The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of... ...Heckling!

So, we went to see the cast of The Hills on Monday night. Ang e-mailed MTV.ca and they said to show up at 888 Yonge St. before 6 PM and we wouldn't be turned away. A win, if you ask me...

So, we left work at 4:15 and headed to the T-dot. On our way, it began to rain so bad that even with my swish-swipers on the fastest they could go, I could barely see. But, we were determined, so on we went. 407 to 427 to 409 to 401... I didn't know we had so many 4's Hwys... When we were on the 401, it was still pouring and my cell phone started ringing. It was Susanne - the Vegas bride - she wanted to get her nails done at Yola's - where I go. So, I was trying to give her directions over the phone, drive in the down pour, figure out where we were going, and watch for the slamming of the brake lights... GOOD TIMES!

While waiting for the light to turn green on the off-ramp of the 401, we noticed a girl crossing the street, and her pants were wet from walking in the rain. They were wet all the way up her leg, to her mid-thigh. Ang and I burst out laughing - we SO knew that that would be us in a few minutes.

Cruisin' down Yonge St., we worried that we wouldn't be able to find where we were going. All of a sudden a looked up and saw the most giant sign that said "MTV CANADA"! We had arrived. We then noticed the throngs of people, most of them soaking wet, in line. With luck on our side, we saw a green P, just to our right, and it was a block away from where we wanted to be. GREAT! We pulled in and were told that it was $13, but if we weren't out before 9 PM, our car was going to be locked in overnight. Hmmm, no thanks! We pulled out of the lot, but were on the other side (not Yonge St.). There was metered parking, and as we were driving, the 2nd spot became available. We quickly jump in the spot and fed the meter as much as we could.

We started walking, Ang realized that she forgot her wallet, but no biggie - CLEARLY we were over the age of 16. Our tops fit us correctly, our pants fit us correctly, we were wearing coats - we were not 16. Side note - as we were parking, it thankfully stopped raining!!

We turned the corner, saw another, shorter line than the first, so decided to line up there. The girl in front of us told us that this was the line for the people that had e-mailed MTV and had received a confirmation e-mail. I looked over to Ang - we were SO in. Except that she forgot the e-mail, and her wallet. Really, MTV, we are who we say we are, we just don't have ANY proof!! Let us meet LC, PLEASE!!!!

There were so many random things that happened after that.
- Two clearly gay men that just made us laugh - not that we think gay people are to be ridiculed, but they were just so funny. Those butt-clenching, bag carrying fashion gurus! We LOVE you!
- The same people walking up and down Yonge St. OVER and OVER!
- The Po-Po -or rent-a-cop that drove his Prelude to MTV to direct traffic.

Ang and I couldn't stop laughing. Then it got good. Suddenly, the rent-a-cop came over and told us that the show had started and we weren't getting in. It was only 6:15. The outrage that ensued was hilarious. People yelling and screaming. People demanding to speak to MTV reps. Ang and I busted out laughing. Some girl walked out into the middle of the street so EVERYONE could witness her outrage. She was mad. She dropped the F-bomb. Then her mom told her to get off the road. Ang and I - laughed again...

Ang walked out a little to see what was happening, and I was still standing in the line. Just as she was walking away, a car started to drive by, and someone yelled out the window, "WOOOOOOOO THE HILLS!!!! WOOOOOOOOOO!", so we all looked up. We had just been heckled. By a Muslim woman in her hijab. Picture it in your head before you judge me for typing that. Being heckled by a women who wears a hijab to protect herself from being judged by others, who wears it to show that she will not fall to peer pressure, that will not be brainwashed by society, who wears it so people are forced to get to know her personality and not what she looks like. HECKLED!!! The irony is just too much! Ang turned around and looked at me, with, I am sure, the exact WTF!?!??!?!?! facial expression that I was looking at her with.

And we busted out laughing... and laughed, and laughed, and 5 days later, are still laughing about it.

'Dust In The Wind

Before I went to Vegas the first time, I was told that the Stardust was coming down on New Year's Eve. I was bound and determined to see the Stardust and get some pictures of it. Unfortunately, it was already boarded up, so we couldn't go in, but I was able to take some pictures of the building.

