Hungry? How about some Meatloaf?

I made meatloaf last night and it turned out so well, I thought I'd jot down the recipe on here:

1 lb. ground beef
1 pkg lipton onion soup mix
2 eggs
1 cup plain breadcrumbs
2/3 cup traditional italian tomato sauce

Combine all the ingredients together and place into a non-greased baking pan. Mold it into a loaf shape and bake at 325 for 45-60min depending on your oven. I always look at the recipe on the Lipton's Soup box, but I change it around a bit to meet my needs. For instance, they use ketchup and I use tomato sauce. I think it just tastes better that way.


Enjoy!

Dubai: Construction on Crack

I was reviewing some of the architecture going on in Dubai today and realized there's a LOT MORE going on over there than I previously believed. I've been seeing the documentaries on Dubai and Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum for a while, but some of the stuff they're talking about now is even more extravagant than the world or palm man-made islands!

For instance, they're building Dubailand, which will be twice the size of Walt Disney World in Florida, and they're building the world's largest and busiest international airport. When is enough enough? Couldn't all the Sheik's money be used to help the poor people of Africa or help solve world diseases that can be eradicated? It just seems like a frivilus waste of money.

Here's a fun fact too: There are more construction workers in Dubai than citizens.

For more on Dubai and it's extreme architecture, click: here

Plane Wrecks Running Amuck

As I awoke from my light slumber this morning at 6am, the headline "Plane Crash in Amsterdam" entered my barely alert ears. So what's the deal? How many plane crashes have happened in the last month and a half? I can now think of three offhand:
1. The Miracle on the Hudson Crash
2. The Buffalo, NY crash
3. The Amsterdam crash

Actually, the site planecrashinfo.com states that there have actually been Seven crashes since the beginning of the year.....eight counting today's.
And people wonder why some individuals have a fear of flying. Granted, two of these crashes had either no loss of life (Hudson) or limited loss of life (Amsterdam), but they're still crashes. I don't want to hear any laughter next time I fly to Poland and I'm clutching the arm rest.

Weird Connections

This week was reading week, and aside from working at the hotel in London, I spent the rest of my time with Piotr in St. Catharines looking for an apartment. Well, we found one, but I met someone surprising during my search.

Piotr and I were looking at a high-end apartment building (which was a little too pricey for us in the long run), and I started talking to the girl who was showing us around. Turns out it was her second job.
Turns out this girl, Deb Pearce, is the morning show host on Proud FM in Toronto! I can't believe I met somebody like that in a completely random setting!

I've never met a DJ who does the big morning show before. I was really shocked. Well, I started talking to her about my desire to get into the radio industry, and she gave me her card and told me to email her with any questions. She was really nice and gave me some great pointers. It just goes to show you that good things happen when you least expect them to.

Friday's Lesson for Men

In light of some recent personal events, it has occurred to me that men need to learn certain lessons about women. Their lack of knowledge when dealing with certain situations is down right unexcusable. The sheer fact of having opposite anatomy is no excuse not to dot your i's and cross your t's when it comes to your relationship.

Today's Situation: You're in a long distance relationship, you talk to your guy every night around the same time, he's going out with the guys.

There's no problem there right? Exactly. There's nothing wrong with your long distance guy going out with his buddy's on guy night.

However, let your girlfriend know what is going on. If you tell her you'll send her a text or give her a call later, make sure you do it!!!

Guys, I cannot stress enough how much difference a simple text or short call can make to quell the anger that will ultimately arise from your waiting girlfriend if you fail to do so. It's not hard work. Girls don't ask for a lot. We want your respect, and that simple call or text let's us know that you respect us by taking a moment away from your buddies to let us know you care. Just a bit of advice.


P.S. Guys, if your cell phone dies, it's not an excuse. Everyone has cell phones nowadays, so borrow your buddy's phone and let us know what's up. Oh, and I definitely emphasis doing so if your girlfriend has an anxiety disorder and tends to get wound up with worry easily.

Need some self-esteem?

How about some self-cheer? I recently found this at Youtube.com and it definitely is a nice little deviation from the blahs of a rainy, gray day. So hope this helps someone cheer up a bit. If anything, it will at least put a smile on your face. If not, you can always buy their CD!

Why I don't go to raves anymore

There are reasons when I no longer attend raves, or for the culturally ignorant: all night dance parties usually accented by techno dance music, drugs, and clandestine locales, ( the clandestine part has gone out the window for the most part since the late 90's/early 2000's). Aside from the drugs and the shady people, the candy kids were a big part. I don't mean to sound jaded, but candy or kandi kids are the worst thing to happen to fashion since the male thong. Kandi kids wear children's bead bracelts in abundance, suck on pacifiers, wear fuzzy things, and just dress in a random hodgepodge of misplaced trash. I think these pictures are evidence enough to justify my claims.

Bye! Bye! Moving time!

Finally! The 2009 summer course schedule came out today at last! Well as it turns out, the only course that will finish my degree after its completion is a distance course in MIT. The title? Perspectives in Advertising and I can't describe how dry that sounds, but I have to do it, and I will.



The consequences that this has however, will mean that I will be moving to St. Catharines for sure and living with Piotr for May 1, 2009. So I have a little less than three months left in London. Yay I suppose, but I will miss some aspects about this place. I just hope I can get a job !!

