Prada Saffiano Double Zip Tote

Here is the unveiling of the new bag I have purchased, specifically for my conference happening this fall. Yes, I know it's still quite a bit of time away. However, with brands like Prada, Chanel etc., they do increase their prices near the fall. I also noticed there was a $30 increase since last month. So I decided to get it now before prices skyrocket like the stupid housing market in Toronto.

So the information below:

Name: Saffiano Double Zip Tote (medium), or Galleria
Number: BN2274
Material: Saffiano Lux Leather
Colour: Peonia (or Peony Pink)
Size: 33cm (Length) x 23.5cm (Height) x 14.5cm (Width); 14" (Length) x 10" (Height) x 6" (Width).
The Double Zip comes in 4 different sizes: Mini, small, medium, large.
Addition: Comes with a detachable shoulder strap

The Double Zip Tote, being one of Prada's classic lines and the most popular one, comes in 12 different colours as of today (July 2015).

Shopping Bag:
Unfortunately the Prada store did not have a huge shopping bag to fit my box. So they used a Holt Renfrew big pink bag to store my box, as you saw in the previous post.

Display/Storage Box:
The box it comes in is not in saffiano leather. But it is a heavy duty cardboard-like box that protects the bag inside. I was not happy this time around because the SA (Richard) did not stuff the box with tissue paper or have any nice wrapping. Instead, it was just the dustbag containing the purse. So during travel, the bag would have shifted. Not happy, especially after paying a premium price. I didn't know until I got home, so it was too late to complain.

As you can tell from above, the box is big. Even Stitch agrees.

Dust Bag:
Yes, all Prada bags should come with a dust bag. It's the same dust bag in white (like cotton) with leather straps to close.

Exterior:
Just like the BL0837 model, the leather material is saffiano. It is more durable, easier to clean and scratch resistant. It comes in gold hardware (and only gold hardware), with 2 leather handles to carry by the hand or arm. There are 2 snap closures on each side of the bag (in cases where you want to put a lot of stuff and need more room). Once again, this model does come with detachable shoulder straps for over the shoulder wear or cross body. People have said the cross body look doesn't work too well with the medium or large size tote as it doesn't look proportional to the body.

The shoulder strap also comes with its own bag. Pretty cute!

The shoulder straps can be attached to the inside of the bag as shown above. The "D" ring is located just across from the snap closures.

Bottom's Up:
Because of the structure of this bag, feet are a must. It really helps when you have to put your bag down for whatever reason, and to not have it topple over. So there are feet. 4 golden feet, with Prada embossed on it.

Keychain Ring Holder:
So just like the Top Handle bag, this bag does come with a keyring holder. I have not unwrapped it yet, but it's basically the same thing except in pink. You can choose to remove it completely (which I have) or put it in the slit shown in the main picture, but I find it tacky. I'm not a fan of the slit, but I can't do anything about it. I would prefer it to be solid with no slit. And just remove the keyring if I don't want it to dangle on the outside.

Interior:
The interior pockets are made of leather, along with nylon material with Prada all over it. Some people don't like the nylon part as it makes the bag look cheap and boring. Especially for the price you pay, people would have expected more. But I don't really mind it. Besides, who looks into the bag anyways? Besides yourself? Exactly.

This bag is very roomy. It's insane but I like it. There are 2 outside pockets with zip closures (here you can put your wallet, papers for work or something), 1 zip closure inside pocket, and 3 open pockets to put your cell phone or lipstick or pens.

Now how much can you fit? Below are a few shots of my random stuff that I just decided to throw in to see how much you can really fit. I have a 13" MacBook Pro and it fits inside. Only problem is the 2 snap closures have to be open. If you have an Ipad or Ipad mini, there is no problem fitting those in. You can have the 2 snap closures together.

Authenticity Card:
This bag does come with a card, and is stamped by the store when you buy it. In this case:

Final Thoughts:
I have not used this bag yet (ok, maybe once to dinner) but I can say that it's already a heavy bag due to the leather material. However, it's an eye-catcher because it's pink. I think people stare because it's either so hideously pink, or because it's a Prada. I'm not sure. If you are looking for something more classic, aim for a Nero or Cameo colour, or even Grey, or Cornflower Blue. Those are the more classic colours and can match your wardrobe, whatever it may be. If you want to be very girly, go for pink. But choice of wardrobe colour would be limited, because it's not like you can wear a yellow or lime green dress, and wear a pink bag. However, if you like very colourful things, then nothing is stopping you from doing that.

The Good:

-Structured purse

-Material is very durable

-The option of removing shoulder straps

-Lots of compartments!

-Very, very roomy

-It has feet

The Bad:

-Premium price....just keeps going up. Just keeps going and going and going and going... 

