Well I missed the earthquake as I spent my lunchtime at the law library Downtown. Apparently our building was affected and there was some sort of mad dash down the stairs with shoving and the whole works. That just tells you, if there really WAS an emergency good luck getting out of our building safely!

Aside from the earthquake I also went for a fitting for my robes. It turns out that my firm does pay for robes if you plan on using them. Which, well, I do. You always hope so anyway. It was actually a lot quicker than I expected and the tailor tipped me off about Theory suits. I love Theory but it's ssoooo expensive! I think it's even one step above Judith & Charles. Wow ok... n/m, I just checked their website. I don't know if the guy knew about J&C, it is formerly TeenFlo. I guess I should have mentioned that to him because J&C is on par with Theory. I guess that's why Theory and J&C both appeal to me except J&C is at least Canadian and I think all of their stuff is made in Canada. Oh well. I guess I'll stick with J&C, their suits really work best for me. The cuts are PERFECT. No need for any extra tailoring.

Ok, moving on...

I also realized today that I have been super social lately. It's kind of nice to spend some time with friends. I also got my hair done and spent some time with my hairdresser who is also becoming a friend and therapist. I think the therapist part comes from being a hairdresser, the friend part comes from just her being who she is. RE hair, I went back to a darker color with layers. I really liked it and got a whole bunch of compliments on it. I was aiming more for Catherine Middleton but ended up with something more like Blair Waldorf. Which is also great because I was between the two and I guess the hair spoke for itself. I'm super happy with it. It's a darker, chocolate brown and very rich looking. I just wish it was longer. I think dark hair looks best when it's long.

RE the hairdresser part... I have to come up with a good nickname for her.

Today I went out with PIP. He commented on my hair as well. I love PIP. He's the best. It was so nice to see him again. The receptionist at the office asked him if he was "my guy", or something like that. I told him he should have said yes. That would have been so funny. I'm also fairly certain she's already met Red so that makes it even funnier. I would love to go somewhere fun with PIP again, like Hawaii, Vegars or NY. Once the wedding is over I'm hoping Red and I will have a bit of extra money for little impromptu trips like that. PIP and I travel well together. Or at least, we've been on one trip, we haven't killed each other and we're still friends. I take that as a very good sign.

In sum though, and this is no big secret, I'm quite emotionally immature and also quite selfish, and spending time with friends who have more experience than me in that area really helps me feel grounded.

Two entries in one day? Oh no! Whatever shall we do.

I can't help myself, I came across this link and I am going on cuteness overload here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/60306391/the-ultimate-boston-terrier-star-wars

I am using this guy as my MSN icon:

This is what happens when you start a new job. No wait, this is what happens when you start a law job: all of a sudden your life is no longer your own. It's like you're on call 24/7. Law students and med students must have a lot in common. Now, I don't really mind that as long as I'm working at a place I like with people I like doing what I like, and at the moment, I can't complain... though I do need to come up with a new "work/job" icon.

Take today for instance. Today was hilarious. I went to the Van. Courthouse library early, so early in fact that the parkade was barely open. I drive in and am perplexed for a few seconds because the place I normally drive right through doesn't seem to exist. There's a wall there instead. I finally realize that it's actually a metal garage door. So I keep driving and end up in the parking lot but on the provincial court side. Ok, fine. I get out of there and walk across the street (which is no easy task in DT with all the construction). I'm on the other side now, I walk in... the library is closed. Thankfully before I can make my way downstairs to get a pass the library opens, yuppee!

I get in with my phone in one hand and my computer and everything else in the other. I'm getting emails I'm expecting left right and center with requests to print and locate cases for a hearing - I don't have a copy card. This is the first time I make myself known to the Resource Desk staff. I quickly fill out the firm copy card form, go back and realize I can't print anything because I can't open the files I need on the library computers! So 10 minutes of wrangling with email and everything else (I think I ended up sending and resending stuff to 3 different email addresses), I finally gave up and went to ask the Resource Desk to help me find some cases. They are more than willing and the girl there finds the cases I want (one was from like 1885 or something like that) in less than 5 minutes. Incidentally one of the tomes she gives me looks like the Twelve South "BookBook" case I ordered for my MBA (photos to follow). I'm super thankful and walk away books in hand. I sit down to print now (for the 2nd time), unbeknown to me, at some ancient printer, probably equally as aged as the tomes I'm in possession of at the moment.

The thing takes forever to print one page and then pauses for 30 seconds between pages. It finally put itself out of its misery by giving me a "paper error". I have to seek help from the Resource Desk staff AGAIN. The girl comes over, she can't fix the printer. I'm happy as I take this as a sign to find a faster printer.

