Heartbeat

A while back, I started to watch a Taiwanese TV series called Love, Now. The storyline is impossible corny, but so goddamn addictive. You just want to know what the hell happens to these characters, no matter how obvious or stupid their actions are. Especially when the main actor is good looking and speaks perfect English (George Hu grew up in the USA, making him a sorta white-washed Taiwanese god - just how I like them. Ha!).

Now, going back to the essential, one of the female characters in the show has this beautiful, rose gold heartbeat necklace. I don't know why, but I became quite obsessed with it and the need to have the same necklace grew bigger as the show progressed. For the longest time, I couldn't find it anywhere online. But, I eventually found the necklace on Etsy and bought it without hesitation- it came up to less to $16, including shipping so it didn't do much damage to my wallet. It obviously isn't made of real rose gold, but I am definitely not going to complain for the price I paid. After almost a month of waiting, I finally received the necklace today! I love my Return to Tiffany necklace, but I feel it's time for a change, even if it's just temporary. I wanted something unique and I am so glad I found this necklace. There's just something about the heartbeat line that makes me love this necklace; it's simple, yet statement-making.

SKYFALL: 15

Can you guess what this post is about? I think I made it pretty evident through the title. But yes, Skyfall! How excited are you? I am bloody excited! Part of the reason why I am so obsessed with the British is because of James Bond (and because of Harry Potter & David Beckham). But seriously, James Bond is the real definition of swag. There is just no one as cool as him.

Ever since the trailer first came out, I've been a good girl, patiently waiting for the movie to come out. However, after hearing Adele sing the movie's theme song, it's getting harder to contain my excitement! The song, simply title 'Skyfall' is a ballad, which Adele sings beautifully with just enough melodrama. Her strong vocals and her British roots really make her the perfect singer for Skyfall. Adele and James Bond - what a brilliant combination! The song has been on repeat for a while on my playlist now and I'm sure I will still be listening to it for quite some time, just like most of Adele's songs. Funny how most things I like are British...

Temporary Freedom

Midterms are over, yes!

My plan right now is literally to spend a day doing absolutely nothing. Although I recently saw on Youtube, a deep fried Oreos stuff with bananas recipe and I think I am going to try it. At first, the name of the recipe totally turned me off, but on second thought, it seems pretty interested. So, I'm going to give it a try and we shall see! It feels great to be free again, even if it's only temporary. Final exams will here soon enough.

On another note, it's official - I have signed with Deloitte! As of October 2013, I will be working as a Staff Accountant at the Montreal office. I couldn't be happier with my decision. For the longest time, I always aimed to get recruited at Ernst & Young, but after this past recruitment season, I have come to realize that Deloitte is much better for me. I can't wait to start!

The Offers

For the past few years, my goal was to graduate from university with a job waiting for me. After all the efforts I've put into my studies, I was ecstatic when I received job offers from PwC and Deloitte - I couldn't believe I had actually received two offers from the two biggest accounting firms in the world! It's been weeks since the verbal offers have been made and yet I still can't believe the great opportunities that are available to me. I am so glad that my efforts didn't go to waste and that hardworking students are rewarded.

Written offers were sent out today and I happily received both of mine by email. I won't say which firm I have chosen just yet - I will once I hand in my signed offer! All I can say for now is that this is definitely one of the many milestones of my life. If you asked me in early September if I was excited to graduate, the answer would have been "no". Now, I can't wait to finish my undergraduate studies and to start life as a working woman! This is definitely something I look forward to. But the biggest question is, what should I do with my $2,000 signing bonus?

So Yesterday

I can't believe it's already over. Seems like yesterday, I just wrote my last final and the holidays were just starting. Today was the beginning of the Winter 2012 semester and my first day back at university. The past two weeks have been more tiring than when I'm at school. Between work, work, work, work, seeing friends and spending quality time with the family, I somehow find myself having less time for myself and to sleep. On my very last day of vacation, I realized how little time I spent at home, even if staying in, doing nothing was among one of the things I really wanted to do during my vacation. Funny how every time get the time to do things I've been wanting to do, I always end up doing something else... Maybe that should be one of my new year's resolution: stick to my plans...?

"Hi, I'm Harry, Harry Potter"

Just how many Harry Potter die-hard fans do you know? I actually happen to know a few, with many of them who happen to be part of JMAS with me! A wonderful girl with enormous amount of love for British Harry's (Harry Potter & Prince Harry, that is), Anastasia is one of them.

Every Monday, Anastasia and I share office hours. Two long hours of sitting in an office, hoping some students will show up and ask us questions. Sadly, they never do, so we just basically hang out in the office the the sake of formalities. Having office hours with another girl is always fun because you can talk about anything, especially when it's with someone you get along with. But you know what's even better? When you share your love for Harry Potter! We spent part of our office hours watching the very first Harry Potter movie until I decided to make some tea (how English of us!). As we sat down to continue the movie, I decided I wanted popcorn (yes, we had popcorn in the office). Unfortunately, and fortunately, we never made it back to the office to finish the movie. After the popcorn was ready, Anastasia and I just sat down on comfy couches in a quiet corner and chatted away! It was so good to have a some girl time after all the midterm madness! We chitchatted until our JMAS meeting at 6 pm! Well we actually had to stop at some moments to go eat, but you get the idea! Can you imagine all the stories we told each other? I never thought I'd say this, but I can't wait for next week's office hours!

Many might say Harry Potter brought magic to their lives, but Harry Potter brought me a new friendship!

At Last, Freedom!

