Dear Bruno Mars,

As of late, you have caught my attention not only by the infamous fedora which so elegantly sits on your head in almost every photo, but by your pleasantly sweet lyrics. Let's start with the song that gave your musical career a boost: "Nothin' on You". In this early 2010 favourite, the lyrics:

"Beautiful girls all over the world, I could be chasing
But my time would be wasted, they got nothing on you, baby"

gives every girl who has graced their ears with this lovely tune a much needed lift to their ego. My own included. In your next single "Just the Way You Are", you praise a girl and insist she is amazing just the way she is. Hey Bruno? How do you know exactly what a girl wants to hear?! You make me want to purposely get stuck in the middle of the sea so that you would sail the world to find me ("Count On Me" reference, anyone?). Anyway, to sum this up in a nutshell: you are a very talented artist. Please come to Vancouver so that I may swoon amongst other fans and not feel so foolish.

Take care,
Your favourite fan girl

P.S. Yes, you can get to me by talking to the moon.

I can't believe I'm growing up. I can't believe how drastically things have been changing in the past month. I've never noticed how static my life had been for the past three years until things finally started to change. Everything was a routine before. Wake up, go to school then sky train to work. I didn't even realize how bored I was because I was stuck in this bubble. Well, now that the summer is finally coming to an end, I'm already finding myself taking a big step forward. My bubble has popped and I've never been so scared.

I went from your typical teenage sales associate at American Eagle Outfitters who sold graphic t-shirts and jeans to a sales associate at Calvin Klein where I sell woman's lingerie with other sales associates in their mid-twenties. Our target customers at CK are older so everything seems so much more mature..! I hope I'm ready for this.

Now that I have my N, I no longer need to wait twenty minutes in the scorching heat just to stand amongst a crowd of sweaty and impatient passengers on a stuffy bus. Even though I can drive, however, it doesn't completely rule out transit as a whole. Despite the cranky bus drivers and the odd passenger who picks their booger and flicks it at the seat next to you (true story!), public transit is really convenient... oh and cheaper, might I add! I know this whole driving thing isn't much considering a good majority of my friends already have their license... but still, I really do appreciate the freedom.

Starting September, I'll be going to UBC (supposedly the third largest university in Canada) and truth be told, I'm scared bajeebusly! I still remember my first day at Van Tech. I felt so small and insignificant, but now that I think about it, Tech pales in comparison. Shelley took me around campus the other day to show me where my classes are... and well, lucky me..! All of my classes are on opposite sides of the campus. I can't believe that students at Tech (myself included) were worried about making it to class on time when they had ten minutes to travel from the first floor to the fourth. Well, now that those days are over with, here's to a term of exercise between classes!

To sum it up in a nutshell, things are changing and I really hope I'm ready for all of this.

Here are the rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to
write a note with 20 random things, facts, habits or goals
about you. At the end choose 20 random people to be tagged.
You have to tag the person whotagged you. (taken from denise!)

[1] i laugh a lot.
I have a tendency to find the humor in everything, even if the situation is rough and doesn't call for a laugh. This reminds me of a quote by Nietzsche, "and we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh"

[2] i used to hate the umlauts on my 'e'.
Whenever I had to write my name when I was younger, I would always purposely leave the two dots on my 'e' out because I was embarrassed by them. To me, those two dots meant I was an outcast... I mean, no one else had them, so why did I? Eventually I realized that without them, my name would be pronounced "Zo", much like Moe and Joe... and truth be told, that wasn't any better!

[3] i love babies and old people.
Who doesn't?

[4] i really appreciate it when people hold the door for me.
It's really just a small effort, but the fact that someone was courteous enough to take two seconds out of their day to hold a door open really shows that there are people out there who aren't entirely absorbed in this world of their own where the only people who matter are themselves.

[5] i love life.
I know this is a really broad statement and you're probably thinking, "well... so do a lot of people". But I really do love life. I know that my days will have their ups and downs but for the most part, I love waking up to a new day and really just appreciating the little things that life has to offer. In the song "Calendar Girl" by Stars, the lyrics say "calendar girl who's in love with the world, stay alive"... hence my twitter name, "calendargirl" :)

[6] i don't mind retail.
For the most part, retail isn't all that peachy but it gives you an opportunity to say "Hello" to a complete stranger without that awkward "... do I know you?". It allows you to step out of your comfort zone and get to know something about a customer that you wouldn't have been able to guess. Oh, and you get discounts. Who can complain?

[7] if there's one thing I'm good at, it's listening.
I love when my friends know that they can come to me with a problem and I'll be here for them. I may not have the best advice or any at all, but I've come to realize that advice is not always what someone is looking for. Sometimes, someone just needs a friend to lend an ear and that's all.

[8] i'm a wisher.

I can guarantee that when a clock strikes 11:11, I'm almost always making a wish or when I'm in a car and we're driving over train tracks, I'll lift my feet and make a wish. I'll wish when blowing out the candle to my birthday cake or when my eyelash falls out and I'm blowing it off of my finger. I also make wishes on shooting stars and when ladybugs land on me. I mean, it doesn't hurt to try, right?

[9] i love making cards.
i think homemade cards are always much more thoughtful than ones that have been store bought. it also gives me an excuse to overuse my surplus of brightly colored paper and collection of sharpies! also, i absolutely love receiving homemade cards..! hint hint? :)

[10] i think kevin malone from the office is the funniest guy.if any of you watch the office, you would agree that kevin malone is the funniest man alive! he doesn't have chandler bing's quick wit, but he's more like joey tribbiani... except way bigger, nowhere near as cute and a lot slower.

"Just because Jo has no life, does not mean that the rest of us
don't have lives.Oscar, has a life. I think Ryan has a life.
This is outrageous." -- Kevin

[11] i'm a perfectionist.
I think the only person who can really appreciate this trait is Denise. We both understand how important it is for our edges to be straight and to use the right pencil shade to create more efficient notes. I'll admit that all of the extra effort that I put into perfecting things is tedious but it's worth the extra stretch in the end.

[12] i rocked at laybacks when i used to skate

(Alissa Czisny's layback)

there was something about a layback that i just loved! i always thought it was the prettiest spin and i guess because of that, i worked really hard to make mine really nice. because of this, i grew to hate arenas that had really detailed ceilings because it made spinning upside down that much harder!

[13] my life is complete if i get to see these songs performed live:
"Just Like Heaven" -- The Cure
"Sweet Disposition" -- The Temper Trap
"Karma Police" -- Radiohead
"Soul Meets Body" -- Death Cab for Cutie
"Smile Like You Mean It" -- The Killers
"Wake Up" -- The Arcade Fire
"Adams Song" -- Blink 182
"Calendar Girl" -- Stars
"This Modern Love" -- Bloc Party

[14] Donnie Darko and 500 Days of Summer are my favourite movies.
There's something about the cynical atmosphere in Donnie Darko that really captivates me. As for 500 days of summer? Well, there's Joseph Gordon-Levit for starters... and a great story line. Oh, and a fabulous collection of music for both of these movies. Can't complain! :) <3>

[15] i overuse exclamation marks.
I don't really have an explanation for this, I just do it!

[16] i'm the worst at holding grudges.
I may be really mad at you, but truth be told, it probably won't last long. I'm terrible at staying mad at people. It just kills me to know that I won't be able to talk to them again normally. Even though I forgive you, it doesn't mean I'm going to forget what you did/said.

[17] i believe the glass is half full.

I do my best to see the good in everything. Yeah, the glass may only be half full but it's better than nothing, right? And wouldn't you rather see it as a metaphor for working your way up as opposed to making your way down? I'm an optimist. Deal with it! :)
[18] i love my brothers. In most families, there's this supposed sibling rivalry. Well, my brothers and I aren't like that. I love them so much and I know they love me too. It's amazing how well we get along and how nice we are with each other. I'm just so lucky to have brothers who bend over backward just to make me happy. :) I really hope they know that I would do the same for them.
[19] i've never been on a roadtrip.
I've been on a plane, I've been on a train, I've been on a cruise... but never in a car for long enough to call it a 'road trip'. I think the furthest I've ever been to by car is Seattle. A two hour car ride. Not a road trip. I'd love to drive across Canada and just observe and appreciate the mountains to flat lands and the cities to the suburbs. I'm hoping that's something I'll accomplish before I'm 28! That's right, I'm giving myself ten whole years to do this!

[20] i love space.

Space as in outer space, not the space between you and someone else. I love the idea of having something bigger and brighter outside of our little bubble. I love the fact that there are no limits, that anything can exist out there but we've only discovered a small chunk... and that there are billions and billions of stars out there... all just flickering in this dark and open area. It's amazing to think that we are so self-absorbed, that we only have the capacity to care for ourselves when there's so much more out there.

can we pretend that airplanes
in the night sky
are like shooting stars?
(i could really use a wish right now)

here's to a night
we must never forget!

3:30pm:
den, nam, jon, alan and lawrence meet up at my place for pictures + champagne (the torch and the mattress, the man whistling at us in the pickup truck, sinking into the ground with our heels)

5:00pm:
the limo comes! hello luxury! we drive around downtown and take pictures! (serious
lols to the simultaneous head swaying, rice world and the saggy clutch)

6:00pm:
mingling at the front entrance of the Fairmont Waterfront with the rest of the grads + leaving our bags everywhere for the bellboys to trip over (sorry!). not being able to put Alan's boutonniere on but receiving the most beautiful corsage that wouldn't stay on my wrist at first. grrr! we move to the reception area... mingle, mingle, mingle. let us into the ballroom! ice sculpture? can't believe how many times i heard "is it real? lick it!" in one night.

6:45pm:
we walk into the ballroom as the song "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey plays in the background. get to our tables (pretty lights! pretty flowers! table 17!) and wait for our number to be called to get our food. delicious dinner, not so delicious dessert. introducing the slideshow (so cute! so many memories!) and then saying thanks to greenwood + beetlestone + radford. oh, they thanked us too (you're welcome!)

9:15pm:
let's get our dance on!!! doing the running man and the bird with Sadie (we need to stop embarrassing ourselves)... where'd everyone go? the photobooth? coolbeans! we take some photos, almost missed my slow dance with Alan... but lucky me! he finds me as i'm waiting in line and gives me the biggest hug + kiss (best boyfriend ever!). dance some more! (rude boy, your love is my drug, party in the usa, heart breaker).

11:30pm:
time to skidaddle! nam and i head back to my place to change and pre-drink. almost lost my keys... thanks to the lady on the phone for picking them up for me!

1:00am:
we get to the lounge and everyone is here (shots! shots! shots! shots!)... where'd namrta go? found her! where'd namrta go again?... there she is! from the looks of my photos, there was a bit of dancing, mingling and a whole lotta crazy shinanigans (this part of the night was a bit of a blur)...

3:00am:
cops? on their way? now?... let's go! christopher manages to get sadie, nam and myself out of there. "let's walk down this street that we've never seen before!" "okay! we have an umbrella and a map! we must be okay!" we want hot chocolate! there's a chevron there? sweet! (oh, it's closed. we can order through the window? extra sweet!)... "guys, we really need to get a muffin."... we get a muffin. and a sandwich. (why the sandwich?)

4:00am
there's a 24 hour restaurant down the street (let's gooo..!). creepy guy whistles at us then hits on namrta ("oooh, shit! a brown girll? yeyuhh!") get into the restaurant only to be turned away cause we have hot chocoalte, a sandwich + muffin and alcohol hanging out of our pockets and purses. fuck. chug! hide! chug! hide! "can we come in now?" "certainly!"... mmm, food! blink 182 + house showing in the background on mute = most ridiculous music video. sadie wants a slice of chocolate cake but no one else really wants one so she decides to skip out on it... except not. we get cake! definitely a post-party dessert. the waiter leaves us in the restaurant all by ourselves for a little while (serious trust)... we're all about to fall asleep at the table and none of us can speak properly.

5:00am
guys... let's go home! lucky for us, sadies mommy picks us up (love her!). finally, i'm home! the sun is up (the crows are everywhere). alan comes over and before we can share any stories... we fall asleep.

to the grads of 2010,
we did it!

LOVERS WHO UNCOVER --

Clearly I am terrible at updating this thing. I will try harder, I swear! So to point out the obvious, it's May now. Crazy, huh? Just one more month until our graduation ceremony and prom!!! Ack, this is all too exciting. Speaking of prom, Alan did the sweetest thing on our two months. He blindfolded me, led me to Nootka Elementary, brought me to the top of one of the playgrounds and when he took off my blindfold, I saw my name written (with the umlauts!) in candles on the field. I turned to him and saw that he had little flashcards at hand asking me to prom. :) I was so stoked and so surprised! (oh, and I guess I should tell you that I said 'yes'... obviously!) Thanks to all of his friends for helping him plan this & for setting up... and thanks to my friends for keeping this a secret! (oh, and Den&Nam? I'm sorry for getting mad at you two..! I guess I really am short tempered... heh). I promise I'll trust my friends more! Bahahaha. Anyhoosies, the past month has been swell for the most part so I'm stoked for what May has to offer (aside from the copious amount of exams we'll be getting... those can go away). Hang in there, grads, there's just one more month!!!

HOME IS WHEREVER I'M WITH YOU --

we laugh until we think we'll die
barefoot on a summer night
nothin' new is sweeter than you

***

Okay, so here's the thing. I'm addicted to the song "Home" -- Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and I can't stop listening to it! I'm in that phase where I have to play the song on repeat and even though it may be my 50th listen, it still gives me the chills. The good kind of chills. You know the ones that race down your spine and give you the jitters in your tummy? That's what I get and truth be told, it's one of the best feelings ever. Don't you love having those songs that only conjure up happy memories? They're wonderful. Just wonderful. Well, March is coming to an end which means two more months of high school! Next month is looking pretty good at the moment... given the weather keeps and all plans go through. I'm stoked! Everything is slowly starting to fall back into place. :) Let this be a swell month!

Oh, and Alan, if you're reading this... happy belated one month
The past few days were oodles of fun! :) <3