I am finally able to print what I need and now off I go to make multiple copies of my bundle. So bundle, books and everything else in hand I walk off to the copy room. The only copier with a feeder is out of paper. I am going nuts. I have to go up to the Resource Desk yet again. I actually say to the girl this time, "You must be getting tired of me."

Finally all is well and I'm down to copying the 2 aged tomes. I'm marveling at the 1800's one as I turn the pages and place each one on the bed of the photocopier. It's gorgeous, suddenly "rrriiipppp...". Oh s***! I hope no one saw that. I have to be more careful, cripes, "scrunch"... "tear". Seriously???

C'est la vie.

Red's at work. I have the day off today so I decided to make the best of it and do a fashion update. What better way to cheer oneself up than to go shopping or else shop in one's closet. The following is a nice collection I've acquired over the past few weeks at either Aritzia or Stella Bleu, a local boutique. Absolutely adorable clothes, accessories and jewelry. Can't say enough about it. Most of it are French Connection but some local designers as well. So here goes!

• Blazer: Teenflo (now Judith and Charles)


• Tank: Aritzia


• Skirt: Aritzia


• Shoes: Nine West, Barbie

• Tank: Aritzia


• Skirt: French Connection


• Accessory: the adorable Deej

• Tank: Aritzia


• Scarf: French Connection


• Cardi: Rachel Mara, Canada (Stella Bleu)


• Pants: Yoga skinny jean


• Shoes: Christian Dior

• Dress: Pink Martini


• Belt: Unknown (Stella Bleu)


• Shoes: Nine West, Barbie

• Tank: Aritzia


• Top: French Connection


• Jeans: True Religion

• Wrap: Press (Stella Bleu)

• The accessories featured in today's photo shoot, including the Tiffany Notes locket on a 36" Oval link chain.

Bandit
I was reminded that "Good Friday" is really a misnomer. My poor poor childhood doggie decided to leave us on that day. It was gorgeous out and I wish I could have had one last time with him. My mom called me early in the morning and although I got ready to leave I hoped she would call to say that he'd be fine and that it was all a false alarm. Alas, it was not to be for when I returned from my walk with the Deej she told me to go to the vet. Red came with me, and the Deej. I didn't make it in time to say my final farewell. I wanted to hold him that last time, to make sure he wasn't alone, just as he always made sure i wasn't alone so many years ago, but his little body gave out 40 minutes before I arrived. He died in his sleep though. I took a lock of his hair back to my parents. It was such a sad day because he had been with us for so long. He had been with me through the worst parts of teen life. I knew that when I moved out there was no way I could take him because my parents wouldn't let me, but I always secretly hoped that he knew I wanted to, and that I missed him most of all when I left. I was glad that Red and the Deej were there. On the way back I told Red that it's not a goodbye, it's a see you later.

The next day Red and I did our regular fare. Run along the estuary path, breakfast at a beach cafe, a walk in the park, artisan bread and cookies, and coffee at another cafe near the beach. A perfect day, if not for the previous one. I told FF what had happened the day before, but not Red's parents. I didn't want to ruin their day. I know they'd be upset. At one point in the park, while we were walking through the trees, Red and I got separated from the rest of the group. The Deej scampered ahead and we lost sight of him. Suddenly we heard a loud humming sound, like a cicada, and a little bee-looking thing dive bombed us. I took my sunglasses off in the hopes of getting a better look. Initially I thought it was a bee, then maybe some sort of mechanical thing, but it was too fast, and it buzzed like crazy. Then it hovered half a foot above the ground and it was still difficult to get a good glimpse of. It had a tiny brown body, and in the silence of the forest the hum of its wings was startlingly deafening. As it flew past one last time I realized that it must have been a hummingbird.

I told Red that in Aboriginal culture hummingbirds are believed to carry the spirits of the dead. Maybe Bandit was sending a message. If he was he seemed happy and playful. I silently told him, thank you, that I got the message, and that wherever he was he seemed happy.

Sun Run 2011
I did the 10K run last Sunday. I hated having to get up at 6 am to get into Vancouver for the run but it was a lot more fun than I expected. Although we signed up for the firm team I ended up running with FF and her husband, Red's brother. I ended up dodging people for an extra 700 meters, my watch stopped on one occasion because I actually stopped moving, I practically walked the first 3K because the crowds were so thick yet I still managed to squeak by i must under 1 hour. Percentage wise I was in the 55.22% for my age group, hehehe. Not that great but not bad for a 50,000 participant race.

