great. I left my house @ 7:31. that ONE MINUTE made me slightly late for work. That ONE MINUTE was the difference between making it here at 8:15 and making it here at 8:35. here I am, NOT ready to attack the day, incredibly sore throat with mild headache. I am grumpy.

Not to mention it’s a beautiful day outside but they recommend we stay inside cuz of a SMOG alert. Not to mention it’s FREEZING in my office. Not to mention… okay things don’t suck that badly, I’m just grumpy.

When it rains, it pours.

This morning i discovered how big of a problem i had.

so i decided to take annato's advice and "watch people" on the subway to help my commute pass by faster. As people were exiting the subway, i began to "watch" people, watch how they pushed and shoved to get out of the subway as fast as possible, to RUN down to the lower level to catch the next subway. but then, i got bored, and my eyes dropped. very low.
and there is where i discovered my problem. I found something down there that caught my eye.

shoes. as each person stepped out of the subway car, i stared intently at their shoes scrutinizing whether i should get a pair like it or not. Whether i HAD a pair like that or not. Whether they would look good on my feet, whether they looked good on THEIR feet. i found myself wanting to shop and buy NEW shoes (even though i definitely have MORE than enough)

*sigh* I am Joanna Wu and i am addicted to... shoes.

subway etiquette

within my first couple of days in toronto i've learned several things in which i realized were essential to my stay in toronto. The most important i have encountered is the idea of subway etiquette.

Upon my arrival at work, i began to commute from work with my coworker. On our first trip back , he commented on the poor performance of my ttc-ing skills: otherwise known as my lack of subway etiquette.

Why is this important?
Subway etiquette is important to help in the efficiency in transporting you from one place to another. The knowledge of subway etiquette will help you travel from one point to another in the quickest way possible, and help avoid conflict or other forms of potential trouble.

My first mistake as a rookie ttc-er, was in my anxiousness to board the subway, i stood in a place which slightly obstructed the door in which the numerous amounts of impatient commuters were waiting to come out. As the door opened, the packed subway emptied onto the platform, and do to my partial obstruction, there was a narrower exit for the many people to come pouring out. This forced many of the people exiting to push and shove one another to squeeze out of the even smaller opening. My obstruction even caused a few angry ttc-ers to run into me and give me a look of disgust. In subway etiquette it is important to remember to let passengers exit before barging onto the subway. This will allow for a fully unobstructed door, and will deter dirty looks being thrown your way.

Second, i stood on the left side of the escalator. It is a well known fact (especially if you are from the big city) that this is very inappropriate. Much like a road, the left 'lane' acts as a 'passing' lane. Such as with the road, drivers will honk at you if you drive too slowly in the passing lane, and if you don't pick up speed, will try and manoeuvre around you. This increases the chance of a potential accident (with all the weaving). Likewise with the escalator. If you choose to stand on the lefthand side, commuters may choose to try and manoeuvre around you weaving from left to right and then back. This is a potential hazard as it increases the chance for someone to trip and knock into someone, or even fall down the escalator. Therefore, according to subway etiquette, if you choose to ride the escalator up (or down), please remember to stand on the right side of the escalator

The third, was not a mistake of etiquette i made on my own, but rather was one i observed this morning with my coworker. This mistake made an ordinarily composed young businessman to lose his composure temporarily and caused me to step back onto my coworkers toes. When departing from a bus from the back doors, take note to listen for a 'click' before trying to push the door open. failure to wait for the click (or at least see a green light turn on) to push will cause the door to lock and make a loud buzzing noise. I am told this is a safety mechanism. Nonetheless, blocks the one door and causes chaos as exit is only possible from one door instead of two. In order for the door to unlock, the buzzing needs to stop and the bus driver to reset it. But, if you are like the gentleman this morning and keeps pushing on the door, the busdriver is unable to reset because the buzzing will persist. This chain of events caused the man to back up in anger and impatience onto my foot, which caused me to step on my coworkers. Therefore, when exiting a bus from the back doors, subway (or ttc) etiquette says to wait for the click.

as my travels continue on the ttc i will hopefully to make more notes of subway etiquette, but as for now, i hope that i have enlightened you to become just a little bit more courteous when you choose to "ride the rocket"

see #24

According to Google maps, this is the quickest way to get to Paris, France from New york, New York:

