Mrs. French President

So I can't sleep. It's midnight. Well, more than midnight. It is the AM of the next day. Usually a time when people sleep. Especially when these people have to wake up bright and early to go read stories to little children. Fun. When you can't sleep, they tell you it may be because you're stressing over something. Am I fearful and worried that I will (once again) not find the location of this reading tent I must attend. Quite possibly. It is a particular worry. I have never not-found a place. Twice. It tends to sink a reputation. If a cared about reputations, of course. Reputations, schmations. But still. As I was twisting and turning under my hot and uncomfortable covers (the weather is reaching its summer norm), I remember of a little song I heard a few days ago. It was a pleasant surprise, might I add. As I was looking for French Valentine's Day cards (as the upcoming president of French Club *flashes grin* this is pretty much what my duties consist of), I happened along a website featuring, amongst cards of a wide-ranging selection, French Cafe music (I also looked at this, if, perhaps, French Club would be interested in something French food. yum, non?) AND THEN happened along this song: Quelqu'un M'a Dit. Now this in itself came as a nice suprise - I was not expecting much from the worthless-looking CDs. But after listening to the clip, I was hooked. I wanted more. I absolutely loved it. And so, with the ease with which information is found nowadays, I found about 12,300,000 (give or take) results to my dilemna in .29 seconds. Immmmmpressive. The first link was one to youtube, and whatdyaknow - it was Carla Bruni! (The wife of Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, for those of you not in the know). Pleasant surprise, I tell you. First Lady, ex-model, and now singer?

This song just has that je ne sais quoi. It seems the perfect addition to a rainy evening cozied up in your cozy armchair, a faint-glowing lamp by your side with the rain beating a melodic drum against your dark, dark... You get the point.

Link to said video, thanks to youtube, of course:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMUedRUJ_HA

But before you go on a Carla Bruni craze - let me warn you. In my humble opinion, the others are not so great. Especially her English ones *shudders*. Okay, enjoy, goodnight, now. Playing this here lullaby has onset a sudden desire to close my eyes and.... finally.

Coffee Tree

Today, also on Bloor Street, I happened along this coffee shop with purely organic coffees and teas. They are yummy and the interior is pretty unique (well, unique when compared to any old Starbucks or Second Cup). There's this old, floral print couch, a few fauteuils and of course tables and chairs every-so-often. I just really like the atmostphere - it was the perfect place to do my Spanish homework (second lesson today! woot woot! It is going really well). I was really eager to take a picture of the interior and exterior (the more I blog, the more it seeps into my daily life - I notice more and more things of my daily life that I would love to document. But, seeing as I have yet to get a computer case for my computer - I'm thinking a brightly colored sleeve - this, for now, is but a dream) but I withstood this very tourist-ish instinct and withheld from whipping out my camera and snapping a few. Especially since a lady came and sat down in my close proximity. I figured she would find it quite bizarre, perhaps even annoying, and I just didn't have the heart to ruin her perfect-looking tea and chocolate chip scone (their baked goods look très très delicious). I myself indulged in an XXX brownie today, and believe, it was worth every. single. X. (Im sure those x's also act as warnings for the calorie intake of the delight - I am more than certain that with that one chocolate-satiated goodie I consumed close to my daily allowance of calories). But all is well. Anyway, check out their site (unfortunately, no picture, so if you ever come here to Toronto, just find it via address): www.coffeetree.ca

A Little Birdie Told Me...

Today, strolling down Bloor Street West, I happened upon this little shop with a sidewalk sale set up outside. Its vivid journals and dainty folders caught my eye, so I decided to go in and take a look. I found these amazing post it notes that I just love. I think they'll be the perfect pick-me-up to the tedious hours spent in front of my textbooks (I am the one who will write down questions and notes in my book, so these will be the perfect habit-breakers - now I will just write on them instead). Here, take a look:


You can find these and many more post-its (and an array of SOO much more adorable stationery) at http://www.galison.com/

Ode to Subway

Oh how I loved you Subway. Really, I did. I would stand up for you when you were put down. "It's eco-friendly - and fast and reliable as well!" I would tell them. But today, you let me down. Really.

