The quick fix for neuroglycopenia*: alcohol

Ah, life after undergrad. I've only been offically registered as a M.Sc. student for a couple weeks now, but I sense a pattern. Work hard, play hard. I like it (for obvious reasons). I can come in at 8pm or all day on a Saturday and people will be in lab (= work hard). Okay, so it seems a lot like undergrad in that sense, working insane hours towards a goal (edumacation or some letters after your name = goal). However FINALLY in grad school there is a payoff. To ease the pain of this excessive brain usage, every other day there is an event luring us with 'subsidized wine' or 'cheap beer'...and I'm not complaining. I have a total weak spot for red wine. It's really a great atmosphere - I think everyone is affected by the lack of social contact (no more hours in the library surrounded by everyone stressing out = social contact in undergrad) and so we've been on this mad hunt for the parties. For example, today there is a wine & cheese on campus. Tomorrow there is a cheap beer/wine networking party in one of the hospitals (yes, in a hospital, it's where we hang out). As the new official Social Coordinator (yay! capitalized on purpose...denotes importance) of GASP (Graduate Association of Students in Phyiology) of course it is my responsibility to be informed of such events, and as well to organize and attend such events...you know, I'm just fulfilling my responsibility. Well, at the very least there is the promise of making a few more friends and having some fun :) Not a bad deal at all.

*Neuroglycopenia: Your brain and you have been working overtime, depleting your glucose (aka energy) stores and therefore you need to either (1) eat, or (2) drink something. Alcohol does have a lot of sugar in it. I had to put this in the title because it was one of our favourite words to use during the summer when we could use a Tim Horton's break - "I'm feeling a little neuroglycopenic" (followed by all of us cracking up).

Big cities can be dangerous

To illustrate my last post about the Creepy people (those ones that make unnecessary extraneous contact), here's a video about Juan Mann, a guy that walked around with a big sign "FREE HUGS"...offering up the obvious. It's cute, I have to admit, but inspirational? Still thinking about that one.



Notice how at the beginning everyone thinks he's kinda weird and avoids the man who attempts to make PHYSICAL contact, nevermind just attempting to talk to them. First he can only get the trusting old ladies to hug him. Eventually it moves on to a few touching group hugs (I'm a big fan of the group hug), and even some hugs-with-stunts (see the skateborder).

This is an excerpt which was posted with the clip:
As this symbol of human hope spread accross the city, police and officials ordered the Free Hugs campaign BANNED.

Banned?! For HUGGING? Yup, them group hugs are pretty dangerous to society (I've had experience)

The Creep vs. The Friendly Guy

There are those people that are definitely creepy. Those strange smelling ones with greasy hair that hang around excessively staring at you (= creep). But there sometimes can be a very fine line between those people that are creepy and those that are just trying to be plain friendly, and often I find myself choosing the more cynical path. I think it's a big-city phenomenon - people just do not interact with each other (See"The monkeys are scared of each other"). I know I posted a while back about how nice it was to meet someone friendly in the elevator - this really only applies in a safe environment, like the workplace. If the same encounter occured in some random building it would be totally different and I would be counting the seconds until I escape from this person would be possible.

Last night I took the subway home to avoid the weirdos on Yonge St., but apparently it was inescapable. After exiting the subway, this random guy smiled at me and said hi - feeling sorta mean if I didn't reply, I said hello back. BAD IDEA. I won't go into details, but I think it could be classified as C-R-E-E-P-Y. Actually, now that I think about it, this random guy on Yonge St started talking to me the other day as well, and turned out to be a little creep-o as well. Hmmm....I think this deserves a list.

Reena's Guide to Social Interactions

1. Always listen to your mother: Don't talk to strangers.
2. Appearances can be decieving (Yonge St man looked pretty clean cut).
3. Appearances can be indicative of character (Subway guy looked weird).
4. Cynicism should be the default outlook on life.
5. Eye contact should be avoided at all cost. Wasn't there some monkey-movie about this? If you look them in the eyes they will kill you? Something like that.
6. No smiling either.
7. Okay, okay. Some people are nice. But they should have to pass a test for insanity (or sanity?) before getting this designation.


