Nuit Blanche

Having an assignment regarding this one night event in the city of Toronto, it gave me the opportunity to experience it first hand. Made my way downtown around 12:30am to meet up with the best friend who was volunteering at one of the stations near Dufferin. The night was filled with drunk people who were high all over the streets. But it is something totally different to see so many people jam the streets of Toronto at night.

Our plan was simple: Start at Queen and University, then make our way west to Spadina, north on Dundas, east on Yonge, south to Queen. On route, there were some art displays along Queen St. Made our way inside the Art Gallery of Ontario where it appeared as if a sweatshop was present lol then towards Dundas Square for the festivities. Into the Eaton Centre for a display where the Swarovski Christmas tree usually is. Then outside into old City Hall, a building I had never been in, and then to the City Hall where they had a end of the world exhibit. Had to actually line up for it too. It was interesting to say the least. By the end of it all, we were exhausted and didn't get back til 4:30.

Tree Trekking and Zip-lining

This was something I really had wanted to do, more so the zip-lining. I have seen others doing it and it seemed so exciting, so luckily Teambuy had a deal for $40 for a 3hr tree trekking and zip lining deal. The place we went to was at the Ganaraska Forest, east of Toronto, still a drive of over a hour. The whole experience was challenging, both physically and mentally. It was mentally tough to get over the fear of falling and heights especially as the courses continued getting more difficult, higher, and faster. It was physically exhausting too, especially not being in the best shape possible and having only almost four hours of sleep the night before. Right now I am still sore and aching a bit, and my hands are stung because I had not used gloves. I had so much fun at the zip lining portions, felt so free, and the adrenaline rush, but the landing/impact was always a bit frightening and rough. Unfortunately not too many pictures were taken of this experience and it was for the best friend's birthday gift which is something I could also benefit from hehe. After all, it was an enjoyable experience, I learned a lot about myself, being able to persevere through the pain and mental blocks, and drive on through to finish each course.

The last week of summer 2012

It started with volunteering as a dean's ambassador at the CHCA Orientation starting from 6:30 in the morning, even though it didn't really start until 8am. My main job was to man the industry fair table for the Dean's Recognition Program and to answer any questions the upcoming students had regarding the program and whether or not they wanted to join. It was very tiring for my throat to say the least. I could barely talk afterwards, after repeating the same answer numerous times. At least by the end of it all, we were all treated to lunch and birthday cake!

Then was the road trip across the border with the homies. Surprisingly the drive and border crossing went smoothly even though I got lost a couple of times, but survived with the car running out of gas. Arrived in time to shop a bit at the Walden Galleria and dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. The portions were huge, and we had plenty to pack up for the next day and cheesecakes as well. The next day included more shopping, I was tired after not sleeping well, but I still managed to get a Herschel book bag and ended the night at the Fallsview Casino and had dinner at the Grand Buffet.