-It's already heavy while empty

-Shoulder strap could be a little wider

-Zippers take some time to break in. They are stiff in the beginning. I had to ask the SA to wax the zippers because I could not open the outside zippers. After the wax, it made a world of difference. Now it's easy to unzip and zip up.

Lastly, here is a comparison shot of the Top Handle Promenade and the Double Zip Tote (both in medium size), side by side:

Thanks for reading! Hope the pink did not blind your eyes.

It has arrived....!

Dun dun duuuuuuuuun!

So the bag has officially arrived. Shout-out to Amanda the SA for helping me find one in the colour I want. Unfortunately I was not able to catch her while I went to pick up the bag, but Richard was able to help me retrieve it.

So here's the thing. I took my sweet time doing inspections on all aspects of the bag. I was probably in the store for a good 45 minutes inspecting and debating with myself before I finally made a decision. The bag was in great condition (i.e no leather peeling, no scratched hardware, no ripped nylon inside etc) but one thing that did bug me was a tiny piece of stitching had stuck out at the bottom. And that the zippers were a bit tough to open and close. But that issue was solved with some wax (yes, they use wax to help glide the zipper more smoothly).

I had a few choices. Either I stick with this and buy it, or I ask another location to ship me another one. Thing is, I'm not sure if it's a high end store thing or not, but if they see one store already has a bag of that model in that particular colour, they won't ship it out from the Bloor flagship store to another store. So this one was already shipped from the flagship store because the Yorkdale location didn't have it. Now that Yorkdale has it, the Bloor location won't ship a second one unless the first one was sold. I'm not sure if it's that reason, or maybe they will wonder why they have to ship 2 of the same colours in less than a week to the same store. Either way, it was my choice to wait or just buy it.

I am also told this particular colour is limited in this size (as of today, there are only 3 in Canada. Not sure how true that is). I'm pretty sure it's just their tactic move on selling their items because this particular bag is one of their most popular lines. But I can understand maybe why the colour is not a popular choice, because people go for the more neutral look, like Cameo or Nero. So the colour I picked is obviously not a popular one. Plus, the one at the flagship location was a floor model. The one that was shipped to Yorkdale was not, as everything was still wrapped.

Here I go, back to inspection. I managed to push the stitch back into the crease at the bottom so it's no longer an eye sore. It was not ripped or broken. Just a small loose loop. The bag won't break because of it, but it's hard to find the perfect "handmade" bag and not find any flaws. Maybe some guy's hand shook while stitching and made one stitch loose. No bag is perfect. It can be almost perfect but not perfect. After the stitching part, the top zippers were lined with wax. And then it became a lot easier to open and close via the zippers.

I am happy to say I accepted the bag and is now in my possession. However, my wallet hates me right now and is not talking to me, and probably won't talk to me for the next while. Below are a few reveal shots. I'll do a more in-depth un-boxing post and take better up-close pictures in the next post. So stay tuned!

                             Chilling in the trunk. Thought it would be too big but just made it.

                                                        A shot next to her neighbours.

                                                             Revealed! Well, sort of.

Car parts or purse?

So I have been in dilemma lately in regards to what to get. Car parts, or another purse?

I had been looking at front lips, side skirts and a rear diffuser to replace the ones that were not returned to me when I asked multiple times. This is a problem in the car community, or maybe it's just me. When you ask people to help, and instead your parts go missing. Then when you try to trace them down, they either give many excuses or just disappear into thin air. I've had my front lip stolen twice on two different occasions for painting. What are the chances?! It's not like you can just break into their shop or house and take your parts back, since that won't be a very good track record. Yeah, car parts are a waste of money. Especially when they end up in the wrong hands, you end up spending double the amount to replace them. It's probably the reason why all my parts are mostly used parts from other owners. But to find all 3 used, in a timely manner will take some time. And who knows, by the time I find them, it's winter time. And then it's 2016. My goodness!

I've looked around and found brand new pieces to buy. But I am still in dilemma whether I should go ahead with it or not. The only issue is, those parts would have to be removed in winter time if I want to preserve it and not damage it, as it will all be carbon fibre. But do I really want to remove and put back each season? Plus, when it's being removed and put on so many times, I would be afraid it wouldn't tighten as much as before. You see? Dilemma. I would like to put the pieces on once and just leave it. But carbon fibre requires a bit more maintenance. And once it cracks, that's it. There goes my money once again. These parts require way more thinking than purchasing a purse.

Speaking of which, I have thought about another purse to add to the collection. If you had been keeping track of my posts, you probably recalled I wrote a brief post about Chanel and a pending order of a medium classic flap bag back in March (which I already removed). My friend and I had ordered via "someone" (I did know him personally) who said he had connections for a kickass deal. It sounded too good to be true, but he kept insisting it was for certain. And had "updated" me biweekly on the status of the bags. Well, it's almost end of July and I have not seen any pictures of its arrival. I already stopped believing back in May when the arrival dates kept changing. The lack of initiative to pick up the so called bags to deliver to me, basically ignoring every time I asked. Instead he made me feel guilty, or almost like guilt tripping. For what? I ordered bags, that was it haha. This is a business deal; either the item exists or it doesn't.

