Kindness Goes A Long Way

The other day during my break, my co-worker looked at his phone and screwed up his face.
"What's up?" I asked.
"I just got a text from a random person...in French!" he said as he passed the phone to me to have a look. After a quick glance, I discovered that it wasn't in French but in German.
Now, if you know anything about me then you'll know that I love a good mystery and this instantly made me want to pick this strange text apart.
I punched the words into google translate and got this message:

Mexico Edith makes are concerned about the earthquake, give us call, greetings C--

Hmm. This didn't help a lot. Naturally, I did another quick search - "Earthquake Mexico"
The first link that surfaced was a news article from 20 minutes prior that stated that an earthquake had just struck Mexico. I turned to my co-worker, "K--, I think this person is looking for someone in Mexico. There was just an earthquake there."
"Oh," he said, as he looked out the window.
"K?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"Can we text them back?"
"It's long distance..."
"I know, but they're looking for someone...they're worried..." I gave him my sad eyes.
"Ok...," he said, giving me his you've-won-this-time look as he passed me the phone, "but you do it."
I tried my hardest to adapt a simple message.

Sorry, this is the wrong number. You have reached a Toronto Canada number. I hope you find who you are looking for. 

I translated it and sent it off.
"K--, I know you'd want someone to do the same for your mom..."
He grinned as he continued to look out the window, "I know," was all he said.

Friend, be kind to one another. There may come a time when you need a random act of kindness and you just might get it because of the kindness that you first showed.

In the hopes that you smile at least once...

These are a few of my favourite photos that I've found while browsing the web. I hope you enjoy them.

And lastly, this video, which I could watch multiple times 'cause it's just so darn cute!

2 months of NO.

In October, I decided to start a month of No. It started with No make-up month. No make-up month was both fun, frustrating and fulfilling. Wait. ugh. Whatever. I'm just going to keep going. Overall, it was more difficult than I had first expected. I had thought that it would be easy because I hadn't thought of myself as dependent on the stuff.

The first week or two went well, with only a mild urge to put on some tinted lip gloss. But I considered that cheating so I didn't. My first struggle happened in the middle of the month. A friend of mine had invited me out to a youth group from church. When it came time to get ready to go, all that I could see in the mirror were every 'flaw' and blemish across my face. I decided that just a little bit of cover-up wouldn't hurt. But that was cheating, so I went without it. And that was when I realized I was vain. It was really enlightening.

And if wearing no make-up for a month isn't a test against vanity, then my No Shave November certainly took a few blows out of it. I wanted to take pictures, but this cartoon will suffice:

This pretty much sums up how bad it is. This cartoon and the many shudders I received when people caught a glimpse of my legs. Hah. Maybe it's vanity that's holding me back from posting any photos of my no-shave adventure, but it's also a fear of becoming the next meme.

I can't decide on a theme for the month of December. Any suggestions?

This Fall...

Ahhh, Autumn! I absolutely love love LOVE this season. There are so many colours, the air is so crisp and cool, the weather is usually so lovely, and this season almost always gives us a great selection of fall fashion. Am I right ladies? I love it!

In honour of my favourite part of the year, I've a new list (I love lists) of the things that I would really love to happen this fall.

1. Learn a new song on the guitar/piano. I haven't played in nearly 2 years, but I'm feeling pretty determined to do this. Tonight I pulled out my dad's guitar and started strumming on it but my fingers started to hurt. hah! It'll happen. I'm crushing on Adele right now and I think I might give one of her songs a go. 
2. Go to the Zoo. Groupon just had a sale for the Toronto zoo (half price!) and I was so game for that! And get this - the zoo just got penguins! It's as if they're secretly subscribed to me and thought to make my year by bringing in the cutest little creature in the world! Thank you secret subscriber!
3. Walk in the rain/fog. I love to do this but I haven't in such a long time. Cruising around with a calm soundtrack and my thoughts. This is for sure something that I've been craving for a while. 
4. Get my passport. I know. I've never had one. shush. I'm working on it though, and I hope that the process will be done before the end of autumn (including the retrieval of my birth certificate...*sigh*). But where will I go when I get it... 
5. Take the train into T.O. I keep putting this off and I'm not sure why. I've gone into Toronto many times before and it's certainly time for it. I love to explore the different little nooks and stores - it's a lot like a treasure hunt without a map. 
6. Blog more than 5 times a month. I've just discovered the time release feature on Blogger so that I can write and schedule my post to appear several days later! I'm going to be taking advantage of it. 
7. Take part in improv everywhere. I was first introduced to Improv Everywhere several years ago. I saw this video and immediately fell in love with the idea of creating art and having fun with a bunch of strangers. I had to wait, but Toronto finally got their own taste of the fun and I've been waiting for our schedules to work out together. I'm going to be more active in trying to make this work for this season. 

