Sunday, April 24, 2005

The Graduate

Three years. I spent three years stuffing my brain with accounting concepts. It was only supposed to be two years, but Canadian income taxation rules screwed me over the first time.

Post-secondary education in Canada gave me a taste of hell (figuratively, of course). Here, full-time study is taken quite literally. I had 32 units in one semester. Maximum of two lectures and maximum of two lab classes for every course. Two or three quizzes in one day. At least two projects or assignments due in one week. Eight-hundred-dollar-worth textbooks, as heavy as a century-old tree. Reams of handouts that went to the trash at the end of every semester. Nine hours in school. Crazy instructors who are buddies with Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, and the Abu Sayyaf. Gossiping classmates. Cute guys as freakin' jerks.

Can you believe I actually got sick after every exam week? Stress? Heck yeah!

But I have survived.

I now have a Diploma of Technology in Financial Management - Professional Accounting.

Praise God!

Monday, April 4, 2005

Harmonica Boy

Oops!... I did it again!

Why do gorgeous eyes and killer smiles get to me? And why am I always attracted to guys I'm too chicken to talk to?

OK. I first saw this guy one early winter evening. We were waiting for the bus to arrive. I saw him smiling my way. I initially thought that he was smiling at me, but, due to recent events, I now think that he was only smiling my way then. Anyway, I saw him while waiting for the bus a couple of times since that first night. One time, I was reading a title in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series (can't remember if it was Chicken Soup for the Romantic Soul or for the Christian Woman's Soul). I was reading with poor lighting, though I should have known that I could turn the little lamp just above my head on. Just before he got off, I looked up at him and he was smiling, as if he was mocking me. Then I noticed that the little lamp above me was suddenly on.

I didn't see him for the entire Christmas season until February. I first saw him again this year while waiting for the earlier bus. I had a good look at him then: He's Caucasian, tall, and has a not-so-huge-not-so-small built. He has a bit of a stomach, though. He wears a pair of specs and always - and I mean, always - wears a black-and-red toque. Therefore, I had never seen his hair. He always carries a huge Tracker backpack with an off-white hard hat hanging from I-don't-know-what. And from the hard hat, I assumed that he works for a construction company. He actually used to wear a badly torn pair of huge brown shoes; now he wears a darker brown shoes. He also wears badly torn jeans - to the point where I can see his bare - and hairy - thigh. He also has a huge silver timepiece dangling from his jeans. He either reads a book or listens to his CD player while waiting for the bus and while on the bus - like me! And I actually saw him playing harmonica on a Saturday!

I actually can't figure out where he lives. He normally gets off at 180th at 60th. But he also gets off at two different stops, like he did last night, leaving me wondering if he was going to see his girlfriend or fiancee or, worse, boyfriend.

But, on March 11th, he was standing in front of me on the line. His cellphone was strapped to the side of his torn jeans. His cellphone display was in my full view. It said, "hi justin". I assume that he's straight, so I deduced that his name is Justin. Sad to say, I've never had the nerve to talk to him.

Unfortunately, I don't think he's interested in me at all. But just like the JC-Chasez-look-alike from BCIT, Justin a.k.a. Smiley a.k.a. Harmonica Boy is now officially my Ultimate Boytoy. I'm wondering, just like my friend Jon does, when I'm gonna have the guts to talk to him.