1. Head southeast on Chambers St toward Broadway
0.2 mi 1 min
2. Turn right at Centre St
0.1 mi
3. Slight left at Park Row
210 ft
4. Sharp left at Frankfort St
0.3 mi 1 min
5. Turn left at Pearl St
56 ft
6. Turn right onto the F.D.R. Dr N ramp
0.4 mi 1 min
7. Merge onto FDR Dr N
7.7 mi 12 mins
8. Take exit 17 on the left for Triboro Bridge/Grand Central Pkwy toward I-278/Bruckner Expy
0.4 mi 2 mins
9. Merge onto Triborough Bridge
Partial toll road 0.4 mi 1 min
10. Merge onto I-278 E via the ramp to I-87 N/Bronx/Upstate N Y/New England
0.6 mi 1 min
11. Take exit 47 to merge onto Bruckner Expy/I-278 E toward New Haven
1.9 mi 2 mins
12. Take the I-278 E exit toward New Haven
0.3 mi
13. Merge onto Bruckner Expy
5.0 mi 6 mins
14. Continue on I-95 N
Partial toll road Entering Connecticut
62.1 mi 1 hour 12 mins
15. Take exit 48 on the left to merge onto I-91 N toward Hartford
36.8 mi 37 mins
16. Take exit 29 for US-5 N/CT-15 toward I-84/E Hartford/Boston
0.4 mi
17. Merge onto CT-15 N
1.7 mi 2 mins
18. Merge onto I-84 E
Partial toll road Entering Massachusetts
40.7 mi 38 mins
19. Take the exit onto I-90 E/Mass Pike/Massachusetts Turnpike toward N.H.-Maine/Boston
Partial toll road 56.0 mi 56 mins
20. Take exit 24 A-B-C on the left toward I-93 N/Concord NH/S Station/I-93 S/Quincy
0.4 mi 1 min
21. Merge onto Atlantic Ave
0.8 mi 3 mins
22. Turn right at Central St
0.1 mi
23. Turn right at Long Wharf
0.1 mi
24. Swim across the Atlantic Ocean
3,462 mi 29 days 0 hours
25. Slight right at E05
0.5 mi 2 mins
26. At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto E05/Pont Vauban
0.1 mi
27. Turn right at E05
Partial toll road 17.3 mi 22 mins
28. At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto A131/E05 heading to A131/Rouen/Paris/Evreux
Partial toll road 9.1 mi 8 mins
29. Take the exit onto A13/E05/L'Autoroute de Normandie
Partial toll road 20.3 mi 17 mins
30. Take the exit onto A13/E05/L'Autoroute de Normandie
Partial toll road 56.5 mi 47 mins
31. Take the exit on the left onto A14 toward Nanterre/La Défense
Partial toll road 12.5 mi 16 mins
32. Slight right at N13
1.4 mi 3 mins
33. Turn right at Avenue de Neuilly/N13
269 ft
34. At the roundabout, take the 4th exit onto Avenue de la Grande Armée
0.7 mi 3 mins
35. At Place Charles de Gaulle, take the 5th exit onto Avenue des Champs-Elysées
1.3 mi 3 mins
36. Slight right at Voie Georges Pompidou
1.4 mi 3 mins
37. Slight left to stay on Voie Georges Pompidou
440 ft
38. Slight right at Quai de la Mégisserie
377 ft
39. Continue on Quai de Gesvres
0.2 mi 1 min
40. Turn left at Place de l'Hôtel de Ville

*disclamier... i'm NOT trying to sound profound by quoting or discussing this quote. I simply posted it up here because i encountered it while reading one of my 10 books for the summer, and it really spoke to ME*

There is, in a word nothing comfortable about the Bible-- Until we manage to get so used to it that we make it comfortable for ourselves... Have we ceased to question the book and be questioned by it? Have we ceased to fight it? Then perhaps our reading is no longer serious. For most people, the understanding of the Bible is, and should be a stuggle: not merely to find meanings that can be looked up in books of reference, but to come to terms personally with the stark scandal and contradiction in the Bible itself... Let us not be too sure we know the Bible just because we have learned to to be astonished at it, just because we have learned not to have a problem with it... -- Thomas Merton

this really made me think. it made me realize that sometimes i struggle to read the bible, and maybe that's a GOOD thing. not that i give up, but that i'm not "abnormal" for not always "getting" everything that i read in the bible. Sometimes i think that's what holds me back. i just don't get things like everyone else seems to. I can't look at a passage and be like "I feel God is speaking to me..." sometimes it takes me TIME, and it takes a lot of effort to see God speaking to me through the word. But maybe its good that i don't just take it for what its worth and just stop asking questions. Maybe the idea is that you SHOULD take the time and mull over a passage. to sit and question what you're reading, to think about what applicational aspects it has to your life, and what purpose does it serve in your relationship with God, AT THIS MOMENT...

Reading this quote this morning on the subway really encouraged me to keep TRYING to read the Bible...

back from reality

so after a long break, i'm back.

after much contemplation, i've decided to give my blog another chance to fulfill a purpose in my life. A chance to get my creative juices going, to maintain a place in my life which does not need to be controlled by reality. just a corner in which i can overdramatize my life, where i can simplify everything just to make me feel better. this is just for me.

and it IS me.
no inhibitions.
me, straight up.
No 'on the rocks' business

.goodbye [for now].

its the end of an era... or at least the blog-phase