I've found that I could seriously sleep the entire weekend away if given the chance. Anytime I get comfortable, on the weekend, I could fall asleep (including sitting up!) This means that I need to force myself to get up and do something. This weekend it was too windy to go to the beach, despite my desperate need for the sun! I was really hoping to get a little colour, but my adversity to the cold prevented me from going. So I basically spent all of Saturday inside! How lame! I am on this beautiful island, and I wasted my time away on the couch. I ended up renting the third season of Lost (so good by the way) and chilling out watching it. The boyfriend was having boys night out and every girl I know here was either off island, had concrete plans or had a visitor, so I also spent the night on the couch. I did take a brief break from being lazy to do my prescribed long-ass run for my half-marathon training, but that is about all the activity this lady saw all day.
I just want to say that Lost is a wicked show. I have no idea where this show is headed but I am definitely around for the ride. Apparently after this season, there are another two seasons. I seriously have no idea where this show is going and don't even know how they could end this show, with all its plots and sub-plots, in a way that is going to satisfy it's viewers. All I know is that I hope it never ends. But I guess something will replace it. I thought I would cry when Six Feet Under and Sex and the City ended, but I found new shows. So I'm sure some program will keep me mesmerised by the glowing of my TV for years to come.
On Sunday, me and the boyfriend went down to St. George. St. George is one of the places that I mentioned in an earlier post, to which locals rarely go (unless they live in that area) because it is not in the center of the island and thus takes to much effort to go to. It's quite pretty but definitely not somewhere where I'd hurry back to. The lack of walking paths in Bermuda is stagerring and I know that it will drive my parents mad when they come to visit me later this year (they are walk-oholics). St. George has a road with some shops on it but no nice long boardwalk or seaside path to warrant going for a walk. The only half-decent walking path in Bermuda is the railway trail, which I will have to walk soon! But I am kind of saving it for a really boring weekend, because it is the only decent walk in the whole country. I am going to have to go home for a week of hiking in the summer next year because this lack of hiking is killing me!
This weekend I am doing the end-to-end walk for charity. This is a massive event where locals walk from either the middle of the island to the end of the island (which is what I am doing) or from one end of the island to the other. I opted for the shorter version because I am training for the half-marathon and know that the end to end walk (40km or 24 miles) would result in my legs feeling like they are going to fall off for a long period of time (likely being a week or so after I am done the walk) and this would put my training behind (because I wouldn't be able to run due to sore legs). So I am walking the condensed version, which is only 24km (14.7 miles). I am sure it will still hurt, but probably not as bad. I will aim to do the full walk next year.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Does Anybody Read This?
I think I need to work on getting my blog URL out there to my friends. I don't think anyone even reads this. Oh well, atleast it is an online reminder of what I did last weekend. Time flies here on the island and so do memories! If you do read this, say hello!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Contentment
I had a conversation with a friend the other day about relationships and how everyone is looking for something that might very well not exist. People are always looking for their soulmate or "the one". They might exist, but I am guessing it is rarely, if ever, in the form that the seeker is thinking.
When you are with someone, it is natural to wonder if this is it. This is the person you are destined to be with or will someone else come along that is better. My philosphy is that there is always someone hotter, richer, sweeter, or whatever it is you crave than the person you are with but does that mean that person is necessarily better? You have to look into yourself for the answer to this question.
I feel that we will never find "the one" but we can learn to be content with the best one for us. The best one for us may not fit the conventional definition of what we are programmed to look for, but it is someone we get; someone we understand and can be content with.
Life is a series of decisions. The friend was asking if there is something wrong with him because he is always thinking that he wishes he could be with this hot girl or that hot girl, rather than his girlfriend and was asking me if he is destined to be alone forever. I think all of us face temptation but it is what we decide to do with said temptation, that defines the relationships we will be in or those that will cease to exist. If you decide that gratifying yourself with a meaningless one-night stand with a person you find hot (but know nothing of their personalties and how they will get along with them) is worth ruining a relationship with someone you already know is a good person, then DECIDE to do that. But if you think about the consequences of what you are contemplating, than DECIDE to stay in a relationship.
We all need to learn to be content with what we have or decide to do something about it. Just don't say I didn't tell you so.
When you are with someone, it is natural to wonder if this is it. This is the person you are destined to be with or will someone else come along that is better. My philosphy is that there is always someone hotter, richer, sweeter, or whatever it is you crave than the person you are with but does that mean that person is necessarily better? You have to look into yourself for the answer to this question.
I feel that we will never find "the one" but we can learn to be content with the best one for us. The best one for us may not fit the conventional definition of what we are programmed to look for, but it is someone we get; someone we understand and can be content with.