Is it just me, or do other people find this as well?! Does anyone else actually look these guys in the eye, and therefore incite the weirdo interaction? Feel free to post any additional advice you might have, I could definitely use it.

These wonderful, educational experiences remind me of the good ol' Sex and the City episode, The Freak Show, where Carrie wonders: "Are all men freaks?" I couldn't find a clip of it anywhere online, but here's the official episode guide.

Serving Size: 4 extremely yummy pieces

I'm in lab on a Sunday evening (again), attempting to get some good reading in while things are quiet (and to get away from my comfy bed and tv!). It's always a little freaky being here alone...especially when it's dark outside. St. Michael's hospital has certain hallways that remind me of the movie 'The Shining' - it looks like it was built in the 70's and it is generally deserted with low ceilings, long hallways, doors on either side, weird noises...etc, etc. I haven't encountered any men with axes or freakish twin ghosts (yet), but I think it is a comparable environment.

During my readings, I have gone on a little tangent analyzing the messages that can be found within food packaging. Don't you find that the nutritional information on the side of food packages is often misleading? I.e.) The serving size might be 10g, whereas the actual granola bar is 50g???? I've been sitting here munching away at these scandalously yummy Mauna Loa chocolates that a co-worker brought in for her last day. I think it is all part of an evil plot to fatten us up in her absence (a la Hansel & Gretel*). But regardless, these Mauna Loa guys are more realistic then most...serving size = 4 pieces. Yup, a whole 230 Calories (it even says "Fat Calories 140"...just in case you were thinking positive and hoping it was something else). So of course, I had to listen to the writing on the box (they know best)....yum, yum.

*On a completely different note, I'm slightly disturbed by the morbidity of the Grimm children's stories - all this people eating and blood. My european informant recently told me how in the Grimm Brother's version of Cinderella, the step-sisters were told by their mother to cut off their toes, so they could fit into the glass slipper...sure enough, he doesn't lie. Check out the story here.

Recovering from trauma

Trauma #1
No internet at home. Yes, I'm making excuses for my lack of recent posting, but I really should get brownie points for effort. I have attempted to access the internet from many, many locations in our 700 or so square feet - including but not limited to the bathroom, the kitchen and the empty corner of the living room. I have now resorted to staying until late hours at lab to work online (As I am now. Risking my life for this blog by having to walk up Yonge St after dark...that's dedication)

Trauma #2
Spending an evening with 5 European male doctors. They decided that I needed to learn the "Top ten things to know about the european male". Number one: Never say "What would you like me to show you?" (I was talking about work! Oi). Number two: Never give them coke cans and water bottles (Case in point: this led to the construction of a large tower on our supervisor's kitchen table, which resulted in everything falling and spilling a large bowl of potato chips onto his floor. A LARGE bowl). I don't remember all the rest, but one thing I definitely learnt was not to bring up anything about the Italian soccer club which would result in singing, dancing and other strange, soccer-related noises. Boys are weird :)

Lesson of the day: don't take loose-leaf tea to rock concert

This weekend I went to the Veggie Food Fair and the Virgin Festival on the toronto islands. YAY! It was tons of fun. More weekends should be spent this way. The Veggie Food Fair was basically a bunch of booths with food. Some had clothes (the shirt on
the right says: "vegans get plenty: protein, calcium, iron, sweet loving". Check out the others at Vegan Porn. And of course there was free food (woo hoo!), a definite cause for excitement - until we got too full.

Another cause for excitement were the multiple booths that were selling LOOSE-LEAF TEA. I am an avid tea-drinker. This enjoyment of mine began not so long ago by the purchase of some innocent-looking teas at the One of A Kind show in Toronto last year, and is now beginning to border on obsession. Seriously. To the point where I'm tempted to spend my hard-earned scholarship funding on loose-leaf tea....but of course will resist. The fear of not being able to pay rent or tuition is a good way of controlling the spending. Ah, fear is so controlling. Anyways, back to the subject at hand. All the teas were in little bowls for us to see/touch/smell, and it was like heaven*. I've found it really difficult to buy loose-leaf tea in Toronto, and when you go to a store and stare at a wall with a million little jars of tea lined up side by side it can be overwhelming (and expensive). So we hooked it up, big time, with both Eugenie and I getting some "Moonlight Lavender"(from Tea2gather) and "Spirit" (from Orbit). Yay! After making these purchases, we headed over to take the ferry to the Virgin festival. As with any concert, the security guards at the entrance asked to check our bags, and were just slightly freaked out when they saw two 50g bags of this inside:


So apparently "Moonlight Lavender" tea looks like pot....but it's TEA! TEA! I swear! The guy was pretty nice, so he let us go without much questioning (after freaking him out), but really we could've totally been taking drugs with us....which I think is hilarious.