Stardust Hotel and Casino - December 2nd & 3rd, 2006.

I felt very sad that I wasn't able to go into the Stardust, but at least I had seen the inside on "Saved By The Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas" and I was able to see the building in person, before it came down.

When I was preparing to go back in March, I was talking to someone that has been there before and he said that he had heard that the Stardust DIDN'T come down on New Year's... I figured I would see for myself.

Our flight from Denver was delayed, so we got into Vegas late. In the cab, we decided that we were going to check in, hit the sheets and start fresh the next day. It was already midnight Vegas time, so 3 AM our time. At the hotel, the man checking us in informed us that at around 2 AM, we would hear a large "BOOM" sound as the Stardust was being imploded. That night. As I was standing on Vegas soil. Instantly, I was no longer tired and couldn't get my bags in the room fast enough and get myself to the Stardust.

The other girls were just as excited and we quickly headed down the strip. There were already a lot of people milling about and getting the "best" spot. As we were doing the same, we came across 2 older ladies. They were wearing Stardust jackets and said that they were a couple of the original cocktail waitresses that worked at the Stardust when it first opened! I was in such awe, that I FORGOT to take a picture of them. I am still kicking myself for that one!

We set ourselves up directly across the street from the Stardust and waited. And waited. And waited. At about 2:15 am (5:15 am Ontario time), a few fireworks went off. The excitement in the air was indescribable.

I was able to catch the next sequence of events on camera. This is what the Stardust imploding looked like through my eyes.

Stardust Hotel and Casino - March 12th, 2007.

Fireworks leading up to the main event.

Fireworks went off all through the building.

Just seconds away now. The crowd was cheering, some through tears.

The Official Countdown was in the centre of the Stardust.

The building was actually coming down. These pictures aren't bright enough. And they don't do the moment justice.

The cloud of smoke was all that was left.

Walking back to the hotel. Can you believe that we were in the opposite direction of which the wind was travelling. There was so much dust!

Stardust Hotel and Casino - March 13th, 2007.

Peace Out Peeps!

Oops! I Did It Again!...

...Take so long to post, that is.
It's April 20th - where has the time gone? It has been awhile - a long while since I have posted last. Here is what has been going on with me!

Today the weather is going to be 21 degrees. I am in love. With the weather. I got a pedicure yesterday and it is super cute. In fact, here is a picture of it.

I have a cute blue flower on each of my big toes. You can see it better in the picture below:

Preparations for my cousin's wedding are in full swing. The invitations are done and will be in the mail next week. The Bonbonieres are wrapped and ready to go (after we put the tags on them) and the first of 2 showers is this weekend. Our dresses should be in next month!

Since being back from Vegas, we haven't been able to get back on our work-out schedule. I am hoping that changes this week - can you believe I actually MISS it!?!?! I must be coming down with something.

I am almost finished scrap booking my FIRST Vegas trip. I told myself that I am not allowed to go back until I have scrap booked BOTH trips. Why I am punishing myself, I don't know.

My niece is speaking so much now. She is stinkin' hilarious and wants 100% of my attention. If I look away from her for one second, she calls me -"ZIA!!!" and if I don't look at her, I get "ZIA PAA-WA!!!!!". I love it. She rocks!

Work is still pretty busy, but looks like it won't be for much longer. I think we did pretty good. It only took us 3 weeks for our learning curve. I wasn't around when the Blue Box was rolled out, but I am sure that it took longer than 3 weeks to get a handle on things. We Rock!

On Monday night, I am going to MTV live to see (not meet) the cast of The Hills. Yes, I am 12. And I love Lauren Conrad. And Whitney. And Audrina - a little.

Top 5 Favorite Songs this week:

1. Over It - Katharine McPhee
2. Weak In the Knees - Serena Ryder
3. Listen - Beyonce
4. Just Another Day - Serena Ryder - AGAIN!
5. Not Ready to Make Nice - The Chicks - just can't let that song go!!!

