October panties in November

Hello! I hope that you are well.

To those celebrating Thanksgiving across the border, I hope that it was enjoyable and memorable.

Canadians celebrated in October. I managed to make a Thanksgiving meal (a past post) for my parents and me between two trips. I was pleased because we didn't have a lot of leftovers left over.

I had meant to post my October panties that I got in the mail. Things got a bit busy. I ended up flying stateside twice. 

I am not travelling for a bit, so I can attempt catch up with my posts here.

Here's are the lacy panties that I got.

 The front: 

 

The back:

The colour scheme screams Halloween. They are comfy and nice.

Canadians don't celebrate Memorial Day

It's the Memorial Day long weekend in the States. A handful of Americans on a social site that I'm on were nice to wish me a happy Memorial Day weekend. They meant well.

The problem? I'm Canadian. I don't have this day off.

I can understand that perhaps we are similar in many regards. I am mindful of holidays that Canadians have, but Americans don't, and vice-versa. However, I seem to be frequently grouped in these well wishes. I wish that I weren't.

I've actually had to tell three people over the weekend that Canadians don't celebrate it. They don't seem to check where anyone is from and default to everyone being American. One of them apologized, which was nice. The other two didn't say a thing.

The next holiday is Canada Day on July 1st and the 4th of July for my neighbours. I normally don't get too many mix-ups, but there could be a first for everything. I'll keep you posted.

Recognition for being a reviewer

On Friday, on a review platform, I got recognized for making the top 50 prolific reviewers in North America. There were only two Canadians on the list. I was the highest ranked Canadian on the list.

It was a nice honour. It was weird how I heard about it, though. It was from a fellow reviewer that I didn't know.

I sometimes wonder how some folks find out about such details well before I do. I have a local manager who didn't say a word all weekend. Odd.

Anyway, I'm delighted with the recognition. It was a nice way to kick off my weekend and vacation.

Alex Trebek

Alex Trebek, host of Jeopardy! and other Canadian game shows before it, has passed away. 

Cancer sucks. He was 80 years of age.

I grew up watching him on TV. I loved watching him host High Rollers and Pitfall. I then watched Jeopardy! religiously, to the point where I got my parents to watch the show with me. To this day, they both enjoy watching the show.

He always made sure that there was a Canadian question on each Jeopardy! show. I loved that he always had Canada on his mind. 

Such a huge loss. May he rest in peace.

Happy Canada Day!

It's Canada's birthday! Last year, I was in the nation's capital celebrating. This year, it will be virtually.

Although celebrations are a tad different this year, I am so proud to be Canadian, which hasn't changed one bit.

I'm going to break your heart

Last week, on the plane going to Minneapolis, I watched a documentary called I'm Going to Break Your Heart. The documentary spotlights the relationship between Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida, who have successful music careers and have been married for over twenty years.

They relationship has bumps. They are seen going to counselling. They work at their relationship, as head as it can get.

They wrote many songs together during this documentary. One of them was the title of this documentary. I lost it. I was crying on the plane.

My ex-guy broke my heart -- three times too many. We never went to counselling. Part of me wishes that we did, but he abruptly ended our relationship.

There are nights where I think of him. One part of me misses the good, fun parts of our relationship. I know that it isn't healthy to want to try it again. I do not want to be hurt by him again. I want better.

I continue to heal. It's not an easy journey. I get by one day at a time.

She did it! Bianca is the U.S. Open champion in women's tennis!

Bianca Andreescu, who hails from Mississauga, is Canada's first singles winner when she won the U.S. Open yesterday.

I am so proud of her that I cried seeing her win it. She's so humble and calm, which are qualities that I appreciate, especially in such a young woman. She is mature beyond her years.

Canada is so proud! #sheTheNorth

Steve Perry

Steve Perry. Ah, memories.

I grew up listening to his solo work. "Oh Sherrie" is still one of my favourite songs from the 80's. I then went into a Journey phase. and loved singing to everything, especially on road trips.

He has released a solo album. He has been away from the music business for roughly 25 years.

The sad, touching part was that he fell in love with a French-Canadian woman. She sadly succumbed to terminal cancer in 2013. He promised her that he would not go into isolation again should something happen to her.

He kept his promise. Such a moving, sweet story. Wow.

I'm off to listen to his new album.

Where are you from?

A few weeks ago, I had dinner with a number of academics. Most folks at my table had doctorate degrees. I was one of two who did not.