Other
My parents are renovating their home and their place is in shambles at the moment so we invited them over to our house yesterday for Easter. Lots of food. A bit annoying because the game was on and we ended up losing. I think the game distracted everyone, although that may not have been a terrible thing. My mom kept asking me irritating questions about work. I know she means well but work was the last thing I wanted to talk about.

I would have to do a separate post about work. I've had a few interesting mishaps. That will have to wait for later. In the meantime, work is just... well... work. At the moment I'm ambivalent about it for various reasons, possibly all of them having to do with articling.

Finally my two greatest passions: travel and fashion. Red and I are planning a small trip to Vegas. Hopefully I can pick up a few fun items while I'm there, like a new pair of Ray Bans (photos to follow). We wanted to go to NY but won't be able to make it this year for monetary reasons. But Vegas should be fun. I also did some damage at my favourite local boutique, twice. I will have to post the finds, they are exquisite. Uhhhh... And I forgot my Aritzia romp. I wish I could raid the boutique's jewelry finds but alas my sights have been set on Tiffany's and that is all I've been wearing lately.

P.S. I am typing this on the iPad. As this is my first attempt, please forgive any spelling or grammar mishaps, Apple products are famous for those.

I'm taking a break from my workout routine after the 1/2 marathon this past Sunday and am, admittedly, going a bit out of my mind. All I can think about is running. Thankfully it' been snowing so it's nearly impossible to run outside.

So here's a little tid bit from my latest musings: why is it that as a people we've pretty much convinced ourselves that running is bad for us? And only now, and very slowly, are we crawling out of the dark ages? And I mean, VERY slowly.

I'm sick and tired of people saying stuff like, oh I can't run because [insert reason here]. USUALLY it's, I'm too old, I'm pregnant, or I don't want to wear out my knees/hips, etc. Usually this follows a previous tirade about how I'M going to wear out MY hips/knees and generally die a horrible horrible death if I keep running. I mean really? Don't self-diagnose. Self-diagnosing is bad for you. If you want a diagnosis go see a sports doctor. God forbid you see your family physician (unless they are also a runner). Your well meaning but backward family physician likely contributed to your misguided perception.

During my many walks and runs around this city I can assure you I've seen some INCREDIBLY old people running, I live in White Rock after all. I've also seen a pregnant person running in North Vancouver. I've seen fat people, skinny people, you name it. And if you think you're somehow so different that you CAN'T do it you're fooling yourself - unless you get the pink slip from the RIGHT doctor, you're not sick so shut up and run (though if you've never ran before I suggest walking first).

I'm so elated. Yesterday I wrote the last Bar exam. It was a fantastic day and a fantastic moment. The first exam was a bit tough. I was nervous as I had never written an exam in this format before, thankfully knowing everyone else was in the same boat as me made it a little easier. The second exam, although a lot trickier, was a lot easier than the first because I already knew what I was getting into. My last thought just before Helen told us to start was something along the lines of, oh crap, I REALLY don't want to go through 3 more hours of hell. But there you have it. I finished. It's all over. We celebrated with a champagne toast at the end, thanks to Ryan.

Then I took off to run some errands. I went to the mall first because I forgot my makeup bag at home and along with it my chap stick, so I decided to go to the Body Shop to pick something out. They were having a 2 for 1 so I grabbed a few things then meandered my way up and down talking to Red on the phone and at some point ended up in the Coach store. I went in there really to look at the bags I was looking at online and ended up walking out with one! I mean, it's a gorgeous bag but I certainly didn't go in there to buy one, although it all somehow made sense in my head since I start work on Monday and technically don't really have a work bag. I always used something previously (either one of my regular casual bags or my Lululemon bag), but that was for casual work and in-between jobs. Plus I guess it was a great way to treat myself. I love my bag though, mmmm... I'll have to take some lovely photos of my recent purchases. I then went down to the New Balance store to pick up FF's and mine race packages then grabbed some teas for both of us and headed to her workplace.

Meanwhile I phoned my principal to ask her when I should come in. I'm so excited. I can't wait to start, and also to see the new office. When I picked up FF we drove around UBC a bit to get a feel for the race route and then we headed home. Then we went for a nice run in cold weather. It started snowing a bit but it was fun. I was so wired I BADLY needed that run. It was a crazy day. A lot of fun. Lots of adrenaline.

I slept in today and woke up at some point thinking I should be doing SOMETHING, studying or something. It felt great not to have to do that although I don't think I'm quite down from all the studying I've been doing over the past week and a half. We went to Sunflower as usual for lunch and a gorgeous walk in Crescent Beach park and now I feel tired. It snowed last night and it was simply gorgeous out. I felt like the world painted the scene for me just in time for me to be able to enjoy it peacefully (without having to think of studying or reading or homework or SOMETHING).