So here's the story. Today was my initiation into volunteering in Toronto - the Reading Tent. I set out at 11 am - allowing me two hours to arrive safely to the destination. I had a general idea of where I was to go and knew that it would only be about an hour and a half to get the approximate area of this site, this Humber Summit Library. I was being safe, giving myself some spare time. Or so I thought (duh duh duh). I hop onto the subway and whip out my Required Summer Reading book (not too shabby of a book: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers - i really like the beginning hehe "] ) and feel allll-right. My mom calls just asking where I am and of course I tell her where I'm going and that I'm almost there. I am still under the impression that I will arrive on time. Some minutes pass and I get off at the correct subway stop, all that is left is finding the correct bus to continue my journey and get to the library. Clueless as I am at that point, I ask a little old man working at the ticket booth if he knows. Well, this little old man, bless his soul, whips out this book and finds this library i talk about. And he breaks the news. "Take this bus then this bus to here", he says. "How long will that take," I ask, of course. "Oh, another hour or so" he responds bluntly. Being that I only had fifteen minutes until I had to be sitting with a kid in my lap reading Zlooksh to a six year old, it got me a little worried. But my determination and will to leave a good impression (or near-good impression) pushed me forward down the escalator onto the subway to the next stop leading me to the bus that took me to the street where I was to find this library. And that, my dear friend, turned into another two hours of Reading Tent-hunting.

...and to this day, I still do not know where Humber Summit Library can be found...

But the remainder of my afternoon was pleasant, complete with a trip to Crêpes à Gogo - an amazing crêperie in Yorkville. The atmosphere is pure francais, francais, francais. <3>

Charlie Wilson's War

So I just came from watching Charlie Wilson's War. Another great pick to watch (thank you, Time Magazine). It was a great eye-opener to look into what really caused the issues we are looking at today - why we basically are the way we are as a country today. Why we are waging this war in Iraq, which is bringing our economy down with it. The end of the movie, after the war against the Soviets is won (this ain't no spoiler, might I add - first of all, the beginning tells you the end and second of all, it's history, darling), shows Charlie Wilson asking for another mere 1 million dollars to rebuild the schools for the Afghan children (which, at the time, consisted of 50% of the population). Another 1 million added to the 1 BILLION already spent on the war.

The movie itself, filled with great lines (I really liked the screenwriting, some of the lines were great) was really good and entertaining, nonetheless, it was the very last bit that was my absolute favorite: "All these things have happened, and they were glorious...and then we fucked up the end game" - Charlie Wilson. Great man, he is. The film touches upon some controversial points - well, point, I guess - that we, the United States, are to blame for the current state of the Middle East. And we are, to a certain extent. Had there been that 1 million alotted to the Afghani people, schools could have been built, allowing for diversion from radical terrorism and giving opportunities to look forward to. And I can somewhat agree with the people agree with the Aghani people - the Americans backed out on finishing out their job - they failed to provide a life after the tanks retreated and the guns stashed. The people were free from the oppression of the Soviets, but it was the oppression of depression and inability to move forward that caused what we deal with today.

At one point, when the people were crowded around one of the Congressmen who had come to visit, telling them that the Americans were going to train them to fight against the Soviets, and I couldn't help but think that somewhere in that crowd a little man by the name of Osama was stading, awaiting his training as well. Oh how little things can make a big difference.

Just some food for thought for your everyday life.

Pretty in Pink

To start off, Im not the hugest fan of pink. Not at all. I wouldnt tap pink with a mile-long stick. I think that with my blonde hair/blue eyes, it's hard not to get a little fearful of resembling a Barbie. But yet, on my recent trip to Shopper Drug Mart (that's another CVS or Walgreens, for you American folk) I discovered the prettiest pink nail polish. Take a look (all the while ignoring the photography skills - I'm still working on them ;] ) :0


Check out more of their products (although no nail polish, frown) at http://www.borghese.com/