Life is a series of decisions. The friend was asking if there is something wrong with him because he is always thinking that he wishes he could be with this hot girl or that hot girl, rather than his girlfriend and was asking me if he is destined to be alone forever. I think all of us face temptation but it is what we decide to do with said temptation, that defines the relationships we will be in or those that will cease to exist. If you decide that gratifying yourself with a meaningless one-night stand with a person you find hot (but know nothing of their personalties and how they will get along with them) is worth ruining a relationship with someone you already know is a good person, then DECIDE to do that. But if you think about the consequences of what you are contemplating, than DECIDE to stay in a relationship.
We all need to learn to be content with what we have or decide to do something about it. Just don't say I didn't tell you so.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Blast from the Past
As I did not do anything interesting in the last two days, I thought I would share a memory from my past. I spent a little under a year travelling in Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, New Zeland and Fiji back in 2001-2002. I remember the excitement I experienced when I was about to go on my trip. I spent my last night out at a pub with a bunch of friends. I said all my goodbyes and then I went back with my then boyfriend to his place to spend our last night together.
I remember being really sad and really happy all at once that night. I had started dating that boyfriend at the start of the summer (it was now September) and we had dated for years in the past. In fact, he was the person to whom I lost my virginity. I dated him all through grade 11 and 12 but we broke up for a long time (during which I seriously dated another guy) because we differed in life plans. He was the type that lacked motivation and still worked manual labour jobs despite having been out of high school for 3 years (I had already finished half a degree at that point).
We started dating again knowing that I would be leaving on this year trip and that I did not plan to stay faithful with him during this time. I have no idea what was in this for him but I have a adversity to being alone (ask anyone at home I cannot go more than 3 or 4 months without getting seriously involved with someone) so he kept me not alone. It was a bittersweet summer that we both knew had an expiration date and that night the expiration date was reached.
I knew he wasn't the one for me, especially when I awoke the next morning to news that my flight wouldn't be leaving for another couple of weeks (my flight was set to leave on September 11, 2001) and I was dissapointed rather than elated that I had to stay. If I'd loved him as much as I thought I did I would be happy to have the extra time as I had an entire year to spend abroad, but I was extremely mellon-collie about the whole thing.
I ended up finally being able to leave after 10 days of sitting around as I had quit my job at this point because I was supposed to be out of the country. I tried to keep in touch with the boyfriend for a long time but he grew distant. I was upfront and honest with him about my intentions to enjoy life to the fullest and to be open to meeting men while on my trip, but I believe he was hoping I would miss him so much and come home early. I basically stopped hearing from him when I admitted that I was travelling with a guy. He asked, and I am not one to be dishonest. Upon returning to Canada, I hung out with him a couple of times but I could tell that our relationship was dead. I do not keep in contact with him anymore but I wish him the best.
I remember being really sad and really happy all at once that night. I had started dating that boyfriend at the start of the summer (it was now September) and we had dated for years in the past. In fact, he was the person to whom I lost my virginity. I dated him all through grade 11 and 12 but we broke up for a long time (during which I seriously dated another guy) because we differed in life plans. He was the type that lacked motivation and still worked manual labour jobs despite having been out of high school for 3 years (I had already finished half a degree at that point).
We started dating again knowing that I would be leaving on this year trip and that I did not plan to stay faithful with him during this time. I have no idea what was in this for him but I have a adversity to being alone (ask anyone at home I cannot go more than 3 or 4 months without getting seriously involved with someone) so he kept me not alone. It was a bittersweet summer that we both knew had an expiration date and that night the expiration date was reached.
I knew he wasn't the one for me, especially when I awoke the next morning to news that my flight wouldn't be leaving for another couple of weeks (my flight was set to leave on September 11, 2001) and I was dissapointed rather than elated that I had to stay. If I'd loved him as much as I thought I did I would be happy to have the extra time as I had an entire year to spend abroad, but I was extremely mellon-collie about the whole thing.
I ended up finally being able to leave after 10 days of sitting around as I had quit my job at this point because I was supposed to be out of the country. I tried to keep in touch with the boyfriend for a long time but he grew distant. I was upfront and honest with him about my intentions to enjoy life to the fullest and to be open to meeting men while on my trip, but I believe he was hoping I would miss him so much and come home early. I basically stopped hearing from him when I admitted that I was travelling with a guy. He asked, and I am not one to be dishonest. Upon returning to Canada, I hung out with him a couple of times but I could tell that our relationship was dead. I do not keep in contact with him anymore but I wish him the best.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The Weekend Recap
This last weekend was pretty fun. On Friday night we had a few friends over for dinner. The boyfriend made a mountain of ribs (we are still eating them and its Tuesday) and some good ass food. I ended up "making" dessert (which consisted of me throwing a pie in the oven and proceeding to burn it). It was a really fun dinner. We had MTV Jams on in the background and we watched it throughout dinner. They had this show on called YO! RAPS! and it had a ton of brutal 90s rap on it. We discussed the wonders that were parachute pants and flatops.