After persisting for pictures and what not, and not getting straight answers, I have come to the conclusion that the Chanel bags do not exist. If it was only me, I would be fine, but this involved my best friend as well. And when another party is involved, I get way more pissed than usual. You know the saying, never get in between a woman and her purse? (I sort of made it up) but yeah, that's pretty much this situation. It was a complete waste of time on both our parts. I had called up that "connection" friend (who, according to that "someone", supposedly had awesome connections to high end brands) and explained everything to him, and he really had no idea what was going on. This was all new to him. So in conclusion, that "someone" was faking everything. Making false promises on car parts and bags. Lying to everyone. So not only did I get screwed over with car parts, but now bags as well. Yeah, let's just say fancy doing business with you. People like that are sick in their minds, and need psychological help. I hope he seeks the help he needs.

Back to the potential car parts and purse. Now, I could get the parts AND the purse as well, but that would be bad for my wallet (and yes, I do make my own money to buy my own bags and parts). Probably a really bad financial decision too. So I have decided.....

Dun

Dun

Duuuuuunnnnnnn.......!!!!

Wait for it.....

Wait......

+1 for the purse.

Yeah, sorry for the disappointment. I figured the purse would be needed soon for the conference, and I needed something to fit a laptop and a binder, along with my other crap that I usually take. I could easily just bring a laptop case or one of those messenger bags to fit everything, but nah, I'm not a messenger bag type of girl. I rather fit everything into a nice bag with a carry on luggage and not have to worry about a laptop bag. That's more bags to carry! Plus this would be more useful than car parts. At least resale value would still be high versus car parts. See my logic? Maybe? This is partially why I can get indecisive with things because I tend to argue with myself about what's more logical.

The next step is colour. The best colour combo would be black with gold hardware. It's the most elegant look, and makes everything look more professional. Or black with silver hardware. I thought about it, but I don't want to pay for a plain look. If I choose a colour, I better be happy with it and use the bag more than once. Frankly, I need to add some bright colours to my collection. Most of my outfits are dark coloured, so buying a dark coloured bag would just blend in too much. So I didn't choose either of the above colour combination. Instead....I will wait to write a reveal and then you can see for yourself. Hopefully the colour will show up on camera.

The store I contacted did not have the bag in that particular colour, but they found one at another location. I asked to transfer it to their location. So it will be about a couple of days before it arrives and then I can take a look to see if it's up to my liking. Or whether I need to choose another colour. The problem with these bags? They come in too many different colours! I wish they would have a buy one get one free sale. Haha only in my dreams.

So there you have it. My decision at last. Stay tuned for an upcoming bag reveal! (well, that's if I'm happy with the condition of it)

5 Years Ago...

I mean, a lot of things happened 5 years ago. The start of my career, the first big move from home, but the one that brings back memories to this exact day was the arrival of the Genesis Coupe.

When the Gencoupe was first released to the Canadian market, I had my eyes set on it. I knew that was going to be my first car. The rear end was the first thing that caught my attention. Price range was good for a first car, great standard features (the most basic I wanted was bluetooth, and folding mirrors). I had gone with a friend to test drive it in 2009 and I remember it was a Lime Rock Green 3.8GT in manual. Of course at that time I didn't know how to drive standard so he drove it. He reported that it was not as responsive as he thought it would be. He was disappointed in it. And for a while I sort of tried to dismiss it and maybe look for another car.

I looked around and decided, maybe the Altima sedan? Except I didn't want the 2.5L version. If I had to get the Altima, I wanted the 3.5L SR (used to be SE). Dealerships around town only had the 2.5L version available for test drives. I test drove it multiple times to see how it handled, and how the ride was. It was way too soft for my liking. The steering felt really loose. And I had to imagine each time that I test drove a 2.5L that the 3.5L would be a bit faster. So just imagine...just try...! And I couldn't. When I asked to test drive a 3.5L, they said it's very limited, because most customers request the 2.5. The 3.5 was not in high demand. If I wanted the SR, I would have to order one in and wait months for it. I didn't have months to wait, I only had a couple weeks before I moved to another city to work. So I couldn't wait for the SR, nor did I want to be stuck with a 2.5. Not only that, but the standard options were very limited. If I wanted bluetooth and folding mirrors, I had to buy packages. And when I calculated it, it was close to 40k for a 2.5L sedan. No thanks.

I tried the Sonata and same thing. The steering felt more loose than the Altima. Probably due to the assisted electric steering. It was a nice car, don't get me wrong. But something about it just didn't feel right. I knew in my heart that time that it was the Gencoupe I was set on. Love at first sight!

