Commentary: A Gusty Affair

A Gutsy Affair is an annual gathering of young, urban guests to mix, mingle and discover some of the finer things – Food, Drinks, and Local Music – in search of a cure for inflammatory bowel disease, which affects more than 200,000 Canadians. It's a chance to help a wonderful cause and have fun while doing it.

Below are the Details to this fantastic Event:
Location: Revival Bar (783 College St, Toronto, ON)
Date: Thursday, April 14th, 2011
Time: Silent Auction 7:30 – 10:00 Drinking & Dancing till late!
Tickets: $50 in advance… includes an open martini bar! $60 at the door (if available)

Tickets to 2011′s A Gutsy Affair includes admission to the event as well as access to our open Martini Bar! Purchase your tickets HERE!

There are also two opportunities to win some free tickets to this event via ClickFlick.ca and CherylHoward.com here:
http://clickflickca.blogspot.com/2011/04/gutsy-affair.html

http://cherylhoward.com/2011/04/01/do-you-have-the-guts-to-attend-a-gutsy-affair/

Journal: Guitar Hero

I've been anticipating the new release of Guitar Hero World Tour for a while now. This is the first version of GH where it includes a mic and a drumkit, so that you can get the full band play, like Rockband. I pre-ordered the game ($215) from EBgames, and couldn't wait to go pick it up. Unfortunately, when the day came, I got a call from them, and they said they only got 2 bundles in, and I was 8th on the list.

To tide me over, I decided to buy just the guitar kit to practice on before I bought the entire set. I have to say, it's a pretty fun game. However, this game is best played with friends. When I eventually got the full kit, I had a couple of friends over, and we played for hours. I also bought it over to a potlouck dinner Mel was having at her place, and everyone got into it and had a blast.

Unforunately, the red pad on the drumset seemed to be off, so I returned it and got a refund. What I've decided to do with the money instead is buy a real acoustic guitar and learn how to play that. I figure if I put the same amount of energy learning an actual instrument as I did playing the game, I might actually learn a valuable skill. That's the hope anyways.

Journal: Back to Blogging

So, I haven't blogged in a loooooooooooong time. why? I'm lazy, and my life isn't all that interesting. I toyed with the idea of video blogging everything instead, but that didn't seem to work. I still might try that someday, but for now back to basics.

It's about 2 am right now, and I'm eating my dinner. I know it's messed up. So, I'm going to try and chow down, digest, and go to bed. I'll try to make a proper update another time.

D

Journal: Living in Toronto. How sweet is that?

As many people already know, I've begun a new chapter in my life, and moved out to Toronto to live on my own. Of course, I've lived away from home for the majority of the past 6 years, but now I'm really on my own. Thus far, it's been what you expect. Very liberating and very free. The best part of living here is the amount of time I save on my commute. What used to be a 75 minute one-way subway/bus ride, is now an 11 minute walk. I now wake up 30 minutes later, and get to work 30 minutes earlier. How sweet is that?

I worried that I would be bored being on my own, but so far I've always had things to do. For the first week, I was still shopping for furniture and looking for houseware, so that took up a good amount of time. There was also a pub crawl on King Street where for 4 hours, 10 bars in the King Street West area were just giving away free beer. Like ALOT of free beer. For FREE! And then there was the FREE comedy show in Dundas square, headlined by Russell Peters, which was absolutely hilarious. Honestly, how sweet is that?

I've also had alot of friends coming over and visiting me, which really made the transition smooth. Whether it's having dinner or just sitting around to chat, it's been really great to have people over to hang out with. I'm still trying to contemplate whether I should have a housewarming party. A good amount of people have already seen the place, so what's the point?

Anyways, I think that's a good amount of post. If I can remember, I'll write more about the Korean BBQ dinner I had at my place last weekend, and how I got shafted at the Annual "Waterloo" BBQ.

D.

