A weekend in Toronto

So I hit two birds with one stone this weekend. Besides an interview I had at the University of Toronto, I also saw my fabulous sister perform in her musical. And how grand it was! Needless to say, she was fantastic. No wonder she is so busy all the time - she is a superstar:)

Grandma also seemed more adamant than usual with Simon getting married and me getting a boyfriend. And as I was wondering why that was, I came to two conclusions. 1) She is craving for some real excitement. I get the feeling that she lacks that in her life sometimes and nothing does it like a good wedding or 2) It is something hormonal. I always attribute changes in personality and mood with hormones. But then again, at 84 years old, you'd hope that that part of your life would be over. Either way, it was nice to wallow in her presence even though most of the conversation surrounded the two usual topics: food and her fear that I am an obstacle in Simon's way of finding a girl.

The weekend was also filled with good food. I can not remember the last time I ate so well. It is just amazing that you can get a hearty bowl of soup noodle for less than $5. If I lived in Toronto, I wonder what would prevent me from eating out all the time. We also had a great home feast the first night of potatoes, veggies and greek stew. I will miss this extraordinary cuisine as I return to my university diet of cafeteria mystery meat and soggy veggies.

The one thing I love about having been around family is the feeling of being recharged. For example, I have one midterm, a seminar, my thesis paper, a poster and two more interviews within the next week. Do I feel hopeless, overwhelmed, and a little lost? Absolutely! But family gives me perspective, and they give me strength- so to this week I say, "Bring it on!"

Sleep is important

If there is anything I have learned this past week, is that sleep is very very important. And I think what goes along the same lines, is that health is very very important. Today I felt drained and exhausted (a common sentiment of mine this year)and I also felt unmotivated to work or be productive even when I had a list down to my knees of important things to do. I attribute my feelings of fatigue and apathy to not enough bedrest and/or lack of exercise.

So lesson learned: SLEEP!

On a different note, our annual chinese new year dinner went off without a hitch yesterday evening. It was a disappointing turn-out but amazingly run. No glitches, no burnt food, no stressed out members close to tears. I wonder what we did right this time? I made tomato-fried rice with shrimp. Also on the menu were dumplings, spring rolls, black bean beef, thai curry...the list goes on. Needless to say it was a scrumptious feast! It is sad to think that this is my last year here at Queen's and that all this will inevitably come to an end. Sigh... There is only February and March left before exams and then...who knows?

I also wonder what my relationship with my residents will be like after this year. I wouldn't be surprised if I never saw them again. I wouldn't like that of course, because I am surprisingly comfortable around them- even the athletic, popular, good-looking ones- and this is very very rare for me. They engage me, connect with me, challenge me and involve me in ways no other group has ever done. I am actually not in any way excluded here, which has never happend to me before. I really cherish what I have here, and I wonder what will happen at the end of my Donship. In a way, I think that we will part ways and cut ties completely. Afterall, my role in their lives is over and that is that.

I am noticing a dark timbre to this blog. Basically, I am feeling mortality. The mortality of my undergrad, and the mortality of relationships.