Nothing too exciting right? Just a humble little list to keep me occupied for the next couple of months. Of course I'm always open to more suggestions...?

I hope you're all well,
Stacy

(and of course, Charlie and Gus love Autumn too!)

No Blog Month! [Completed]

So I've been doing a little personal experiment and I loved it so much that I'm willing to take it on as a theme. Last month's theme was: no blogging! It was interesting. I've put a dent in my reading list, become slightly better at introspection, and I have plenty of new blog ideas to boot!

I needed a bit of time to regenerate after I finished school (I know, blah blah, I keep bringing it up. but it's the only excitement I've had for 4 years.) so I've been keeping pretty quite. But for a while, I've been entertaining the idea of taking a month and removing something that I do regularly and documenting what happens without it. Last month happened to be a no blogging month. It worked out pretty well and I've missed being on here. I almost never logged into blogger, but I did check out a few blogs, and commented on very few.
In the beginning of the no-blog month, it was great. I read books - The Help, Looking for Alaska, Jurassic Park, Extreme Vinyl Cafe,  An Abundance of Katherines (I'd suggest the first three) - but I really missed writing. I started to scribble down ideas for future blog posts and I've even made a list of things for a new blog that I really want to start (I'm going to keep it a secret for now, but when I get it up and running, I'll give you guys a heads up).
I've also started keeping a written journal. Just a few words here and there that focussed on my thoughts at the moment. It was fun, so I think I might keep it up. I've never really practiced stream of consciousness, but it's a lot of fun. try it!

But honestly, I've sincerely missed writing, so I'm glad that the month is over. Maybe I'll be able to work myself up to a no internet month... My next adventure will start on September 30: No Make-Up Month! I've done this before and I've noted different reactions. Some people treat me with more respect, while others give me less, while others are just normal. We'll see how it goes.

YOGA

So I haven't been feeling the greatest these past few weeks. Let's just say I have to get a new job. My happiness depends upon it(not really...). I'm sure that you may have noticed that a majority of my posts are happy-go-lucky, and honestly, I want it to stay that way. There's nothing worse that reading a whiner's words. Which is why I haven't been posting too much recently. I write, but then it sounds silly so I don't post. Anyways, I've been jotting down lists of things that make me happy and I'm going to share one of them with you tonight!

----
I love yoga. I could do it all the time, I love it that much. When I was in high school I would take out yoga books from the library and try to work out some of the poses. Recently I joined a gym and one of the inclusive classes has been a yoga-pilates-tai-chi class. SIGN ME UP!! I love the fact that I'm talked through poses, and as much as I love books, I'd say that taking a class is much better. 
If you've never tried yoga, I'd highly recommend it. It's relaxing, great for strength and balance training and super fun. 

One of my favourite leg stretches is the pigeon pose! It's always a challenge to see just how far I can push myself in the pose while still enjoying a good stretch. At first I thought it was daunting, but it's not too bad.

My next favourite pose is the gorilla pose. This is incredibly relaxing as it stretches out the back all the way down the spine.

The next is the dancer pose. This one took me a long time to get right. I always struggled with the balance but I think I've got it now. My next improvement is definitely to get a little more extension than I have now.

The next would be the chair/intense/awkward pose. This has been a favourite since high school because I love the burn that runs through the thighs. It definitely lives up to the intensity of its name. 

And lastly, the warrior pose. There are a couple of variations and I like them all very much. I don't know what it is - the name, or the pose - but I love that this makes me feel so strong. like I could fight a war or win a fight. ha. 
Let me know what your favourite pose is. Never tried yoga? Try these out and tell me what you thought! :o)

Things I've Never Done.

I know, I know. One million years later, Stacy returns. Well, I'm not going to promise that I'll be back but I've made a commitment to myself to get a new laptop in the next few weeks so hang in there, I'll be posting before you know it. 