My guy has always said that I can hold my own ground no matter whom I'm with. All because you have earned a doctorate degree does not necessarily mean that that you the brightest person on the planet.

I was sitting next to a woman who possessed a doctorate degree at the table. I knew most of the people, except for this woman and my friend's husband. Many of them flew into Toronto from the States for a conference.

The American woman tried to strike up a conversation with me.

"So, where are you from?" she asked me.
"Toronto. I'm born and raised here," I said.

And so, the conversation stopped there.

My guess is that, to her, I do not seem like a typical Canadian. However, as Canada is incredibly multicultural, it's not odd that I can say that I was born and raised in Toronto.

If she had asked about my heritage, I would have said that I'm Chinese. The question was never posed that way.

Perhaps she was expecting me to say that I am Chinese-Canadian. I could have. That's more common to hear stateside. I'm Canadian. I happen to also be Chinese.

Her question has stuck with me ever since. I liked my answer. I still do.

Black Friday sales... ugh!

For the last three years, I am turned off when it comes to Black Friday sales. I don't know why it has become a tradition in Canada when this ritual comes for our neighbours to the south. However, I feel the same way about Black Friday as I do with Boxing Day sales, with some minor differences.

Black Friday used to be shopping on that particular day for bargains. Yes, you'd be shopping on a Friday. These days, you have pre-Black Friday sales. And, there's a catch, too. You can actually have a full weekend or more of these Black Friday sales.

One word: Ugh.

Boxing Day is a Canadian holiday. In the past, stores would be closed that day. There would be Boxing Day sales on December 27, which is a day after this holiday. These days, you can have your sale start on Christmas or even earlier. And, it's not a Boxing Day sale. Oh, no. It's a Boxing week sale, which could carry on for longer than week. Stores are also open on Boxing Day.

The same word: Ugh.

I don't have much to buy for either sale. It has to be something that I truly need. I am trying to adopt a minimalistic approach to debt and shopping these days.

I have also done all my Christmas shopping. I am that prepared.

On Friday, it took forever for me to drive home. It seemed like everyone was out shopping.

My guy called me from Egypt, where he is there for less than a month. It was great hearing from him.  He is over his jetlag and is safe. Chatting with him made my commute more bearable.

"How's my cute girl?" he asked me.
"I am stuck in traffic. I am literally under highway 400," I replied.
"Are you on highway 401?" he asked me.
"Nope, I'm backroading it," I replied. "It's Black Friday."
"Ah, I see," said my fellow shopper. "You don't get too many deals."
"I agree. You probably do in the States."

It's nice that my guy and I are on the same page. For Canadians, the deals are better during the Boxing Day, week, or month sales.

Happy 150th birthday, Canada!

Happy Canada Day! Canada celebrates its 150th birthday today. It looks pretty good. =)

It's a long weekend here. I'm wishing my fellow Canadians a happy, safe long weekend.

Reflections of 9/11 from a Canadian living in the States

I am a bit late with my reflections on 9/11.

Where was I on that day? I was a Canadian living in the U.S.

I lived in Minnesota for two years. I had already been there for more than a year when the tragic events occurred on September 11, 2001.

Back then, I was a pure night owl. I went to bed late and woke up at 07:45. I eventually got to work by 09:30.

I was listening to the local radio station when the first plane had crashed into one of the twin towers of the World Trade Center. I thought that it was a freak accident and hoped that everyone was okay. Moments later, it was reported that another plane had crashed into the other tower. I knew then that it was deliberate.

I fixed myself breakfast, sat at the table, and watched the horrible events unfold on ABC News. I felt sick to my stomach.

I managed to drive myself to work, which was a close five minutes away. I walked into my office where my officemate and our fellow colleague (we were all Canadian) reflected on what had just happened.

Things changed after that day. The technology company that I worked for implemented strict security policies going in and out of the parking lot. At the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, I could no longer go through security and meet my mom at her gate like I had done a few months earlier. 

My parents were concerned about me. They called that evening. I told them that all was okay. I wasn't exactly close to the Big Apple, but I was stateside and only a timezone away.

It was a dark day. I may not talk or write about it much, but the day is still fresh in my mind.

I disliked how the local gas stations immediately hiked up gas prices. Price gouging is wrong to begin with, let alone capitalizing on such a tragic event.

However, there are always good stories, like good samaritans helping others after the twin towers were hit. That's what I would like to focus on -- the good.