So off I went to test drive one in the base. It was already enough for me. I didn't want a sunroof, so the base was the only one that didn't offer a sunroof. I didn't like the stop/start button either; I'm more of a fan of the old traditional turn key ignition. I liked the steering a lot. It was stiff and I felt I was more in control of my driving. AND IT HAD BLUETOOTH AND FOLDING EXTERIOR MIRRORS!!! I was sold on this. But now the next step was to find a dealership that would offer me a great deal. I went to about 6 different dealerships before settling on the best deal.

Before making the final decision, my parents would try to persuade me from getting a coupe. The doors would fall off. It's too heavy. What happens if I got into a car accident with friends in the back? Firefighters would have to cut the roof to get them out. What happens when you have kids in the future? Space is limited. It's too low. What about winter? Etc. Anything in the books to get me to change my mind. But I didn't.

One that really surprised them was when we called up the insurance company to get quotes. If I had wanted an Altima 2.5 sedan, the monthly rate would be a lot higher than the coupe. At that time, very little information was known about the coupe. They had it divided into two categories. If it was a base model, or a non 3.8L, it was considered a small car. If it was a 3.8 or a 3.8GT, it was considered a sports car. The monthly difference was at least $100 difference. Plus the Altima has been out longer than mankind, so there would be a lot more data available. So that's when I shoved it in their faces and said HA! Hyundai is cheaper! NA-Na-Na-Na-Na!!!

So now that a final decision has been made on which car, the next step was colour. The coupes that were shown to me were red and grey. Maybe one had blue but not in the trim that I wanted. I asked for blue. They said they didn't have any but would have to allocate one at a dealership and ship it here, or if there was none, then I'd have to get it ordered and wait a few months. But I didn't have months. So thankfully the dealership that offered me the better deal had a blue sitting untouched in base. I swear, it was meant to be. Most cars had come in different trims other than base. It was difficult to find a blue in base. I looked at it, and said I'll take it. It took a few days to have it prepped for me, but finally when the day came, it was heavennnnnnnn!

The first thing it went through after pick up was rust proofing and detailing. So I had to spend another day without it. Finally when it arrived home, I wanted to just drive it. But my dad, being the awesome dad he is, had said to not drive it. It was so shiny, he didn't want to see dirt on it. So I drove it sparingly that week until the day I had to move. And that's when my adventures began.

So, that was 5 years ago. It's crazy how time flies. There's definitely been ups and downs in terms of modding this car. From cracked parts, to mediocre tuning, to stolen parts, to not giving back my parts. Oh wait, that's still considered stolen. But at least the car still runs.

In terms of stories, there have been compliments here and there. Especially in the beginning when people didn't know what car it was, or who made it. But even to this day, I still get those comments as well. I left the Hyundai emblem on, but removed the Genesis Coupe emblem so it would be easier to clean the car. The most recent story was yesterday. I saw a girl and her boyfriend (I assume) head to their car, but she was telling him something. And walked to my car. At one point I thought she wanted to take a pic with the car. I wasn't too sure. But I was already heading to my car to run errands. That's when the guy asked "Hey! We are just wondering what car this is?"And I told them. The guy said that she wants this car and that it looks really nice. I told her, don't give up on your dreams! Do it, you'll like the car a lot.

I think the weirdest ones occurred in the first year of ownership while I was still out of town. I had come out of work and noticed a slice of bread on my car, that had a few bites. It was left on my windshield. Maybe the person was in a rush to go home and didn't want their wife or husband to find out they had a slice of bread at the hospital, so they decided to discard it on my windshield. I'm not sure. This was way before it was modded so it was still stock. The next story was, I came out of my apartment one day and noticed some weird stain mark on my trunk by the Gencoupe emblem. It looked like somebody had thrown coffee all over the back. I guess somebody don't like Gencoupes! or Hyundai. Either way, not cool to vandalize other people's cars.

Any big plans for the coupe in the near future? Not sure yet. Sometimes ideas just hit my head and then I make a fast decision. Sometimes it takes months or years to make a decision. In the meantime, it's just pure maintenance. But one thing for sure, I ain't selling it.

So happy 5 year anniversary to my blue little monster!

Preceptorship Reflection

So recently I was asked by my manager to become a preceptor to a new staff member. I've never trained anyone before to this unit, and I thought those with plenty of years of experience would qualify to teach. I'm not a veteran, so it came to me as a shock. But I accepted it since, well, you can't argue with a manager.

Now, the hardest part was to figure out how I was going to guide this new member. Preceptors usually have a guide of some sort (or maybe their previous experiences combined) and would teach in a timely manner. To enter the program, one must go through 3 weeks of theory classes and a final exam, before qualifying to practice on the unit for 3 weeks with a preceptor, and then being on their own after that. This member had 1 week of practical training and I would take her for weeks 2 and 3.

