*Miserable Day Week*
What a miserable time we're having here in NYC. It's been grey and raining and cold and damp and... the list just goes on and on.
Despite the miserable weather, fun stuff still goes on in the city! Amy and I went to a flip-flop sample sale today and I bought a lobster bag and lobster flip-flops! Amy bought these beautiful purple terry-cloth flip-flops that we had seen the other day.
Another fun thing: NBC's "Third Watch" is filming right outside Chris' place today. It was pretty exciting! Nia Long stuck her head out of her trailer as I was perched on Chris' stoop. She doesn't look that great. She just looked kinda normal. It struck me today how actors and actresses look so normal when they're not on TV... hm....
Right... lots to do.
P.S. Myrtle has now moved in with Yertle (she's in it for the money...). Yertle's digs gets all the chicks...~

*Pet*
I have a new pet! His name is Yertle... and he's a... (guess!)
He's super cute and tiny. I just got him yesterday. I'll get a picture of him soon enough. His girlfriend lives with Chris, and her name is Myrtle (get it? Yertle and Myrtle?).
I started my new Core Fusion class series today. I think the 'Core' in Core Fusion means 'Hard-core'. 15 minutes into the class, I wanted to go home. By the end of the class, I was shaking because I had worked muscles I swear I didn't have.
Right... Time to get a-crackin' with my work. I have SO MUCH due in the coming weeks. I got my Sociolinguistics midterm back today... didn't do too bad... Can't wait to get the Psych one back tomorrow.~

*Welcome back, me*
Wow. I never expected to last past the week. The two midterms back-to-back on Monday night then Tuesday morning REALLY got to me. I seriously doubted that I would be able to handle both midterms together. In the past, I usually tossed one out the window in favour of doing well on ONE of the two, but this time... I think I actually managed to do well on both. Oh well... we'll see on Monday and Tuesday.
My Discourse assignment was due shortly after the double-midterm whammy. Boy, that paper started out REAL strong and rapidly lost steam as I noticed I had 5 minutes left before class and I had yet to answer the last (of 4) question. Eek.
The next couple of weeks is going to be horrid too. LOADS of reading to do as I prepare for my presentations (note the PLURAL 'S') and the multiple papers due. After writing all those midterms, I'm glad to go back to writing papers. It's much more academic and grad-school-like to read and express our views on things. Midterms basically encourage rote memorisation, right?
I got my first midterm back from SLA (Second Language Acquisition)... 91%, baby! Yee-ha! I think the class average was like... 100%, so technically... I failed, but eh... what the heck? It's still an A!
I had (key word - HAD) started the South Beach Diet, but by Day 4... I had had enough of it. I ran out at 9pm that night for a huge piece of Strawberry Shortcake and Chinese take-out. So much for losing the belly-flab. But I was getting cranky... I feel sorry for everyone around me (sorry, Amy!).
For the first time since Valentine's Day 2001 (wow... 3 years)... I got flowers! Tulips too! My favourite! Such a nice gesture... but I'm suffering from a serious case of hay fever... but of course, us girls will NEVER tell of our allergies to pollen, right?
Oh! I got tickets to go and see "The View" (The Barbara Walters daytime talk show?)! Kinda funny... but also kinda cool at the same time! It's going to be so cool to see a talk show right there instead of from the TV! So awesome!
Right... must get some regular sleep. Ta for now!~

*Lucky*
Just taking a break between exams...
I just realised today exactly how lucky I am. I've always known that luck usually rolls my way, but after writing my midterm today, I really realised the amount of luck that comes my way.
I had a lot of trouble concentrating and balancing the two subjects I have to study for my midterms this week. I didn't really get down to REALLY understanding my Sociolinguistics stuff 'til around 1:30pm this afternoon... about 3 and a half hours before the exam. Hey... at least enlightenment came BEFORE the exam and not after! Anyways... miraculously, thanks to a great memory... I zoomed through the exam and was actually finished in 15 minutes.... and I KNEW everything too! I'm really thankful for LUCK.
Right... I need ONE more miracle... Developmental Psych tomorrow... and this one's a BIG exam.... Grrr....~

*Hiatus*
The Mooncake is on hiatus for about a week. The studies are piling up and I have 2 midterms on Monday & 1 discourse analysis assignment due next week.
Seriously, if I were a prof... I would NOT schedule homework and midterms for the DAY after Spring Break. Ironic - BREAK, semantically... doesn't that mean holiday? Grrr....~

