Bonjour Paris

After sitting almost seven hours on a plane eating crappy airplane food, I have arrived in Paris. Unfortunately, it was cold and cloudy. But that didn't stop me from walking around the city for the entire afternoon. Eventually it got really cold and Naomi was quite tired since she wasn't able to get much sleep during the flight. I was disappointed that I didn't get to visit the Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower today. Actually, when going back to the hotel, we passed by metro station Bir-Hakeim and saw briefly the Eiffel Tower up close. I wish I was able to actually go up the tower and look at Paris. Hopefully when I come back to Paris in February I will be able to visit it. Otherwise, my trip to France would be incomplete!

On the other hand, I visited the Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Louvre. I didn't visit the actual museum yet, but I walked around the place. It was crowded! Walking through the monument was absolutely breath taking. My mom had asked me about the Louvre a few days before I left. I think she would have really enjoyed seeing the glass pyramids. It's amazing! Jardins des Tuileries was quite disappointing. However, it's understandable since it's winter and no garden ever looks good in the cold! I initially wanted to walk up Avenue des Champs-Elysees to go see the Arc de Triomphe, but after walking many blocks, it was getting really cold and dark, so I called it off. I still managed to get a picture of it. I definitely will go see it next time I'll be in Paris.

Notre Dame Cathedral

Glass pyramid and Louvre Palace

Glass pyramid at the Louvre

Champs-Elysees

Arc de Triomphe from Champs-Elysees

Champs-Elysees

Goodbye Montreal

In a few minutes, I will be on my way to the airport. My mom had to leave for work, so she will not be at the airport with me. I was really excited to leave partly because I wouldn't have to deal with me mother's nagging for four months. But saying goodbye to her was actually pretty sad. I am going to miss her.


Goodbye Montreal, you will be missed.

I love you with all my heart, but today I really hate you

I am in total panic mode right now. I just saw the time and it's past midnight. Meaning that today is December 29 and that I am leaving tomorrow...

I still haven't finished packing. There's just too much stuff and not enough space!

Anyway, on a different topic, I have a little story to tell. Since, I am leaving very soon, I have been busy these past few days seeing friends over  breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee and of course shopping. Yesterday, I had the chance to spend some time with my dear friend Connie Wong. Of course, we went shopping! Being the "big sister" she is, she took my debit card away and insisted on paying for everything! I desperately tried to convince the cashiers to take my credit card instead, but for some reason, Connie's card always won over mine. Plus, Connie is very persistent. Imagine this; two asian girls yelling : "Take me card ! My card! My card!" to a cashier at Sephora. Yes, this is what happened. The cashier was frightened. She didn't know what to do! "Connie, I love you with all my heart. But today, I really hate you" I said. The only thing I was able to do was to buy Connie a hot chocolate. It took me 5 minutes to convince her. Actually, I was only able to buy the hot chocolate because Connie had to step away to pick up a phone call.

Connie had planned to take me out for dinner that night, so after a few hours of retail therapy we headed to 3 Amigos. When we walked into the restaurant, the place was full. On top of that there was a big line. Instinctively, I stood in line. Connie on the other hand, just walked passed the line and started looking around. I thought Connie was looking for her sister because she had been on the phone with her a few times while we were shopping. Or so I thought...

Anyways, Connie walked back to me and I proposed we change restaurant. Surprisingly, Connie didn't want to and asked to go to the washroom. I didn't feel the need to go and I wanted to stay in line to keep our spot, so I said no. Connie insisted of me going with her. I really didn't want go, so I said no again.  Remember when I said Connie is persistent? After saying no a few times, she just grabbed my right arm and dragged me with her. Suddenly, we stopped at a table. Connie started speaking to someone. I thought we had bumped into Connie's friends. Then, I started to recognize the people. At the table sat P.O, Marine & her husband, Natacha, Sue, Alia and Sarah. "SURPRISE!" they all said. At that point, I was confused. I only realized what had happened after a few minutes. Connie had planned a surprise dinner for me! All those calls weren't from or to her sister. It was Sarah!!

Needless to say, I was very touched by everyone that night. I had an amazing time and I love Connie for being such an amazing friend!

Dear Connie, 

Thank you for everything! I will miss you terribly and I hope you will be able to visit me in France this April!

I love you !

