Well, the Grand Prix final has come and gone, and I'm pretty happy with the results! Tanith & Ben got silver, and so did Jeff, which is really the best that could possibly happen for either. And Joannie came third!! My only disappointment was Cynthia's breakdown, but hopefully it'll just make her tougher in the long run. Let's just say that if the worlds podiums end up anything like this, I'll be jumping up and down in Moscow. :-)

My cold is actually mostly gone now, which is very nice. I had a pretty uneventful weekend - spent most of yesterday updating my site, and most of today at work. Tomorrow I need to finish off my Christmas shopping (just a couple of small things left to pick up), and bake some shortbread for work. I also should probably get my hair cut, but we'll see if that figures into my budget or not.

I spent some time today checking out the entry requirements for working in the UK, and it seems like it should actually be quite simple (compared with the US requirements, at least!). And the age limit is now 30 (I'm certain it used to be 27), which gives me a bit more leeway. My tentative date for now is September 2006 - I'll do my best to stick to that!

And to sum up this year, I am stealing a survey from Gill - I'll try to write once more before I head home for the holidays!

THREE WAYS I AM STILL JUST A KID:

1. I can't sleep on Christmas Eve.
2. I hate going to the doctor.
3. Talking to my mom always makes it better.


THREE WAYS I AM ALREADY OLD:

1. I get annoyed by teenagers.
2. I like playing Bingo.
3. My back constantly hurts.


THREE WAYS THAT I'M A STEREOTYPICAL "BOY":

1. I know all the rules to most major sports, and have played most of them.
2. I've assembled all my own furniture.
3. I hate asking for directions. ;-)

THREE WAYS THAT I'M A STEREOTYPICAL "GIRL":

1. I love figure skating.
2. I cry at movies and at the theatre.
3. I like to get dressed up.


THREE NEW THINGS YOU WANT TO TRY IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS:

1. Shopping for size 8 clothes. :-)
2. Saving money.
3. Going to Canada's Wonderland.


THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:

1. Stacy.
2. Stace.
3. Stacy Mc.


THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD:

1. alwphan
2. stacyblakeney
3. galinda...with a "ga"


THREE THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:

1. I can find joy in little things.
2. I'm independent.
3. I'm a pretty hard worker.


THREE THINGS YOU HATE ABOUT YOURSELF:

1. My lack of self-confidence.
2. I'm terrible at keeping in touch with people.
3. I'm messy.


THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:

1. Scottish.
2. German.
3. More German. :-)

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:

1. Spiders.
2. Not achieving anything important.
3. George W. Bush.


THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:

1. Spending time with Tiger.
2. Checking my email.
3. Having a shower and/or bath.


THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW:

1. Hmm...I could lie, but the truth is, I've just got my bathrobe on at the moment.
2. Gold earrings.
3. ?? :-)


THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS AT PRESENT:

1. "Mary, Did You Know?"
2. "O Holy Night"
3. "What Child Is This?"

What can I say? It's Christmas!

THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP (love is a given):

1. Honesty.
2. An unspoken understanding.
3. Passion.


TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE (You figure them out)

1. I like the sun.
2. I like the rain.
3. I like snow.


THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU:

1. Apparently, based on the quiz I just took, I like triangular faces!
2. Nice eyes.
3. A nice smile.


THREE THINGS YOU JUST CAN'T DO:

1. Learn another language.
2. Mingle with people I don't know at a party.
3. Turn down M. Félix and Mr. Norton cookies.


THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:

1. Working on my website.
2. Watching/teaching/ doing-just-for-fun figure skating.
3. Planning trips.


THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:

1. Go to Europe.
2. Move to London or New York.
3. Pay off my student loans.


THREE CAREERS YOU'RE CONSIDERING:

1. Anything in the theatre.
2. Freelance writer.
3. I guess maybe the one I'm in now?


THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:

1. Russia (very soon!!).
2. Italy.
3. Egypt.


THREE KID'S NAMES

1. Alexei (Lex).
2. Nikolai (Nick)
3. Ekaterina (Katie)


THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:

1. Move to New York.
2. Travel a lot.
3. Be head-over-heels in love (at least for a little while!).


1. What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done before?

Stuck to a diet!


2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I didn't really have any, but I do have some for next year.


3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

A couple of people at work - my sister will next year though!.


4. Did anyone close to you die?

No


5. What countries did you visit?

U.S., England, Scotland, France


6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004?