Today's post comes in list form. I love lists. I've got so many of them jotted down everywhere. I even found this site and I was totally addicted to it for a while, but found it much easier to write things down rather than logging in and typing it out. 


I guess you could call this a bucket list, but I don't want to think of it as that. I just want to share a few things that I've either never done, want to do, or I feel I should do in order to experience life (cheeeeeesy!). 

          Things I've Never Done

1. Lit a firework (I've bought 'em, watched 'em, run away from them fearing for my life, but I've never ignited one... I feel like I should in order to have some thrill of fulfillment)
2. Made home-made ice cream (I've heard it's really good for getting your frustrations out. I've also read that it's a perfect wedding gift for that exact reason. hah! I think it'll be my next gift to some newlyweds.)
3. Gone to a live concert (I want to so bad! I tried to organize some young people from my church to go and see a Christian band, but it didn't work out. It's gotta be soon though!!)
4. Met a film celebrity (I met a politician the other day when he came into my work. But that doesn't count... plus I didn't know until someone pointed him out...haha!)
5. Stayed awake all night just to see the sun rise (I know that this sounds corny, but I want to do it. I haven't watched the sun rise in a loooooong time, so it would be a big bonus to see it soon.)
6. Done legit karaoke (Like, the real karaoke in a room somewhere in Toronto's Korea-town with flashing lights and caffeine drinks and hyper, happy friends.)
7. Flown internationally (nope, never done it! I feel like a hobbit sometimes because I don't really have an itch to travel very far just for the fun of it. But I would really love to add this to my list of things to do. Where should I go first?)
8. Sent a post card to post secret (I've got a really big, secret and I wanna share it because it's funny but so totally weird that I won't ever share it personally with anyone. I think this will be the first thing for me to accomplish, hopefully in the coming weeks.)
9. Gone to a dance class (does zumba count? If so, then I've done this. But if not, then I really want to learn swing dancing. And hip hop. Or a fusion of both.)
10. Gone to an aquarium (Large fish stores do not count. If I had the money, I think I'd travel to Atlanta or Japan just to fully experience a massive aquarium.)
11. Been in the C.N. Tower (I've lived in and around Toronto most of my life, but I have never ever been inside of the C.N. Tower. I want to have a touristy day and just explore Toronto like a stranger would.)
12. Gone to a musical (does "Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang" count? When I was 9 I went with my class to the Young People's Theatre but I didn't really get much out of it because for the first half I sat beside my crush and we couldn't stop talking. So for the second half I was moved to the end of the row and I brooded for most of the remainder of the show. What a dork. The show was probably better than our lame conversation anyway...hah!)
13. Tasted crème brulee
14. Photographed a stranger (I was once on a bus with a friend and there was a really cute guy on it, so I posed for a picture with him in the background. But that doesn't count for this list, because I didn't take it.)
15. Saw a penguin (I think I've said this before...)
16. Mastered a foreign language (I'm gradually making my way into French. But I'm teaching myself and I'm a procrastinator so it's taking a long time. I'd also like to learn Greek, Hebrew, German, and Latin. I've got a long ways to go.)
17. Been inside of the parliament building (I'm not in Ottawa very often but every time I've been there, I've missed out on the tours because of time restrictions, or renovations or some other excuse. One day!!!)
18. Swam in the Pacific ocean (I've lived beside the Atlantic, and I've tried to swim in it, but it was so stinking cold that it wasn't all that great. But it was amazing to be there and to dig up clams, scrape barnacles off of the side of the dock, or throw rocks into the dying jellyfish that had the misfortune of washing up to shore. But I've never been West of Ontario and I really want to make my way into all of the other provinces of Canada.)
19. Gone whale watching (I've always wanted to go and do this, but I think I'll do some shore watching after I heard about this TED talk. I won't spoil it, but I'd rather not take a boat.)
20. Gone hiking for a day (I've always loved doing this, but it's only been for a couple of hours. I think I'd have a better appreciation for it all if I spent the day on a trail.)
21. Never been on a horse (on a pony, but not a horse)
22. Had a major surgery (this is the one that I don't want to complete for any sort of bucket list. It's just something that seems like many people go through and I have a feeling that one day it'll happen.)
23. Done the splits 
24. Danced in public (hahhh! Jks – totally have!)