Tomorrow should be fun as well. FF and I are doing the UBC Fall Classic 1/2 marathon, and then Monday is the first day of work! Yey. I'll get to take my new bag out for a spin.

Some photos from the park:

I decided to divide this entry into topics for easier parsing and because I'm having a tough time focusing ring now. I've been taking it easy today but still feel kind of tired and lazy. I hate waking up at 5 am. It's just ridiculous.

PLTC

PLTC classes are finally over! Yey. I felt bad yesterday though, we had a little class get together and I just went home. I had a crappy morning. There was an accident in the tunnel and I was late for class. It was pretty annoying, and I just wanted to get home and work on my assignment. I don't think people understand how annoying commuting for 2 hours each way is. So I'm happy that I don't have to wake up at 5 anymore. I slept in today to make up for the lack of sleep. It was great. I still have one 2 last assessments to deal with. One is a contract that's due tomorrow by 9 am tomorrow, the other is this unrealistic and annoying client interview. Thankfully my interview has been scheduled for Monday afternoon and I'm super happy about that because I'll work on it until Monday then start studying for the exam on Tuesday. One of the girls in my class mentioned that someone said to spend 1 day to study each topic and there are 8 topics so that should give me plenty of time for the 2 exams on Tuesday and Thursday and I won't have to worry about assessments in the middle of all of that. It's almost over, yey! I'm so tired.

Personal

Still thinking about getting a tattoo. I've been looking at some beautiful Ben Houstie art. I love his hummingbirds. Wedding planning is going slowly and FF forbade me to think about stuff like dresses until after my exams. Rightly so. Red and I changed our date from the summer to October to avoid getting completely and utterly ripped off. I'm also thinking about going back to Hawai'i at some point. I would like to go during 1 of my 2 weeks off, even if it's on a super budget like when I went with Preston. That was a LOT of fun and it was just so relaxing. I think at some point both of us will need a vacation and I know he'd love to go back a well.

Food

I baked some AMAZING cupcakes for my mom's b-day. They were super quick and easy and absolutely to die for. I used vanilla white Duncan Hines mix and their cream cheese icing. I also filled each cupcake with cherry goo and finished with a cocktail cherry on top. The "When Cherry met Sally" cupcakes were to die for and like I said, if you're not making absolutely everything from scratch took me about 30 minutes to put together.



PS: The cupcake tree is from the Kitchen Corner in South Surrey. It was $21 and completely worth it. I'm going to use it for my Christmas cupcakes. I'm thinking of doing chocolate cupcakes filled with dark chocolate ganache with peppermint icing and decorated with little candy X-mas lights (Kitchen Corner carries many seasonal cupcake decorating goodies).

I also realized that I am completely in love with Thai Food. I've been eating Thai Food non-stop lately and am still not tired of it. A new Thai place opened in Surrey, Siam Thai, and we tried it out 2 weeks ago. It's not the best but not bad and I'm hoping they'll get better with time. Unfortunately they don't have vegetarian spring rolls which is a total bummer. I'm still in love with our Langley Thai place, it's the best, and Moon's designs Thai food (in White Rock). Mmm... Thai Food.

Shopping

I'll do a proper shopping post with all the goodies I bought traipsing through Yaletown on the way to PLTC. Yaletown is DEFINITELY the place to go if you want some amazingly beautiful and unique stuff at not all too hideous prizes. Atomic Model, for instance, is definitely the place to shop for some stunning and unique office pieces. You won't find anything like it anywhere else. Vasanji boutique was another of my favorites. The owner brings unique pieces from the US. Incidentally, Vasanji opened a boutique right in White Rock (Thrift and Johnston Road)! For another super unique boutique in the area check out Crush Clothing on 24th (Grandview Corners). Both Vasanji and Crush have amazing sales at the end of the season and their accessories are often one of a kind. It's a great way to spice up an Aritzia wardrobe as you can be sure no one else will have it.

Running

I FINALLY signed up for the UBC Fall Classic 1/2 Marathon. I know, I'm such a dork. I always wait until the last minute. The training is going well. FF and I are ramping down now because the race is on November 21, but we're maximizing our workouts by basically running a ton of hills. The three most treacherous hills in White Rock are: Marine Drive, Oxford Street and High Street (and Magdalean Crescent). We try to hit all 3 during some of our workouts. We plan on running another 1 to 2 half marathons before our ultimate goal which would be the Victoria marathon next October. That would be it for me. I would just retire after that ;).

I baked more cookies yesterday. Frankly I don't know what I was thinking. I finished my run with FF yesterday at a decent time and I thought I could just relax and veg out but instead I ended up baking cookies until 10 pm. Stupid Red Bull!