The concert absolutely rocked. I love Muse even more than before. They were so amazing live, and Matthew Bellamy (the lead singer/guitarist) was super cool in a red jumpsuit :) I attempted to make a video of my favourite song (Starlight), but it sounds really crappy because of the base. They ROCKED. Gnarls Barkley was also there, but I can't say I was too impressed with his 'image'. His singing was amazing and the band itself was really funky, but he was too stereotypical: He had HUGE three-million karat diamond earrings on each ear, and this watch that was so diamond studded you couldn't look directly at it without being blinded. Every other word he said was more than a little obscene, and I was completely traumatized when he asked for girls to flash him, and this slightly larger person next to me decided to fulfill this request....ahhhhhh!!!!!! But thinking positive, we were just happy she didn't fall on us half-naked. That would be scary.

Lastly, we finished off the night with a girly sleep-over where we made pizza, warm chai (it was freezing outside!) and watched tv in my super comfy new bed...it felt soooo good to fall asleep after the tiring day of doing fun stuff :)

*Consequently, I've decided to modify my life-dream of opening a bookstore to include a little nook where we can serve (and sell) tea to our customers...you know, after doing this M.Sc. business.

my new love: canadian tire

I love Canadian Tire. Not to the point where I feel the need to post it on Love Revealed (mostly because I would feel really geeky!), but still, it's love. I went yesterday to the new Canadian Tire that just opened a couple blocks away from the condo - seriously, the most beautiful place. It was all shiny and new. Every sales person was happy and asked you if you need help (which got a little excessive eventually...), AND (the best part) they had these nifty escalators for your shopping carts. You just push them through this little gate which says "No Children" (haha), and then it gets pulled downstairs/upstairs and you can take the normal escalator. It was strangely amusing.

Another reason to love it? I got a blender, dvd player, mop, light bulbs, garbage bags and hand mixer for $90. Not bad at all :)

vegetarian bliss

Yes, there is such a thing, despite what you meat-lovin' folk might think :)

This weekend I will be attending the annual Vegetarian Food Fair at Toronto harbourfront!!!! And I'm very excited. I've never been before, but according to the website it promises to have cooking demonstrations, workshops and a hugemongeous vegetarian food-tent...yum, yum. As a veggie, I get the question: "So, what DO you eat?!?" from the majority of the carniverous people I meet. This questions always kind of stumps me, since I've grown up in a basically vegetarian family (and extended family), and if you don't rely on meat as a part of your diet then you obviously don't miss it. For this reason, the veggie food fair looks like it may provide a wide variety of vegetarian dishes that I could offer up as answers to this question, or that a meat-eater may be able to appreciate....and if not, it should be pretty yummy regardless :)

If anyone in Toronto feels like trying it out, one of my favourite vegetarian restaurants is The Vegetarian Haven, on Baldwin St. It's actually a vegan restaurant, and the locale of choice when going out for a meal with my cousins in Toronto. They have a super long menu, so you'll definitely find something you like. I go for the fruit rolls and the hawaiian tofu, but they also have all that fak-o meat stuff for those of you that miss it (it looks so real that it freaks us out when we go...in terms of taste, I can't tell you much about how real it is).

So, to finish off this vegetarian themed post, here's a totally random video about some normal carniverous guys turned cannibal that attempt to eat their vegetarian friend (thoughts are coming back of all those conversations I've had with friends about how I would "taste better" since I'm fed on organic greens...not freaked out at all). I love the amateur-ness and the ketchup:

Return of the reena blog!