Then I was just about to head to bed when both mine and the boyfriends cell phones erupted in a series of trills. I answered mine and he answered his and it was our two friends. Little did we know they were standing at our window and wanted to come in to play American Idol on Wii. So alas, we played it. Our one friend was super drunk and he can't sing to save his life. He was singing in a sort of hunched-over position and he ended up splitting a hole in his pants. So when the song "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith came up (you know the one from the Armageddon soundtrack) he replaced the words with "I Don't want to Split my Pants". It was hilarious.
We then proceeded to have a competition (i.e. with one person getting knocked out at each round with the Simon-Paula-Randy comments and everything). I heard the boyfriend sing for the first time ever (he is tone deaf to the max). I think that the bad-singing-split-pants friend was so bad it gave the boyfriend some confidence. The boyfriend got knocked out of the first round and then when the second round came, the guy who had split his pants was so shocked when he got knocked out. He looked like someone had told him that they had to amputate his penis or something! It was great! Anyways they finally left and I got to go to bed.
On Saturday morning, I woke up early to go to a hair appointment. My hair is in dire need of a dyeing but alas I will have to wait for another couple of weeks. The hairdresser that I went to was sick that week and couldn't fit me in for another two weeks. She seems a bit nuts. My client told me a story about her a couple of weeks ago. In Bermuda there are tons of stray cats kicking around and they are a menace and have diseases such as cat AIDS (I had no idea there is such a thing). So there is an agency called the Bermuda Feline Assistance Agency which goes around and catches and kills the cats. Kind of mean but I guess what can you do. So they have a few stray cats on this property my client manages and they rip up garbage and stuff and they are dirty, dirty cats. So instead of ignoring them or calling BFAB, this lady started feeding them. Oh well, apparently she is supposed to be wicked at coloring hair!!!! As long as she cleans her hands first!
That night I got all dressed up and went to the Elbow Beach Hotel for our convocation ceremony. I thought it was weird that they included us in the ceremony as I took my exam in Canada but the ceremony would've been very lame if they didn't include the off island graduates as only one Bermudian passed the Chartered Accountancy exam this last year out of the four that wrote the exam. Craziness! I can't believe that more people don't make it through because if you have your CA designation here, you are sitting on a goldmine. But I guess it goes back to the lack of value the youth of Bermuda have for education (read my last post regarding the drop-out rate from high school). I got drunk off of the table wine and then busted a massive move on the dancefloor. I got the DJ to play Soldier Boy (as I always do) and then did the soldier boy dance.
After the convocation dinner and dance, I went to my friends housewarming party and played Rock Band. I sang for a bit and then moved on to the drums. The drums are frickin' hard. Seriously. I was on easy and I was struggling majorly! I think everyone kept their shirts on that night....so that was a first!
Yesterday one of the partners at my firm gave me and the boyfriend tickets to the Bermuda XL Open round 1 tennis match. They were box seats and came with free drinks! So I ended up getting impromptu drunk (which is something I usually avoid like the plague because I can't handle the hangover at work and also it is counterproductive to waking up and going to the gym in the morning). I think I only had like 4 or 5 drinks but they pour them so strong here. I haven't seen any bartender do anything other than free-pour since getting here! I kind of remember having a conversation with my co-workers involving fingers and butt-holes and I remember drunkin calling my sister at her work (Canada is 3 hours earlier in time than Bermuda). I also made the boyfriend make me quasadillas and crackers and cheese when I got home! Needless to say, I didn't make it to the gym this morning and I had a major headache all day! That'll teach me not to drink on a weeknight again anytime soon!
Then I was just about to head to bed when both mine and the boyfriends cell phones erupted in a series of trills. I answered mine and he answered his and it was our two friends. Little did we know they were standing at our window and wanted to come in to play American Idol on Wii. So alas, we played it. Our one friend was super drunk and he can't sing to save his life. He was singing in a sort of hunched-over position and he ended up splitting a hole in his pants. So when the song "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith came up (you know the one from the Armageddon soundtrack) he replaced the words with "I Don't want to Split my Pants". It was hilarious.
We then proceeded to have a competition (i.e. with one person getting knocked out at each round with the Simon-Paula-Randy comments and everything). I heard the boyfriend sing for the first time ever (he is tone deaf to the max). I think that the bad-singing-split-pants friend was so bad it gave the boyfriend some confidence. The boyfriend got knocked out of the first round and then when the second round came, the guy who had split his pants was so shocked when he got knocked out. He looked like someone had told him that they had to amputate his penis or something! It was great! Anyways they finally left and I got to go to bed.