Connie & I

Holiday Miracles

Do you believe in holiday miracles? I certainly didn't until today.

Most people think that a student's stress and anxiety ends when finals exams are over. That is not true! Waiting for your grades to show up is just as stressful as writing an exam. Now, there are three reactions that a person can have upon receiving their grades:

1. The student can be surprised and in shock because they did worse than they expected.
   This is worst feeling because the anxiety stays with you until you come up with a feasible game plan to fix that bad grade.
   
   
2. The student is indifferent. The grades are exactly what they expected them to be.
   
   
3. The student is surprised and in shock. They text/call their friends and post it on Facebook; they did better than what they expected.
   In my opinion this is the best scenario to ever have upon receiving your grade. It boots your self-esteem and makes you feel better about yourself.
   

So, what does grades have to do with miracles? Well, I believe I have just be blessed with a miracle. I received my COMM 308 (Intro to Finance) grade today, and I was surprised and in shock. I texted my friends and posted it as my Facebook status. Yes, I had a  #3 reaction. I did better than what I expected! WAY BETTER. I did really bad on the midterm and went into the final exam with a C and walked out with an A-!!!!  This is my holiday miracle. I am beyond happy ! I am so happy I could die (haha)! And here I was, worried that I wouldn't get the B- I need for graduate school. Now I can finally leave Montreal peacefully!

Happy holidays!

PARIS: 12 ♥

COMM 308: check!
ACCO 310: check!
ACCO 330: check!
COMM 226: check!

I am finally free! No more exams, no more studying. I can finally sleep for 10 hours a day now !
It is now the time to relax and do nothing. Actually, that's a lie. I have so much to do before my grand departure. I need to start packing!

Alright, Angela and I are going to eat french crepes to celebrate the end of our exams period now :)  yay !

This is Basic Vanilla!

ACCO 330, it is with extreme happiness that I say goodbye to you. I hope I never see you again, and please make sure to torture your future students the way you tortured me.

While most students who struggle in class don't like their teacher, I actually liked my ACCO 330 (Cost Management Accounting) professor (oh and I struggled.). You see, over the semester, Sunbul and I have develop quite a crush on him - yes, even despite the crappy grade he gave me. Actually, I wouldn't say a crush. Maurice is kind of old, way too old...
It's more like.....how do I say this...well, we thought he was really funny. Maurice, the engineer-turned-accountant is French and has the most hilarious expressions ever ! Sunbul and I have collected a small list of funny stuff he said over the semester. Here are some examples:

*please read the following with a french accent*

• "This is basic vanilla !!"    
  He usually says this line when he gets kind of upset that no one understand the concept he is explaining, or when someone complains about the material being taught is difficult.
  
  
• "Okay, enough bitching for today."
  He said this after complaining about the school not having sufficient computer labs.
  
  
• "This is a stupid proposition!"
  We were going over a problem where many propositions were presented and he just said that out as we were reading the question.
  
  
• "What is simple is always wrong, what is not simple is useless."
  This is what he thinks of accounting.
  
  
• "I don't like verbal diarrhea."
  This was his answer to a student who had asked about the length or our paper.
  
  
• "You think you were done with statistics after COMM 215? YOU ARE WRONG!"
  This was how he introduced us to chapter 10.
   

 I know, I know. You're probably thinking that it really isn't that funny and that I'm just delusional. But trust me. The way he says it with his french accent and facial expressions, it's freaking hilarious!

Mr. Maurice, 

It was a long semester. I can't believed it's over and that I survived. Thank you for teaching me how to account for spoilage and calculate joint processing costs. I will not miss our Tuesday and Thursday classes. I will however, miss your funny comments and miss you just a little. Actually, I probably won't miss you.... but you're still cool :)

Two Down, Two More to Go

Two down, two more to go.  

Last night I had my Finance final exam, followed by my Financial Reporting I final this afternoon. I could definitely use some sleep now... Let's just face it; there just isn't enough hours in a day when it is final exams period. As much as we all need it and want it, there is just simply no time to sleep! So after two days filled with stress and high emotions, it's time to take a break (not for too long though. I need to go back to my studies.I still have my Cost Management Accounting and MIS exams to study for :( ).

