rain rain

Busy day yesterday, meeting about Sky Garden job in the morning, followed by housing appointments in the afternoon. And then, rainstorm whohoo "orz

Least the job worked out. I was complaining about the civ department coordinator not replying to my application, but it turns out that I wasn't eligible for work-study and his inbox has 600+ unread emails gg.

There's sooo many things growing up there! Beans, lettuce, tomatoes, squash, raspberries etc! Gonna be good :)

Housing is as depressing as ever, low supply plus high demand is never fun. Gotta make offers though, it's only downhill from here.

What's even worse is the rainstorm yesterday. TTC was paralyzed, stuck for total of 3 hours on the subway, plus driving back from Lawrence took another 2 hours.

More flood photos here.

Took refuge in a pizza shop near the station, man pizza has never tasted so good while you're half soaked and clearly been standing in one spot for too long.


Came home to find that there's no power too. Luckily elevators were working and there was still hot water (y).

hauling

Dad came to visit, time to intensely practice driving @_@" Should probably aim for at least 5 more hours on the road derp.

He also brought along my rather large haul of asian skincare products from taobao. Taobao is great (y). I also discovered that they sell samples online, which makes it much easier to try new products.







Direct, overhead lighting is not your friend.

Few initial impressions:

• Think I went overboard with Innisfree masks... especially since I ordered 7 packs of the sleeping pack durr.
• Tonymoly petite bunny gloss is so adorable, and cheaper than the Clinique chubby sticks which I wanted. However the pigmentation of this shade is terrible, doubt any colour will show up on my lips. They might have given me the wrong shade since I remember ordering a bright red one...
• Tonymoly's egg masks, such wasteful packaging! Only the bottom half contains the product.
• High hopes of the MBDM apple polyphenol. General consensus seems to be that it is one of the best out of the series. Also bought a bunch of fancy ingredient ones for mom.  

My aunt also sent this along, I shall presume this is a housewarming gift for when the condo is finally found "orz


Housing omg "orz More showings later today, hope it goes well.

hydrosol

Spent too much time reading reviews of asian skincare this summer, so might as well do a quick roundup of my own routine as a reference.

I've realized the usefulness of flow charts ever since the programming project. Mine was so pretty *u* probably improperly done cause I only know the rectangle is for process and diamond for like decisions, but it was colour coded haha.

The products so far. Ordered a bunch of stuff on taobao, so this is going to expand haha:

In my defense, this is simple compared to most! Only 3 steps on most days haha. Looking to replace the exfoliator with something chemical instead (all I see is that AHAs/BHAs > physical gg), add a serum (preferably to fade scars, might look into the Kiehl's one), and restart using an eye cream (too many choices "orz).

The assorted masks are currently Kiehl's rare earth clay mask (looking for cheaper alternative), random MBDM sheet masks, and laneige waterbank sleeping pack and multiberry yogurt pack. Ordered a whole bunch more though *u*

To my further defense, have not bought make-up items in a very long time.

come and rearrange

More music fillers cause housing depresses me, though other aspects are well? Reblogged from Ivy, such perfect falling asleep song



the only time I feel good falling
is when I'm falling fast and hard for you
the last two digits when I'm calling
fade away but somehow I'll get through
the only time I feel good sinking
is when I'm sinking fast and deep for you
you caught me as I was winking
now I think my winking days are through

could it be another chang?
to come and rearrange
why can't she just feel the way I do?

you can't love no one
you can't love something
you can't love nothing
you can't love anything
till you can love yourself
till you can love yourself
you can love yourself

the only time I feel good falling
is when I'm falling fast and hard for you
I can't tell if you are stalling
so if you are please tell me what to do
the only time I feel good sinking
is when I'm sinking fast and deep for you
you caught me when I was winking
now I think my winking days are through

could it be another change?
to come and rearrange
why can't she just feel the way I do?

Everything that kills me makes me feel alive

Best line from tumblr: everything that doesn't kill me gives me exp

Norwegian Wood

Took me a while to decide to check out Murakami's books. The pretty cover overlay of 1Q84 was what initially attracted me, but Norwegian Wood was on the library shelves so it ended up being the first Murakami book I've read.

(the eyeliner on the cover is so perfect woahhh)

Synopsis via Amazon:

Toru, a quiet and preternaturally serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before.  Toru begins to adapt to campus life and the loneliness and isolation he faces there, but Naoko finds the pressures and responsibilities of life unbearable.  As she retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself reaching out to others and drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman.

It's a very...umm...melancholic tale? Well that's obvious, but you know those people who talk with such clarity when they're telling a sad/vulnerable story about themselves? The book reads like one of those people telling you the story.

I also think the writing is very beautiful, or at least the translation of it. Like these few lines:

I read Naoko's letter again and again, and each time I read it I would be filled with the same unbearable sadness I used to feel whenever Naoko stared into my eyes. I had no way to deal with it, no place I could take it to or hide it away. Like the wind passing over my body, it had neither shape nor weight, nor could I wrap myself in it.”

and

April ended and May came along, but May was even worse than April. In the deepening spring of May, I had no choice but to recognize the trembling of my heart. It usually happened as the sun was going down. In the pale evening gloom, when the soft fragrance of magnolias hung in the air, my heart would swell without warning, and tremble, and lurch with a stab of pain. I would try clamping my eyes shut and gritting my teeth, and wait for it to pass. And it would pass....but slowly, taking its own time, and leaving a dull ache behind

and these:

She knelt on the floor by my pillow, eyes fixed on mine. I stared back at her, but her eyes told me nothing. Strangely transparent, they seemed like windows to a world beyond, but however long I peered into their depths, there was nothing I could see. Our faces were no more than ten inches apart, but she was light-years away from me.

Though I think I like it because the last sentence reminds me so much of Byousoku 5cm.  It would be pretty awesome if Shinkai did an animated film of this *u*

Didn't take down any quotation myself, the only line I'll probably remember is that "Only the dead stay seventeen together", and that's only because I have a One Piece wallpaper that quotes the line. Felt really proud when I came across it and finally knew what the wallpaper was saying haha. 

As a bonus, the book introduced me to some Beatles songs.

elements

Not sure why we picked one of the busiest long weekends to head to Niagara Falls, but it was fun xD

First stopped for some shopping at the nearby outlet. Got a shawl collar cardigan and a pair of white leather sneakers to replace my worn out converses.

Wheee for panoramas and rainbows:

Had an overpriced and rather bland tasting dinner at the Welcome Center restaurant. Would have much preferred the greasy burgers downstairs. Since there was still some more time to kill before the falls lit up and fireworks started, thought it would be a good idea to grab some coffee at Timmies. Was not such a good idea, the line was longer than the one outside Coach's outlet e_e"

Finally the sun set and everything started to glow:

After some more time the fireworks started. I strongly believe that they look better out of focus.

but here's a short clip if you want to see the actual show:

The traffic on the way back was horrendous. Took 4 hours to get back to Toronto wtf, was a good nap though. Moral of the story: don't go to Niagara Falls during a long weekend.