To Toronto and back

After a marvelous weekend at home, I am now back in the homely town of Ottawa. That weekend flew by! One minute I was sitting on the couch conquering a sushi platter with my mom, and the next, I'm back here brushing my teeth in the shared washroom while trying not to look at the mysterious brown stains on the counter.

I spent the entire weekend catching up with my mom who finally returned from Hong Kong. I got presents and you know what that means? She does love me! Oh boy! I got:

1. a new recorder for doing interviews (my old one, as I'm sure you've all seen, is reminiscent of a much earlier era). This one has a screen that lights up! AND I can record interviews over the phone! Best day ever!
2. rockin' pink headphones that block out all sound. It's a must when you're rooming with Kitty. She likes to sing and the quality varies.
3. Cookie Monster earphones, which soon became just Cookie Monster because the earphones that were attached to it didn't hold up very well. They tried to make them high tech, with a recoiling feature to let them disappearing inside the Cookie Monster. That poor recoiling gadget didn't last very long at all. I salvaged the Cookie Monster but I'm afraid the earphones didn't make it.
4. a pink mini kettle. It's sitting on my desk now. While people are bringing things home from res, I am still bringing things in. We'll deal with that when it's time to move out in a few weeks.
5. hand warmers that come in an elephant pouch. It's so cute, you know it has to be from Hong Kong.
6. a giant raisin bun. That was courtesy of my grandma who insisted that I would miss the bread from Hong Kong and made my mom smuggle a whole loaf of raisin bread back to Canada just for me. It's the thought that counts.
7. stationery! There's a Muji for a reason. I also got pens shaped like chopsticks holding a giant piece of sushi. That's all coming in the mail. My mom tried to mail it to me so I could get it earlier but Canada Post is extremely slow. I also got ink refills! (I get excited about these things. Just go with it.)

But of course, I didn't just go home for the presents. I went home for my Marmee's company. We watched so many movies. Three Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra movies: On the Town (one of my new favourites), Anchors Aweigh, and Take Me out to the Ballgame. We also watched Guys and Dolls with Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando. It was great! They just don't make movies like they used to.

It's the homestretch now. In a few more weeks, it'll be exams and then the beautiful freedom of summer. And just like that, first year would be over. In the words of that immortal bard, Robin Hood Daffy Duck, as he was poised at top of a tree with jungle vine in hand, "Yoiks and away!"