Although I am in desperate need to sleep and study, my parents are taking me out for brunch tomorrow morning. How can I say no to that? Breakfast food is the best! I can spend the whole day eating waffles and omelets if I had my way. My parents have been so nice to me lately. I think it's because I'm leaving soon (19 days !!). Naomi and her mother will be there too. I don't think I have written about how Naomi and I met. I definitely will write about it soon. As weird as it might sound, Naomi and I were meant to leave on an student exchange together! I know it's a really cheesy thing to say, but once I explain the full story, everything will make much more sense.

Until then, wish me luck on my remaining exams!

Vacances de Noël? Jasmine emporte le goût de Noël...

Yesterday, I got a wonderful surprise when I went to work. As I got ready to start my shift, my co-worker rushed to me, wanting to show me something.

"Jasmine, you're going to be so proud of me !" said Natacha.

At that moment, I couldn't think of why she was so excited. I thought maybe she had deep clean and organized the counters before my arrival (We work at Starbucks, so we spend most of our time cleaning and cleaning and cleaning. Of course, we also provide the Starbucks Legendary Service :) ). So, to my big surprise, she showed me something that was definitely worth being proud of...

Isn't it the prettiest drawing ever!? Knowing that I am leaving really soon, she drew me the cutest Eiffel Tower in the world! I love it so much! It's funny how I decided to bring me camera to work today. I had a feeling it would be useful.

Natacha is a sweet, sweet, sweet girl. She's always nice and has a big hear. You know when people say "she's so nice,she wouldn't able to hurt a fly"? That's exactly her. Although lately I haven't worked with her much,  it's always fun to be on the same shift as Natacha(who by the way is a self-proclaimed "nerd lover").

When I leave for France, I will definitely miss her.


Thank you Natacha for the awesome drawing! 

The Countdown Officially Begins...

I feel such a rush of adrenaline. I can't believe I just booked my flights! I am officially leaving Montreal for Paris on Dec 30, 2010 and coming back from Nice on April 29, 2011. The countdown has begun! As of today, there are 45 days before I leave! I need to start thinking what I am going to pack...

Seriously, I am freaking out.

Hi, I'm Here to Pick Up My SKEMA Package.

For the past few weeks, I have be stressing out to the fact that my official acceptance letter from my host university was still MIA. Without that letter, I can't apply for my visa or book my plane ticket! So last Thursday, while studying for my finance exam - which by the way went well (now I don't feel so bad for missing ACCO 310 and 330 :) )- I decided to express my concern by writing an email to my International Liaison Officer, Pauliina (it's not a typo, her name is really spelled what way). As I was reaching for the computer, I saw a red light flashing from my Blackberry - I had received mail from... Pauliina.......

I opened the mail, and it was to inform my that my acceptance package had arrived ! FINALLY!  I was so exited that I started to scream and jump in the JMAS office. Did I mention that one of the office's wall is made completely of glass? Basically, people sitting outside saw me act like a monkey and probably think I am crazy. But that's okay, because I'm going to France :) . Of course, the first I did was to call Naomi and tell her that I received my package. This is how the call went:



* go through contact list, found Naomi and pressed the green send button*

*phone is ringing......Naomi answers*

N : "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

J: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! I got the package!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

N: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

I'm assuming you get the picture of how our conversation went.  Needless to say, both of us are now relieved. From that point, it really hit me. Oh em gee. I am leaving for four months. I am basically leaving my life and starting another one in Europe.  Everything feels surreal. I also realized something else; how am I going to pack for 4 months?! How am I supposed to put my whole entire life in a suitcase!

Also, there are so many things to do! I have to apply for my VISA, open a international bank account, take pictures for my VISA, book plane and train tickets, fill paperwork.... Here I thought I would be able to take a little break after my finance exam. :(

On a happier note, I finally bought my Hunter boots. The store didn't have my size in stock, so I will only receive them in a few days.

Hunter Wellies

Oh my god! This is so Blair Waldorf!

After seeing the ever so wonderful Blair Waldorf eating endless amounts of macaroons on this week's episode of Gossip Girl, my friend Gabrielle proposed we do the same. And so we did. After our class today, Gaby and I headed to the very chic M Cafe on the corner of Maisonneuve and De La Montagne. Oh boy was it delicious! Although, I must say, some flavors were quite... unique (ie. banana & lime and peppered mango). Each of us ordered six macaroons and we ate them while listening to this old man's cellphone ring 1,058,103 times during our stay. I am not exaggerating. The cell rang every two minutes and it got to a point where the wife angrily said: "I will never eat with you again"! Anyways, I digress.

