Don't be a F*ckboy/girl

Single? Ready to mingle? Casual encounters? Fling? 

Those are pretty much the "in" thing in this day and age. 

I was reading an article online about the dating world in this day and age. How both girls and guys complain that the dating world lately has merely just been a "hit and run" type of thing. Or what the new words they call f*ckboy and f*ckgirl.

Yes, it's very hard to find the right one. It's not like picking candy in a candy store. It's more like finding a needle in a haystack. You don't just pick someone off the street and say "Yup, he's the one" without actually getting to know them first. The problem with people these days? They don't get to know one another first. By this, I don't mean physically taking clothes off to inspect body parts type of knowing. I mean actually getting to know that person: what they like or don't like, how they think, how they communicate with you/others. 

These days, it seems like both girls and guys jump into bed first to see if they are good in bed. Dating further will depend on how they perform in the sack. Considering this is more of a casual thing, it is no wonder so many girls (and guys) complain that they are being neglected or have their phone calls/texts ignored by the other party. 

Come on. Grow up people. 

The new trend with this Tinder thing, swiping left or right, or going on random dating sites, it's a scary thing. Yes we all get busy with life and don't have time to go out to actually meet people. So now online dating is the new trend. But seriously, you end up meeting a lot of messed up people online. Especially when they are always behind the screens for most of the day. 

I'm not saying you will always end up meeting a murderer online. Some people actually do find love online and live happily ever after. But with people's mentality these days on casual encounters, don't expect to find true love right away online.

I know someone (and I'm sure most of you know someone like this), who connected with someone online, met in person and got to know them. The guy seemed nice at first, but then when she tried texting him or calling him, he would take centuries to reply. The girl would get stressed and wonder what she did wrong, then seek help from girl friends. Eventually the guy would text back and say "oh hey what's up. I was working on my car." Yeah...all week?! Couldn't even say hi?

And that's the thing. If a guy really cared about a girl, he would call her to say hi or see how they were doing. Girls love that. A text, sure. But a phone call means much more than just a "hi" over text. Eventually we found out the guy was talking to a previous love interest and hanging out with her. Yet he had no clue why it made my friend mad. Didn't see anything wrong with it. Eventually the friend moved on and met someone else. 

There was no communication between the friend and the guy for a while, until the guy started asking the friend to hang out. The friend said sorry, I've moved on. The guy's response? "What, we don't talk for 3 weeks and then now suddenly you're seeing someone else?" Well yeah. If you really cared about a person, you wouldn't wait 3 weeks to then message them and say "sup". At that point it becomes way too late to pour out your feelings for that person.

That's a f*ckboy move right there. Ladies and gentlemen, please don't be that person. Those people are the reason why there are so many broken hearts and broken trusts out there.

With technology at our fingertips, it is easy to hide behind the glass screen from people we don't like or don't want to deal with. It is also easy to stalk those that we are interested in. It can go either way. 

What have I learned? You can't force love on someone. You can't force someone to love you back. You can't force yourself to love someone either. With these dating sites, I avoided them like the plague because I don't believe in love on dating sites. I believe that when the time is right, the person will show up when you least expect it.

So for those that are on Tinder for fun, or to ruin other people's lives by setting them up for disaster, I hope one day you will learn your lesson about love. If your attitude is as such, don't be complaining to your friends about why this chick or dude is not getting back to you or talking to you. Your attitude will reflect on the final result. 

If you go into the dating world with an attitude of just messing with people's minds, or just do a "hit and run", then don't be surprised when the opposite sex refuses to talk to you or hang out with you anymore. Don't be complaining to your buddies about what a bitch she is, or what an asshole he is, because you're the one who instigated the whole thing in the first place with your attitude. 

The reason why she acted like a bitch to you? Because you used her and dumped her on the side to see another chick. Yeah, of course she'll be mad at you. What are you expecting, a hug? In your dreams buddy.

He's acting like a complete dick to you? Maybe you should stop acting like a gold digger or talking to other guys behind his back. Or maybe he is a complete dick to everyone. You don't need people like that in your life. Next!

I still have friends who are single and are happy. I also know singles who aren't happy either, and wish they could find the one. Is there anything wrong with either? I can't be the judge of that. Sometimes it's a choice to stay single, but most of the time it's just hard to find the right person. It takes a lot of effort and energy to make things work well between two people. It's not like 1+1 and boom you're done. It takes two to tango.

Then there are the ones who spend money on chicks and hope the chicks love them back. But then when it doesn't they all call them gold diggers. Well first off buddy, you can't buy someone's love. So even though you do all this for a girl, and she doesn't feel it (the love I mean), that's not real love. The real love is having that emotional and mental connection first. I don't know how many times I've had guys complain that "Yo I spent this much amount on this girl and she don't love me bro. What a gold digging ho. Screw her."

Remember what I said earlier? It's about the attitude. You go in with the perception that if you buy someone things, then maybe they will like you back. Complete wrong attitude to start with. If you start with that, prepare to have bad end results. Not just in your bank account, but overall relationship. As I said, you can't buy someone's love. 

If you are clearly interested in getting to know someone, take them out for a coffee or a meal. The guy should pay for the meal. But girls, please don't order the most expensive thing on the menu. Be considerate please. 

If you make it to the second/third date, that's awesome. But some girls also continue to go on dates with guys in hopes of getting free meals all the time but don't really care about getting to know the guy. So guys, be aware of that too. By this time, you should have an idea whether you want to pursue this person any further. If either side don't feel any clicks by this point, there is no point going further in having more meals or coffee time together. You are both wasting time. 