By week 2, it is expected that the trainee assesses and connects 2 patients to their machine for treatment in a timely manner. It was not happening with this member. So I told myself, ok I need to figure out a way that information can be retained. I made up a cheat sheet chart for her to keep and read over as she performs treatment. I altered it along the way when I noticed some difficulty remembering steps, but overall I was told it helped with the learning process.

By the end of week 2, I was grinding her with questions, and having her repeat the steps over and over to me. Throughout the week I never acknowledged her efforts, but rather scolded her for the bad practice. Finally, she made me proud. And I commended her, which I believe she started to cry. I told her my expectations for week 3, and she understood and agreed. Maybe this is the Asian side of me coming out.

With the start of week 3, the member is suppose to assess and connect 3 patients to their machines in a timely manner. It was not happening. As the week progressed, I was getting more and more nervous for her, as I saw her struggle to follow steps and retain information, even though it was right in front of her.  I reminded her about the cheat sheet. I practiced priming machines from the very beginning to the end. Anything I could think of, I would apply to a real life situation to make it visually easier to learn. But the member was having great difficulty remembering. I remembered as the week ended, it was frustrating for both ends. Her for not getting it and me for feeling like I've failed to have an excelling member.

This happens especially if a member comes from a different unit, with a whole different experience. It is difficult to relate this particular unit to another unit and say "It's exactly the same!" No, it isn't. Priorities are way different. In the case of this particular unit, time and efficiency is key. One bad screw up and it could push the entire day's worth of treatments behind, which means a lot of angry patients, cut treatment times and missed rides home. Time and efficiency were explained and mentioned many times during training but yet, it was still not being followed or absorbed.

As I look back to see what could have been done better, there are maybe a few things. I was told it's best to be nice to the trainee, and to not overwhelm them with information. Don't teach in a military style, and always act approachable. Well, I did that just fine. I was nice in the beginning but got more strict as the weeks went by. Especially when you see them not retaining information as much as you wanted, you will scold them for not remembering. I believe it is good to still be nice, but not too nice. Leave the compliments until the very end.

I think a lot of it stems from how I was trained. I was hired into the unit as the youngest team member at that time. My preceptor was a strict one, but she had to be good because half the staff members were trained by her when they got hired. People had warned me to be prepared, but I had no idea what they were talking about. The first day of practicum came and went, and by the end of the day, I wanted to quit. I went home to cry and just didn't get why I had to suffer through the torment of her scolding me at every step of the way. There were no compliments. Instead, there were constant scolding, making me feel like I didn't know anything, and I got death stares from her when I didn't know something that I should've known from theory class. There was hardly any smiling from her (and for the longest time, I had no idea how she looked like when she smiled). I just felt like I didn't belong to this program.

However, I have to thank her for scolding me and for being super strict. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be practicing on this unit. By the end of week one training, it is expected that the new staff member can connect one patient and assess them properly. She had me putting on all 3 patients on day 1. No wonder it was stressful. But by the end of week one, I was comfortably putting on 2 patients. By the end of my practicum, I felt very comfortable with the 3 patient assignment. And when I was on my own, it didn't feel any different. To this day, I know she is happy and proud of who I have become.

Part of it too is the person's own discipline and taking the initiative to learn everything and put it into practice. I wanted to be on this unit, and pushed myself to learn. I was scolded almost everyday in the beginning, but it made me try and work harder to be better at what I did. If a trainee lacks that, then they will have a very difficult time adjusting and working on the unit. They have to want to learn. As a preceptor, you can only do so much to teach them, but if they are not willing to learn things on their own and on their free time, then you really can't do much except to keep scolding at them. But even then, it only goes so far. Even after days of scolding, the only thing I said was "I'm disappointed that you were still unable to do this or that. After doing this repeatedly. You are not going to do well on this unit."

The trainee should have the passion, the want to be on the unit, the compassion to help people, the empathy, the discipline to remember a lot of information, taking initiative to learn. If they are in it for the wrong reasons (eg. money, being pushed down from another unit), then they will not survive the unit. It's the wrong area of specialty to be in. And they will be torn apart by staff and patients.

The preceptor needs to have a plan from day 1 and what expectations are, and verify with the trainee if they understand those expectations. If they are fast learners, then it makes everything a lot easier. If they are slow to retain, it makes it harder to teach because that's when your creativity comes into play. Finding different ways to help the trainee retain the information is key. If they are visual learners, then find time to show them everything from step 1. Tell them to take notes, or video record if they need to see it. I wouldn't show short cuts though because it would just confuse the heck out of them, but I would stick to the basic steps and make sure they understand. Helping them create a chart (or cheat sheet) to have with them when they are on their own would help. Not all preceptors would take time out of their day to stay up and type up notes for their trainees, but if you really want to help your trainee excel, you will do anything to help them. It is stressful because the trainees rely on the more veteran staff to show them how the unit is run, and how to properly assess patients. The future of the unit basically rests on our shoulders and how well we lead the new staff.