On Saturday morning, I woke up early to go to a hair appointment. My hair is in dire need of a dyeing but alas I will have to wait for another couple of weeks. The hairdresser that I went to was sick that week and couldn't fit me in for another two weeks. She seems a bit nuts. My client told me a story about her a couple of weeks ago. In Bermuda there are tons of stray cats kicking around and they are a menace and have diseases such as cat AIDS (I had no idea there is such a thing). So there is an agency called the Bermuda Feline Assistance Agency which goes around and catches and kills the cats. Kind of mean but I guess what can you do. So they have a few stray cats on this property my client manages and they rip up garbage and stuff and they are dirty, dirty cats. So instead of ignoring them or calling BFAB, this lady started feeding them. Oh well, apparently she is supposed to be wicked at coloring hair!!!! As long as she cleans her hands first!
That night I got all dressed up and went to the Elbow Beach Hotel for our convocation ceremony. I thought it was weird that they included us in the ceremony as I took my exam in Canada but the ceremony would've been very lame if they didn't include the off island graduates as only one Bermudian passed the Chartered Accountancy exam this last year out of the four that wrote the exam. Craziness! I can't believe that more people don't make it through because if you have your CA designation here, you are sitting on a goldmine. But I guess it goes back to the lack of value the youth of Bermuda have for education (read my last post regarding the drop-out rate from high school). I got drunk off of the table wine and then busted a massive move on the dancefloor. I got the DJ to play Soldier Boy (as I always do) and then did the soldier boy dance.
After the convocation dinner and dance, I went to my friends housewarming party and played Rock Band. I sang for a bit and then moved on to the drums. The drums are frickin' hard. Seriously. I was on easy and I was struggling majorly! I think everyone kept their shirts on that night....so that was a first!
Yesterday one of the partners at my firm gave me and the boyfriend tickets to the Bermuda XL Open round 1 tennis match. They were box seats and came with free drinks! So I ended up getting impromptu drunk (which is something I usually avoid like the plague because I can't handle the hangover at work and also it is counterproductive to waking up and going to the gym in the morning). I think I only had like 4 or 5 drinks but they pour them so strong here. I haven't seen any bartender do anything other than free-pour since getting here! I kind of remember having a conversation with my co-workers involving fingers and butt-holes and I remember drunkin calling my sister at her work (Canada is 3 hours earlier in time than Bermuda). I also made the boyfriend make me quasadillas and crackers and cheese when I got home! Needless to say, I didn't make it to the gym this morning and I had a major headache all day! That'll teach me not to drink on a weeknight again anytime soon!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
10 Intricacies of the Island
Bermuda is very much the same but very different than Canada. You can get all the modern necessities of home (good cable, internet, etc.) but it costs a bunch more. For example, I pay $130/month for internet that I could get at home for $35.
Some other weird things about the island:
1. Lots of locals like to get their nails done in hideously long acrylics with horrible multi-color designs. Seriously how the hell do they type or work a cash register with those things. They just aren't practical!
2. Grocery stores suck here. All the stores are pretty much like the Asian/Indian corner stores you have at home (you know the ones where they go to Superstore and buy a bunch of shit and sell it back to you for jacked-up prices) except for Lindos. That grocery store is almost like one at home but their produce is horrendous and it keeps pretty much the same hours as a bank.
3. The locals accents sound like a mix of ghetto and British. It is quite funny.
4. Even though this island is only 23 miles long, most people will refuse to go to Sommerset or to St. George which is basically the equivalent of leaving the downtown core in Cowtown. Some cabs sometimes refuse to go to those areas because "they don't have enough gas". I find myself falling into the trap of the locals (sticking near the middle of the island). To see what I am talking about see this map.
5. The high school drop-out rate here is staggering. Apparently about 50% of kids who start high school, won't finish! That's crazy. At home, there are only a few fuck-ups that don't make it through but in Bermuda, the fuck-ups are close to the majority.
6. People, even customer service people, get pissed off if you don't start you question with "Hi, how are you?" before asking for something. I kind of like this about Bermuda. We should start this at home.
7. There is a dude here named Johnny Barnes, that gets up every morning at 4:30am and goes to the main roundabout before downtown Hamilton and waves and yells "Hello" and "I love you" to all the passerbys. He has been doing this, rain or shine, for 67 years. I heard he once checked himself out of the hospital one morning (when he was an inpatient) to go to the roundabout. The city recently gave him a community service award for this and they have built a statue of him. In Cowtown they would just arrest him because they thought he was crazy. He makes me smile every morning and I wouldn't trade him for the world.
8. In Bermuda there are 3 lanes of traffic. 2 oncomings and 1 middle lane which the bikes go down. It is great if you are on a bike though because you can zoom through a long ass line of cars. It is scary to do, especially on Middle Road, because the roads are so tight and they are surrounded by rock walls. Also, people use their horns to say hello to their friends, neighbors, etc rather than alert someone that they are doing something wrong. It takes a little getting used to and sometimes, when I am actually getting honked at due to my inferior driving skills, I don't even realize it.
9. At my work here and in social settings, it is customary, when the whole work goes out for lunch, to split the bills evenly among everyone. Who cares who got the alcoholic beverages or who ordered a steak; it get split right down the middle. I find this weird because in addition to my firm not covering any meals (which is quite a change from the 1-2 eating out meals I would have on my old firm in Cowtown), I have to foot the bill for people who eat a lot more than me. I think the boyfriend likes this because he usually ends up ordering the most expensive beef dish on the whole menu even when he is paying for himself.
10. You can't buy alcohol here after 9pm or on Sundays (unless you go to a restaurant). I guess its because of the large population of religious people on the island. There are also no casinos. There is one gambling establishment that give you 90 cents on the dollar of everything you win (because they have to pay the rest to the government).
Update: I just drove past a bus that said "Barnes Corner" on it. The awesome waving guy even has his own bus route. You go lil dude!
Some other weird things about the island:
1. Lots of locals like to get their nails done in hideously long acrylics with horrible multi-color designs. Seriously how the hell do they type or work a cash register with those things. They just aren't practical!
2. Grocery stores suck here. All the stores are pretty much like the Asian/Indian corner stores you have at home (you know the ones where they go to Superstore and buy a bunch of shit and sell it back to you for jacked-up prices) except for Lindos. That grocery store is almost like one at home but their produce is horrendous and it keeps pretty much the same hours as a bank.
3. The locals accents sound like a mix of ghetto and British. It is quite funny.
4. Even though this island is only 23 miles long, most people will refuse to go to Sommerset or to St. George which is basically the equivalent of leaving the downtown core in Cowtown. Some cabs sometimes refuse to go to those areas because "they don't have enough gas". I find myself falling into the trap of the locals (sticking near the middle of the island). To see what I am talking about see this map.
5. The high school drop-out rate here is staggering. Apparently about 50% of kids who start high school, won't finish! That's crazy. At home, there are only a few fuck-ups that don't make it through but in Bermuda, the fuck-ups are close to the majority.
6. People, even customer service people, get pissed off if you don't start you question with "Hi, how are you?" before asking for something. I kind of like this about Bermuda. We should start this at home.
7. There is a dude here named Johnny Barnes, that gets up every morning at 4:30am and goes to the main roundabout before downtown Hamilton and waves and yells "Hello" and "I love you" to all the passerbys. He has been doing this, rain or shine, for 67 years. I heard he once checked himself out of the hospital one morning (when he was an inpatient) to go to the roundabout. The city recently gave him a community service award for this and they have built a statue of him. In Cowtown they would just arrest him because they thought he was crazy. He makes me smile every morning and I wouldn't trade him for the world.
8. In Bermuda there are 3 lanes of traffic. 2 oncomings and 1 middle lane which the bikes go down. It is great if you are on a bike though because you can zoom through a long ass line of cars. It is scary to do, especially on Middle Road, because the roads are so tight and they are surrounded by rock walls. Also, people use their horns to say hello to their friends, neighbors, etc rather than alert someone that they are doing something wrong. It takes a little getting used to and sometimes, when I am actually getting honked at due to my inferior driving skills, I don't even realize it.
9. At my work here and in social settings, it is customary, when the whole work goes out for lunch, to split the bills evenly among everyone. Who cares who got the alcoholic beverages or who ordered a steak; it get split right down the middle. I find this weird because in addition to my firm not covering any meals (which is quite a change from the 1-2 eating out meals I would have on my old firm in Cowtown), I have to foot the bill for people who eat a lot more than me. I think the boyfriend likes this because he usually ends up ordering the most expensive beef dish on the whole menu even when he is paying for himself.
10. You can't buy alcohol here after 9pm or on Sundays (unless you go to a restaurant). I guess its because of the large population of religious people on the island. There are also no casinos. There is one gambling establishment that give you 90 cents on the dollar of everything you win (because they have to pay the rest to the government).
Update: I just drove past a bus that said "Barnes Corner" on it. The awesome waving guy even has his own bus route. You go lil dude!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Catching Y'all Up on My Life
Well the last couple of weekends has been filled with a lot of Karaoke and Yoga. Yah...good combination! The weekend before last my work had a Karaoke party. Why Karaoke you ask? Well since over half my office is staffed by a bunch a sweetheart Filipinos and Filipinos go with Karaoke like white on rice. I thought Karaoke was more a Japanese thing, but I am informed that it is an all around Asian thing. I wish I was born Asian because as well as having a naturally slimmer body, I would get to hold regular Karaoke-thons at my house!
At the party, no one, and I mean no one, was singing at the beginning. So I ended up singing quite a lot of songs in a row. I am not a particularly amazing singer but I can keep on pitch (so I don't think I quite hurt anyone's ears). I ended up signing a bunch of stupid songs (i.e. Spice Girls Wannabe) but ended with a wonderful rendition of Love Shack with one of the partners at our firm. I was a great time and almost everyone got up by the end of the night to sing. I was kinda pissed off because I didn't even get a pity vote from the boyfriend for best performance. The best performance went to the only person that could actually sing at our firms (one of the Filipino girls). After the party we headed to an Irish pub to spend the last night with the guy who's going away party I had attended the night before. For some reason, all the boys took off their shirts. I usually wouldn't complain.....but you'd know what I was talking about with these guys. Someone needs to introduce them all to wax. "Hi wax....this is my friend BACK HAIR!"
On Saturday night I ended up going to the Folk Club which is held once a month. It's basically an open mic night where anyone can go up and play guitar and sing some songs. I had gone to go see my friends play but showed up too late and had missed them. There were tons of really cute old men singing songs. One even put on an Elvis wig and sunglasses to sing a song. It was a wicked night because they play on an outdoor stage and the drinks were decently priced. I will definitely have to catch the next show.
Last weekend, on Friday, I attended the first happy hour of the summer at the Hamilton Princess. I had heard rumors about how this is the best part of Bermuda...so I of course had to check it out. As large outdoor spaces are at a mint in Bermuda (try to stuff that many people downtown on such a small island) but the Princess has a huge open courtyard that they hold the happy hours at. Happy hours at home usually mean cheap drinks, so it kind of sucked to pay $7 a drink but the atmosphere was wicked. They had a live band, the weather was great and they poured the drinks strong.
I stayed there only for a little while because we headed over to the Irish bar to attend a triple-threat birthday (for 3 of the guys that i hang out with frequently). Again they had a Karaoke machine. The song list for this machine sucked ass! Half the book was filled with country (yo we are in Bermuda not in Cowtown!) and there was nothing past 1999. Since there was a large number of friends there (not just nice Filipinos and some other random work people) so I was a little shier this time. I wanted to find the perfect stupid song to sing as I was not about to test out a song where you need to sing well with this group. I was hoping for Sir Mixalot's Baby's Got Back but had to Settle for Ganstas Paradise. I laid down. I am so white that I am black yo! I also rapped Vanilla Ice's Ice Ice Baby later on. I had a great time that night with much too much drinking. But pretty much everyone turned up!
On Saturday I played in a Rugby tournament. I was hoping to pull off another 5 tries but alas I only got one. The girls seemed to be much more on the ball this time (and I sat off the first half of the first game). After the game we went to the Robin Hood and a couple of drinks (they had sponsored the tourney) and hung out. I found out that the girls from my rugby team do a yearly "tour". I thought that meant that they go down to somewhere and play rugby. I later found out that it is a bonding trip that involved no rugby. We are going to New York for Labour Day weekend. I can't wait. Screw the rugby! I can't wait to go out in New York!
Other than that I have still been keeping up with my training for the half marathon I am running on May 26th. I have never done a half marathon before because of my knee (I have IT Band Syndrome which makes it feel like someone is stabbing my knee with a knife if I run for longer than 30 minutes). But I have been doing a bunch of exercises that I was given by my physiotherapist last year and my knee has been holding up really well. The longest I have run so far is 7 miles. I am only going to run up to about 9 miles before the race because apparently with all the adrenaline you can make it the full 12 miles, therefore you don't need to run the full distance during training. I have about 5 and 1/2 more weeks of training.
I also started two yoga classes. The first class was on the suggestion of a client I have here. It is a type of yoga that I had never heard of called Iyengar Yoga. It is very strict. My experience, in the past, has been with Ashtanga which is strict in the sense of the series of poses you do (they are done in a certain order and are held for a certain amount of breaths) but Iyengar Yoga is strict in how you actually do the poses. So I had to start at the very bottom. I am the most flexible person in my class which is funny because I can't even touch my toes. We use a lot of props (chairs, blocks, blankets, bolsters) in the class so that everyone can do the poses. I think that the props will eventually disappear after we train our muscles to hold the poses themselves. The class is taught by a senior citizen lady with 25 year old boobs. She seriously has a sweet rack! I like it so far. I am an anal type person (not bum sex but I like structure) and this is an anal type yoga. I am also taking a yoga class at the aquarium. It is just the regular type of yoga (a Vinyasa Flow class) but the location is awesome. We do yoga right in the middle of all the giant fish tanks. It's a more challenging class (the Iyengar class is not a very good workout so far because you spend more time watching the teacher and being adjusted, than actually in the poses) and it helps that the instructor is pretty damn hot. I sometimes purposely screw poses up so that he comes and adjusts me! Allegedly he's married (not that I really care).
This weekend we are having some friends over for ribs (the boyfriend cooks some mean ribs), I am getting my hair dyed (I haven't gotten it dyed since I got here! Eeek!) and I am going to my convocation for becoming a Chartered Accountant. Should be a good time!