Salsa

I joined a salsa class today at the student rec center and I have to say it was a great time! It's really hard to know what you're doing when you go to a salsa club to dance and you don't know what the proper moves are. So basically, I just went along with my partner at the salsa club back in Cincinnati and never fully learned the correct salsa steps and procedure. I did pick up on it really quick though and it's definitey a fun and effective workout. I recommend everyone head to UWO's campus rec center and check out the classes they offer!


In Cincinnati my best friends and I went to Mad Frog Bar on Monday nights and danced salsa to a GREAT live latino band called Tropicoso:


Another good exercise routine is running, which is obvious, but I don't mean on the boring treadmill. I'm talking about taking my dog to Springbank park in the warm air and just booking it up and down the trails by the river. It leaves your head so clear and your body refreshed. I was rewarded by exercising there today as well, because I saw four young does across the Thames sipping water on the bank. It was a really nice site and makes you appreciate trails like Springbank's where you can come in close proximity with nature while not disturbing it for the most part. The geese are another issue. They're just plain annoying. And I didn't know it until today that they hiss at you. It was rather amusing!

Stress Relief

This morning I crashed. I don't mean this type of a crash:

Although I have had my share of these types of crashes without the severity of this poor Nissan 350Z.

No, the crash I'm talking about came about in the middle of Blackmore's class when I suddenly got this overwhelming urge to cry. It came out of nowhere and I was taken aback. I started shaking too and it was a bit disconcerting. I didn't feel stressed, but I suppose I was subconsciously. Blackmore talked to me for about a half hour after class about stuff and helped ease my mind. I know I'm not the only one who goes through this from time to time. But solution, this time for me anyways: doctor and a prescription that will help. <3 I'm feeling more relaxed already. It also helps I have a very loving, supportive, and understanding family and boyfriend. =)

List of the Best Canadian Cell Phone Companies

In my recent decision to move to St. Catharines, I realized that I would finally have to switch to a Canadian cell phone carrier......much to my chagrin. So today I went on a hunt in Masonville Place to seek out a proper service that was compatible to my needs. Needess to say, I didn't find a whole lot I was impressed with, but I've narrowed my choices down to either Bell's student blackberry plan or Solo Mobile's $35 plan with a few add ons.

I also checked out these other companies, and these are the ones I liked the best, in order:
1. Rogers
2. Telus
3. Koodo
4. Virgin Mobile
5. Fido


I have unique needs because I talk to the US all the time. I think that Bell's plan is the best, but I'll see. I just don't want to get ripped off. Grrrr.

Response to "State of the Live Web" 2007

Recently I was asked to read an article called "State of the Live Web," and I have to say, I was quite surprised to see just how fast the blogosphere is actually growing. The use of Technorati as a gauge for the statistics is also quick to catch the eye.

Blogging is a great way to put your ideas out there for the whole world to see. I think this is amazing! As a society, we've come into this ago of instant communication so fast, and it's gone from days of newspapers to telephones to internet in such a short amount of time. Did you know there are about 120,000 new blogs created each day? That's incredible to think about! That number is higher than the population of the whole county I'm from in Kentucky!

No longer do we have to simply rely on mail to communicate with our neighbors on the other side of the globe! And it's not just the English-speaking community that is represented in this blog fever! Japanese is actually the number one language that is represented in posted blogs, coming in at 37% of all blogs. English only comes in second place, followed by Chinese, Italian, and Farsi. This really goes to show that we are all members of the world community and makes it seem just a little bit smaller!

Another surprising thing I learned from the article was the way in which certain blogs become more popular than others. Apparently, tags and hyperlinks that appear on websites will draw in enormous amounts of readers. The tags or categories are marked as descriptors so that other people who search for the same category will stumble across your blog and read it. It really is an ingenious idea when you think about it. It is shameless self-promotion simply by giving your blog entry or entire blog a category. I don't think there's any shame in that. =) So blogging is the future, and I'm now on board for the ride.

Zombie Nation

You really have to admire people who have a sense of humor in today's serious society. That's why I really think it's quite awesome when I see funny things in unexpected places. This video is the perfect example. Ninjas, pirates, Chuck Norris, and zombies aside, pranksters really deserve the recognition rather than these modern scapegoats for jokes.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Oh yeah, please be aware of the worst threat of all: Nazi Zombies!

Enter the Dragon

I am reconnecting with my quest to find the perfect fruit that has been abandoned for quite a while. I'm extremely picky when it comes to the variety of normal fruits that appear on the normal Canadian market, but have recently decided to reach out to some exotics......ohhhhh la la

Two candidates:

• The prickly pear fruit from the prickly pear cactus

• Dragonfruit
  

My deal with the prickly pear isn't with the fruit itself, it's getting to the fruit. As it's name suggests, the prickly pear is indeed, prickly. Getting off the casing is a chore in itself. I made the mistake of not holding onto the end of the prickly pear with a paper towel or glove at first, so I got a few micro cactus hairs stuck into various places on my hand. OUCH! You have to hold the end of the fruit while you peel it with a paring knife! The fruit itself is a bright purple-pink type of color and it actually tastes REALLY BAD in my opinion. So I'll pass on it.


The dragonfruit on the other hand is easy to open. You just slice it in half and inside is revealed a white color with black seeds. You scoop out the flesh with a spoon and it's very sweet and delicious! I highly recommend it! To be warned though.....in Canada, one dragonfruit generally sells for about $4.50 for one fruit. An occasional delicacy.