Attitude. It plays a huge role. If you don't have the right attitude going into the dating game, then don't be surprised when you get played. A lot of good people with great attitudes have been hurt because of those who have terrible attitudes, or f*ckboy/girl attitudes. 

So please, for the love of God and everyone else on this planet, don't be a f*ckboy/girl. 

So lately...Vegas!

Right. I haven't posted in a while. Well, not really. It's only been a week or so. Not bad?

I think technology and I don't get along very well because I'm centuries behind on Instagram. And lately I've been completely obsessed with looking at random people's pictures online. I'm a visual person so I really like seeing pictures, whether it's a glimpse of a person's life or just car pictures. My latest profile is a combination of cars and purses, because well...surprise surprise. I like both. After stalking people's profiles and what not, one thing that I noticed was no one really had an account which talked about cars and purses. Or I mean showcased both. I figured I might as well start one up, because it's just a cool thing!

Either a person has a purse account, showcasing all purse essentials and small leather goods, or you come across an account (in this case, many of them) with lots and lots of cars. But no purses. I created it to share with others with the same passion as I, and taking random photoshoots with both. Happy stalking!

I noticed I haven't talked much about my Las Vegas trip. Long story short, it was a wedding party trip and it was a blast!

For some people, Vegas is an annual trip so it's like whatever man. For me, it's my third time going (and it won't be my last). Unfortunately I did not drink until I passed out (hey, I'm too old for that anyways), but a lot of times, after some good food and buffet, the group pretty much suffered bad food coma and passed out in the hotel room for a couple of hours at a time. So that ate away at the time we could've been walking the Strip or exploring random shenanigans around the Strip.

The Strip itself has had some improvements since my first time going there (2009). Some new hotels have been built, along with shows and shops. The thing about Vegas is: you have got to check out the shows. Vegas is known for many things, but the shows are absolutely bomb. I'm not a gambler so gambling does not intrigue me. Of all 3 times I've been to Vegas, I've played $2 in total and lost. I kid you not. I'm that cheap when it comes to slot machines. Because I rather take the money I have and pay to eat food, than pay to lose and have nothing to eat. Besides, you never win at casinos. There's a reason why the industry is a multi-billion dollar business.

This time we stayed at New York New York. I have stayed at the Venetian, MGM and Excalibur before. Of all the hotels I've stayed at, the Venetian was the best one but the priciest. NYNY is known for its mid-air roller coaster ride above the hotel/city. I've never went on it but maybe one day when I visit again. I have not been to all of the hotels (and I mean walk inside them all) because it would require a lot of time to hit up all the hotels.

The shows we saw: David Copperfield, Fantasy, and Aussie Hunks.

1) Watching David Copperfield live was like my childhood dream come true. When I was a kid, my dad would plop in one of his shows on the VCR and we would watch all his magic shows together. Copperfield still looks pretty much the same as 20 years ago when I saw him on TV (ok, maybe the botox showed a bit too much), but he's pretty funny in real life. His show engages the audience and that's what makes it worthwhile to watch him live. In this show, he integrates his upbringing and his path to becoming a magician/illusionist but I noticed his underlying theme was his dad/family. It was heartbreaking to watch him talk about his dad, but it also gave him the strength and the reason to where he is today. I thought that was a really nice dedication to his dad.

Right after the show, I texted my mom about the show, and told her that dad would have loved to see his magic hero live. Our goal now (as a family) is to come back to Vegas where I can bring them both to watch Copperfield live.

2) Fantasy, located in the Luxor hotel. I've never heard of the show until I was actually watching the show. It's basically a strip tease show. The ladies are fantastic, especially the ones doing acrobatics and pole dancing. Those take a great amount of skills and muscles. The singer (forgot her name but I believe she's Latina) was super fantastic. Beautiful voice! And there was also a comedic sketch in between the singing and dancing. In this case, it was Sean E. Cooper. Halfway into the show, this dude acting like James Brown showed up. At first I thought it was all a mistake. Why is this dude in a strip tease show?! So confused. But then I realized it was all entertainment. He was pretty hilarious! He kept picking on a guy in the front row (Matt), and his girlfriend. And supposedly his mistress named Amy. I think we left the show remembering more about the comedy versus the strip tease. This show is definitely for adults 18+.

At the end of the show, you have the opportunity to take pictures with the girls (and I'm sure there's probably a fee as well).

3) Aussie Hunks. Yes. You can probably figure this one out. A bunch of guys from Australia stripping on stage. This time, they do a lot of hip hop choreography and break dance. MY TYPE OF THING YO! And my goodness. The Australian accent is HOT! Now, before the show started, we are forced to wait outside, where some of the guys come out to talk to the girls (and some guys...I'll elaborate later) about the show. You have the option of buying fake $1 bills, 10 for $10 or 25 for $20. Something like that. During the show, the guys don't want the audience filling their pants with real dollar bills due to hygiene issues, so that's why they offer the fake dollar bills route. We opted out because well, yeah.

The beginning of the show has all the guys dancing a hip hop choreography, with very minimal stripping involved. After the choreography, that's when the stripping begins. It's usually a solo act or a duo act. Then there will be the times when they come down into the audience and start giving people lap dances, and that's where you can stick the fake dollar bills in their pants.

Remember the guys I mentioned above? So there were 3 guys sitting beside us 3 girls at the back. The theatre is not that big. I would say it's like a small auditorium. Probably equivalent to an elementary school auditorium, if not slightly smaller. It was hard for us 3 girls to get lap dances properly because they had to pass by those 3 guys. And those 3 guys were reaching into the dancers' pants, which did not impress the dancers. However, they all still did their best, but we could definitely see the front rows got way more lap dances than those in the back.

In the end though, it was all good. The host came around to give us all a hug and dance, and asked us if we had fun. So that was really nice of him to do that. They also offered picture opportunities to take with the guys on stage, for $10. You can do a PG group selfie, or a rated R selfie. Totally up to you.

There are so many shows to watch in Vegas, it's ridiculous. I have watched the Cirque du Soleil "O" show back in 2009 and it was super amazing. This time around, my friends wanted to watch it but the entire weekend we were there, tickets were sold out. "KA" was available but from what I remembered, O was recommended over KA. One tip for O is before you go to Vegas, you have to purchase the ticket in your hometown. It's almost impossible to get discount tickets for O, especially when you're in Vegas already. So if you know approximately when you'll be heading to Vegas, check out the showtimes first and see if there are tickets available. If there are (and I mean you need at least a month or two in advance), purchase right away. Because by the time you get there, it will be sold out. Buy in advance in order to avoid disappointment.

Shopping in Vegas is awesome as well. Considering the Canadian dollar sucks balls at this time, it wasn't worth buying expensive purses in Vegas. There is a mall by the Aria hotel that has all the high end brands: Christian Louboutin, Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Miu Miu, Fendi, Pucci, to name a few. Chanel is not there, but there is one location in the Bellagio shops. Prices are (obviously) all in USD. In terms of selection, I've noticed the US Chanel stores don't have as much variation as Canadian shops. When I asked about the mini, the SA was super confused and said they don't carry those. They do have the latest collections (the Chanel Airlines collection) but otherwise the classics were hard to find. Strange.

Clubbing. We were suppose to go clubbing but because our shows ended late, we were too tired to dance until the wee hours (yes, us grandmas). Considering this is my third time there and I've never been clubbing there before, I had hoped to pop my clubbing cherry but nope. Not this time. There are a lot of promoters on the streets handing out cards/drink cards to any one who is interested. And if you're a smooth talker, maybe you can get into the clubs for free. Because hey, it ain't worth paying $20 for cover. So look pretty, be a smart talker and you can have a night of dancing for free!

Outside NYNY at night, there is a DJ guy who sets up his own thing by the Brooklyn bridge. Every night, there is music blasting and people dancing/having fun on the bridge. And it's free! So that's another option if you can't get into the clubs.

There are a lot of free shows around the Strip, especially near the night when all the lights come on. The Bellagio fountain show is a must watch, which occurs every 30 minutes. Then there's the show outside Treasure Island. And then another weird ship show nearby (forgot the name). Inside Caesar's Palace, there's the Atlantis show which has a showing every 30 minutes during the day/evening time. There's a lot of things to keep you busy. You don't have to be stuck in front of a slot machine.

Buffets are awesome. If you're the type of person who loves food, you have got to try out the buffets. They range from anywhere between $25 to $45 USD per person, lunch or dinner buffet. Line ups can be long so be sure to arrive early. The two buffets we tried were at the Wynn and Bellagio. Wynn had more food selection, but it was $8 more than Bellagio. I personally liked Bellagio more because they had more pasta selections. The desserts, Wynn had more creative ones. Fruits, Bellagio had more.

Overall, I had spent basically nothing on buying items for myself. But I spent a lot on food. I would say about $150 this time around, in 4 days. The first time I was in Vegas, I must have spent way more considering we went to the Eiffel Tower Restaurant to eat, and when the bill came, we all almost had a heart attack. One thing I find in Vegas is the food can get expensive. So make sure you bring enough money for food.

In terms of people, yeah people can get rowdy. What do you expect in a place that is legal to carry open bottle alcohol everywhere? Yes, hide your boyfriends and girlfriends, and children. Right. I saw families there with young children and babies. Why would you bring them to Vegas?! Go to Disney World or something but it's not really the right place for young children, considering the amount of rowdy people and explicit shows.

There are also quite a bit of exotic car spots. The most memorable this time around was the Lamborghini Aventador and Mclaren P1, both parked outside the Mandarin Orange hotel. Apparently there are a lot of exotics around that area, so if you're a car spotter, that's one place where you don't want to miss!

So that's all I can remember from my trip. Cheers!

Air Canada Rouge Review

I'm writing a review about my experience with Air Canada Rouge. Because I have unlimited characters, I can write a long review, which is GREAT.

For those who don't know (like me), Rouge is a bit different than Air Canada. They are the "budget" airliner. I didn't find out till after I landed, and I can understand and see why they are the budget airliner. Air Canada itself is already a nightmare (most of the time). Rouge is like the diarrhea that you will struggle with for the rest of the month.

Recently I flew to Las Vegas with AC Rouge. The flight there was a bit delayed. Flight time was 0915. Now, my friends were there at 5am because they got an early ride to work otherwise there would be no other convenient way. I had arrived just before 7am. Once I arrived we headed straight to the security to get our stuff scanned. This is where all the confusion began.

In Terminal 1, there is the USA part where you line up to get scanned. That's around area 6 or so. There was a huge line already. That's not the worst part. The worst part is when they told us line up began all the way at the BACK of the terminal. It was like a holding area where people would wait until they get called.

My friends and I go there to wait. And wait. and wait. At 7am, they were calling for people with a flight time of earlier than 0840 to start lining up. Everyone else has to sit down and wait.