Hello, hello. It's officially September, I'm officially moved back into my place downtown (yay!), and my little brother has officially moved out to go to university. The only "big change" that has yet to occur is the official starting of classes for grad school, next week. I'm a little more than apprehensive about this, mostly because for each class a student has to lead the lecture for one hour...and you have to participate in discussion. Discussion was the bane of my existence in high school, so university was a welcome change...I like the independent studying approach. Argh.
Anyways, so what's kept me occupied this week, too busy to write in the blog? A lot of very very cool, blog-worthy topics...

Solferino's
Recommended by a co-worker, I have been on the hunt for this little gelato place for THE LONGEST TIME. Coming from NYC (and therefore unfamiliar with the city), my co-worker told me it was "off of Front, on a little side street. Near Jarvis."* Consequently, everytime I was in the area, I looked for it...to no avail. However, on Monday we took off from work a little early to try this gelato...finally. It's on Wellington, just west of Church. Although a little pricey (it was $5 for two scoops, no cone), I must say that it was an excellent recommendation. They have about twenty different flavours, mostly fruit based BUT they definitely had their unhealthy options as well - I tried Belgian Chocolate Orange and Papaya. According to this review, the "gelato maker" (I can't think of a better term) has a MSc in Food Science...therefore, the ultimate expert (don't doubt a person with an MSc) :)


Lord of the Rings
Despite the fact that we went to see this show after hearing many, many negative reviews - I LOVED it! I was totally not "bored of the rings". If you're looking for a handy nickname, Lord of the Bling would work pretty well. There were insane special effects. And yes, although the Hobbits were annoyingly happy at the beginning, the happiness tapered down to a more normal level...you know, after Gandalf dies and all that.

Goodbye Courkie
Courtney Chan (aka Courkie, Cha-Cha, Court, etc.) has moved to Windsor for 8 months, attending teacher's college. For those of you that read her blog, you will have gotten the update already. Apparently Windsor isn't the greatest city in the world, I think she referred to it as the "armpit" of Ontario...sounds like fun. We took Court out for dinner at our favourite Indian restaurant, where the brown man complimented her on her jewelry (as expected, she's a brown man magnet), and then wandered about the city randomly. It was a fun, typical night of just hanging out with friends, which will definitely be missed!!!

Moving in
Although I didn't move in until this weekend**, I spent the whole week priming, painting and putting varnish on the new, beautiful kitchen table. Yay! I love it. I think I might've scared my roomie by asking her not to put anything sharp, hot, or heavy on it...yet. Yes, I'm overprotective, but it's my baby!!! And so pretty. Here are some pics of the work in progress. If/when I make a blog-video of the condo, you'll see the table in action (sitting in the living room), but until then:



Minus the Brother
My little brother has gone to university. Yes I know I've mentioned this before, but it's so...weird. I can't believe he's old enough. Makes me feel really really old. Although yesterday when we moved him into residence, there were a fair number of people that thought I was the university newbie - it would be ultimately worse if people thought I was his mother or something. I also applied to UWO, his school, but turned down their scholarship to attend U of T, and until now have been confident in this decision. But after visiting Western yesterday, I was REALLY impressed with their campus, their student involvement, their residence, the food....everything. Mostly their food. While U of T overcharges you, they get special "residence" prices, which are ridiculously cheap. These kids are being so spoilt, we had it tough in the inner-city campus at U of T.

Cleaning like a maniac
Okay, this topic isn't so blog-worthy, but I'm writing about it anyways in hopes of a little sympathy. I'll be spending the day cleaning like a maniac, while waiting for my QUEEN SIZE matress to arrive. It's hugemongeous. The bed frame takes up all of Court's old room. So far today I've planted some flowers (which are currently germinating in the laundry room - they need warmth!) and written this blog entry. Very, very productive :)

*Side note: This co-worker seems to always know all the really yummy places to go in Toronto, and all the things going on in the city (Busker-fest, V-fest, Beer-fest, etc), and she's only lived here a couple months - seriously putting us Torontonians to shame. She's inspiring me - this weekend we're going to the Vegetarian food fair at the Harbourfront, and then to the V-fest concert at Toronto islands (with Muse). And then to the film fest. I'm motivated.
**Although I know that James is anti-blog (Yes, we actually have friends like this. Who would've known), I have to give him credit here. He basically moved me in by himself over two days...working long hours into the night to put together the freaking Ikea furniture. Thank uuuu!!!!!