Journal: Life After the CFA

well, I wrote the Level 1 exam on Saturday, and yea.....I don't think I gave it the attention that it deserved. That, and it's unlike alot of exams I've ever taken before. So, it's going to be close, though I'm not too confident that I passed. The passing mark is dependant on how everyone did. From what I hear, they take the top 10%, and then take the the average of the 70th percentile, or something like that. Anyways, they don't tell you what the passing grade is, but they do tell you how many people pass. Last December it was 34%, and I think the year before it was about the same.

Anyways, enough about that. There's more to life than the CFA right? right?

Now that the exam is over, I have a couple of months off, before I need to start studying again for my re-take in December (yea, I'm pessimistic that way). So, the things that I put off, that I need to do are:

1. Going to the Gym. I haven't been to the gym in 7 months now, and it feels gross. Not only aesthetically, but just the overall feeling of being out of shape. Like sometimes I'll run to catch the train or bus, and I'll just be completely winded after. Like, seriously. I'm gasping for air more than Paris Hilton in her home movies. It's that bad.

2. Watch more movies. Haven't watched a movie in a theatre at all this year. So, I have alot to catch up on. I haven't even seen blockbusters like X-men3. I went to see Knocked Up today. That was a pretty funny movie. Pretty obscene, and HIGHLY unlikely, but it was a good laugh out loud comedy.

3. Clean Up. I mean, besides taking a shower, shaving, and brushing my teeth (which I've neglected to do for months now), I've got to clean my room, and my car, and mow the lawn. And when I have time, I'll take a shower.

4. Taxes. Yea, I still haven't done my taxes. I've studied alot about takes, but haven't actually gotten around to doing them. So, I definitely need to get on that. So I can gets paid!

5. Learn more about work. I've been working at BMO for a few months now, but because I've been studying, I haven't really taken the time to really learn the ins and outs of the Risk Management, and the portfolios that we have.

6. Look for a place to live. I've been toying around with the idea of living on my own, and did some of the prep work on making it happen. Mostly getting the finances in order, and an idea of what I'm looking for. So now, I might start looking at some places, seeing what's available, and how much it is. Anyways, it's not definite right now, and we'll see if how it goes.

7. Going out more. I haven't gone out that much in the last couple of months. So I figure now that I have the time, I should go out more. See Jenn and some of my friends when they actually go out. Might as well do it now, when I have the time.

Journal: The Pressure of My Life

I've been driving myself insane the past week with the pressure I've put on myself studying...or lack thereof. Though I have 3 months before my exam, I'm behind on in my study plan, which has caused me to stress about whether or not I'll be ready in time for June. The pressure I've put on myself has already caused me to start breaking out, which is a common occurence when I'm studying, but usually only happens the week of my exam, and not 3 months prior. The reason why I feel so much pressure, is because I've somehow managed to convince myself that if I pass in June, my life will be 10x better than it is now, and that if I fail, it'll be 10x worse. This is mainly driven by the fact that if I do pass, I'll be able to move out this summer, have a vacation, and just relax until I start studying for the 2nd level. But of course if I fail, I won't move out, I'll just continue studying until December w/o any vacation, and I'll have to pay $500 to re-write the exam.

I think one of my main worries, is that there's nothing stable in my life at the moment. Where do I see myself 1 year from now? I have no idea. The only thing that I have a relative assurance of, is that I'll have a certain core group of friends that I can talk to and hang out with. But the general information such as job, address, and relationship status, are all virtual unknowns as far as I'm concerned. I know where I'd like to be in 1 year, and I feel like it all hinges and one factor. and that is whether or not I pass this exam.

Reflection: Another Year Goes By

Another year has gone without you. It's starting to feel like a long time ago that we last laughed and hung out. Playing ball, chillin in your basement, talking about our girls, opening presents on christmas, or just chatting online. The vivid dreams are less frequent, and I'm sad to admit that life is moving on. But know that you're never forgotten and that you're always loved. That will never change, and today will always be a sad day. Rest in Peace Dean. One love son. Always.