I kid you not. Time travels pretty fast. It was over an hour that they were stuck at calling people for flights earlier than 0840. It took an hour before they said "those who have boarding times earlier than 0845 can start lining up." RIDICULOUS.

Now it turns to 0850. And they have not called any other people, except for those earlier than 0845 boarding time. So this is the part when people are hitting the fan and freaking out. Eventually they suddenly started calling people with a 0915 time or earlier, and now you see a bunch of people lining up. We got through customs, which still took some time as well. By the time we reached our gate, people were already getting into the plane.

The flight got delayed to beyond 0940 because people were late and what not due to the idiots who did not know how to count time back at the security.

The flight itself was uneventful. AC Rouge has no inflight entertainment but you can download an app with all the entertainment on it and run it from your own iPad or phone or whatever. Or you can pay $10 to rent an iPad from AC-R. No thanks. I already pay enough for seats and fuel so why do I have to pay for entertainment. Then again, it is a budget airliner.

Food service is available, but you have to pay. Instant cup noodles cost $3, which I could easily get at an Asian supermarket for less than a dollar. A chicken wrap is $7.50, same with a tiny box of pizza. Bowl of nuts is $3. And you can only pay by credit card. This is for a flight that is just under 4 hours.

I flew from Amsterdam to Frankfurt via Lufthansa airlines, which was 1 hour and 15 mins flight time at most. They not only served drinks but they served a mini meal as well, with the whole tray and all. AND IT WAS GOOD! I was impressed. My only flight with Lufthansa and service was amazing.

It is no wonder Lufthansa Airlines is one of the best in the world. Props to you Germans.

Now, back to my awful experience.

Flying back is a bit of a different story, and this is where my review comes in with devil horns.

Flight 1854. Red eye flight out of Vegas. Boeing 767-300.

Initially when we checked in online, 3 of us were seated at the very back of the plane. The last row. My friend has bad motion sickness, so sitting at the back would be a complete nightmare. We opted to move up. Online, we saw all 3 of our seats move up to the middle of the plane, and it was confirmed.

Now we go to board the plane and I hear my name being paged overhead. When I was at the front of the massive line already, and I had to walk to another area to see what the hell was going on. Not happy. Initial thought was "sh*t am I going to miss my flight?" No thankfully not. But there was a problem. Another passenger had MY NAME on his ticket with his seat number. My name was double booked for some reason, but hey that ain't my problem. I don't run the show.

So after some clarification, I boarded the plane with my friends. It is then I saw that we were on completely different areas on the plane. They were at the middle, as what they saw online last night. But I was all the way at the back, as if I didn't change. Maybe I moved up a row or two but that was it. I had hoped that whoever was sitting with my friends would kindly switch with me. However as I approached the seat, there was a woman there. Her husband was on the other side of the aisle and someone else was at the window. They had messed up their configuration as well. I figured it wouldn't be cool to separate this old couple from each other and have the wife sit all the way at the back, so I bit my tongue and just moved to the back.

I had the aisle seat, the window seat beside me was empty at that time. Because everyone at the back had boarded earlier, there was very little room to put my carry on luggage. I was looking at the overhead compartments to see if there was any room or if anything could be moved around, but nope. I asked the flight attendant (don't know her name) if she could help. The only thing she offered was "oh you'll have to look up front if you want more space" and basically walked away. The passengers didn't do much either. Just minded their own business or stared at me as if I was retarded.

I look a bit up front and found a space. I tried to position my carry on to see if it would fit properly. The first time it hit something on the side, and at one point I almost lost my gripping. For someone with a weak wrist, yeah it's a struggle. I think I nearly got hit in the head with my own luggage (and by no means was it super heavy). I took it down to reposition. This is when I expected some help from the FA or anyone near me but nope. It was the most useless flight I've ever been on.

Flashback: I had boarded a red eye flight coming out of Vancouver last year, and the AC flight was packed. This wasn't Rouge, but just the regular AC flight. I waited until everyone had put their stuff away before having to put my long, giant poster tube. It didn't require a lot of space, but it was a long tube, so yes other carry on luggages go first. Not only did the FAs help look for a spot, but even the passengers offered to help as well. The people around me were friendly and helpful. And this is what helps make the world a better place.

Now, back to reality.

I go back to my seat. At this time there is a nice lady by the window and her boyfriend/husband was at the back. It was then that I offered my seat to him if she wanted him beside her, and she was more than happy. Small things can go a long way.

So here I am, at the very last row again. Beside the door. Can't see anything out the window.

Didn't think too much of it, until I started smelling jet fuel. Now I've flown many times in my almost 30 years of life and I have sat at the back of planes before. Never in my life have I ever smelled fuel on board. The couple beside me expressed the same concern to the FA. The FA (the same one who told me to basically do their job) told us that it was normal, very similar to when we first start our cars, the fumes can be overwhelmingly strong.

Ok lady, if you can smell fumes from your car when you're inside of it and all the windows rolled up/doors closed, that's an issue. Get a new car for God's sakes. I can understand if you're in a closed garage and starting up the car, then yes fumes can get deadly. But this plane was not parked in a garage. There is no reason for the smell of fuel to be going into the jet unless there was a crack or improper seal somewhere (although it is most likely due to the ventilation system and how it works on a plane). It was a very strong smell. It's bad enough the washroom is there, but that with the smell of fuel is overwhelming.

So now with that paranoia in my head, and not being able to see anything except to feel the jet taxiing to the runway, and the engines slowly starting to roar, a lot of things go through the mind. What happens if the door blows open? Sh*t I'm going to get sucked out and die.