At the party, no one, and I mean no one, was singing at the beginning. So I ended up singing quite a lot of songs in a row. I am not a particularly amazing singer but I can keep on pitch (so I don't think I quite hurt anyone's ears). I ended up signing a bunch of stupid songs (i.e. Spice Girls Wannabe) but ended with a wonderful rendition of Love Shack with one of the partners at our firm. I was a great time and almost everyone got up by the end of the night to sing. I was kinda pissed off because I didn't even get a pity vote from the boyfriend for best performance. The best performance went to the only person that could actually sing at our firms (one of the Filipino girls). After the party we headed to an Irish pub to spend the last night with the guy who's going away party I had attended the night before. For some reason, all the boys took off their shirts. I usually wouldn't complain.....but you'd know what I was talking about with these guys. Someone needs to introduce them all to wax. "Hi wax....this is my friend BACK HAIR!"
On Saturday night I ended up going to the Folk Club which is held once a month. It's basically an open mic night where anyone can go up and play guitar and sing some songs. I had gone to go see my friends play but showed up too late and had missed them. There were tons of really cute old men singing songs. One even put on an Elvis wig and sunglasses to sing a song. It was a wicked night because they play on an outdoor stage and the drinks were decently priced. I will definitely have to catch the next show.
Last weekend, on Friday, I attended the first happy hour of the summer at the Hamilton Princess. I had heard rumors about how this is the best part of Bermuda...so I of course had to check it out. As large outdoor spaces are at a mint in Bermuda (try to stuff that many people downtown on such a small island) but the Princess has a huge open courtyard that they hold the happy hours at. Happy hours at home usually mean cheap drinks, so it kind of sucked to pay $7 a drink but the atmosphere was wicked. They had a live band, the weather was great and they poured the drinks strong.
I stayed there only for a little while because we headed over to the Irish bar to attend a triple-threat birthday (for 3 of the guys that i hang out with frequently). Again they had a Karaoke machine. The song list for this machine sucked ass! Half the book was filled with country (yo we are in Bermuda not in Cowtown!) and there was nothing past 1999. Since there was a large number of friends there (not just nice Filipinos and some other random work people) so I was a little shier this time. I wanted to find the perfect stupid song to sing as I was not about to test out a song where you need to sing well with this group. I was hoping for Sir Mixalot's Baby's Got Back but had to Settle for Ganstas Paradise. I laid down. I am so white that I am black yo! I also rapped Vanilla Ice's Ice Ice Baby later on. I had a great time that night with much too much drinking. But pretty much everyone turned up!
On Saturday I played in a Rugby tournament. I was hoping to pull off another 5 tries but alas I only got one. The girls seemed to be much more on the ball this time (and I sat off the first half of the first game). After the game we went to the Robin Hood and a couple of drinks (they had sponsored the tourney) and hung out. I found out that the girls from my rugby team do a yearly "tour". I thought that meant that they go down to somewhere and play rugby. I later found out that it is a bonding trip that involved no rugby. We are going to New York for Labour Day weekend. I can't wait. Screw the rugby! I can't wait to go out in New York!
Other than that I have still been keeping up with my training for the half marathon I am running on May 26th. I have never done a half marathon before because of my knee (I have IT Band Syndrome which makes it feel like someone is stabbing my knee with a knife if I run for longer than 30 minutes). But I have been doing a bunch of exercises that I was given by my physiotherapist last year and my knee has been holding up really well. The longest I have run so far is 7 miles. I am only going to run up to about 9 miles before the race because apparently with all the adrenaline you can make it the full 12 miles, therefore you don't need to run the full distance during training. I have about 5 and 1/2 more weeks of training.
I also started two yoga classes. The first class was on the suggestion of a client I have here. It is a type of yoga that I had never heard of called Iyengar Yoga. It is very strict. My experience, in the past, has been with Ashtanga which is strict in the sense of the series of poses you do (they are done in a certain order and are held for a certain amount of breaths) but Iyengar Yoga is strict in how you actually do the poses. So I had to start at the very bottom. I am the most flexible person in my class which is funny because I can't even touch my toes. We use a lot of props (chairs, blocks, blankets, bolsters) in the class so that everyone can do the poses. I think that the props will eventually disappear after we train our muscles to hold the poses themselves. The class is taught by a senior citizen lady with 25 year old boobs. She seriously has a sweet rack! I like it so far. I am an anal type person (not bum sex but I like structure) and this is an anal type yoga. I am also taking a yoga class at the aquarium. It is just the regular type of yoga (a Vinyasa Flow class) but the location is awesome. We do yoga right in the middle of all the giant fish tanks. It's a more challenging class (the Iyengar class is not a very good workout so far because you spend more time watching the teacher and being adjusted, than actually in the poses) and it helps that the instructor is pretty damn hot. I sometimes purposely screw poses up so that he comes and adjusts me! Allegedly he's married (not that I really care).
This weekend we are having some friends over for ribs (the boyfriend cooks some mean ribs), I am getting my hair dyed (I haven't gotten it dyed since I got here! Eeek!) and I am going to my convocation for becoming a Chartered Accountant. Should be a good time!