Freedom, oh how I have missed you! It feels so good to know that I can read, watch movies and surf online as much as I want without feeling bad and panicking. Indeed, midterms are over!

Of all my three years of university, this is the first year that I got a really, but really crappy midterm exam schedule. The first one being on the Saturday right after Thanksgiving - which was fine, because I had plenty of time to review. The second exam was Business Law and Ethics (COMM 315) and it was scheduled on the following Wednesday. Then Friday Oct 21, I had both Advanced Managerial Accounting (ACCO 430) and Financial Reporting II (ACCO 320) were scheduled at the same day and same time. This is where things got a bit complicated. I had to come up with a schedule to allocate my time between all three classes. It sounds simple and nothing too crazy, but it was a heck of a week.  All those late nights and early mornings have drained me from all my energy.

To make things worse, since I had two exams scheduled at the same time, I registered to write the alternate for ACCO 430, after hearing my ACCO 320 professor saying that he will not providing an alternate version. Unfortunately, the alternate ACCO 430 exam was still on the same day, but the time slot was just moved to the morning. In other words I had ACCO 430 from 10 am to 1 pm and ACCO 320 from 7 om to 10 pm. How lovely.... Just when things couldn't possibly be more stressful, I find out there was actually an alternate exam for ACCO 320, which is scheduled on Sunday morning. That means I would have had extra time on Friday day to review for ACCO 430 and the entire Saturday to study for ACCO 320! It was at first super upsetting because I can't switch alternates. But then, I told myself I'd finish my exams earlier this way. So, instead of reviewing for ACCO 320 in the morning,  I'll be sleeping in!

This Love

At this precise moment, seven days ago, I was in a hotel room with my sister and cousin Lisa in Toronto. Lisa and I were most likely planking all the over the place, being completely crazy while my sister chats quietly with her friends on Facebook.

I wish I was still in Toronto! It was such a blast. I hadn't seen my cousins Linda and Lisa for a while, so it was good to catch up. While my sister hid in embarrassment every time we mentioned it, Linda, Lisa & I literally planked and owled everywhere we went!

Most hilarious incident:  In the middle of a shopping session at Abercrombie & Fitch ( which by the way had amazing sales!), Lisa, Linda and I all planked on a table that was in the middle of the store. Obviously, my sister Monica died of embarrassment and ran away as soon as the thought of planking in the store came to our minds. As the three of us took turn planking and taking pictures, a cute male employee approaches us : "Sorry, you're not allowed to take pictures in the store...." We burst out laughing and ran away as fast as we could with Monica waiting for at the entrance. Oh boy, was she unhappy. Needless to say, it was hilarious and it made out day so much funnier.

We also planked and owled all over the hotel: the lobby, laundry room, fitness room etc. It might seem crazy, but hey, we had a lot of fun and laughed uncontrollably. My vacation definitely wouldn't have been this amazing without all the planking and laughter!

I now leave you with some picture of the Maroon 5 concert. Well actually, more of Adam Levine...[for some odd reason, I wasn't able to rotate some of the pictures :( ]

Jazzy Potter & Friends

So, how much do I love Harry Potter?

I believe the following picture will demonstrate my love...

Behold..... Jazzy Potter & friends! (Yes, I have transformed myself into Harry and my friends into Ron and Hermione. Or should I say Rab & Hermistasia).

Rab Weasley, Jazzy Potter & Hermistasia Granger

Blimey, it's Harry Potter!

My heart is pounding. I can't and I refuse to believe it. The end of an era has arrived...

I just watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2. Don't worry, I won't be giving away any spoilers! Throughout the screening, people screamed, laughed and clapped. I, for one screamed when the movie started and laughed uncontrollably whenever there was something funny. Even when it wasn't that funny. The fact of being there brought me tons of happiness and everything made me smile. What made me smile the most was this pair of 3D glasses. I couldn't possibly think of a better way of making the experience more magical than it already is. 

OH YA! I got the wear Harry Potter's glasses as I watched the last installment!

I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the very first Harry Potter book when I was in Grade 5. And here I am, starting my third year of university this coming fall. I grew up with Harry Potter and I consider him to be a childhood friend of mine. What person my age doesn't? So many nights I have spent reading on my bed with a flashlight, page after page, chapter after chapter. While some were addicted to drugs at school, I was addicted to Harry Potter.

The movie was great, no it was AMAZING. But I couldn't help but to feel sad as the ending approached. I was secretly hoping the movie would go on forever.  Leaving the movie theater was bittersweet. I was so happy to have seen such an amazing movie, but sad that it was the last Harry Potter movie ever. I felt I was leaving a very good friend of mine behind.  All of Harry's stories have brought me so much joy. While the movies are over, Harry Potter's legacy will forever live on - at least in my heart.

J. K. Rowling, two words: THANK YOU.

It Won't Be Soon Before Long. Actually, it will be soon.

It's official ! I am going to see Maroon 5 in Toronto in August! Although, my attendance was made official when I bought my concert tickets, nothing felt legit until I bought the bus ticket to Toronto (which I just did). Now, I just need to get off my lazy ass and book a hotel. Not only that, I also need to prep for the concert. My sister has already started to work on that. She's pulled out all her Maroon 5 albums and put them all on her iPod. I should do the same. I need to know all the lyrics to all the songs! I hate it when I can't sing along in a concert.

What worries me more is that I am not at all familiar with the opening acts: Train and Gavin DeGraw. The only song I know of Gavin DeGraw is One Tree Hill's opening song. Even then, I only know the lyrics and melody to the chorus. As for Train, I have no idea who they are. I should perhaps do some research....