A little bit of random

You know what bugs me about Roll up the Rim to win? How wasteful it is. Even if you bring a reusable mug/thermos, they still give you a paper cup for your chance to win. So in addition to another paper cup getting thrown away, it's not even being used first.

I've discovered I much prefer a cheapo haircut than an expensive one at a salon. At the salon I tend to have to fight the haircut to make it look good, but with the cheap haircut, it's just simple layers that is easy to style. I'm so glad my roommate recommended Top Cuts. I'll take a predictable 20 dollar haircut over unknown cut and price any day!!

Tonight Jer and I are going to the second city show about the economy. Should be funny. Saturday I will be finishing up my easy studying. Where easy means making my own notes of almost 450 pages of condensed study notes. Then Sunday I'm taking a break from studying so I can let my brain relax before going into memorization mode.

Postal Code + 3

I'm getting my own place!! I'm very excited. I can't wait to move in and figure out the best place to put things, and the layout of the rooms. Although I cringe when I remember I'll have to pay for a truck and two moving elevators to move 300 feet.

What I'm looking forward to:

• I tend to like things in a specific way but with my coat, for some reason I can't bring myself to bother with hanging it up in a closet. It ends up on the floor and I don't like that either. Solution: I'm getting a coat rack!

• I was thinking about all the things hidden underneath my bed: a printer I haven't used in 3 years, a scanner I used once, and a bag of mystery wires. Then, there's my flute. I love the flute but I don't like practicing if anybody can hear me so I probably played a half dozen times in the last few years. That's kind of sad. I've decided I'll leave my music stand out so I am more inspired to take out my flute and play a little. Even if I only end up playing a couple times a month, I'll be happy.
  

• I am thinking I'll paint a couple of walls. I saw a place yesterday that was all painted and it made such a difference that I feel inspired to paint. I have no idea about colours though so If I ever decide on a colour for the living room and bedroom I'll do it.

• I'm happy my kitchen and bathroom will be pretty much the same. I'm a creature of habit.

Things I'll miss:

• The view. It overlooks the lake and I love looking at all the sailboats out in the summer and watching the planes take off at the island airport. I'll also miss watching the fireworks from Ontario Place for Canada day and the air show during Labour day weekend.

• My walk-in closet. This seems fairly self explanatory.

• Living with one of my oldest friends for the past year and a half has meant lots of chats and fun tv which was great. Girl nights will be a must.
  

A Chair Story

In second year of University my mom took me out to look for a desk chair. At the end of the day she was not impressed with me at all. We went to a half dozen stores, sat on all the desk chairs and I hated them all. I eventually picked a chair that was big and could curl up in. Some might say I was being difficult, but It wasn't until recently that I discovered this wasn't my fault.

Being 5'3'' (well, almost) with a long torso means I have short legs. The seat depth of the majority of chairs is much wider than my legs are. That means when I sit on a chair it's impossible to sit straight. It causes instant bad posture so it makes sense it would be uncomfortable. I didn't clue into this until my neck was already sore from constant looking down from studying, so at work sitting normally my neck would be aching by the end of the day. I consciously corrected my posture and my neck was much happier.

My chair at work is a very good ergonomic chair, but it barely works with my legs. There's no space between my legs and the chair and that's not completely comfortable so I find myself slouching to get a gap like there should be. I then have to force myself back up straight so I don't hurt my neck.

I went to office furniture stores with fancy expensive ergonomic chairs, but I couldn't find anything. I thought about just buying the same chair as I have at work, but it's expensive for something I still struggle to sit properly on.

The other day I was on the Ikea website and was looking at desk chairs. I found one with an adjustable seat depth and the minimum was the smallest I've ever seen! Jer was already planning on going to Ikea on the weekend so it was perfect. I went, I sat, I liked. Chair dilemma finally solved!

Longest walk to work ever

On my walk in to work this morning there were a lot of roads blocked off. I was curious as to what was happening today. As I was walking past cora's I had a faint recollection of a st patrick's day marathon last year. Not a minute later the runners appeared. In a steady stream. Along the one road I needed to cross to be able to get to work. I walked along the road a bit in hopes of being able to pass somewhere but no luck. I waited a while and eventually I ran across through a gap. The prize for making it through was studying, so overall, not a fun walk to work.

Friday the 13th

On Friday Jer and I took the day off work for a random break. It was a nice normal day free of studying. We spent the morning relaxing, eating brunch and watching Wall-E. In the afternoon went skating at harbourfront, then picked up food to make a yummy supper. We made a meat sauce I've been wanting to make for a while now, but it needs to simmer for a couple hours after it's all made and I haven't had 3 hours to make supper in a while. It was delicious. It was a lot thinner than I expected, and Jer ended up eating the penne with a spoon to take advantage of it, but overall I was happy with it.

Now the skating. I've been wanting to go skating outdoors in Toronto since I've moved here but each winter went by and all I managed was a darn! So with a bit over a week left before all the rinks are shut down for spring, I finally made it out. On the walk, I admitted to Jer I was a little nervous. I went rollerblading once a few years ago, and I couldn't really remember the last time I skated. We got on to the ice and I realized I had no idea how to skate and was just concentrating on not falling. Jer pulled me around, but very slowly at first so I could ease into things. It took a while but eventually I was able to mostly skate on my own but I still wouldn't let go of Jer's hand.

Happy Coins

Normally when I'm looking through my coin jar I look for quarters or sometimes even a loonie. Typically I do this when I don't have any cash and I need a few bucks to last me until I get to a bank. Now? I scrounge for nickles. My coworker has a gumball machine which currently has easter eggs in it. A mixture of jelly beans, malt balls, and mini eggs. I am extremely addicted and was sad when I only had 3 nickles in my purse. One nickle will you get 3 - 4 eggs. I now have a good sized handful of nickles to take to work to keep me happy over the weekend studying.

What they don't want you to know

I like clean. Clean makes me happy. The process for the most part I don't mind, but there are things that drive me crazy. Dusting. It seems to be never ending. I use my swiffer mit and wipe away the dust, but when I'm done, there's still dust. Nooo go away argh. In this case I typically just wait for the sun to go away and I can go back to not being able to see it.

The stove is another story. The stove and I are not friends. I always spray BAM! on it in the morning and clean later that night. But it doesn't all come off. Depending how much time I have I can let it go, or I go into OCD overdrive. Last week it was the latter.

I decided I'd google it since I had good luck finding lemon pledge on stainless steel appliances this way. I came across a site that suggests using baking soda. I would have probably ignored it but she claims that 'with a little elbow grease it'll come right off. And I do mean a little'. I was intrigued. I got out the baking soda box and gave it a go. And wow. It really did work. Craziness.

I then went on a baking soda cleaning binge and was surprised by how great in general it worked. The sinks sparkled, the stained white plastic garbage can that refused to get clean became white, and the fridge was clear and white once again. It was great.

But who knew?? Sure, the baking soda box says you can use it to clean, but there are no commercials on how great it cleans so I didn't believe them. And that's how they like it. They don't want people realizing there's a cheap, environmentally friendly cleaner without an awful smell that works really well or else their other more expensive products wouldn't sell.

The next day at work I tell my coworkers who sit near me about this. The guy tells his mom this later that night. She claims I'm wrong, that it doesn't clean well. My other coworker's mom thinks I'm young and foolish and I don't know what I'm talking about and refuses to try it. *tear*

I also wrote my dad a big long email about the wonders of baking soda and he responds with enthusiasm. He is in awe of such a discovery and had no idea. The next time he's out shopping he picks up a fresh box of baking soda and tries it out. He was surprised at just how well it worked and actually enjoyed cleaning for a change. I was happy to finally share my happy cleaning experience with somebody.

This post is longer than my valentine's day post. I take this to mean cleaning is more fun than quinoa. *shakes head* Also, I love saying BAM! like in the commercials. It's so much fun. In other news, I just found a wicked looking split end which I've decided I will give as a gift to my coworker as a going away present. It's sad, but I'm not even joking. I will probably end up making some sort of splitting ways joke too. Hilarious, I know.