I don't think it would have happened if I smelled jet fuel, but the fact that I did set off a mental chain reaction, resulting in pretty much a panic attack. This is the first panic attack I've experienced on a plane.

Thankfully one of my friends decided to switch his seat with me and move me up to where my other friend was sitting so I wouldn't be completely alone back there. I debated with him but he insisted on switching, so we switched.

This is the most annoying part. We knew we were at the back and requested to move up online, which we did. The fact that 2 of them made it up, but one was still stuck at the back is ridiculous. Not only that, but the lady sitting beside my friend was also double booked with someone else. So that person was also confused as to where they were going. Somehow my name was double booked onto two different tickets too. This is the company issue, not mine. People were scattered everywhere from each other.

This is why I don't rely on staff or other passengers to do things because they are completely useless. You can be nice to a certain degree, but in the end when you don't get a nice feedback, then what's the point of doing it in the first place?

I paid for the services and fees. FAs have a responsibility of lives on board, yes it s a huge thing. They are also responsible to help people when they need it, and I felt like they failed on that part when I was struggling. You don't just stand around and watch someone struggle. I might as well stand and watch someone struggle to breathe, when I know what I can do to help them but don't actually help them because, well they're adults. They can figure it out themselves.

If you get paid to wipe ass, then you wipe ass. If you get paid to help people store their belongings, then help them store their belongings. How hard is it to follow a job description? Apparently for some people, it's too much to ask for. Those are the people who shouldn't be in the job because their hearts are not in it.

By the way, the FA was not tall. She also looked like she needed to shed many pounds. So that's probably why she refused to help people. If that's the case, why is the airliner hiring people who are not fit to do the job, or don't meet bare minimum requirements? The airliner is wasting money on someone who can't do the job properly, when there are others out there who meet the requirements.

Don't even get me started on the leg room and how uncomfortable the seats are. That wasn't my priority though, but yes there is limited space to stretch your legs. If you have lower back issues, sitting in any plane seat will be a nightmare.

There is also a blog by Johnny Jet, who says the FAs filled out the flight info on custom cards if you are flying out of country, that they fill out the flight info for you (Johnny Jet). Nope, not on ours. Ours were too lazy to help with our luggage. You think they would pre-fill out our custom cards on the flight number? You would have higher luck winning money in Vegas.

Would I recommend AC-Rouge? Hell no. I would give it zero stars. Avoid it like herpes. Just stay away from it.

It's gotten to the point that if Rouge was the only airliner to go to that specific destination, I would rather drive or take the train. Or swim across the ocean to get there, than rely on a lame, fuel smelling airliner like Rouge.

Bag Charms

I don't know how many of you like hanging charms off your handbags. To me, I find it brings out each individual and their uniqueness, if that makes any sense.

With women/girls, we all like to make our own statement, whether it's through fashion or what cars we drive or what shoes we wear. Bag charms are like a bag's statement, so to speak. There are tons and tons of various charms out there, with some do-it-yourself.

Of course there are some handbags that look better without charms hanging off of it. I think for a nice chic day out (whatever that means?), having bag charms makes it a fun statement. Going to a formal dinner night out however, I would just leave the bag as is. The more plain the better. For example, I wouldn't want to hang these charms off of my Chanel WOC when I go out for a formal night. I would leave the WOC as is, as it's already a classic piece.

Which brings me to....my new purchase.

I have seen some girls wearing the Laduree Paris bag charms and thought they looked pretty cute. I have one, given to me as a gift a while ago, but figured I wanted another one to add to my bigger bags. So I tried to see where I could get it.

Boutique Marron sells Laduree products, and is located in Japan. I decided to get the purple macaroon bag charm. I ordered it April 1, and it was then sent out on the 2nd. It arrived on April 11. I guess for international shipping, that's not too bad at all. They also include a feedback form, which if you fill it out online, they will give back a $5 store credit. Overall, first time experience with them was very good. No problems with the international shipping.

You can also order it off of Laduree's main website but the pricing is in Euros.

Anyways, here are some pictures I snapped.

The purple box it came in.

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Oooooo....

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Comes with a card with the "warning, this is not for small children" instructions, along with what material it's made out of.

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Tadaaa! She's so purple.

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Against the blue Prada in the back.

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Up close!

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Which is better, black or purple? I like the purple. Probably because I bought it myself. 

Thanks for reading!

Snow + Summer Tires

Good morning all.

Last night we had snow. In April. Living in Canada, that is no surprise. One day it would be nice and sunny; the next day there's a snowstorm. Weather can be unpredictable sometimes.

The weeks leading up to April have been a mix between sunny, rain, strong winds, snow, sunny, rain, more rain. And now snow.

Yesterday, the day started off as so: nice and sunny. I could run and do some errands while it's still sunny outside so I did. As the day progressed, I could see some snow flurries here and there but then it would disappear. So I didn't think much of it. I knew it would snow, but at the same time, I didn't really believe the weatherman.

I remember when they kept saying the GTA would get a huge dumping of snow back in February 2011, calling it the worst storm of the century "Snowmaggedon". School boards closed down all the schools the day before, same with school bus cancellations. Everyone was freaking out. The day came, and Toronto was dumped with about 10cm of snow. It was ridiculous. At that time I was in Hamilton and they got dumped with 30cm of snow. Now THAT was a crazy drive. I had the coupe at that time, first winter ever with her, and I got stuck coming out of the driveway. Hadn't even made it onto the road yet, and I was on winter tires too. RWD problems yo.