Toronto, my love

A little smidgen of Toronto, for visual pleasure:

got it at: http://www.professional-events.com/UDE/SpecialEvents/SJC/Toronto.jpg

So, adding on to my last post uhh, a few seconds ago, I am in fact in Toronto. I love love love it (it is my birthplace after all), but I think that many other places would please me as much when compared to being so cooped up in Houston. You see, Houston is a great city (...I guess...) withmany opportunities .... job and education wise, but socially, its one tough cookie - especially sans car. Everything is so spread out that without transportation (just a few more months - damn you permits), you're close to being a prisoner in your own home. And also, even with transportation, Houston is not even close to being comparable to the almighty Toronto. I really like it - there are many different areas like Kensington Market (Rasta man!), China Village (Gooci or Channell anyone?) or the many other places that are great to visit. With all its villages and neighborhoods, as well as the skyscraper-filled downtown, I often think of Toronto as the Canadian New York. Which I love, as well. I think I have a thing with walking long distances in metropolitan cities. Really. Everywhere I go, I am the first one to accept walking as opposed to simply taking a streetcar, bus, or subway (ahhh public transportation! How I've been deprived).

My [many] accounts of Toronto are yet to come. Stay tuned! :]

OH OH sidenote: Along with Toronto, I will also be in QUEBEC CITY for Canada Day weekend! woot woot. I am quite excited, I've been wanting to go for the longest longest time and finallyget to go. More to come on that! French everywhere - perfect!

Myyy Badd

Sorry guys - it's been a while since my last post BUUUTTT 1)I got to Toronto and did not have access to a computer :[ AND 2) I had to wait to get said computer - new laptop babaayy. Its an hp pavilion and it has outstanding everything, especially for the price I got it for. But enough about that. The exciting stuff is that - IM IN TORONTOOO! :]

Snickerdoodle Surprise!

Last night I was over at a friend's house and we had the BRILLIANT idea of making snickerdoodles. Just random. WELL, while we were baking we had another BRILLIANT idea (maybe even a little more brilliant than the last one) - we added CHOCOLATE CHIPS into the SNICKERDOODLES! (and hence the name - snickerdoodle surprise - because of the chocolate gooiness you encounter when biting into the yummy delicious cookie. Well the cookies turned out so so good. Since we were going for a little bit of healthy (well actually we were kinda going for a little less than our round tummies from dinner - oh man - it was quite a feast) and so we opted for gifting the cookies to friends. How Martha Stewart, you say. I know, I know. But how often do you get cookies from friends?! It is quite a warm fuzzy feeling.


And so it began...

The cinammon mix - YUMM:
suprise surprise
The bunch

And the baby boom continues...

There JLo, Brangelina, and lately, Halle and Gabriel (siiiighhh :] ) And now - Jessica Alba finally gave birth to a baby girl! Yay. Seeing as the parents are Jessica Alba and Cash Warren -- uhh, we can expect a gorgeous little thing. The name is a little quirky: Honor Marie Warren. Ehh. Better than Apple or Rogue or Pilot Inspektor or even Jermajesty. Wth. Ill reconsider Honor Marie.I think it'll do just fine.

Gatsby the Great?

SIIGHHH. I have yet to get past pagee..... one... nah, two of the The Great Gatsby. Three more days until I leave for Toronto. It would be lovely to finish it by then. Will I ? Gahh I hope so. Well see how it goes. Keep you updated :]

xoxo
♥ martha

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - not your typical romantic comedy

* A little bit spoilers ahead *

Last night I watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. AHHH-mazing. Really. Its different from any romantic comedy disguised as a drama- and yes, it is classified as a comedy, and since it involves romance, I have gone ahead and labeled it a romantic comedy, although, let me tell you, it is different that The Notebook or My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I love that layers and the development of the plot - starting off at the end. And the the idea of erasing memories. I think the director tries to explain how much we cherish our memories - no matter how painful, they still make us who we are and are key to our individual development.

I will definitely watch this movie again. Though it doesn't involve the clumsy blonde falling in love with her prince charming in spacious Manhattan apartement, but it has the beauty of true love - two people not ideally perfect but with an ideal love. Ehh it sounds cheesy. But it just shows how muchh I adore the moviee :] hehe

LEECCH WALESAAAA[:

So this Monday my dad and I went to see Lech Walesa at our polish church. It was really quite amazing to see the man that not only liberated Poland from the Soviet Union's oppression but also, with this act, initiated Eastern Europe's quest for independence. He then went on to become Poland's president, even with no political experience or even without a college experience. He really is an impression and inspirational man. And really sweet, might I add :]

Here are a few pictures that my dad took of him: