Starbucks - Where have you been all my life?

There are 2 types of days when I require an Americano from Starbucks.

1. When I wake up from a great sleep, the sun is out and the day lies before me, full of wonderful prospects, I lie there and think, "I should stop at Starbucks this morning!"

2. When my alarm clock finally drags me out of 4 hours of sleep, the sun is not shining, the bags under my eyes could save me 5 cents at the grocery store, and I lie there and think, "If I get out of bed now, I'll have time to go to Starbucks. And I'd better do that, if only for the sake of the people who have to see me and talk to me today!"

Today was one of those days where I desperately, desperately needed some watered down espresso!

On a side note, I can't believe I'm blogging about Starbucks...If I were sitting in Starbucks right now, sipping my coffee and blogging, it would be even more cliché.

But I digress...

The man behind me in line this morning sneezed violently, and I'm pretty sure some of it landed on my hair, but I just couldn't bring myself to reach my hand up and check. Now the left side of my head is going to feel gross for the entire day, unless I can forget it happened.

Well Starbucks, you've done it again. My cup is empty and I feel like a whole new woman!

I Love Organizing!

I love organizing. There, I admitted it. Thoughts of alphabetizing, categorizing, arranging and de-cluttering are enough to make my palms sweaty, my heart beat faster and my knees weak. Apparently I'm in love... ;)

I currently own over 600 books and when I'm alphabetizing and organizing them by category, I feel like I've found my calling in life. I do the same for my clothes, DVDs, and anything else that appears to be remotely organizable.

While I was happily browsing through Pinterest this morning, I came across a pin called " How I Organized My Entire Life and I just had to check it out. It led me to a blog post that was worth reading.

So, my fellow organizers, what is it about organizing that gives such satisfaction? Maybe we are all scatterbrained and forgetful and organizing is the only thing we are able to be in control of. Or maybe we were all born with an innate desire to set things right; put things in order.

As for all of the non-organizers out there, I can't really give you a reason why we do it - but even though we may drive you crazy sometimes, when we come behind you and re-do what you've already done, you know you need us.

After all, without the organizers, this world would be much too chaotic to live in! :)

Its been far too long...

I took a look at my blogs today, and I can't believe I haven't written anything since December of 2010! So much for my goal of sticking to this writing thing...

I now work for The Leprosy Mission Canada, which has changed my life quite a bit. No more public transit, not more extra long days, and most importantly, no more misery! My job downtown gave me some good experience, but it was altogether a very bad working environment that I hope to never go through again.

I saw a lot more people downtown, and there was much more opportunity for amusement, but I am glad to be where I am.

Espresso Conversations

I really enjoyed my lunch today. Decided to take a walk down Spadina Ave to see what my options were, and ended up in a nice cafe called "Le Gourmand." It was a bit on the expensive side, but the food was good and my Americano was delicioso! (Pardon my punning! I enjoy it:) If you ever go, think before you order a cookie though. It was like eating 10 regular cookies! They must use 3 cups of cookie dough to make these things...mine was at least 2.5 inches thick!

When you eat downtown Toronto, there aren't many seating options, so I had to sit right next to a table of 3 men instead of my usual preference of a nice, private corner where I can watch people and wonder what they are thinking about. (No, I'm not a "creeper" but I do like to people-watch!)

I had to struggle not to laugh because I couldn't help but overhear the conversation of the men beside me. At first I was a bit shocked at what they were saying, but as I listened, I thought, "Men all over the world must meet and have these conversations!"

I'm sure you have guessed by now what they were talking about: their wives. Story after story of their wives' frustrating "female-ness" and how they dealt with it. All 3 of them talked pretty big too; telling each other how they handled their women, and giving each other tips on what to do or say when their wives "act up."

Like I said, at first I was a bit offended for the women they were talking about, but then I figured that they were probably all talk. After all, what self-respecting woman would put up with being "handled?" Not many!

Poor menfolk - having to meet in cafes to tell their stories of bravery and manliness! Even if they were fiction stories...

Don't get me wrong; I don't agree with spouses talking about each other like that at all, much less to their friends! However, sometimes it can be an amusing conversation to listen in on...