*I'm Baaack*
I had the strangest 24 hours over St. Paddy's Day...
Anyways... can't blog right this minute... just wanted everyone to know I'm back.
*smooch*~

*Homeward Bound*
"Makin' my way back home, walking fast, faces past and I'm home bound..."
- A Thousand Miles, Vanessa Carlton

Yep. I'm goin' back to the city tomorrow! The most interesting things I've done this weekend were:
1) Go to Roach Rama - a "Hot Box" in Kensington Market
2) Bought spray-on tan and proceeded to tan one leg...
3) Bought 4 shirts for $9 CAD a pop at the Club Monaco Outlet

Good times, eh? Good times...~

*Nuff*
I've just about had enough of Toronto and my sister. DYING to go "home" to the Big Apple. Ironic - but I'm dying to go back to warmer climates.
Right... Will let y'all know first hand how boring this break has been... soon (hint).
*yawn*~

*New Vue*
I'm seeing a new side of Toronto... the BORING side. After living in New York and Hong Kong, I find Toronto a very boring place to be after 6pm. After dinner, there's basically nothing else you can do unless you drive across town someplace else... to sit and be bored.
I dunno... maybe it's the company? I'm not really hanging out with any of my friends here, just my sister, her BF and his gang. They're really nice people, but I don't really know them. I had a really funny conversation this evening with one of them... and he proceeded to tell me his life story throughout the night. We found out that we went to the same school when we were young! Only... he was there after I left.
Toronto's still freezing. I'm missing New York loads and I can't wait to get back!
Time for bed... *smooch* Hope everyone's Spring Break is going well!~

*Brrr...*
I'm in Toronto! I miss it here so much! But it's so BLOODY FREEZING! I was all wrapped up today, but the cold was still seeping into my bones!
I'm exhausted. Early night tonight. *Yawn*...~

*Urgh*
I had written this huge blog... and for some reason... it's gone AWOL. Grrr... I'm not about to blog it all again.
Long story, short:
Life's good. Currently trying to find that "moment" that made me who I am today. Bitch about grad school, but really love it. Be in Toronto in the afternoon.
Ciao.~

*Life*
It's weird what life dishes up for you. I'm trying to think back to the ONE point in time that really "changed" me and set me on the path that I'm on now. I'm trying to trace it back with the "if it weren't for this... then that wouldn't have happened" questions. It's like trying to play the "Seven Degrees of Kevin Bacon" with my own life. I can't even remember the exact point when I decided to apply to grad school, nor do I remember what possessed me to follow through with my impulse. I know I'm definitely better off choosing this path than the others that were before me then... NO regrets. Despite my constant whining about grad school... I am definitely enjoying my studies here. I do like (at times) my area of study. It does seem kinda stupid at times, taking language apart... but the whole process of language acquisition never fails to amaze me.
Right... gotta go pack. Can't wait to be home in Canada! Yee-ha! I'll keep y'all posted from good ol' T.O.!~

*FULL*
So, after the midterm... I decided to let loose a little. Tina, Regina and I decided to check out a concert I was invited to. The band that was playing was called The Republic of Loose. The guy that opened for them was Dan Donnelly. They were all AWESOME! The Republic of Loose is an Irish band and apparently they've just won a Meteor Award (Irish Grammy) for New Hope or something or other. I loved their music, but the lead singer was... reminiscent of a young Ozzy Osbourne. He was seriously on something... but it was funny. We had a hard time understanding him through his Irish accent, and he was very "interactive" with his audience by constantly verbally abusing us as though we didn't understand him at all (which is actually really rude).
Anyways... I've been all "energied" up this week. Between the Jamba Juice runs and my new box of Raspberry flavoured Emer'gen-C... I'll be awake 'til next summer.
Oh... I forgot to mention the really really great dinner I had last night! After the concert (we left at 11:30-ish), we walked over to Cafe Habana in Nolita and had really really good Cuban food. It was SO awesome. Gosh darn it... talking about it is making me hungry... I really should move down to the Lower East Side... The food is so much better down there.
Right... gotta run. I have a ton of articles to print out before I head to TORONTO for the weekend. I'll be there from Friday 'til Sunday midday... then Sarah and I are flying to Montreal! I've just realised that we've never gone off on a trip on our own! So it'll be sister bonding trip... HAH!
Ciao, and hopefully I'll get to see some of you around in good ol' T.O.!~

*DONE!*
One midterm down... TWO to go!
That SLA midterm wasn't so bad... but then, when I think that... it usually means I bombed it. I think I did alright... but I think I wrote the midterm from a Psych perspective and not quite a Second Language Acquisition perspective... oops.
Right... I'm hank-marvin'. Gotta go find some FOOD.~

*SAVED*
Gosh... I'm saved! My Psych class is cancelled and I have an extra 2 hours to cram SLA into my brain that seems to be on strike. Yay!~

*Another sample sentence*


The Mooncake's brain has become otiose. Words have become meaningless and the Selinker (1972) article appears prolix.