At the end of the day, it's also a reflection of how well I know my stuff as well. It's also a great review for me, and there's always a learning curve on both ends. It definitely brought back memories of when I first started, and to share that experience with my fellow trainee:

-You're never alone.
-Help is always around.
-Do not be afraid to ask for help.
-Ask questions when you don't know something.
-Every successful patient connection or cannulation will bring up your confidence.
-Be confident. You know your stuff. It's a matter of creating a routine for yourself to remember every step.
-Do not let the negative words from patients get to you. If at any time their machines run late, acknowledge them while they're still waiting and inform them the machine will be a bit late, sorry for the delay. They might feel angry at first but most of the time when I do that, they are alright with it. They feel better that they were told something versus being left in the dark and wondering if we forgot about them.
-The goal is patient care, and efficiency. In the end, it's the patients who suffer if they don't get proper treatment. And that includes the race against time to put them on in a timely manner.
-Set your priorities. The unit is all about proper time management, organizational skills and prioritization.

Not everyone can handle a fast-paced unit. It all comes down to the mind set and the motivation to learn. But learning is always a life-long experience. You never stop learning.

Pet Peeves - Driving?

We all have pet peeves. If you say you don't, you are lying to yourself (and me, but then again I can't read your mind).

I think most of my pet peeves relate to driving because I drive quite a bit. When you are so passionate about driving but have to share roads with people who just want to get from point A to B, or who are terrified to drive, then it becomes a nightmare and a slalom trying to dodge the cars. And maybe whatever comes flying out of them.

So here is my list.

1) Left lane hoggers. You know, cars that go waaaay below the speed limit. Both on highway and local roads. If you're a new driver or are scared to drive in traffic, stick to the right lane please. I BEG OF YOU!!!!! It's not only safer but it also prevents people from swerving around you like a pylon on a closed course. You only take the left lane to pass traffic, otherwise stick to the right. 

2) Tailgaters. Seriously, what difference does it make if you're 3 car lengths behind me or actually sniffing my butt with your disgusting car? NO DIFFERENCE! You ain't going anywhere buddy. So you can sniff my butt all you want. But when traffic ahead suddenly brakes and I do too, your mouth will be up my....rear-end. And then now we have the car version of the human centipede. The car centipede. But seriously, unless you're in bumper to bumper rush hour traffic, you shouldn't be closer than 3 car lengths from the car in front. Unless you want to become a centipede with the stranger in front of you.

3) Non-Signalers. Those who change lanes without signaling. I already said above. I CAN'T READ YOUR MIND. SO PLEASE SIGNAL WHEN YOU WANT TO MERGE IN. Cars come with signals for a reason! They are not decorations to make your car look pretty. They do have a purpose. I don't know how many times I've been cut off by people who don't signal to merge in. Just because the lane up front is ending, doesn't mean you don't have to put on your signals. You're still crossing the line. SO SIGNAL DAMNIT. Which brings me to...

4) Lack of thank you. What in the world is wrong with people these days. When I first learned how to drive 11 years ago, if I had to merge into traffic, I'd give a thank you to the person letting me in. Just a hand wave. Like HELLO HOW ARE YOU? Not a finger or thumb's up. But an actual hand wave. I still do it because it's the courteous thing to do and that's what I learned from my parents. These days, don't expect anything from the car that will be merging in. Maybe a 4 way signal. But most people don't know what that is except that the car broke down. Otherwise nothing. No wonder people are so bitter. Something as small as a thank you goes a long way and can make a person's day. I remember a van let me merge in so I stuck my hand out to say thank you. Like a hand wave. What does he do? Tailgates me! Like dude I didn't give you the middle finger so I don't know why he would tailgate me for 2km. Even when we try to say thanks, we still get bombarded with stupidity.

5) Distracted driving. This includes anything other than driving itself. Eating, talking on the cell phone, texting, playing with your phone, playing with your music player, drinking, putting make up on, putting lipstick on, picking your nose, kissing your girlfriend, playing with your boobs. You get the idea. I don't know yet again how many times I've almost been side swiped by distracted drivers. When I pass them I see them with their heads down focusing on their phones or staring at their crotch because it's somehow more interesting than hitting the car in front of them. 

6) People who drive like they are in the Nascar race. Don't get me wrong, I like driving fast but not to the point where I'm weaving in and out of traffic. You just never know who will decide to suddenly cut into your lane. Lo and behold your car has just kissed ass with that car. 