Working for the Weekend

Someone was snoring her heart out on the subway this morning...she sounded like a cross between a snorting hog and a jet taking off! It was funny to see other peoples' reactions to it; once they realized where the strange sound was coming from, everyone had a good laugh. Poor woman - she must have been pretty tired! She didn't wake up once.

I work downtown Toronto now, and have decided to take the TTC rather than brave the traffic on the Don Vally Parkway. Public transit does have its disadvantages though...such as standing outside in -20 degree weather waiting 25 minutes for a streetcar that is supposed to run every 2 minutes. Or how about missing the earlier bus home because there was a delay on the subway? On those days, nothing could make a traffic jam seem more appealing!

This morning was a good day to ride the TTC though. There was no traffic, no delays, and to top it off, I got a seat on both subways! I arrived to work early which means I can leave early; life is good.

There are so many people working in this city and sometimes I wonder if everyone is unhappy. If I had to take a guess, I would say that at least 80% of the working class do not enjoy their jobs. I do most of the time, but there are some days when I would rather just throw in the towel and stay in bed!

It's too bad people can't find a job that they enjoy. Imagine if everyone or at least most people liked and enjoyed their work each day. If you are deciding what type of job to look for, make sure you apply to jobs that you can make a career out of - a career you can see yourself in for at least the next 10 years. That way, you won't be one of the masses on the road depressed about going to work in the morning.

Let's Make It Count

Have you ever noticed how the days fly by, making weeks turn into months and months turn into years? Before you know it, you are wondering where the last 5 years of your life went!

It is so easy to get lost in our daily routines, doing the same thing day in and day out... Heck, even driving can be like that! I can't count the times I have driven for 20 minutes, and then wondered how I got there - scary to think about, isn't it?

How many days have we lost? How many moments have we missed because we were lost in our own little world? Too many. Way too many.

I don't want to say something cliche like, 'it's time to wake up and smell the roses' but in essence, that is what we need to do...

Let's start something new today, shall we? How about finding at least one thing per day that you love about life? Or you could start out by doing something nice for a stranger every day. How about taking the long way home, and actually noticing the nature around you?

There are many things we can start doing (or not doing) to make every day count for something. Pick one that you think will make life a bit more memorable and do it!

If you want something to spice up your life a bit, and you are directionally challenged, (like me) try driving different routes to work, school - and don't be afraid to get lost. (Hint: the "spice" is when you have to find your own way back!) Also, don't be afraid to ask for directions once you do get lost. Even if you are, again, like me and won't remember those directions once you get back to your car!

Eat a Parasite and Lose Weight?

hThere is a new diet trend in Asia - eating parasites to lose weight. The above picture was taken from an ad in the early 1900s. Are we actually moving backwards instead of forwards here? How could we go back to this kind of life threatening diet?

Women and girls in Asia are feeling a tremendous amount of pressure to stay thin and unfortunately, exercise is not recommended because muscles on a woman is not considered attractive.

I am all for different cultures and what they contribute to the world; after all, the world would be pretty boring if everyone was the same. However, when one of your "cultural differences" means eating disorders, malnutrition and potentially death, I think that something should be done about it.

We can't stop women from feeling bad about their bodies; this is a choice that each individual woman has to make for herself. We can, however, regulate which diet products and ads are approved to be released to the public.

One might add that educating people about the dangers of putting a parasitic worm that lays 200,000 eggs per day might help the problem as well, but in my opinion, it wouldn't stop the problem. It is obvious that ingesting a parasite is bad for the body. I think that we have to go deeper here - much deeper.

The women in Asia are suffering from the same disease that women in North America have - it's just a little more advanced in Asia! Girls in North America as young as 7 and 8 years old are worrying about their body image. When I was 8, my biggest worry was that bedtime would come before I was done playing. I certainly never thought about pimples, how big my nose was or about how "fat" I looked in my clothes! My childhood was much happier for it.

What can we do about this problem? We can't stop magazines from publishing pictures of "perfect" people, and we can't stop pop stars from exuding the wrong type of self image to our youth, but we can teach our children to value what is important, and to be comfortable with who they are.