Hope everyone has a happy, sunny weekend!
P~

Babies & Brides - Who Could Ask For More?

Sorry, it has taken me so long to update. I have been back from Vegas for a week and a half now and things haven't slowed down at all.

First and foremost, I want to congratulate one of my best friends and her husband on the birth of their beautiful baby girl. Eilish Kennedy Connell was born while I was away, even though I told her to hang in there until I got! She was born just after noon on Wednesday March 14th! Happy 2nd week birthday, baby Eilish!! Please enjoy the beauty of this miracle!










Work has been extremely busy, as we prepare for the biggest launch since the blue box! It is all very exciting. It is also occupying the time that I would normally use to update this blog.

So Vegas. Sigh... Vegas was fabulously fantastic. I loved every single second that I was there. I loved it just like it was the first time. Yet, this time was completely different than the first time. The girls I travelled with were a lot of fun. Susanne, the bride-to-be, actually takes longer to get ready than I do. If you know me, you know that I take a long time to get ready - unless it is for work, because as much as I love my co-workers, they aren't going to get "Night-time Paula at 8:30 am! But Susanne! She takes even longer during the day than it takes me to create "Night-time Paula"! I was shocked.

Top five moments of my trip are:
1. Seeing the Stardust Hotel & Casino come down.
2. Finding out about "The Deuce".
3. Spending the day in California with the girls and Kerri (and Deon).
4. The Hollywood Sign.
5. Laguna Beach.

I will post pictures in another post, but for now here are some pictures of other memorable moments from my trip:

At Pearson, getting ready to leave - Patty, Laura, Me & Susanne.

Our connecting flight from Denver to Vegas was delayed. Notice how happy Laura is about it.

Gamblin' with the Gambler!

View of the strip from the top of the Stratosphere. The beige hotel is where we stayed at.

The bride-to-be!

Fremont Street. At night. Love it!

Hope you enjoyed it!

P~

Vacation - All I Ever Wanted

Today is my last day of work before I am off for a whole week. The week that I will be spending in VEGAS!!! I am so excited to go - I don't even think I can contain myself. I have been very busy here at work, trying to get as much stuff done as possible so I won't be burried by it when I return.

I had to go downstairs and speak with our contractor about work stuff - it's totally boring - but he took up so much of my time, I am barely able to write this blog.

Okay - so I am actually at my parents' house right now - it is Saturday evening. I didn't have time to finish my blog at work because of the above mentioned contractor!!!!

Anyway, I have just put some highlights in my hair and wasted a few minutes (or hours- one can't tell anymore) on Facebook. That shit is addicting!! Thank God I don't have a computer at home yet!!

So, I did some last minute shopping today, as the weather in Las Vegas is going to be in the 80's!! I am so excited about that! I picked up a couple pairs of Capris and some t-shirts. Tomorrow will be the day of laundry and preliminary packing. Don't laugh - I can make packing an Olympic sport! Tomorrow will also be our last work-out before the trip. Laura and I are very happy that we were able to commit right until the last day. We are going to continue after the trip, but for right now, tomorrow marks FREEDOM!

I really don't have a lot to say right now. Hope everyone has a great week and I will see ya when I see ya!!!

PEACE OUT PEEPS!!

Happy Birthday IDA!!!!

So, Saturday was my mama's birthday!! Lori, Tim, Bianca and I went over in the late afternoon to spend some quality time with her and to have dinner all together.

The quality time consisted of Lori and I leaving, almost immediately after we got there, to go and do some shopping for the friends and family that would be coming over to celebrate this grand occasion!!

We arrived back home in time for the Chinese food and Bianca slept through most of the "family dinner". I haven't had Chinese food in a looooooong time, and it was quite enjoyable!!!

After dinner, we gave my mom her gift, which was a digital camera. She has wanted one for a while. I am not sure she even knows how to use one, but she is now a proud owner of a pretty kick-ass Sony camera!!

Soon after the house started to fill up. One of my mom's best friend and her family came and cousins also came too. We had a really nice evening. Bianca, again, was the source of entertainment.

Karla, my 07-07-07 bride came with her fiance (Dino) and they had a sample of the wedding invitation, which is beautiful and the samples of our dress colours - remember, I am blue-jay blue. It is a really nice colour, and the more I see it, the happier I am that I am blue... Not that I don't like the other colours, but I really like the blue.

The evening was fun, and everyone had a good time. I think my mom actually forgot about the fact that her own sister (you know the one I am talking about - Jennifer's mother) did not show up, call, send a card, e-mail or text message her to wish her a Happy Birthday. Maybe I need further clarification as to why someone believes it is okay to act like a complete asshole when their child is in the wrong. If I ever decide to speak to these people again, that might be my first question. People have been giving my mother a hard time, wondering why she is letting something come between her and her sister, so I ask those people - who is really the one driving the wedge deeper, cause it sure ain't my mother!!!

ANYWAY!!!! This post was supposed to be a tribute to the awesome mom that I have and to wish her a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! LOVE YA MAMA!!!!!

The Princess & The Water

Incident/Accident Report

Date: Friday February 23, 2007

Time: 10:20 am

Location: Price Chopper Parking Lot

Parties Involved: Myself, Jason & two cases of water

Brief Description: After picking up two EXTRA LARGE cases of bottled water for the scale house staff (who were supposed to be reusing the bottles that they had, but decided to throw them out instead), Jason and I carried one case each. I should mention here that it was my decision to get the extra large cases. I should also mention that Jason offered to carry both cases, but I had to be a brave-star and carry my own. Women's Lib - MY ASS!!!

Jason was walking a few steps ahead of me and I was taking small quick steps, so I wouldn't loose my momentum. Well, I lost it. I tripped/stumbled/did absolutely nothing on some uneven concrete and fell down.

Jason turned and saw the case of water on the floor, but didn't turn around completely and therefore DID NOT SEE ME ON THE GROUND!!! I had to call out to him, "Jason? Jason, I fell." He quickly came over and bent down to ask me if I was okay. I started to get up, but first replaced the "Thank You" sticker on the top of the case, so everyone would know that I actually purchase the case of water that I had just thrown 50 feet. Okay, so it was only 1.5 feet, but remember - it was the XL case!

I twisted/rolled my left ankle on the uneven concrete and fell down on the right side of my body. My jeans were covered in dust, my boots were all scratched and dusty, but somehow, my WHITE vest was clean!!!

I started to get up and Jason picked up both cases of water and with NO EFFORT was able to put them in the Region truck. I limped to the truck and hoisted myself into the passenger seat. And started laughing. Laughing my ass off. I started to survey the damage. My left ankle was throbbing and my right knee was really, really hurting.

I went to dust off my pants, and the entire truck filled with dust from my pants - how gross! I lifted up my pant leg to find BLOOD! My knee was skinned and bruised and bleeding. Again, I busted out laughing. Jason told me to stop laughing, but I explained that if I didn't laugh, I would cry.

We made our way back to the scale house, and as Jason carried both cases of water, he almost slipped on some black ice. Suddenly the scale house door opened and one of the ladies remarked, "Oh look at the Princess who won't carry the water!!!"

Clearly, she didn't notice that the Princess was LIMPING, DIRTY AND BLEEDING!!!!!

I proceeded to tell my story to all 18 people in the scale house, all the while laughing (so I wouldn't cry). Jason re-enacted how I looked on the ground and my supervisor is making me fill out an accident report. Seriously? This is what that report looks like:

I was walking. I fell. I am an idiot. Jason didn't see me because he was ahead of me, so I had to say, "Jason, I fell. Jason?"

We then returned to the office, so I could fill out my accident report and retell the story one more time. We also had access to a camera, which is never good...

The injuries that my right knee sustained... There is no photographic evidence of the excruciating pain that my ankle is in.

The Damage done to my American Eagle Outfitters Boots (which encase you were wondering they no longer make!!)

Jason re-enacting my fall - notice the desperation in his eyes. The box is a substitute for the case of water.

Peace out People! Enjoy your weekend!