7) Backseat drivers. Holy cow. This one drives me out the roof. My mom does it to me all the time and it drives me nuts. But she is my mom afterall. She is suppose to be annoying. But the part that drives me nuts is when your friend or friends ask you for a ride somewhere, say to a party. And they start telling you what to do. Watch out for passengers. Oh slow down it's a red light. This lane ends so might want to change. YOU WANT A RIDE OR YOU WANT TO WALK?! The most annoying is when that person or people haven't talked to you in ages and then out of the blue asks for a ride because you're going to the same party. Excuse me, you want a ride, please respect the person driving you. Let the driver drive for goodness sakes. The driver has a way bigger responsibility now because of an extra life in the car. So the last thing they want is to be told how to drive. You're a backseat driver? Take the bus, walk or drive yourself. 

8) People who throw cigarettes out the window. Not only is smoking bad for you, but to have the guts to just throw it out the window. Hello you aren't the only one on the road. What happens if it lands in the car behind you (say a person driving a convertible)? It's just gross. I don't want your saliva all over my car thanks. And I don't want carcinogens touching my car or I. Keep your nasty waste in your car, then when you park and get out, throw it in the nearest ash tray. Manners anyone?

9) People who spit while they're idling their cars. Similar to the above except this is NAAASTYYYYYY. I don't want to drive my car over your nasty phlegm. Tires cost money and so do rims. If you have expensive Christian Louboutin shoes, you think you want to step in someone's phlegm on the ground? Yeah neither does my car. So keep your phlegm in your throat please until you see a washroom and then you can hack all you want.

10) Cars who don't turn into their designated lanes. This one is annoying as hell too and can be dangerous if people are not paying attention. Those that turn RIGHT onto a major road should only be turning to the RIGHT lane. NOT THE LEFT OR MIDDLE. Cars that turn left should be entering the LEFT LANE, NOT RIGHT. Easiest thing I can think of is RIGHT RIGHT. LEFT LEFT. Now when two cars turn at the same time (one left, and one right) and heading the same direction, that's where it gets all tricky. Especially if you're not paying attention. Cars turning right (unless it's a red light) will have the right of way. Cars turning left will always have to make sure there are no further traffic before turning. There have been cases where both sides have collided because each car did not drive into their designated lanes. It happens. So to prevent further collisions and rising insurance rates, please turn into your damn lane. Thanks.

11) Cars who try to merge and then BRAKE in the merging lane. WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?? The point of merging is to accelerate and then merge in. Not brake. This is just so dangerous on the highway. I've seen it happen, and it's just nuts. I've seen a car driving on the far left lane going 100km/h and then decided, oh crap my exit is HERE! *decides to brake in the middle of the highway on the far left lane, and try to change 3 or 4 lanes over to exit*. The dude actually came to a complete stop on the highway on the far left lane. He is lucky there were no other cars behind him otherwise it would've been catastrophic.

12) People who drive with their DRLs on at night. It's pitch black and I'm driving behind a car with no lights on. Unless you're stalking someone and going on stealth mode, I don't see why people should have no lights on at night. Problem with people is that they forget to switch their headlight mode to "ON" instead of "OFF". And people are not taught that DRLs are not headlights.

13) People who drive with their high beams on in the fog. It drives me nuts! They actually make it worse to see because the light disperses everywhere in the fog. It blinds everyone. So no, high beams do not work "better" in the fog. Drive cautiously with headlights on (and fog lights if you have it) and it's already good enough. I've driven on Taunton Road from one end of the city to the next, in heavy fog, with little to no street lights. That was probably the scariest drive of my life. But the amount of people driving with their high beams on is ridiculous. It just makes it harder to drive.

14) People who signal right (or left) but go the complete opposite way. They should go back to kindergarten to re-learn which way is left and which way is right. My young nieces are barely in kindergarten and they know the difference between left and right. I'm not sure how those people ended up getting their licenses but it's ridiculous.

15) People who run red lights. As a left turn car, it is freaking frustrating. The light is clearly red, and the dude or lady is blowing past the red while I'm still trying to get out of the intersection and out of people's way. Yet it's always the left turn car's fault if they hit anyone. STUPID I tell you.

16) People who can't make up their minds where they want to go. They slow down...and brake...in the middle of a stretch of road with traffic behind them. Then they start accelerating again, and change lanes, but change back. You get the idea. If you're lost, pull over somewhere and ask someone. I'm not a big fan of GPS because it has led me off my trail several times. The best map is still my brain. I look up the address beforehand and memorize the roads. Thank God for the creation of the brain because it is one amazing machine that still beats a GPS.

17) Having car parts not returned. This one is not a driving pet peeve but it's a general pet peeve. The most annoying part is when I'm told new parts were bought so therefore the old parts are gone. Who buys parts without that person's permission? Common sense much? It's not about being nice or whatever. It's about asking the person for permission. If permission is not granted, then why buy new parts for that person when they never asked for it.

18) Broken promises and lies. When you are promised things and given false hope, and being strung along for the ride. If stuff is too good to be true, then it's not worth your time or money. Save yourself grief and stick to your gut instinct.