While enjoying those delicious french pastries, I couldn't stop thinking about my own journey to the land of macaroons. I am leaving in less than 2 months! For those who don't know yet, I will be studying abroad the upcoming winter semester. "Where are you going?" you might ask. Well, I am heading to the world capital of croissants AKA La France!  I have never set foot in Europe, so I am quite excited to leave. When I leave, I plan to convert this blog into my travel diary. I will be posting my adventures with my friend Naomi, who will be studying and sharing an apartment with me.

I will soon be writing a post with more details like where will I live and what school I will be attending. Until then, take a look at the beautiful macaroons I had today :)

Apple & Cinnamon, Peppered Mango, Chocolate & Passion Fruit, Lemon, Salted Caramel and "After Eight "(choco & mint)

VP of the Month : August

Being part of JMAS is anything but easy. From office hours to event planning, executive members must show perseverance, organizational and time management skills. These skills were evidently demonstrated by JMAS' VP of the month of August: Sunbul Saboor!

Sunbul holds the position of VP Marketing. Have you heard of JMAS' Dividends magazine? ( If not, check it out : http://www.jmaccos.com/wordpress/?page_id=13 ) Dividends is the result of Sunbul's dedication and hard work. She spent the past summer gathering sponsors, editing articles and assembling the entire magazine. Countless hours were also spent in designing the issue and planning the Dividends Launch Party at the beginning of the school year. Sunbul is a brilliant, brilliant person. Because of her, the magazine was a great success! I can honestly say it is the best Dividends issue JMAS has ever published! (Sorry to all past VPs Marketing! )

On behalf of JMAS, I would like to thank Sunbul for her OUTSTANDING contribution! Without her JMAS would not be the same!

Here is are some fun facts about our famous VP Marketing:

1. Sunbul has a bachelor in architecture from Universite de Montreal (oh yeah! she's a smart cookie!)
2. She LOOVEESSS Banana Republic
3. She drives a really cute red car
4. She hates finance

Sunbul presenting Dividends at the Launch Party

Satsriakal!

So, last night when I made my return to the fabulous cyber world, I was told by Gurjit that I had nothing better to do ! I'm sitting in the JMAS office now, and I have realized why Gurjit was so negative about my blogging project: he is jealous that my first post was about Tanya and not him! LOL

Because Gurjit is cool, I will be nice and make this post all about him!

What is there to say about Gurjit? Gurjit (commonly known as Gurjito and Gansta G) comes from a long lineage of renowned Punjabi boxers. However, growing up, Gurjito lived by Gandhi's principles of peace, and refused to fight with anyone. This has caused quite some friction between him and his father, a Olympian champion turned coach. Luckily, Gurjit discovered a passion of his that eventually brought him and his estranged dad back together: bhangra dance!

Gurjit has now his own dance troop called MTL Bhangra. Not only is he an accomplished dance, but he also works at Ernst & Young. He dreams of eventually owning his own dance school, teaching hip hop and traditional Indian dancing. He also hopes to marry a gansta Punjabi girl and have a gazillion of brown gansta babies.

Okay, in all seriousness, Gurjit does not come from a family of boxers. But he does have a bhangra dance group. Gurjito is a hard working guy, who cannot say no.

Oh, all the things I made Gurjit do for me because I was too lazy to do it myself... :)

In essence, Gurjito the Burrito is a great friend. He really is ! He never gets mad and is always so nice to everyone. The best thing about Gurjit? He likes to shop for nice expensive watches. :)

PS - If you are single and ready to mingle, Gurjit is on a search to find his true love. Here are his requirements:

1. Must listen to intense hip hop music
2. Preferably from India
3. Must be a Beyond the Rack shopper
4. Good girl gone bad only

Are you a good fit?

Unicorn! Baby Unicorn!

