I'm so excited for this weekend. This long weekend will be one I will look back on for years to come and make me wish I was 25 again.

The partying officially begins tomorrow with Konrad and Vicki at Luxy to see Rockell. Ooh...when was the last time the three of us went together to see Rockell? Must've been years ago, because I remember Mariusz being there, too. Time flies, but we just never seem to change. HA.

Then what I expect to be maybe three hours later, I'll be off to Montreal (yes, again!) on Friday morning to party it up, this time for Dev's big 2-5. I love how everyone who is turning 25 this year has made it some sort of iconic birthday celebration. As I explained to my dad today, turning 25 is a milestone because it's this much closer to 30 and this much further from being 19. Then again, he's almost 70, so he just doesn't get it.

As a birthday gift to Dev, I'm planning on splurging and booking a booth. Also I think Davis and like, 14 of his friends will be down in Montreal as well, so the more [boys], THE BETTER THE PARTY!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

The other day, I was bored as heck and decided to browse a dating site I used to haunt back in the day. I'm not sure if I would call it a 'dating' website, it's more of a social networking site, but I suppose everyone who signs up for an account at this site have the intention of meeting someone (after all, it is called 'Meet Me in TO').

I think I'm much too cynical and too 'judge-a-book-by-its-cover' (OK, I am superficial) to ever take online dating seriously. The 'creativeness' that goes into selecting a profile name and even a profile picture have since gone out the window (that is, since I was in highschool scoping out boys on the 'net and looking for profiles that had the minimalist spelling and grammar errors). I've found that things have certainly changed (including my age) since I last logged in. I used to find this site particularly amusing because of the idiots who seem to sign up to it and just checking out their profiles would remind me of why I should stay off the internet.

What happened to the user names that showed tell tale signs of something simple, like one's age? "'Brianv89' ... hmm... let's see...that '89' probably signifies his year of birth...which would make him 5 years younger than me...". It seems that when people choose their user names these days, they're looking beyond the boring information that the opposite check might be interested in. They're sharing way too much. e.g. 'Mr.BIGGGGGGG' 'TenInchPenis' 'LuverBoi69'

Am I the only one, or has everyone else become superficial and brutally honest when they're asked what they look for in the opposite sex?
e.g. "Me: hot, sexy, smart. You: No fatties."

And when did this become an acceptable profile that was expected to lure in the honeys?

Or even this....

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NSFW WARNING...

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Maybe I should give speed-dating a shot.

I feel like I've lost my best friend. That's probably because I have. One of them, at least.

I know some people think it is unfeasible to have more than one, two, or even five best friends, but really, I do. And even losing one hurts as much as losing all my friends and best friends combined. No, I don't just consider anyone my 'best friend'. That would just be ludicrous, silly and an abomination to the meaning of real friendship. It's like throwing the word 'love' around and not meaning it.

I consider those that I can bare my soul to, be myself with, and above all, go through the toughest shit together with and still be friends after, my best friends. I hope some of these people know who they are without me having to actually notify them with a 'BFF FOREVER' charm bracelet.

I can't help but feel a little frustrated at myself because I thought I did all I could to be a 'good friend'. I think I've been seriously wrong. I thought making some personal sacrifices for someone, even if they didn't know about it, meant something. I thought defending them, even when people told me I was crazy to, meant I was being a good friend. I thought agreeing to do things with someone, even though I'm not always up for it or shouldn't do it but did it because they asked me to (for example, used-book shopping or buying something expensive that I know I don't need) showed someone I cared. Have I been a bad friend all along? Apparently I have.

I do worry about what kind of friend I am being to someone. Should I have spent more on their birthday present? Should I have folded my winning hand not take all their chips in Poker? Should I have text messaged them at 11:59 pm the night before their birthday so I could be the very first person to wish them a happy birthday? Why did I have to talk about my problems when I should've asked more questions about what was going on with them? Should I have sided with one feuding friend over another feuding friend instead of take a neutral stand? These are honestly questions that I am faced with (not necessarily all with just one person).

Someone suggested that instead of focusing on friends that I've lost, I should focus on the good times I've had with them and remember why I am still friends with the friends I have left. They told me that there was no point in mourning the loss of someone who doesn't want to be your friend because they won't care if you mourn. Therefore, there's no point in mourning.

I suppose this is true. I sifted through the thousands of items in my 'My Pictures' folder and I before I knew it, an hour had passed. I went through all the photos in the 10GB folder. Believe it or not, finding pictures that conjured up memories of all the great times I've had with friends I have (near, far, often-seen and rarely-spoken-to) and friends I've lost actually made me feel better. It was just a reminder that I have to live in the present and cherish what I have left because Life is just too damn short.

Excerpts from a CNEWS article:

Nicole Scarpone forced her way into the house and ordered the men pay her $10 for sex. Although she had previously been to the house in a business capacity, Nicole was promptly arrested for using “aggressive prostitution tactics”....After banging on the door of the apartment, she Nicole forced her way in and told the men present they owed her $100 before offering them sex for $10.

You know the recession is bad when... even prostitutes have to bargain down their fees.

Absolutely nothing, except that it proves that America doesn't know what the fuck is going on outside their world. Somebody remind me again why we're in Afghanistan at all, finishing a war that the US started.

I think they are being quite ironic by mocking Canadian stereotypes as ignorant and loud-mouthed Americans, doncha think?

If they start poking fun at our bagged milk, I will officially declare a war on all Americans.

My past is eerily starting to creep up to my present.