More time in New York. Less days where I'm totally broke. More time with my mom.


7. What dates from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

All of the Scotland trip.


8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Ummm...I guess my promotion at work?


9. What was your biggest failure?

Budgeting for my trip!


10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Not really - the usual!


11. What was the best thing you bought?

Plane ticket to Russia. :-)


12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

My manager at work.


13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

George W. Bush.


14. Where did most of your money go?

Trips, theatre, student loans.


15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

My mom's visit, my trips to New York and Scotland.


16. What song will always remind you of 2004?

Any of the stuff off the Beneche CD.


17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder?

A little happier.


b) thinner or fatter?

Thinner!


c) richer or poorer?

I have less debt, so I guess that's richer


18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Email. Reading.


19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Eating junk


20. How will you be spending Christmas?

At home with my family


21. Did you fall in love in 2004?

Momentarily. Not as often as Michelle. ;-)


22. How many one-night stands?

None.


23. What was your favorite TV program?

Smallville, Lost, Alias


24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

I don't think so.


25. What was the best book you read?

I liked "Girl with a Pearl Earring" a lot - the book on the Mackenzie Poltergeist was also very interesting!


26. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Hmmm...I guess "The Woman in White"


27. What did you want and get?

A fabulous trip to Europe


28. What did you want and not get?

A return trip to New York in November.


29. What was your favorite film of this year?

Lord of the Rings, Return of the King (which, I know, technically came out last year, but I saw it this year).


30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 26, and went out for lunch and to a bar the next night.


31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Not having to worry about money every single day.


32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004?

Fashion concept? How about trying to find clothes that fit me?


33. What kept you sane?

My mom, my new apartment.


34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Lex Luthor


35. What political issue stirred you the most?

The US election/Iraq war.


36. Who did you miss?

Everyone that I don't see enough! All my family and friends who live far away


37. Who was the best new person you met?

Well, I got to know a lot of people better this year - like Michelle and Peggy


38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004:

Willpower can't be forced on you.


39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

"Un jour, il viendra bien ce jour Où je vivrai l'amour, un jour"

I love Jeff Buttle. Just wanted to share that. :-) I'm watching the Holiday Festival on Ice, and at the beginning, when Jeff and Kurt did a little segment together, it made me way too happy. And his program to Ave Maria was just beautiful. As any regular reader of this site will know, I've been a fan for a long time, but he is fast becoming one of my all- time favourites. I'm going to be so nervous for the Grand Prix final this weekend!

As for my life, I'm starting to get sick, which is a real pain. Hopefully it won't get full- blown, or, if it does, hopefully it will be gone before I head home on the 24th. I've also been eating waaaaay too many Christmas goodies at work. Tomorrow is our Christmas lunch at the Mandarin - yummy!

Okay, the skating's back on! And then I better get a good night's sleep, and try to beat this cold!

December 12, 2004: 7:59 p.m.

How disappointing! They've announced that a touring version of Evita will be coming to Toronto instead of We Will Rock You. Not that I don't like Evita, but I would have preferred something new! :-(

However, we are getting Bat Boy in February, which excites me greatly!

December 12, 2004: 9:09 a.m.

How nice it is to not have those exams hanging over me any more! It's not even that I spent that much time studying for them (not enough time, obviously, based on my performance on the second one), it's just that I always felt like I *should* be studying for them, and therefore felt guilty about using my time for anything else. But now that they're done, I can spend as much time as I want in a less-than-useful manner. :-)

So the first thing I wanted to do was read the The Da Vinci Code, which I'd had sitting here for a while. I found it interesting, if perhaps not quite the shock I'd heard it described as. Mostly, it just made me want to take a course in art history. :-) I definitely should try to read up on some of the things at the Hermitage, so I can get a little more out of my visit there in the spring!

I also finally got together with Karen and Gill for lunch yesterday - we hadn't seen each other since the summer! We convened at the Marché downtown for a very nice lunch watching the snow fall outside and exchanging Christmas gifts, including quite possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen, a S'more Christmas ornament! I can't find a picture of the particular one they got me, but here is a simple one. Aren't they adorable?? Thanks again guys! :-)

Today I actually have some plans as well - Zorana and I are doing a bit of shopping, and then Eda and I are going to finish decorating the office. I also wanted to bake a linzer square recipe that I found, and I really should get some laundry done as well. So I guess I can't spend the entire weekend lounging around!