So that was my attitude yesterday about the weather: yeah cool it will snow, but they're making a huge deal out of it. Just drive safe and all is well, especially on summer tires.

Well, I was wrong.

I was in the west end (typically it would take an hour drive back home on good weather), when the snow started to pick up its pace. At that time, it was still fine to drive, because there was no snow on the ground. It would hit the ground and melt. Because I wasn't in any huge rush to get home, I could take my time.

About 25 minutes into the drive home on the highway, visibility was limited due to the snow picking up its pace. I could already feel the coupe starting to slide a bit, and I knew it would not be safe to continue the journey home via highway like this, so I got off the highway, and took the local road home. From previous travel time, it would take about 45 minutes to get home via the local road in good weather. I knew it wouldn't be 45 minutes. I had to prepare myself for a long commute home.

By this time, there was probably about 3cm on the ground. Not a lot. But with summers on, it becomes a scary drive. Summer tires start losing grip below 7 degrees Celcius (weather was starting to hit the negatives at this point), so that mixed with snow, they become hockey pucks. You hear that term a lot, and you think "well that's pretty fun! drifting time!". But seriously, when you are in a long commute home, it's not fun.  It pretty much becomes life or death. One wrong move and everything can fall apart.

I think the predicted snow would accumulate between 10-15cm as the night progressed, so I knew I would be in trouble. But I couldn't rush. There was a few options: get a tow and tow the car home, or crash somewhere for the night and continue tomorrow. Problem is: waiting for a tow at this time in this weather will take a few hours due to accidents already on the roads. Crashing somewhere seemed ideal. However, the cleanup wouldn't be done till next day and I had work the next day. Conclusion: get home somehow.

I continued heading east. By this time, roads were covered in snow, temperatures had dipped, visibility was bad. And I was slipping at every moment.

At this point, you really have to know your car well to handle it in conditions like this. You cannot freak out. You cannot have any distractions. You need 100% attention to your surroundings.

To summarize the rest of the ride home, it was hell. I had a few near misses, and thank God there was no one around, or they weren't close to me. Accelerating from stop to go was a mess. I wasn't going anywhere. If I was, I was going sideways down roads. Thankfully traffic behind me stayed back and didn't want to pass me in case I hit them. My rear end at this time was pointed towards the curb, and the front was pointed at the lane divider/next lane. The rear tire had bounced off the curb a few times, but I needed that for momentum and control. As long as it was not the rims or anything else, I was good.

Stop lights became my worst nightmare. I had to time myself and slow down, but coming to a complete stop was impossible. The car would still move and slide. If the lights were red, I had to time myself and slow the car down, so by the time I reached the traffic light, it would be green and I can continue to go without stopping. I needed ample time and space from the cars ahead of me if I wanted to avoid them. Traffic on the main road I was taking home was jam packed. It wasn't moving. I was basically in trouble because I couldn't stop properly, so at the next available side street, I took it. People may say it's a bad idea because there is more snow in neighbouring roads, but at this point, it was better than sitting in traffic. I had to keep the car moving.

Thank God for that because on the main road just before I turned, there was a huge down hill. There was no way I could make that hill. And there was no way I could stop. So I had to avoid it.

Eventually I made it home safely by taking small streets, without hitting anyone or injuring myself. The journey should've taken an hour. It took 3 hours in this weather. Not bad. But at the end of 3 hours of attentive driving and maneuvers, my brain was exhausted.

If I could summarize some driving points in terrible snow weather while on summer tires:

1) If you don't have to go anywhere that day, just stay home.

2) If you are already out and need to get home, think of options: a tow, overnight stay at a motel, stay at friend's place, get someone to pick you up but leave your car out of harm's way somewhere that allows overnight parking (and come back next day to pick it up).

3) If you're already on the road, allow yourself AMPLE of time. At this point if you're late for a meeting or something important, call them up and ask to reschedule. Don't ever rush yourself or force yourself to make it within a time frame. If you are in no rush to get home, even better. Take your time, and I really mean it.

4) Stop signs and traffic lights will become your worst enemy. Coming to a complete stop will be impossible on RWD cars with summer tires. You WILL still slide even when you're at a standstill. Handbrakes are useless; even though your brakes are all locked up, your tires don't have any grip whatsoever on the road. It's resting on top of ice and snow, so it will slide. Which brings me to...

5) Timing. You will need to pay attention to every traffic light ahead of you when it turns red, and stop signs too. You will need to time yourself and the distance from where you're at, to the traffic light or stop sign. Start early, because by the time you get to the traffic light, it will be green, so you won't have to stop. Start braking early; about halfway down the pedal, or even 1/4 of the pedal. No hard braking, and no sudden braking. A lot of people get into accidents because they don't allow themselves enough time or distance to brake, so when they freak out and slam the brakes, their cars go sideways into a ditch or into other cars.

6) Distance. I've already mentioned it above, but I will say it again. ALLOW ENOUGH SPACE BETWEEN YOU AND THE CAR AHEAD OF YOU. At least 6 car lengths or more. These techniques will NOT work if you are bumper to bumper with the car ahead of you. You WILL crash into them if you don't allow enough space.

7) Hills also become your second worst enemy. Going down hill will be scary, so once again, allow yourself enough space around you. No sudden braking, and no hard braking. Going up hill will be a nightmare. You will struggle to climb. From my experience, I was going sideways up the hill. I had to milk the accelerator, but not too hard otherwise the car will slide out. Once you feel the car starting to slide, get off the accelerator, but once it starts to slow, give it some gas. On RWD with summers on, you will not be able to go up a hill in a straight line, no matter how much you force it. You will be going sideways.