Over a year ago, I would talk to a lot of people online that I would meet from the Internet. Most of the time, the online chatting didn't exceed past the computer or even the phone (but I won't lie, sometimes they do, and I have gained some good friends from it), mostly because it was me that wasn't interested. I honestly didn't talk to these people purposely for dating, they were just interesting to talk to because they were strangers. Most of my friends today have known me since grade school, so there's no mystery or excitement. Stepping outside my small and isolated (yet loving!) world is somewhat exciting. Online dating or friendships weren't a goal, but if it happened, it happened. I never understood the stigma behind it: I figure it's just the same as if I walked into a bar and happened to meet someone on the dance floor. Everyone is equally a potential rapist, as far as I can tell.

However, I haven't done that much online dating/friendshipping lately, mostly because I don't have the time. When I was in college, it was just something to do to avoid doing homework. I do still talk to the people I have met online, but I haven't met anyone new. I started talking to this one guy, we'll call him Mr. Soe, two years ago. He seemed pretty nice, and 'not-ugly' in his pictures.

To be honest, it was nice talking to someone Black for a change, because I don't have many Black friends; it's not because I don't like Black people, there just aren't many in my immediate social circle (I blame this on my other racist friends, ha!). Mr. Soe and I have a lot in common, mostly in terms of music, and I guess that was the extent of it. He always wanted to meet offline, but for whatever reason that I can't remember, I didn't have the same ambition. I mean, he wasn't bad-looking or anything and perhaps if he lived closer (he lives in Scarborough or something), I would have met him in person for the sake of boredom. However, in my car-less days and not willing to make the extra step of hopping on the TTC, I always avoided it. But we still chatted once in awhile.

After I put my body through hell at the gym yesterday, Jez called me out to go downtown for some Korean BBQ. Two hours later, I wasted 2 hours of the gym on delicious, greasy, meaty Korean food with Jez and Vicki and we shared a large pitcher of Mai Tais (and by 'share', I really mean that I had a quarter of a glass and the balance was happily downed by Jez and Vicki). Happy, full and a little drunk, we had a nice "Girls' Day" out and about in Toronto, shopping and gallivanting used bookstores (we might have even found the 'infamous' Joys of Sex book from that "Ready or Not" episode when Amanda and Busy find the book and take it to school!).

As the girls and I were walking along Queen Street, a guy approached us and handed us a flyer to a comedy show. I immediately recognized him -- it was Mr. Soe!

"Hey, [Mr. Soe]!"

"Uh, yes?"

"Remember me?" I lowered my sunglasses.

For three seconds he just stood there in silence. I figured he might not have recognized me or remembered my name, but he told me later that he was kind of shell-shocked. After all, we had been chatting for about two years and after all his hounding about meeting offline, we finally did. If only for 30 seconds. Still, it was pretty hilarious and ironic. He's in marketing and does public relations and has also been hounding me about going to this aforementioned comedy show his company was promoting for years, but I had never found anyone (including myself) willing to fork over $30 to go. How funny that we finally met face-to-face, while he was schlepping that comedy show.

To top off my day, V had called me earlier in the day to go out later that night. I had not talked to V in over a year, after we went on two dates. He is another guy I met online and this time I actually went on a couple of dates with him. I can't remember why it never really went anywhere, but I figured since I couldn't remember, he couldn't be that bad. I was actually looking forward to it, and stupidly psyched myself up for it, but when evening rolled around he had to back out. He just bought a new house and is putting an indoor pool in his basement. He started digging today and dug all day and was understandably sore after. I told him I'd take a raincheck, but to be honest, I was a little relieved because I didn't realize how tired I was until my ass hit the couch.

For the entire day, I didn't really stop moving, which is good because I feel a bit accomplished. I think my life is starting to a hit a transitional point where I'm at that age that things need to get done earlier in the day so I can wind down in the evening. I contently spent my Saturday evening like a 40-year old: lying on the couch watching Saturday Night Live, eating yogourt and feeling sexually frustrated.

Why, hello there, YSL lattice mesh shoes.

YSL S/S 09

I hope we meet again in the near future -- when I have $2,000.00 to spare.

I can't help but notice the perfect ass, ample breasts and that she speaks only when spoken to. No doubt lonely old Japanese guys have gotten so desperate for a woman (and so lazy to do their own housework) that they had to create her out of wiring and a carbon-fiber shell.

There should definitely be a male version, complete with an embedded ATM and [at least] an 8-inch apparatus. And perhaps one that doesn't walk like it has a football up his ass.

Today we had gorgeous Spring-like weather. It's too bad I spent most of the day indoors, except when I had to do a bank run and pick up lunch. The warm weather gets me excited about Summer and all the stuff I'm looking forward to doing: BBQs, beach, Cali, rollerblading, camping, rock-climbing, not having to wear two pants. I am even looking forward to the humidity, smog, birds and the bees.

Speaking of birds and bees, I haven't been getting much of them lately. Giving into E's advances has crossed my mind lately. I figure I have nothing/noone better to do. His suggestive text messages don't help the matter:

Me: You should come to my Poker games, I want to take your money.
E: Good, because I like to go all-in.
Me: ... Are we still talking about Poker?
E: No.

I had first resisted his urges, even though chicks throw themselves on him but I resisted it for the sheer principle. He's the type of guy that tends to have everything, including girls, come to him easily. I decided that I would change the game, and make him the chaser, rather than the chas-ee. Yeah, that's right. I can play games, too.

Unfortunately, it just might backfire on me because I am getting restless. In the tug-o-war of who succumbs to the urges first, I might falter like a house of cards. What can I say?

I'm weak between the knees.

Yesss... the day has finally arrived. BoA's first English album has been released, er, I mean, leaked.

It's decent. It doesn't sound like her Korean or Japanese albums, but there's whiff of Britney influence in it (without the skank). Actually, it's more like an odour, but I'll let it slide because it's BoA.

I really don't know how this will fly in terms of her success in America, but I'd actually buy, yes, actually buy a physical copy of her album.