In other words... The Mooncake's toast. Another 16 hours until the dreaded SLA midterm. I have NEVER felt this way about any exams before. I'm beginning to hate Grad school...
After this, I have TWO midterms back to back the day I get back from Spring Break... Sociolinguistics and Developmental Psychology in Infancy. Thank GOD my B.A. is in Psychology... Grrr.... Isn't Spring Break (American Style) supposed to be fun with loads of booze and wet T-shirt parties down in Daytona Beach or Cancun or something like that? Instead, I'm going to be holed-up with a gazillion articles to read and essay questions to prepare for. Whee! Spring Break is going to be a blast! My break is only going to be a weekend. I'm flying up to Toronto for the weekend. Seriously... NO holidays or breaks in sight for a VERY long time. Between midterms, assignments, presentations and my Master's project... It looks like my fat ass is going to be perched on this VERY uncomfortable chair for a looooong time.~

*The Mooncake teaches practical English*


1. Otiose adj.
Of no use, ineffective; futile.


2. Prolix adj.
Tediously prolonged; wordy.
Tending to SPEAK or write at excessive lengths.


3. Prolixity n.
The quality or state of being prolix (see above).
Boring verboseness.


PUT IT ALL TOGETHER! Sample sentence:

"Gosh, what utter otiose prolixity!"

Can you think of any situations where this sentence may be appropriate?
MORE evil from The Mooncake... Heehee...~

*Word of the Moment*
Ollie's word of the moment:


Schadenfreude n.
Pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.
Compound: Schaden - damage, Freude - joy.


Yes... The Mooncake's EVIL...~

*Eek*
Midterm on Tuesday... Still haven't memorised ANYTHING yet. I... HATE... S-L-A!! (Second Language Acquisition).
At least I got loads of sleep last night...~

*Nightmares*
I've been getting nightmares lately.... and I haven't been sleeping well lately because of them. As a result, I've developed an attention span of a flea and my face is getting spotty... eck.
Time to clean my room and get some sleep... I have a HUGE midterm on Tuesday to study for... *groan*~

*Gosh!*
In the last 24 hours, I've had so many hits to the site! Thank you all for your support! I hope you're all enjoying the new layout and colours. Spring is FINALLY here, and in honour of my colour for the season... I'm using PINK all over my work. It's come to my attention that my page isn't loading properly on MAC systems... I'd like to say that I'll fix that problem, but I have absolutely no idea how that problem can be fixed (sorry!). PC users, please let me know if you're having any problems with this site too... just drop me a line or tag me on the tag board.
Gotta go... it's gorgeous outside, and I want to tan my freakishly white legs! Ciao!~

*Why am I Still UP?*
Why? Because I found MORE procrastination tools...
My map of countries I have visited:




create your own visited countries map


Makes me realise that I haven't been to that many places afterall...
Off to La-La Land now... where everything smells like Mountain Spring Tide.~

*Toilet Problems*
One of our toilets has been "suspended from service" since January 23rd. This was due to the fact that the flush handle "fell off". It's been well over a month now since the "falling off" of the handle, and we've been told today that the whole toilet needs to be replaced. WHAT THE F*#$? Since when does a whole toilet need to be replaced when the handle falls off? Will someone please explain this to me?~

*Lovely*
It's been such a lovely couple of days here in the city. It was 17 (celsius) today, and Tina and I just sat on the steps of Low Library on Columbia's Campus and read. It was so nice, with loads of people around... sitting or milling about. It reminded me of my days back at Western, when I'd go sit with friends on that patch of grass outside the UCC or on the Hill. I had forgotten what it was like to be in school without so many things to "think" about. I'm finding that Grad school makes you think a little too much about everything. Not only do you think about your subject matter, but because there's so much to think about, you begin applying EVERYTHING you learn to your every day life. It starts to get overwhelming...
Ah... what a lovely day today. I loved how it made me reminisce about my undergraduate days... oh to be young again...~