8) Attention. No talking to passengers, no music, no talking on the phone, no eating or drinking, no daydreaming, no make up. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, except focusing on the road and those around you. If you cannot focus 100% on the road or you feel half sleepy, pull over and call it a night.

9) Keep calm. DON'T FREAK OUT. A lot of people start freaking out when they drive into snow conditions. And that's where the sudden braking happens, because they think if they brake and stop, then all will be good. In RWD cars, you will be screwed if you don't stay calm and you will hurt someone if you don't stay calm. By far and from my experience, RWD cars are the absolute worst to drive in snow conditions, especially if you don't have any winter tires on. They are literally hockey pucks on roads. If you can't stay calm, then don't be on the road.

10) Counter-steering and accelerator. There will be a lot of this going on because the car will not stay straight. There will need to be a balance between this, and the accelerator. Keep the foot off the brake unless you are coming to a (complete) stop. Otherwise it's balance and control between counter steering and accelerating when driving. These two skills become your best friend when driving in snowy weather.

11) Look where you want to go. I've seen that emphasized many times on Canada's Worst Drivers TV show. If you want to go straight, and your car is going sideways, keep your eyes on the road ahead of you, because that's where you want to go. If you focus on the curb, your car will kiss the curb and probably stay there if you keep looking there.

12) Know your car and how it responds. This might sound weird, but you really have to know your car and how it responds to certain conditions. I know that my coupe will react when the roads are wet if I accelerate too hard or take a corner too fast. With snow, it's even worse, and I know I will be going sideways. If you already have that knowledge already, that's great. Now you will need to apply the skill set to prevent anything bad from happening.

13) Please drive according to conditions. At this point, you have to put your ego away (yes, for some people it's so difficult to do unfortunately), and just focus. This is not a race to get home. This is not a show off thing to show people how cool you are drifting on main roads. No, it's a scary situation to be in and one wrong move will lead to disaster.

14) Your life and the lives of others depend on your driving. If everyone could think like that, people would be more careful. This is how I approach driving, either by myself or with a passenger. If you have that mindset, you will take precautions and be way more attentive. If you don't, then best to stay off the road for everyone's sake, including yours.

April Fool's?

Happy (belated) Easter! 

CC = Christ has Conquered the grave!

Happy April everyone.

This year I didn't do any pranking on family or friends. It just didn't seem right this year. Last year I tried pranking my parents and recorded it.

They were both in the kitchen when I came in (filming of course), announcing that I was dating....a girl. I had met her at work, and we became friends quickly, and then started falling in love. I told her I was sick and tired of dating men, so I figured let's give women a try. My mother's initial response was this look of confusion, then telling me I still had to be careful who I befriend. But she probably didn't really know what I was trying to get at. At the last moment, I said I was lesbian.

She continued on with her house work.

That's when I told her April Fool's?

My dad was listening in, and he basically asked "Is she Chinese?"

Good to know my dad has a sense of humour!

I couldn't think of anything for this year though. Originally I was going to ask a girl friend whom my parents have never met before, and ask her to come over. And we'll start touching each other or something, and I'll tell them see, I have a girlfriend. But no one was willing to volunteer sadly. My hands are dry and cracked but it doesn't mean I have a rough touch! (Ok, maybe I do).

Onto reality, it's been just over 4 months since M passed. I still have my random break downs, and they come at random times. It could be over the smallest things too. A lot of times though, it's flashbacks. Flashbacks to the last moments of his life. That part is forever etched in my head and it will never go away. I don't think I will ever fill that void in my heart again now that he's gone. There will always be that emptiness.

Which brings me to the topic of death. I was listening to a sermon last week by pastor Tom, in relation to the death and resurrection of Christ because it was Easter. For those who don't believe, bear with me as I break it down to the best that I can.

We all have different perceptions on how life occurred, and what it all means. So it will really depend on the basic foundation of a worldview. In one view, the heavens and the earth was created from the very beginning by God (Genesis 1:1), added the land and the seas, day and night, stars and vegetations, then animals and then humans. He also added these creations were "very good" not once, but six times (Genesis 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). He never once said his creations were "bad". Everything was created perfectly in the beginning. There was no death in the beginning. It wasn't until when Adam and Eve sinned against God that death was brought upon all. Human rebellion brought a barrier between God and humans.

The good news is that God came into the world as the Son (Jesus Christ), to offer himself as a living sacrifice so that we may be saved from our sins, remove that barrier, and spend the rest of eternity with Him. Before in the Old Testament, humans had to offer animal sacrifices to God in order to make peace with Him. Now we don't, because He already died for us. Not only that, but rose from the dead. That's the key part: Christ defeated death. Anything that we offer to Him now would be a slap to His face. But we are given this opportunity to have this personal relationship with Him, and for eternity. Your physical body dies, but your soul lives on. And that's what makes us who we are today. What better way to spend it with our awesome God, creator and saviour forever?! Better than winning the lottery, that's for sure!

I remember a quote from Ken Ham (Answers in Genesis founder), when someone asked him: If your God was all so powerful and all loving and caring, why isn't He here on earth to fix the problems?! Why didn't He come down to save us?

Ken's reply: He did come down to reveal Himself to us. And we nailed Him to the cross for it.

Brilliant answer Ken. Bang on. (AIG)

So going back to the topic of death, Tom brought up a really good point. When people die peacefully in their sleep, is it really that peaceful?