I did want to try the recipe thought and we bought all fresh ingredients. I got the recipe from AllRecipes: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/chewy-chocolate-chip-oatmeal-cookies/Detail.aspx BUT... followed the advice left by Fervent Frugal Foodie to a T and they came out perfect. I only had 2 cookies flatten out on me and not even that much, just barely, and the rest were all baked through and through and today they are moist and chewy and just plain amazing. FFF suggested increasing the flour to 1 3/4 cups and the baking soda to 1 teaspoon and decreasing the salt to 1/4 tsp. I personally used 1/2 tsp salt because I always use unsalted butter when I bake. But it's a minor detail. The other key is to use FFF's recommended baking instructions: chill the dough for 30 minutes in the fridge and then bake at 335F for 12 minutes.

This is the second time I used 335F and 12 minutes for cookies and it seems to be some sort of magic formula for getting moist and delectable cookies. Even if it looks like your cookies are still soft in the centre and they are completely falling apart when you try to take them off the cookie sheet, not to worry, they're supposed to be that way. Remember that cookies continue to bake even after they're out of the oven and off the cookie sheet. And if you need any more proof think of it this way: this recipe calls for 2 eggs, when was the last time it took you 12 minutes to scramble eggs in a pan? Notwithstanding the fact that an uncovered pan doesn't reach 335 degrees all around.

I guess one last thing I should mention is, Red hates walnuts so I used about 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips instead of just the 1 cup and it was great. I don't think these cookies need the additional walnuts, I think mixing different chips would be fun though, like white and dark or butterscotch and dark.

So now I have a tried and tested chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe, yey.

As for PLTC, well... things are ramping up a bit now. This weekend we'll have 2 assignments to content with. I still can't wait for it to be over, even though I am learning a lot. Even if I'm working longer hours at least I won't have to commute to Vancouver. On the upside, I have been eyeballing some nice treats in Yaletown. The shopping there is amazing. I picked up the most adorable cloche and have my eyes on an amazing dress that I might pop in to try tomorrow if I'm not too tired.

Well, I'm about to begin the 4th week of PLTC, 8 more to go (or 6, depending on how one looks at it). I can't wait. The activities I still consider to be quite useful and entertaining but time consuming. And it's still excruciating not to have any weekends off. I do have today off technically but because I haven't had any real time off since the beginning of PLTC I've spent basically the better part of the day catching up on all the things I didn't have time for over the past 3 weeks.

We had a mock trial on Saturday, and I played a witness on Sunday so I was in court all day Sat and half the day on Sunday. The trial was fun though, and I feel like I learned a lot. I'm also starting to focus a bit and realize what is and isn't important during a trial. It's somewhat like driving. When you first begin to drive you have no idea what to focus on, but as time goes on you can pretty much ignore 90% of the stuff out there and focus all of your attention on what's really important. I was also, once again, reminded how utterly important common sense is. Common sense should NEVER EVER be underestimated no matter what the law says, or you THINK it says, because the thing about law is that it's a matter of interpretation and someone else can disagree with you. If you weave common sense into your interpretation of the law you have a MUCH higher chance convincing someone to agree with you.

I went to visit my parents yesterday for a bit. My mom ordered a bunch of perogies from this amazing woman we dubbed "The Perogie Lady". She's incredible, and her perogies are by far unsurpassed, as are her cakes. I think we're putting her kids through school. My mom expressed concern about my dad's health and the fact that he's not taking care of himself. I didn't know what to say to that. I hear her concern but, I mean, what do you say to that? I mean, really. I might have to talk to Red about it.

Oh yes, as for running, FangFang and I will likely take a bit of a different approach to running. Since we can't train as often a we'd like (or at least I can't right now), we'll have to really maximize our training so we've pulled back a little these past 2 weeks on the long run and only did 15K instead of 19 like we were supposed to do. Instead, we'll change our other 2 runs into hill runs, incorporating at least 3 long hills into the run (type Marine Drive or Columbia Avenue) and making them between 8 and 10K, and then doing our regular long run as the 3rd run. So our next long run will be between 19 and 20K. I'm also supposed to register for the half-marathon today, the UBC Fall Classic Run, so that should be fun. I wanted to wait and see if I could keep up with the training but once I register I guess that's that. I'm in all the way.

I'm also currently hooked on The Tudors. Julia recommended it a while back but I never got around to watching it until now and it's great! I love period shows and this one is definitely up there. It also reminds me of Blair and Chuck from Gossip Girl, and how could you not love Blair and Chuck. They have that gallantry to them but with a modern take. It's positively lovely.