So there you have it, my top pet peeves mostly related to driving.

ACCI - 10 Years Later

It's kind of interesting but as I look back at my previous posts from 10 years ago (DAMN. 10 YEARS), I have a post thanking all the grads of 2005 from ACCI and all the friends I've met in those 4 years.

10 years later, and a lot of things have changed since high school. I was always told high school would be the best years of one's life. Whether it's meeting the one, or developing the greatest bonds with new friends, high school was pretty fun.

I remember while in elementary school, we had one of those counsellors come into our class and talk about transitioning to high school. The dude talked about how high school was a scary environment, and that grade 9 was the year that seniors would recruit students to do bad things like drugs. And become drug lords. Hearing that as a 13 year old was obviously kind of scary. So I remember my first week of high school, I was avoiding eye contact with pretty much everyone. I didn't want to become a drug lord.

But as the weeks and then years went by, it was all rubbish. It really depends what type of friends you end up making in the end. Thankfully high school at that time was pretty smooth. Most if not all the people I hung out with were part of the Music Department. It was like a big family. Everyone was always making jokes with each other, encouraging, helping, and inspiring one another. It was always a positive vibe, and the teachers made everyone feel welcome.

I still remember how after choosing the courses for the year, I ended up not choosing music (I can't remember why), and when people were telling me how fun the class was, I ended up switching my English course to Music before it became impossible to switch classes. It was the best decision I ever made, because that was where I met the best of friends. I played the flute back in elementary school so I figured I would play the flute in the high school band. And I remember the very first test piece that was in front of me. It was some complicated piece but everyone had to sight read the piece as part of a test. I remember screwing up but again, this was the very first class for me. This is my selective memory talking.

Music became my permanent course to take over the next 4 years. It was during these 4 years that I was also writing theory, and practical exams for piano on the side. I knew I wanted my ARCT diploma and strived for it before I entered university. But having high school music course on the side really helped to make things easier and more fun to learn about music. I remember it was very stressful, juggling all the piano exams and school exams. There was no summer. It was purely exams back to back. But it was all worth it in the end.

High school became the years of crushes and first relationships. There were smiley times, then there were tearful times. From spending lots of time together between classes and after school, to never speaking again. My parents were the type to tell me I could not date in high school, and wasn't allowed to until I graduated university. But of course I never listened. Because I felt by the time I graduated university, I would be an old hag. High school is the time to go on dates and develop relationships. It's always exciting to get that butterfly feeling. It's also a great opportunity to learn about different people. I learned about first break ups, the first time someone broke my heart, the first time someone cheated on me, and the first time I realized that person is not the one for me. I learned to see what I want in someone, and what I don't want. It shapes who you are and who you will become. It's a stepping stone to a life long journey of love.

I remember my brother teaching me when I was 11 or 12 years old, to plan ahead in taking courses in high school. Fast track some courses so that in senior year, I won't have many courses to take. So I took his advice (thanks bro!) and started planning my high school years around age 12. At first I had some interest in architecture, so my first year I took that, along with the other mandatory courses in first year. When I knew it wasn't for me, I turned to computer science in second year. Then I found it wasn't for me. At the same time I was taking the mandatory maths and science courses, but I knew biology was something I could understand better. So I fast tracked biology 11 in grade 10, and then biology 12 in grade 11. This left me the option to take other courses in grade 12 if I wanted to or just leave it as a spare. I eventually left it as a spare so I could focus on piano. The great thing about taking piano exams is that the marks can be used towards a high school credit. So instead of having 1 spare that year, I could get 2 spare periods, as I would graduate with enough credits. If everything is planned out early, it would work very well, and that was exactly what happened.

One of the ultimate fails ever was when I took physics 11 in first term, and didn't like the teacher. Dropped it and took it again in second term. And got the same teacher. The worst thing was she remembered my name. First term students ended up getting great marks. Second term not so great. Physics 12 I had the best physics teacher. Except sadly my brain just never understood the concepts well so I ended up dropping the class (plus I didn't need it for the pre-requisites for university).

If I had to choose a best year out of the 4 years, it would be senior year (or grade 12). Although it was bad to start senior year with a break up, the friendships that developed afterwards are still as strong as ever, 10 years later. It was also a sad year, because the friends you got to see everyday for 4 years will be departing to different schools, and some you won't see for a long time. So it was the year that everyone connected and had a strong bond with each other. The promises of always checking up on each other, and to encourage one another.

10 years later: quite a few people are already married or have kids. Some are climbing up the corporate ladder, or making a difference in the world. Some have moved to different cities/states/countries. And sadly, some have passed but will never be forgotten.

My friends vary from elementary to high school, but majority of them are from high school. 10 years later, we still talk and hang out. And that's when you know you've got yourself some great friends for many years to come. Cheers to the class of 2005!