Check out this pronunciation site! That would have come in handy when I was trying to figure out how to say Jesper's name. :-)

13 days until Christmas!!

December 8, 2004: 6:46 p.m.

As if I wasn't addicted to Minesweeper enough already...
Kryptonite Sweeper

December 7, 2004: 9:41 p.m.

One exam done, one to go! Today's exam went pretty well, but the one on Thursday is the one that I am not in the least prepared for, and have not the slightest inclination to prepare for, and this is why I am writing this entry rather than studying for it at this very moment.

Also, Michelle just left after coming over to watch Smallville, which didn't have nearly enough Lex for our liking.

I was so excited yesterday when it snowed and snowed, and the world was wonderful and white. This morning it was white and blowing outside all morning (I had the morning off to study), but by the time I left for my exam, it had started raining, and now the rain has washed all the snow away and it is gray and dreary again. :-(

It was also a very bleak day on Saturday for our Christmas party, which was fun, if pretty uneventful. Melanie and I tried to enter a swing dancing contest, but were rejected by the DJ! Discrimination! And we were pretty good too! Except I tried to lift her at one point, and managed to fall over, taking her down with me, and now have a big floor burn/bruise on my knee. I guess I'm usually the one being swung, and not doing the swinging! Nevertheless, I remain convinced that, without the high heels on and the glasses of wine I'd had to drink, I would normally be able to do that move. :-)

Once the exam is over on Thursday, the rest of the week/weekend should be fun! We have a party on Thursday night, and then on Friday is yet another girls' night out (we've had quite a few of those lately - not that I'm complaining, they're always a blast!). On the weekend I intend to do some Christmas baking and maybe finally put the remainder of my Scotland trip pictures in an album (how terrible is it that I haven't finished that yet??). And then after all that, I get to go home in just a couple of weeks!

Alright, I really need to at least read through one more chapter before I head to bed. I have the afternoon off work tomorrow to study, and then I write the exam on Thursday morning, so you can all think of me at noon on Thursday, breathing a big sigh of relief!

18 days until Christmas!!

December 4, 2004: 8:29 a.m.

So I'm supposed to be studying right now, and all this weekend, but I figured I would take a quick break to do an update in here before I really hit the books (wait, is it still called a break if you haven't even started yet??)

Anyway, this week was really busy at work, and the next month or so promises to be even more hectic. At least it's making the time go quickly! I finished up the gingerbread house and train last weekend, and they both turned out quite well! On Monday, Eda and I started hanging snowflakes in our office, which turned out to be much more difficult than we originally thought it was going to be, and so there is still a lot more to do, but we've had to call a temporary halt to the project until our exams are finished. I also put up the tree in the lobby and decorated it, as well as a second tree that was donated by a guy at work. Zorana brought her camera to work yesterday, so I have some pictures of all the madness, including my desk which Krista and I had decorated two weeks ago. Here are just a few of them - closeups of the gingerbread house and train will be added to the photo album when I get a minute:

Me and both my gingerbread creations

Me with the new Christmas tree, a work-in-progress

In front of my desk

Tonight is the ING Christmas party, which should be fun. We're having a "casino", where you can use the money you win to buy raffle tickets for prizes. I'm sitting at a table with Zorana, Michelle and Peggy, along with a few others, so we should have a good time! The menu sounds good too - I decided to go with the fish, since the beef is always overcooked at these events, and I can't eat the turkey. :-( Some of the girls are going out afterwards, but I probably won't, since I need to be clear-headed tomorrow to continue studying!

This is the first weekend in a while without any skating - the Grand Prix final is in two weeks. I'm pretty happy with the results of the series - Jeff's in, both Cynthia *and* Joannie are in (awesome), Tanith & Ben are in (naturally), and it should be a good competition! Still no word on my tickets for Worlds. :-(

And speaking of Moscow, the Russia week on History television ended up not being very exciting - it was a really quick run through imperial Russian history, and I don't think I learned anything I didn't already know. And it just made me upset when they called Paul crazy. :-)

I'm finished with my German class now! There is actually one more class, but Jenn and I can't go, since it's the same night as one of our law firm parties. Kann ich Deutsch jetzt sprechen? Well, not really, but I did learn quite a bit! Now the trick will be to try to retain it.

Okay, better get to the studying! My exams are on Tuesday and Thursday next week, and I will be much happier when they are finished! Have a good weekend!