I don't know how many of you have dealt with someone dying or taking their last breath, but I can tell you it's anything but peaceful. Because death was never part of God's plan, I see death as a downfall. In today's society, death is a "normal" thing (then again, who determines what is normal and what isn't? When we all have various starting viewpoints, everyone will come to a different conclusion. So really, what is normal?). Someone dies, you mourn then move on with life. And the cycle keeps going until you die. What a life eh?

I have seen and been with patients who were on the verge of death, and ultimately taking their last breath. The path is definitely NOT a peaceful one and I can just imagine what goes on in their heads. It's unfortunate we won't be able to know what really goes on in their minds, but think of it like this:

Your body is basically shutting down. All your organs are failing. You (your soul, your mind) is screaming in pain, feeling very afraid. You just want to escape from it all. But you can't scream. Because all the nerves in your body are starting to lose sensation. It is unable to deliver information from the brain to the rest of the body. Breathing changes. Each breath can take up to 20 seconds. Sometimes you can hear fluid accumulation in the lungs (in congestive heart failure, as the fluid backs up into the lungs). You start to go unconscious. Family tries to shake you awake but you can't open your eyes. You can hear them, and feel their touch, but you can't say anything back.

Eventually as time passes, the heart slows down, circulation decreases, and breathing starts to cease. The person will struggle to breathe. Tell me, how is that peaceful? There will be the moment when the person takes their last breath. And don't believe in movies when the person looks like they just close their eyes and dies like that, without a sound. Nope. The last breath is usually very loud and gaspy. For a moment you think they are choking on something, but it's a sound that you will never forget, because soon after it becomes eerily silent.

Honestly, there is nothing peaceful about death. When I reflect and have flashbacks of M's death (and come on, he isn't even a human), I saw him struggle the last few hours of his life. It was NOT peaceful. Watching your loved ones gasping for air, trying to breathe, and hearing that they are fighting against the fluid accumulation in their lungs, that is anything but peaceful. They probably know they are dying (both humans and animals), but they can't tell us. And that's the hardest part about death. Not knowing what's really going on in their minds.

When people tell me their loved ones died in their sleep, and they went peacefully, I nod out of respect and say my condolences. But again, there is no such thing as dying peacefully. Death is not natural, and was never part of God's plan from the beginning.

For me, yeah I totally miss M and I miss his presence. If only he could live forever, then it would make life much better. That goes with any loved ones in our lives. I do believe if it was a perfect world from the very beginning, there would be no death. Therefore M (along with the rest of the world) would live forever physically. However, this isn't the case.

There is still hope though. If we believe Christ is God, we can spend the rest of eternity with Him. Death will only be a temporary thing. Death shouldn't scare us, but it should prepare us for what's to come (and it won't be a sad thing!). Ultimately, it will come down to a person's choice whether they choose to believe or not. But one thing we know for sure, God's arms is always open to us. It's a matter of us accepting it or not.

Although death is a sad reality, there is one thing that I remember another pastor telling the congregation. It's not goodbye, but it's "see you soon".

Lastly, have I said it's already April? Man, where did the time go?! Weather is pretty crappy though. It's suppose to snow later today, and temperature will be hovering around the 1 degree Celcius mark. Hopefully the snow won't stay very long. Definitely will be driving like a grandma.

Now that spring (and soon to be summer) is here, any car plans? Not really. Originally I planned on wrapping the car, but the thought of having to detail the car first before wrapping it is making me do a double take. That plus the lack of time. One thing for sure though, the car is going for another tune. Not SFR. Not BTR. Still in talks about the cost and what not, but Genny needs another tune for sure. Otherwise it's just maintenance.

Speaking of maintenance, check your fluid levels people. I made a habit of checking mine on a weekly basis, except I missed out on one important one: the coolant. On the Genny BK1, the reservoir is situated at the front of the hood, but it's facing towards the driver. So it faces AWAY from the hood. To check the levels, you really have to lean your head in the engine (and yes, preferably with it off, otherwise your head/hair will get caught in the belt, and there goes your head).

After I had spent an arm and a leg fixing up the suspension, good ol' dad went to check the fluid levels. He then noticed something odd about the coolant. He opened the cap, and noticed there was basically no coolant in there. Well, it was hard to tell how much was left, but it was way below the "L" mark. I was only able to make out about 10mL of coolant in the reservoir. Let's just say thank God for my dad, for that moment in time. Otherwise who knows right now if Genny would still be in one piece, or burnt down on a highway somewhere.

Do I take responsibility for it? Absolutely. It's basic assessment that should've been caught. But here's the thing. I find it odd that after all these years of taking it to dealerships and various independent shops, and having friends work on it, no one was able to catch my mistake. And who will ultimately pay the price for the mistake? It would be me. So yes, very odd no one caught my mistake. In almost 6 years.

When I catch a medication error, or in one case, someone had mistaken my patient for theirs and started doing treatment on them (which by the way, it was different from my patient), will I stand there and watch? No, I have the duty to report an error, small or big. Technicians are like the doctors of the car world. The owner (me in this case) may not have caught an error, but it's also the technician's duty to inspect, which takes a few seconds mind you. In a way, they all failed in my eyes to do the most basic of basic assessments when I relied on them for treatment.

Aside from the boo boos and a potential tune, I have no clue what else to do. I still have yet to enjoy one proper month of driving with tuned Genny. And she's been with me for almost 6 years. So fingers crossed, I hope this summer will be a good one.