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Beach Party in March! LOVE IT!
Sorry this is a bit late, considering the next weekend is starting very soon, but I thought I should recap my last weekend. Friday was pretty fun. Me and the boyfriend went for a couple of drinks after work and then ended up getting drunk at home just the two of us. Why? Because we can! It was a fun night of randomly dancing and generally being silly. I enjoyed it thorougly.
On Saturday I spent the entire day trying to convince myself to go for a 6 mile run (as was on my half-marathon training schedule) but finally got around to doing it. I ended up getting a nice sunburn on my face and shoulders but at least I got the run in. I have to run 7 miles this weekend which I am definitely not looking forward to at all! On Saturday night we went to a beach party on the property of one of the partners at the accounting firm I work at. I was a going-away party for this really fun guy whom I didn't get to know that well as I have only been on the island for 3 months (one of which he was in Canada for). He's an awesome guy though and I will be sad to see him go, despite the unfamiliarity. The party was awesome. Picture 30 people sitting around a fire on a secluded white sand beach in March!!!! That wouldn't happen at home.
I figured that someone was going to burn themselves at some point during the time (as everyone was grabbing random pieces of wood and even an abandoned Christmas tree and throwing it in the fire) but the accident de la soir was a girl tripping over coral and bustin her knee open. Usually I cannot look at such stuff, but I glanced over, unaware of what was going on (before it was too late) and saw this gal's knee. It was disgusting. I don't want to go into details, but she fell so hard that it looked like someone had taken an axe to her knee. The poor dear had only moved to the island about a week ago so I hope to god her medical insurance had kicked in. I heard she had 23 internal stitches and 3 external ones to seal up the wound. The weird thing is that she was very calm; even when the ambulance came. I hope she is okay now (I didn't really know who she was).
Sunday was pretty lazy but me and a friend caught a Bermuda Film Festival movie called XXY. It was a very controversial subject but a really good movie. I highly recommend it. On Monday and Tuesday I saw another two really good movies called OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies and a movie called Young People Fucking. The best movie I saw from the film fest was the Young People Fucking movie. First, it was by a Canadian and next, how can you not like a movie with a title like that. Actually, truth be told, it was a brilliant movie. Basically followed 5 groups of people (I say groups because one is a pair plus one!) through one sexual encounter. Very awkward but a good laugh!
This weekend should be a good time too. Going to go to a Karaoke party with work and for a fancy dinner on Saturday night. The party should be fun, as I work with a bunch of quiet Filipinos who apparently are known to let loose when it comes to Karaoke. Can't wait. Should be amusing to say the least.
On Saturday I spent the entire day trying to convince myself to go for a 6 mile run (as was on my half-marathon training schedule) but finally got around to doing it. I ended up getting a nice sunburn on my face and shoulders but at least I got the run in. I have to run 7 miles this weekend which I am definitely not looking forward to at all! On Saturday night we went to a beach party on the property of one of the partners at the accounting firm I work at. I was a going-away party for this really fun guy whom I didn't get to know that well as I have only been on the island for 3 months (one of which he was in Canada for). He's an awesome guy though and I will be sad to see him go, despite the unfamiliarity. The party was awesome. Picture 30 people sitting around a fire on a secluded white sand beach in March!!!! That wouldn't happen at home.
I figured that someone was going to burn themselves at some point during the time (as everyone was grabbing random pieces of wood and even an abandoned Christmas tree and throwing it in the fire) but the accident de la soir was a girl tripping over coral and bustin her knee open. Usually I cannot look at such stuff, but I glanced over, unaware of what was going on (before it was too late) and saw this gal's knee. It was disgusting. I don't want to go into details, but she fell so hard that it looked like someone had taken an axe to her knee. The poor dear had only moved to the island about a week ago so I hope to god her medical insurance had kicked in. I heard she had 23 internal stitches and 3 external ones to seal up the wound. The weird thing is that she was very calm; even when the ambulance came. I hope she is okay now (I didn't really know who she was).
Sunday was pretty lazy but me and a friend caught a Bermuda Film Festival movie called XXY. It was a very controversial subject but a really good movie. I highly recommend it. On Monday and Tuesday I saw another two really good movies called OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies and a movie called Young People Fucking. The best movie I saw from the film fest was the Young People Fucking movie. First, it was by a Canadian and next, how can you not like a movie with a title like that. Actually, truth be told, it was a brilliant movie. Basically followed 5 groups of people (I say groups because one is a pair plus one!) through one sexual encounter. Very awkward but a good laugh!
This weekend should be a good time too. Going to go to a Karaoke party with work and for a fancy dinner on Saturday night. The party should be fun, as I work with a bunch of quiet Filipinos who apparently are known to let loose when it comes to Karaoke. Can't wait. Should be amusing to say the least.
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