11:10 PM: I should be studying for my ACCO 310 midterm - this class is said to be one of the craziest accounting classes in the B. Comm at JMSB- but instead, I'm writing a post on my blog. Oh boy, it's been a while. I remember being so excited when I started this blog this past summer. After 5 posts, this whole project just vanished, in the back of my head... But now it has resurfaced :)

Tonight, I'd like to dedicate this post to Ms. Tanya Ng who I miss very much. Ms Tanya, with who I spent most of my summer in class, is on a Co-op work term this semester. While I die in class, and procrastinate in the John Molson Accounting Society (JMAS) office with Gurjit (our famous VP CGA), Tanya is busy busting her ass off as a working woman. Her craziness and funny anti-fob ways are truly missed. I believe the last time I saw Tanya was........oh wait, when was the last time I saw her ?! Clearly, it's been way too long.

To end this post, and to mark my grand return into the the world of sharing-your-life-with-billions-of-strangers, here is a beautiful letter:

Dear Tanya, if you happen to be reading this post -I know you will because I am posting the link on your Facebook wall- this is my not-so-subtle way to tell you that we have some intensive catch up to do and that I miss you.

11:36 PM : Okay, I REALLY need to go study. Oh how much I love IFRS....

BANG BANG we're beaufitul and dirty rich

Today is my last day of summer vacation. Summer school starts tomorrow, and I wish it didn't. So what did I do on my last day of freedom prior to academic hell ? I went to work...

My day started with a warm beam of Colombian sunshine, also known as Massiel Diez . Known as Maiseee (note the 3 e's) by her friends, senorita Diez is with whom I work with every weekend. She is really funny and super smart (Maiseee is majoring in Chemical Engineering, at McGill University no less). Her presence, along with her addiction to gum, makes work so much more enjoyable every shift. Maiseee has a boyfriend with who she's totally in love with. I predict their marriage within the 5 next years. When that time comes around, I hope I'll be invited. (Maise, I know you're reading this, so you better take note hahaha). They will probably have a gazillion of baby Maiseee and baby Tim (yes, yes, that is el novio's name - Maiseee, I learned Spanish for you :D -). They will live on a big farm, grow a variety of vegetable, and have children running all over the place.

Working is Maiseee is fun. She always has stories to tell me, and I love hearing stories about her mom's dates with this really hot guy. I hope I'll get to work with her for a long time. To end this post, I would like to take this opportunity to give this message to senorita Diez:

Maiseee you're awesome and I love you !

CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN: CONTES D'HIVER

No one can resist these heels, they are just too beautiful:

Pictures by Khuong Nguyen

Are these beautiful or what? The pictures above are some shots from the upcoming Christian Louboutin Fall/Winter 2010-2011 campaign. Beautiful pictures, beautiful shoes, just....... beautiful.

If anyone ever feel extremely generous, I will gladly take any pair of these wonderful shoes in size 6! Thank you. Hahaha

Late Night Post

Studying is tiresome and boring. Especially studying statistics: sampling distributions, p-values, z scores, t-statistics... blah blah blah, I d o n ' t c a r e . Do you ? I'm sure you don't care either. Just a few more days, and I will be forever be done with Business Statistics. When that day rolls around, I shall burn that textbook and never look back. Okay, I probably won't, but you know where I'm getting at.

I want this dress! Isn't it beautiful? I saw it at H&M a few weeks ago, and decided not to buy it. BAD DECISION. I want it, I want it ! Sadly, it's sold out. eBay has a few of them, but with a markup. Should I get it, should I not?

Picture from H&M

Where's My Vanilla Latte?

Finally! I started my blog!

I've been thinking about starting a blog for a while now, but I just never really got around to do it. Especially with all the finals exams coming up. So, instead of studying like everything student, I decided to spend my evening with my dear friend Connie Wong discussing about blog names and addresses ! (Don't you just love procrastination?!)

Here are some of the crazy ideas from Connie :

• The Confessions of Jasmine; the girl searching for a hot boyfriend who can buy her super awesome shoes and bags!
  [yes, I love shoes and bags :)]
  
  
• The Life of a Starbucks Barista who finds British Accents Hot
  [yes, I work at Starbucks, and Connie is obsessed with the British people hahaha]
  
  
• British Men Make Me Hot
  [again, we can clearly see Connie OBSESSION with British men. Thank god for her, she is going to London in two weeks!]

So, why did I name my blog SO HAPPY I COULD DIE you might ask. Well, I love my life! Sure, there are plenty of downs (like my bloody finals ... ), but I'm surrounded by great friends and so many things that make life so beautiful! And, also because I love LADY GAGA. (LOL, it's one of her songs' title).

PS. Follow me ? <3