don't lie. you want to be a rockstar.

celebrity sighting #2.

there was a party for xyyz magazine today at roots. the event was sponsored by johnny walker.
let's just say it was a LONG night. i didn't get out of the store until a few minutes past 11pm.

the whole night wasn't a complete bummer though. why? cause k-os was in the house! he spent most of the night just chilling out & talking with some ladies & sipping on his scotch. as he was leaving, he gave me a head-nod, and i gave him a wave back. no not one of those grade 2 waves, but a hand up in the air kind of wave.

it snowed!

toronto had its first major snowstorm of the year.
our car got stuck in the driveway, my socks got wet from stepping into huge mounds of snow and traffic slowed down to a crawl... but i loved every moment of it.

and i'm pretty sure this guy was happy to see some snow too.

on saturday night, went out to this exquisite french restaurant called gamelle. it's on college just west of bathurst. it's this tiny little place where you can see right into the kitchen. the whole restaurant seats maybe 30 people at most. it had so much character. so much charm.
we started off with some calamari. then she had the risotto and i had the lamb. we topped things off with a "gateau chocolat". it's nice to have some upscale cuisine every now and then. back in brissy, splurging on food meant a trip to the local vietnamese restaurant for pho! haha.

speaking of my eating habits lately... my mother tells me that she's had to do her costco shopping twice as often lately because of all the food i've been eating. kekeke.

in other news. i've been listening to a lot of ol' school lauryn hill lately. released almost 10 years ago and it's still hot.

things i've learned.

can you believe it's december already? seems like just last week that i landed in pearson airport. my elective has already come to an end.
i had a really great time. the placement was so much more than what i had initially expected. i leave the elective with opened eyes and a serious consideration to sexual health and women's health as a career in the future.

i want to share with you a few things that i have learned over the last 4 weeks. some of them are quite obvious, but seeing & experiencing first hand, the message has really struck home.
1. STIs don't discriminate. fat or skinny. tall or short. male or female. rich or poor. regardless of skin colour. regardless of age. regardless of sexual orientation. 1st sexual encounter or 1000th. it all doesn't matter. anyone and everyone is a potential carrier. don't think in stereotypes. just cause she's smoking hot, works at a law firm and wears manolo blahniks doesn't mean she's STI free!

2. ladies: get your PAP tests regularly. in ontario the rule is: once a year for 3 years (starting 1-2 years after first sexual activity). if all 3 of those PAPs are normal, you can then move to once every 2 years. a PAP is basically useless if you get it once every 10 years or even 5 years. it needs to be repeated annually and regularly so that the changes in your cervix can be monitored.

3. ladies. HPV vaccine - gardasil. i think you should get it. especially if you're under 26, are sexually active, have ever had an abnormal PAP and (perhaps most importantly) have a medical plan. the vaccine requires 3 injections over a 6 month period. each shot costs ~$150. so it ain't cheap. but seriously. talk to your doctor. do your research. get vaccinated.